What do the Wings do with the money they have left?

[Darius099 0]

Hasek, Bertuzzi, Drury.

[VM1138 1,921]

I think people are getting ahead of themselves. A lot of teams want Smyth. The Wings won't get him. Their big name signing is done.

Bertuzzi is needed because without him we would have two forward slots to fill instead of one, and Bertuzzi is a proven player. There just aren't enough options out there. He fits with the team style. But he himself said he was never 100% when he played for the Wings. Give him another shot. He is probably past his prime, but we're not asking him to be a super star. We're asking him to play gritty and get the puck in the net once in a while.

[stillwater 186]

I don't consider him a liability, I consider him old and no longer in the upper echelon of goaltenders in the NHL.

I think he gets way too much credit for backstopping the Wings to the semi's, especially considering the Wings give up so few shots against.

Not suggesting Osgood would have been better, I'm just not interested in the Wings blowing their load on a salary for a 42-year old goaltender.

How much longer do you think he can be reasonably effective?

What I think is not important. What the Wings think is. I don't want the Wings thinking they're being drawn and quartered by Hasek because no other options exist. I'd hate to see them spend too much on Hasek, thus taking cash away from some other needed part.

Edited July 1, 2007 by stillwater

[Guest DetroitIan]

Hasek, Bertuzzi, Drury.

I agree 2/3rds of the way. Drury would be a great Red Wing yes. But we are so loaded with centers right now. We desperately need a skilled winger.

[kindlwillbegreat 0]

With Rafalski deal I doubt you'll see Markov re-signed.

Markov wouldn't have been re-signed if Schneider pulled in a $5m/year contract from the Red Wings, so how could they snag him if they just spent $1M more/year on Rafalski?

It appears it's Hasek, Bertuzzi, and done.

i agree with you that they wont resign another d man ( which sucks cause we got no real physical defensemen)

i do have this guy feeling that bertuzzi wont come back , and i heard some ppl say jason blake but i do think hes 34 and im not to sure if he did anything before last year so ill pass , id rather go for a guy like guerin who will also be a shorter term deal if we lose bertuzzi

[evil204 4]

If Hasek is smart and wants to win the Cup, he'll take a pay cut (with bigger bonuses) so we can sign Smyth. If you think about it, Hasek's salary determines whether or not we get a superstar that can help us enormously. It's all in his hands.

[Draper_Rocks#33 4]

Bert,Dom, and Kozzie (Y)

[kindlwillbegreat 0]

I agree 2/3rds of the way. Drury would be a great Red Wing yes. But we are so loaded with centers right now. We desperately need a skilled winger.

nevermind being loaded with centers, were loaded with 3 guys with high salaries

[canadienhater 0]

What he said except keep Hudler here as well

i think that gregirenko is hudlers replacement

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

Hasek, Bert, and Kozzie sound great but do we really have enough for all three? I'm guessing it's just Dom & Bert. Kozzie would be fantastic too though.

[Dabura 12,232]

- Hasek will re-sign for a reasonable sum.

- Barring divine intervention, Markov is gone.

- With Markov out of the picture, Kenny should have no problem signing Bert. However, I don't want to see him overpaid; he should come cheap or not come back at all. In the event of the latter, another big-name FA might be attainable.

[Guest DetroitIan]

Hasek, Bert, and Kozzie sound great but do we really have enough for all three? I'm guessing it's just Dom & Bert. Kozzie would be fantastic too though.

I agree. If its possible that we can get Kozzie after re-signing Bert and Dom, thats the number 1 player I want. The Red Wings need a skilled winger. And Kozzie fits that bill quite perfectly.

[MaynardJKeenan 1]

i agree with you that they wont resign another d man ( which sucks cause we got no real physical defensemen)

i do have this guy feeling that bertuzzi wont come back , and i heard some ppl say jason blake but i do think hes 34 and im not to sure if he did anything before last year so ill pass , id rather go for a guy like guerin who will also be a shorter term deal if we lose bertuzzi

What's this guy feeling you speak of?

[Dabura 12,232]

I'm gonna have to give the Kozlov idea a big, flaming thumbs down.

[azwingsfan 0]

Hasek, Bertuzzi, Drury.

I knw everyone would like the big names out there bu for the same price as one big name we could get antoher winger and d-man

Nick Boynton 1.5 - 2 mil

Assets Plays a physical game and loves a heavy workload. Is extremely reliable in the defensive zone. Is a very smooth skater and excellent puck-handler. Possesses a hard, accurate shot from the point.

Flaws May not put up the points expected of him at the NHL level, unless he starts hitting the net with his shots more frequently.

Career potential No. 1 defenseman.

Nagy 1.5 - 2mil

Assets Has great imagination with the puck and the hands to score plenty of goals. Shoots the puck from anywhere on the ice and owns a bit of a mean streak.

Flaws Needs to add even more strength in order to thrive against NHL defenders. Takes foolish penalties on occasion, and a few too many nights off.

Career potential Top six winger

Michel Ouellet 2 - 2.5mil

Assets Has the potential to score plenty of goals in the NHL. Displays excellent hockey sense and awareness at both ends of the ice.

Flaws Isn't big or overly physical, and can be dominated along the boards.

Career potential Top six winger.

Vitaly Vishnevski -2 - 2.5mil

Assets Is a physical presence, and can do some damage to onrushing forwards in open ice. Blocks shots very effectively.

Flaws Tends to wear down over the course of a long season. Doesn't have a lot of offensive upside. Makes mistakes in his own end.

Career potential Top four defenseman.

[russianswede919293 95]

Some people seem to be living in a non-salary cap world. The wings now have about 10 million left under the actual cap number, and Holland wants about 2 million in padding...SO....we have 8 million to spend...2.5 on Hasek so we have 5.5 million to spend...that means no Ryan Smyth people...it means we will get either Bertuzzi or Kozlovor an equivalent and a second line center....

[WhiteLightning91 105]

My 2007-08 Off Season Line-Up

Filppula (694K) Datsyuk (6.7) UFA

Samuelsson (1.2) Zetterberg (2.65) Holmstrom (2.25)

Maltby (883K) Draper (2.128) Cleary (663K)

Grigorenko (858K) Franzen (942K) UFA

Kopecky (500K)

UFA's - Todd Bertuzzi

RFA's - Jiri Hudler, Darryl Bootland

Lidstrom (7.6) UFA

Rafalski (6.0) Kronwall (3.0)

Lebda (650K) Chelios (850K)

Lilja (1.0)

UFA's - Danny Markov

RFA's - Derek Meech

UFA

Osgood (850K)

UFA's - Domink Hasek

RFA's - Stefan Liv

Commited: $39,418,000

Injury/Deadline Cushion: $2 Million

Hasek's Bonus: $1.2 Million

Total: $42,618,000

Available: $7,682,000

They need 2 forwards (Bertuzzi & UFA), 1 physical stay-at-home D-Man (Markov or UFA), and 1 starting goalie (Hasek).

[AUWingsFan 0]

Personally I hope the Wings are able to get both Bertuzzi and Hasek back at reasonable prices. I was more optimistic about Bertuzzi resigning until recently thinking something would be finished before free agency started today....but I'm still hopeful. From what I've read it just seems that the Wings are not wanting to offer a multi year deal to Bertuzzi, which is what he wants. Isn't it possible to have a club option where if he performs well enough the Wings have the option to bring him back at a certain previously agreed to price?? That'd make the most sense to me from the managements side because it would allow him to know that you are considering him for a few years, but he has to prove himself before it is offered.....correct me if that isn't right, but I seem to remember that being a possibility before.....

Oh and if we were able to get another big name for a decent price I'd love it, but honestly I'm partial to Bert coming back myself.....

One last thing, would all of you hate it if the Wings were able to sign Paul Kariya for a decent price?? I know I can't stand him, but think it might just be because he has the potential to cause us to lose games when playing against him....

[Majsheppard 203]

They should just give the 7million to Smyth so he doesn't go to the Avs like I am hearing...

[wingsfan979802 0]

Some people seem to be living in a non-salary cap world. The wings now have about 10 million left under the actual cap number, and Holland wants about 2 million in padding...SO....we have 8 million to spend...2.5 on Hasek so we have 5.5 million to spend...that means no Ryan Smyth people...it means we will get either Bertuzzi or Kozlovor an equivalent and a second line center....

no centers.

we could get dom, bert and kozzie.

we have enough centers

[RedRockit 0]

Some people seem to be living in a non-salary cap world. The wings now have about 10 million left under the actual cap number, and Holland wants about 2 million in padding...SO....we have 8 million to spend...2.5 on Hasek so we have 5.5 million to spend...that means no Ryan Smyth people...it means we will get either Bertuzzi or Kozlovor an equivalent and a second line center....

A man who lives within his budget...

I don't particularly want Ryan Smyth (nothing against him, just think he's redundnt on a Homer team), I DO want Chris Drury badly. but I know we cannot afford either.

Yikes, at these market prices, I'm wondering if we shouldn't downsize from octopus to squid.

[Guest Crymson]

Hasek, Bert, and Kozzie sound great but do we really have enough for all three? I'm guessing it's just Dom & Bert. Kozzie would be fantastic too though.

Atlanta will offer more than we can.

[wingsfan979802 0]

Yikes, at these market prices, I'm wondering if we shouldn't downsize from octopus to squid.

[HockeyCrazy3033 168]

Atlanta will offer more than we can.

But maybe he'd take less to play here. I heard he doesn't want to play for the Thrashers anymore.

[puckloo39 5,686]

Bert, Dom and Markov could fit under the sum Kenny has left. If they want to play for Detroit, they need to be reasonable. Bert hasn't proved that he can play up to speed yet, and Markov ... well, do you want to go back to Phila-hell-phia, buddy? Or be a Red Wing?

Hasek had proved he can play, and played for a ludicrously low sum of money last season - that alone should indicate that money isn't his sticking point. I will expect to see some of you come back here for a serving of crow when it turns out Hasek hasn't signed yet, because he's waiting to see how much money Kenny needs to get the team solidified in front of him.