T-Ruff

^^ Not to mention his blatant elbow on Dean McAmmond....

Devils would match an offer sheet anyways.....

I see the local group buying Nashville and Balsillie and Del Biaggio given expansion franchises for Hamilton and Kansas City, respectively, in about 5 years.....

hehe....Another chance to promote my ! He is the reason I became a Wings fan.....thank you Steve, you will never be forgot......

I certainly think the Ducks have arrived at "rival" status....or are at least fast approaching.... You have all the Wings wanting to avenge their playoff loss, and the Ducks players who realize how close they came to losing, the general consensus being that they got out-played for all but 4-5 periods of the series. Which leads me to believe that the young Ducks team would still be intimidated by the always poised and classy Red Wings. You have the fact that Schneider and Bertuzzi left for Anaheim, players on the Wings will be thinking "Do they think the Ducks are better than us? " and want to hit them a little harder and put a little bit more effort into their play. There is a little Schneider vs Rafalski thing, Matty will be thinking "So they brought in Rafalski to replace me? I'll show them I'm better than him " There was also that little brawl during the last regular season game, the game which Lilja fought Moen and instantly the bashing stopped, and coincidentally his play dramatically turned around (the game/fight in which the nickname "Pain Train" was concieved).

^^^ Sarich....coveted by many a member here.....

Wow....$4 million per.... no thanks.... Burke is a fool

Good....end the talks of Nolan to Detroit before it has a chance to really get started....

In any event, the Wings are a better team this year last.... and Kenny can sign a few more guys still..... I don't understand this talk of first or second round exits.....

Initial shock/anger dissipated.... This leaves us room to sign someone who wouldn't be such a risk... I wanted Bertuzzi for the type of player he is...but I hope he doesn't improve in Anaheim, and we can get someone more reliable....

:flamingmad: The one guy I wanted to keep..... and he happens to go to the f***in Ducks of all places.... What a missed opportunity.... I've been saying he will bounce back and become 90-95% of the player he once was and we needed to lock him up.... I now sincerely hope this is not true...... DAMNIT

and so ends The Great Lang Era on LGW..... I wanted him to succeed on the team he went to and I wanted to be a fan of that team....that is going to be hard to do now..... Lang is going to light it up with the Hawks, and we have to play him 8 times a year......

The Sabres have depth and young talent that will now be given the chance to step up, they are still going to be a solid team.....much better off than the Islanders, who lost Poti, Smyth, and Blake....all of whom they tried to keep....

Like I said....Kenny should give Bert his long-term deal.... 4 years, $11-$12 million....I want this guy locked up in Red..... We need Bertuzzi That's good to hear, just as I was wondering what was taking Hasek so long.....

I really want Bertuzzi to sign soon......

Rafalski at his age for the next 6 years at $6 million is greater than Schneider for 2 more years at $5.5 million in my opinion..... I was shocked and ecstatic at this signing....He was the best defenseman on the UFA market, and he's on the Wings now....

I'm glad the Wings' didn't sign him for as much as the Ducks did, it opened the door to sign a guy like Preissing or Rafalaski, whom I'd rather have at his age and price than those of Schneider's..... I'd say the Ducks are approaching or have achieved rival status, given this past playoffs, this signing, and how good each team is..... I look forward to potentially playing them in the playoffs next year, it would be one intense series with many intriguing storylines.....

Disagreed. Smyth is like Holmstrom with less skill outside the front of the net, and just as good or slightly less skill in front of the net.... I would welcome Smyth if the WIngs were to sign him...but I'd have nothing to do with him at the price it seems he will command.....Perhaps my opinion of him will change if I get to see him play more, but in any event he is overrated and will be overpaid.....

Kenny should give Bert his "long term" contract..... 4 years, $11 million (2.75 per year) would end up being a steal..... Smyth is worth 5, and even that's pushing it.... a team that already has a Holmstrom lessens the need for a guy like Smyth....who will be overpaid this summer....

Bert and Hasek sign before July 1.... Schneider walks unless he comes down to $4-4.5, which will then allow Holland to re-sign Markov and then sign Preissing and a forward, I think Kozlov would be the most likely.....

There are many knowledgeable and respectable Leaf fans... They just have such a large following that it increases the probability and amount of idiotic ones.... They also have a bad reputation because of their management. They could've had Scotty Bowman, the greatest mind in hockey, on board to try and turn their franchise around, which he no doubt would have done.... Instead, they turn him down because he wanted to get rid of JFJ, and Richard Peddie has too big of an ego to admit that JFJ is his mistake.....

I believe Bertuzzi, having shook off "the incident," and having the summer to heal his back, can return to 90-95% of the player he once was.... He is exactly the type of player we have needed, and 2.5-3 million per for 3-4 years would be a steal..... And even if he could only become 80% of the player he once was, I'd rather have him on the Wings than not.....

:banana:

Schneider's injury is the reason we didn't win that series with the Ducks..... However, if Holland decides that $5 million is too much for Scheider, and he signs Preissing at 2-3, I would be content with the decision....That said, if he decides to give Schneider his money, I would also be fine with that..... We have the team that could've went to the SCF last year barring injuries.... minus Lang, insert UFA, keep Bertuzzi, consider players improvements (Lilja, Quincey, Hudler, Filpula, Franzen, etc)...and the Wings will be even better next year, and Schneider played a big part in our success.....