haroldsnepsts

I was glad to see Lang go, but his 50 to 60 points a season are a loss. It was an opportunity to shed a lot of salary and improve the second line. They shed salary, but they haven't gotten anyone to help that second line. That's the problem. So aside from Dats, the second line relies on Flip, who scored 17 points last season, and Grigorenko, who has never played in the NHL. And I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but the biggest guy on our second line is Flip at 5'11" and 185 lbs. What are they odds that line will get shut down in the postseason, especially on the road? Man I hope Holland picks up a big physical winger who can pot a few goals, even if it's at the trade deadline.

posts like that one are particularly moronic coming from a Wings fan considering the great Russians and euros we've had on the team on the past and at present. Vladdy was tough and nasty. At 6'1" and 215 lbs, Fetisov was a big tough force on the blueline. And even Feds at 6'1" 200 lbs was incredibly hard to move off the puck.

I'm glad Dom's back and at a very good price, but let's be serious here. Performance wise he's worth $5-6million, but overall he's not because of lingering age/health issues. At 42 with a trick groin, he's still a gamble. Not to mention if Kenny hadn't picked up the phone last season, Dom wouldn't have been playing the NHL. He's repaying the favor.

Exactly. This hurts now, but hopefully the kid will be great and it'll be a bargain in a couple years.

Boogaard is unbelievably huge, but has one of the slowest right hands I've ever seen.

I guess if they could get him for that price it could be worth the gamble. I haven't seen O'Neill play though, so I don't really have a good handle on how good he is. After this free agent period though, I never know what the hell a guy is gonna get signed for. It's often been almost twice the amount I'd expect.

his rookie year he had 25 goals and 23 assists. So I'd say one good season and one great one. But yeah, that's a whole lotta cash under the cap. If last year was an anomaly, then whoever signs him is screwed.

I get so tired of that ridiculous crap about how they need canadian boys to get the right type of player, though honestly I see a lot less of it here than on other hockey boards, like hfboards. I could care less where they come from, I just want the toughness back. Some of the Russians we used to have on the Wings were the toughest S.O.B's you could ever find.

It is a ton of money for one 40 goal season, but he's 23 yrs old an in his second season in the NHL. He also had 6 goals and 4 assists in 16 playoff games. There's a lot of upside on the kid. EDIT: he was also highest in the NHL at +47

this isn't an attack, but a serious question. who would you have preferred in net for the Wings?

I haven't read the whole thread, but have people even been talking about how the Wings specifically need N.A. players?

$5 mill signing bonus each of the first two years? I didn't know you could do signing bonuses anymore under the cap. definitely not what I meant. The kid is awesome. I'd love the Wings to have a guy like that.

6'2" 210 23 yrs old, plus minus leader last year. 43 goals, 41 assists. unfortunately he's an RFA and likely going nowhere. EDIT: Okay, he went somewhere. but at what a price! holy crap! they gave up 4 first round picks?!?! The kid looks like a great player, but ouch.

I agree about the cap. Unless the t.v. deal gets better or the NHL somehow finally markets itself like a grown-up professional sport, I can't see where a ton more revenue will come from. Everyone buying Ducks jerseys?

Holland basically demonstrated why the Wings are a franchise that would've survived without a salary cap. Because he didn't participate in the ridiculous overspending that other teams did. $4 mill for Lang? I still can't get my mind around that one. Though actually I think Lang was the main lost opportunity for Holland. He shed some salary and a declining player on the second line, a line that never really got going in the postseason, but no moves were made to improve it. My only other frustration, as I've been saying, is watching the Red Wings become the incredible shrinking team year after year...

Now that Dom is signed, I say no one off that list. I'd rather get the young guys ice time this regular season, then look to pick someone up at the trade deadline.

That's what I hoped. I was worried that if it counted against the cap this year, Holland would had to leave room in case those bonuses kicked in, effectively making Dom's cap hit 4+ million this season.

I totally agree. The last few years though, or pretty much since Holland took over actually, that philosophy is nowhere to be seen.

With bonuses, the deal can grow to over $4 million. I'm assuming (or hoping) based on how far the Wings go in the playoffs is a big chunk of it. Would that count against this year's cap, or next?

Base salary just over 2 mill is great. Right where it should be. I beg to differ that he's a $5 mill a year goalie, but who cares. I'm glad he's back and at a good price. Yeah, I thought that was odd too. Maybe it's actually a quote from Holland?

Well you apparently missed my point too, because you keep going back to goons. And I don't know how I can make it any f-ing clearer that a goon isn't what I want or what the team needs. And I said even Dandenault because compared to most of the current lineup, he is a big gritty guy. over 6 foot, 200+ lbs and has dropped the gloves. How many guys on the team fit that current description? But he's hardly the main one I was talking about. Overall the Wings were bigger and tougher than they are now. I'm not saying they have to be a bunch of overgrown thugs on skates. But I'm tired of them being the smallest softest team in the league. You're either forgetting or denying how tough and physical the Wings could be during their Cup years. Remember the Colorado rivalry? You seriously can't imagine how adding big physical players helps a hockey team? And I couldn't disagree more about the direction of the new NHL. If what you say is true, how did the Ducks just win the Cup? Guys like McCarty and Lapointe in their prime were hardly useless. To be clear, I don't what those guys back. I'm talking about how valuable they were to the team during the Cup runs. And as I posted in another thread, the Wings had 55 fights in 97, 33 fights in 98 and even 22 fights in 02. Not exactly as "classy" as they are now. And there's really no way around the physics of it. A bigger, stronger guy is gonna hold up better over the playoffs and be harder to knock around. One goon will not keep opponents from taking runs at our players. Honestly, nothing probably will. It's a part of the game. But if you have a tough team, when a Red Wing player gets run at, he's got a teammate right there willing to stick up for him. You can't underestimate the value of that. Yes you may lose a valuable guy in the box, but overall it's better to have a team who sticks up for one another. When one of the Wings gets cheapshotted, he's got a teammate on the ice who will stick up for him. On the Rangers this year, when Brashear elbowed Jagr, Shanny dropped the gloves and went after him. And Shanny is clearly not in the same league as Brashear in fighting. Its probably not going to keep it from happening again, but it sends a message. You go after our star player, be prepared because I'm coming after you. Not to mention what it did for the Rangers. You don't think it fired the guys up seeing Shanny go toe to toe with Brashear? Take a look at that Rangers bench and listen to the crowd after the fight. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MceB6VBpfPI For the umpteenth time, I don't think the Wings need to be huge. But I've become a Barnes bros. convert. Year after year the team gets smaller. Year after year they don't make any moves to get back the size and toughness they've lost. I'm tired of it. (ps - Brashear is a dirtbag)

They definitely did. I give them a lot of credit for playing bigger and grittier than they are. Eventually it catches up with you though.

Talk about going to the net. Shanny Stevie and Fedorov behind the Colorado defense and goalie!

2002 Wings get in 21 fights. 1998 Wings get in 33 fights. 1997 Wings get in 55 fights. You may want to think about that. McCarty, Shanahan, Fischer, Avery, Lapointe, Pushor, Ward, Kocur, Grimson all the way back to Probert... Wanting the team to be tough does not equal wanting a bunch of goons. Where did this idea come from that the Wings are too "classy" to get involved with the rough stuff?? And just because I don't fall all over myself supporting every single player who's ever worn the Winged Wheel doesn't mean I'm not a true fan. I've been a Wings fan for 20+ years.

On June 13th, Dom told Holland he wanted to come back, so it's been three weeks. I think that warrants being a tad nervous as it seems like the two sides wouldn't be that far apart in negotiations. http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article...ORTS05/70613048