egroen

Waiting around for the trade deadline is a crapshoot at best and involves trading away assets (prospects and draft picks at the very least). With league parity more and more teams are within distance of the playoffs meaning less players available at the deadline and higher prices for the ones actually available. I would much rather have a team solidified at the beginning of the year, giving players all season to get acclimated and for the coaches to find the best lineups... And it does not involve trading away assets.

Pretty much everyone has forgotten Bertuzzi was still being paid from his buyout from Anaheim - which was the only reason Bertuzzi was willing to sign for $1.5m in the first place, when he was easily worth twice (at least he was being paid it). That money went bye-bye this year, so you can't blame him for wanting to get paid even remotely close to what be is worth. Bertuzzie is a steal at his cap-hit, just like Samuelsson was at his when be was here - despite constant bitching about him (including me) - but guys at the $1 - 3m range bring just as many faults as they do assets, or else they would be paid a hell of a lot more. So is a big-bodied skilled player with inconsistent but clutch scoring and even a decent two-way game worth a penchant for giveaways and bad penalties? Or would you prefer someone who was a bit faster, but is more likely to score half as many points? At that price give me A player like Samuelsson or Bertuzzi every time... And at least Bertuzzi will drop the gloves.

It's actually a real crappy year for free agents - and half those guys will be signed by their respective teams. Those that are left will end up most likely over-paid because they are in such limited numbers this year. There is no-one there I would consider an upgrade to Lidstrom at his salary, regardless of position.

In '08 and '09 you had Zetterberg playing like a $7m player still on an a contract for something like $2m. Franzen was in the same boat. That made all the difference right there, in terms of fielding depth.

True -- in '08 Lidstrom was a Top 4 player in the league and should have charged Crosby/Ovechkin dollars for more of his services. He gave a discount. In '10 he was a Top 20 player in the league and a Top 5 defenseman (even assuming you would have preferred Green instead of Lidstrom) -- I'd say coming down a relative $2m in salary -- from an already heavily discounted salary -- is more than fair.

It's void only if the salary cap is void. But unfortunately, every single team has to abide by it -- so you are dealing with a set equal number, across all teams -- essentially operating within a controlled bubble. Salaries are absolutely relative to the cap, and there are no two ways about it. Call it inflation/increased revenues/whatever - it is what it is. If Lidstrom felt he was worth what he was 2 years ago, he would have demanded $8.4 million. Or do you think agents, players and gms do not factor the relative cap into their contract discussions?

Like who? Which free agent is going to replace Lidstrom's 25 minutes/gm 50+ pts and literally being the #1 shut-down defenseman in the league?

When Lidstrom signed for two years at $7.45m in 2008 the cap was at $50.3 million. His salary was 14.8% of the cap. Today he is signing for $6.5m with a $56.8m cap. Which is 11.4% of the cap. So not only did he accept less money, but he accepted even less money when you factor in inflation of the cap. His signing for $6.5m today is exactly the same as him signing for $5.73m 2 years ago -- yes, that is a very generous discount. Or another way to look at it, if he were to demand the same money he *was* earning, it would be $8.4m -- so essentially, Lidstrom has come down on the price of his services by almost $2m in only two years.

You guys need to wait and see what Volchenkov signs for, whom many had slotted as Nick's 'replacement'. This guy could be signing for anywhere from $4-$5m -- and with Lidstrom you get better defense, as well as 40+ extra points for only a couple million more. That's a steal any way you look at it.

I would hesitate to call Pronger's salary a great deal -- If Pronger retires, can't play due to injury, is sent down to the minors or even dies anytime in the next 7 years (age 42), Philly still has to factor in his full cap hit. If $6.2m is indeed the cap hit for Lidstrom, I am very, very happy.

Babcock literally never gave Hudler top 2 line minutes more than two games at a time. I'm hoping he gets more of an opportunity this year, and can earn a stay. He is pretty much at the same age now when Datsyuk and Zetterberg went from bottom line players to top line players (and had their point totals explode), so being optimistic at this point is not necessarily idiotic. I'm just curious if the year in the KHL has helped or hindered his game... at the very least, he was playing those extra minutes and used to being counted on to produce (which he did).

You do realize Lidstrom is one of the greatest defenseman in the entire history of the league, right? So an out-of-his-prime Lidstrom is still one of the Top 10 defenseman in the league. Bourque, Chelios and MacInnis all were runner-ups for the Norris at the age of 40. They were obviously not in their prime either, but when your 'prime' is amongst the best in the game ever, even a steep drop leaves a great player. I'd love to see Holland play 'hardball' with Lidstrom like some posters here seem to want, and refuse to sign him for $6m, and then watch Lidstrom lead the Blue Jackets to the Cup. Anaheim thought Pronger was getting too old as well.

It's crazy Toronto has not won a Cup since there was only 6 teams in the league. Ugh, I almost feel bad for their fans.

Under $7m and it's a discount. Under $6m and it's a steal. Under $5m and I'm ready to paint a mural downtown of pig-snouted Lidstrom with the Cup. Especially with the cap increasing. With Lidstrom dealing exclusively with Holland (no agents), I don't think any leaks of dollar figures at this point should be taken seriously.

I suppose if the NHL was a 16 team league, Hudler would not have a chance on the first line - but the fact is it is a 30 team league and he produced in the Top 90 for forwards his last year here, playing 3rd line minutes. Secondary scoring really was lacking in the last playoff run, with hardly anyone outside of the top 2 lines scoring -- we really missed players like Samuelsson and Hudler. Hopefully this year we can see some guys like Hudler, Bertuzzi, Filppula and Cleary on the lower lines potting goals regularly. A full season of Franzen, Kronwall and Hudler will also be huge for the 2nd PP unit - which really sucked all year (when we had players like Eaves filling in constantly). As to the OP, there is no doubt in my mind Datsyuk would pot 110+ pts if given less defensive and PK responsibilities. Players like Crosby, Malkin, Ovechkin and Thornton get a lot more even strength time and more than twice the PP time (where Datsyuk consistently scores at a greater clip)... Playing the PK and backchecking like he does is exhausting. Zetterberg would be a consistent 100 pt player, but Lidstrom is the guy who would really benefit from it: For years now he has been primarily paired with an offensive defenseman (Rafalski, Schneider, Murphy, Coffey) - and had more defensive responsibilities. He has the ability to jump up into plays, and paired with a stay-at-home player could do so much more often, and his output would skyrocket. Everyone in the world knows Lidstrom has been a better all-around defenseman than Mike Green the past two years - which makes the fact Green finished ahead of him *twice* for the Norris a complete joke. Put Lidstrom on that top line in Washington and they would probably be playing for the Cup right now.

The president, Devallano, would negotiate with them.

Lol - that's sweet! Funny that the award goes from being named after a Nobel Peace Prize winner to one of the most dirty hockey players of all time!

I was all for the Sharks before the series against the Wings this year - their situation reminds me a bit of Detroit in the 90s. A team with a ton of talent that just couldn't quite put it all together amidst a lot of choke jobs, which also makes for a humble fan base I can actually stand conversing with. I also like the fact that if San Jose wins - they really have taken their lumps and earned it with good drafting, a good system and good signs and trades - as opposed to the meteoric rises of some teams through sheer dumb luck, no-brainer picks falling into their laps or a hastily slapped together super-team in an all-or-bust year. But the diving really soured me on that. Regardless, I would still prefer San Jose to win, and will continue to do so if they have yet another disappointment. Screw the Hawks and their idiotic fanbase -the Flyers and Canadiens fans might actually be worse - but at least those teams are not composed almost solely of bandwagoners. Honestly, as a fan, I do not think I would have appreciated those wins (finally) as much if they had come only a year after the Wings started to get good - say in 93 or 94. In fact, I'm sure I would have been a hell of a lot more cocky and annoying to fans of other teams as well. I now appreciate the empire building that goes into a long, sustained franchise that has a chance each and every year.

It's too bad. Any good salesperson knows the best way to grow your business is to focus first and foremost on your current customers and make them happy and appreciated. Fact is, long-time and current fans/customers will always spend a hell of a lot more on your product than new customers, and your profit margin will increase as well - because it is a heck of a lot cheaper to increase business with current customers than it is to bring in new ones. Also, word of mouth from satisfied customers (fans getting buddies/spouses/etc to watch and go to the games) is always going to be more effective than multi-million dollar ad blitzes. Bettman I agree, of course, is doing the exact opposite. He seems to take pains to alienate long-time, rabid fans (think Canada and traditional northern US markets) in order to pander to struggling markets and new markets in the south. Yes, most of us will always be fans... but we're certainly not spending what we could be and we certainly are not praising the NHL to others like we could be - he has really missed the boat.

Not shocked at all. My question is: How long will it be until Pittsburgh gets its 3rd?

For first 5 seasons: 2.33 Gretzky 1.94 Lemieux 1.81 Malone 1.69 Lalonde 1.56 Deneny 1.53 Stastny 1.49 Bossy 1.47 Lindros 1.42 Nighbor 1.41 Kurri 1.36 Trottier 1.36 Crosby 1.34 Selanne 1.34 Ovechkin 1.23 Malkin (4 seasons) Once again reminded me how much of a stud Lindros was -- 1.47 PPG in the deadpuck era is far more impressive than Ovechkin and Crosby right now. So is Forsberg's 1.28 and Kariya's 1.25 PPG. Interestingly, amongst forwards primes are often over by the age of 25.

Worked well for Liv....

Maybe $1.45m is not a lot to you, but it is to most

I believe there are simply too many teams in the NHL. Successful, historied franchises in hockey states will always have numerous advantages and I really dislike the league doing so much to hobble them in order for some crap franchise in the south, that should not even be there in the first place, to have a chance. I swear, it is like the unsuccessful franchises are now running the NHL. If a team has succeeded in generating a large, supportive fan base that will pay good money for their product, those fans deserve to get their money's worth. While I am not against the New York Yankees being reigned in a bit - the fact is, baseball benefits as a whole from rabid Yankee fans having a competitive team to spend their money on each and every year. A hard cap simply ensures the owners of these large franchises rake in more and more, while the fans continue to see an inferior product on the ice. I think it sucks. Fans in Detroit this year got to watch essentially a $35m team iced for most of the season, because the cap prevented management from bringing in any free agents to alleviate the injuries. I do not want the cap thrown out, but some of these minor tweaks better be explored in order to ensure revenue-producing teams can ice a great product for their fans.

I can see the other side -- but I think Backstrom is quickly shaping up to be one of the best in the league. He already has a two-way game that is impressive for his age, and one that I do not think Ovechkin will ever touch, and while Ovechkin produces more points, he certainly does not produce more than what Backstrom + a 3 million dollar player would produce. I think this is an incredible deal for Washington.