Detroit Red Wings & the NHL

[WingsFan]

This might be the first time NHL social media has legit been on the same side ever.

There was no way the NHL was going to let Bedard play for Columbus (or Anaheim). The NHL would rather send Bedard to play in Russia. It was never Columbus.

Red Wings have been in 8 draft lotteries now, they have managed to move back 9 spots over that time and never forward. (How can that happen really?)

It was either Montreal or Chicago 💀💀💀

[iam416]

Once again the noble Fifth Line gets fucked over by the pitiless merchants of ice death. The Jackets shall still fire the cannon, but ideally aimed directly at the despot Bettman or, at least at the fetid cancuk-infested wasteland of Detroit.

[Mike]

Lost out on the Fantilli consolation prize, too.

[Hannibal]

Absolutely nothing will ever equal the assfucking of the playoff-bound Rangers getting the first overall pick the year the Red Wings had the worst record.

[Hannibal]

The Wings have gobs and gobs of cap space for next year...

Detroit Red Wings Salary Cap, Draft Picks, and Player Contracts - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Nobody is due a big raise but they should probably lock up Seider long term. It wouldn't be a bad idea either to see if anyone needs to offload an overpaid player for the cap space. (Maybe Tavares or Marner from Toronto). Re-signing Little Bert would be really nice.

One intriguing free agent prospect is Ryan O'Reilly -- he has been a good playoff performer wherever he has been and he's still only 32, so he's got at least a few good years left.

One guy due a huge raise is Evan Bouchard, and with Kane, RN-H, Draisaitl, and MacDavid on the roster, I don't see the Oilers having the cap space to give him what he's worth.

One thing that I'd really like to see is for the NHL to give teams a cap space discount on guys that they draft. Other than Kane, the Oilers' impact players are pretty much all draft picks or trades. It sucks that they are going to have to shed some of those guys. If the purpose of the cap is to keep teams from buying a championship, then at least don't penalize folks for drafting intelligently.

[lineygoblue]

They've got so much cap space because the NHL keeps making rules to keep the top talent away from the Red Wings. They're still sore about all the Russians signed during the 90's.

[Whitley]

This might be the first time NHL social media has legit been on the same side ever.

There was no way the NHL was going to let Bedard play for Columbus (or Anaheim). The NHL would rather send Bedard to play in Russia. It was never Columbus.

Red Wings have been in 8 draft lotteries now, they have managed to move back 9 spots over that time and never forward. (How can that happen really?)

It was either Montreal or Chicago 💀💀💀

small sample size.

[froot loops]

The 94 Wing playoff loss was just a step on the way as maddening as it was. The Wings were simply not ready to win a cup. At the time every Wing fan convinced themselves they had what it takes, but it was clear their defense was suspect. When they won the cup in 97, it was much easier to look back and see how they weren't good enough. So that San Jose series was just a step.

The series to be pissed about and it grows every year is that choke job in 2009. At the time, it sucked but it seemed like the Wings would be back again. They were in good cap shape and there was a legit report that they were on the verge of keeping Hossa. Everything fell apart after that choke job. Now they can't even get to the fucking playoffs.

[Mike]

The fateful decision to pay Franzen instead of Hossa...

[froot loops]

Yeah that sucked, at the time Franzen was unbelievable.

[Hannibal]

The 94 Wing playoff loss was just a step on the way as maddening as it was. The Wings were simply not ready to win a cup. At the time every Wing fan convinced themselves they had what it takes, but it was clear their defense was suspect. When they won the cup in 97, it was much easier to look back and see how they weren't good enough. So that San Jose series was just a step.

The series to be pissed about and it grows every year is that choke job in 2009. At the time, it sucked but it seemed like the Wings would be back again. They were in good cap shape and there was a legit report that they were on the verge of keeping Hossa. Everything fell apart after that choke job. Now they can't even get to the fucking playoffs.

The 2009 team was pretty riddled with injuries by the end. No Datsyuk for games 1-4 of the finals. Lilja (good PKer and defensive defensman) was out. Kopecky was out. Draper wasn't fully healthy. Hossa was supposedly playing with a separated shoulder that required surgery, and Lidstrom reportedly had his nut shattered in Game 4 of the series against Chicago. Rafalski was playing hurt. I remember thinking Pittsburgh would win that series in 5 or 6 games. They had no significant injuries.

[Hannibal]

The Wings would have had to drop more guys than Franzen to keep Hossa. Hossa got a 12 year deal with a cap hit that was about 25% more than what Franzen was signed for. Franzen's issue was injuries, but in the three playoff seasons that he was healthy ('08 through '10), he was a beast. 31 goals in 51 games!

The Wings were slammed by the salary cap after that '09 season. That's why that Stanley Cup Finals loss was so heartbreaking. We knew at the time that it was probably the last hurrah. The Wings couldn't re-sign Sameulsson or Hudler either. That '09 team was living on borrowed time.

[Mike]

Yep. They were on fumes and it was pretty obvious it was the last hurrah. That's probably the most painful loss I've experienced of any of my sports teams. Malkin should have have been suspended BY RULE for Game 3 and he ends up with 3 assists in a 3-2 Pens win to keep their season alive. Just brutal.

Plus, we didn't really have a goalie. Osgood was awful that season but was actually outplayed by Ty Conklin. Although, Ozzie did round back into form for much of the playoffs that Game 7 would be the final playoff game of his career.

[Hannibal]

The Wings did put up a big time dookie in Games 6 and 7 of that series. After Game 5 and even after Game 6, I was still pretty optimistic that they could eke one more win out.

[Mike]

After Game 5 especially. I remember being very tense about Game 7.