lock up filppula and the other guys longterm now !

[e_mcgrath88 0]

i been saying for a while now how due to the raise zetterberg will get and others how we should lock up our guys now before they test the market and could get more down the road and i say we do it fast !

We got 14 mill cap space next season to sign our guys and others .. and 21 when zetterbergs big deal is up

filppula has been doing amazing , the potential we all hoped for and the wings organization is now coming through big time , we should reward him and lock him up longterm ... agreed ?

Same with others .... here are my ideas for contracts let me know if its realistic and too much or not enough , and do you guys think we should react now and lock these guys up??

filppula 5 yrs at 2.75 per yr

cleary 4 yrs at 2.5 per

franzen 3 yrs at 2 per

hudler after next season , 5 yrs 3 per

ozzie 2 yrs 2 per

our cap would go up around 8 million just by signing those guys up ..... and we'd have to lock up or replace .... hasek , chelios , lilja, downey,drake

anyways id definetly like to see filppula and cleary be locked up 4-5 yrs real soon and not have to think about it ..... thoughts??

3 for hudler? are you off your rocker?

[shannyfan1414 0]

5.5?? try 8.5

I know that he should be the highest paid. My only point is that I WOULD LIKE to see him take a home team discount so that we can do some things. Once Nick retires you give him part ownership of the team as part of his salary.

[betterREDthandead 58]

I know that he should be the highest paid. My only point is that I WOULD LIKE to see him take a home team discount so that we can do some things. Once Nick retires you give him part ownership of the team as part of his salary.

He might take a home team discount of $750K a year. Not a full $3 million. If Kenny comes at him with $5.5 million, Hank will be a St. Louis Blue the very next day. The negotiations will probably start no lower than $6.75, minimum.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

He might take a home team discount of $750K a year. Not a full $3 million. If Kenny comes at him with $5.5 million, Hank will be a St. Louis Blue the very next day. The negotiations will probably start no lower than $6.75, minimum.

Oh God, I'd be in tears if that happened

[Hollinger 0]

<insert various Flip praise here>

Lately he's emerged as a great player and I do think he deserves a nice long contract.

He's really a good kid. I think he was falling through the cracks, taking a backseat to some more

well known players (Dats, Z, etc).

He's getting himself noticed now, he worked for, he deserves it.

[betterREDthandead 58]

Lately he's emerged as a great player and I do think he deserves a nice long contract.

He's really a good kid. I think he was falling through the cracks, taking a backseat to some more

well known players (Dats, Z, etc).

He's getting himself noticed now, he worked for, he deserves it.

Well, everyone on the team but Lidstrom takes a backseat to Dats and Z. But I think Flip's coming-out party was last year's playoffs. Specifically, when he outraced a Calgary Flame to the puck and scored a key goal in I think Game 2 of that series - at least, that's the play that sticks out in my mind as when I first "noticed" Flip out there. Since then all I've seen out of the guy is hustle, hustle, hustle.

[Nev 1,085]

I know that he should be the highest paid. My only point is that I WOULD LIKE to see him take a home team discount so that we can do some things.

Zetterberg signing for $7M *IS* a home team discount. He is worth $8m, at least, on the open market.

7 years $54M, would be a fair deal to me. $7M the first 3 years (more than Dats, less than Nick - as it should be), then $8M for 4 years after Nick's extension runs out, making him the highest paid player on the team.

As for the cap, as I understand it, Hasek's bonuses count against the cap. So his cap figure is more like $4M than $2M. No way he'll be back next year so that gives us a bit more wriggle room.

I had Flip down as a Jere Lehtinen type player, solid 2 way guy with 20-25 goals a year. If he keeps this up he be even more. Certainly his value is soaring right now. Of course, he could just be a streaky player.....

Question: Wings that have left via Free Agency that the wings wanted to keep AND got more money elsewhere. Shanny and Feds don't count as they were offered matching contracts by Detroit, but wanted out for personal reasons. Point being, the only Redwings that leave are the ones Kenny don't want

[Guest wingswillwincup]

If players want to stay with a team longterm, theyll take the slightly lesser paycheck to do it. I can easily see Cleary and Flip taking 3-5 year contracts at lesser terms in order to stay with the team. Flip is surrounded by great Euros and is a team player. Cleary is a similar team player and has found a niche here in Detroit. IMO, Cleary would be crazy to leave. Franzen is a different story. I could see him wanting to go to a team where he could earn more ice time. Hudler I can see leaving too, but thats another year off. Osgood will definitely take a discount to stay.

Draper and Lids will be making slightly less and a guy like Quincey will likely take over Liljas spot at a few 100k less. Haseks money coming off the books will help, and the fact that the cap is projected to reach 54 million only helps matters. Keep in mind the more the cap goes up, the more it benefits Detroit. There are plenty of teams out there (Nashville, Anaheim, LA, Buffalo off the top of my head) that have self-imposed caps already. You can be sure other owners will start to impose similar restrictions on their teams, whereas we know Illitch will give Holland free reign...

hudler is 23 , he wont be old enough to leave after next season, hes gone if someone gives him a crazy offer sheet or we trade him ....and as for the cap going up as you mentioned , its good for us and i aint complaining but if it keeps going up every year then what the hell was the point of us missing a year of hockey ?? We'll be back to where we started

[Guest wingswillwincup]

3 for hudler? are you off your rocker?

off my rocker ?? LMAO ... good one , kronwall is getting 3 mill per incase you haven't noticed , if you wanna lock up guys longterm then you gotta give them something worth staying for , you think he'd take 2 million per ? , 2.75 minimum on a longterm deal , the guy is on pace for 50 - 60 pts in his 2nd season , look around the league at what some guys are getting and their production , 3 mill per for 5 yrs lets say is not alot of money

[wingsfan40 0]

I love chelios and all but someone needs to explain to me why he's not making league minimum...He plays for the enjoyment of the game it seems like so why give him around a mill a year....We can't even play him in back to back games because we are scared he's not going to be able to handle it. I understand he is good in the playoffs and whatnot but at his age he should be lucky a team even lets him play

[Opie 308]

Chelios whether you think it or not is a great fit for this team, and is a sure lock HOFer. The Wings are paying him 850K a year, you want him making less than that. He is a steal for that money.

No he is not a Norris trophy candidate, but he is a veteran presence that plays very solid D, he is great for the youngsters on D (the wings have a lot there) and if you think that for a minute there aren't other teams that would pay him 1mil, ask Toronto what a defenseman who is solid in his own zone, makes few mistakes and can help shut down the other team is worth. Hell they don't have any defenseman that play as well as he does in their own zone, they would love him.

HE is pissed that he has to sit out the second game, BABCOCK wants him rested. Why not, your team is by far the best team in the league, your D is the best in the league, you sit your one of your top 3 defensive defenseman, and your team gives up 2 goals and wins the game.

Cheli (defensively remember) is better than any other d-man on this team besides Lids and Ralf, if Kronwall can make 3mil why not pay Cheli 850k, it is not like it is pinning the team to the cap, you pay him what (in your mind at least) is an overpayment, but you know what you are getting. If each year a team goes out and replaces their 5th d-man year after year with aging vets you get no chemisty on D.

This D has lost 2 D-men over the past what 5 years, Fischer and Schneids.

Cheli is a perfect fit in Detroit both in salary number and play.

[egroen 384]

Any team in the league would be happy to pay $3 million for a year of Chelios. Behind Lidstrom he is our most sound defensively, without question.

Babcock has the luxury here of keeping him out of back-to-back games... Chelios would be happy to play every game, and most teams out there would do just that with him.

[Reds4Life 51]

Chelios deserves respect, he's "goddamn old" (as he said )) but he plays really great, he was outstanding in the 07 playoffs imho, I just love that guy, he's true leader, we should be grateful he's willing to play for so little money.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

I love chelios and all but someone needs to explain to me why he's not making league minimum...He plays for the enjoyment of the game it seems like so why give him around a mill a year....We can't even play him in back to back games because we are scared he's not going to be able to handle it. I understand he is good in the playoffs and whatnot but at his age he should be lucky a team even lets him play

He earns that 800-900k on reputation alone. The guy is a bulldog that brings a ton to this team in intangibles. That and the class of the Red Wings organization is why hes still earning nearly 1M per season.

[wingsfan40 0]

Chelios whether you think it or not is a great fit for this team, and is a sure lock HOFer. The Wings are paying him 850K a year, you want him making less than that. He is a steal for that money.

No he is not a Norris trophy candidate, but he is a veteran presence that plays very solid D, he is great for the youngsters on D (the wings have a lot there) and if you think that for a minute there aren't other teams that would pay him 1mil, ask Toronto what a defenseman who is solid in his own zone, makes few mistakes and can help shut down the other team is worth. Hell they don't have any defenseman that play as well as he does in their own zone, they would love him.

HE is pissed that he has to sit out the second game, BABCOCK wants him rested. Why not, your team is by far the best team in the league, your D is the best in the league, you sit your one of your top 3 defensive defenseman, and your team gives up 2 goals and wins the game.

Cheli (defensively remember) is better than any other d-man on this team besides Lids and Ralf, if Kronwall can make 3mil why not pay Cheli 850k, it is not like it is pinning the team to the cap, you pay him what (in your mind at least) is an overpayment, but you know what you are getting. If each year a team goes out and replaces their 5th d-man year after year with aging vets you get no chemisty on D.

This D has lost 2 D-men over the past what 5 years, Fischer and Schneids.

Cheli is a perfect fit in Detroit both in salary number and play.

Any team in the league would be happy to pay $3 million for a year of Chelios. Behind Lidstrom he is our most sound defensively, without question.

Babcock has the luxury here of keeping him out of back-to-back games... Chelios would be happy to play every game, and most teams out there would do just that with him.

Both are good arguments. I wouldnt say any team in the league would be happy to pay 3 mill but you've justified what he's making to me. Just seems like its going to have to hit a point where he will start making even less then he is now.

[Opie 308]

Wingsfan40,

I see that time coming sooner rather than later, I am amaze that he is still playing this well, I really have to think a lot of it is his desire and work ethic, but that offseason workout routine has got to take most of the credit.

I think Cheli being the competitor he is he will take an yzerman approach, meaning when he is no longer able to play at an acceptable level (to him) he will leave the game.

I see him retiring before the wings have to say, listen dude, you are not worth 850k anymore!

[wingsfan40 0]

Wingsfan40,

I see that time coming sooner rather than later, I am amaze that he is still playing this well, I really have to think a lot of it is his desire and work ethic, but that offseason workout routine has got to take most of the credit.

I think Cheli being the competitor he is he will take an yzerman approach, meaning when he is no longer able to play at an acceptable level (to him) he will leave the game.

I see him retiring before the wings have to say, listen dude, you are not worth 850k anymore!

That sounds fair enough...and to be honest thats the way it should be. I would rather go out with grace then be told its time to hang them up. Thanks again for enlightening me on the cheli subject. I don't know what I would do without the LGWs crew to guide my hockey knowledge...or lack there of

Edited December 28, 2007 by wingsfan40

[Opie 308]

This is a pretty good forum if you can weed your way through the "Bring Back ____", "Goalie war", "___ Sucks and is Lazy" threads, once in a while you will even find a nugget of truth in those threads as well!!!

[up2here 41]

My guess is that the Wings will offer the indentical contract to Hank that Pavel got.It would be hard to argue who the better player is.

[KrazyGangsta 79]

I love flip ... he reminds me of zetterberg maybe not point wise but surely his defensive game ... hudler i like him also we should lock them up 4-5-6 years while their still cheap

[Nev 1,085]

off my rocker ?? LMAO ... good one , kronwall is getting 3 mill per incase you haven't noticed , if you wanna lock up guys longterm then you gotta give them something worth staying for , you think he'd take 2 million per ? , 2.75 minimum on a longterm deal , the guy is on pace for 50 - 60 pts in his 2nd season , look around the league at what some guys are getting and their production , 3 mill per for 5 yrs lets say is not alot of money

Hockey is a violent sport, but the NHL has guarenteed contracts - hence why Luongo and Richards are willing to sign LOOOONG contracts. They are trading off short-term financial gain for long-term security. Of course I'm no suggesting we throw a 7yr deal at Hudler, he'll probly want no more than 3 or 4 to take him to when he's an UFA (when payday really comes around).

As for Chelios, I thought the CBA had the minimum wage going up for players as they got older/played more games? Anyway you look at it, $0.85M for a HOF defenceman and part-time on-ice coach is a steal.

[Barrie 900]

Zetterberg should and will be the highest paid player on the team when he re-signs. Asking him to take a big home team discount would be insulting.

I'm all for locking up Filppula, Huds, Cleary, etc. long term, but it's probably not a must to do it ASAP.

[Barrie 900]

As for Chelios, I thought the CBA had the minimum wage going up for players as they got older/played more games? Anyway you look at it, $0.85M for a HOF defenceman and part-time on-ice coach is a steal.

As long as he can keep up with the young guys, I'd love to have Cheli around.

[Guest wingswillwincup]

Zetterberg should and will be the highest paid player on the team when he re-signs. Asking him to take a big home team discount would be insulting.

I'm all for locking up Filppula, Huds, Cleary, etc. long term, but it's probably not a must to do it ASAP.

well as long as lidstrom is playing i dont think he should be the highest paid player ...... i LOVE zetterberg and as amazing as he has been this year , this is his FIRST big year , not saying it wont happen again but its still his first , i dont think he should get more then lidstrom so i see , or maybe its im hoping for a 7 yr ,7 mill per or 7.25 per yr , no more