Detroit Red Wings & the NHL

[WingsFan]

Yep me too, since the Wings were eliminated this is the match-up I wanted. For the said post above and the Montreal thing if Vancouver win the Cup.

[Hannibal]

Rafalski's retirement won't hurt as much as people are worried it will. He was overpaid at $6 Million a year.

[Optimus Prime]

Yeah that was NJ Devil money, not the Wings. Glad to see he didn't take the Club for a ride in the last year of his contract, he was simply too beat up.

[Hannibal]

Salaries for stars are much more limited since then. The salary cap hits hard and it hurts a club tremendously when you've got a guy who makes huge amounts of money and doesn't produce. Marian Hossa at one time was reportedly offered 9 Million per year for a long term deal. Now he makes $5.275 Mil.

[geo weidl]

Its a done deal, news conference set for noon.

http://sports.sympatico.ca/home/announcement_set_for_winnipeg_nhl_purchase/e275e90c

[Hannibal]

Good. I hope that it's a trend. Hockey in Atlanta was pretty much a joke. The city didn't care. What attendance you got was from corporate entertainment types and Yankee carpetbaggers whose loyalties were already with another team. I went to a few games in Atlanta, and they all had that overly sanitized, dull, corporate atmosphere that typifies what is wrong with professional sports. Congrats to the Winnipeg hockey fans. They'll give that franchise great support.

As a side note, the failure of a huge, massive, and wealthy city like Atlanta to support a hockey team speaks volumes about what a disaster Gary Bettman's expansion strategy was. He Who Has Shit For Brains thought that he could expand the sport by simply NBA-izing it. Other sports like NASCAR, MMA, and even televised poker have taken full advantage of the declining popularity of baseball to become more popular. Hockey, on the other hand, has been stagnant for 15 years.

[Mike]

OP, Rafalski was signed by Detroit as a FA for 4/$24. I agree he wasn't worth $6 mil a year anymore but he was definitely still a great offensive defenseman. He had 48 assists this year. However, it's nice to have an extra $6 mil to play with this offeseason and a GM like Ken Holland to spend it.

"We get to be back in a place we wish we hadn't left in 1996," said NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.

What an absolute jackass. Just unreal.

[geo weidl]

nhl returns to Winnipeg

http://www.thecheapseats.ca/2011/05/the-nhl-returns-to-winnipeg.html

[lineygoblue]

Hopefully that means the Wings get to go to the Eastern Conference in 2012.

[Mike]

That would be great!

[Optimus Prime]

Yeah Mike, they will miss his stretch pass, he had excellent puck mobility and transition but clearly his best days were in NJ IMO., Wings to East, great tradition but much tougher to compete.

Bettman is a jackass, like to see him "Jim Tressel" and soon, his Southern Hockey Fantasy is a dismal failure.

[lineygoblue]

The Wings really belong in the East. More traditional rivalries, and more games when you can actually watch them. Its the Wings turn, as well.

Let Columbus play in the West. They're the new kids on the block.

[geo weidl]

Have I missed something, did bettman make any comments regarding the Winnipeg deal.

Quebec City happy, envious over Winnipeg move

http://sports.sympatico.ca/home/quebec_city_happy_envious_over_winnipeg_move/9758c0c7

[WingsFan]

Look for Nashville to move to the east. The Red Wings would leave only one original 6 team in the west, (Blackhawks) plus Bettman needs the Red Wings draw to fill the non-traditional hockey arenas in the west. Another thing he will enjoy, he knows the Red Wings really want to move east, so he will love vetoing that idea.

Vancouver has the edge starting tonight, they have more talent and probably the better goalie. Vancouver is a long way from Boston, and they have the edge there also playing in the west - they are used to traveling more. (they actually have a sleep coach)

[WM Wolverine]

NHL wants a big name in the West so the Wings will stay in the west...

Someone came up with a 5-division scenario that was an interesting concept to fix the NHL's eastern heavy alignment woes. Teams like Chicago, Detroit, Nashville, Columbus don't belong in a 'western' conference.