2007-08 Salary Cap set: $50.3-million

[Guest EZBAKETHAGANGSTA]

WOOT!

[Guest DetroitIan]

Im definitely happy to hear this. But I was really hoping for 52 Mill. Hell, I'll take what I can get. But it still would have been nice to have a mill or two more to spend. Although Im sure the cap will gradually rise seasons to come.

[zata40 3]

this is good news, that means that we still have a chance to get Scheinder.

[Earthhuman 8]

Although Im sure the cap will gradually rise seasons to come.

That's, in Dumbledore's words, optimistic to the point of foolishness.

[datsyukiandeke 0]

if this cap trend continues the datsyuk deal will look great in a few years, well done kenny!

get hasek, smyth, shneids!

i love smyth,

-30+ goal scorer

-all around player

-leader/veteran

-playoff performer

-hardnosed - think of it: 2 homers > 1 homer

[Barrie 900]

we already have a smyth....his name is holmstrom.

we need a scorer.....

Holmstrom is one of my favorites, but there's no way you can compare Holmstrom to Smyth. Ryan can play 20 minutes a night and can kill penalties, something Homer has never done. Also, Tomas would never have had 60-70 point seasons in Edmonton.

Smyth would thrive here playing along side with Datsyuk and Zetterberg, score 40+ goals, and would be an instant crowd favorite. Man, I hope the rumors are true.

-hardnosed - think of it: 2 homers > 1 homer

Yes, it's bad enough for goalies to have Holmstrom in their face on PP's, if we get Smyth too

[YoungGuns1340 1]

I didn't say anything about those rumors though. I was talking about the Thornton and Khabibulin rumors. The Wings only had roughly 8 mil or so to spend when those rumors were going around and Datsyuk and Zetterberg weren't signed yet. The Lang one I believed could happen because there was talk of him in the summer of 02 when he signed with the Caps.

A front loaded contract really doesn't do much. It helps with your paying him because you pay him less as time goes on obviously but the cap # is the average of the contract. Thats the only thing I am worried about. In two years with the contract you came up with thats 6.7 for Dats, roughly the same for Hank and 5.5 for Smyth. 19 mil for 3 players? Now if Lidstrom retires in 2 years they can pull it off but who knows if that happens.

Actually, a front-loaded contract helps a lot for a few reasons. 1) Like you said, the cap average is less 2) because if he absolutely sucks ass in the last 2 years, the buyout hit is less and 3) the last few years make his contract easier to absorb if we need/want to trade him.

As for Lidstrom, Im glad you brought him up, because I think thats a big thing a lot of people are missing here. Lidstrom is already 37. Hes a family guy. Hes mentioned going back to Sweden plenty of times. He has a Conne Smythe, 3 cups, and 5 Norris trophies. He is nearing the end of this career. Im mentioning all of this not because of cap issues, although that is a concern, but because I dont think people realize how much Lidstrom has to do with our chances at winning the Cup. He is the backbone of this franchise, and its very possible that our best chance to win the cup in the coming years are those in which he is still part of the team. Not to mention our future in terms of goaltending is extremely uncertain after this years. Detroit already has 12 forwards, almost all of which proved themselves in the playoffs at one level or another. Likewise with the six defenseman we have and with Hasek as well. This team has chemistry, it has all the keys, and with Schneider and Smyth on the team, it gives us one of the most intimidating Powerplays in the league, perhaps the sole reason we werent the cup winners this year.

IMO, Detroit should go hard after the cup this year while the cast remains much the same with a few upgrades. As for those considering the issues in the future with the contracts of Lidstrom + Zetterberg + Smyth + Datsyuk, I wouldnt worry too much. People keep on bringing up the issues of Tampa Bay, when in reality, Tampa Bay is doing just fine with their "lack of depth." Their real issue thats kept them out of the playoffs is horrific goaltending.

I think for the next 3 years we can bank on the following people being a part of the team: Homer, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Filppula, Draper, Maltby, Lebda, Kronwall, Kindl, and Howard. Add Smyth, and lets see what a potential roster could look like in, say, 9/10, with the cap number at a modest raise of 52M.

Filppula(1.7)-Datsyuk(6.7)-Homer(2.25)

Smyth(5.5)-Zetterberg(6.75)-X(2)

X(1)-Franzen(1.75)-Cleary(1.5)

Maltby(.88)-Draper(1.3)-Kopecky(.75)

Emmerton/similar Mcgrath(.5)

Kronwall(3)-Lidstrom/X(5.5)

Lebda(.65)-X(3)

Kindl(.75)-Quincey(.65)

Ericsson/similar prospect(.5)

X(2.5)/Howard(1)

All in all, it equals out to be about 49.5M.

In case anyone is wondering, I based contract numbers off of recent signings of similar players. For example, Draper at 1.3 per given Pahlsson's signing of 1.4 per. Chris Higgins at 24 years old had 22 goals, about 40 points and signed a two year contract with a 1.7 Cap hit, which we might expect from Filppula this year. A similar player to Franzen might be Mike Grier, who pulled in 1.75 last year as a UFA. As for goaltending, we could expect Howard to either be starting, or splitting time in three years, meaning the 3.5M between the two goaltenders might be distributed more evenly, especially if Osgood decides to sign another 2 year sub 2M contract after this season to finish off his career in Detroit. Either way, its a hypothetical roster with many question marks, but its fairly accurate barring some random career year from an unlikely player. The point is, at any rate, that signing Ryan Smyth does not mean Detroit has to shrivel up once Zetterberg gets his raise in a few years.

Sorry for the long post.

[eva unit zero 271]

With 11 forwards, 5 defensemen, and 1 goaltender signed, the Wings have 33,358,000 comitted to the payroll next season. Add in about 2.5m of buffer to cover wiggle room and bonus rollover, and the Wings have 36m committed, which leaves them 14.3 to spend on two forwards, two defensemen, and a goaltender.

Start with Hasek at 2.5m; cap space now 11.8m, need 2-2-0.

Add in Hudler at 750k; cap space now 10.05m, need 1-2-0.

Add on Schneider at 5m; cap space now 5.05m, need 1-1-0.

Next is Bertuzzi at 2.5m; cap space now 2.55m, need 0-1-0.

Lastly, add Vitali Vishnevsky for 1.75m; cap space now 0.80m, need 0-0-0.

Holmstrom/Zetterberg/Samuelsson

Filppula/Datsyuk/Bertuzzi

Cleary/Hudler/Grigorenko

Maltby/Draper/Franzen

Lidstrom/Vishnevsky

Schneider/Markov

Lebda/Chelios

Hasek

Osgood

[The Elite Wings 0]

Write now were at $32,500,000m

Add:

Hasek ($2.3m + incentives)

Bertuzzi($2.3m + incentives)

Schneider ($5.2m)

Hudler($750,000k)

Smyth ($5.2m)

Then our cap would be:

$48,250,000m

This is $2,050,000m under the cap

??

[Guest REDWINGS4LYFE]

screw smyth

[Superman54 91]

Smyth isn't coming to Detroit I can tell you that. Many of you will be heart broken to wake up and see Smyth signing a 6.2 Million dollar contact with some other team.

[vangvace 12]

Silly question for everyone leaving <$2mil in cap room...

What about the GR players that we need to resign? or our Euro-prospects?

Just a reminder

[eva unit zero 271]

Silly question for everyone leaving <$2mil in cap room...

What about the GR players that we need to resign? or our Euro-prospects?

Just a reminder

They don't count on the cap unless they are on the big league roster.