110 replies to this topic

[Lidstrom for life]

According to mlive's George Malik "Bertuzzi repeatedly stated that he has two choices to weigh: he'll either continue playing for the Red Wings or he'll retire."

http://blog.mlive.co...ts_to_keep.html

Also in the article Holland says they will have to "hold the line" on Bertuzzi's 1.5 million dollar salary because raises are due for Abdelkator, Helm, Miller, and Eaves. I found that interesting because I know some people were thinking Abdelkator was not going to get a raise from his 850k salary.

Malik says the wings are looking at a # 6 dman and or a grinding forward in free agency and that they will not add a scoring line player. "Mike Babcock very plainly stated that the return of Jiri Hudler and step-up seasons from Dan Cleary, Valtteri Filppula, Jonathan Ericsson and Niklas Kronwall would offer the Wings the punch they lacked at times during the 2009-2010 season.
There's no payroll room to bring a marquee forward in, and, really, there's no need. Healthy seasons from Johan Franzen, Dan Cleary, Valtteri Filppula, Henrik Zetterberg and a 20-goal, 50-point season from Jiri Hudler will do the job."

I realize it isn't the most popular opinion on this board but I really want Bertuzzi to finish his career as a wing. I was kind of hoping we would find a way to squeeze in a bit more firepower but if we can find a good penalty killing defenseman and a checking forward I will be very happy.

[RedWingsRox]

Bertuzzi should jump at the chance to play for the Wings for another year at 1.5 mill.

[ShanahanMan]

Hey man, gotta admire the dedication and loyalty on Bertuzzi's part. The guy doesn't want to go anywhere else. Sign him Kenny, and just add in bold print to the contract that he has to listen to an audio self-help tape called "Two hands Are Better Than One".

In other news, how in God's name is Alligator due for a raise? The guy led (and still does) the playoffs in penalty minutes, is a minus player, and contributed a measly 6 points. I never understood the love for this guy. Oh, I'm sorry, he "sometimes tries to hit things". We might as well have kept Downey then and gave him a raise....at least Downey freakin fought. Man o man I scratch my head at this stuff sometimes. Also, we're keeping Miller? Is that really necessary? Didn't see him in the Wings future to be honest. Would have rather dipped a bit into the free agent market. A raise for Speedy Gonzalez and Eaves is understandable though. Oh, and weren't the last like 3 years supposed to be "step-up seasons" for Filppula and Cleary?

Edited by ShanahanMan, 05 June 2010 - 10:46 AM.

[Lidstrom for life]

Hey man, gotta admire the dedication and loyalty on Bertuzzi's part. The guy doesn't want to go anywhere else. Sign him Kenny, and just add in bold print to the contract that he has to listen to an audio self-help tape called "Two hands Are Better Than One".

In other news, how in God's name is Alligator due for a raise? The guy led (and still does) the playoffs in penalty minutes, is a minus player, and contributed a measly 6 points. Oh, I'm sorry, he "sometimes tries to hit things". We might as well have kept Downey then and gave him a raise....at least Downey freakin fought. Man o man I scratch my head at this stuff sometimes. Also, we're keeping Miller? Is that really necessary? Didn't see him in the Wings future to be honest. Would have rather dipped a bit into the free agent market. A raise for Speedy Gonzalez and Eaves is understandable though.

Regarding Miller, I think the main reason we are going to sign him is for competition in the summer. I think after training camp we will likely trade or waive Miller if it looks like Ritola is going to work out.

[Doc Holliday]

Well that will be pretty sad if he doesn't get a contract with Detroit.

1 mil for Bert to stay? Please?

[ShanahanMan]

Well that will be pretty sad if he doesn't get a contract with Detroit.

1 mil for Bert to stay? Please?

I have to quote this just because it will probably be the only time we're on the same page.

Regarding Miller, I think the main reason we are going to sign him is for competition in the summer. I think after training camp we will likely trade or waive Miller if it looks like Ritola is going to work out.

Um, okay then, invite him to training camp and see how it goes before signing him? I doubt many clubs will be banging on the door for his services.

[Green Wing]

In other news, how in God's name is Alligator due for a raise?

I'm fairly sure that under the terms of the CBA, he's due a small increase up to roughly 890k. Hopefully that would be the extent of it, for now.

[Hockeytown0001]

I like this. Re-sign him.

[Broken 16]

Well that will be pretty sad if he doesn't get a contract with Detroit.

1 mil for Bert to stay? Please?

That would be nice, but I can't see how anybody could justify paying Bert 800K less than Homer.

[Doc Holliday]

That would be nice, but I can't see how anybody could justify paying Bert 800K less than Homer.

I'm a wishful thinker when it comes to contracts.

Zetterberg for 4? Datsyuk for 5? Lidstrom for 5? Rafalski without that silly NTC?

[Wings_Toledo]

I used to hate Bertuzzi but after he was traded to Florida and then ended up on the Wings I didn't dislike the guy so much. Now, I really hope he stays. It shows that he really wants to stay in Detroit and considering his injuries and age, he didn't have a horrible season last year. I also like the organization's mentality of making their own players improve rather than going after free agent scorers. Sure, it would be nice to have an insane amount of firepower, but unless you make the guys you already have play better, you're not going to get better as a team. If Kenny can sign Bertuzzi for less than $2M then I'm all for it. Guys who can score over 20 goals don't come along at that price tag very often.

[Zetts]

In other news, how in God's name is Alligator due for a raise? The guy led (and still does) the playoffs in penalty minutes, is a minus player, and contributed a measly 6 points. I never understood the love for this guy. Oh, I'm sorry, he "sometimes tries to hit things". We might as well have kept Downey then and gave him a raise....at least Downey freakin fought. Man o man I scratch my head at this stuff sometimes. Also, we're keeping Miller? Is that really necessary? Didn't see him in the Wings future to be honest. Would have rather dipped a bit into the free agent market. A raise for Speedy Gonzalez and Eaves is understandable though. Oh, and weren't the last like 3 years supposed to be "step-up seasons" for Filppula and Cleary?


LOL Cleary hasn't done s*** since he got his NTC and Filppula is about as reliable as the weather forecast.

Uh, Filppula has improved every season over the past 3 years.
07/08 was a ppg avg of 0.46
08/09 was 0.5
09/10 was 0.64

His pace over 82 games this past season would have made him a 52 point player. Then factor in the fact that returning from injuries slows you down, the Wings sucked for stretches of the season and he's likely still improving.

It is in no way unreasonable to expect a 55-60 point performance from him. And combined with fairly solid play all around the ice, I don't know what more people want from him.

As for Cleary, he did have a step-up year three years ago. Then he admittedly had a bit of a setback year in 08/09 and we all know what happened this year.

My point is, I agree that we don't need more offense. I'd be very happy if we can get a good fourth line player and a good sixth/seventh defenceman.

Edited by Zetts, 05 June 2010 - 11:27 AM.

[redwingfan19]

this is the news I have finally been waiting to hear. Really hope bert comes back and kenny signs that gritty 4th liner and a physical stay at home D man. Now all this tanguay and lombardi coming to the wings nonsense can be put to rest.

[Doc Holliday]

I'm a wishful thinker when it comes to contracts.

Zetterberg for 4? Datsyuk for 5? Lidstrom for 5? Rafalski without that silly NTC?

I got negged for being overly optomistic regarding the contracts?

How dare I.

[LeftWinger]

Well this is pretty good news. The way I read it is, Bertuzzi either chooses to play a couple more seasons with Detroit for at the most Holmstrom's money OR retire and make nothing...

Considering Helm and Abdelkader, yes they will both get raises, but they will probably only get the minimum required by the CBA, since Abby didn't really earn a contract that pays him a million or more and Helm only made just under $600,000 last season and, as important he is to the future of this team, he didn't do enough to nearly double his salary, so I would expect if not the minimum, no more than $750,000.

As for Miller and Eaves, with Hudler coming back and Ritola out of options, there is really only room for one of these guys (if Bertuzzi comes back.) With Holland saying he wants to sign a grinding 4th liner, I dont see how he can sign all these guys. I am fully on board with a #6 defensman, I really hope he just doesn't opt to re-sign Lilja, but who else is out there in the million dollar range? Same with a grinding forward, it'll have to be someone to come in for $1.5M or less...

[Datsyukian Geek]

I still don't get how Kenny can justify not bringing in more offense. We never replaced the production we lost after 2008-2009, and Hudler will be rusty as s***, I don't expect SFA from him this season.

Drop Lebda, Williams, and maybe someone else (Lilja's name keeps coming up) and get a G.D. scoring RW to work the 1st/2nd line.

[Zetts]

I still don't get how Kenny can justify not bringing in more offense. We never replaced the production we lost after 2008-2009, and Hudler will be rusty as s***, I don't expect SFA from him this season.

Drop Lebda, Williams, and maybe someone else (Lilja's name keeps coming up) and get a G.D. scoring RW to work the 1st/2nd line.

Beacuse you can't expect to stay at the level of firepower we had that season. We had contracts with stars being undervalued. Most notably, Zetterberg's contract was 2.8 or so I believe? The salary cap doesn't allow you to keep it. The best way to get back to that level is draft high end talent and win while they're still on entry-level contracts. Unfortunately that's not particularly easy to do, especially with how late we draft.

Edited by Zetts, 05 June 2010 - 11:44 AM.

[haroldsnepsts]

As for Miller and Eaves, with Hudler coming back and Ritola out of options, there is really only room for one of these guys (if Bertuzzi comes back.) With Holland saying he wants to sign a grinding 4th liner, I dont see how he can sign all these guys. I am fully on board with a #6 defensman, I really hope he just doesn't opt to re-sign Lilja, but who else is out there in the million dollar range? Same with a grinding forward, it'll have to be someone to come in for $1.5M or less...

It's just too bad that either Miller or Eaves might not have a contract here next year, because they both earned it. It makes Draper's cap hit all the more painful.

Eaves with 22 points in 65 games and one of the team's top PK guys, all for 500k this past season. And Miller was no slouch either.

[mindfly]

Draper's contract is a big fat joke