Drake_Marcus

I can't wait to see Shanny come down on Cooke like the righteous hand of god. Cooke's been a turd in this league's collective punch bowl for far too long.

I guess it all depends on the minimum font size allowed. The font on those helms is way too obtrusive. Then again, it's from Puckdaddy so knows where the truth lies once the childish grandstanding is filtered out.

A speedy checker... just what we have in abundance! Brunnstrom please. Sign him dirt cheap and waive him if he falls on his face. He cost nothing to acquire, anyway.

Great first move by Shanny, but the real test will be when a star player crosses that line.

Here's hoping he starts out hot and stays healthy all year!

Sure, why not set the bar as high as possible? I mean the guy did struggle to make the Leafs, though, so let's try and be realistic here.

If I had but a modicum of talent.

So much for a discount. Makes the Sharks look like rookie-signing geniuses.

Spector (the #1 guy on the net for legitimate rumours that come from a source with non-fictional NHL connections): That's from the 4th. Sad but true. Losing Yandle would've really hurt the already terrible sellability of that team. No conspiracy theories, just realism there.

I'd take him (for the league minimum).

Did you watch him in the playoffs when it wasn't a PP?

It's unfortunate that only half of them are legit NHL prospects (and realistically only one is a guy who will play on the top two pairings in the NHL). Good thing Almqvist will be ready for AHL time soon. I'm interested to see what Jensen and Fournier can do too. I guess why Holland went D heavy in the draft his year.

Defence is like pitching... you can never have enough depth.

I'd rather have a champ who's seen better years (Langenbrunner) than a cancer who gets by on talent alone (Zherdev).

*checks what year it is* lolwut?

Indeed. And since Sekera has more NHL experience and will come cheaper, I suspect the Sabres may have a tough time picking which of the two they keep (if they have to choose one).

Franzen's cap hit is 3.95 million. What he actually makes this year is irrelevant. He also scored 59pts (and 31 goals) in 51 playoff games over the course of the 3 seasons prior to this one. It's hard to hold his s***ty performance against him too much this year since he was too injured to skate at times. Scoring 31 goals over 51 games would average out to 50 goals in an 82 game season. So basically, come playoff time Franzen's the equivalent of a 50 goal scorer. I'm not sure what your problem with him is. We all wish he'd be more physical out there but it's not like he isn't pulling his weight in other areas...

Actually Crymson is right. I remember reading that he attributed his attitude change to his wife and the situation he was in (no one wanted to sign him). When Chelios convinced the Wings to give Cleary a shot in training camp he was already determined to work his ass off. No doubt the Wings locker room was a stabilizing influence, though. With the bitching people do about Hudler I can't imagine what they'd say about Zherdev. He's softer than Hudler despite being a big guy (I can't blame a 5'9 guy for being a bit soft but when you're 6'2 200lb there's zero excuse). And he's mind-numbingly inconsistent and lazy. There's a reason why he's bounced around looking for a home.

Add another interesting name to the list of RFA possibilities: Marc-Andre Gragnani (24 yrs old, pt/g player in AHL and put 7pts up in 7 games in the playoffs for the Sabres this year) Buffalo only has $354,643 in cap space right now and still has to fill their back-up goaltender spot as well as allow room for a call-up on defence (only 6 D-men signed). Gragnani looks like he'll be a stud and Buffalo will have to figure something out to sign him.

George Malik is in the know and this is what he just posted on twitter: "All I will say about these Exelby rumors is this: if you can't cite a credible source other than a "rumor," then that's all it is-a "rumor!""

Larsson: tough one. He needs to be re-signed (RFA) but appears intent on staying in Sweden. He could be the new Liv. Hopefully he comes back to GR. Smith: No question here-- he's the #1 call-up when a defenseman goes down. Andersson: Hard to say. He's played a season in the AHL but Tatar is above him when it comes to forwards they'd call up. I suspect he'll get a shot at a call-up. Callahan is going to be there. That's all we need. I thought the whole point of signing them was for the purposes of having depth in GR. Having the NHL team fulfill the GM duties of the AHL team isn't as uncommon as you'd think.

A) Holland knew Hudler was leaving for the KHL when they were in the arbitration process-- he continued with the process so the Wings would hold his rights and have him signed to a contract once he came back. B) In the KHL he scored 54pts (with 19 goals) in 54 games. Most people don't say someone "only put up" a point per game. lol C) He did "crack 30pts". He had 10g and 27a. 10_+ 27 = 37. 37 > 30. "Cap hit" refers to the dollar amount applied to the team's cap for a single year. He does not have a 7 million dollar cap hit. Lombardi has a 3.5 million dollar cap hit.

The only places I see people contemplating giving up Smith is for a guy like Yandle. The odds of Smith being as good as Yandle are not great. Very few defencemen ever manage to put 59pts up, especially at age 24. I hope Smith is that good but you're dreaming if you think that's a likely scenario.

The delicious crow eating would be so awesome.

If the Wings weren't so jam packed with forwards I'd be calling for a Konopka signing as well. Unfortunately the Wings have too many forwards to justify adding another bottom six guy, no matter how bad ass he is. Errrr.... I assume you didn't watch many Grand Rapids games last year. Pierce outplayed our 1st round pick in goal last season (scary no matter how you look at it). Re-signing him was important for the team in GR. I'm sure Holland is more than competent enough to simultaneously negotiate with multiple players.