Comments on: Red Wings Waive Hatcher, Whitney, McCarty

By: humberto

humberto — Wed, 27 Jul 2005 02:01:00 +0000

I wish McCarty signed to play for Grand-Rapids Griffins!
In the next year he would sign with the Wings.

And I like Woolley. He’s a good player to us.

By: marcelo

marcelo — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 17:48:00 +0000

My heart just cannot accept Darren McCarty playing for any team other than the Detroit Red Wings. That hurts.

I just hope he’ll be back next year to quit as a Wing.

By: Brian List

Brian List — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 16:29:00 +0000

I noticed that too, Humberto. The Detroit News lists Woolley as an unrestricted free agent:

http://www.detnews.com/2005/wings/0507/14/D01-247264.htm

But TSN lists him as signed:

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature.asp?fid=7006

The tie-breaker can be found on the NHLPA’s website:

http://www.nhlpa.com/WebStats/PlayerBiography.asp?ID=6038

They list Woolley as “2005/06 Compensation: $703,000.00″, the same number TSN has. So I’d tend to trust the NHLPA website - they’ve always been an accurate site to find player salaries.

If by chance the NHLPA is wrong, I’d expect Woolley to sign with the Wings for around that much anyways…

By: Brian List

Brian List — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 16:23:00 +0000

McCarty is definitely the hardest buyout of the three. Just because he’s been here for 11-12 years since we drafted him, and he’s been a huge part of the organization and community. I have a feeling he’ll still live here during the summer though, when he would come back to play with his band Grinder.

It’s sad to see Mac go, but I’m glad the Wings have the guts to make this type of move. It’s a clear signal that this club will no longer keep guys around in an unconditional loyalty if they don’t earn their keep. Tenure is not enough reason for being re-signed anymore (exception to Yzerman).

As for Hatcher, it’s also sad that things didn’t work out and we never got a chance to see him at 100%. He lives in his hometown of Detroit during the summer, along with his family, so we’ll see Derian around town still. He did roller hockey in Utica this summer, and might continue in that league next summer. Also, rumor is that Dallas is interested in Hatcher…

As for Whitney, I could care less he’s gone. If you’re worried about losing his numbers (14 goals and 29 assists), remember that most of his points came off of second assists. Numbers like that are not impressive when you’re on the Wings - the best offensive team in the league with highly skilled linemates. I’m sure his bought out salary can be well spent on another forward out there…

By: humberto

humberto — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 16:10:00 +0000

Do you know if Jason Woolley is under contract?
Because I didn’t see his name on LGW.com or RedWingsCentral, but I saw him “under contract” on USAToday.

By: Kevin R

Kevin R — Tue, 26 Jul 2005 13:31:00 +0000

It’s so unfortunate it all had to come to this. Maybe if the guys came to terms last year we could have kept McCarty. It’s purely busniness. Anyway, I for one sincerely hope we don’t meet McCarty in the post season!!!

By: humberto

humberto — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 23:14:00 +0000

Hey Brian!
Thanks for the comments!
And I don’t wanna see Darren McCarty with another jersey.

McCarty is Detroit. Just it.