Bertuzzi a Duck: 2-Years, $8M

[Flip-check 6]

really feels like Shanny will make his way back now. with how we need a 2nd line foward and the rangers have no cap room left with there 2 big signins.

Shanny and the Wings are done. He'd go somewhere else before Det if NYR didn't work out.

therock: yeah, I agree on all that. San Jose is our biggest threat in size next year (Anaheim's a joke), we definitely need to arm ourselves. ...but it's probably not gonna happen, so we'll have to make do, as always

[5 Minute Major 0]

Where does Anaheim have all this money???

[Salviaman 104]

OMG worst news of the day.... Oh well, it is not the end of the world. His back isn't even %100 i bet. Back injuries tend to come back on players who have had them before and Bert has had major surgery on his back which is not exactly a good thing for a athlete to have.

[RedWingsFanatic 4]

I'm with you on Bertuzzi, but are you saying the Ducks weren't tough? They led the regular season AND the playoffs in fights. And no more fighting? The league had better fighting numbers this year than last as well:

NHL Fighting Stats

Granted, these numbers are "New NHL" numbers but still an increase from last year.

Physical intimidation DOES work, the Wings fall victim to it in the playoffs year after year.

wurd,

esteef

See, I tend to disagree with you a bit. I think the Ducks beat the Wings because they were the better team, not necessarily because they were the more intimidating team. Maybe a team has a player like Brad May, but that player is not the reason the team succeeds. The Ducks would have, at least in my opinion, been just fine without him.

I think we would all agree that Calgary and San Jose were both more physically formidable opponents than the Red Wings, but it was with skill, not toughness, that the Wings were able to win.

[ShanahanMan 473]

i hate you Holland.

Now Kenny is running out of time......sign Kozlov and/or Shany and quick....before we're REALLY short a forward

Edited July 3, 2007 by ShanahanMan

[Jwo 7]

LOL !!!!!!!!!!!! are you f'n kidding me ????????? LOL

i just got home and saw it online , thats hilarious man , i knew that punk would leave all that talk about wanting to stay here was bs , but too top it all off the ducks go after 2 of our players ??? LMAO

man i hope to god kenny goes after penner now and gives him a nice offer sheet , or goes after guerin we need some physical forwards now , and i hope when we play the duck chelios takes a nice shot on his lower back and knocks him out lmao

I agree on everything you said except the Chelios part but that made me grin alittle bit. Playing the Ducks this year is going to be tough. We need someone who will be able to stand up to their goons now.

[Zion 93]

Damn.

Where is our size now?

[norrisnick 1]

Where does Anaheim have all this money???

The retirement of Niedermayer (nearly $7M) and Selanne ($6M).

[BlakChamber 8]

I was kind of hoping he'd be back. Oh well.

[kindlwillbegreat 0]

The retirement of Niedermayer (nearly $7M) and Selanne ($6M).

but they havent even officially retired yet

plus since beauchemin pahlsson perry kunitz getzlaf and penner make under 1 million and there bound to get huge nice raises then we should go after penner , i really hope holland does , he can always trade sammy to free up 1.2 cap space to help out

7 yrs x 4.5 per year

[Matt 1,049]

This is severely disappointing...

Granted, Bertuzzi's back was a risk but I felt that a summer of rest on it and he would be ready to go in the fall and be a 65-80pt. player.

But $4m/year? Another case of a base salary probably being $1M more than what the Wings wanted to do.

Ugh.

[norrisnick 1]

but they havent even officially retired yet

plus since beauchemin pahlsson perry kunitz getzlaf and penner make under 1 million and there bound to get huge nice raises then we should go after penner , i really hope holland does , he can always trade sammy to free up 1.2 cap space to help out

7 yrs x 4.5 per year

They will.

That's way too much for a guy like Penner. That's arguably too much for a guy like Vanek.

[BlueMonk 102]

The Wings have lost a lot of size and grit now. Schneider wasn't exactly a physical player, but he at least played with an edge. Lang was a big body, although this past season he was next to worthless. Now Bertuzzi's gone. And Markov may not be back.

If that deficiency isn't addressed by the team, I expect them to take a step back this season. Maybe not in the regular season, but in terms of playoff success.

[motorcitykid 42]

Guerin, as I just posted...the sky isn't falling...they played pretty much all season without Bertuzzi and a chunk of the playoffs...it's not as if they just lost Hank or Dats...everyone in this thread needs to chill out...screw Bertuzzi

:!: :!: :!:

[kindlwillbegreat 0]

They will.

That's way too much for a guy like Penner. That's arguably too much for a guy like Vanek.

thats the price you gotta pay if you wanna take him away from the ducks , hes only 24 , hes huge .....had 29 goals with the ducks , put him with zetterberg and/or datsyuk and 30+ for sure ..........i would do it , it could end up being a bargain in the longrun

[wingslogo19 281]

Well this really sucks, I love Bert and now he's with the team i Hate so much... WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON

[OsGOD 3]

thats the price you gotta pay if you wanna take him away from the ducks , hes only 24 , hes huge .....had 29 goals with the ducks , put him with zetterberg and/or datsyuk and 30+ for sure ..........i would do it , it could end up being a bargain in the longrun

Or it could be a Yashin type disaster... anythin' could happen

[WhiteLightning91 105]

Brian Burke is a genius.

[motorcitykid 42]

Wasn't this the year that he hinted at for being THE year with mad free agent signings? (I seem to remember him saying as much to the Free Press or Detroit News).

It is the year. Heard it all last summer.

[Bert44Wingsfan 0]

I'm not going to blame Bertuzzi simply because he had been saying how he wanted a longer contract with the Red Wings but Holland wouldn't offer him anything more than a year. Bertuzzi was looking for three years and Kenny should've compromised at 2. When he wouldn't budge, Bertuzzi took what he could get. If it was the case that he was looking for a contract in the range of 4 million a year, I think Holland made a good non-decision. However to be honest, I don't understand why Holland is letting everyone go -- Schneider, Lang, Calder, and soon to be Markov with the intention of only signing Hasek unless he's waiting to sign another big name.

[wingslogo19 281]

Brian Burke is a genius.

[StevieY9802 6]

i hate you Holland.

Now Kenny is running out of time......sign Kozlov and/or Shany and quick....before we're REALLY short a forward

Are you serious you hate Holland because he didn't give Bert $4mil a year? You've got to be kidding. The Wings will find somebody to put in there or maybe they will wait for the season to get going. People were sitting in here saying they shouldn't go over 3mil for him and then he leaves for 4mil and they are pissed at Holland? Wow some people are stupid. He's not worth that kind of guaranteed money.

[#19=Legend 29]

i hope he breaks his back and schneider shatters his wrist

[Vancouver Wings Fan 0]

The Wings have lost a lot of size and grit now. Schneider wasn't exactly a physical player, but he at least played with an edge. Lang was a big body, although this past season he was next to worthless. Now Bertuzzi's gone. And Markov may not be back.

If that deficiency isn't addressed by the team, I expect them to take a step back this season. Maybe not in the regular season, but in terms of playoff success.

I agree they lost size...but really not allot of grit....

..Schnd's could be edgey but his job to quarterback a power play and be a top 4 defenseman...they replaced him and more with Rafalski..

Both Bert and Lang are mis-characterized as "physical" roll players...they are not...and neither have ever been....both showed there usefulness in this past run....not very effective.

Markov would be nice to keep...but looking at the coin flying around (Hamerlik for 4 years at 22M!!...give me a break!!) he may choose to get rich quick elsewhere....

with the exception of Markov...and Scniders before the wrist.....

We have to trust that the best front office in the NHL knows more then us and will make the deals needed to get past the few "bad bounces" that kept them from getting to the finals this year....with all the guys mentioned above not even being a factor!!.

Edited July 3, 2007 by Vancouver Wings Fan

[norrisnick 1]

thats the price you gotta pay if you wanna take him away from the ducks , hes only 24 , hes huge .....had 29 goals with the ducks , put him with zetterberg and/or datsyuk and 30+ for sure ..........i would do it , it could end up being a bargain in the longrun

And Hudler scored 15 playing mostly scrub minutes with scrubs with a couple weeks on the 2nd line. Put him with Z or Pavel and he'll net 30+ for sure as well. And he won't cost us $4.5M/yr, a pair of 1sts, a 2nd, and a 3rd.