haroldsnepsts

No kidding. Lebda and Lilja as a top pair. ouch.

I don't know about legal right to act. This all started with what I thought was relatively harmless speculation on my part about how there could be problems with a contract so out of whack with market value. I seem to remember in the past the NHLPA getting bent out of shape when one of their members was working a deal significantly below their market value (well below home-town discount). Even if they didn't have the contractual leverage to kill the deal, the PA could raise a stink and basically lean on a player not to accept it. Like I said though, it was just speculation on my part, based on vague memories of it happening in the past. Then Mr. Statistics got involved and s*** spiraled out of control.

So to make sure I'm following you, in the highlighted portion you're basically saying it doesn't matter what he thinks the NHLPA will do, then go on to state exactly what they will do as if you know it for a fact? If Teemu tried to sign for league minimum, I just can't see the PA approving it because it is so ridiculously below his market value. Honestly though it's probably a moot point because I don't see Selanne signing for that little either, nor should he.

Trading Filpulla for Tkachuk... waiving Conklin... signing Bertuzzi, AGAIN, then waiving him...

I should have been more specific. Not so much the NHL, but the NHLPA. I'd be surprised if they let a contract like that go through. There's hometown discounts like Lidstrom's and shorter term and a discount like Hossa, but Selanne taking league minimum is well beyond either of those things. I had trouble finding good info on Selanne's past contracts, but what info I did find said he was paid 3.75 million in '07. So $3 million last year is not that big of a reduction. Even if it's the numbers you have, a paycut of a million dollars down to $3 million is not the same as going from $3 million down to league minimum. EDIT: Beat again by YoungGuns! *shaking fist at him*

He's certainly making decisions like a GM who doesn't plan on being around in a few seasons.

Honestly even if he was so inclined to do Burke that kind of favor, I don't know that Selanne could sign for league minimum and have the contract approved. As I'm guessing you know, he had 23 points in 26 games last season, and two 90+ point seasons the couple years before that. Wasn't he signed for $1.5 million last year? I can't see the league approving a sudden $1 million dollar paycut when there's really no performance drop to justify it. Even at 38, he's too good a player for that low of a salary, even with a hometown discount. Of course, I've been wrong on just about everything so far in this thread, so who knows. Edit: YoungGuns beat me to the punch!

Did anyone see this part of the article? wow.

Me too. I thought for sure someone would grab him. Shows how much I know.

Ah, ok. I'd be really surprised if everyone passed on him and he got sent down.

that's how I thought it worked, but honestly I can never keep all the CBA stuff straight, particularly when it comes to waivers. That would be pretty funny though that Burke is paying $2.6 mill for Bert and then 50% of Schneder's salary this season.

I don't fault Burke for signing Schneider. At the time he thought Niedermayer was retiring. He had to scramble to fill a mighty big hole in his defensive corps. It just seems strange he couldn't get anything for Schneider in trade. As NFM#25 pointed out, his salary isn't that bad relative to the market. He's a veteran D-man who can log big minutes, is great on the PP and has a good slapshot. And I can never remember exactly how the waiver system works, but if he's picked up by another team, isn't Burke still on the hook for a part of his salary?

Good point. Unless Tampa pulls some cap magic and snags him, it seems like L.A. would jump all over this.

I'm just amazed. How do you get nothing for a defenseman who can play 20+ minutes a game, is great on the point for the PP, put up 39 points in 65 games and was +22 last season. Even though he's overpaid, I figured someone out there would deal for him.

I sure didn't. I mean, I figured Schneider was on the way out, but I never would've thought he'd be waived. Another brilliant move by Burke, with the assist going to Niedermayer. Cheers to the best GM in hockey!

What possible evidence do you have of this? You constantly lament the personal attacks on Dom, yet you throw out crap like that regarding Brodeur.

I didn't know we were handicapping him for age. I thought we were comparing him to the rest of the goaltenders in the NHL based on performance. He wasn't very good. Regular season Save % .902 and playoffs was .888%. His save percentage puts him outside the top 30 goaltenders for the regular season and he lost his job in the postseason because of poor play. And that was behind the Red Wings. If Osgood's numbers are inflated as people claim due to Detroit's defensive prowess, how bad would Hasek's numbers have been on an average team? Like I said, easily top 10 Best goalies all time. Even top 5. But no revisionist history--he was not a "very good goalie" last year.

No he wasn't. And there's plenty of evidence to back it up. That being said, Hasek being Top 10 all time is a no-brainer. Top 5, almost certainly. Anything beyond that you're dealing with different eras and extremely different conditions, but a reasonable argument could be made for any of those top 5 spots.

Franzen is a known to the Wings maybe, but overall he is a much greater unknown. He had a career high 38 points last season and went on a ridiculous goal scoring streak. What his point production will be year after year is still largely unknown. The second half of last season could have been an aberration, or an indication of his new-found scoring prowess. Hossa meanwhile has been in the league full time since '99 and has seven 60+ point seasons. He's a solid two way player and it sounds like a good guy in the lockerroom. He left a ton of money on the table to come to the Wings for a year, so odds are he's dedicated to their style and system.

This is a terrible idea that will hopefully never come to fruition. how about focusing on the popularity of the game in the giant american market first??

Honestly, I'd even be surprised if he played in an alumni game. The guy's knee is non-existent.

Exactly. Do they really think Zetterberg and Hossa would sign for 50% of what they're worth?? As I've said before, it's pretty easy to talk about someone else giving up millions of dollars...

I was pulling for Murray, just because he was the underdog. I get tired of watching Federer dominate, which is why I don't mind Nadal (minus the butt-picking). Though if there's gonna be a guy who dominates the sport, you couldn't ask for a more gracious champion.

I think it was an act of desperation by the mods, because for some reason people kept creating a new thread about it in spite of the existing thread(s) about the same topic clearly visible on the same page.

Waiting to hear how much he signed for.