NeverForgetMac25

Yet they continue to sell out every game at Ford Field. I never said the people of Detroit can't afford $22 seats. In fact, that was the exact opposite of what I was arguing. I said the economy is not the driving factor why JLA hasn't been selling out. You must have misunderstood me. Why would they be stuck in the Standing Room Only if the games aren't sold out?

What does that have to do with anything? Would it have made a difference if I said, "the economy in Michigan as a whole is poor?" I don't think so. To top it off, the economy all across the country is poor.

No doubt the popularity of Football in America is more prominent than Hockey, but that's very different than blaming the economy. *That* was my point. Again, I thought the claim was that the "Suits" owned those seats and just didn't show up. Still sold tickets though, no?

Some people are hockey fans and not football fans. What's the difference?

How so, I thought all those tickets were supposedly owned by the Suits that just don't show up to the games? Even still, that reasoning doesn't hamper people from buying the expensive seats at a Lions game.

So the people of Detroit can't afford a $22 game ticket to see the Wings but they can afford a $60+ ticket to see the Lions? Don't get me wrong, the economy of Detroit is a factor as to why the Wings don't sell out every game, as well as the fact that the Wings are a victim of their own success but your claim is only part of the problem, not the entire reason.

The fact that the NHL had to resort to that in the first place. The whole situation could've been avoided had the proper steps been taken.

I think I know which one you're referring to and as a result I don't think this is the one you're looking for, but one nonetheless.

Morrow is most certainly not better than Iginla, and I would never imply that he is. As for Morrow being underrated, I'm not just looking at his numbers. I fear you may be. That's interesting.....last I checked, Chara was one of the three finalists for the Norris Trophy, meaning currently one of the top 3 defensemen in the game. That means he's getting plenty of credit, and IMO the correct amount. He may be underrated on LGW because of Lidstrom, but everyone else who watches the entire NHL knows full well the level of player Chara is and gives him the proper amount of credit.

In most cases this is true whether people like to admit it or not. However, when you already have a sh*t-ton of money priorities change. In time, $4 million and a Ring can become > $10 million.

That depends on how much *gold* you're referring to.

In grsbmd's defense, he's referring to the SI article that stated why the "NHL was Hot and the NBA was Not". However, that article did not claim that the NHL was more popular than the NBA or pulling in better numbers.....just that it was "Hot" and the NBA was "Not". Edit: Research Done, No numbers or facts to support this claim.

If you don't, I will. Give me his number and lets make it $500.

No doubt. I completely agree that Filppula is worth more than that, but at this point he most certainly isn't worth $4.5 million for the first two years of his contract. Realistically, he's probably worth $2.75 million per over the course of a long-term contract. Guess what...that still puts the Wings $860,000 less than the Cap limit for this coming season. So again, Hossa's signing holds no bearing on Val's because he isn't worth more than the difference between the Wings current salary and the Cap limit.

Filppula is 24 years old. If he's making 4.5 per for the next 2 seasons and his cap hit is around $2.5-$3 million over the course of a 5 year contract his salary would look something like this: 2008/2009: $4.5 mil 2009/2010: $4.5 mil 2010/2011: $3 mil 2012/2013: $1.5 mil 2013/2014: $750,000 Cap hit of $2.85 million Don't you think that looks a little ridiculous for someone that would only be 29 years old at the end this contract and supposedly at his prime?

I did read the whole thing, I just don't agree with it. You can say that 2-3 players will likely put up more points than Hossa but that doesn't mean that signing him was the wrong (or incorrect) thing to do. Take a look at the intangibles that Hossa brings (I.E. Defense, Motivation, Natural Scoring). Arguing that 2-3 players will put up more points than him isn't a good comparison because it leaves out a ton of factors. What about big moment points when the Wings need a score? Who's more likely to bury one, Hossa or the guys you mentioned? Who's more likely to be on the ice when the Wings cling to a one goal lead with a minute left....Hossa or Hudler/Val/$2-$3 million mediocre-at-best-player? The Wings core is there...and it isn't going away. The Wings are not gonna turn into the Lightning because of the philosophy Kenny has. Some pieces of the puzzle will move on, but the *necessary* core will stay in tact.

This makes absolutely no sense. First and foremost, it isn't true. Second, Hudler is already slated to make $1.15 million next year, so Hossa signing a one year deal has no bearing whatsoever on Hudler right now. Lastly, a $2-$3 million player on the market *this* offseason would've fetched absolute crap. For Christs Sake....Jeff Finger got $3.5 million per! Besides, Val could be locked up long-term right now, and Hossa's contract wouldn't have much bearing on it. How much do you think Val is gonna get? Better yet, how much do you think he's worth?

It took me a minute to figure out what you meant by this. So, you're basically asserting that only Red Wings fans think he's underrated? I completely disagree that outside the Red Wings world Morrow gets the type of credit he deserves. In fact, its because of his stats that he's not given the correct amount of hype. The guy does so much right, works harder than anyone else on his team, leads by example and to top it off scores big-time goals when it counts, yet you never hear about him.

I blame Crosby for this. As mentioned earlier....its a spur of the moment thing. It's not as though it was planned out where everyone would be. Hank was probably too busy putting his CS trophy down to get a decent spot.

I hate to break it to you but I'd be very willing to bet fans of any other NHL team in general would agree that Morrow is underrated. BTW, Chara is not underrated. He gets the correct amount of hype.

Not at the time, it wasn't. *Now* its an absolute bargain. Holland has already stated he wants to get Franzen locked up sometime during the season. That only makes sense, because if Franzen even somewhat continues his tear, it'll only end up costing the Wings more in the long run....especially if Holland were to wait until the 09/10 cap number is announced. No way does Kenny wait until a few weeks before Franzen becomes an UFA to lock him up.

IIRC, he signed it when the cap was $45 million, but I completely agree with this.

It wasn't a "HUGE" discount at the time he signed. Now it looks like an absolute bargain/steal, but at the time Dats had never performed well in the postseason, didn't play nearly as tough/chippy as he does now, and his defensive play is night and day different than it was before his new contract. Given what's happened with the Cap the past few seasons, the market change and the transformation of his game, now it looks like one of the biggest bargains in the NHL......just like Z's looks right now.

Z and Dats may (or may not) be equally valuable to the Wings, but that doesn't change the fact the salary cap playing field is much different than when Datsyuk signed his extension. TBH, no different than when Z signed his four year deal when the cap was $39 million.

Brenden Morrow is underrated.