kipwinger

Your a dumbass Kip, there is a 4 year difference in age.

"YOUR a dumbass".  Nice try.  Next.

Well with 111 NCAA games, he is still better than Kindl in every which way, so if Kindl can hold down a #7, I am sure Schultz could easily take the #6 spot...Besides, if Stuart and Quincey both leave and Suter replaces Lidstrom (hopefully) there are two spots open that neither of which Kindl can fill, Smith will have one of them and that leaves a UFA for the #6.  Why not gamble on Schultz? low risk, high reward... It's not like he is walking on and taking a spot from someone, Kindl is no better than a #7 he has had plenty of opportunity to climb the ladder, he hasn't done it...if Schultz doesn't work out, you have Kindl to fall back on until the deadline...low risk, high reward...

Kindl just finished playing his first season against NHL caliber players.  Was he great?  No.  Did he play professional hockey?  Yes.  Schultz has never played professional hockey at ANY level.  

So at this point you just hope Schultz is better, he hasn't proven af****** thing.  You have to remember that Kindl was a first rounder too, so it's not like there's not a huge possibility that guys with tons of potential can have a hard time adjusting to the NHL game.  

This kid played 111 games in the second easiest hockey league in North America after the CHL.  

Tell me how he's proven that he's better than Kindl?  Because he played well against a bunch of 19-20 year olds?  Great.  And don't even get me started on those saying that he's a better option than Quincey, which is absurd.  

I honestly cannot believe I have to argue that dominating college hockey does not, in any way, mean that you're better than a professional NHL player.  The only way to prove that is to go to camp and earn a spot, or as I side, be some kind of once in a lifetime talent.  Justin Schultz is not, and has not done, either.

Note:  Jacub Kindl played 55 games in the hardest hockey league on the planet and scored a goal, had 12 assists, and was a plus 7.  Those aren't bad numbers for a rookie seventh defenseman.  So how in the world can you say this kid is "better than Kindl in every way"?  Honestly, please explain to me how this kid has PROVEN he's better?

Smith and Nyquist are born in '89 and schultz in '90. This kid has been out of the nhl and earning it long enough since his draft year. Just because he developed outside of GR and the wings org. doesn't mean he hasn't earned it.

lol.  The kid has played 111 NCAA hockey games and somehow people think he's earned the right to walk into a spot on one of the premier hockey teams in the National Hockey League?  Good try, but this isn't "Mystery Alaska", it takes EXTREMELY rare talent to do that.  If he's not elite in the same way that Crosby, Stamkos, Toew was, then he doesn't walk into a spot on the Detroit Red Wings without ever even playing in one of the professional leagues around the world.

It's not a coincidence because one caused the other but it also has nothing to do with his political affiliation.

Taking out the politics this is what he did: Made a controversial decision becoming a distraction for his team and justified his decision with public statements. He later refused to comment on these public statements, not helping the media distraction factor. Now he wants to sit out a season and it will cost the Bruins $5 million on the cap even if they suspend him (source) or send him to the AHL because of his contract.

So again, people aren't hating on him because of his politics, they are because he's a ****.

EDIT: as the original source says they Bruins will have the choice of "tolling" his contract making them owe them one more year if he does return, but in that case his $5 million will count against the cap in both seasons [source]

This seems familiar.  Good luck getting through.

Then the Wings won't get him. He will have multiple full-time NHL offers. If you want to get a potential top pairing defenseman then you have to take the chance and guarantee him a spot in the top 6 from day 1.

I agree with you, that's the risk you run.  But it's never really been in Holland's nature to grant spots on the team to guys based on talent alone.  I'm not really worried though, with Smith, Dekeyser, and Ouellet developing I think we're in pretty good shape in the "Prospects with Potential" department.

Edit:  Well I guess I should take a step back.  Is the kid so skilled that he's in the Toews, Crosby, Stamkos department?  I mean, is it completely obvious to anyone whose ever seen him play that he's going to be elite, and practically is already?  If he's that good, then sure.  If not, we've got a development program for a reason.

Not being a very good team player.  As much as I like him, I don't agree with breaking your contract and letting the team take the hit for your salary because you just don't feel like playing.  Wish we all had the option to just take a leave of absence when we feel like it and have a job to come back to...it doesn't work that way in the real world.

You're only making that totally reasonable statement because you don't like Thomas' politics.  Admit it.

Question:  I wonder how many times over the last couple of years Brad Stuart felt worn out and wanted to spend more time with his family?  I can only speculate how often he felt that way.  But I can give the number of times he sat out on the final year of his contract because of it.  Zero.

is it a coincidence that after he did that first, really douchey thing, he's done several others, and based on the totality of those things people have started giving him justifiable criticism?  I think not

Kip

edit:  It's hard to imagine why anybody would criticize a guy for skipping a team function because of a polarizing political view, the results of which drew undue negative media attention to the rest of the players and team officials.  And then, instead of explaining himself and asking the media to back off the rest of the team, he walked out of several Q & A session and press conferences without making a statement, only to turn around and make MORE polarizing political statements on facebook.  And then finally, to hint that he may or may not finish out the final year of a 5 million dollar contract with the team which considers him an integral part of their success.  Most importantly, to do all of this within the same year.  

I'd hate to see what would happen if Kronwall, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, or heaven forbid Franzen did all of those same things.  People around here would be calling for heads.  

It's not about his politics, it's about his "me first" attitude.

Even for a goalie, Thomas seems bats*** crazy.


He had a .920 regular season save percentage and .923 playoff percentage this season.  Those are both fairly consistent numbers for Thomas, just not the record setting performance from the previous year.


Either way, I don't get why he'd choose not to play a season at the end of his career.

Because Tim Thomas Inc. reserves the right to consider any contract signed by Tim Thomas Inc. null and void.  Additionally, Tim Thomas Inc. never claimed to have strong bonds of affection for the city of Boston, teammates, or the employers for which Tim Thomas Inc. temporarily associated itself.  Team play, hard work, and sacrifice have always been considered of secondary importance to Tim Thomas Inc. whose only true goal has been the promotion of Tim Thomas Inc. from relative obscurity to a household brand much the same as Coca Cola Inc.  Further clarification concerning the decisions of Tim Thomas Inc. will be delivered via internal memo to the employees of Tim Thomas Inc., however the content of said memo should not be released to the public for any reason whatsoever.  

Tim Thomas Inc. and its licensed publicist will release a statement to the public tomorrow via facebook to help clarify some common misconceptions about the intent of Tim Thomas Inc.  

Further information can be obtained by visiting the website www.GIANTDOUCHEBAG.timthomas.org.

sooo sorry

i didn't realize that 10% of our cap space suddenly becoming available was unworthy of an off-season discussion.  very sorry for pointing a gun to your heads and making you read it!!

perhaps because people have been speculating that this might happen for weeks and have talked about it in ten other threads, most of which still exist.  So rather than create another thread which does the exact same thing as the one you created last week you could just go to the one you created last week and say "this just in, Lidstrom retires, now we can get Suter, Parise, AND Matt Carle (or whoever you want)", and then continue with the discussion which was relevant in the first place.

If Stuart decides to officially go someplace else and says so in the Free Press are you going to start another thread called Post-Stuart CapGeek Thread, or would this one suffice?

media queen Tim Thomas may sit out next season.  Boo Hoo.  Next.

or perhaps haiku:

Lidstrom is gone now
add Martin to new line thread
lather.  rinse.  repeat.

As I'm growing tired of typing the same things everyday about the same topic (off season acquisitions) I think I'm going to start answering in keywords in order to save time.  Cap, Money, 70 million?, Parise, tougher, grittier, Suter, free agent, Red Wings, Holland, core, older, retirement, Cup, soft, Euros, lazy, competitive, franchise, sniper.

Having Nick Lidstrom as the captain of your hockey team is like walking into a rough bar with Stone Cold Steve Austin.

I was just trying to explain to my girlfriend why this is such a big deal to me and it was surprisingly hard to do.  In the end, I tried to explain it thus:  You know that feeling you get when there's something really super duper important to do and for whatever reason you're not the one responsible for it.  Like you've got a big work project, or your car needs fixed, OR YOU DESPERATELY NEED SOMEONE TO STOP A 2 ON 1, etc.  And then you get that warm feeling when you know that the person who really is responsible for it is ultra talented, dedicated, and trust worthy?  Having Nick Lidstrom responsible for my favorite thing, gave me that warm feeling for 20f****** years.

I really wish Kenny or Mr. I would have immediately announced the retirement of his jersey.  My only gripe about this presser.