Quote:
Originally Posted by Suburban Rhythm
As weird as it sounds, I am hoping the Pens are forced to bring in other guys to fill roles. I think this team played better because they were hungry.
I don't think a team with Crosby will ever coast, but a team of everyone back will not be as hungry as a team of guys looking to win for the first time.
I don't want to say that caught up to Detroit, but outside of Hossa, and the young guys brought up, these guys had all won before, including the prior year. Helm was the hungriest guy on the ice for them the majority of the time. Giving him and Abdelkader full time roles over Draper and Maltby might not only be cheaper, but beneficial throughout the team.
Samuelsson is a guy I am intrigued with for Pittsburgh. They've got 2 spots open in the top 6, but can't spend over about $3M for one of those spots.
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As I explained to a friend of mine, the sheer number of games played has finally caught up to the Wings. This team has played more hockey than any other team in the NHL over the past 15 years or so. The Wings veterans have been averaging over 100 games per season including playoffs. They looked exhausted in the SCF this year. I still believe that they should have kept Abdelkader and Leino in the games and left Draper/Maltby on the bench.
No way is Samuelsson worth $3m per year, but I could see giving him $2m, maybe $2.5m tops. As DeToxRox said, he was terrible on the point, but that is a Babcock problem.
I still don't see Hossa coming back to Detroit, not for the type of pay cut he would have to take. Someone else will overpay for him, perhaps Chicago?