haroldsnepsts

the UFA market for D-men is insane. It just goes to show why these guys needed a salary cap. Some GM's just can't seem to control themselves.

Let's hope Holland's got something up his sleeve. I'm betting these have not been the kind of moves Lids was thinking of when he decided to come back another year.

meh. I don't think I'd want a guy like Torres on the Wings. Though it'll be interesting to see if Canucks fans are so quick to defend his hits when he's headhunting their players.

Like?

Agreed. And honestly Ozzy has never been great in the backup role anyway. He tends to take a few games to get rolling, the upside being when he did he could steal the starting spot. But combine that with injury and age, it just doesn't make a lot of sense to count on him as the backup.

This must mean Draper is done playing for the Wings. Not complaining. I'm a big Draper fan, but it was time. As for Miller, I'm sort of neutral on this one. I don't know enough about the kids in Grand Rapids to have a feel for if they're ready to step up.

Well said, especially the bolded part. I think this contract is overpayment, but I can see the circumstances that led to it. I can understand Rafalski keeping his decision private because he didn't want to make the season about him, but at the same time, I really wish he had given Holland a heads up as soon as he was certain about retiring.

So I'm guessing Ericsson is slotted into the #4 spot by default. I don't think he's as bad as everyone here tries to make him out, but even I think that's a big step up based on his performance last season. Fortunately it'll likely only mean another minute or so of ice time. Maybe not any depending on who's on the bottom two. That's what makes this even scarier. Kindl didn't look ready to step in for a full season last year, but now I guess he has to be. And Holland will hopefully go out and find an experience bottom pairing guy who also plays on the PK, to help distribute the minutes more evenly. I'm definitely worried about the Wings blueline. For those who were always bitching about Rafalski being overpaid, well, you got your wish.

Those are opinions, actually. Like I said, I'm not wishing the Wings signed Asham, but he's a 3rd/4th line guy like Eaves who'll score you some goals. Asham will provide toughness whereas Eaves provides PK. I wouldn't take Asham over Eaves, but I wouldn't have minded having him instead of Miller either. My main point is that it wasn't some lame enforcer argument. Asham as a reference point for Eaves makes some sense.

Like I said, I think Ericsson is definitely overpaid. And I'd take Eaves over Draper too. But if the Wings had two serviceable D-men sitting around still hoping to be signed by the Wings, there's no way Ericsson gets that contract. And for Eaves that was the case. Holland could pick up the phone and start calling Miller's agent as he's negotiating with Eaves.

You're overlooking a couple other stats. Asham only played 44 games this season. Points-wise in the past they're very similar. Probably good for 20-ish if they stay healthy. And 30 of Asham's penalty minutes were fighting majors, so he has 16 non-fighting PIM compared to Eaves 14. The biggest differences are Eaves plays a lot of minutes on the PK and their age. Asham is 33 and has had a lot of injuries do to his style of play. I'm not saying I want Asham over Eaves, but it's not the ridiculous argument you make it out to be. And Asham gettin 750k is a better reference point for Eaves than using Ericsson's contract.

I like Eaves a lot, but I'm surprised how many people think this is a steal. Ericsson's contract really shouldn't be a reference point because the UFA market for D-men is often inflated, and given the Wings current defensive lineup they really couldn't afford to let him leave. I'm the one here usually defending Ericsson that he isn't as awful as people make him out to be, and even I don't think he's worth that contract. But you can't really compare a forward's and defenseman's contracts. With Eaves, without even looking to the minors or to other teams, Holland has got guys like Draper and Miller waiting to be signed who can fulfill a similar role.

The scary part is if Ericsson is getting that much, what is Kaberle and the few Dmen left going to go for? (he hasn't signed yet, has he?) EDIT: Just saw Wiz signed for $5.5. Wow.

Well, that's overstating it, but I do agree that his role is definitely more easily replaceable, hence the contract. Especially when you consider Draper is sitting around waiting to sign still. That being said, it's great to have Eaves back. Yes there are other player who could do what he does for 13 minutes a game, but I'm glad he's a Red Wing.

Wow. Ericsson got a lot more than I expected. He definitely benefitted from the cap going up, Detroit's current defensive situation, and the market out there for D-men. I wonder if he had a serious offer from another team Holland had to beat. Because Holland hadn't locked anyone up, can imagine if Ericsson walked too? The Wings defensive corps would be Lids, Kronwall, Stuart... Kindl? Smith? Janik? The bottom line is, with this contract, it's going to miserable here at LGW. People act like he's the worst defenseman to play the game at 900k. Now with this contract I'm sure they're lighting the torches and getting the pitchforks already.

On the NHL network yesterday they were openly shaking their heads and could barely keep from laughing about his contract.

Man it's looking grim out there for D-men. I wonder if Lids is starting to re-think his retirement decision. I'm betting he didn't want to go into next season with Stuart, Kronner, Ericsson, and some combination of Kindl/Smith/Janik/plug?

I voted Eaves, but actually you could probably make a better case for Ericsson. If he walked then that leaves another hole in the Wings defensive corps. He played almost 19 minutes a night and helped out on the PK. I don't think they can count on Kindl to fill that role just yet, so it would mean the Wings would have Lidstrom, Kronwall, Stuart locked up and that's it.

Yeah. He's got some good achievements. The Cups and the Conn Smythe. I can see some criticism though because I don't really think of Nieuwendyk as dominant. If you're using that as a major criteria then you could make a case for Oates going in before him. He's a bubble player that I would've expected to have to wait a bit longer to get in.

I never said he should get in instead of Nieuwendyk. And ultimately I'm glad Howe got in, but I would've taken Oates before him. Hull, Bondra and Neely all owe Oates big thanks. For much of his career Oates was the best playmaking center not named Gretzky.

How the hell could they pass over Oates again? what a joke.

This. More than Kopitar, Johnson or Brown, Doughty is their franchise player.

I love Stevie, but Lidstrom has to be #1 for sure. Getting one of the best defenseman in the history of the game, arguably second all time, in the third round at #53?! Nothing tops that. Especially when you consider the Wings really wanted Lafontaine in the draft and chose Yzerman when they Islanders took him.

I like Smyth, but I think this was a good move for LA. He's getting long in the tooth and had trouble with the Kings speed. Hopefully they can put that money to good use. Now if they could just get rid of Penner.

This. Salei was serviceable, but it'd be better for the Wings to go younger, and get someone more physical like they hoped Salei would be.