It’s sad that this is even in question but the Wings and Yzerman are reportedly close to a one year deal, reportedly worth $6 million as a base salary but close to $8 million if he reaches certain performance marks. The Wings obviously don’t want to pay him $8 million straight up because they are unsure about his knee. The Captain has made it clear he would return and I highly doubt he has entertained any offers from any other teams. I doubt many teams have offered him anything because they know the situation and that he is a Red Wings for life, unlike some players….. *cough* Sergei *cough*

It’s hard to believe that Sergei Fedorov is gone, that, unless something else happens, we will never see him in a Red Wings uniform again. He has left the team that drafted him, helped him escape the USSR, cultivated him into the player he is today to go to a team that is younger than his career with only very recent success. I am very disapointed in him for doing so. I wish that he had enough loyalty to the Wings to stick around until the end of his career. I always assumed he’d be a career Red Wing, even if he wouldn’t be the franchise player he wanted to be here. It saddens me to see him go, even if it wasn’t just for the money. I don’t know where he gets the idea that he was not appreciated here in Detroit. He was. The reaction of the fans is proof enough of that. Why else would people like me be furious at him for leaving the team? If he was just some average, run-of-the-mill player, no one would care. I think the fact that so many people are upset shows just how appreciated Sergei was and how wrong he was about himself.

He has this idea of the ’93-’94 season that puts that year in some sort of epic light, that if he could only have it now like he had it then, everyone better watch out! The year he was “unleased” and not held down by either The Captain or the coaches/management, when he was allowed to showcase all of his offensive skills and dominate the league. I guess Sergei thinks of that year as his greatest accomplishment and he wants to do it again but knows he can’t do it here. He doesn’t realize that Detroit, for better or for worse, is the organization that made him the player he is today, the two-way, well rounded star. That is who he is now, no matter what he was when he broke in to the league. He will be remembered as the Red Wings player who was so good both ways, no matter what he does in Anaheim. He’s looking for something that he’s too late to get. He should have left years ago if he wanted to be the dominating offensive player he’s looking to be. Now he’s going to Anaheim and he’s really being naive if he thinks he’ll be repeating his Hart Trophy winning season there. They have a much more defensive system than the Wings ever had and while he’ll be set loose more there than he was here, he will not have the same supporting cast. He will be called on to shut down opponents just like he was here. That’s his reputation. He will be happy there for a while but I really believe he will find himself to be regreting his decision within a couple years.

A lot of people are wondering why Sergei would leave when the Wings are about to become “his team” with Yzerman to retire very soon. First of all, the Wings would never have been Sergei’s team. He’s not that kind of player and not that kind of person. Sure, he might have been the biggest forward and no longer under the shadow of The Captain but he never would have led the team and made it his. Second, maybe we are forgetting Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. While it is a little early for it, those two guys are going to receive their inheritance very soon, as in right after the new CBA is in place. Perhaps Sergei recognized this and realized that he could never “win.” That’s too bad though because he will be missing out on a great thing.

There are some details on Sergei’s contract with the Ducks: it is for five years, $40 million. The first two years are guaranteed but after that, he has the option to leave (to return to Hockeytown after his delusions of grandeur wear out, perhaps?). He will earn $10 million the first year, $6 million the second year and $8 million for the years after that. Not a terrible deal, Sergei though not much better than what the Wings offered. Maybe if the Wings had give him the “out clause” he’d have stuck around. They probably never thought of it. Once again, Sergei goes for the strangely structured contract like he did in ’98. He’s going to play for Ducks GM Brian Murray, who was his first coach in Detroit. Awwww.

What disturbs me the most is the fact that Sergei took the Ducks’ offer immediately and did not give the Wings a chance to top it. The Wings almost definitely would have worked to give him a better deal but never got the chance. Obviously Sergei really just wanted out. Doesn’t make me feel any better, that’s for sure.

I have a question: Sergei was a Group III free agent. What is the difference between that and an unrestricted free agent? Do the Wings get something in return?

All Ken Holland said about all this was “We worked very hard over the past eight months to keep Sergei in Detroit and we are disapointed he did not choose to remain a Red Wing, but in the end it was simply not meant to be.”

Everyone should check out Bob Wojnowski’s column in today’s Detroit News. It’s a very good article.

I should correct something I said yesterday. “Enjoy playing golf in April too, since I doubt the Ducks will make it again.” Okay, I don’t necessarily doubt the Ducks will make it again. I only said that because JS is a restricted free agent and may hold out. That would be a serious blow to the Ducks’ playoff hopes, depending on how long he wouldn’t play. Also, while the Ducks may look half-decent on paper, they might not be the same on the ice. Everyone knows about the Rangers, who should be on of the best teams in hockey but haven’t been in forever. Maybe all the new blood the Ducks have will work against them. I don’t know. I personally hope it does because I want Sergei to realize how big a mistake he made but they’ll probably end up doing well and Sergei will probably win his Hart. But it won’t be the same.

The Wings have got to get someone decent in a trade now. There are three rumors I’ve heard. I’ll give them in order from worst to best.
1) CuJo (possibly plus Fischer) for Eric Lindros. I give that one an emphatic NO! for many reasons, which I shouldn’t have to go in to. It does partially answer the Center Question though.
2) CuJo for Sergei Samsonov/Brian Rolston/Martin Lapointe. This would be fine with me but it doesn’t answer the Center Question. It’s too early to count on Zata as a top center and I don’t want them to break up that line either. I’d probably rather have Rolston than another Sergei, even if he is really fast. I don’t want Lapointe back, I say let him rot in Boston for being greedy. Sorry.
3) CuJo for Doug Weight/Pavel Demitra. I like this one the most because I like Doug Weight (good Michigan boy!) and since they are both good centers. The Wings have the money to pay them now that they don’t have to pay Sergei. The only problem is the Blues are in our division and it would probably come back to haunt us, trading our #1 goalie to our second biggest rival. Screwing Ozzie over again wouldn’t be too good an idea either. However, the Blues can’t seem to do anything in the playoffs so what are the Wings worried about? It’s a trade that benefits both sides and keeps things fairly even. I think they should consider it. It would really be a bad thing if this finally turned out to be the Blues’ year, though.

Goodbye, Sergei. Thanks for the memories and the glory. You had a great career here, it’s just to bad it couldn’t be a career literally. We will all miss you, whether we admit it or not. I’m sorry to see you go but I will still boo you every time you step on the ice from now on, unless you come back like some prodigal son in a couple years. I still hope Hatcher and the guys take you out next year but understand, it’s not because you’re you, it’s because you’re the enemy now and I want them to do that to all the other stars. Have fun being on the underdog and looking up at the top from the bottom instead of looking down at the bottem from the top. See ya! Now, does anybody know where Sergei’s house is? I got some toilet paper and eggs……. Just kidding!

ESPN.com is reporting now that Fedorov has agreed to terms with the Ducks. He will get his 5 years and at least $40 million. Looks like it was less about the money than about getting out of Detroit after all. Now that it’s actually happened, I just feel angry. Even if this turns out to be another rumor, I don’t want him back now. Even though the Wings pretty much need him. The Ducks come to town on December 3rd and I expect all those lucky enough to be at the Joe that night to give Sergei non-stop booes every time his selfish rear-end hits the ice. I’m glad the Wings got Hatcher because now they have someone who can level him like Scott Stevens on Paul Kariya. Fedorov, I hope you enjoy your new home, where hockey is a tiny little section in the back of the sports page and where there are just enough fans to fill the Pond maybe. Enjoy playing with Vaclav Prospal and having to compete with him to be the #1 man. Enjoy playing golf in April too, since I doubt the Ducks will make it again. I never though I’d see you in a different uniform but now I will. I cannot believe this.

Apparently, Sergei had a short press conference in the Sovetsky Sport office in Moscow yesterday. Based on the comments he made there, it doesn’t look like he’ll be back next year. For now, there is only a Russian version of the conference but somone on the message board I got this from translated one of Sergei’s answers.

Q. Will you be back in Detroit?

S.F. Those of you who follow hockey know that I am not doing really well in Detroit. I don't want to burn the bridges but to return back to Detroit will be pretty hard. I have many offers from various teams. What will be the most important factor? You know, technical side of the contract does not bother me. Length of the contract - yes, I want it to be long term. Money? It is only like a bonus, reward for the hard work on ice. The most important - I want to play the game the way I can, not the way I was asked to play in Detroit. I still have strength to play at the level of the year of 1994. This is my dream. Unfortunately, in todays Detroit I cannot play like that - the team game is different now. I had hopes that I will become the franchise player, I think I deserved it with my game, but the management do not understand my position. That is why I get hot and then all of a sudden I go to scoring slumps and nobody understands what is going on.

Doesn’t sound to me like Sergei’s looking to come back to Detroit. He makes it out like it’s such a terrible thing to be a team player and play within the system, a system that is a heck of a lot more offensive than a lot of teams’. What does Sergei think the franchise player is? My definition would be the player that best fulfils the requirements of the organization and their system while leading the team. That’s why Steve Yzerman has been the franchise player for so long, even if he cannot do everything like he used to. He still is something Sergei will never be — a leader. If Sergei’s idea of a franchise player is the one who is the only talent on the team, he should go somewhere else. His definition may work for most of the teams around the league but it doesn’t work in Detroit. He should realize that Detroit is the best place for him, his best shot at greatness and the only reason he has turned in to the player he is. He should thank the Wings for making him a defensive player because that is the way the league is going. He is a much more well-rounded player than he ever would have been on another team. I hope Sergei comes back but suddenly, it isn’t looking too good.

I don’t know how much we can trust this Sovetsky Sport magazine. Based on what’s happened in the past, Russian sports magazines haven’t been very creditable and this one is probably no different. However, these comments seem like something Sergei would have said, though perhaps they are just more negotiation ploys aimed at getting the Wings to pay more. Pretty strange strategy, if that’s what it is. Maybe the fact that the Western media hasn’t picked up on this yet can be considered encouraging. If you can read Russian and want to see what Sergei said for yourself, go here.

Scotty Bowman will do what 1.5+ million people could not get him to do last summer: coach another hockey game. He will return to the bench to coach the Habs’ alumni team in the exhibition game against the Oilers’ Old-Timers on Novemeber 22 before the real Habs and Oilers play in their regular season game at Commonwealth Stadium. Also returning for that game will be Wayne Gretzky, who will obviously play for the Oilers alumni. Bowman won 5 Cups with the Canadians in the ’70s before he went to the Sabres, the Pens and finally to Detroit.

The NHL has finally done something about the ridiculous goalie pads that we see in every NHL game. They have limited the height to 38 inches but kept the width requirement at 12 inches. They estimate that 1/3 of the goalies in the league will need to change their pads to fit the requirement and there will be a $25,000 fine that the clubs will have to pay if a goalie is caught in one of the regular measurings. 38 inches is still a lot of padding but at least they’ve done something to restrict them. It’s gotten out of hand. Someone said during the playoffs (I think it was Don Cherry) that goalies used to wear pads for protection but they are now wearing pads to stop the puck. There is a difference. Hopefully goalies won’t respond like their rights have been taken away because this really isn’t that unreasonable.

The Ducks got Prospal pretty cheap, considering he’s a 80-point scorer. I almost wish the Wings would’ve got him, but the Cujo-trade product and Feds possibly returning nixes that, since the Wings have to leave money available. This is frustrating, but what we have to deal with. I doubt the Wings will do anymore signing outside of the team. The top priorities are now 1)Deal CuJo, 2) sign Fedorov, 3) sign Yzerman, 4) sign any remaining free agents. It looks like this summer is gonna be pretty slow when it comes to free agency, with a lot of teams dumping players before roster restrictions and the draft occur. Oh well, the next big news should have Feds back in the Winged-wheel and Cujo out the back door.