7-year deal for Datsyuk paying off

[13dats 1]

MLive :!:

Edited December 12, 2007 by 13dats

[toby91_ca 620]

Right now it looks like a fair deal, in terms of assessing whether it will pay off, or turn out to be a steal, I think we need to be much deeper into this deal than today's date.

[Grittzkey 1]

its paying off, not to get hank his deal. and we shall be set.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Right now it looks like a fair deal, in terms of assessing whether it will pay off, or turn out to be a steal, I think we need to be much deeper into this deal than today's date.

Yup.

I'll admit I was one of those people who thought this deal was probably too long. I was worried locking him up for that long would have too negative an impact on Holland being able to maneuver with other players.

Right now it's a fair deal. Hopefully Dats will stay healthy and keep performing in the regular season and playoffs, then in a couple seasons it will absolutely be a steal.

[Kira 451]

MLive :!:

You're right, Dmitriy...I think we've done a good thing in keeping Pasha for the next seven years. I honestly think that knowing he's safe and under contract for a long time has helped to loosen him up a little and he's starting to show his real self. I've seen more emotion and more energy this season, and he's just been a blast to watch. Not that he hasn't been before, of course. As I told someone else, he makes the hockey gods weep with joy, and 29 other teams jealous as hell.

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

Yup.

I'll admit I was one of those people who thought this deal was probably too long. I was worried locking him up for that long would have too negative an impact on Holland being able to maneuver with other players.

Right now it's a fair deal. Hopefully Dats will stay healthy and keep performing in the regular season and playoffs, then in a couple seasons it will absolutely be a steal.

So long as Dats gets to play center more often and get his opportunities from anywhere on the ice besides the left hand boards, the deal is great.

Dats @ left wing makes Gordie

[betterREDthandead 58]

The nice thing about a long-term deal like that is, if the player is really worth it (which Datsyuk is) the deal is made during the economy that exists in 2006, but the deal runs through 2014 when the salary cap should be much higher. It's obviously not breaking the bank now, think what it'll look like in 2012 when the cap will probably be $8 million higher.

[eva unit zero 271]

The nice thing about a long-term deal like that is, if the player is really worth it (which Datsyuk is) the deal is made during the economy that exists in 2006, but the deal runs through 2014 when the salary cap should be much higher. It's obviously not breaking the bank now, think what it'll look like in 2012 when the cap will probably be $8 million higher.

Which is why Dipietro's deal, if he remains healthy, is the best deal in the league. A top young goalie signed for a fair amount NOW, will be a steal down the road if he keeps playing the way he is now.

Datsyuk's deal is good if he plays the rest of the years the way he has played this season with no improvement. If he improves, it gets that much better.

[Kira 451]

I agree...there is something to be said for long term security in a job.

Edited December 12, 2007 by Kira

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

So long as Dats gets to play center more often and get his opportunities from anywhere on the ice besides the left hand boards, the deal is great.

Dats @ left wing makes Gordie

I have to admire your restraint Gordie (I'm being totally serious). Didn't Dats' latest goal outburst start when he got moved back to center?

Suddenly the thread you started, even if your original point got massively derailed by people with no reading comprehension skills, looks prescient.

[BlueMonk 102]

I loved this deal from the instant I heard about it, and that was before the playoffs when lots of people were convinced that a) Datsyuk couldn't get it done in the playoffs and b) would suffer a major performance drop now that he had his contract.

I thought Datsyuk was bound to see an uptick in his playoff numbers, which he in fact did last season. But even if he hadn't, I still liked the deal. You have to make the playoffs to win in the playoffs, and even if Datsyuk's only contributions were in the regular season, he would have been tough to replace.

But yes, it's too early to pass judgment on the deal. It looks good so far, though.

[13dats 1]

You're right, Dmitriy...I think we've done a good thing in keeping Pasha for the next seven years. I honestly think that knowing he's safe and under contract for a long time has helped to loosen him up a little and he's starting to show his real self. I've seen more emotion and more energy this season, and he's just been a blast to watch. Not that he hasn't been before, of course. As I told someone else, he makes the hockey gods weep with joy, and 29 other teams jealous as hell.

Pat, you can't even imagine how many more emotions (positive) I'm hearing from him lately.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

I agree with those that are stating that right now its a fair deal, with the potential to be a steal down the road. Right now, I expect a $6.7 million a year player to be producing the way Dats is.

If Dats can continue this pace over the next 6 seasons the deal will get better. If he's able to up his production and continue to develop his physical game, it will be an absolute steal.

[Guest GordieSid&Ted]

I have to admire your restraint Gordie (I'm being totally serious). Didn't Dats' latest goal outburst start when he got moved back to center?

Suddenly the thread you started, even if your original point got massively derailed by people with no reading comprehension skills, looks prescient.

True Dat!

or would it be True Dats!

I'm not certain but I think the first 2 goals he scored that started the tear (these were in separate games I think, then he had a 2 goal night afterwards) came when he was carrying the puck up center ice. I don't recall if he took the faceoff or not but he did take the puck, carry it up through center and took beautiful snap shots from the slot to score both times.

Prior to that game he had primarily let Zetterberg carry the puck or he took the puck up ice along the left wing boards and never ventured too far from them thereby he wasn't getting good looks at the net.

If you look at the Kopecky goal from the other night Dats made a brilliant pass from the left wing boards. And that's what Dats does over there, he looks to pass and pass only. You can't really get a decent shot off from that area of the ice being left handed.

The past few weeks he's been playing more center (and playing with different wingers for all those who said it was blasphemous to separate the DZH line) and carrying the puck alot more. It's turned into him getting alot of chances from the slot or from the right side of the ice where he's in a better shooting angle. Seems to be the reason he's scoring more goals lately. And I don't think it has alot to do with shots because he was taking alot of shots from game 1. Its the area of the ice where he's taking the shots now and that was the gist of my original thread.

[rick zombo 3,739]

What some of you are missing is that even if Datsyuk's production drops slightly over the years it probably will be in proportion to the cap growth and the increase in players salaries.

Basically, in 3 years time someone making 6.7/yr will be the equivalent of 5 or 5.5 right now. And I doubt in three years time Datsyuk will be playing any worse than Ryan Smyth is this year. Make sense?

Edit: pure speculation on my part above ^ ^ ^

Also, as Holland noted, the precedent for length of these deals has been set. Look at Briere, Gomez, Dipietro, etc. Every star player wants length as much as money. Even though Datsyuk's deal was penned before the big ones this past summer, I imagine Holland had a good long stare into the market and realized what he had to do.

Edited December 12, 2007 by rick zombo

[Opie 308]

He's also stealing the puck a lot more, with a league-high 51 takeaways, well on pace to best his NHL-leading total of 107 last season.

I did not know that, said in my best Phil Hartman doing Ed McMahon voice!

[Earthhuman 8]

I'm proud to say that I thought that deal was completely fair.

Hey... imagine if we had waited till after the playoffs to sign him. He might have gone somewhere else. Nothing against him, he's in my sig and that's business.

Kenny managed to sign him, and has enough for Zetterberg, too.

EDIT: Just realized, I had way more trust in Dats to resign than I did with Zetterberg. His comments on being in Detroit seem very... reserved. I'm sure he'll resign though, he's just being safe.

Edited December 12, 2007 by Earthhuman

[eva unit zero 271]

True Dat!

or would it be True Dats!

I'm not certain but I think the first 2 goals he scored that started the tear (these were in separate games I think, then he had a 2 goal night afterwards) came when he was carrying the puck up center ice. I don't recall if he took the faceoff or not but he did take the puck, carry it up through center and took beautiful snap shots from the slot to score both times.

Prior to that game he had primarily let Zetterberg carry the puck or he took the puck up ice along the left wing boards and never ventured too far from them thereby he wasn't getting good looks at the net.

If you look at the Kopecky goal from the other night Dats made a brilliant pass from the left wing boards. And that's what Dats does over there, he looks to pass and pass only. You can't really get a decent shot off from that area of the ice being left handed.

The past few weeks he's been playing more center (and playing with different wingers for all those who said it was blasphemous to separate the DZH line) and carrying the puck alot more. It's turned into him getting alot of chances from the slot or from the right side of the ice where he's in a better shooting angle. Seems to be the reason he's scoring more goals lately. And I don't think it has alot to do with shots because he was taking alot of shots from game 1. Its the area of the ice where he's taking the shots now and that was the gist of my original thread.

It also demonstrates the potential success of my original solution to the problem; move Homer to LW and Dats to RW.

[gcom007 1,465]

The only question mark was always the playoffs and he proved admirably that that wasn't an issue last year. Even so, one has to consider the injuries he had to deal with heading into the playoffs other years when considering that. Also, consider just how many big plays he makes even in the regular season. He's the kind of guy who puts people in the seats. As much as you do'nt want to let the business side interfere with the team you ice, you've gotta consider stuff like that when assessing the situation. Definitely worth it though. One of the best pure scoring machines in the league today.

[WingNutt 12]

I was very pleased when I heard, not only that we came to a deal and singed Pavel again, but the term was a very pleasant suprise. I can't really see Pavel playing for any other team but the Wings, he just fits so well here.

He plays his heart out every night is always is amazing the fans and players alike. Being able to watch a guy like Pavel play hockey in Detroit on a regular basis is priceless if you ask me. He is really starting to find his niche in Detroit and I hope he enjoys playing in Detroit as much as we enjoy watching him play for Detroit.

So I would say the long term deal is paying off for sure, he just continues to get better and better. I also think a lot of our younger talent feeds off of the energy of Pavel and Hank when they play.

and Dmitriy its good to hear Pavel is in happy, and having fun. Players play a lot better when they are having fun

[wingslogo19 281]

Im glad that Dats is playing so well right now, and lets hope he continues this right into the playoffs. But I think it's a bit to early to judge so far.. Oh well GO PAVS

[Shockwave180 0]

What happened to the DWPAKASAPA club that was so popular a year ago?

I notice those sigs seem to have disappeared for now.

[datsyukiandeke 0]

"I hear everybody last night on TV while I was watching games talking about (Vincent) Lecavalier and (Sidney) Crosby but the best player in the league right now is Datsyuk without any question in my opinion," said Babcock. "He's just upped the ante that much and he's playing well."

http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=34636...mp;service=page

[egroen 384]

Datsyuk is just the sort of player you can feel safe locking up long term. He plays smart and like Lidstrom, reduces his risk of injury greatly. My biggest fear is locking up a power forward long term and watching him play 30 games a year due to injuries and concussions.

51 steals is leaps and bounds beyond anyone else in the league, by the way.... I do not think there is a single other player at 40.

Yes, you get Datsyuk's production -- but by god, he is a constant threat on the ice -- with, or without the puck. Absolutely a pure joy to behold. It's like watching Barry Sanders all over again.