The KHL has been having problems paying the players right now

Tell that to Jiri Hudler and the Moscow Dynamo.

This.

You still playing EHM? What year are you in now?


A good example of a player who thinks he is worth more than he actually is. Hudler is decent, but not near worth what he wants to be paid.

Agreed. To me, that article was about the NHL, not the Flyers, but thanks to the auto-naming of links it comes across like that. I actually meant to include a "Goodbye Wade Redden!" in there but forgot.

A hard cap + a declining cap could be really bad for even a mythically perfectly-run franchise. Make the best draft choices, they'll get paid more as time goes on, and eventually you'll be penalized for it.

Tell that to Jagr who stopped getting paid half way through the season last year.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/story/9...27s-power-play

I haven't really played it in over a year or so now. I forget what year I was in. 2011? 2012? Something like that.

Tell Jagr to tell Jiri Hudler.

If we're talking freeware EHM (which I fire up now and then) and that sim speed, he's gotta be in AT LEAST 2006.

They probably all communicate thru twitter anyway.

I remember reading that. I don't think the KHL will ever be the huge threat to the NHL that some were speculating it would be. That said, if they were really having that kind of difficulty paying their players, why didn't so many players like Jagr, Radulov, etc. decide to come back to the NHL where at least they know their money is guaranteed?

The KHL will be far behind the NHL in terms of revenue and wont be able to keep up in the long term. That said, if there is a sudden cap squeeze like some were predicting what are the options for some of these guys? I don't predict a mass exodus of players to the KHL, but I think you'll likely see more guys "choosing" to go that route.

I look at the KHL as a place for older players to make more $$. They won't see the money in the NHL (and longer termed contract) as they will in the KHL. The KHL benefits because of their name...Jagr, Federov, Kozlov. Plus most of them are Russian or Eastern European so being closer to home might benefit.

I doubt we see Canadians or Americans head over.

Agreed. How many young to prime of their career NHL players actually go overseas in the first place? Not very many, if any at all. I saw an article last week about the possibility of Alexei Morozov returning to the NHL, but his agent dismissed the rumors and said he will almost certainly stay there for the remainder of his career. I am sure the NHL will do fine without guys like Hudler, Fedorov, Kozlov, Jagr, and others. Especially since most of them are at the end of their career in the best of times.

I totally agree. I just think if you see a combination of (1) a steep cap decline in one year + (2) a glut of free agents +(3) no money to spend on them that will all = this trend shifting a bit, for at least for that one year.

My Way - Sports News

CHICAGO (AP) -The Chicago Blackhawks abruptly ousted general manager Dale Tallon on Tuesday, less than two months after the team he helped revive from the bottom of the standings reached the Western Conference finals.

Tallon, who was reassigned to senior adviser of hockey operations, was replaced by assistant GM Stan Bowman, the son of legendary NHL coach Scotty Bowman. The elder Bowman was hired last year as a senior adviser.

A clerical mistake may have hastened Tallon's departure. Last week, the NHL Players Association filed a grievance against the team, saying the Blackhawks missed the deadline for sending qualifying offers to restricted free agents. The Blackhawks ended up signing all their restricted free agents, including their top rookie from last season, Kris Versteeg.

Tallon denied that the administrative problem and grievance had caused the Blackhawks to overpay the restricted free agents.

Tallon, 58, has been a member of the organization for more 30 years, including five as a player and 10 in the front office. He was named general manager in June 2005 and under his guidance, the team drafted young stars Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, made trades for scorers like Martin Havlat and Patrick Sharp, and signed free agents Nikolai Khabibulin, Brian Campbell and Cristobal Huet.

Last season, the Blackhawks started drawing fans back to the United Center and advanced to the playoffs for the first time in seven years, losing to the Detroit Red Wings in the conference finals.

Earlier this month, the Blackhawks signed free agent Marian Hossa from Detroit to a 12-year, $62.8 million deal. Havlat, the team's leading scorer last season, was let go and he was signed by Minnesota.

"I have been with this organization in several different capacities since coming over as a player in 1973 and although my position has changed, my goals have not," Tallon said in a statement released by the team. "I've seen Stan come up through our ranks and I'm confident he is the right person to step in. This is what is best for the Chicago Blackhawks."

Bowman, 36, has been with the team for nine years, including two seasons as the director of hockey operations and four seasons as an assistant to the GM. He called the promotion an honor.

"We will not rest until we reach our goal of winning the Stanley Cup and establishing consistent success," he said.

Hasn't the economy of Russia (thanks to the drop in oil and mineral prices, along with the global near-meltdown) and the falling fortunes of Russian's wealthy kill what the KHL was going for?

Martin Havlat is not happy about the Tallon firing:

http://twitter.com/martinhavlat

Did he delete a post? I don't see anything other than him saying Tallon was like a 2nd father to him, and that this is 'the tip of the iceberg'.

Yeah the mods got to him cause he linked to a suggestive image.

Well that seems cunty. HAVLAT LOST POSTS!!

Hope Ben isn't a hockey fan!

:D

SI

Those bastards.

Ya, linking to twitter could get DD boxed!

That said, as long as wade moore doesn't tattle on him, I think he's safe, since it has long been established that black people don't like hockey.

Hell, if SD doesn't notice some of the recent posts in this thread on his own, I'll highlight them for him myself.

I'm not sure what part of "Further whining about this will result in punitive actions" isn't clear, nor do I get why someone would intentionally try to get themselves boxed by trolling instead of just leaving.

Hey Jon I was just making a joke. Ben can run his board however. But go ahead and tattle if it makes you feel better about yourself.

LOL. FOFC has been stale lately, glad to see some fun times are still to be had. :p

You forgot to add "Go Flyers!"

Shit thanks! Go Flyers!

EDIT: Well, never mind if people are going to go about making our NHL thread all serious and stuff :(

SI

One I'd call ill-advised at best, especially since it opened the door for more trolling. I'd prefer this thread not end up locked because a few people couldn't manage to play it smart.

There's some talk that Zherdev will ask for $5 million in arbitration.

Zero points and like 4 shots in the playoffs.

Yeah god forbid we make jokes...hell we still let Maple Leafs talk and his team has been a joke for years.

Scottie Upshall wants 3 to 4 million a year. Sorry Scottie.

Lighten up, Francis.

I still seriously want to understand the Havlat thing. What did he tweet that was so newsworthy?

Only YOU can prevent forest fires!

So are there any "good" FA left?

I gather it would be his comments today combined with his earlier remarks about

"It's coming. What happened will be told soon.8:18 PM Jul 8th"
"Didn't leave them...they left me.10:50 PM Jul 3rd "
"There's something to be said for loyalty and honor.8:08 PM Jul 1st"

Combine that with Scotty Burnside's take on the real reason behind the firing -- basically screw his successes, Tallon just wasn't McDonough's guy -- and that leaves me to think that Havlat is trying to point the finger for his leaving Chicago directly at McDonough & hopes that the fans will be looking for the team prez's head.

Meh, must be a slow news day. A bunch of foreshadowing is all I see, wake me up when the guy says something meaty.

Lol!

I don't think I've ever seen such a feistyness from MV before. We should take away the Alizee thread and see what happens!

Don't even joke about that. It's not funny. Ever.

Hey hey hey, don't do something you'll regret now!

I think Tanguay is about it.

Do people think he might still go to Detroit? Or... Edmonton? Or it's all pretty up in the air...

I don't think anyone really thought he'd end up in Detroit. He's sort of out their price range. Even without Hudler, the Wings only have about $1.6 million in cap space.

I heard that he was talking to Florida and before that Phoenix. Edmonton seems as likely as any place as well, I suppose.

Zubov?

Guess it depends on the definition of good-

Comrie, Bertuzzi, Robert Lang at forward. Maybe Sundin.

Seidenberg, Morris, Skoula are all #4/5 types

Biron still out there.

Here's the best of what's left:

Tanguay--Sundin- Sykora
Williams -Lang--Afinogenov
Pyatt-Malhotra-Satan
Bertuzzi-Betts-Grier

Extras? Your choices. Perrin, Niedermeyer, Comrie, Hinote, Shanny, Moore.

Defense:
Seidenberg-Schneider
Morris-Bergeron
Alberts-Zubov


Goaltenders:
Fernandez
Gerber
Legace
Biron

I was digging through some old emails and found some of my impressions from the 2001 Prospect Tournament. A friend and I went up there for a few days to watch some games. It was an absolute blast. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to make it back there since. This year all of the games are during the week, so a weekend trip up north wont work.

This is unedited. And, I have to say, over all my impressions of players doesn't seem any less random than any NHL scout seems to be able to formulate, though these are all guys who have already been drafted or invited as free agents.

2001...

The Wings Prospect team has just finished their third, and best, game of
the prospect tournament here in Traverse City. The team looked really
sharp tonight, downing the St. Louis Blues 4-1. Pavel Datsyuk dominated
the game tonight. He was in the middle of everything. He intercepted
countless number of passes (St. Louis really had a hard time getting out
of their own zone in this game) and made a number of great, shifty little
plays to get around opposing players. I think he had two assists and
created a number of good scoring chances. He did not seem to shy away
from the physical side of the game. I dont't know if he's ready for the
NHL, but he's easily been one of the most impressive prospects throughout the tournament this far, on any team.

Besides Datsyuk's dominance in tonight's game, Chad LaRose looked very
good, using his speed to score two goals. Groulx got a power-play goal on
a nice shot from the point. And Greg Jacina got a nice looking goal
thanks to a great pass from Datsyuk.

The game also turned out to be a physical affair as well. Forward Jason
Baird fought Brett Lutes four seconds into the second period (it looked
like Lutes tripped him right before the face-off and Baird was ticked).
Ryan Barnes fought Brent Scheffelmeir along the boards. Barnes handled
himself ok against the 6'6" monster that is Scheffelmeir. During that
fight, Brad Voth and Wings' defensemen Jeff Feniak went at it. Feniak
getting the worse of the exchange. Ryan Barnes fought Craig Weller near
the end of the game and did quite well it seemed. All in all it was a
good, intense game which was more or less dominated by the Wings.
Several players of note (other than Datsyuk) include...
Chad LaRose (winger). This kid got two goals tonight. He has some great
wheels and a decent scoring touch. He's a bit undersized, but seems to
have a good motor and played very well along side Datsyuk. He could
develope into a speedy-grinding type of player.

Paul Ballantyne (D). He's looked really good out there so far. He
definitely seems to want to do it all: score, play soild defense, etc.
Because of this, he has gotten caught out of position a number of times,
but has made some spectacular defensive plays as a result (hurrying back
to break up two on ones or foil a break away, etc.) He has decent size
and seems to make smart plays. He looked good last year, but has clearly
been one of the Wings' best players in this year's tournament and by far
their best d-man.

Steve Groulx (D). He's played pretty well. He has a nice offensive
upside and plays with a bit of an edge. He's been manning the point (with
Ballantyne) on Detroit's number one power-play unit. He's had some
defensive lapses and tends to get caught out of position a few times. He
got a nice power-play goal from the point in tonight's game.

Ryan Barnes (Winger). He's been decent. He got a goal in the first game.
Definitely a grinder. He has good physical upside and has dropped the
gloves a couple of times so far. He has made some good hits and is strong
in front of the net.

Tomas Kopecky (Winger). He's a tall rangy kid. He was great in last
year's tourney, but hasn't shown much this year. He had one nice goal in
the first game, but he's been pretty invisible save that.

Brian McGrattan (Winger). While he has pretty much no chance making the team, I have to mention him. He's a big, physical winger who backs down from no one. He's gone up against each team's "goon" in each game and those are some big fellas. He almost scored a goal tonight. He doesn't
skate all that well, but has made a number of big hits. He knocked one of
the St. Louis players unconcious right as the buzzer sounded at the end of the game. Mean Streak? Oh yes.

Drew McIntyre (Goalie). He played in Detroit's first game. He looked
really shaky. He couldn't handle rebounds and let a couple of bad goals
in. Nick Pannoni (goalie) another of Detroit's draft picks this year
played pretty well tonight against St. Louis. He wasn't tested too much,
as Detroit dominated most of the play, but he was solid when called upon.
Other highlights from the tournament:

Atlanta:
Ilya Kovalchuk has looked good, but hasn't put points on the board. He's
the fastest player here and has some great moves, but I am not sure if
he's trying to do too much on his own or what, but he's been all flash and
no show on what looked to be a highly talented Atlanta squad. Danny Heatley has looked pretty good, but Atlanta, at 0-2, has been the disappointment of the tourney. Libor Usturnul, a big defensemen playing for the Plymouth Whalers now, has also looked pretty good.

St. Louis:
Tonight they looked god AWFUL. They are 2-1 in the tournament. Forward
Jay McClement (their 2nd round pick) has looked very good. They also have a giant back on the blueline, Brent Scheffelmeir, who has played decently. He has great size and has played pretty physical, strong along the boards, good hits, some fights, so far. He's definitely a few years away, but may have a future. Brad Voth, a big forward, who was here last year looks to be one of the most improved player here. He seems to be skating well and has made some big hits. He put the beat-down on Wings' defensemen Jeff Feniak tonight.

Nashville:
I haven't had a chance to watch too much of this team. Their games have
always been opposite Detroit's. I should get a decent look tomorrow.

Minnesota:
Winger Kyle Wanvig looks like the real deal. Toronto really lost out when
their fax machine broke down at the deadline. He's got good size, a mean
streak, some good speed, and good hands. The Wings couldn't contain him
during their game against Minnesota. I wouldn't be too surprised to see
Wanvig in the NHL either this year or next, especially considering
Minnesota's lack of skill upfront. Steve Velieux, a center, has looked
really good as well. He's got some decent size and is a force along the
boards. Defensemen Travis Roche the "thinking man's defenseman" has been solid. He's the team's Captain and has played like it, showing great
poise and a bit of an offensive touch. Derek Boogeard, a 6'6", 250 lbs.
monster of a winger has been entertaining. He can't skate, pass or shoot
really. He loves to try to hit, but he usually just crashes into the
boards (much like a young Keith Primeau). Against St. Louis he went to
check a defenseman along the boards. The defenseman ducked and Boogaard shattered the glass and went flying out of the rink onto the floor below.

Columbus:
It's tough to figure out who is who as the roster in the program is all
wrong and they don't have names on their jerseys. Kiel McLeod (a big
rangy centerman) who was taken in the second round last year has looked
really good. He's solid on his skates and has scored a few goals. He
could have a future in a few years in the NHL. Trevor Ettinger, like Brad
Voth of St. Louis, is a big tough kid who has showed signs of improvement.

He's moving better this year and has had some good hits, but like other
big fellas, he's looking to make it into the NHL via his fists. It's a
dying role, really, but still has a place on some teams.

As for Datsyuk. He has looked very good. He's a shifty play-maker who
has seems to have good hockey sense. He was always in passing lanes and interdcepted a number of passes which led to good scoringe chances. He was also very good in traffic. Will he be the next Fedorov? Yzerman? I
really don't think so. He seems to be more of a play-maker than a
goal-scorer and lacks size and some speed. He could be a decent second or third line center some day though.

Barnes wont be able to replace LaPointe. He's no where near as strong as
Marty is and doesn't have that blistering shot He is definitely a hustler
and grinder and has a good physical edge, but I wouldn't look for him to
score 20 goals in a season. He is a bit undisciplined and has had
concussion problems in the past.

Other Notes:

Ilya Kovalchuk and Dan Heatly looked /very/ good for Atlanta today. I
wouldn't be surprised to see both of them in the NHL at some time this
year.

Detroit will play either Minnesota, Atlanta or Nashville tomorrow for
either fifth or third place. I am not sure how it all works, but Columbus
is 3-0, St. Louis is 2-1, and Atlanta, Nashville, Minnesota and Detroit
are all 1-2.

Nice... a Brad Voth sighting. Now playing for my hometown Cardiff Devils in the UK (for the last 3 or 4 years I think) Very popular guy and a great enforcer/team player.

this thread needs more Kiel McCleod

Dola

Tavares is signed

It's got to be only mere minutes from now til an anvil drops on his head.

Or, as he'd refer to it, "the second worst thing to happen to me this summer".

Well done, I must say. LaRose is just about this entire paragraph to a tee. As a result, he's really become a fan favorite in these parts and certainly earned his re-upping, IMO.

See, this is why the Leafs have been so bad all these years.

I've only been getting 2-3 hours of sleep this week, so I've been in a half-daze and maybe I'm remembering something I actually saw, but I'm pretty sure I had a dream last night where Gary Bettman was trying to ban or suspend Brian Burke for conspiring to effect a coup and recreate the Norris Division. I think there was a quid pro quo with Jim Balsillie in there somehow.

Anyways, I'm gonna sit the next few plays out from this thread and DGB and get some sleep. :)

fixed

Pens sign Brent Johnson to backup Fleury
1 year $525K, excellent deal.

For comparison, they've signed Johnson ($525K), McKee ($800K), Fedotenko ($1.8M) and Guerin ($2M) at a combined $5.125M. They were payin Hal Gill and Miro Satan a combined $5.6M last year.

Winning has it privleges.

So the Islanders sign Biron for one year at $1.4 million.

They now have Roloson, Biron and DiPietro in net. I guess DiPeitro is still injured and wont be ready to play when the season begins. So, they will go with Roloson and Biron. Assuming DiPietro gets healthy and is ready to play, the Islanders will likely have two options:

1. Try to trade whoever was playing better between Biron and Roloson to a team that needs a goalie (either due to injury or because the starter is not panning out). Such a trade will be hard to pull, since everyone will know that the Islanders are basically stuck and will need to make a deal.

2. If there is no trade available, waive one of the two goalies.

What an odd organization...

Odd man out becomes Snow's Assistant GM.

Can't Snow just play until DiPietro returns?

Why waive one? The Oilers have shown you can manage a 3 goalie system...

Yeah, might still be a bit bitter.

Or, that said, does the Biron signing indicate that MacT might be added to the staff soon given his ability to manage said 3 headed goalie rotation?

I don't think he still counts against the cap

It's not like the Islanders would really be that good of a team with strong goaltending anyway. I thought they adequately addressed the issue with the Roloson deal. Even when DiPietro gets hurt again, didn't Yann Danis play well enough to earn a starting nod in DiPietro's absence. It seems to me that Danis and Roloson are adequate enough. Why add Biron to the mix? For that matter, why does Biron sign with the Isles knowing they already have two pretty good goalies in Danis and Roloson and one good but constantly injured DiPietro? Puzzling.

danis signed with the devils

Canes sign Ruutu for 3 years / 11.4 million.

A Russian paper is reporting Ilya Kovalchuck will resign in Atlanta for 11.36 mil a year. Obviously things from Russia get lost in translation but that'd be the worst contract in NHL history. I love Ilya but he's one dimensional and that also makes him untradeable.

I don't know how I missed that one. I would've thought he would've wanted to stay on the Island for a chance to remain a starter if DiPietro remains out. I do think what I said still stands though because at best Biron is entering a 1/1-A timeshare with Roloson assuming DiPietro isn't ready for the start of the season.

...and that pretty much takes care of the expected signings at this point. Carolina's already over their self-imposed $50 million cap. The only two players outstanding are Seidenberg and Babchuk and it's become fairly obvious that Carolina is ready to move on without them. JR's mentioned, however, that he wants a top-four D-man to pair up with Pitkanen, but since they aren't going to sign anybody else at this point, speculation is settling on somebody getting shipped out, most likely Patrick Eaves, plus other packageable items (who those are depends on the person making up the trade) and trying to get a defenseman from a team that's in a cap crunch or expected to be. It's also expected that they'll buy out Kaberle's contract to get some more cap space.

Given the signings and drafting this offseason, I'd say the run-and-gun days are over for good in Raleigh, though. The team went after size as much as they could, feeling that the team just didn't have the muscle to stand up to the more physical teams in the East. I just hope they haven't pushed things too far the other way and given up too much speed. Hard to hit others if you can't catch up to them.

If anyone cares Martin Gerber signed in the KHL.

Not sure if this was touched upon too much earlier, but this story with Hudler, the Wings, and the KHL is just absurd. Apparently, Hudler turned down a 5-year deal at $3mil per year from Detroit? Instead, he signed a 2-year deal with the KHL for $10mil ($5mil per year)?????

WTF? There is no way in hell this guy is worth even $3mil per year, never mind the $5mil per year he is going to get in Russia. What a joke.

NHL schedules July 30 arbitration hearing for Detroit Red Wings, KHL-bound Jiri Hudler - ESPN

The Bruins dealt Aaron Ward to Carolina for Patrick Eaves and a 2010 4th round pick and then promptly waived Eaves. The thinking is that the Bruins made the deal to free up enough cap space to re-sign Kessel. I liked Ward but if dealing him means bringing back Kessel I'm for it.

Looks like Ward just got punched in the face again...

When was this $3mil deal supposedly offered by Detroit? I only ask because they don't even have that much room.

That's what's been reported. I think Holland said that they were willing to offer that much and shed some contracts to get everyone under the cap. He said he was less willing to do that kind of thing for a free agent.

Interesting. I have to agree with RomaGoth though. No way Hudler is worth even $3mil per, much less 5. Flip is worth it, but Jiri is not.

Yes, I agree as well. As mentioned just before the outset of free agency:

The Wings should keep his rights though, otherwise the NHL is more of a mess than I originally believed.

Definitely for it, if it brings back Kess. And I really like Ward too.

I'm also seeing Derek Morris and the B's have agreed to a contract 'in principle.'

So if they Bruins can trade Ward and turn that into DoMo and Kessel staying, I'd be very pleased w/ Chia.

I don't know much about Morris, but I imagine he's an adequate Ward replacement.

Just hilarious that we got Ward back. It's already lead to a pleathora of "getting the band back together" jokes among the fanbase (of course, that's been sort of the running joke since they brought Matt Cullen back from New York a couple of years ago). This team is now very much the same team that won in 2006. Basically, we've replaced Ladd, Commodore, Stillman, Hedican, and Wesley with Jokinen, Pitkanen, Ruutu, Walker, and Corvo, but otherwise the gang's all here. Oh, yeah, and Laviolette for Maurice, but I don't think we're rewinding back to 2002 (yet--we did let Jeff O'Neill skate around some in preseason tryout camps last year but it didn't go further than that).

At any rate, I think Carolina's now done aside from buying out Kaberle's contract which should be happening in the next week according to JR.

Morris is a good puck moving defenseman which is really what the Bruins needed all along anyway.

i dont get how this freed up cash for kessel, since ward made 2.5 and they signed morris for 3.3 to replace him...but oh well

:+1: :withstupid: and whatever others I missed.

I really don't understand it. Morris is an upgrade from Ward, but at nearly $1M more. And Boston is still trying to clear space?

The way I am reading this regarding Eaves-- they are waiving him, and should he clear, he'll be bought out. A cap hit of $250K this season, a credit of $50K next year, then $250K hit in 11-12 and 12-13. So, somebody grabbing him off waivers saves Boston an additional $250K this year.

I guess Kobasew is the guy on his way out now...and it will be strictly for picks?

Well since they signed Morris for an astounding 3.3 Mil, it didn't free up room for Kessel. I posted what you quoted before they announced the Morris contract. Some are speculating that either Bergeron or Kobasew will be moved to free up cap space. If that's the case it will be a tough pill for Bruins fans to swallow.

A few moves today. Two 'meh' moves, and one 'what the fuck?'

Toronto trades Anton Stralman, Colin Stuart and a pick for Wayne Primeau and a pick

Canes buy out Frankie Kaberle

And...

Tampa buys out Vinne Prospal! 1 year into, I believe, a 4 year deal. Rumored they will "use the savings to go after another player". Makes sense that be Tanguay, the only true top 6 forward left.

But is Tanguay that good to pay whatever he's getting, plus the $1.6M per in dead cap space the next 6 seasons on Prospal?

Tampa is an utter clusterfuck. The Raiders of the NHL.

What better raiders or lightning?

Lightning. At least they have a championship to show for it ('04).

That year hurts more than any others.

Remember when TB was stupid for passing up Pitkanen?

Although, he eventually turns into Pronger, so the deal still could work for Philly.

They traded that pick which ended up to be Pitkanen for Fedatanko.

Could Bettman and his cronies be any more transparent regarding their obvious agenda of not wanting the Coyotes moved to Canada? Instead, they want to "keep" the team in Phoenix, at least until they can get out of the lease and move the team to another U.S. city, probably K.C.

Jim Balsillie's bid for Phoenix Coyotes unanimously rejected by NHL board of governors - ESPN

Dola

Just saw this piece of news. Not sure why the Wings want/need Delmore, but meh...

Detroit Red Wings - News: Red Wings sign Andy Delmore - 07/28/2009

Or as he's known in Pittsburgh....Andy "FUCKIN" Delmore. HAHAH

Come on, Bettman knows best when it comes to potential owners. I mean, he hand-picked Boots Del Biaggio to save the Nashville franchise.

Two words: Grand. Rapids.

If I recall correctly, I think the Winds signed Delmore a few years back to be a depth guy in Grand Rapids, but then he bolted for Europe.

The Wings signed him for the same reason they signed Kris Newberry. They just need some veteran depth guys in Grand Rapids to fill out the roster, help the younger kids, etc.

The only way Andy Delmore sees time in the NHL is if things go horribly awry or there is a plague of injuries.

Well, 15 year contracts always sounded like a good idea

SI

Life contracts! :D

I didn't realize Danis had signed with New Jersey when I wrote that but I think my point holds true with just DiPietro, Roloson and Biron in the mix.

Yeah I was trying to say TB was blasted for the move, but turned it into a Cup.

For Philly, Pitkanen turned into Lupul who turned into Pronger.



Or An_y _elmore

NHL is investigating Hossa's contract:

London Free Press - Hockey - NHL investigating Hossa's new contract

Wow what else can go wrong this off-season in Chicago?