Wings Still Want to Keep Stuart

[Hank 0]

That would be quite a coup if Holland kept Stuart for under $3.5 million. Obvoiusly this is some posturing through the press... but I have thought Stuart at $4 million or anything below is still a good deal. Be interesting to see what happens.

Holland just needs to point at Markov to show he does not bluff.

Yeah, I'll be surprised if this happens. Stuart seems to love it on the left-coast so who knows if he sticks around for less than $4M.

And I'm sure his agent is still whispering in his ear how he was a 3rd pick overall and would be the #1 or #2 guy on many other NHL teams.

My hope is that Stuart realizes that he's a much better #4 on Detroit than a #2 in Atlanta.

I'm sure Holland will have no problems locking him up longterm (3-5 years) so there should be some comfort to him knowing that he'll remain in a great hockey market, making a fantastic living, on a great team for the remainder of his prime years.

Lets hope.

[Aussie_Wing 354]

If there's something I hate more than anything it's players acquired at the deadline not re-signing with their teams. But I guess this situation is a bit different. I saw someone say he might be worth $5 million. No way is he worth that. He’s a very good defenseman but $5 million? I want him back however I don't think he will be back. And besides, and I've said this a few times now, Quincey won't be as good but I would really hate to see him walk away.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

A $3M+ #4 helped us win the Cup. We most certainly have the money for it.

What else are we going to spend the money on? You holding out hope for Hossa or something?

Oh dont get me wrong, I liked Stuart alot and want to re-sign him. I just dont know if Kenny would be willing to pay that much.

No, no, no. I dont want Hossa anywhere near the Wings, he has the lure "Choke" all over him. Talented yeah, but cant win when it counts and doesnt have the heart needed to play on the Wings. He can stay in Pittsburgh.

[DSM 114]

For 08/09

Our estimated cap hit is 39.523 million

That gives us ~16 million free space

We need to sign these players:

Filppula - 2.5 million?

Howard - 1 million?

Ericsson - 1 million?

Chelios - 750k?

*Lilja - 1.5 million?

*Stuart - 3 millon?

* not sure if they stay

That is excellent situation!

For 09/10

Mule will get more money - 3 million?

Zata will get more money - 7 million?

Hudler and Samuelsson will get roughly the same

We really need to sign #4 defenseman for about 3 million, Brad Stuart or someone else, longterm and we are good for years to come!

2 things:

-No way Howard and Ericsson make $1mil when they haven't even earned solid spots on the roster yet. Think somewhere around $650K

-Paying Lilja a #5/6/7 Dman more than $900K a season is flushing money down the toilet. He rejected an offer of $1mil a year so its time to let him go.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Theres always commodore. Thats all I have to say. Ive wanted that guy in a Wings jersey since he manhandled us against calgary, what, 5 years ago?

And he had a pretty s***ty go of it in Ottawa. That could drive his UFA price down a bit. Hed shine in Detroit. Detroit makes all defenseman look better.

Edited June 16, 2008 by YoungGuns1340

[Rice 42]

Theres always commodore. Thats all I have to say. Ive wanted that guy in a Wings jersey since he manhandled us against calgary, what, 5 years ago?

And he had a pretty s***ty go of it in Ottawa. That could drive his UFA price down a bit. Hed shine in Detroit. Detroit makes all defenseman look better.

I like Commodore a lot, but I don't know if he can move the puck well enough to fit in here. Lilja sucks but the guy can make a good outlet pass.

[Andy Pred 48 337]

No one knows what Brads intention's are except himself. At present he must be looking at where he is

at and where he could end up. Money over ambition is the main issue here I feel. Yes he could get more,

say $3.5-$4m elsewhere but what sort of teams are going to offer that? Probably ones that are struggling

and in all likeliness not going to be in the race come post season. He stays at the Joe, looks at the roster

and see's a team capable of repeating this years win for the next amount of years. Its a tuff call and when

contracts differ by $1-$2m it is very easy to see why players make a call us Wings fans wouldn't. I hope he

stays and signs for 3yrs, we would be set at the back end and could look to strenghten upfront with the cap

space left over. If he needs any prompting on staying a Wing he should just have a look at what Cleary, Lilja

and Sammy have done in the 3yrs they have been here. Their careers have been transformed from moderate journeymen to winners on a great team. But if your a guy who judges players on stats staying a Wing is a no

brainer. Last year and before joining the Wings this spring Brad played on the Bruins Flames and Kings roster.

He had 144 games in all with 12g and 32a but a poor -29 rating. Although he has only played 30 games for the Redwings his 2+9 and impressive +21 is want makes him a wanted commodity. This is what Brad should

look at, and what could tilt the balance into the Wings favour. At the end of the day its his call and no matter

what he does, he played a big part in the Wings getting their hands on Stanley for the 11th time. So for that

we should be thankful he came here in the first place.

[kylee 727]

come on Stewieee resign!

he made some big plays in the playoffs and especially the Cup finals (he was the one who held in the puck and passed it to Rex during game 4 that led to the GWG)

[Kp-Wings 3]

nevermind

Edited June 16, 2008 by Kp-Wings

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Spot on assessment.

If any opposing GM flashes wads of $$$ Stuarts' way - thinking that he's a top 2 Dman due to his performace this spring - will be upset since Stewy isn't a top 2 guy, & it showed in LA/Boston/San Jose...Only other place where he fit in/played to his potential was in Calgary.

In Calgary he was behind Phaneuf, Hamrlik and Regehr. That's where he's most effective, 4th defenceman.

[Echolalia 2,961]

I think the only big obstacle between us and him is his wife and his family priorities. It is to my understanding that his wife cannot leave the state of California without relinquishing her rights to custody over her daughter (Stuart's stepdaughter). That has an impact on a person that neither money nor job security even touches.

On the flip side, if he does end up leaving us to return to California, it will decrease his overall value as a player, and I don't think he will be able to earn much more than 2.5-3M a year, simply because the Kings, Sharks, and/or Ducks won't be able to trade him away at a deadline, because every team will know that he is for certain a rent-a-player. I think either way you look at it, Stuart won't be making his ideal amount.

[AUWingsFan 0]

I hope we can resign Stuart, I really liked the physical play he brought with Kronwall, and it was nice to be able to pair Lidstrom or Rafalski with Kronwal or Stuart to give the team another way to mix offense with big hitting....

Hopefully he'll sign on for more money, but regardless I have faith that Holland will do the right thing.....sure I've been disappointed with some moves in the past few years (I thought it was bad to lose Schneider and Bertuzzi, but Kenny replaced Schneider with Rafalski which was brilliant and we really didn't miss Bertuzzi, especially with the emergence of Franzen).....but overall I trust that Ken Holland knows a lot more about the market and each situation than any of us know so he'll be able to make a very educated decision, so I'm cool with whatever he decides because we do have lots of talent on D in our system.....

[YoungGuns1340 1]

That will be the primary reason if he doesn't re-sign with us; can't blame him though since he's gotta do what's best for his family.

Even if he leaves we're in good shape with our plethora of young Dmen...Holland could use the $$$ he would offer Stuart for Hank/Flip/Mule.

Once again, the money to sign Filppula, Zetterberg and Franzen is there REGARDLESS of whether or not we sign Stuart. Holland wouldnt be looking to re-sign Stuart if it jeopardized re-signing those three guys.

Edited June 17, 2008 by YoungGuns1340

[YoungGuns1340 1]

On the flip side, if he does end up leaving us to return to California, it will decrease his overall value as a player, and I don't think he will be able to earn much more than 2.5-3M a year, simply because the Kings, Sharks, and/or Ducks won't be able to trade him away at a deadline, because every team will know that he is for certain a rent-a-player. I think either way you look at it, Stuart won't be making his ideal amount.

How will it decrease his overall value as a player? LA just gave him 3.5M. Now that he played great in Detroit and won a cup, you think theyre going to lowball him? He'll get a hell of a lot more than 2.5M and easily more than 3M anywhere he goes. And Anaheim can take a shot at him too if Niedermayer retires, which from what I heard looks like a good possibility.

[stevie for president 42]

How will it decrease his overall value as a player? LA just gave him 3.5M. Now that he played great in Detroit and won a cup, you think theyre going to lowball him? He'll get a hell of a lot more than 2.5M and easily more than 3M anywhere he goes. And Anaheim can take a shot at him too if Niedermayer retires, which from what I heard looks like a good possibility.

If he stays in CA, the demand goes potentially from 30 teams to 3 teams. Supply is constant, demand is drastically lowered, so price also drops. Even if you say the supply is greater now simply because he played out of his mind and won a cup, it still wouldnt be 10 times the value at the start of the season.

If neids retired he will turn 35 during the league year (it starts july 1st i believe) amd not before the league year starts. if a player over 35 signs a contract and retires he counts on the cap, im not sure how it works if he retires before he turns 35 but subsequently turns 35 during the season. i know if he clears waivers and plays in the AHL he wont count against the cap, but im not sure if its the same for retiring.

[Glubki 17]

If he stays in CA, the demand goes potentially from 30 teams to 3 teams. Supply is constant, demand is drastically lowered, so price also drops. Even if you say the supply is greater now simply because he played out of his mind and won a cup, it still wouldnt be 10 times the value at the start of the season.

If neids retired he will turn 35 during the league year (it starts july 1st i believe) amd not before the league year starts. if a player over 35 signs a contract and retires he counts on the cap, im not sure how it works if he retires before he turns 35 but subsequently turns 35 during the season. i know if he clears waivers and plays in the AHL he wont count against the cap, but im not sure if its the same for retiring.

Niedermayer signed his contract prior to turning 35 - I'm about 90% positive that the stipulation is based on the age at the time the contract is signed not the actual age of the retiree. His salary wouldn't count against the cap if he hangs them up. Ziggy Palffy retired when he was 33 and and the remainder of his 3 year deal was null and void.

[Bob Probert Owns You 0]

Anyone else love the thought of replacing Stuart with Brooks Orpik? He really impressed me in the finals. He might be more expensive, but he is young and a perfect compliment to Kronner on the second pairing.

[VM1138 1,921]

Anyone else love the thought of replacing Stuart with Brooks Orpik? He really impressed me in the finals. He might be more expensive, but he is young and a perfect compliment to Kronner on the second pairing.

I actualy like the idea. I'm not sure how good Brooks Orpik is, really, I haven't seen enough of him to play...but he sure seems to have a lot of buzz around him, and if he has room to grow, it'd be great to put him here. Only if Stuart leaves, that is.

[Turretin 0]

I actualy like the idea. I'm not sure how good Brooks Orpik is, really, I haven't seen enough of him to play...but he sure seems to have a lot of buzz around him, and if he has room to grow, it'd be great to put him here. Only if Stuart leaves, that is.

If you look at the Pens board, I get the feeling that we saw the best that Brooks Orpik has to offer. Sounds like he is usually a big liability that lays on a lot of cheap/borderline hits. Isn't he the one that basically stopped Erik Cole's development?

[chrisdetroit 189]

I hope we can resign Stuart, I really liked the physical play he brought with Kronwall, and it was nice to be able to pair Lidstrom or Rafalski with Kronwal or Stuart to give the team another way to mix offense with big hitting....

Hopefully he'll sign on for more money, but regardless I have faith that Holland will do the right thing.....sure I've been disappointed with some moves in the past few years (I thought it was bad to lose Schneider and Bertuzzi, but Kenny replaced Schneider with Rafalski which was brilliant and we really didn't miss Bertuzzi, especially with the emergence of Franzen).....but overall I trust that Ken Holland knows a lot more about the market and each situation than any of us know so he'll be able to make a very educated decision, so I'm cool with whatever he decides because we do have lots of talent on D in our system.....

Re-sign not resign.

[chrisdetroit 189]

I hope we can resign Stuart, I really liked the physical play he brought with Kronwall, and it was nice to be able to pair Lidstrom or Rafalski with Kronwal or Stuart to give the team another way to mix offense with big hitting....

Hopefully he'll sign on for more money, but regardless I have faith that Holland will do the right thing.....sure I've been disappointed with some moves in the past few years (I thought it was bad to lose Schneider and Bertuzzi, but Kenny replaced Schneider with Rafalski which was brilliant and we really didn't miss Bertuzzi, especially with the emergence of Franzen).....but overall I trust that Ken Holland knows a lot more about the market and each situation than any of us know so he'll be able to make a very educated decision, so I'm cool with whatever he decides because we do have lots of talent on D in our system.....

Those 2 statements say alot.