Detroit Red Wings & the NHL

[Jeff Buchanan]

Yep ..... Sean is out $10.

[geo weidl]

Judging from this article, thrashers maybe moving this week. Second time an nhl franchise will be moving from atlanta. Eh!

http://sports.sympatico.ca/home/mayor_matter_of_time_before_nhl_deal_inked/d92ae954

[Jamie H]

The whole "warm weather expansion" that Betteman was obsessed with has been a massive failure. The California teams are ok, and maybe you can support 1 team in Florida, but most of the rest + Columbus were just stupid ideas. And, as most people predicted when it happened, the massive knee-jerk reaction of teams leaving Canada due to the discrepancy between the US and Canadian dollars was stupid too. Those teams ended up leaving 100% loyal fanbases for areas that don't give a crap about hockey, and now the exchange rate issue has gone away.

[*JD*]

In his first season as GM, mind you he had some great players but terrible former owners.

Yes. As much as I love Stevie Y, I'm not sure what he's done in Year 1 to make TB the contender they are. What moves did he make?

[Optimus Prime]

Signing veteran Dwayne Roloson (Stanley Cup Winner) at 41 years old, has them just two games away from the Final for starters. Adding Boucher & Gagne, I tip my hat!

He's up for GM of the year as well!

As a rookie GM, Yzerman saw the Lightning improve 23 points over last season and make the playoffs for the first time since 2007. His big move was to hire innovative rookie coach Guy Boucher and also acquired veterans Simon Gagne, Pavel Kubina, Dwayne Roloson and Eric Brewer.
The former Detroit scoring star served his apprenticeship with the Red Wings front office after retiring and was GM for Canada's gold medal team at the 2010 Olympics.
Finalists for other awards will be announced over the next two weeks, including the Lady Byng Trophy on Thursday.

[geo weidl]

He's up for GM of the year as well!

I was wondering about that, he has my vote.

[*JD*]

Thanks for the info. I really only follow the Wings.

[Optimus Prime]

No worries, not really a Wings fan but a huge Yzerman one.

[geo weidl]

No way Jose this afternoon. Canucks looks poised in killing off straight five penalties and then proceeding to score four unanswered goals enroute to a 4-2 win.

[Optimus Prime]

Give credit to GM Gillies, he upgraded the D and added depth even though they have two injured. They will be in the Final.

Gilles, who took over from Dave Nonis as Canucks GM in 2008, built a team that led the NHL with a franchise-record 117 points, goals scored (262) and fewest goals against (185).
''It's recognition for a lot of hard work and a lot of thoughtful effort that has gone into taking this organization to a higher level,'' Vancouver assistant GM Laurence Gilman said of Gilles. ''Everything, whether it's our players, our coaches, our scouting staff, it all flows from his leadership.
"It's a tremendous accolade for him and our organization.''
Gilles improved Vancouver's defence last summer by acquiring Keith Ballard and Dan Hamhuis as well as checking centre Manny Malhotra. He also picked up some speed at the trade deadline in forwards Chris Higgins and Maxime Lapierre.
''It's well deserved, the way he put this team together, the way he added some depth to make us stronger in case of injuries,'' said Canucks forward Alex Burrows. ''Especially the way he was able to work with the cap, he did a really good job all year.
''It shows with our record and by the way we play on the ice.''

[Mike]

Brian Raflaski has retired. He was due to make $6 mil next year which comes off the Wings' cap hit so they'll have room to sign a big name or two. The cap is expected to go up 3.5 to 4 mil so the Wings suddenly have an extra $10 mil to shop with plus whoever else doesn't come back. I'd love to see them take a run at Shea Webber who is FA this year. Seems like escaping Nashville for Detroit (in a hockey sense) would be an easy sell.

Ken Holland says he hasn't been told by Rafalski he's retiring. Sportsnet in Canada is reporting it.

[Optimus Prime]

Good luck Mike, Weber says he is staying in Nashville? BTW He's a beast and the best defensemen in the league IMO, it's a shame in plays in a terrible market, I'd like to see him in Detroit, Toronto or anywhere were they understand the game and appreciate his brilliance.

[Mike]

Nashville says they'll match any offer. I was hoping Weber is UFA but he's restricted and the Preds probably have more room than most people to sign a high priced FA. Does anyone know what a max contract is for an NHLer under the current cap? I think it's around $9 mil per season and can't exceed 20% of the total payroll. The Wings needed to shore up the defense before Rafalski retired. Now it's imperative that they get a couple top four d-men this offseason.

[Mike]

As good a save as you'll ever see from Davison, Michigan's own Tim Thomas.

http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=0&id=115404

I couldn't get the video to embed.

[Optimus Prime]

Loungo drew 10 mil so did Ovie, If Lidstorm packs it in they will have plenty of room. Vancouver was able to pry Dan Hamhuis from Nashville, I'd aim for pair of solid mid-tier guys that will play for 3-5 mil a year.