Stuart eying long-term deal

[Reds4Life 51]

4 years for 14mil would be great imho.

[10 Minute Misconduct 104]

Hey Kenny, fly his wife and baby out here and give them the star treatment. Stuart will see the effort and sign long term...plus if he has that family support in Motown during the WCF, he will play even better!

im sure a 2 week old baby really wants to fly across country

[T-Ruff 47]

I was surprised to learn he's only 28..... sign him!

[DEVILSWATERBOY 10]

All I have to say is hell yea get'r done Kenny

[kylee 727]

im very happy to hear this considering its about a guy everything thought was nothing more than a rental. i love how he plays.

[Nev 1,085]

I'd love to see this happen, but I dunno if Kenny will lock him up in a long-term deal after just 2-3 months as a Wing...

Except for the fact he tried to sign him as an UFA last summer.....

If we do sign him up, you can be sure Lilja will walk and we'll probly trade Lebda as well.

[irishtemper14+25 11]

man i love stewart, i hope he signs a 4 yr deal

[wingslogo19 281]

I would honestly love that.. Keeping my fingers crossed

[Opie 308]

Ralf 4 more years

Kronwall 4 more years

Lids 2 more years

Signing Stuart for 4 years would solidify this d for a long time!!!!

[Frozen-Man 144]

It seems that Stuart might be willing to take less than he could get on the free market in order to play with the Wings where he can win.

According to the Edmonton Journal:

While financial considerations will play a role in any negotiation, Stuart said the price of happiness isn't always tied to money.

The native of Rocky Mountain House, Alta., has had his fill of losing since entering the NHL with San Jose and L.A.

"Winning definitely comes into play," the 28-year-old Stuart said.

"Being on a losing team is not that much fun no matter what you're being paid. Coming to the rink, to a winning environment and a positive atmosphere is definitely worth something.

"Those things are going to be something I think more about after we're done (the season)."

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news...d47&k=73178

I loved this trade when it happened and would love it even more if they could lock Stuart up for 4 years within budget.

[T.OWingsFan 7]

4 years for 14mil would be great imho.

You people are ALL insane.

If this guy signs a long term deal worth something near to that money mark my words it will end up being a HUGE mistake.

[motorcitykid 42]

If this guy signs a long term deal worth something near to that money mark my words it will end up being a HUGE mistake.

3.5 a season is a HUGE mistake? Please continue ....

[stud_defenseman 1]

Well it sure beats walking/crawling

On a serious note; would be nice if he signed on for a few more years. Stewie, & Kronner are making a solid 2nd pairing, & it gives Holland a reason to unload extras like Lilja/Meech/Lebda, & to bring up some future Dmen in Quincey/Kindl/Ericsson.

that's exactly what I was hoping for. Those top four guys can log extra minutes while the younger guys get comfortable, that way there would not be so much pressure on them. Lilja and Lebda can both go for all I am concerned, both of these guys have hit their peak IMO, we could potentially get a lot more out of someone like ericsson, it just may take a bit of time.

I think Cheli will be back next year, but as we saw this year his time on ice as well as the number of games he plays will be decreased. I would like to see a trio of Chelios / Ericsson / Quincey or Meech rotating from a game to game basis based on who is playing well, that way if one of the rookies aren't playing well you can throw in good old chelios for a while and send them back down to the minors.

Then hopefully Ericsson has established himself as a #5 defencemen, Chelios will likely retire, and we can bring a guy like Kindl in 2 seasons from now.

[Frozen-Man 144]

You people are ALL insane.

If this guy signs a long term deal worth something near to that money mark my words it will end up being a HUGE mistake.

Any specific reason WHY it would be a huge mistake?

[Guest EZBAKETHAGANGSTA]

This may sound weird, but it is the fact that he is as good as he is and as cheap as he is. 3.5 for a POTENTIAL #2, and honestly he could be the #2 on a lot of other teams. That makes him easy to trade and a very interesting piece to trade for. Think about it you get a hard hitting responsible D man who can play pp point if need be, for 3.5. Stuart has been traded mostly during the season, which in my mind those trades are need based trades, where as Off season trades are more of a want based trade. But that is just my opinion!

how much weight does sturat have in trade talks?

apparently a second and a fourth.

[Frozen-Man 144]

All i care is that

a- Lilja leaves in FA

b- lebda dies from a heroine overdose or gets traded

c- chelios retires..

d- Big Rig/Quincey/Meech battle for 3rd pairing..

e- stewie signs his contract with us

WOW!?

[MississippiWing 14]

I think that would be an awesome four. I would love to see us take the Cup this year and let Cheli ride off in the sunset. Then he can get him a big front office job with us like Stevie

[SnipeShow 0]

i'm all for it but keep in mind franzen has to resign soon and he will want a decent upgrade on his salary, zetterberg is due for a big upgrade, filppula will want money too. If we get rid of some of the lower end guys (lilja, lebda, chelios, kopecky, downey) and just call a couple guys up (helm, abdelkader, meech, ericsson, quincey) we might be able to swing it.

[VM1138 1,921]

i'm all for it but keep in mind franzen has to resign soon and he will want a decent upgrade on his salary, zetterberg is due for a big upgrade, filppula will want money too. If we get rid of some of the lower end guys (lilja, lebda, chelios, kopecky, downey) and just call a couple guys up (helm, abdelkader, meech, ericsson, quincey) we might be able to swing it.

Filpulla doesn't deserve an increase in salary. He hasn't added anything to his game or improved his play. He's playing at arguably the same or lower level than last season. I definitely think he's trade bait and not due for an upgrade.

[LidsFan 68]

I want to see Stuart and Kronwall playing together for years to come, so I hope that everything works out. Stuart and Kronwall have great chemistry, just like Lidstrom and Rafalski do, and you don't mess with chemistry, so Stuart has to stay.

[StayStevieStay 0]

"The six-foot-three, 213-pound blue-liner is making US$3.5 million this year and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.

While financial considerations will play a role in any negotiation, Stuart said the price of happiness isn't always tied to money.

The native of Rocky Mountain House, Alta., has had his fill of losing since entering the NHL with San Jose and L.A.

"Winning definitely comes into play," the 28-year-old Stuart said.

"Being on a losing team is not that much fun no matter what you're being paid. Coming to the rink, to a winning environment and a positive atmosphere is definitely worth something."

-------------------------------------

Everytime he talks about this, it sounds more and more like he's gonna sign. Personally I want him to sign as I think he could prove himself better next season, once he gets more comfortable with our playing style and also takes part in our full-season conditioning.

[wingnut40 176]

Poop. Stuart is one of the few Red Wings I really don't like. He's made a bunch of dumb mistakes trying to be a 'physical pressance', goes out of position, causing odd man rushes which lead to goals. Oh and he screens our goalie. Like in game 3 and 4 of round one. At least Lilja is a stay at home defenseman and doesn't try to be a goal scorer. Whatever. Kenny's probably gonna "Get it done."

[wingnut40 176]

He's alot like his D partner Kronwall - high risk = high reward...He'll get better with his decision making process as time goes on, & he becomes more comfortable with Kronner.

One can only hope. I just don't think it's fair to Lilja that he goes from 4th D-man to 7th when he plays sounder D than Stuart. Kronwall and Lebda can contribute offensivley, unlike Stuart.

Edited May 8, 2008 by wingnut40

[StayStevieStay 0]

Dunno why Stewie's not on the 2nd pp unit with Kronner; is his hand/finger 100%? He def has the skills/shot to be out there - especially considering the alternative is Samuelsson

Yea I've been thinkin it's not 100% because half the time he shoots it seems he misses the net and I was pretty sure that he had a good shot before - Heck I think he even scored on us this year from the point for a GWG (Thats what sold Holland I think). And you can bet a broken finger probably affects accuracy the most.

[Frozen-Man 144]

He's alot like his D partner Kronwall - high risk = high reward...He'll get better with his decision making process as time goes on, & he becomes more comfortable with Kronner.

I think they may be splitting up Lids/Raf and Kronner/Stewart to get the benefit of the two of them on different lines and that will help Stewart with his decision making and should make it really hard for Dallas. I think it will reap benefits in this series and if Stewart signs will help long term as well.