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Someone hasn't been paying attention This has cemented Bettman and Crosby as steaming piles of manure, in my mind... I take back everything even remotely positive I have ever said about them. Other than that, I am pretty much over it -- this affects teams fighting Columbus and Pittsburgh for the playoffs a lot more than it does the Red Wings.

Apparently that is the team doctor.

Thanks!

I like the theory that David Stern saw hockey at its height of popularity in the early 90s (while the NBA was struggling) and sent his little imp over to attempt to kill it.

I could very well be wrong, but I will give my impression. Franzen was a BEAR to sign last time, and that was when he was a 3rd line checker. He has never had his big payday and this might be his only chance in his career to really cash in -- and his value will probably never be higher. There are teams out there that would kill to have someone his size, that is defensively responsible, has a nose for the net with good hands and is a Stanley Cup winner who turned it up several notches in the playoffs. $5 million minimum and possibly even as high as $6 million is his value right now on the open market. Holland might get him to sign for $4-5 million. But if Hossa is willing to sign for as low as around $6 million, like Zetterberg? I don't know if you can pass up that opportunity. Hossa has already had his big pay checks, and from every word we have read, is at a point where he just wants to win and stay with a team he fits in with. If the difference of signing them is only $1-2 million, I think you have to go with Hossa. If it is more than that, I think Franzen starts making a stronger case.

Could someone type up a summary when they get a chance?

$8 - $10 million -- depending on who comes up from GR or not.

It was evident from the onset that Zetterberg and Datsyuk had a great shot, though you're right, they did pass first (which happens when you play with Brett Hull). Filppula, unfortunately, has stone-hands like Draper.

You *HAVE* to trade Filppula for there to be a chance to retain Hossa. Zetterberg's contract may very well be a sign that Holland is going to make the attempt... but in the past, he has been loathe to trade away recently signed players (Filppula).

I am pretty sure you do not have an option. As an aside, Yashin is still on the Islanders' books because of this way of figuring it.

If Sammy is not looking for a big raise, he may stay. Leino is nowhere near Hudler. They are both approximately the same age -- and while Leino is scoring close to a point per game in the AHL (with first line minutes) Hudler is scoring almost a point per game in the NHL (with third line minutes). Consider also, when Hudler was years younger than Leino currently is, he was top 3 in the entire AHL in scoring and set the Griffins all time record for assists in a season. They may have similar games, but Hudler is a hell of a lot better.

You would prefer him taking up $9 million in cap space over the next couple years? The extra years allow the cap hit to go down.

The cap has gone up 40% in 4 years -- even with a few level or even down years, who knows where it will be in ten years? I think this signing is great on so many levels. If they buy him out, 1/3 of the cap hit remains on your books for twice the remaining years of the contract. You must pay the player, 2/3 of his remaining contract.

Exactly. Hell, you could take Hudler to arbitration, elect for a one-year deal, and pretty much delay worrying about him until you know Lidstrom's status. I almost wish they had done that with Filppula. It's unfortunate arbitration is such a nasty experience, however.

I agree that Hossa may very well be more likely to give a discount than Franzen (Hossa has made his money, and clearly cares more now about winning and the type of team he is on -- Franzen has never had his big payday, and he will probably not get it from the Wings). If you can trade Flip and let Franzen go in order to retain Hossa and Hudler -- well, that's a no-brainer in my opinion.

This now means you could potentially keep Hossa.... by trading Flip.

My cold heart wants to analyze the hell out of this right now, but I'll just state that I am thrilled to see Zetterberg is sticking around for the next dozen years, and this certainly helps us retin as much of the current team as possible. Kudos to Zettberg and Holland!

I dunno... I just get the sense something was missing from tonight's game. Since the Wings were not able to pull off the win, I am now rooting for Columbus to beat one of Edmonton, Vancouver or Anaheim for the #8 seed in the playoffs, by one point. I wouldn't mind this having some lasting implications for Bettman.

Me too! And literally up until this Friday I was someone who would try and stick up for Bettman and Crosby. What an *******! You just got a free personal "get out of jail card free" from the commissioner himself and now you are gleefully throwing your own peers, who didn't happen to have Bettman's cell number on speed dial, under the bus and inviting league-wide criticism of them. Just shut your idiot mouth next time!

Don Waddell with a great article and some juicy quotes: http://www.canada.com/windsorstar/news/spo...1b8f2c6&p=1 Hey, I called it the "Crosby Rule" here first! Though I like Drake_Markus' term "Crosby Clause" better. I feel quite vindicated with this article, but I am sure there are some who still think Bettman did not show any favortism to Crosby, or that Holland is somehow too incompentant to properly convey or understand the full context of the rule as it was presented last February. Funny quip from Osgood:

Can you make your point without me having to list out the thousands of sports commissioners found at all levels in all sports throughout north america? Because, uhhh... I don't really want to

Considering some of the names on the Lady Byng, I would consider it a great honor. Not so long ago, the Lady Byng was actually treated as the "Hart Runner-up". Since this is not a "real suspension" it should not hurt them too much, but man, is there a lot of animosity out there from writers towards the Red Wings or what? I've visited other teams' forums and most of the fans from other teams are actually supporting the Red Wings, suprisingly. But literally 9 out of 10 sports writers are sticking up for Bettman and lambasting the Red Wings. Could also be just for the ratings? It's always tough to tell if that is what they are really thinking or if they just need attention-grabbing headlines. If they would have played without the suspension, either one of Dats or Lids would have been capable of putting up some big numbers against a team like Columbus, so it will bother me at the end of the year if Datsyuk or Lidstrom is one or two points shy of a player voted into a first or second team all star over them, but I am a geek about these things.

I believe they have the cap space to do it (over $900,000 in cap space, actually), but Holland has shown a reluctance to bring players up from GR, as I assume he is saving up as much as he can to at least have the option of making a deadline deal, or to have the option of playing some of the GR boys down the stretch.

http://www.hockeyexpressen.se/nhl/1.144547...jag-ar-besviken

Welcome! I think a lot of Wings fans are over-critical of Rafaski because he happens to play with one of the top 5 defensemen to ever lace up skates in the history of the NHL. Rafalski is pretty damn good, but admittedly not near as close to perfection as Lidstrom -- but no defenseman currently in the NHL is. Neidermayer is done; Pronger is incredibly inconsistent; Zubov can't stay healthy; Guys like Boyle, Phaneuf, Weber, Streit, Gonchar, Campbell can put up points like Rafalski, but make him look like Lidstrom, defensively. He puts up points, is dynamite on the power play and far better than average defensively. I would give him up for Chara, Wideman, Keith or Bouwmeester -- and that is mainly on age -- there is just not much out there at Rafalski's level. With Hossa, on this team alone we have two comparable, if not superior forwards already in Datsyuk and Zetterberg. I view Rafalski as much more important.