archimet

The Wings have tons of young talent and are a well-positioned to continue their unmatched excellence for years to come.  However, after Datsyuk and Zetterberg, they lack star power.  Howard, Kronwall, Franzen, Filppula are very solid players, but they are not stars. A handful of the young talent may rise to become stars, but they have a long way to go... and nothing is guaranteed. 

 

If you want the Wings to become contenders year-in and year-out, Kenny's challenge is to land a 'star' defensemen... and a 'star' forward (or two) who can complement Zetterberg's talents... and help convince Datsyuk to stay in North American beyond next year. 

 

Bouwmeester is undoubtedly a solid player, but he is not star caliber.  He would have made the Wings a better team, but not a serious cup contender.  Plus, his cap hit (virtually the same as Datsyuk's) would have handcuffed Holland and made it virtually impossible for him to turn this Wings team into a serious threat for the Cup... not only this year, but for years to come. 

Simply put, without the fans there wouldn't be an NHL and neither the owners or the players would be making the money they do. without the fans, there is no game to save.

i spend probably close to a $1,000 a year on tickets, merchandise, nhl center ice, etc. In return, i expect that the players are out there on the ice playing to their best abilities.

Take the winter classic for example, there are people from all over the world coming to this event who have already spent a lot of their hard earned money in travel and for hotels to come and watch these guys play. and all of that might be for nothing because millionaires and billionaires can't decide how to split up "our" money.

when it comes to a new cba, as a paying fan, i expect both sides to work their asses off and get a deal done, but neither side has shown any willingness to put aside their pride and egos to get a new deal done

Not sure I agree. The owners asked players to essentially stay in the same CBA system except at much worse levels... Owners asked players to kick in about 25% of their contracts; become ineligible for free agency until late in their career; and otherwise give in to the owners... While the players at least showed some initiative and proposed an alternative arrangement designed to start propping up the financially-stressed clubs. Did the players go far enough? No... But did the owners suggest anythng of merit? Absolutely not. Same system... worse conditions for players. The owners offered zero; nada; nothing in return for total capitulation from the players. The owner's position seems to be that since Columbus is losing a bazillion dollars a year, the salary of every single player in the leagure should be limited to a salary-level that guarantees Columbus break-even... Nevermind that under that solution the rich clubs like Toronto and New York just get richer and richer and richer. The players are limited to the lowest common denominator, while the owners make more and more money. It's the same insane argument that American workers have compete with slave labor in China and that's just how it is... because I (the owners) say so...

Well, they went a full year last time, which is really concerning to me. I truly do hope they are bluffing, because if they are not, they are just plain stupid + getting bad advice. I understand fighting for principle and if they go so far and "win", it won't be for them, it will be for the next players (but even then, there will be different CBA so it will be a waist anyway). The amount of money they will lose from even sitting out a year will never be recouped.

Hmmm... plain stupid? Ryan Sutter and Zach Parise just signed long term contracts worth approximately $100 million each. But I suspect Wild owner Leopold new damn well that the owners were going to ask for an immediate rollback. Is it stupid for Sutter and Parise to resist having their salary rolled back by $20 or $25 million dollars? Or should they be freed from their contracts to be free agents again. I suspect some owner would pay them nearly the same amount AFTER a new CBA. Same for our good friend Sidney Crosby... Do you really think he took maximum market value to sign long-term with the Pens? No way. Yet, I'm sure Mr. Lemiuex knew damn well that the owners were going to ask for a rollback at the time he signed the contract with Crosby. If the owners want to rollback, then any player who signed a contract in the last year should have the option of cancelling their contract and becoming a free agent again... Including players who extended their contract. It's the owners who won't honor the contracts they just signed... not the players.

I agree, Weber is dumb for not agreeing to a one year deal unless he wants to be stuck in Nashville for life. Detroit should have just offered him ten Million for one year, why not?


what I was really hoping would happen was another team signed him to a silly one year deal and he wouldnt resign, and then would sign with the wings. f*** giving away picks....



our picks will be high in the draft very soon, unless a new development occurs.

My guess is that Weber agent solicited offer sheets to force Nashville's hand. After seeing the owner's proposal in the CBA they know that it's in their best interest to get a long-term deal BEFORE the new CBA. This way Weber gets his $100 million security before that option is taken off the table.

I'm really not trying to bust your balls here, but just so I know what it is that you're optimistic about, would you mind throwing out a line combo so I can see what you see? Again, I'm really not trying to be a smart ass...I just want to follow you more accurately.

Any team with Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Helm down the middle and Howard in the net has a great shot of winning on any given night. We need a solid veteran D, a decent season from Smith, and good health on the back-end and we'll be fine.

We can't replace Lidstrom, so I won't even discuss that.

We're going to be harder to play against with Tootoo and Samulssen replacing Hudler.

I expect a better year from Franzen because of Tom Renney (players coach).

We actually have better balance up front with the addition of a bunch of RH'ers: Brunner, Sammuelsson and Tootoo.

Hopefully Eaves will be back because he'll help on the PK.

We have more speed with Brunner and hopefully Eaves back in the line-up.

I can go on... but for my money... we just have a different team now. We're not stacked like we have been for the past 15 years. But there's not a bad player in the lineup.

And if it doesn't work out, we still have a ton of cap-space to add some real firepower at the trade deadline. Or, if the cap drops significantly because of the new CBA, there will probably be some pretty good players available as teams like the Bruins, Wild, Cunucks, Sharks and so on have to shed salary.

Maybe I'm just an optimist... but I'm looking forward to next year.