NHL Free Agency discussion (1 Viewer)

[Dennis Reno]

Looks like the Wings are going to replace Hasek with CuJo! Now if they can only land Chelios.

Any ideas where Guerin is heading? I've read that Dallas is planning to throw some big numbers his way.

 

[Michael*K]

From what I've heard, Dallas is set to throw some big money around to land both Bill Guerin and Tony Amonte.

 

[Gary Hensley]

For the money (and as painful as it is to say this) I would rather get Belfour. CuJo is a good goalie but I don't think he is worth the 8-9 million a season. I would rather get Belfour for nearly half that rate and sign a few other players. Hasek was one of a kind and worth the money to me. I can't think of anyone else out there short of Roy that is worth that kind of $$$. The Wings won with Osgood and Vernon who were both good, no great, goalies.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

The problem with Belfour is that he is a head case. He can be a cancer in the clubhouse. While Cujo has never won a Cup, I still would take him over Belfour.

Gee, is it surprising that the teams bidding for free agents are Detroit, Dallas, New York, etc.? The NHL continues it's downward spiral towards the abyss that is major league baseball.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

It looks like the Wings just signed Cujo. Will Detroit buy another Cup?

 

[Gary Hensley]

Buy another cup, sheesh am I sick of hearing that. The Avs, Rangers, Dallas, etc do the same thing and nobody ever seems to mention them. Up until THIS season the Red Wings haven't added any big names to their roster except for Hasek (and now it looks CuJo). Robitaille and Hull were both castoffs and signed for LESS money then they could have made elsewhere.

 

[Gary Hensley]

I do agree the Salary stuff is getting riduculous. It has to end somewhere. These guys make great money playing a game they love.

 

[Dennis Reno]

It has to end somewhere.

It will end in two years. The NHL players agreement expires at the end of the 2003-2004 season and the owners are already talking tough. It sounds like the plan is to implement a salary cap system that will help the smaller market and Canadian teams to be competitive. Hopefully they will use something similar to the NFL cap system.

Don't get me wrong, I love the Wings having a good shot at winning every year, but it would be better for the sport if teams other than Detroit, Colorado, NY Rangers, New Jersey and Dallas have a shot at winning the Cup.

 

[PatrickM]

Talk about ridiculous salaries. Bobby Holik gets $9 Mil a year for 5 years from the Rangers? Glen Sather is out of his freaking mind. He complains that the GM's out there are nuts for spending huge bucks on free agents when he's with Edmonton then he goes absolutely nuts himself signing all the high priced has-beens for the Rangers the last few years.

And, look what its got him? Absolutely nothing. You have to have a good core like the Wings or Avalanche before you can add the last key free agent to get you the cup. And, Lindros and Holik aren't it let alone re-signing old man Messier for another year. He'll turn 42 during the season.

Patrick

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Up until THIS season the Red Wings haven't added any big names to their roster except for Hasek (and now it looks CuJo).

What about Chelios, Shanahan and Larionov (the first time around)? Yes, they drafted a lot of key players, but have also added a lot of salary through free agency and trades that small market teams could not take on. Detroit had the largest payroll in 2001/2002, according to a recent Detroit News article.

I am not just picking on Detroit. Colorado, New York, Dallas, St. Louis and a couple of other teams are also part of this current economic imbalance.

Dennis, I hope you are right and the NHL is able to get some sort of NFL-style cap and revenue sharing plan approved during the next contract. This sport is too good to get ruined like major league baseball.

 

[Daryl Furkalo]

While Detroit may not have signed big-named free-agents for big bucks, they did keep a majority of their talent, and that has caused their payroll to escalate to the "buy the cup" standard.

When the 2003-04 season ends, and the CBA expires, the NHL hopes to set-up some sort of salary-cap system. However, there are 5-10 owners who really don't care about a cap. David Stern broke the NBAPA because he threatened to flush the season away, I don't think Bettman ever would have the support from all of the owners to do that.

 

[Dave_P]

I hope the NHL institutes a cap come the 2003-2004 lockout season. It will save me some pain watching the Bruins let go of another top tier player because they cannot/refuse to pay a player what that player feels is justified. Though, wouldn't we all just love 1 million to sit on the bench . I'd sit on the bench all season for a million. Good bye Guerin, where ever you go. Why does this world always come down to money? It really is the root of all evil.

 

[Jim_C]

>>Why does this world always come down to money? It really is the root of all evil.

 

[Dave_P]

Jim_C,

I know how you feel pal. It has been a downward spiral since Oates left for the Capitals. I remember him speaking up that year about management. Since then, we have said good bye to Bourque, Jason Allison, Anson Carter, Byron Dafoe(this ones ok with me), and soon Guerin.

We have also given up some promising young prospects. Kyle Wanvig was not signed last offseason. He was only an MVP in junior. Bobby Allen from Boston College has gone to the Oilers in a trade last year. He was a promising young offensive defenseman.

Unfortunately, we'll probably say goodbye to McLaren(who could turn into a force), Thornton(already a force, soon to be a superstar), and Samsonov(Pavel Bure like potential here) in the near future with Jacobs crappy bottom line mission. The ceiling on a couple of these guys is through the roof. It will kill me when these guys are dealt away, especially Thornton. Lets keep hope that something good will come this season. Maybe Grahame can show everyone why he won a Calder Cup. Maybe he can guide the Bruins to the light. I still love the team. Boston is at the least enjoying a renaissance of its sports teams. You gotta love the ride.

 

[Lou Sytsma]

Seriously guys. If a team like Detroit in hockey or the Yankees in baseball lead the salary parade and usually capture their respective championships - why bother watching?

They are operating at a level most other teams can't compete at. Does that sound fair and equitable to you? Doesn't it really taint the champioships such teams win?

I don't know - call me naive - but a championship won by a team in a league where all the parties involved are working on an equal playing field - should be the norm and not the exception.

Professional sports has lost me a long time ago.

 

[PatrickM]

I feel sorry for you Bruin fans. I've always been a Celtics fan and I know if the respective GM's tried to gut the Celtics, or the Red Sox for that matter, like O'Connell does and Sinden did before him there would be riots in the streets.

So why do the Bruins fans put up with it? Or, am I off base on this?

Patrick

 

[Jim_C]

>>So why do the Bruins fans put up with it? Or, am I off base on this?

 

[brentl]

Man Oh man I almost had a tear in my eye watching Cujo in his T.O. new conference "I hope that if we can't win the cup Toronto does" What a class act.

He was right when he infered that Toronto brass doesn't care about winning a cup.

Belfour could a poison in the dressing room, but the money left should help us get a much needed defenceman.

Brent

 

[Dennis Reno]

If a team like Detroit in hockey or the Yankees in baseball lead the salary parade and usually capture their respective championships - why bother watching?

You are right Lou. While it is fun for the fans of the respective teams it is monotonous for all the other fans. That is why I hope, I pray, that the NHL owners will finally do something about it.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Dennis is dead-on in his comments regarding the way Ilitch has run the Tigers. While he has poured money into the Wings, he lied to the local taxpayers by promising to spend money on the Tigers like he did the Wings -- as long as the taxpayers helped pay for a new stadium. Once the stadium was completed, he failed to live up to his promises.
I believe that Ilitch has enough money to compete in today's NHL market, but he does not have nearly enough money to compete at the level required today in MLB. At some point, if costs continue to escalate in the NHL, he will eventually run out of money there, too. Little Caesars is not the money maker it used to be.
Actually, the downward spiral of the Tiger franchise started when Tom Monahan (Domino's Pizza) purchased the team before the '84 season. He proceeded to begin selling off a World Series champion after the '84 season, and then sold the team after getting rid of all the talent a few years later.
Now, back to hockey.
I feel for the Toronto fans. As I said earlier, I would much rather have Cujo than Belfour in goal and the locker room. The Leafs have not been to a Cup Final since the days of the Original Six. I was really pulling for them against Carolina this season. I think Toronto's chances for next season just got worse.