Bannedforlife

Hey, that's no Pare! I was sticking to Wings and prospects only!

I don't know. Some of these are stretched a Todd bit too far.

It's for the best. I don't want to Landon trouble with the missus. Party on Wayne, party on McGrath!

Howe sweet! Its all in good fun! It's not like we're out there committing Larssony.

I appreciate the Kindl gesture, but it's getting a Lilja late. I think its time for me to Joakim Homer, so I'm going to bid you Osgood night

Well played sir. I Almqvist thought this game was over.

I honestly don't know how to respond to that. Seriously, I'm Drewing a blank.

MAYbe we will, MAYbe we won't...

It's true. I've almost got it down to a stuART

One things for sure. We're gonna be seeing Cleary skies for a long time.

This is why it doesn't matter who wins this series. They're all just a bunch of losers

I think those of you chastising others for expressing how they feel about this are the ones who should be ashamed, because you're going way overboard with it. When did it become the ultimate insult to criticize somebody? Professors do it all the time. So does my girlfriend, my parents, and my boss. I don't consider it a threat to my legacy. Nearly every person on this board has criticized and/or crucified someone within the Red Wings organization at one time or another. That's exactly what makes us fans, our passion for the team. Not because we buy tickets and jerseys and just sit quietly and never think or say or do anything bad about the team. Why should Lidstrom be exempt from our scrutiny? There isn't a person on this forum who doesn't appreciate what Lidstrom has done for the team. No one is insinuating that Lidstrom isn't one of the greatest players in the history of the game, or that he shouldn't be properly compensated (which he has been. #2 highest accumulated NHL salary ever) This isn't an all or nothing situation. Isn't it possible to feel excited and relieved and at the same time a little disappointed? Kind of like every girl who gave her virginity to you. Yes, I'm glad our Captain is coming back for one more chance at the cup. Yes, I do believe that he is worth every penny of that 6.2 million dollar contract. At the same time, I wish that he could've left just a little bit more on the table. I'm positive that every single person here was hoping against all logic that he would've signed for about a million dollars less. Wasn't it Lidstrom himself who said that he would play for the league minimum just to stay in Detroit? He obviously wasn't insulted by the thought of a salary lower than market value at the time. Or is that just some bulls*** he said to make himself look good? If someone is going to publicly state that they would be willing to work for a certain dollar amount, it isn't blasphemous to think that person might be willing to work for TEN TIMES THAT AMOUNT! In the end, you're going to feel how you feel about it, and I'm going to feel how I feel about it. And that's cool. But don't go around calling me out and calling me names when you're the one acting like a ******. With that said, I'm done with this thread. The ink is dry already, so there's nothing more to be said. Now all we can do is sit around and wait to ***** about Homer's contract

I'd rather trade Boston for their number 15 pick to ensure we get McIlrath.

I doubt the Wings have anything Boston would be interested in. Helm and Ericsson aren't even close to being enough

I don't think buyout money is used in contract negotiations as much as some people might think. If I were an agent negotiating a new contract for my client who happened to be receiving money from a buyout, I'd tell GMs who brought it up that its none of their business. My client is worth X amount of dollars to play hockey for your team regardless of how much income he has from other sources. They don't consider how much endorsement money a player makes when negotiating a new contract, why should buyout money be any different?

Keith's cap figure next year will be 5.551 million and will continue to be so until he is 37 years old. Think about that for a second. As far as Doughty, that remains to be seen. I'm fairly certain that no one could have foreseen Keith taking such a low salary. Who's to say Doughty won't do the same?

Neither, I'd chose Keith. Even if only for one year.

Why does money have to be the only way that the organization can show its immense gratitude and respect for this particular person? Haven't the fans of Detroit demonstrated just how much they do in fact appreciate his balls over the past 18 seasons? It just seems like in these troubled financial times, especially in the state of Michigan, it would be incredibly uplifting for the fans to see another championship before the darkness comes. I know that there are no guarantees when it comes to the Stanley Cup, but it couldn't have hurt to have another million in cap available. How do you know that? I don't doubt it, it just seems like an unsubstantiated statement.

If I tell my girlfriend that I think Angelina Jolie is beautiful, does that mean that I think my girlfriend is not beautiful? Way to twist my words. I'm going to tell you all a secret right now, and I hope that it won't crush all of your dreams. Nicklas Lidstrom is not a deity. Nicklas Lidstrom is not a perfect human being. Nicklas Lidstrom is not the best thing to ever happen to mankind ever ever ever. Sorry I had to tell someone, it was eating me up inside. Personally, I think that Nick is one of the most intelligent players in the game. He exemplifies what it means to be a professional. He exudes class and sportmanship. He might be the greatest player to ever wear the Winged Wheel. However, all of those things do not = Jesus in a hockey sweater. What if Duncan Keith signed his new contract for a 7.340 million dollar cap hit (200k more than Brian Campbell) Would that cause you to question his character just a little? Doesn't that seem as though someone has a bit of an ego? None of us will ever know exactly what goes on during these kinds of negotiations. Maybe Holland refused to offer anything less. Maybe Nick owes 6.2 million dollars to the mob. Maybe his wife would've beat him for accepting less than Rafalski makes. Maybe Ilitch got into a hot tub time machine and thought he was stuck in 1999. Who knows. But based on the limited information available to me, I've come to the conclusion that Lidstrom decided receiving his fair market value (6-6.5mil) outweighed the benefits of making a significant sacrifice for the good of his team (4-5mil). Is that his right? Yes. Does that make him a bad person? No. Does that mean he doesn't care about the team or winning or the fans or Detroit? NO. It just would have been ******* sweet.

One of them will have a Norris Trophy and a one of them will most likely have a Stanley Cup ring. The most recent Norris Trophy and most recent Stanley Cup, which are the most important in determining their current value. If you think that Lidstrom is still worth over 10 million dollars a year, fine. I won't ever be able to change your mind. But from where I'm sitting, the best defenseman this year and probably most years from this point forward, a 25 year old kid, just signed a contract that will take him into and throughout the prime of his career for a 5.5 million dollar cap hit. He did it because he loves the city and his team and because he wants to compete for the championship as often as is possible with the current salary cap. Duncan Keith will undoubtedly sacrifice more salary throughout his career than Lidstrom has. That's called character.

I would just like to point out that not one of the Norris Trophy finalists this year has over a 5.5 million dollar cap hit.

Different people are willing to pay different amounts for the same item depending on their individual needs. If I were in the Mohave Desert dying of dehydration, I would be willing to pay much more than the market value of a Coke. Our team doesn't need to host the Nicklas Lidstrom 2010-2011 farewell tour, they need to win the Stanley Cup. Pretty much everyone agrees that icing the same team as this year won't cut it, so we simply cannot afford to pay him as much as some other GMs would be willing to. Having the opportunity to close out ones career with the only team you've ever played for AND having a significant shot at winning the Stanley Cup is pretty rare, and if that is something that is important to Nick, he needs to be willing to make a sacrifice in order to make it happen. Are there other teams willing to pay him 7+ million dollars next year? Without a doubt. I don't think that Detroit should be one of them though.

At this point in his career Rafalski is overpaid. But just because there are some defensemen on this team and in this league who are overpaid doesn't have much bearing on determining how much Lidstrom is worth. What if Rafalski was making 15 million? Would that make it fair for Lidstrom to demand 15 million as well? What if Rafalski was signed for 1 million? Would it be fair of us to expect Lidstrom to sign for 1 million? No, we should expect him to sign for what he is worth. Based on the salaries of some of his peers around the league, I think that he is worth around 5-5.5 million.

At this point in their respective careers I would rather sign Duncan Keith, even if it were for one year only, than Lidstrom. Keith just signed a new contract for 5.5 mil. I think that should be the basis for Lidstrom's next contract.

Florida has better golf courses than Michigan