drwscc

I always thought he had no family left in Russia and liked living in the US, but realistically I guess he does want to go back to Russia.  I worry a bit about him leaving, but whatever is best for his family, you know?  If we've potentially only got two years of Datsyuk left, Holland better snap to building a better team now.

Holland will wait and wait and wait until Dats decides to leave, and then he'll hang his hat on Crosby or Stamkos deciding to come here, and when that doesn't happen, he'll say "We're happy with the team we have."  The end.

This thread is so full of fail it's ridiculous.  How many times does it have to be pointed out that  Gary Bettman is a mouthpiece for the owners/BOG and is not working on his own.  The owners tell him what they want and what to say, and he goes out and says it.  Getting rid of the "dwarf" will not make anything better.  You'll just get another mouthpiece for the owners, and the message will stay the same.  The owners are going to push for what they want.  It doesn't matter who delivers the message.

I still don't know how only 13 players in the NHL made more money than Bettman last year

Maybe because the league is making more money than it ever has, and because revenues are increasing every year?  Pay for performance, right?

So, this means Kenny is going after Lebda now?

At the same time, the NHLPA has to bargain in good faith, and if anyone here believes that the NHLPA is doing that while the league are a bunch of devils, they are delusional.  A deal is made by two sides working towards a common goal.  If a deal doesn't get done, its not the fault of one side alone, its the fault of both.

Thats just my .02 cents.

Nuh UH!  It's all Bettman's fault and not the players at all.  They should totally make like 90% of the league revenue, and the owners can all live off of the 10% the players decide to leave.  I mean, the players play the game, so they should make all the money.  The owners are just rich old men that write checks and sit in their owners boxes.  What do they contribute to the game?  Once the players get 90% of revenues, then the minimum salary can go up to like 3 mil per year, which is only fair, since the players sacrifice so much to get where they are.

The baseball hall of fame is terrible.  It's full of scrubs that just played long enough to hit the magic cutoff of numbers you're referring to, and has lots of marginal players that got in that way.  I don't see why you would want that.  I don't think the requirement should be "If I say a name, you remember who that guy is even if he wasn't on your team."  It just seems silly.

Look, if they did a ring of honor thing, like the Dallas Cowboys do, I'd absolutely say Feds should be there.  I think Feds should make the HHOF with no problem.  But jersey retirement is and should be, to quote the VP, a big f-ing deal.  Also, I never advocated for Dats and Z to be retired either.  Do I think they have the potential?  Sure, but they're not locks.  If we move into dead things phase 2, absolutely not.

You said there was no litmus test, but then you provided one.  Your litmus test is: "A guy should get his number retired (or get into the HHOF) if nobody argues about it."  But not everyone is Gretzky, Yzerman, or Lidstrom, and there are people in the HHOF (and with retired numbers around the league) where people did debate it.

  
That's kind of the point.  These are honors for the best of the best.  Who wants to be part of a HOF that includes scrubs that got in on a technicality. (Well, he did win 300 games, so I guess he should get in.)  Where is the honor in that?  It's the HOF/Jersey retirement, not a participation ribbon.

Dino Ciccarelli is one of my favorite all-time players.  I have a signed North Stars puck from him in my basement.  Yet, as a 600-goal scorer, he couldn't get into the HHOF until 2010, and none of his 5 teams (to my knowledge, have retired his number).  That there was "debate" about Ciccarelli (or about Sawchuk's #1 retirement) doesn't make him any less deserving of the honor - you either are or you aren't.

Because he's your favorite player doesn't necessarily mean he needs to be in the HOF or have his jersey retired,  Lot's of people like Darren McCarty, but noone is advocating for him to get in or get a jersey retired.  If the total package is there for enshrinement, then absolutely get them in there.  It's one of those situations though where if there is enough sentiment against, or you have to fight really hard to defend the selection, then you're not really dealing with the best of the best.  You're dealing with "pretty good."

The bottom line about the Fedorov haters is this: They believe, rightly or wrongly, don't believe that that he cares about them or the honor of wearing the Winged Wheel.  A lot of that has to do with the Russian thing, but that's not the only reason.  

Or, it could be people just don't see enough there to qualify him for the honor.  Do you think Ozzie should have his jersey retired?  I mean, he has so many wins and playoff wins, and Cups, right?  I know there are people that want this to happen, but it's just not logical.  At the end of the day, these honors should be reserved for the Yzermans, Howes, Orrs, Lidstroms, Gretzkys, Richards, Roys.  That's a hard club to crack, but it should be.

The litmus test is this:  is there a litmus test?  Then the answer is no.  It's the same argument about Ozzie going into the HHOF.  Does he have the numbers?  More or less.  Is he a HHOF goaltender? You have to work really hard to make a case that maybe he should get in.  

If you have to make a case for it, then the answer is no.  Should Gretzky be in the HHOF?  Without a doubt, and I don't think you'd find anyone that says different.  Should Yzerman and Lidstrom have their jerseys retired?  Again, find anyone that disagrees.  Now this thread illustrates perfectly that Feds is not on that same level of an automatic "Yes"

EDIT: Format

I'd be pretty surprised if the Wings signed someone to a cap hit over 8 mil.

Yeah, why should the Wings pay market value for any players.  Just the thought of playing at the Joe alone should make all players give Holland a discount to come here.

Those days are over.  If you want a marquee player, you're going to have to pay them.

You're right. Stupid fans and their opinions.  What are they thinking posting an opinion on a message board.
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Holland has a problem, and people are finally getting fed up with it.  Yes, it's all about what have you done lately, like in the last 4 seasons.  That is the problem with some fans and Holland himself.  It's too much "well, you were good 5 years ago, so you're a wing for life, no matter how bad you become," and not enough "what are you doing to help the team win today?"

Holland is playing golf.  He's quoted as saying he's happy with the deals he's made, and confident in the team as it stands.

Good riddance.  Hope Suter and Parise enjoy wasting away there.

1st off I don't think Semin could get $6 million at this point in time  - especially from Holland, or quite possibly any GM in the league.

2nd - Semin's upside in terms of scoring is 10 times that of what Hudler could ever do...I'm not too keen on Semin - however if there's any guy out there that could get the most outta Semin - it just might be Datsyuk.

As I said - I'm wary of the guy, but he'd instantly become our most lethal scoring winger; Hudler, and even Franzen aren't anywhere close to what Semin has in terms of skill.

Why would you think Semin would take a paycut, based on your 2nd point?  If noone will give him what he wants, I'm sure he'd be happy to go back to Russia and play in the KHL.

Also, Franzen is close to Semin in one facet; laziness.

So get rid of a 3-4 million streaky 1 dimension player, and replace him with a streaky 1 dimensional player who is also a lazy floater for 6+ mil per season?  That sounds logical.  That's even if Semin plays in the NHL next year.

I am super glad his 25 goals are so easy to replace.  Once Parise re-signs in New Jersey, and Semin bolts to the KHL, exactly how are we improving from last season?

Highway to the Danger Zone...  
Gonna take it right into the Danger Zone...