Yzerman191

I'm pretty sure it wasn't a dive. Neiderietter left the game afterwards and didn't return. If he's out for an extended period of time I'll really feel bad for the Islanders... Streit and Okposo are already out for a while, and DiPietro will undoubtedly be injured for the season five or ten games in.

Paul Martin isn't as good as Gonchar (who was on the decline anyway), but he'll fill in nicely. I don't expect to see any significant decline on their blueline, which is arguably one of the better in the Eastern Conference. Their philosophy when it comes to their forwards is puzzling. They are extremely deep down the middle, yet they don't have a single top-six winger. They've got arguably the best playmaker in the world, and probably two of the top five, yet they won't provide them with anybody capable of scoring.

I'm a huge hockey fan and I'm certainly not afraid of saying that I'm a fan of other teams. Obviously, the Red Wings are my favorite team; just because you're a fan of other teams doesn't take anything away from that. I will use pie as my analogy. My favorite pie is pecan pie, but I also enjoy pumpkin, apple, cherry, blueberry, etc (actually, now that I think about it, I'm not sure there's a pie I don't like... perhaps this is a bad analogy). If I had to choose between pecan pie and one of the other flavors, I would certainly choose pecan pie; if pecan pie wasn't available, I would have no problem eating pumpkin pie. They are both delicious, albeit one more than the other. This analogy is long and drawn out, and now I want pecan pie. Besides the Red Wings, I tend to root for the Maple Leafs as well. And now that Yzerman went to Tampa Bay, I'll definitely be rooting for the Lightning to succeed against everybody but the 'Wings. So yeah, I guess I'd consider myself a fan of the Red Wings, Maple Leafs, and Lightnings.

Who wouldn't?

Agreed. Kovalchuk shouldn't have to pay anything; he's already going to be out millions of dollars as it is. I don't really think anyone should be fined. If they have some sort of limit in mind, make a rule about it.

It's not really a valid comparison to compare UFAs and RFAs. Crosby never touched unrestricted free agency (and likely never will), and nor did Ovechkin. Had either one of them been UFAs, they likely would have been offered contracts for the league maximum from multiple teams. Also, they both signed a couple of years ago and contracts have been on the rise. One could make the argument that Kovalchuk is the best player to reach unrestricted free agency in the modern era, and certainly post-lockout. When was the last time a player of Kovalchuk's talents, having just turned 27 years old, hit the open market, available to the highest bidder? I can't remember such an occasion.

It's obviously not delusional for him to think he's worth that kind of money considering multiple teams have offered that kind of money. Your worth is determined by those bidding for your services! I'm not surprised the deal was rejected. It was a pretty clear circumvention of the salary cap, but then again I thought the same thing about multiple other contracts. The clearest solution to closing the loophole would be to put limits on the differences in salaries paid throughout the duration of a contract. For example, if no year could be 50% less than any other year throughout the duration of the contract, the least amount the Devils could tack on in those final years would be almost $6M, eliminating the entire purpose of those last five years and also decreasing the length of contracts handed out. It would've worked with Hossa, Luongo, and even Zetterberg and Franzen.

Interesting turn of events... Luongo is signed until he's 43, Hossa until he's 42, Zetterberg and Franzen until they're 40, etc. They either need to make some sort of rule against it or allow it, because the line seems pretty clouded to me.

I know what you're saying; a player reaching 44 years old is much less likely than a player reaching 40 years old. I'm not saying that's not true; I'm simply saying that, either way, both scenarios are unlikely and probably involve these silent agreements - cheating. It's happening all over the league now, including (and partially pioneered by) our own team. The Red Wings are taking advantage of the same loophole that everybody on this forum seems so outraged about. Also, I would argue that Kovalchuk is almost certainly going to be considered for the HOF. He just turned 27 years old and has already accumulated 642 points (338 being goals) in 621 games. He's top-15 in goals per game in the history of the league, and hasn't had a sub-40 goal season since 2002-2003. He definitely has a chance of reaching the 600-goal and 1,000-point milestones by the end of his career. EDIT: BTW, in case anybody wanted to know, 47 players have ever reached 40 years of age, and 6 players have reached 44 years of age.

The whole thing is that a silent agreement of retiring two or three years before the contract expires is no different from a silent agreement to retire six or seven years before the contract expires. It's the same thing - exploiting a loophole. I would give Kovalchuk the same chance of making it to 44 as I would give Zetterberg, Hossa, or Franzen of making it to 41.

The problem here seems to be that people perceive there is a silent agreement between Kovalchuk and Lou for him to retire, say, around the 38 year old mark. Does anyone expect a 30 year old, injury prone Johan Franzen to play until he's 40? How about an almost-equally injury prone Zetterberg playing until he's 40? Don't you guys think there's a silent agreement between Holland and Zetterberg/Franzen to do the same thing at the tail end of their contracts? Kovalchuk's contract is longer, but he's also a few years younger than Zetterberg, Franzen, and Hossa were when they signed their contracts. He's also demonstrated himself capable of playing almost every game of the season throughout his entire career. I'm not saying he's going to play out the duration of the contract, but I don't view this contract as anything different from what we're seeing elsewhere around the league.

Here is the breakdown of Kovalchuk's 17-year, $102M contract, according to Michael Russo and Rich Hammond's sources: 2010-2011 $6,000,000 2011-2012 $6,000,000 2012-2013 $11,500,000 2013-2014 $11,500,000 2014-2015 $11,500,000 2015-2016 $11,500,000 2016-2017 $11,500,000 2017-2018 $10,500,000 2018-2019 $8,500,000 2019-2020 $6,500,000 2020-2021 $3,500,000 2021-2022 $750,000 2022-2023 $550,000 2023-2024 $550,000 2024-2025 $550,000 2025-2026 $550,000 2026-2027 $550,000 The league has five days to review the contract.

A week ago, I thought the Modano talk was just that; I'm actually really glad it isn't, because I'd love to have Modano on the 'Wings. Teams are mortgaging their future (Chicago) to even get a shot at winning the Cup these days; Modano is undoubtedly a better player both defensively and offensively, he'll be hungrier, and gives us a much better chance at winning next year than any of the three players in question. If the best argument against signing Modano is that we'll lose Miller or Ritola then I'm for it. As for who we lose to make room for Modano, I'd say Eaves is out of the question. For 850K, he's got a wicked right-handed shot, he's a great penalty killer, and he's pretty safe to put on the ice in virtually any situation. He also has some offensive skills, and could possibly turn out to be a 15-20 goal scorer while playing on the 4th line. Together, I feel like Eaves and Miller constitute a Draper and Maltby type combo - two guys we can rely on to provide energy, penalty-killing, and a few goals here and there. The thing is, though, that I'd hate to lose Ritola before we even see what he's capable of. The Red Wings saw something in him at one point, and he's been patient enough to stay down in GR for three years now. I guess what they'll have to do is consider what Ritola's ceiling is, and if it's not much higher than the player Miller or Eaves is today, they'll probably put him on waivers to send down to GR and hope nobody picks him up.

Has anyone considered the travel situation in signing in the Western Conference after playing in the East? Playing in LA, roughly 45 games per year are going to be against teams in the Central, Atlantic, Southeast, and Northeast divisions. Those are some long, time consuming plane rides. Playing in NJ, maybe 15 of his games in a given season are going to be longer than a two or three hour plane ride. Strange move by New Jersey, if the report is indeed true. Parise is a RFA next year, and he's going to command some big money. Also, what good is a sniper on a defensely-oriented team?

I guess my point is that there is no possible way he or his agent could be expecting more money per year (KHL is offering $14M/year) or more money in the long term ($102M from Atlanta; $100M from NYI). The fact that he didn't sign contracts like those right away indicate to me that money is not his primary motive. To me, it indicates that he's looking to sign a contract that pays him well on a competitive, non-bottom-dwelling team. A greedy player solely interested in the most money would take any of those three contracts and run with them.

Why is it that Kovalchuk is so heavily speculated to go to the KHL? He turned down a 12 year, $102M contract from Atlanta, he's got a 10 year, $100M contract from the Islanders sitting on the table now, and the KHL offered him a 3 year contract worth $42M. He hasn't signed any of them! What part of that screams greedy Russian to anyone?

As soon as Vancouver is allowed to bypass the salary cap and assemble a roster exceeding $125M in payroll, I'll worry about his Olympic achievements. Until then, I'll remember that he doesn't have multiple Norris contenders in front of him, as well as forwards capable of keeping the puck from ever reaching the defensive zone to begin with. I honestly think any of the three goaltenders for team Canada could've won them gold. Thus, I don't really consider it that much of an achievement for him.

I think most of the questions surrounding Luongo stems from the fact that, on the whole, he's never accomplished anything. He's won a few rather meaningless playoff series, but he's only had one real impressive playoff run. Also, statistically, he didn't really have an off year last year; his save percentage seems to stay pretty much static in the .910-.920 region. Don't get me wrong, that's impressive, but it doesn't strike fear into my heart. When I think of goalies I don't want to run into in the playoffs, Luongo is not who comes to mind. As for western conference teams that have improved themselves, everyone seems to be forgetting Phoenix. They had a strong season last year and made some decent acquisitions without losing much thus far. The Sharks, Blackhawks, and Predators seemed to have downgraded.

Yzerman will likely save a lot of the cap space for Stamkos next year; he's going to command a pretty hefty salary. Also, at least they've got many of the big players signed for next year. He inherited some pretty nasty contracts (Lecavalier, Malone), but Stamkos, St. Louis, Lecavalier, Malone, Ohlund, and Hedman are all signed for the time being. I don't know much about their prospects, but it seems they need to mostly bolster their offense by adding depth and complementary players. They could definitely use some help on the blueline. Also, according to the Thrasher's GM, Kovalchuk turned down a long term offer worth around $100M. The KHL also reportedly offered him $42M for three years. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems to be Kovalchuk would really like to join a contender here in the NHL.

Some very strange signings today. Pittsburgh spends $9M on defense, yet their best winger is Kunitz with his 32 points. I know Crosby and Malkin are good, but they're certainly not Lemieux-esque (capable of making 50 goal scorers out of average players). I would've thought they'd sign a defenseman to replace Gonchar as well as a decent winger (Frolov, Kariya, Whitney) capable of generating at least SOME offense. Also, Yzerman had a very strong day. He got rid of a pretty bad contract, resigned a franchise centerpiece, picked up a good goalie at a terrific price, and still has $25M in cap space. Worst signing of the day has to be Boogaard. $1.6M for four years for a player who hasn't scored a goal since the 2005-2006 season, averages just over 5 minutes a night, and has yet to play a full NHL season. Oh, and he only has 18 fighting majors in the last two years. Ouch!

You guys are kidding yourselves if you think that the Blackhawks aren't top five in terms of defensive depth, even after this off-season. They've got arguably the best defenseman in the league in Keith, as well as three top-pairing defensemen in Seabrook, Campbell, and Hjalmarsson. With those four guys, even filling in the last two spots with scrubs, they'll be pretty solid on the back end. The main problem I see for the Blackhawks following this off-season is being too top heavy offensively. They've got Hossa, Kane, Toews, and either Sharp or Bolland (following this off-season), but no real scoring threats outside of the top three or four. I'm also not so sure Niemi is as solid as people give him credit for. His save percentage isn't terribly impressive, and even Huet (with a .895 save percentage) managed four shutouts compared to Niemi's seven.

The truth lies somewhere in between the two claims made in this thread. The Blackhawks still have one of the best rosters in the league, studded with Kane, Toews, Hossa, Keith, Seabrook, etc. However, they're also losing about 60 goals from their depth players, putting a lot more pressure on their top guys. If injuries set in, or the top guys start to slump, they're not going to have as easy of a time making it up as they did last season. Nonetheless, they will remain a contender and give us a solid run for the Central for the foreseeable future. I'm pretty convinced that's a good thing; a little competition might be beneficial for both teams, and will definitely make the season more enjoyable to watch.

I would love to see Modano sign here to finish his career; I think he can still be a productive 3rd line center. With that said, I can't see it happening. I posted something similar in another thread, but here's how I see things: Almost definitely, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, Hudler, Filppula, Bertuzzi, Holmstrom, Cleary, Helm, Draper, and Eaves will be on the roster. Abdelkader and Ritola are both signed for next year and cannot play in the AHL, and Miller will likely be resigned. That is already 14 players, before signing the gritty 4th liner Holland is looking for, which would make 15 players. That also makes a whopping seven players listed as natural centers (Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Flip, Hudler, Draper, Helm, and Ritola). Modano signing would give us 8 natural centers and 16 signed, non-AHL (without passing waivers) eligible forwards. It's likely Miller and maybe Ritola could be gone without a strong training camp, and Holland may not pick up a gritty 4th liner, but even so that still gives us 13 forwards with Modano after cutting three spots. I just don't see it happening. It would be cool though.

Why are we resigning Miller? We have Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Franzen, Holmstrom, Bertuzzi, Hudler, Cleary, and Filppula as the top eight. Beyond that, we have Helm and Eaves who are far more impressive than Miller, as well as Abdelkader and this supposed gritty fourth line forward Holland is looking for. On top of that, we have Ritola, a center who can no longer play in the AHL without passing waivers, and Draper, who seems to have tremendous chemistry with Helm and Eaves. By my count, that is 14 players BEFORE adding Miller. Where does he fit in? Who else might be the odd man (men) out?

People are hoping he'll sign here for $6M per year, eh? That equates to about what, $4M per year after taxes? How about $14M per year, tax free, to play in your home country and be close to family? http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?playerId=1175