Drake_Marcus

Great signing by the Leafs... They'e suddenly got a very good defense.

Assuming Helm is on the team, there's 2.3 million left to sign Hudler and one more forward. That includes all 8 of our defensemen.

Wow! I'm pretty impressed Holland managed to get the cap hit down below the one year minimum salary for Leino. Under the CBA he had to get a 5% raise above his salary the year before (making the minimum just under $920,000), so Holland must've set it up so he gets less in year 2 to make the average cap hit 800k. That or the CBA rule I'm thinking of doesn't apply to Leino because he didn't play a rookie season yet (he'd have to go over 25 games, and only hit 13 last year). Nope, both he and Hudler received the standard qualifying offers a few weeks ago.

Add me on Twitter and go through my list of people I follow. Some of the TSN guys are there, as is Hockey's Futures (draft and prospect analysis), major hockey journalists (most of them from Detroit, but some from other markets) and even the NHL director of corporate communications. I'm also following the Red Wings' official Twitter account and an intern who works for the Wings and updates with interesting inside info. It's basically a news feed that gives you quick, concise updates without the hassle of searching for them on a dozen different sites. Plus you can tell everyone when you're eating supper and how much you love playing with devils sticks! http://twitter.com/Drake_Marcus Join up. It's actually fairly entertaining and gives you a chance to direct your questions at a few of the NHL players who use it. Havlat, Parise, Lucic and yes, even Crosby, have accounts what answer fans' questions and update us on the minutia of their lives. Have fun.

Yes you can. Basically, if Hudler is awarded an offer too large the Wings have two options: 1. take it, go over the cap (you can go up to 63.4 million before October), then trade him or someone else to accommodate him. 2. don't sign him and let him become a UFA.

Even in the Hasek/Osgood years there were some very, very strong opinions and name calling. That's fair game I think. If you wait until he's up and away from his family at the bar, it shouldn't be too big of a deal to ask for a picture. Again, there's nothing wrong with asking. I think they really hate it when people act as if they're entitled to their time. I dunno, I think the part that got to him was mentioning specific people in his life and his treatment of them (in the poster's opinion). It's harder to ignore someone who takes a stab at your friends and loved ones than someone who does it to you.

True. I just wanted to dispell the myth that this was a negative sign. Holland knew he would file for arbitration- if Hudler didn't the Wings would have. It gives them offer sheet protected time to work out a deal. The Wings won't let Hudler go if he can be kept for 3million or less, they'll just have to dump a defenseman and figure out the Lilja situation. If he gets more than that they have the option to trade him, in which case we get some assets coming back the other way. Regardless, this isn't an untenable situation, it's just a tough one.

You guys do know that this is standard procedure in these situations, right? Filppula did the exact same thing.

Just the people informed enough to know what other players in the NHL are making. This is the exact situation we had with Filppula last year- he filed for arbitration and the Wings signed him before the hearing. Hopefully the same thing happens this time.

Yeah, those Toronto media guys actually give him secret extra special points each night to inflate his career numbers! No way he'd be the all-time leading Swedish scorer on his own.

If he signed for the league minimum you mean? Sure. That's a great deal.

Yeah, the weight of the fans' expectations must feel heavy to members of the Canadians organization. I can't imagine having every move I make scrutinized from every angle all the while being expected to bring the fans the ultimate trophy in professional sports.

You're right man. But you've got to admit that the collective hockey media in Quebec has made some silly accusations and rumours over the last year. The whole negative situation in the Habs locker room was a product of tabloid style journalism and is certainly something the hockey media in Quebec should feel bad about.

We can't afford to lose Nill. Let Yzerman go explore his dreams- he's not an all-star manager, he's an all-star player. Nill's the man that built this organization through the draft.

I'd move Cheechoo in a heart-beat, but his cap number isn't so scary in the current world of hyper-inflated salaries (thanks NY, Philly and the rest of you who f***ed it up in the UFA retard rodeo of 07). Thornton is whatever the opposite of Franzen is... he's like the anti-clutch. f*** him. Trade Thornton to the Leafs- Burke is looking for a young franchise forward and the fans in Toronto would eat it up.

Well it's about as likely as Helm scoring 15 next season, so why not? Unrealistic offensive expectations of grinder/shut-down guys isn't new

Yeah, reading the story, it doesn't seem like anything too drastic would come of it. I wouldn't be surprised if they were fined in some way, but I have a hard time seeing those kids go UFA over it. Still... a pretty amateur move by whoever was in charge of this paperwork.

I'd rank them the same way. It's tempting to put Versteeg first (and if this was about stealing these guys from you for the Wings, I would), but Barker is just so important to your team.

Unfortunately there are 29 GMs thinking the exact same thing about him.

Man oh man do I wish we could get Johnson for Stuart. Of course it'd take more than Stuart's money to sign Johnson, but that's not even the first step in this magical journey.

He's a left handed shot, so I'm sure he can play the left wing. That makes him a good candidate to put with Maltby (RW) and Draper © on the 4th. His PK and defensive abilities would be a good bonus to have given the fact that the horrible PK played a big part in us losing the cup (Pitts destroyed us on the PP for the first half of series- shut them down on the PK and you strangle the hope out of them). The only thing that sucks is that Abdelkader is a great hitter and this guy isn't. But in my opinion the PKing bonus is worth it.

I believe so, yes.

He got $875,000 last year. And no. The CBA mandates that you have to give RFA players a raise of 5% if they made between $660,000 and $1,000,000, 10% if they made less than $660,000. (source: Gubki on the Red Wings Central forums).

He'll go in instead of Abdelkader. Abs is better off playing 20+ mins a night in GR than playing 6 mins in Detroit. Oulahen is well suited to our needs right now- he's an excellent penalty killer and shut-down guy. And he's almost $200,000 cheaper than Abdelkader, which helps pay Hudler off.

Nope. He has another year left.