haroldsnepsts

To me he's not a legit source. Even if he gets this one right, to me any "anonymous hockey insider" with alleged connections to multiple teams has too much potential for BS. It could easily just be a guy who follows a ton of hockey related twitter feeds, fan forums, and makes some educated guesses. A legitimate source is someone who has their name and identity out there and has a responsibility to get things right and integrity to uphold. Like Dreger and McKenzie.

Not that I'm blaming Crosby, but "trauma to the wrist" sounds pretty relevant to taking hard slashes on the wrist.

It was series-clinching game 6. Giroux approached Laviolette before the game and said he wanted the first shift. Then before they dropped the puck for the opening faceoff he apparently turned to Briere and said "watch this."

Please stay on topic. I've had to remove several posts in this thread. Discuss the content of the post, not the person making it. Someone having an unpopular or minority opinion does not automatically make them a troll. Keep attacking the person directly, no matter how minor, and I'm gonna to have to go all Shanaban on people.

So to be clear, you're saying you believe and respect the word of Brad Marchand?

Especially when you're talking about Holmgren. People probably thought Mike Richards was untouchable when the Flyers signed him to a 12 year deal. Or at least didn't think their captain in Richards and leading scorer in Carter (on an 11 year deal) would both get shipped out.

Also from the article: How do you screw up letting the clock run, lean on the button accidentally? Guy must have had money on the Kings or something.

If there's another lockout, then I'm definitely in the "Fire Bettman" camp. It takes two sides to negotiate, but Bettman is ultimately the steward of the league. And three lockouts under his reign is just too much damage to the sport. Especially if this third one results in any lost games, because while the CBA could use some tweaking, the league is hardly in a dire situation.

I'm glad we're not getting Doan. Great player but only helps the team for a few years. And I'd rather the Wings start looking for some longer term solutions considering Dats, Z and Mule are all in their early 30s. As for GM's being bats*** crazy with UFAs, honestly I feel like we say that every offseason. The league is so competitive these days that if they want to sign a big name player as a free agent, I think they have to throw big money at them when they're available. And there's always a few teams with enough cap room to drive up market prices into the overpaid arena. They just hope that after the first couple seasons of overpayment it tilts in their favor. I also have to wonder if GM's are throwing this money around and mentally knocking 10% of the price in a salary rollback they're planning on.

Agreed. I think the Wings are still a playoff team, but one serious injury could change all that.

I'd still put Burrows hair pulling and finger biting above that. Quite a collection of players on the Nucks these days though.

At the beginning of the season plenty of people had the Kings in the playoff, winning their division, and some had them making it to the conference and even Cup finals. They were a team that underachieved all season, but aren't really comparable to where the Wings are at. Looking at it that way it does make me feel better about our chances. Though last season LA got the 8th seed with 95 points. The Wings finished the season with 102 points. If the conference is as tight again this year, it's scary to think how few games make the difference between getting into the playoffs and not. It's why I get annoyed when the Wings would drop a game to a team they should beat, like the Islanders. Yes it's only one game in the middle of the season, but come the end of the year those points make a huge difference.

Normally I agree, but when it's a one year contract and they're headed into a new CBA, I don't know that it's as relevant because it'll be a whole new ballgame when negotiating. I guess it might still be a sticking point for guys he was thinking of signing on a one year deal next season, but I don't know that's the case with any of the players who will be free agents. Like I said, I'm just surprised Holland showed no interest from the get go.

Exactly. Of course it could go bad. But no one is even interested or excited at the possibility of Semin on Datsyuk's wing? I wasn't dying for Semin to be a Wing, I'm just a little surprised Holland wasn't even interested. Like I said, I'm hoping it's because he still has a trick or two up his sleeve.

You're not even talking about the deal, you're seriously arguing my using the phrase reclamation project? Holy hell what won't you argue about? When you consider his talent level and the stink he's got on him right now, Semin absolutely could've been a reclamation project in that Holland could've gotten him for not much. Overpayment in salary sure, but on a one year deal and they have the cap room. They wouldn't have give up a ton of players or lock him up for a decade. And it has the potential upside of him turning it around in Detroit and becoming part of the team going forward for years to come. To me that fits the phrase reclamation project. If you want to discuss the merits of signing Semin with me, great, but I'm not engage you in a semantics argument.

He scored 2 points less than Mule, who was paid $5.25 million this year on an 11 year contract. Also Franzen has 4 points in his last 13 playoff games. I'm sure Semin's reputation is what made it a one year deal, but it's not surprising he got that amount as a UFA. He's also scored 79 and 84 points in his career, and potted 40 goals. When people are signing him for a year they're hoping to get more of that guy and less of the one from last season. With what's been going on with the Capitals, you have to think not all of it was Semin.

Other than the part about being effectively below the radar, how does Semin not fit that category? He's a guy with a ton of talent who's career has basically reached it's low point, relatively speaking. He's being trashed in the media and has a questionable reputation in terms of his work ethic. A one year deal gives him everything to prove. Either he busts his ass and earns a good contract next year, or he does more of the same, his star continues to fall and he either runs to the KHL or accepts an even smaller contract. If he joined the Wings for a year and turned it around, then they have the chance to sign him for more years. It's not that unlike what Holland has done with Cleary, Bert and Sammy. It's just a star player version of it.

Like I said, I wasn't referring to the players really. Though even considering that in context of the cap, if for some reason they were to rachet it down without allowing rollbacks or buyouts, the Suter deal would still have had much greater implications. Semin would be a lousy deal for a year. Suter's could've crippled the team for over a decade, yet Holland was willing to get involved. So I don't think his avoiding Semin had to do with the CBA negotiations is my point.

Read the post I was responding to. I'm not referring to the player, but the size of the deal as the league heads into CBA negotiations. A deal the size of Suter's could've had much larger ramifications if they adjusted the cap than a 1 year deal with Semin ever would.

But the Suter deal could've been exactly that, and Holland made the offer. A one year deal for Semin is among the lower risk contracts you could get. Like I said, I'm just surprised and a little confused Holland wasn't even interested. Just seeing what Semin could do with Datsyuk and on the PP seems like enough incentive to at least kick the tires a little. If he stinks it up, then it's money lost and some cap room that right now looks like it's not getting used anyway. Unless Holland's still got a trick up his sleeve.

Franzen had 2 more points than Semin in the same number of games. $3 million less? Are you comparing Franzen's cap hit on his 11 year deal to Semin's on a 1 year deal? Not exactly apples to apples. Franzen was paid $5.25 mill last season. Semin was paid $6.7 mill

But that's all based on seriously flawed logic.The fact that a top pairing defenseman did not switch teams is in no way evidence that Holland could not have signed them. It's still just speculation on something that didn't happen. For all we know there could've been a deal on the table but Holland didn't pull the trigger because he thought the cost was too high. Just like if Chara had gotten traded, that doesn't prove that Holland wasn't making the right deals. He may never have had a shot at that deal, because he didn't have the right players Boston wanted, or Chara didn't want to go to Detroit. If you don't understand that distinction, then this argument is even more pointless than I thought.

Of course. Because Holland didn't sign him, naturally the only reasonable assumption is that it would have a negative impact on the Wings. If he had signed him, I'm sure people would be lining up to say how Semin could turn it around here because of all the leadership in Detroit.

That is just as big of speculation as someone saying that there was a trade out there. Holland not making a trade does not equal there was no move he could have made.There's no way you can know that. It's not a fact, that's your opinion.