Comments on: Red Wings 2005-2006 Payroll: Revisited

By: heather

heather — Fri, 22 Jul 2005 18:53:00 +0000

I also would LOVE to see Osgood back in Detroit! He was shafted when Hasek came to town & I still think we would’ve won with Osgood that year. However, will Osgood want to return to Detroit?

By: Matt Saler

Matt Saler — Fri, 22 Jul 2005 12:23:00 +0000

The Wings have relied on age and experience for so long that it will truly be a major change in philosophy to go with youth. They don’t really have much of a choice though and if they’d kept Lewis or one of the “old guard” coaches, I would be worried about how successful they could be. Mike Babcock is supposed to be a good coach in terms of developing youth so I don’t think we have all that much to worry about.

By: Brian List

Brian List — Fri, 22 Jul 2005 03:43:00 +0000

What about Legace as a #1 goalie? Seems like he’s done yoeman’s work as a backup. And isn’t there a kid in the minors who is NHL ready?

Can we skimp on goalie and sign another forward?

Joey MacDonald has been the Griffins’ mainstay goaltender, but I don’t think Illich will settle. We won’t spend a lot, but we’ll find a veteran starter. I don’t think it’s worth skimping at goaltender, especially with all the rules changes slanted towards offense. Penalty shots in overtime, smaller goalie equipment, net moved back, etc.

By: Brian List

Brian List — Fri, 22 Jul 2005 03:29:00 +0000

What personnel moves do you think the wings need to make to position themselves to compete for the stanley cup?

The first move was getting rid of Dave Lewis (and likely Barry/Kocur). Next the Wings will buy out Hatcher and Whitney (and possibly McCarty, though I have a feeling he’ll stay). Then get on the phone with Pavel and Henrik’s agents and get them signed. Beyond that, I don’t see any problems signing the remaining Wings. If we can get a starting goaltender (Ozzie) and a good forward (Glen Murray), I think we’ll be a Cup contender, easily.

My only concern is that, as Holland has said in many interviews, the Wings are going into the season with 21 players on their roster (many of which are already young), and will add Griffins after that (as I’ve done). Franzen, Kronwall, Mowers, Williams, Fischer, Helmer, Hudler (and Pavel and Henrik). 1/3 of the roster is going to be young guys…this could be frustrating at times but also could save us in the playoffs (the young Flames skated circles around us).

By: Todd

Todd — Fri, 22 Jul 2005 03:14:00 +0000

What about Legace as a #1 goalie? Seems like he’s done yoeman’s work as a backup. And isn’t there a kid in the minors who is NHL ready?

Can we skimp on goalie and sign another forward?

By: Christy

Christy — Fri, 22 Jul 2005 02:23:00 +0000

We do look in better shape than I thought we would. I was so excited when we first obtained Derian Hatcher. Michigan native. Great defenseman. And then he had to tear his ACL. I know what it’s like and to recover from surgery. I’m so frustrated that his contract was for so much and then we couldn’t get a feel of him at his strongest after surgery. And now we can’t afford him and we never got to see him truly play for the Wings. Big bummer…but hopefully since teams are on a more level playing field- players will want to come where there is a big fan base and an Original 6 team (or that could just be wishful thinking)…

By: Antoine Safford

Antoine Safford — Fri, 22 Jul 2005 01:55:00 +0000

What personnel moves do you think the wings need to make to position themselves to compete for the stanley cup?

By: Brian List

Brian List — Thu, 21 Jul 2005 20:12:00 +0000

The Wings have an option on Cujo for $8 million, before rollback, which they will not exercise. So he’s gone.

As for the other goaltenders who are available, I get the feeling either the Wings won’t have the cap space required, or in many cases, their being restricted free agents will play against us.

I kind of glossed over the signing of Osgood because there’s really no clear answer there - it’s just a matter of who you feel best with in net. I have a sense that there are maybe 3-4 goaltenders we’ll be able to seriously go after: Garth Snow, Felix Potvin, Mike Dunham, and Chris Osgood. I think Ozzie would fit in best of those.

As for why we dumped Osgood - it was the Wings’ managment over-estimating the resiliance of Hasek. I remember the day we put Ozzie on waivers and I was screaming that we should be keeping him as backup. I never bought that Hasek would stay long. That was a terrible decision on our part - we should’ve talked Ozzie into staying as backup for a year. It was a no brainer to go after Hasek when we had that chance, but I still think the Wings had confidence in Ozzie.

Hey, Deadmarsh is a Red Wing killer, so I’d love to get him on our side. That’d be a no-brainer if we have the money available to do it. Glen Murray is also impressive, and this may be a time to gamble on Jason Allison if he comes cheap - he’s missed most of the last two seasons with a whiplash injury. The Kings released him a while back.

By: Todd Plants

Todd Plants — Thu, 21 Jul 2005 17:08:00 +0000

1) Osgood? Seems like you kind of glossed over that signing, since all the other guys are in the system already. Did I miss something?

1a) Is Cujo just gone? Did I miss something there, too?

1b) Why Osgood and not one of the other guys on your list of available goalies? Seems like the Wings already decided Ozzie wasn’t going to win another Cup for us. Why go back on that estimation?

2) Adam Deadmarsh will never be a Wing! Never! (I still hate Colorado. A lockout doesn’t change that.) (And, yes, I know he hasn’t played for the Lanche in years. I don’t care.)