*****
We're going to try something new.
Instead of throwing up multiple posts on the first day of Free Agency, we're going to make this our first-ever open thread. As news-y stuff happens around the league, it'll go in the comments section (Somebody was dumb enough to take Scott Gomez's contract? BWAHAAA) Then the 2 of us and the 3 of you out there can discuss this shit.
The Wings aren't expected to do anything outlandish. But hey, you never know -- they could move four guys to free up Hossa space ...
59 comments:
... and this was written a few hours early, before Bouwmeester happened. 5 years/$6.68 mil for the Flames. And a couple people are happy about this.
Not a whole lot of places that a big, fast, good puck-moving D man won't fit in.
And that's pretty much that:
Hossa turns down 10 year deal from Wings.
"A source compared the length of the deal to the deals Johan Franzen and Henrik Zetterberg signed. It's believed the deal-breaker was the average salary which fell between $3.75 million and $4 million."
Good news for the "pro Hudler" campaign, one would suppose.
And I still say to Hossa: "Glad to have known ya! Good luck where ever you wind up." I think the Wings will be better off not having another huge salary to worry about. This last season was brutal when players became injured for short periods of time and no one could be called up from GR. This whole thing will be very interesting to watch play out.
From Khan:
"Holland made an offer to right wing Mikael Samuelsson, believed to be a slight increase from last season's $1.2 million salary. But Samuelsson is expected to explore the market and probably won't return."
I just shed a tear. Also, the Wings cut ties with McCarty and Downey.
Not surprised about Sammy though. This is his only chance at a cash grab so he needs to explore his options.
I wish Hossa the best - but it is better for him to be gone. No amount of candle lighting can overcome that bad mojo.
Mr. McCarty - I will miss you. May you have a wonderful life of sobriety with your family and friends. I think I will eat a turtle sundae today in your honor.
Tram
I can't wait for Samuelsson to get a $4M deal from an idiot team and spend more time stewing in the penalty box than pooping in the goal box. The guy deserves his payday, but he's not worth more to the Wings than what he got paid last year.
I think Allan Muir from SI has the right idea. I am pretty sure Helmer is expected to make the team this year but I also wouldn't mind seeing Gator spend most of the season in Detroit and Kindl get regular call-ups. That'd be tough to do if Hossa re-upped with Detroit.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/allan_muir/06/30/free.agent.matchmaker/1.html
I'd officially like to invite everyone to join the SAVE HUDS! campaign
For only about $2mil/year you can help save a Hudler and bring unbridled exuberance and streaky scoring to our lives for a few more years.
Sedin gals staying in Vancouver:
"The Sedin twins are staying in Vancouver. The Vancouver Canucks re-signed Daniel and Henrik to five-year deals averaging $6.1 million, sources tell Sportsnet."
Also, Dany Heatley is weird.
$6.1 each is just about perfect for the Sedins in Vancouver. Their numbers get overlooked a bunch, but considering it's Vancouver we're talking, the team hasn't earned a discount. They'd be worth about $5-5.5 in Detroit.
A somewhat depressing look at how nobody wants to go to Edmonton.
I don't know. Easy for a schlub like me to say, but everything else being equal, I'd value playing in a place where the people really care about their team over playing in a night-life-y type of city.
Yeah that's a pretty good deal for the twins. I still find it strange how they're like one entity ... I feel like I don't even know them as individual hockey players.
Mattias Ohlund is the Eastern Conference's problem now. $3.75m cap hit for Tampa Bay is actually surprisingly good for a team that loves to overspend on guys.
Hossa is supposedly close to signing with Chicago, if TSN is to be believed.
Wow.
"Hossa is supposedly close to signing with Chicago, if TSN is to be believed."
Unfuckingbelievable.
"Mattias Ohlund is the Eastern Conference's problem now. $3.75m cap hit for Tampa Bay is actually surprisingly good for a team that loves to overspend on guys."
Yeah, it's even downright surprising. They should be the ones making trades for Scott Gomez.
Hossa to the Hawks has me seriously rattled.
Deep breaths Tyler...the Chief tweets that some guy chollis tweeted that some guy kausatoday tweeted that the somebody on NHL Live said the Wings are not out of the picture for Hossa.
Note to self: never use tweet as a verb more than once in a sentence. Sounds dumber than Samuelsson talking.
Speaking of Sammy: it should be mandated that wherever he ends up, the running "poop in a box" joke must follow him to a blog of that team. It probably would require some explaining, though.
Oh Sammy. We'll miss your comic relief.
Hossa talking to Bruins.
Better than Chi
Definitely better than Chicago. Anywhere but there. My gut has told me the Habs this whole time, although, my gut always tells me people are going to Montreal since they have eleventy million $$ in cap space.
Meh. Depends on your definition of better. I live in New England and I'm not shy about my colors, so I'd never hear the end of it. Uncool.
@ Cam:
That's the benefit of reppin' South Lansing. Any word on the improvement in Brady's knee? I'm kidding. But really, that must be annoying.
Guy from TheFourthPeriod saying the Hawks have signed Hossa. He's just waiting on confirmation.
I don't even know what to think.
http://twitter.com/TheFourthPeriod
"TSN: Dreger sources say Hossa deal to #Blackhawks is done"
damn
LeBrun reports that the Hossa deal is 12 years, $5.2 million per.
My reaction: Really? That's it? He turned down 10 at $4 mil per with the WINGS for 12/5.2 with the HAWKS?
Life just doesn't make any sense anymore.
Hossa in Chitown. Hmmmmm. Kind of brings a new reason to renew my love/hate relationship with Chicago. Love the town. Love the Hawks jerseys, but not so much that team. I see some Chicago Amtrak trips in my future.
Tram
This feels like the Fedorov deal to Anaheim all over again.
That damn deal makes it impossible to hate Hossa for signing this. He got to go to a contender and he got a long-term deal. That's exactly what he said he wanted all along. There are very few players I could get mad at for taking a deal like that, Hossa's not one of them.
All I can hope is that the cap situation blows up in Chicago's face and they lose Kane and/or Toews in the backlash.
I'm not mad about Hossa signing with ChiCity, but I'm absolutely befuddled that he only chose $1.2 million more per year than the Wings' contract.
Guess he didn't like Detroit as much as let on during the year. Oh well.
Got to admit - the Chicago/Detroit rivalry just got turned up a notch.
I sure wish he would have gone somewhere else. I have a gut feeling that he will haunt us in Chicago. I take back that "I wish him well" crap.
Tram
Kopecky to Chicago too. I had a hunch the kid would follow Hossa around like a lost puppy.
LA would have been best if Hossa didn't re-up in Detroit. They are up and coming but not as much of a threat as the Hawks. Instead the Hawks continue their attempt to become West Detroit. Bastards.
Wow. This is what happens when you leave the computer for an hour on July 1st. Hossa is a Hawk.
I agree: I have no idea what to think.
KOPECKY TOO??? What do we do NOW???
Nooooooooo!!
Whoa, wait a minute.... his cap hit is only 5.2 per? It was worth it to him to spurn two hockey-mad cities in two seasons -- this time to an arch division rival over 12 YEARS -- for only like a million-ish more? I guess. I can't justify blowing up over him leaving. But for that number, to that team ..... eesh
Exactly my question, Tyler. No idea how that number makes the move worth it.
"All I can hope is that the cap situation blows up in Chicago's face and they lose Kane and/or Toews in the backlash."
It would seem like that is imminent. They have 9 players locked up in 2010, and that doesn't include Kane and Abe.
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Conk to the Blues. Fuck that. I wanted to root for the guy (ok I still will).
"Exactly my question, Tyler. No idea how that number makes the move worth it."
I don't know how to ask this without sounding like an ignorant hick, but do you think his European-ness has to do with it? I mean, like, do you think he doesn't have a total grasp of what a Detroit-to-Chicago jump (in any sport) really means? Or maybe he gets a sick pleasure out of doing this.
Oh yeah, I meant to say that Chicago has 9 players locked up for about 35 million .... and that doesn't include Kane and Abe.
Niederelbow is back with the Ducks. So yeah, we still have that going for us.
I think nhlnumbers.com has exploded.
Just a thought: Hossa and Havlat were pretty much a wash points-per-game wise this season, given the Hawks lose Hossa.
Shut up, I'm trying to make myself feel better.
Jesus Christ -- I meant "given the Hawks lose HAVLAT".
Fuck this day.
I'm late to this party and the first fricking thing I see is that Hossa signed with Chicago. ACK!!! This will take some time to process. I don't think I will be wishing him well, after all.
I won't judge you Cmk.
The worst part is knowing that there won't be a signing out of Detroit today. We need a depth, grit guy and those guys never get signed on day one.
So how long before the Bouwmeester signing makes Calgary the trendy pick out of the west this year?
"So how long before the Bouwmeester signing makes Calgary the trendy pick out of the west this year?"
You mean you aren't of that opinion already? 79-3 record, I predict.
I wish I could remember know, but somewhere a Flames blog/board made the claim that they now had the best D corps in the league. I'll still take ours.
Yeah, "sloppy-seconds" Phaneuf and Bouwmeester > The Perfect Human and Raffy. I know you can't see this, but I'm making the most dismissive wanking motion anybody has ever seen.
I've always kind of liked Bouwmeester because he has the exact same birthday as my wife. The terms of the deal is going to be make-or-break for him though. He's going to have to play very well to earn Brian Campbell money.
Toews is a Wing in 2010, you heard it here first. FUCK CHICAGO.
Congrats ladies and gentlemen, we have a rivalry.
I blame Probert. Ungrateful bastard.
Tram
Khabibulin to ....
the Oilers. 4/$15mil.
oooOOOOOOoooo
Laperriere goes to Philly. He was the depth/grit guy I wanted. Meanwhile, the Flyers lose even more leeway in the right to complain about how many penalty minutes they take as a team.
Knuble to the Caps ... Hal Gill to the Habs (I KNEW IT).
I might be signing off for a while. Final exam tonight. Don't let anything major happen 'til I get back.
Good headline:
http://deadspin.com/5305700/chicago-blackhawks-to-lose-the-next-12-stanley-cup-finals
Camilleri to the Habs (I KNEW IT AGAIN). Okay, so the Flames will be 75-7 this year.
Komiserik to the Leafs. No, I don't care about the spelling of these names.
Now the Puck Daddy live chat thing has teased us with "the Oilers are going to make an announcement very soon" regarding signings.
Wing killer Sullivan sticking with Nashville for 3.75$ over 2 years(via Dreger ... got sick of Blogger's inconvenient linking capabilities ... we need a new site).
Word from TSN that CBJ and Nash aren't on the same page.
REPORT: NASH, BLUE JACKETS FAR APART IN NEW CONTRACT TALKS
Why Havlat was mad from Puck Daddy via Allan Walsh's Twitter.
"Havlat received multi year offers from several teams...except Chicago. After 3 months of negotiating a long term contract, Chicago would not offer anything more than a 1 year deal. So much for taking care of the team MVP."
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