Drake_Marcus

Yeah it sure would be great. But we'd be waaaaaayyy too top heavy. Carter's cap hit will be 5.27 million next season (until 2022). They'd have 22mil between 4 guys. Now if the Wings moved Filppula's 3mil somewhere else (Philly is trying to make cap room, so that'd be a no go) you could treat Carter as a 2.27 million dollar upgrade on Val's spot. Still, the Wings would be in a tough spot when Kronwall's contract expires. I'd rather spend that money on the back end.

The fact that he may not have a better idea is completely unrelated to the quality of your idea.

The Ducks are a better model than Tampa Bay. Both have won a Cup but until recently TB has struggled with attendance, poor management and bad owners. The Ducks have had a far more consistent record of profitability, attendance and on-ice success.

I don't think it will be the Ducks. They've got a recent Cup and a loyal following. No need to change their name AGAIN. Jerseys... well that's another matter. I wouldn't be surprised at all if they planed significant logo/colour/jersey changes for the Ducks.

I have to cheer Thomas on. He's been phenomenal and he really deserves a Cup. Timmy Thomas is looking like a Conn Smythe front-runner right now.

The Florida Bottom Feeders? Logo has a Catfish on it.

This is just silly. Like others have said-- it would have to be a 1 year deal or a deal with a too good to be true cap hit. Lidstrom's retirement is just around the corner... the Wings aren't going to commit his cap space to a top six forward. Even if they develop a replacement internally that player will eventually have to be re-signed once their rookie contract is up. Richards will want a long-term contract (or possibly a 1 year Cup shot but that's less likely since he doesn't 'need' another Cup). Holland would be a fool to use d-man money to sign an expensive premier UFA forward this summer. I'm sure Holland's more concerned about solidifying the Wings' defence for the future.

Hudler's cap hit is 2.85 mil this coming season and he'll be a UFA next summer... Trading a guy with Hudler's contract, talent and past NHL point totals for a 4th or 5th rounder would be legally retarded. Hudler's value as a hockey asset is worth more than a 4th round pick to the Wings. If he plays as poorly next season as he did this season then his value is probably even less than a 4th rounder. But many players in his situation recover from an off year like this. The upside is still to big to jettison him as an asset unless the offer's better than a crappy pick.

It depends on which Hudler you're talking about. If we're talking about the guy from December-February or about the guy who posted 57pts in 08/09 then yes he's worthy of being on the top six. Obviously this season was terrible for him but he's still young and still very talented. The hope is that conditioning this summer will get him back to where he was before he left for Russia. Right now his trade value is too low to make it worth trading him. He still has the tools to get back to where he was two years ago.

True. A big part of that comes from how much more we know about concussions today. The best parallel would be helmet-to-helmet hits in the NFL. At some point our standards for clean/dirty plays have to catch up with the medical reality of what concussions can do to players. If ruling out certain hits can significantly improve the quality of life of the players during and after their careers end it's the league's responsibility to take action. No one should have to suffer from memory loss or periodic headaches/nausea for the rest of their life. The impact on a person's quality of life is so much larger for brain injuries compared to muscle or skeletal injuries.

There are still lots of African American role models in Football and Basketball as well. Both sports have low-life punks who happen to be white as well. A certain Pittsburgh quarterback comes to mind...

I'd rather be the winner of the 'Worst Enforcing Team' than the winner of the 'Best Enforcing Team' (NY Islanders). There's no discernible pattern relating to playoff success or team success in either of those polls. Both have teams that were favourites for the Cup and both have garbage teams. I'm pretty sure that Holland's goal is to win the Stanley Cup first and foremost. It sucks that we don't have a guy like Lucic who can play hockey and kick ass but those are the breaks. Hopefully Mitch Callahan can be that guy. I still have high hopes that he can be a regular 3rd liner on this team.

Rome is a schlub. There's no way this suspension would go down this hard on Chara. The NHL's shown many times that examples are only to be made with non-stars. I am because in both cases you have to consider the health of a defenceless person. Most hockey players let up when the see the guy in front of them is defenceless. No one has a license to be reckless. Intent to injure is taken very seriously in the NHL among management AND players.

To be honest? I doubt he'd be as happy with it as people seem to think. After he knocked Lindros out he was pretty upset. Apparently he had to be consoled by his coach afterwords. Moreover, Stevens' retirement wasn't on his own terms-- he did so because of post-concussion syndrome. When a guy gets carted off the ice on a stretcher and has to stay in the hospital overnight it's pretty upsetting. Stevens' hits were kind of like Kronwall's in the sense that he'd catch people and just wreck them. But, like Kronwall, Stevens wasn't a dirty player aside from making hits that some called dirty. He wasn't a guy who tried to injure people any way he could (see: Pronger, Chris). Today we know a lot more about concussions than we did ten years ago. Medical science continues to show how serious concussions are and how dire the long-term repercussions can be. Having a brazen attitude about causing someone else brain damage is just ignorant.

Eh? I guess I need to rewatch the video. I thought it was a head shot.

Great point. If someone isn't paying full attention to their surroundings I can hurt them. I'll have to remember that next time I'm driving near pedestrians. I mean sure I could have stopped in time but that chick crossing the street could have looked up too, so whatevs, am I right?

I can't believe Canucks fans are whining about a schlub like Rome being suspended. He severely concussed Boston's 2nd best forward on a pretty late hit. Horton had his head down so he won't get many sympathy cards for that. The big point here is that it was a vicious hit to a defenceless player's head and the league's made it clear they want to eliminate those hits. Horton's got brain damage now. The long term effects may be mild but don't doubt that concussions like this can have long term repercussions. So it's not just a LGW thing.

Micky Redmond. 50 goal scorer. Cancer survivor. Hockey Hall of Fame member. Hater of composite sticks.

Oh I don't think he's a 5 million dollar guy to the Red Wings. I just think there are enough teams out there who want offensive production from their back end and will be willing to overpay for it.

The Meech ship sailed long ago. He'll likely be playing in Europe next year. Also, I'm not sure the solution to our problems is to switch Meech in for Ericsson and get smaller on the back end.

lol Man he's a polarizing player on these boards. I guess we have to have someone on the out there to hate now that Lilja, Lebda and Meech are gone.

Ken Holland's starting point was 2 million a season for Ericsson (according to Mlive). I assume that Holland knows what he's doing. *shrug* Denying that sort of rumour is standard operating procedure at this stage of negotiations.

Based on Hall Gill's deal there's no way in hell Ericsson should or would take 1.25 million (assuming his agent isn't mentally retarded). Ericsson's better offensively, younger, is a way better skater and has some upside compared to Gill. He was 4th on the Wings in mins played this season with 18:50 a game. Considering that Holland already offered Ericsson's camp a multi-year 2 million per year contract it's pretty hilarious that you think he deserves 1.25.

He'll command at least 5 million a year. I wouldn't be surprised if a team threw 6 million a year at him. He's a top 10 offensive defenseman in terms of point production.

That's an impressive move up the corporate ladder for Shanny. I can't wait for him to bring integrity to the NHL's disciplinary system. Congrats Shanny!