YoungGuns1340

I have mixed feelings about this. Rafalski is an upgrade from Schneider, IMO. Hes got great offensive skills, but great defensive skills too. He thinks the game like Lidstrom does, hes younger than Schneider, and hes less injury prone as well. Hes put up big points in NJ on a defensive minded team and will definitely benefit from playing with Schneider on the PP. All those are a plus.

The length? Its easy to see why Detroit signed him to a 5 year contract. Lidstrom is no Chelios, and its very possible that he retires after this season, especially if we win the cup. Having Rafalski here for 5 years gives Detroit a lot of insurance.

And BEFORE everyone freaks out about the 6M per price tag, keep in mind two things: Defenseman in the new cap era are continually overpaid, and should the cap number continue to rise, the price of Defenseman will too. 6M may look more like 5M next year.

On top of all this, Rafalski is a champion. A guy that loves to win. Thats always a great thing to have on your team. However, this signing makes me a little concerned about the physicality on the blueline. Hopefully that will be addressed.