193 replies to this topic

[number9]

Holland has been awful, but we will know the full awfulness that is Ken Holland when he pulls his final move. Holmstrom for 1 more year at 1.5 million. Its amazing to watch a lot of people defend the guy while our team goes downhill despite having a good core to build around. Scotty Bowman was the hockey mind, and jimmy d and haakan andersson were the pioneers. Ilitch was the wallet. Holland is a dope.

Edited by number9, 27 July 2012 - 12:17 PM.

[F.Michael]

A $7m deal would have instantly made him the highest-paid player on the team. That's no reclamation project, and handing that sort of salary to a guy who has such a poor reputation and so much to prove would have been an insult to others on the team, not to mention that poison in the locker room is always a terrible thing. And Semin's potential to be a cancer in the locker room is almost certainly why Holland avoided the guy; Holland does not sign players who are risky in that area.

Does making a trade for Chelios (I'd never play for Detroit), or allowing Hasek back onto the team a season after signing Joseph factor into anything?

Honestly - who cares if signing Semin for 1 year at $7 large "insults" anyone?..Is this a game played by little boys, or grown men?..Is Holland trying to improve our beloved Detroit Red Wings, or is he sitting idle as UFA's sign elsewhere because he's too worried about what the precious stars may think if he signs someone for more $$$.

Holland is a top notch GM - no doubting that, but giving him this "he can do no wrong" moniker gets rather annoying because it's pretty obvious that with what's taken place this summer - Detroit will be lucky making it into the playoffs.

So what's left for Detroit? Doan and a possible trade for Ryan? It's interesting that Semin didn't sign with the Red Wings. Either Detroit didn't offer him a contract good enough or he didn't want to play in Detroit. I can't imagine why Holland wouldn't extend a one year offer Semin's way. There's ample cap space and virtually no way to spend it now. What would have been the harm in signing a former 40 goal scored to a 1 year deal worth $7 Mil? If he tanks, so what? You lose the money that was going to go unspent? Big deal. Low risk, high reward situation. I'm surprised this didn't get done.

Agreed.

[frankgrimes]

Holland is a top notch GM - no doubting that, but giving him this "he can do no wrong" moniker gets rather annoying because it's pretty obvious that with what's taken place this summer - Detroit will be lucky making it into the playoffs.

The panicking and oh no the sky is falling mentality is getting annoying and to be honest with you, it isn't even new anymore. It was fun the first time but right now it is just annoying. Yes, we will be very lucky making into the playoffs but so what? I am fine with seeing the young guns playing and learning instead of overpaying for guys, that won't make the difference between us and the cup.

Is it really so hard to understand?

[GoWings1905]

The Semin can't be the highest paid player on the team angle is silly. Of course he is going to cost more for one year. That is the catch of only signing him for a year. It's hardly comparable to Datsyuk who is playing out a long-term deal.

If I'm Datsyuk or Zetterberg, I want the team around me to get better. Remember how pissed Z was talking after the Nashville series? They want to compete and win before their careers start declining.

I get not pursuing Doan for multiple years, but Semin for a year is a different story. What else are the Red Wings going to spend their money on now? There's nothing left of impactful players.

[evilmrt]

Very disappointed that Holland couldn't pick up a 1 year deal like this. He needed to sign a scoring forward like Semin to free up other "assets" to trade for a d-man. Now that isn't happening...so off we go with our Swiss-Cheese Defense.

[F.Michael]

The panicking and oh no the sky is falling mentality is getting annoying and to be honest with you, it isn't even new anymore. It was fun the first time but right now it is just annoying. Yes, we will be very lucky making into the playoffs but so what? I am fine with seeing the young guns playing and learning instead of overpaying for guys, that won't make the difference between us and the cup.

Is it really so hard to understand?

Well.....I'm 41 years old; been a die-hard Detroit Red Wings fan since October of 1984; back then they will still a joke, and were still known as the "Dead Things".

I don't wish seeing that all over again.

Is that hard to understand?

[FlashyG]

Attempting to compare this team to the dead things era makes me wonder if you remember the dead things era very well at all.

Edited by FlashyG, 27 July 2012 - 12:57 PM.

[frankgrimes]

Well.....I'm 41 years old; been a die-hard Detroit Red Wings fan since October of 1984; back then they will still a joke, and were still known as the "Dead Things".

I don't wish seeing that all over again.

Is that hard to understand?

I completely understand that point, but tell me this:

Would have signing him made us a cup contendera again? The offense does need some tweaks agreed, but our main problem is still the defense. Maybe Wings are still in on Doan and that is why the have passed on him?

I fully know and can understand the negativity to a certain point, but my point of view is a rather simple: overpaying for elite or close to elite yes but not for questionable players.

[F.Michael]

I completely understand that point, but tell me this:

Would have signing him made us a cup contendera again? The offense does need some tweaks agreed, but our main problem is still the defense. Maybe Wings are still in on Doan and that is why the have passed on him?

I fully know and can understand the negativity to a certain point, but my point of view is a rather simple: overpaying for elite or close to elite yes but not for questionable players.

Not making the playoffs certainly equals no Cup parade down Woodward...

That said - I don't feel the addition of Semin will make us Cup favorites - however by adding Semin does give the Red Wings a better shot at making the playoffs.

A 1 yr deal would've been beneficial for both parties...Ilitch has the $$$, and Holland has the cap space.

I do agree with ya that our D still needs some experience; IMHO a top 4 Dman is needed to help fill the slots left open by Lidstrom, and Stuart.

I also feel it's not a bad time to see what some of our prospects have to show in Detroit; where that'll get us - I dunno.

[The Axe]

Semin for 7 mil is steep, but we payed Samuelsson, Gustavson, and Tootoo 7 mil combined. Would any of you rather have those 3 instead of Semin? Its all relative.

[Dabura]

The panicking and oh no the sky is falling mentality is getting annoying and to be honest with you, it isn't even new anymore. It was fun the first time but right now it is just annoying. Yes, we will be very lucky making into the playoffs but so what? I am fine with seeing the young guns playing and learning instead of overpaying for guys, that won't make the difference between us and the cup.

Is it really so hard to understand?

It's not panicking and oh no the sky is falling. It's our roster sucks, and what are you doing, Ken?, and hey it'd be nice to compete for the Cup this season but that's not happening which is stupid.

Too many high horses around here, if anything.

[BigWillieStyle]

Too many high horses around here, if anything.

Seems more like, too much beating of dead horses, IMO.

What part of, "we weren't interested", is so hard to comprehend? I'm thinking the Red Wings organization, has a whole lot more insight into why Semin would not be of benefit to the team than a bunch of armchair GM's. Oh, that's right, LGW has lead the team to the playoffs for 21 straight years, and brought us all the spoils of a successfully run sports team, and business. They, had nothing to do with any of that.

For comparison, ask Montreal, The Islanders, or Edmonton, how their "dynasties" are doing. Yeah, you can't win every year, and that has only been magnified by the cap era.

Alright, you can continue crying that Santa didn't bring you the new Nintendo that you wanted.

[GoWings1905]

Yeah, because the concept that the organization has been successful previously means they are always right. We all are aware of the success -- doesn't mean it makes this summer any less frustrating. Relying on two decades of brilliance isn't going to keep the Red Wings relevant.

[RedWingsDad]

Really now... what is all this silliness about us not making the playoffs? Does it really need explaining why the Wings are still a strong play-off contender? We got worse on D for sure, but also better up front and in net. Our division rivals got worse or stayed stagnant. Without a slew of injuries towards the end last season, it's possible we could have competed for the presidents trophy. It's the end of the... world?

Edited by RedWingsDad, 27 July 2012 - 03:33 PM.

[kipwinger]

Really now... what is all this silliness about us not making the playoffs? Does it really need explaining why the Wings are still a strong play-off contender? We got worse on D for sure, but also better up front and in net. Our division rivals got worse or stayed stagnant. Without our slew of injuries towards the end of the season, it's possible we could have competed for the presidents trophy. It's the end of the... world?

We'll probably make the playoffs, but I disagree that our division rivals got worse. St. Louis is roughly the same team they were a year ago, Chicago is too, and Nashville really only lost Suter (unless Kostitsyn and Radulov matter). I'd say overall we got noticeably worse on defense, Nashville got slightly worse on defense, and St. Louis and Chicago are the same. It's not going to be easy to win our division this year without some real surprises.

[LeftWinger]

This signing DOES indeed show that Semin just wanted money...The Olsen Twins have a slim to none chance to win the Cup in Minny, but in Semin's case, slim just left the building... Too bad Holland is afraid to spend any Cap (unless it is an aging, returning Swede.)

[RedWingsDad]

We'll probably make the playoffs, but I disagree that our division rivals got worse. St. Louis is roughly the same team they were a year ago, Chicago is too, and Nashville really only lost Suter (unless Kostitsyn and Radulov matter). I'd say overall we got noticeably worse on defense, Nashville got slightly worse on defense, and St. Louis and Chicago are the same. It's not going to be easy to win our division this year without some real surprises.

I did say that our division rivals got worse or stayed stagnant. I get your points... and I would agree that overall we took a step back at this point, but just not as much as a lot of people portray, and certainly not so much as to predict we will miss the playoffs. One thing that doesn't seem to register with some is that we did get better up front. I believe our biggest problem up front was never skill... but agitation, toughness, and size. Hudler lacked all three of those qualities and we upgraded him with Sammy... and we added Tootoo, who certainly possesses those three qualities (he is not tall, but bulky). I honestly can't wait to see our offence next season... I only hope we pick up Doan (however unlikely) to add another layer of grit.

Edited by RedWingsDad, 27 July 2012 - 03:46 PM.

[Buppy]

It's not panicking and oh no the sky is falling. It's our roster sucks, and what are you doing, Ken?, and hey it'd be nice to compete for the Cup this season but that's not happening which is stupid.

Too many high horses around here, if anything.

Our roster sucks but Semin makes us a contender?

Yeah, something is way too high...

[kipwinger]

I did say that our division rivals got worse or stayed stagnant. I get your points... and I would agree that overall we took a step back at this point, but just not as much as a lot of people portray, and certainly not so much as to predict we will miss the playoffs. One thing that doesn't seem to register with some is that we did get better up front. I believe our biggest problem up front was never skill... but agitation, toughness, and size. Hudler lacked all three of those qualities and we upgraded him with Sammy... and we added Tootoo, who certainly possesses those three qualities (he is not tall, but bulky). I honestly can't wait to see our offence next season... I only hope we pick up Doan (however unlikely) to add another layer of grit.

I do think Sammy is an improvement, and our bottom six is better, but I've thought for the last three years that our top six lacked...legitimate top sixers. On most nights we lose the match up game. I'm excited about what the kids can bring next year, but I still can't help but think that any top six we throw on the ice isn't as good as most top six groups for the elite teams. Plus, our group can't really solve the really tough defenses in the league. Most have figured out how to keep us away from the net and on the outside. I don't think Nyquist, Brunner, or Sammy really help us in that regard.

That said, Cleary and Bert on the third line is a mismatch against most teams in the league, and huge years out of Franzen, Flip, and Helm could make us better than we look on paper.

We'll make the playoffs, but without noticeable improvements from the guys mentioned above, and better than average rookie performances out of the kids, I have serious doubts about how far we go.

[Louisville]

From Yahoo! Sports

So how did Rutherford and his staff go about freeing their minds about the Semin rumors? Plenty of research.
During an availability with media Friday morning Rutherford said that he spoke with Semin's former coach in Washington, Bruce Boudreau during the Draft. Other Hurricanes executives reached out to former players, former coaches and former scouts to get their opinions on the 28-year old Russian. Their takeaway? "The positives much outweighed the people that had a negative experience with him," said Rutherford.
Rutherford already had his own opinion on Semin having watched him score 27 times and post 45 points in 41 career games against the Hurricanes -- the most for Semin against any NHL team. The team also used analytics in weighing their decision, as detailed by head PR man Mike Sunheim'sTweets after the signing was announced. They didn't allow the perception about Semin to cloud their judgement in whether or not to pursue him.
"Part of getting a bad rap as a player is sometimes because of the player and sometimes because of the mix of players that's on that team," said Rutherford. "The mix of players on a team sometimes starts to push a player away."
The 1-year deal, Rutherford said, is an opportunity to see if the move is a fit for both sides. Next summer Semin will once again be an unrestricted free agent and with a good season will attract plenty of attention around the NHL, as well as offers from the KHL.

What a perfectly logical way to go about signing someone to a 1 year deal. I wonder if the Red Wings even did any research since they didn't even seem interested. Like I said, it's af****** joke. This is about as Win-Win as you can get in today's current market. Your "highest paid player" argument is funny though.