Feel free to post any suggestions or opinions on what the team should be doing during the offseason

any rumours you may have heard

or any transactions that occur

Williams to join Team Canada


Detroit's Jason Williams joins Team Canada

Detroit Red Wings forward Jason Williams has been added to Team Canada's roster for this year's world hockey championship in Latvia.

"Jason is leaving [Thursday] and should be in the lineup Friday," Canadian general manager Ken Holland told the Canadian Press on Wednesday.

Canada plays its first game of the tournament Friday against Denmark.

"Jason had a breakthrough year in his career, getting 21 goals and over 50 points," said Holland, who is also Detroit's GM. "He'll be a good addition to Canada because he's a good skater and he played in Finland during the lockout and has experience on the big ice."

The 25-year-old Williams, a native of London, Ont., had one goal and one assist in the playoffs.
More from http://www.cbc.ca/story/sports/national/2006/05/03/Sports/jason_williams060503.html

i predict the wings will make one more go at it with this group, perhaps bring in a new goalie comprable to legace.

however, i think this is a bad idea. most people thought the wings would suck this year (including me). them winning the presidents trophy made us (me) look dumb, but in the end, they were a mediocre team (imo). the oilers looked like the better team. it wasnt just goaltending (it wasnt even goaltending).

my offseason plan would be complete overhaul. vets would be welcome back, but can no longer pay guys out of loyalty or for what they have already done.

obviously im directing that towards yzerman, shanahan, chelios. but im especially directing that at lidstrom. lots of reports saying the wings need to do whatever they can to keep him. of the few games i saw him play, he's no longer the game changing, all world defensemen he once was. i'd keep him, but not at 5 million a year. he's going to try to use going back to sweden as a way to cash in. with a hard salary cap at 39 million, you have to be very careful who you break the bank for. lidstrom isnt 1/5, or even 1/8 of roster. got to keep his salary down.

i wont pretend to say i know who they should get. i like the idea of a premiere goalie, like luongo, but thats just personal preference.

Yzerman Almost Retired Mid-Season


Steve Yzerman says he knows what he'll do. And for once, the mysterious legend is easy to figure out:

The Captain plans to retire.

Yzerman has always been undecided about his future in recent years. But after the Red Wings were eliminated Monday night at Edmonton, Yzerman said he knows what he will do and will make an announcement within a week.

There are two reasons for the delay. Even in defeat, Yzerman doesn't want to overshadow his team. And he is wisely taking a few days to confirm his plans. But at this point, Yzerman's return is only slightly more likely than Ted Lindsay's.

If you think Yzerman is coming back for a 23rd season, understand this: He almost didn't finish his 22nd.

Yzerman came close to retiring in the middle of this season. A lot closer than most people realize.

How close?

One game away.

According to two people familiar with his thinking, Yzerman had serious discussions with the Red Wings about retiring in late November. He even had a final game in mind: Dec. 1 at home against Calgary.

When the Wings played Nov. 26 at San Jose, Yzerman took the highly unusual step of asking out of the lineup.

"My knee was sore," Yzerman said then. "I just wanted to take a day off, just to rest."

That was only part of the story. Though nobody knew it, Yzerman had been hit in the head against Anaheim the night before. The combination of the head injury and his knee troubles were too much to overcome. And though most of his teammates didn't realize it, the end of Yzerman's career appeared near.

Yzerman was frustrated by his inability to make plays he made just two or three years ago. And to Yzerman's disappointment, the Wings' new coach, Mike Babcock, did not seem to have much faith in his star. While predecessors Scotty Bowman and Dave Lewis were deferential to Yzerman, Babcock was not.

Babcock had given Yzerman only 6 minutes, 37 seconds of ice time against Anaheim. The game before that, his ice time was 6:17.

Yzerman understandably did not want to be a six-minute-per-night player. But he seemed stuck in that role. Two other Wings centers were thriving: Pavel Datsyuk's playmaking style seemed perfect for the new NHL, and Robert Lang had five assists in the San Jose game alone.

Then came an ironic twist: Instead of retiring because of injury, Yzerman avoided retirement because of an injury.

It was the night of Nov. 28, two days after Yzerman asked out of the lineup. The Wings were playing at Los Angeles. This was supposed to be Yzerman's final road game. It changed his season instead.
More @ http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/14484075.htm

Yzerman Update

Yzerman said he wants to make a decision relatively quickly — maybe as early as next week — on whether to retire.

"I'm going to do the best thing for me and the best thing for the team," the 40-year-old Detroit hockey legend said after posing for the annual team picture at Joe Louis Arena, three days after the Wings were eliminated with a Game 6 loss against the Oilers.

Yzerman, who managed 14 goals in 61 games this season, said he plans to meet with the team's management within a few days and will make up his mind shortly after that.

"I don't want this to turn into a soap opera or an ordeal," he said.

The future Hall of Famer said he and his wife have been discussing the issue and have been going back and forth on whether he should come back to Hockeytown for one more shot at a fourth Stanley Cup.

Yzerman said he would be physically able to play, and coach Mike Babcock and general manager Ken Holland say they would welcome Yzerman back for another season.

Also mentioned that Datysuk had blood drained from his charleyhorse and would not have played if it was the regular season.

Also, two Red Wings have been nominated for the annual NHL awards. The winners will be announced Thursday, June 22 during the 2006 NHL Awards Television Special in Vancouver (CBC, 8 p.m., ET).


NICKLAS LIDSTROM - Detroit Red Wings
- Earned his seventh nomination as Norris finalist in the past eight seasons; has won the award three times, from 2001 through 2003.
- Led all defensemen in scoring with a career-high 80 points (16 goals, 64 assists) in 80 games.
- Ranked third in the NHL in ice time per game (28:06), posted a +21 rating.

PAVEL DATSYUK - Center, Detroit Red Wings
- Named a Lady Byng Trophy finalist for the first time.
- Led the Red Wings in scoring with a career-high 87 points (28 goals, 59 assists).
- Appeared in 75 games, assessed 22 minutes in penalties.
http://www.nhl.com/news/2006/05/271296.html

I wonder if people get teased for winning the Lady Byng award. Doesn't that just seem like something that the others might dog you for?

I believe Doug Gilmour has won that award

i dont think anybody is going to dog him

getting the lady byng doesnt mean you're a pansy

players earn that all on their own
crosby for example is a pansy
he wont win the lady byng though due to all his whining and slashing penalties

i predict the wings will make one more go at it with this group, perhaps bring in a new goalie comprable to legace.

however, i think this is a bad idea. most people thought the wings would suck this year (including me). them winning the presidents trophy made us (me) look dumb, but in the end, they were a mediocre team (imo). the oilers looked like the better team. it wasnt just goaltending (it wasnt even goaltending).

my offseason plan would be complete overhaul. vets would be welcome back, but can no longer pay guys out of loyalty or for what they have already done.

obviously im directing that towards yzerman, shanahan, chelios. but im especially directing that at lidstrom. lots of reports saying the wings need to do whatever they can to keep him. of the few games i saw him play, he's no longer the game changing, all world defensemen he once was. i'd keep him, but not at 5 million a year. he's going to try to use going back to sweden as a way to cash in. with a hard salary cap at 39 million, you have to be very careful who you break the bank for. lidstrom isnt 1/5, or even 1/8 of roster. got to keep his salary down.

i wont pretend to say i know who they should get. i like the idea of a premiere goalie, like luongo, but thats just personal preference.

Listen, no one is more dissapointed than me that The Wings didn't win The Cup this year, but the changes need to be minimal. Veteran leadership is not an easy thing to come by, and we seem to at least have that in spades. Even if it isn't leadership, it still boils down to getting rid of our top goal scorer during the regular season, arguably one of the best defencemen of all time (still), our best penalty killer....even if he's 44, and our leader who just so happened to have the longest point streak of anyone on our team at 11 games.

It would be worthy of concern if we didn't have great young players in the system, but we do. It would be even more of a concern if we lost while having Jiri Fischer in the lineup as well as a healthy Datsyuk and Yzerman.....but we didn't. This series was a few bounces and hit goalposts of going the other way.....but what do we do? We jump off the bandwagon like the mother fucker is on fire. It sucks to be eliminated in the first round, and it's certainly getting old...but hockey is a different beast. Seriously...what would happen if the first 4 seeds in the NBA were eliminated in the first round? Has it even ever happend?

Oh, and I'm tired as all hell of hearing how playing in an easy division made us look better than we are. Don't believe this for a second. If anyone has a second, just look at their schedule. We beat the good teams all year. We beat Dallas and Philly and we blanked Colorado 4 games to none. We beat the Rangers when they were hot and we also beat New Jersey. Hell, half of the games we lost this season were against divisional opponents...and not just Nashville. So all of the Detroit writers that are coming out of the woodwork to bash The Wings for an easy schedule can go fuck themselves. If any of them actually watched the games then maybe they would have something viable to write about. All I see is a bunch of hacks and bandwagon jumpers.

Hey, Mitch Albom....just because you can't see me giving you the finger...that doesn't mean that it's not happeneing.

Cheers.

I believe Doug Gilmour has won that award

i dont think anybody is going to dog him

getting the lady byng doesnt mean you're a pansy

players earn that all on their own
crosby for example is a pansy
he wont win the lady byng though due to all his whining and slashing penalties

I know....I just think it's a funny name for an award. Especially for a sport where people get subjected to bone-crushing checks.

It looks as if Manny Legace is as good as gone. He said that he wants to be the starter for whatever team he plays for. I really doubt that the Wings will want him back if they have to promise that he'll be the starter.

i'd take legace back as a starter if its on the cheap. hes a damn good goalie.

red wing fans are going to be in for a culture shock when we cant bring everyone back AND go and buy the best goalie.

i'd take legace back as a starter if its on the cheap. hes a damn good goalie.

red wing fans are going to be in for a culture shock when we cant bring everyone back AND go and buy the best goalie.

He's an amazing backup.

He isn't good as a starter, he gets tired and breaks down.

He is the equivilant to a AAAA player. Down a level he is too good to leave, at he top he isn't good enough. He is already 33 I believe.

He will be ditched, and we will either trade for Luongo, or get Biron to platoon with Howard, IMO. Luongo is too good to pass up, and Biron is used to dealing with the Hot Shot behind him(Miller in Buffalo). So I think that those are the best options, maybe somebody like Bryzgalov, or some other youngin', but are they really better than Howard? I want either a stud, or to start using Howard.

BTW, Shanny is playing for Team Canada at the World Championships.

And Samuelsson, Zetterberg, Franzén and Kronwall will be playing for the Sweedish team.

Chris Chelios will be back for another NHL season, as the 44-year-old defenceman has signed a one-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the deal will pay him $850,000 next season.

Chelios will be entering his 22nd NHL campaign in 2006-07 and his seventh full season in Detroit.

In 1,476 career games, he has 182 goals and 925 points.

Chelios was a member of the Montreal Canadiens' Stanley Cup winning team in 1986 and became the first American-born player to win the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenseman in the 1989-90.





He won two more Norris Trophies during while in Chicago and led the team in points during the 1995-96 season.

Chelios helped Detroit win the Stanley Cup in 2002.

CLEARY RE-UPS: Few players grew into a role as fast as Dan Cleary did when he arrived last season. He was the guy teammates ripped on because he was always in the mix of everything, running tournament pools, throwing numbers together -- and all of it in good fun. That's just one of the reasons Cleary wanted to come back. The Wings have signed him to a two-year deal worth $650,000 in the first year and $675,000 in the second.

"I'm excited to come back," Cleary said. "Ecstatic, to tell you the truth. I really like Detroit -- great, great teammates. I got along really well with the guys, and going to the rink and having fun makes playing that much easier."

Cleary, 27, grew into an adept penalty killer with partner Johan Franzen, and contributed three goals and 12 assists in 77 games.

Red Wings agree to deal with Markov

Free agent defenceman Danny Markov has agreed to terms with the Detroit Red Wings, a source told The Canadian Press on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old spent last season with the Nashville Predators, a team as deep as any on the blue-line. He had 11 assists and a plus-9 rating in 58 games last season.

Markov will join his sixth NHL team and fifth in as many years.

In 472 NHL games with Toronto, Phoenix, Carolina, Philadelphia and the Predators, he has 25 goals and 106 assists for 131 points.
Pretty good signing IMO.

How much are we paying him? It's a good signing if he came cheap.

1 year $2.5 mill

slightly overpaid, but your back end needed grit and a little toughness
he's a good defenseman he just loses his head sometimes in his own zone while going for a huge hit or if his temper gets up

Red Wings re-sign Williams to two-year contract

Jason Williams re-signed with the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday, agreeing to a two-year deal.

Williams had career highs last season with 20 goals, 58 points and 80 games. Getting an opportunity to play a key role for the first time, Williams had 13 points in the first 10 games and was the first Red Wing to score three times in a period since the 1996-97 season. He was a restricted free agent.

"We are pleased to reach a deal with Jason before going to arbitration," Red Wings Ken Holland said. "He took a big step forward as a NHL player last year and we look forward to even more progress in the future."

Is Williams ready to play on one of Detroit's top two lines?

"We think so, and we're about to find out," Holland said.

Williams, who will turn 26 before the season starts in October, made his NHL debut during the 2000-01 season when he played five games for the Red Wings. The London, Ontario, native played 25 games during the 2001-02 season, 16 the next and 49 the following season.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2531871

Red Wings bring back Hasek for third time

The Detroit Red Wings looked to their past to settle their goaltending present, bringing back six-time Vezina Trophy winner Dominik Hasek for the third time on Monday.

Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said the team signed Hasek to a one-year contract. He did not make terms of the deal available.

Hasek played the 2005-06 season in Ottawa, posting a record of 28-10-4 in 43 appearances with five shutouts. He posted a 2.09 goals against average and .925 save percentage, both good or second among NHL goalies.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2535249

well, at least he's better than Osgood. It's just scary that Hasek will be our starter because he seems to get injured quite a bit.

When was the last time Hasek made it through a whole season?

Red Wings bring back Hasek for third time

The Detroit Red Wings looked to their past to settle their goaltending present, bringing back six-time Vezina Trophy winner Dominik Hasek for the third time on Monday.

Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said the team signed Hasek to a one-year contract. He did not make terms of the deal available.

Hasek played the 2005-06 season in Ottawa, posting a record of 28-10-4 in 43 appearances with five shutouts. He posted a 2.09 goals against average and .925 save percentage, both good or second among NHL goalies.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2535249

Favorite Dom Moment: When he came out to help in a fight and he tripped on someones stick. LMFAO.

a close second is when he almost fell back when he grabbed the cup.

Hasek will be lucky to play 25 games this regular season
he's simply a playoff goaltender
and ozzie assuming he plays decent enough to get them near the playoffs will recieve the bulk of the games

By the way, I heard the deal was for $750K, so at least they didn't break the bank for him.

By the way, I heard the deal was for $750K, so at least they didn't break the bank for him.


its pocket change for a guy with his stature and name

but when you divide that by the number of games he'll actually play it'll get pricier by the minute

By the way, I heard the deal was for $750K, so at least they didn't break the bank for him.

playoff incentives.
Sorta like we offered Belfour only I think he was offered $500K

Red Wings bring back Hasek for third time

The Detroit Red Wings looked to their past to settle their goaltending present, bringing back six-time Vezina Trophy winner Dominik Hasek for the third time on Monday.

Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said the team signed Hasek to a one-year contract. He did not make terms of the deal available.

Hasek played the 2005-06 season in Ottawa, posting a record of 28-10-4 in 43 appearances with five shutouts. He posted a 2.09 goals against average and .925 save percentage, both good or second among NHL goalies.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2535249

Favorite Dom Moment: When he came out to help in a fight and he tripped on someones stick. LMFAO.

a close second is when he almost fell back when he grabbed the cup.


LMFAO

The Dom back? Hopefully he wont be relied on to play big minutes

The Swedish paper Expressen reported Thursday that Zetterberg, 25, had a serious wrist injury and may miss the start of the NHL season. The paper quoted Zetterberg’s agent, Gunnar Svensson, as saying the wrist had been a problem for a year and a half, and that it flared up earlier this week when Zetterberg was skating with his old Swedish club, Timra.

Hasek now Johnson... Why do people think so highly of Holland? His next big risky trade or signing will be his first.


The Detroit Red Wings have signed centre Greg Johnson for a second stint with the NHL club.

Johnson, who was an unrestricted free agent, scored 11 goals and 19 points in 68 games with the Nashville Predators last season and is expected to fill a role as Detroit's fourth line centre.

Johnson spent the last seven seasons in Nashville and also played with the Red Wings from 1993 to 1997.

In 785 career games with the Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins, Chicago Blackhawks and Predators, Johnson has 145 goals and 224 assists.

Another solid player to join the other 21 solid but not great players not named Lidstrom.

Cool, I remember him from NHL All Star Hockey 95

Red Wings re-sign Johan Franzen

The Detroit Red wings have re-signed forward Johan Franzen to a three-year contract worth $2.825 milllion.

''Johan had a very good rookie season in the NHL,'' said Red Wings general manager Ken Holland. ''He was a big part of our penalty killing, provided us with a physical presence and played very well in the playoffs. Moving into his second NHL season and beyond, we're hopeful he can gain some confidence and increase his contribution in the scoring department as well.''

The 26-year-old Franzen made his NHL debut in 2005-06 and led Detroit Rookies with 12 goals and 16 points in 80 games. He is the first Red Wings rookie to play in 80 games since Nicklas Lidstrom in 1991-92.

The native of Vetlanda, Sweden was drafted by the Red Wings in the third round (97th overall) in 2004.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=175293&hubname=nhl