NeverForgetMac25

2998.......I can't wait that long.

Except for the fact that Bert and Calder cost the Wings practically nothing. Anyone can play the what-if game when it comes to Mattias but, there are 15+ other teams out there that all made "mistakes" given that their team didn't win the cup. Of all the players/picks that were exchanged this past deadline, I'd say Kenny did better than most. As for the McCarty comment, I'm his biggest fan but I agree that its not the solution or even something thats probably going to happen. Even if it did, I don't think it will bolster this years lineup any more than a guy like Drake does.

irishtemper14+25, huh?

QFT Every time I see a thread with "Bag Tag" written in it I just know its Oz showing Drapes some love.

No argument here.......perfectly stated.

Technically, Mats is making $5.5 million this year, and the Ducks have enough room to sign someone that is inked for roughly $5 million on the season. That being said, they would probably have to move a million dollars in current roster space plus, Forsberg would have to sign for the minimum and apply all his contract bonuses toward next years cap. If all that was done, I believe they could make that work (not that they would though).

TBH, I can see yours as well. The amount of fluff that gets posted bothers me as much as it does you I'm sure. BTW, this was added after you quoted me, but I think its applicable to what were talking about:

Opie, that's not what I was saying at all. If you know something that someone is posting to be inaccurate, you should absolutely post a response to clear up the false information. What I was referring to is GS&T's constant badgering of people that stated ignorant comments such as "this is stupid" or "this is Bull s***". This is the type of stuff that you can't get worked up about because its mere fluff. As I said numerous times in this thread, what Burke did was perfectly within the rules whether anyone here likes it or not. If people can't understand that, what is restating the same point 100 times going to do to rectify things? Absolutely you and GS&T should have your opinions, and I wouldn't have responded to either of you if you weren't posing viable questions to me. On top of that, never once did I tell GS&T to keep his opinion to himself, I just question the need to restate the same point in rebuttal to the comments that uninformed posters keep rambling about. As much as it bothers me that the amount of "quality" posters on this site compared to when I started reading LGW seems to have diminished (and it does bother me), I'm not going to preach about the quality of my posts. Hopefully people find my POV valid and informative, but no matter what people have the right to have their own.

ACK! Yeah, you're right.......its one of those UFA brain farts. People probably make the quick mistake because UFA's can sign with anyone on July 1st. As a result people have this mythical idea that that's the date in time when the new season begins and GM's can start renegotiating with players that are contracted through the coming season.

Again, nothing you can do about that. It's a public forum and everyone has a different knowledge base of the game. Edit: I know you weren't addressing me Opie, but I just wanted to address this. Maybe I shouldn't have since I believe you were asking for GS&T's feelings on the subject.

It makes them one of the favorites for sure. *The* favorite......I'm not sure, but they look even scarier on paper. Do you mean that statement in regards to teams gunning for them or as a backhanded knock on the Wings.

Then you shouldn't condemn any LGW'ers for their beliefs on the subject. Sidenote: Those that have condemned without proof aren't worth wasting your breath over because they refuse to look at things objectively.

I love Babs.

Nice! This is rapidly becoming the feel-good story of the year for me.

Just to play devils advocate, is it seriously impossible for you to fathom the idea that perhaps Burke and Niedermayer worked this out well before the season started in order to stack their team? I understand you not being upset about Selanne, but Niedermayer is a different situation. Again, while Burke did nothing wrong, this needs to be addressed so the cap hit is accurate. Again, I'm not saying Burke did anything wrong, just saying that this needs to be taken care of this off-season.

I know that, but I don't understand why you get so worked up over it. People don't get it and post stupid things due to ignorance......so what? Not every poster on this board understands all the niceties of the NHL collective bargaining agreement, so why get worked up over those people that are just flat out upset that Burke worked the system phenomenally? Whether people are throwing out accusations or not, they have just as much a right to discuss them as you do to renounce them. Neither you nor anyone else on this board has any proof that Burke worked this out with Teemu so why squash it as conspiracy theory if you don't know the truth yourself. If you don't know it to be false, what makes your theory more accurate? Edit: Clarity

No, I can't say whether or not Teemu would've signed anywhere else, and more than likely he probably wouldn't have signed elsewhere, but that doesn't make the situation any different whether he's a Duck or had be been a Red Wing. If Kenny pulled something like this before anyone else, I would absolutely state that the Wings brass got away with one. I'm not upset that the Ducks pulled this off because if any GM would think of doing something like this, its Burke. It just needs to be addressed regardless of whether it was planned or not. Until then, let people be frazzled by it. They have a good reason to be just like you have a reason not to be. Why should UFA's be allowed to come back whenever they choose? You said yourself you don't like it, so why not put a deadline date on that as well?

Then you need to stop commenting on that point alone. Most fans with knowledge of whats going on know that Burke worked the system brilliantly and did nothing wrong. Nobody's arguing that he did. However, people are allowed to voice their displeasure over the situation, because *like you* they don't like it either.

Enter OsGod with an angry response about "Money Bags Illitch".

That's why people are upset. It goes both ways GS&T. Let me ask you this, do you think there is a single club that wouldn't sign Selanne right now for that light contract he accepted? The answer is no. What upsets people is had Selanne gone to Free Agency this off season the offers would've been pouring in for well over $4 million per. Instead, he sits and then signs with his former team for a joke of a contract so it won't affect their cap by much of anything. Whether people have sour grapes or not, it doesn't mean it isn't a little unfair to the other 29 teams. Rather, I think there is something that can be done to rectify this situation. Where I do agree with you on is your idea to put an actual date as to when a contractually obligated player has to proclaim whether he's going to play or sit for the season (thus having the cap hit start on that date). This would help keep all teams in check when it comes to the cap, and I feel you should lump all players into this regardless of whether they have a contract or are UFA's unless they have a third party doctor to deem a player unfit to play. With that, I agree as well with a cut-off date for that as well. Perhaps something like December 1st. That gives players plenty of time to determine whether they are healthy enough to play, and if they can't by that date, better luck next year. The point is that the *cap hit* has to begin earlier than when Teemu's will.

Perhaps, but this would atleast keep teams from making this tactic common place. This is meant with no ill-will, but if you've got a better idea, I'm all ears because I've been racking my brain the past 48 hours thinking of something that the league could do to ensure stuff like this doesn't snowball (which BTW, it will).

If they choose them to. If I understand it correctly they can apply those bonuses to this years' cap to max out their alloted $50.3 million and the remaining money will count towards next seasons cap. Whether they're applied to this years cap or next years, they still need to be accounted for. Granted it makes things easier to continue pushing it out each year given the cap continues to rise.

Priceless theory! Spot on. True the economy is poor, but the fans in Michigan have seriously just become used to the Wings always winning. There's no parody in the standings for Detroit, as they continue to stay atop. It's hard for the general public to get excited about something that they've gotten used to for the past 16 years. It's gotten to the point where its redundant: Sunrise, Work, Red Wings Win, Sleep.

Apparently, he's clean now. Here's hoping there's truth to that report.

To me this has nothing to do with race and everything to do with Emery alone. Every single race has their share of people that work hard and have great attitudes as well as those that don't care about anyone but themselves and only put in as much effort as they feel like. The problem with *team* sports is people of any race with this type of attitude not only bring the team down by not aiding their teammates in practice, but become a distraction as well. The point is no one should be pulling the race card out on this. This is just Emery being a prima donna and only caring about himself. Nothing more.