ShanahanMan

Agreed with Malice. Aside from the last few seasons, Spezza is usually a high + player. One's gotta think his minus stats has a lot to do with the team itself. I can almost guarantee he'll have a plus season next year when he's with a different club.

Here Holland is complaining about not being able to sign the guys he wants and having his hands tied due to the cap but yet is still considering throwing money away on Maltby. Christ man, put money where its NEEDED.

Wait, so the ATV cop hit and injured another cop? A female one to boot? Nice driving slick. Attempt to injure, 5 min penalty and a game misconduct.

Agreed. The last two years have consisted of two my 3 most hated teams (third being Anaheim) hoisting the cup. The fact that the same little punk who punched a cabby for not recognizing him is now a Stanley Cup champion just doesn't sit right with me. Aw well, last cup they'll be seeing for a loooong while.

Peace!

Unfortunately we'll never know....

I think we can agree next season will be the true test to see if Fippula can really shine a whole season, provided he stays healthy. Even I'll admit, he did seem to catch fire toward the end of the season there. But lets also not forget the many facepalm moments we've had over the years (including last season) when Fippula would miss an empty netter. In short though, we'll see. For all you guys saying that Cleary isn't that bad.....you're right, he's "okay". However being just "okay" does not justify a 3 million dollar salary, especially in the cap world. Numbers are slipping, he's becoming more and more weak with the puck, constantly loses battles, and is it just me or does it seem like the guy falls down more than Gerald Ford on a bad day?

My point is simply it took some time. Do you think they would have given him the boot like we did if he didn't perform spectacular by the season's end? Hell no, he'd still be a Flyer next season. If he still sucked into next season, then I'd agree with whatever needs to be done. Plus, can you really call it "not being able to hack it" when he was playing with such an injury riddled lineup and forced to deal with constant line juggling, ESPECIALLY for a guy in his rookie season? Jeez, give the guy a break.

You're nuts dude. Teams would KILL to have a guy like Homer in the other team's crease. He could easily get 3 mil somewhere else.

In case you haven't noticed, we've been talking about the same thing for the last like 5 days in the other thread.

I have to quote this just because it will probably be the only time we're on the same page. Um, okay then, invite him to training camp and see how it goes before signing him? I doubt many clubs will be banging on the door for his services.

You're right. It shows what a little patience can accomplish. Can't argue with that, I really jumped the gun when it came to Leino's stint with the Wings. Seemed like a guy who was gonna be a Wing for life. Whoops.

Hey man, gotta admire the dedication and loyalty on Bertuzzi's part. The guy doesn't want to go anywhere else. Sign him Kenny, and just add in bold print to the contract that he has to listen to an audio self-help tape called "Two hands Are Better Than One". In other news, how in God's name is Alligator due for a raise? The guy led (and still does) the playoffs in penalty minutes, is a minus player, and contributed a measly 6 points. I never understood the love for this guy. Oh, I'm sorry, he "sometimes tries to hit things". We might as well have kept Downey then and gave him a raise....at least Downey freakin fought. Man o man I scratch my head at this stuff sometimes. Also, we're keeping Miller? Is that really necessary? Didn't see him in the Wings future to be honest. Would have rather dipped a bit into the free agent market. A raise for Speedy Gonzalez and Eaves is understandable though. Oh, and weren't the last like 3 years supposed to be "step-up seasons" for Filppula and Cleary?

Now THIS is taking a hometeam paycut. Lidstrom should take some notes

Maybe because it's true? Or do you think it's just a magical coincidence that Leino went on fire when he came to the Flyers? I dunno, maybe I'm just bitter cause now I'm stuck with a worthless Wings Leino jersey.

This thread just seems to be excuse after excuse to justify what obviously was just a bad decision on Holland's part. He had to pick somone to go and he chose.....poorly. The quicker you guys wise up and accept it, the better. There's simply no justifying trading a guy for zilch who ends up being the star of the SCF, no matter how you look at it. And even if what some of you say is true, that he just didn't "fit into our system". How does that reflect on us and our organization? So we essentially have a system that somehow holds back and doesn't fit a guy who, on another team, would be a prime goal scorer and point producer? That doesn't sound any better. Oh and feel free to dig up my posts from when the trade was announced. From the moment he was traded, I said it was idiotic and would come back to bite us in the ass, just like I did with Quincey and just like I said signing Williams was the worst mistake Holland could do in the offseason. I'll happily admit when I'm wrong but it's rarely the case. The only time I've eaten crow with what I've said is regarding letting Sammy go. Boy oh boy was I wrong about that one.

To quote Indiana Jones: "It belongs in a museum!!"

You mean based on 60% of a season? And 900,000 isn't that high comparatively speaking. There are always options. Despite a rough season, Holland shouldn't have turned his sights right to one of our most valuable prospects. 900,000. Okay....? You do know Kris Draper makes more than that and Kirk Maltby just made a tad less that season. Oh okay, but 60% of a rookie season does. We have a log jam of defensemen. One (whether it be Lebda or Meech) could have easily been moved. And even if we didn't move a defenseman. Why not get rid of guys we know won't be coming back next year? Maltby? Williams? I would have been fine with either one over Leino who at WORST was a question mark.

And once again, my point is that you (and Holland) are basing that off of only half a season's worth of performance. Did you already forget his amazing run with the Wings in 08-09 when he had 9 points in 13 games? Also, by your logic, we should have gotten rid of Franzen (16 points in first 80 games) in the middle of his first season as well. Or would you find a reason for Holland to have been justified then too?

Man o man, some of you act like Holland does no wrong, like he's the second coming of Jesus. You guys need to take your heads out of the sand and come to terms with this. The man makes mistakes. Holland made a big one by letting this kid go, plain and simple. Sometimes it takes a little bit of time to blossom into a great hockey player. I mean, do you guys realize Franzen only had 16 points with the Wings his first season? Holland was way too quick to let him go, considering half our team was injured at one point and especially after seeing what he was capable of in the 08-09 season. If he was still playing lackluster hockey by the midpoint of next season, then I would agree he should be moved. But to throw him away like garbage for essentially nothing based on half of one season's performance is really stupid if you ask me. I mean, this has arguably been of the Philly's best players in the playoffs, and yet we kept players like Brett Lebda over him. That fact alone makes me lose sleep. Seriously, this will prove to be a very costly decision for a long time to come.

Eh? I was under the assumption cap hits don't apply to a team once the player retires?

Stand corrected, they're hits are higher than I thought.

I was referring to if the contract is 7 million. Amazing defenseman or not, at his age, does he really deserve to be making a million + more than Green, Pronger and Boyle?

If this is true I will be royally disappointed and we can kiss next season goodbye.