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Blackhawks send Akim Aliu to Atlanta as well - Bob McKenzies Twitter

And per Kevin Allen (both Twitter) Byfuglien, Sopel, Rights to Eager to Atlanta for New Jersey's 1st and 2nd rd picks Marty Reasoner and Jeremy Morin (prospect)

Officially 59.4 million ceiling and a 43.4 million floor per Bob McKenzie's Twitter AUTO-GENERATED CAPGEEK.COM LINES FORWARDS Pavel Datsyuk ($6.700m) / Henrik Zetterberg ($6.083m) / Johan Franzen ($3.955m) Valtteri Filppula ($3.000m) / Jiri Hudler ($2.875m) / Daniel Cleary ($2.800m) Todd Bertuzzi ($1.938m) / Tomas Holmstrom ($1.875m) / Kris Draper ($1.583m) Mattias Ritola ($0.517m) DEFENSEMEN Nicklas Lidstrom ($6.200m) / Brian Rafalski ($6.000m) Brad Stuart ($3.750m) / Niklas Kronwall ($3.000m) Jonathan Ericsson ($0.900m) / Jakub Kindl ($0.883m) GOALTENDERS Chris Osgood ($1.417m) / Jimmy Howard ($0.717m) CAPGEEK.COM TOTALS (these totals are compiled using the bonus cushion) ROSTER: 18; CAP: $59.4m; PAYROLL: $54.192m; CAP ROOM: $5.208m BONUSES: $0.000m Wings officially have 5.208 million in cap space with offers out to Miller, Eaves, Abdelkader, Meech, Helm Average salry for each of those will probably be around 750-800k so about 4 million That leaves 1.208 million in cap space plus the money they save from whoever gets waived/traded after training camp. So they have about 1.8 million to spend on a UFA IMO.

Few thoughts, everything I read says roughly 59 million, so I don't think it will be all the way to 59.64. Next thought, people thinking Miller will not be re-signed...think again...roster limits and cap can both be exceeded until the season starts. The Wings will go into training camp with 15 forwards signed and they will let the people in the bottom half (i.e. Miller, Eaves, Ritola, etc.) duke it out for who actually makes the team. Loser of that will be waived/traded Kyle Quincey style. So don't count Miller off this team. He responded well when the team needed him too and played solid d, great on the PK, and chipped in offensively, plus is only 25. If it comes down to a competition he is such a hard worker I highly doubt he will play himself off the team. He WILL be on the 2010-2011 Red Wings IMO, and he will earn that right in training camp.

They are really pushing cap with that one. Expect another trade to come as well IMO.

Halak is at what I think will be the highest point of his career...Yes that playoff run was miraculous but he has a lot of issues. He has continually (either him or his agent) gone to the media to publicly air dirty laundry. In addition for as many great moments he had in the playoffs he had quite a few oh s*** moments as well where he played terribly. Price had to relieve Halak in 3 games, and started one...SO yes Halak was great but at times he wasn't so great as well. Halak at 25 is not as good as what Price could be at 25 (yes I know that says could) The Canadiens have invested a lot of time and effort into Price and decided not to give up on him yet (can't fault them for that). The best way to get the potential out of him is to get him a mentor. Where would Howard be without Osgood...answer not as good as Howard is. A guy like Martin Biron will come in and back up Price and I think that Price will have better stats than Halak. Maybe not next year - but 3 years from now it will show that this was the right move.

Keep in mind Halak is now 25 - Price 22. Price at 25 will be better than Halak now. It was a smart long term move. Now they bring in a guy like Biron to back up Price and give him guidance (he has never really had a mentor - its been 2 young guys for most of his career) and he will develop into what he is supposed to be. Did they make the right choice for next season. Not necessarily. Did they make the right choice for the next 5 years...Yes definitely.

With Cleary you could arguably make a 3rd scoring line. If Helm could get his hands a little stronger a 3rd line with Cleary Helm and the overflow of the other 7 could make a solid 3rd line.

I like how he fits on the team. Think that he could be a 15 goal scorer with a full season on our team. IMO With the exception of size Nystrom and Miller are pretty identical in terms of what they will bring to the team...but Miller will be cheaper. They could upgrade...but it would be in cost too...Plus Miller became one of my favorites on the team...so I'm a little biased.

I do think it is odd that he got more than Homer did..seeing as Homer is a better player IMO...More points in less games - more integral to the PP

I'll be pretty pissed if Miller is not brought back

Lets see...Eklund started a rumor that Lou Lamarello had to publicly discredit... That means it was a succesful post by Eklund. When his s*** is so absurd people buy into it and it floats around the internets so much that NHL GMs feel the need to call it BS it means Ek is a rumor genius...that is his job...get real drunk then post his ideas on a website.

I'm hoping he signs a defenseman. There is already competition for playiong time up front with Abdelkader - Miller - Eaves - Draper - Ritola where 2 of those guys will be on the bench on any given night. On Defense they need somebody to push Janik - Kindl - Ericsson I'd be more comfortable with a veteran NHLer added to that mix in training camp and possibly Janik starting the year in GR. If Kindl doesn't bring it in camp I would like to have somebody to take his place and make him the next Quincey...He shouldn't feel like he has a spot already.

if they all take the 10% raise minimum that they can get then the wings sit about at about 57.5 million (including Ritola, Janik and Kindl) So all three of those guys need to actually win their spots...so there will probably be room for a 0.7-1 million dollar grinder or defenseman.

NHL Awards lost any appeal to me when they moved it from Toronto to Las Vegas... Ron MacLean was a great host...

Happy to have him back in the fold...more than I wanted him to be signed for... I thought at worst he would be back at the same 1.5 cap hit and at best it would be about 1.2... He fits rather nicely and had a good season though...so I'll take it. He could get twice that on the open market...

Pierre Lebrun has reported that Todd Bertuzzi is close to re-signing with the Wings. He says it should happen within the next 24-48 hours...

He coasts through half his shifts and turns the puck over. Despite solid offensive numbers he did that in Atlanta as well. He would be in Babs doghouse in training camp before the regular season even started. Plus I think he wants out of Atlanta because he signed there to play with Kovalchuk...no Kovalchuk no Afinogenov... Just my opinion.

Pierre Lebrun is reporting it at 1 yr 6.2 million.

I don't think that a 2.5-3 million dollar 3rd liner was ever in the mix with Lids returning. I believe they will go after a Dallas Drake type...so 0.75 million cap hit at most to play 4th line. And he SHOULD make more than Rafalski. Bob McKenzie says it is for a "touch" over 6 million. I am happy with that number.

If they sign the contract before the age of 35. Any multi-year deal signed after the age of 35 the cap hit cannot be relieved by waiving a player or by retirement. That is why Hatcher and Rathje stayed on the Flyers roster for years on the LTIR.

As a fan I can understand that but it doesn't work that way in a negotiation... Would you rather Lidstrom sign a 2 year contract to reduce the cap hit...then decide he wants to retire next year and have a cap hit for him in 2 years when he isn't playing???

Chris Pronger makes 7.6 million dollars next year. The only reason his cap hit is lower is because of length of contract. Lidstrom cannot guarantee that he will play after next season and at his age retirement doesn't take the cap hit off... He couldn't sign for more than the year he will play. He will make less than Pronger.

I don't agree with that. I think that they could contend for the cup.

How does that logic work???