Dabura

And yet,

No way is Shanny coming back. I'll shoot myself in the face if that happens.

I refuse to believe that's the case. He's got to be working on something special. There's just no other explanation.

LARIONOV GETTER DONE KEN

I can get behind this. Also, I've got to think Buffalo will do whatever it takes to hold onto Vanek after losing Drury and Briere. Not that I think we have a chance at signing either of these guys, mind you.

LOL, never thought I'd see this thread again. But since it's back... Holland is looking at Zubrus, Penner & Vanek among other options. Bertuzzi will not be back.. - My sketchy informant/ninja/friend. For what it's worth.

While I don't considering this a big loss, and while I maintain faith in Kenny's ability to pull a great signing out of his ass, I find it a wee bit disheartening that no moves have been made to address this roster's weaknesses. The team showed a hell of a lot of fire and tenacity in the postseason, but it does need to get bigger, stronger, and faster. Bertuzzi would have, at the very least, brought some size and snarl. Don't get me wrong, I'm not abandoning ship or anything. I just don't really understand why the Wings need to be plagued by the same problems every year when they're really very obvious and straightforward.

I just hope Kenny's "I know we're soft. It's something we're talking about" stance isn't posturing and that he truly understands that this team will have its collective ass handed to it by the likes of the Ducks.

Not a huge loss...although this is officially the softest NHL roster of all time. I'm sure Kenny has a backup plan. No way does he let Schneider, Bertuzzi, and quite possibly Markov go and only come away with Rafalski.

Can't imagine Holland's closed the book on the blue line just yet. As many have said, our top 6 is soft as butter.

Whoa there, easy does it! Like akustyk said, the blurb seems to be pointing more to the future and the proverbial Big Picture than to the past season or two. In getting a veteran five years younger than Schneider, Holland has guaranteed that we will have at least one quality veteran presence on the blue line when Schneider and Lidstrom and Chelios are no longer playing. And while Schneider's age hasn't had a huge effect on his game, he's getting up there, and he only has a season or two left before it really starts to catch up to him -- or before he retires altogether. If you honestly believe Detroit's puck-possession style allows players to hide their age to the point where it's a non-issue...well, I'd say you haven't watched their last several postseason runs. Moreover, Schneider is not "as sound a defenseman as they come." This isn't me doing "the normal LGW thing," this is me stating a simple and obvious fact. Schneider's got a great package, no question. But there are better d-men -- Rafalski being one of them. I'm about ten minutes from New Jersey, so I've seen my fair share of Devils games and have become very familiar with this guy. He's every bit as offensively-minded as Schneider, but his positional play, mobility, and overall hockey sense are all superior. Furthermore, he's managed to put up great numbers with a defense-centric, offensively challenged club. His style is better suited for that of the Wings; expect him to blossom into a truly elite player here.

I fully agree with this: July 1, AOL Sports: For the Red Wings, signing Rafalski has to be considered something of an upgrade. Though he's no youngster, Rafalski is five years younger than Schneider and helps the Red Wings shed a few years on a blue line that boasts greybeards like Nicklas Lidstrom and Chris Chelios. As for Rafalski, it's hard to imagine a situation better for a puck moving defenseman like him than heading to Detroit, where he may spend some time either helming a power play unit of his own, or spending time beside Lidstrom. Rafalski was made for the Wings' system. He's going to be stellar.

I almost get the feeling it's Detroit or nothing with Dom.

The Flames just even got bigger and nastier.

I'm gonna have to give the Kozlov idea a big, flaming thumbs down.

- Hasek will re-sign for a reasonable sum. - Barring divine intervention, Markov is gone. - With Markov out of the picture, Kenny should have no problem signing Bert. However, I don't want to see him overpaid; he should come cheap or not come back at all. In the event of the latter, another big-name FA might be attainable.

This is a good signing. Rafalski is definitely an upgrade over Schneider, and while his price tag and the length of the contract may seem a little dodgy, you have to consider three things: 1. We needed a top-4 guy. Badly. 2. Looking at other recent signings, Rafalski could have easily fetched more than $6 million. I don't want to call the signing a steal, because it's not. But Holland knew that this was about as good as it would get with the available big-name top-4 crowd. 3. We're going to need a veteran presence on the blue line when Chelly and Nick are gone.

Certainly true, but Holland was smart not to give him that kind of money. I like ya, Matty, but 5.75? No thanks. We all know the Wings' blue line needs to get younger, bigger, stronger, and faster. Hopefully this kickstarts the transformation.

I'm actually a bit relieved -- letting him go is a step in the right direction, IMO.

Well, he's not coming here. That's for sure.

That's more or less where I stand. The only reason I ask is that a friend of mine said Penner's drawing "considerable attention" from "a couple big-name clubs" -- and my friend's generally a pretty shrewd informant. But not this time, I suppose. EDIT: Re: Lou

Played when I was younger. Went to Nationals and won, and decided to quit while I was ahead. I'm so out of shape now. It kills me.

Enough of your realism!

If true, it's probably Blake/Smyth and Gomez.

If Schneider doesn't come down low enough, I say Kenny lets both him and Markov go and makes a move for a new top-4 guy. While I love what Markov brings to the lineup, a healthy Kronwall would certainly soften the blow. Dom will be back no matter what. Bert comes for cheap or he doesn't come at all.