NeverForgetMac25

Crymson, you've been a member of this site long enough to know how closely I follow hockey and the Wings. No offense, but you didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. Of course there are other factors than just money, but don't kid yourself into believing that simply because of the reasons you just listed that Bert will take a suckers contract. Here's the thing, I want Bert to be a Red Wing, and I hope that he will get no more than $3 mil or a contract totaling that with incentives from Detroit. If he doesn't sign with Detroit, you can mark this post that he will make no less than a contract that will/could total beyond $3 million on the team that picks him up. That's all I'm saying.

That, I can see. Some here seem to think the Wings will get him for a total contract worth $2-$2.5, or that there isn't one other team in the NHL that will pay him more than that. It's simply not true. The Lang comparison was merely used as a dollar & cents example at the current time. Sidenote: Never once did I say I assumed he was going to get market value. I stated that the market is high currently, and that could be a factor.

Since when does 25 + 26 equal 71?

Just In: Nadal in straight sets: 2, 4, and 1 respectively.

For those of you that feel Bert will only get $2-$2.5, I think you need a reality check. If you've been paying attention to the market as of late, there isn't much to suggest that Bert won't get a good amount via free agency. On top of that, what kind of "hometown" discount are expecting from him? The guy was in Detroit all of 3 months. Don't forget that Lang made $3.8 million last season. For those of you that have bashed Robert, you should put that in perspective when comparing your $2-$2.5 million predictions. I don't want Bert to be signed to the Wings for more than $3, but I feel he could and will get $3-$3.5 on the open market. Believe that. Edit: Spelling

People have thrown out numbers like $2-$2.5 million for Bert. Honestly, I'll be thrilled if we can get him for $3 million.

Henman's bid for a second straight 5 set win just came up short. After dropping the first two sets, he took the next two 3 and 2 respectively, and then fell apart in the fifth dropping it 6-1. It's always fun to watch Henman's matches at Wimdledon simply because of the crowd support. Just Final: Hewitt wins 2, 2, and 1 respectively.

My Top 5 1. Chicago Blackhawks 2. Phoenix Coyotes 3. Toronto Maple Leafs 4. Boston Bruins 5. Florida Panthers Honorable mention to the Washington Capitals.

QFT

Unless Smyth wants to sign a two year contract (probably unlikely), I say forget him. With Z's contract up in two years, IMO there's no one that will be available in the league that should compromise his re-signing with the Wings. If you strap the team for a few players (same as Tampa Bay) you just end up screwing yourself by not being able to suit up a "complete" squad. Forget Smyth, bring back Schneider and Bert, and sign another solid $3 million forward to round out the offense.

As long as my boy Roddick is still in, I'm happy. Blake is up 1 set to none, and has a 3-2 game lead in the second set. I'm all about the Americans, but I have nothing but respect for Federer. I just want no one else but Roddick to beat him at Wimbledon. The problem there is that Federer owns grass courts (as well as Roddick). It seems if Roddick is going to have a chance against him, it needs to be at the US Open. Sidenote: BTW Aussie_Wing, my wife's family housed an exchange student from Adelaide about 6 years ago. She lives next door to Hewitt.

What a roller coaster this has become over the last month. The funny part is that the drama behind it all will be just as crazy over the next month as it was this past one. Either way, it looks like the Preds will be around for a few more years...........unfortunately with a team next year that won't be as strong as the 06/07 squad.

I echo what HS has said, as well some of the other comments made of the like. While I can understand the reasoning about not wanting a player to be able to return to the team that they were traded from before the deadline, keep in mind that those teams that traded away their talent weren't in playoff contention, and the majority of them aren't leaps and bounds better the following season. Yet teams like Detroit, Dallas, Ottawa and New Jersey continue to make the playoffs year after year. These are the so-called "victims" if their respective trade deadline acquisitions just up and walk, yet every year it seems these teams find away to be at the top of the standings. There's a reason for that. Edit: Grammar

I'm all for this, but you still have to have some big names and go-to guys when you're at the most crucial times of the playoffs. You need leaders to step up. This is where a team full of role-guys-only would fail. Make no mistake, the Wings in 97 and 98 had atleast a handful of "big" names.

Unfortunately, that could very well happen. However, a good chunk of his money should go to find the next best thing on defense, since it'll be next to impossible to fill Lidstrom's shoes. Also RZ, I don't see Z signing for $5.5-$6 million. With the cap continually rising and his value to the team (which IMO is greater than Dats') he'll sign for around $7 million.........which he'll deserve every penny of.

The thing is, I can see arguments for both sides. Flip played well beyond what anyone expected of him last season, but there's no guarantee that he will continue on this path to be a solid enough number 2 center on this Red Wings team. Obviously it would be ideal to have Z and Dats center the top two lines. In a perfect world, both of them will click all season on their respective lines and there will be no slumps. However, this is hockey, and at some point of the season each of them will get in a slump. When that happens, what better line to have out there than the Z-Dats-Homer line. Easily the most dominant line in hockey this past February, and showed no signs of slowing until Z got injured. It would be very nice to be able to revert back to this line given a slump occurs, and if that happens, Kenny and Co will probably want an experienced and proven 2nd line center (which Filppula is technically yet to be considered). All in all, if Flip can play like he did last year plus even a little better, this isn't an issue, but the problem is that there's no guarantee that it'll happen, and top Centers are plentiful this offseason. If you can sign one reasonably, it takes the pressure of a guy like Flip and allows him to continue his development without the possibility of stunting his growth.

I never would've thought Tkachuk would end up right back in STL.

Fair enough, but I still don't think he's ahead of MacInnis. I will give you Oates & Turtle, but as I said earlier, even that's up for debate.

That, I will agree with, but he still doesn't beat any of the top 4 I have listed, IMO. His international numbers combined with his NHL are well beyond impressive, but looking at the numbers for Oates and Turtle vs. Igor makes things very debatable. Larionov: 1,402 GP, 383 Goals, 724 Assists, 1,107 Points, +104, 3 Stanley Cups, 2 Olympic Golds, 1 Olympic Bronze (Total career including international play) Oates: 1,337 GP, 341 Goals, 1,079 Assists, 1,420 Points, +35 Turtle: 1,197 GP, 379 Goals, 406 Assists, 785 Points, +18, 4 Stanley Cups, 1 Conn Smythe Trophy It's pretty hard to argue that (what I consider) the bottom three aren't debatable based on their careers. I know that. That's secondary to what I said in my initial post.

TBH and not a homer, there's plenty of argument for Larionov to be at the bottom of that list.

I love Larionov for what he did for the Wings, but no way he deserves to be ahead of Messier, Stevens, Francis or MacInnis. 1. Messier 2. Stevens 3. Francis 4. MacInnis ------------- 5. Larionov 6. Oates 7. D-Bag

Nothing, just cover a portion of his salary.

It's always good to keep your options open, but aside from being extremely happy in Detroit, Bowman is too smart to try and rebuild that franchise at his age. Sidenote: However, this is a Canadian source. I would be curious to see what not only the Detroit's media says, but nonbiased outlets as well.

I would agree

I don't see anyone of real interest either, but I'm slightly surprised by Sanford.