Frozen-Man

I said this few hours ago...

 

http://www.letsgowin...danny-d/page-20

 

Not sure of the truth of this but I have read in a couple of places that the news was delayed because DeKeyser asked permission to personally call the other teams who showed interest and let them know he was going with the Wings. Maybe not the prima donna move that some here were claiming (this is not directed at you Dom) and a very classy and respectable move instead.

Not sure who will be dropped but I vote that the nickname Emdog is dropped.

Wrong.  I know what you mean, but a 1 yr deal of ANY amount is not the same as a long term commitment like the ones given to 13, 40, or even 93.  Semin would've been a mercenary no different than Hossa.

I think comparing bringing Hossa on for one year and bring Semin on for one year is a horrible comparison. In fact the only thing that the two situations have in common is one year term and $7m+ salary. Hossa was the best UFA that year, he turned down much better offers to play with the Wings (in fact his agent said  "'I have never been involved in a deal and seen a player get so excited to take $85 million less than he was offered elsewhere,' Winter told The Canadian Press. 'It's almost incomprehensible, even to an agent. But Marian is a special player.'"), and neither his work ethic or his attitude had ever been questioned. Semin on the other hand was not tops on anyone's list, couldn't get a multiyear deal (at least not a good one), didn't turn down better offers (I assume), and is constantly questioned and trashed over his work ethic and attitude.

How can Bettman "exert" some pressure on this? Look what happened to Kovalchuk and the Devils...his contract went from 17 years $102M to 15 years $100M and it was approved. Then the "Kovalchuk clasue" was born. Maybe I'm missing something on this...I don't know. If I am please let me know.

I'm not sure the league has cause to invalidate the contract, though.  It's heavily frontloaded, of course, but given the precedent of previous heavily front loaded contracts (including massive signing bonuses of Parise & Suter), I don't think the league has a leg to stand on in that regard.

I'm not saying that he will or even that I think he will, merely that I just think there is the possibility he might. You know he doesn't want Nashville to be decimated and relegated to a non-playoff team, they were one of his biggest southern expansion success stories. You bought up the Kovy contract, which was initially rejected by the NHL because they thought it artificially lowering the annual average value of the contract by front loading the contract excessively and extending it beyond the age they thought Kovy would continue to play. There may be some dispute as to whether or not Webber will continue to play out his contract but it is more egregiously front loaded than others (including in my opinion Parise and Suter) because the salary/bonus structure for each of the first FOUR years is over $14M and will end up in excess of $56M in the first four years - more than half of his total pay in the first 28.5% of his contract tenure. We have a saying in tax law, "pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered" - given the fact that Bettman is predisposed (I think) to hate the deal and that it is just a little more egregious I can see him pushing (even if it is solely behind the scenes) to invalidate it.

You know what? I like the situation we are in, here is why. We are going to find out just how good we are. How good of a GM is Ken? Were going to find out. How good are all of our prospects? Lots of young guys are going to get a real chance to play this year. Our true depth will be exposed this year, good or bad. How good of a coach do we have? Babcock is going to have to coach his ass of this year. How big time are Datsyuk, Z, and the mule? Thoes guys must have monster years. Can they do it? We are going to find out. I f@cking pumped to find out. I think this is exactly what this club needs, a chance to prove them selves. This is great motivation, something we have been lacking. The Red Wings are going to see just how good they are and I feel good about it.

I agree. People have been complaining since the 2008 cup that the Wings lack motivation, well they should have it now. This is the first time in a long time that they actually have something to prove and hopefully it motivates them.

Okay, so let's sort this out - Weber is around $7.5 million averaged salary, so compensation would be two 1st's, a 2nd, and a 3rd rounder.  I believe the Wings still have those 2013 picks, correct?  The Wings offer some massive deal, say, 12 years/$105 million ($8.75 million cap hit) and front-load the crap out of it.  If NAS could match that, wouldn't they already have offered it?  Do we really care about losing those picks if the payoff is SHEA WEBER?

And if Nashville did somehow match, we've really lost nothing except for the assumption that Weber might have signed with us next season anyway, instead of the 28 other teams.  I think it would be pretty arrogant of Holland to just assume that Detroit is automatic destination that can lure anyone away from PIT, PHI, or any other decent up-and-coming team with cap room.

What you aren't factoring in is that Webber likely won't sign such an offer sheet, he has a different variable than the Wings do. His "risk" is that the Preds actually do match the offer and then he is stuck with them for 12 years. If he really wants out of Nashville why would he risk the Preds matching, if they do he is bound by the contract for the next 12 years. His other option is to sign a 1 year deal with Nashville and then get to go wherever he wants with no risk that he is stuck with a lifetime deal with the Preds. A better option if you are going to do that is to offer him an outrageous 1 year deal one so high it screws the Preds if he signs and they match it, if they don't we have him for a year and get the exclusive rights to negotiate a long term deal, either way he is done with the Preds either immediately or at the end of the season. The only major downside (and probably much to rich to make it a good decision) is all the draft picks lost.

A lot of you guys are in denial it seems. You speak as if Z and Dats were in their 20's still. They're aging forwards who will NEVER put up the numbers they once had, so don't expect them to.

Can you last remember when a team with a core of mid 30 year olds won a cup?

Without a talented youth injection, there is zero hope for us. This is simply not a playoff team.

There should be a talented youth injection. The Wings have Smith, Nyquist, and Brunner (not to mention Helmer is pretty young. Additionally, several other young guys will probably get a chance to make the team.

Furthermore, there is no telling how this team will play. There has been talk since 2008 how the team doesn't seem motivated and lacks effort and passion.  They have been dumped on by the media (and a good portion of their fan base) this off-season.  Perhaps that lights a fire and now that they don't have front runner status and are more middle of the pack / underdog maybe they respond with that missing intensity. On paper they have some problems but they may have some intangibles that they have been lacking the past few years.

I'm surprised how many people think Brunner is going to be an instant success here when he's never played North American hockey before...especially as he's on a two-way contract I wouldn't be surprised if he started in Grand Rapids but hey I'm old fashioned and wear a sensible cap.

Babcock must not wear one of those hats:

“The thing for us is he’s high, high paced, he scored, looks like he has tons of skill,'' Babcock said during the draft. “Can he adjust and play the North American game? We’re going to give him every opportunity. He’ll be a top-six forward to start with us and see where he goes with us.''

According to MLive looks like a done deal:

DETROIT – The Detroit Red Wings appear to have landed talented Swiss forward Damien Brunner. But they won't know for sure until July 1, when he can sign with any NHL team.

Brunner, a highly sought undrafted free agent, told Swiss media that he has agreed to a one-year, two-way deal with the Red Wings.
Brunner, 26, isn't big (5-11, 180), but he's a fast-skating, highly skilled winger who shoots right-handed. He led the Swiss-A league in scoring with 24 goals and 60 points in 45 games for Zug. He's a Jiri Hudler-type of player, except with speed.
Brunner has one year remaining on his contract with the Swiss club but told media that he has an out clause. As many as a half-dozen NHL teams, including Tampa Bay and Pittsburgh, were interested in the undrafted forward.
The Red Wings watched him at this year's World Championships and liked what they saw. There's no telling how he would adjust to playing on a smaller rink in North America, but there's little risk in signing him.
General manager Ken Holland said they are having “ongoing discussions.''

Looks great Matt. Thanks as always for all the hard work.

But the RW would never ever do anything illegal or underhanded. We have to much class for that after all.......... sorry, just couldn't help myself......

You never can help yourself because . . .

Link

Would that all players had such grace and class.

You know what we could have asked for? Our GM to give our star player and captain a better team to support him his final season. Otherwise, maybe he wouldn't "lack the motivation and drive to continue" (his words not mine).

The words may be his but you ripped them out of his context and put them into yours, completely manipulating what he said.

I've sat in the both upper and lower levels of AAC, and haven't once been disappointed.  Yes, the upper levels are steep, but they do afford a good view of the entire ice surface, and we had no problems tracking the puck or even reading the names on the back of the jerseys.

Check out my pic from the last Wings game I went to, to see what I mean.  Taken from the lower rows of the upper level, still a great view, and only about $40 a ticket.

I agree I have sat in multiple places at the AA arena from the best to the worst and in between and always had a good view of the game.

Honestly, nothing you've ever posted needs to be repeated here, or anywhere. Ever.

I only regret that I have but one +1 to give.