RedWingsDad

Same here if you can play in your homeland, infront of your loved ones and not having to think about lockout every 5 years and make more money, it is a wise decision.

 

Pasha at this point can do whatever he wants, he has given me years of joy watching his magic on the ice, first class athlete if he wants to stay in the KHL it wouldn't even hold it against him. His Co GM called him cattle, owners broke contracts so why shouldn't players.

 

Oh good grief... get off the cattle thing already. I think Datsyuk is smart enough to understand the context of Jimmy D's comments and not hold a personal grudge.

 

I would hold it against Dats if he stayed in Russia; he signed a contract and he would be severely letting down the Red Wings organization who has given him so much.

I will always have a sore spot against the league / Bettman for introducing anti-Homer rules to stifle his awesomeness.

Buy-outs can't be done until after the 2013 season. At that point, both Sammy & Colaiacovo will be in the last year of their deals at $3m & $2.5m respectively. Tootoo will have 2 years left at $1.9. Given the years remaining, buying out Tootoo makes more sense but it's not like he's costing the Wings a whole lot at $1.9.

Personally, the only possible buy-outs I see are The Todd and/or Carlo if their health goes south this year. From a long-term cap flexibility standpoint though, the ones that would really make sense are Hank, Mule, & Kronner actually, but I don't think any of those (including Franzen) will happen.

 

The angle I am looking at is that Holland would buy out Sammy, Col, or whomever to free up cap space to go after a more desirable FA during this off-season. I don't think long-term cap hit would be his primary concern... partly because I don't think he will want to dump any of our longer term contracts.

Ok...Really dumb question here.....

 

Why Hank, and not Dats?

Me too.....

 

I think back to the 90's when Clark, and Gilmour were Leaf captains...Those guys were warriors.

 

Sorry - got that soft spot for that team in T.O.

 

I am going to go with the simple fact that Daysuk's English is atrocious, seemingly having never made a solid effort to learn the language of the country he has been playing in for so long. A bit off-topic, and I love Datsyuk in general don't get me wrong, but I am slightly offended at his horrible English. I think if he had even passively tried to pick up English he would be fairly fluent by now, considering how long he has been here. It makes me think he must have made a conscious effort to avoid learning it, to still be so horrible...

 

That... and he's older and would like to go back to Russia. We will presumably get a few more solid years of captaincy out of Z.

Holland overpaid for Tootoo, but, honestly, I think the guy's gonna be even more important now, with the shortened season, than he would've been with the full 82. Why? Because we're insanely soft and insanely injury-prone - and that's under normal, non-post-lockout circumstances, when everyone's (supposed to be) in top shape. I'm fully expecting at least half of our top-sixers to go down within the first five games.

 

Yeah, very true. I agree he is valuable to our team. I just wonder what Holland would do if an even more 'ideal' enforcer / agitator became available in the off-season through FA or buyout. For the record, if that happened and it was up to me, I would keep Tootoo AND add another like player. I love the Wings, but they are waaay too soft...

He will undoubtedly make a great captain... I just wish he would show more emotion. I'm a sucker for players that wear their heart on their sleeve.

I think the players most likely to get bought out are Sammy, Colliacovo, or Tootoo. I think all three of these players were not ideal signings for Holland, but rather him taking the 'best available' options. If there are more ideal players available that Holland wants to go after, I can see two of them getting bought out - though I think Tootoo is the least likely to go of the three.

Wait a second.

Does this mean we actually get to discuss HOCKEY now, instead of who's fault the lockout/economic situation is? I'm confused.

 

Yeah for real, but no need to discuss that anymore because we a ALL know who's fault it was....  

 

I joke...

 

So happy to be watching hockey again in a few weeks, and am also eager to start digesting the hockey news coming out of the training camps. WOO HOO

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?  Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you.  Woo woo woo.

Actually, mine are mostly dead or retired, except for Jeff Chadwick who is living in California and coaching receivers/tight ends.

 

The person below me liked Alf.

 

I was mostly indifferent to Alf, but laughed when I learned that the last episode of Alf ended with the assumption that he was taken by the Federal government to be poked with needles, frozen, etc. and generally be made a lab subject.

 

The person below me speeds up and cuts in front of people when a lane is ending (but would never admit to it), and is therefore my mortal enemy.

Doug MacLean doesn't have to worry about his "pension"; he's busy shilling for Mercedes-Benz Burlington and checking his cellphone for his next real job opportunity in hockey.

 

Doug MacLean's personal financial situation and career opportunities do not invalidate his opinion...which seemed to be the premise of your statement.

 

 

At any rate, I took a risk and wore my Bertuzzi jersey to work today... hoping for some magic to happen with the lockout talks.

I agree. The best way to speak is with your wallet. The NHL makes a ton of money off gate receipts. Just don't go to games. That will be a pretty big blow to the NHL. The problem is that many people aren't dumping their season tickets over this. So the NHL and NHLPA have zero incentive to do anything for the fans.

 

I still cannot wrap my head around this mentality. I am a hockey fan... I find enjoyment in watching it. I have missed a lot of hockey this season... to what end would I deprive myself of even more enjoyment by boycotting the NHL? On the slim chance that it will have long term effects on the minds of the NHL and NHLPA so that perhaps, perhaps, in 8-10 years when the new CBA expires, they will act more quickly?

 

There is no tangible benefit of cancelling season tickets or boycotting the NHL to a die-hard hockey fan - not when measured against the enjoyment you would be depriving yourself of. It may make you feel good emotionally, make you feel like you are teaching a lesson to some entity that you blame for the lockout... but again, is that worth the cost of missing out on your favorite sport?  I don't care for baseball, football, or basketball. I'm assuming that all of the individuals calling for boycotts are perfectly satisfied substituting hockey for other sports. I am not.

I wonder when we will know the NHLPA's response. I think the owners made a very reasonable offer here, we will see if the NHLPA responds in like fashion or decides on more posturing instead.

Uncle Gary + (Lockout x3) = Legacy.

Sometimes, the obvious is always overlooked by those who steadfastly refuse to look at it...over and over and over and...

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. I do not have a love fest with Bettman, don't get me wrong... but I have enough sense to acknowledge the very simple fact that Bettman is accountable to the board of governors. Do you acknowledge this?

And to that end they...lock the players out, kill league operations, kick off "negotiations" with one of the oldest underhanded negotiating tricks in the book, single-mindedly endeavor to destroy Donald Fehr, etc. And all of this is costing them how much $$$ every day? And it's driving away how many fans, how many potential patrons? And it's wrecking how many oh-so-lowly livelihoods (e.g. vendors)? And it's doing how much damage to the NHL (hot on the heels of last season's record revenue)?

Just saying.

I guess the collective owners, a group of (mostly) successful business people, feels it's better for their long term NHL related revenues to miss out on current revenues in order to secure more favourable terms in the CBA. If they are right, it is better for the players as well. A folded team hires no players, vendors, staff etc. A team bleeding money generally has less to spend on player contracts, staff, and attracts less vendors. On the other hand, a team making money can afford to pay players more, attracts vendors, and generally employ more people.

In this light, perhaps you should support the owners... that is, if your goal is for players to get more money, and concern for the vendors is sincere.

Hockey fans, take a stand, or else Bettman will continue to treat you like crap.

Hockey fans, take a stand, or else both sides will continue to treat you like crap.

fixed it for you

The players treat us like crap?

Yes, I think you grasped what he was trying to say. In the context that the original quote was saying the owners treat us like crap for not giving in to the NHLPA, I believe he was asserting that if one were to actually hold that kind of position, then logically the same must also be leveled against the players (read: NHLPA)... who likewise are not giving into the owners, and therefore are also causing the fans to miss out on NHL hockey. Is that the confirmation you were looking for with your question?  Let me know if I can be of further assistance.