Well the number of available goalies just got smaller. The Chicago Blackhawks successfully signed Nikolai Khabibulin, the Bulin Wall, to a four year deal valued at $27 million ($6.75 million yearly).

“When we began this process, we targeted Nikolai Khabibulin and Adrian Aucoin as the two main players we wanted to sign,” Blackhawks General Manager Dale Tallon said. “Not only did we accomplish our goal in signing these players, but we were also able to sign Martin LaPointe and Jaroslav Spacek. Along with Jassen Cullimore, Matthew Barnaby, and Curtis Brown whom we signed last year we feel that we have really improved our team. I know our fans have gone through some difficult times, but we said that we would remain flexible and give ourselves a chance to improve our team under the new rules governing the NHL with a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. We planned ahead with this day in mind and we are extremely happy that we were able to achieve some of our goals.”

With Khabibulin out of the way, the Wings need to really focus on getting a goalie! It’s looking like either Chris Osgood will return to Detroit or the Wings might pick up Jocelyn Thibault, the Blackhawks 2003-2004 goalie. Personally, I’m unsure about Osgood. We had a strong team when he was goaltending for Detroit and he was in his prime. I just don’t know. I’m not opposed to his return, he’s just not my first choice. It’ll be interesting to see who Holland picks. At least we have a great backup goalie in Manny.

In previous posts, I have estimated that Datsyuk is asking for $3 million or more, with a significant offer from Moscow Dynamo as leverage. Unfortunately, that was an accurate assessment. According to the Free Press, Datsyuk is asking for at least $4 million.

For perspective, Bykov pulled in $1 million tax-free in Russia. So any Russian offer of $1.5 million or more tax-free would basically blow the Wings out of the water, if you know anything about tax brackets. We just don’t have it in our budget to pay Pavs more than $2 million. As the Free Press pointed out, the Wings have approximately $10 million remaining cap spending with only 14 players under contract. We need 7-8 more players at the minimum.

Says Gary Greenstin, Pavs’ agent:

“We have had a very productive conversation. We’ve explained our position, he has explained his position. He has a certain amount of money to spend and has to sign another player. Pavel, you know, Pavel Datsyuk’s future is with the Detroit Red Wings.”

The Carnival of the NHL is going to be a little delayed, I’m sorry to announce. Neither Brian or I were able to do much more than gather the links this week, we’ve been so busy. It may be up tonight but no later than early tomorrow. Sorry.

Chelios will return to Detroit in a one year deal worth under $1 million.

“Chris signed a one-year deal for less than a million dollars,” GM Ken Holland told 1270AM Thursday afternoon. “We see him in the 10-15 minute range playing with the third pairing. Everybody knows his determination and he’s very excited to return.”

This season will be Chelios’ 22nd in the NHL and seventh with the Wings. “Chris brings a great deal of experience and passion to the rink every day,” said Holland. “He’s been a great Red Wing, he’s in excellent shape, and no matter what his age, you know he can play at a very high level.”

Between Schneider, Chelios, Lidstrom, and Fischer, Holland feels good with his defense. “With Mathieu and Chris, I feel very good about our defense for this season. Mathieu had a great year for us in 03-04 and we tried to sign him last summer. We’re happy to have him back in a Red Wings jersey,” Holland said.

The Wings also signed Johan Franzen, a 2004 draft selection, to a one year deal. Detroit picked Franzen in the third round, 97th overall. The 6’2″ forward weighing 210 pounds joins the Wings from Linkoping of the Swedish Elite league. In his 2003-2004 season, he had 30 points and topped the league with a plus-24. However in the 2004-2005 season, the addition of NHL veterans created less ice time for Franzen. He finished that season with seven goals and assists. He also was part of the Swedish National Team who finished fourth in the 2005 World Championship.

“We drafted Johan last summer in the third round and our scouts feel he is ready to play in the NHL,” said Holland. “He established himself in the Swedish Elite League and their national program and we felt it was time to bring him over.”

While the Wings lost Mathieu Dandenault to the Montreal Canadiens, Detroit was able to keep Mathieu Schneider. “Mathieu did a nice job for us,” Holland said. “He’s going back home. He got a real good offer from Montreal. He inked a four year deal worth $7 million. “With the development of Jiri Fischer, and having Nicklas Lidstrom, and we’re hoping to add another top-four defenseman, we didn’t envision Mathieu in our top four. And if he’s not in the top four, we couldn’t pay that type of money,” Holland said.

Last night, Schneider signed a two year contract valued at $6.6 million. After buying out Derian Hatcher last week, the Wings really needed to sign a strong defenseman. “We have to sign another goalie,” Holland said. “No doubt I’d like to sign a top-four defenseman, if possible. Not a guy that commands a lot of money, but one that can come in and play 20 minutes. With Nick Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall, and Jiri Fischer, we feel we’ve got three guys who can play in the top four,” Holland said.

Detroit also offered Chris Chelios a one year contract. Chelios is expected to make a decision soon. “I made an offer to Chris Chelios, but if Chris comes back, I see his role in the third pair. We don’t want to wear him down,” Holland said.

Marc Levine, Henrik Zetterberg’s agent, believes it is unlikely Zetterberg will stay in native Sweden even though he won the Swedish scoring title playing for Timra IK. “At this point, his emphasis is to get back playing in the NHL,” Levine said. “He is an up-and-coming star. We’re continuing to talk with Detroit.” Zetterberg is looking for at least a 10 percent raise from the $675,000 he made in 2003-2004. Update: A source close to the Wings’ organization told a family member today that they believe Zetterberg will return to Detroit; it’s just a matter of hammering out the details and reaching a deal.

With only around $12 million left under the cap, Holland must focus his efforts on signing youthful stars like Datsyuk, Kronwall, Williams, and Zetterberg. It no longer looks like the Wings will sign Nikolai Khabibulin who is rumored to be heading to Chicago. This makes Chris Osgood’s return to Detroit much more likely.

“We have to pick and choose and be patient,” Holland said. “In the first wave, teams are signing players and signing those players to be core players. We’ve got those parts — I’m looking for the right complementary parts. I’ve got to get some good deals. We’ve got to wait for the market place to change, to become a cheaper market place, and then we’ll get busy on the market. It may take another week.”

Ken Holland finally got around to doing what normally would have been done a year ago, signing free agent defenseman Mathieu Schneider to a two-year, $6.6 million contract.

Schneider, who became a free agent July 1st, 2004, has played two seasons with the Wings and is a steady contributer offensively as well as solid defensively. He finished in the top 7 in Norris voting in 2003-2004, a fact many commentators said was a result of his playing alongside Nick Lidstrom for much of that season (“My grandmother could play next to Nick Lidstrom and be up there in Norris voting…”). Finishing so high in Norris voting apparently gave Schneider an inflated idea of his own value and the Wings were unable to reach terms with him over the summer leading up to the lockout. Had there been no impending lockout, the Wings would have been more free to throw money Schneider’s way but as it was, they had to be careful since they didn’t know exactly what was coming.

In signing Schneider, my disappointment in Ken Holland for his apparent inaction is lessened. Though it didn’t make the main story on TSN (*), I think this signing is a big one. This doesn’t make up for the loss of a player like Mathieu Dandenault (as good as he is, Schneider is not that versatile), but the Wings’ defense is in decent shape now. I would still like to see Holland sign another defenseman, however.

I hope we’ll see a move or two with players from outside the organization now that two of the four major in-team signings (Yzerman, Datsyuk, Schneider, Zetterberg) Holland had to do are taken care of.

(*) That honor belongs to another story: the Flyers’ signing of Peter Forsberg to a two-year, $10.7 million deal. That’s the best news I’ve heard all day. It means no more Peter Forsberg in the Western Conference and fewer headaches for Wings fans. It also means the Conference has lost a major attraction but at least Foppa isn’t our problem any more.

The Flyers are now over the salary cap and will have to make a trade or two to get back under it. The player most likely to be moved? Jeremey Roenick, according to TSN. They say he may be going to LA but I think he’d fit in a lot better here in Detroit. Philly won’t get equal value for him money-wise (otherwise they’d be in the same position they’re in now) so the Wings may be able to get them interested in some prospects and/or picks. I think it’d be worth it, though the new draft rules could cause some problems. The Wings may not be able to rely on late round picks so much any more since they can’t keep players in Europe for morethan two years under the new CBA. That means early round picks are more worth keeping than they were before. That said, JR is good now and prospects/picks are just potential. I say go for it, Kenny.

TSN reports that Mathieu Dandenault has left Detroit after a 9-year career here and signed with the Canadiens, a four-year, $7 million deal. Dandenault’s ability to play both forward and defenseman made him both a highly versatile player and a valuable commodity in today’s NHL. His good speed makes him even more desirable for teams looking fill out their rosters.

The Habs needed another defenseman after not picking up their option on Patrice Brisebois and so signing a player like Dandenault was a good move by them. Particularly since they stole him right from underneath the Mighty Big Buck Red Wings’ nose.

(This is not what I wanted to see after a long day at work. Ugh.)

I have to say I am very disappointed that Ken Holland did not find a way to keep Dandenault in Detroit. Kenny’s done a great job over the years keeping the team stocked with talent but he blew it by letting this one go. Dandenault is not a powerhouse scorer or bruising defenseman but he has experience and is steady enough to throw some money at. The Wings definitely had a need for him, with their defense as weak as its likely to be. They should have been able to play drum up some loyalty from the guy, you’d think. They did draft him afterall and give him paychecks for nine years, not to mention the opportunity to play on three Stanley Cup teams. I’m wondering just how hard Holland went after him, if at all. It’s hard for me to imagine he’d just bolt like that. Ah well.

The Wings are even slower now that Dandy’s gone and aren’t going to be getting any faster if Holland doesn’t get some guys off the market. I know he’s not sitting idle in his office but I’d like to hear about something getting done in Detroit, rather than having to read about all the other teams that are making moves. Signing Steve Yzerman to a one-year contract is not enough, Ken. And losing Mathieu Dandenault to Montreal is unacceptable. Let’s get on the ball (or stick, to use one of my dad’s phrases), please? That doesn’t mean sign Chris Chelios. It means sign Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. Then get a top-four defenseman, a starting goaltender and a 20-30 goal scorer.

I know it’s just the end of the third day of free agency but time’s a wastin’!

Update (7:00 PM ET): According to Sportsnet.ca’s Free Agency tracker, Mathieu Schneider has signed a two-year deal with the Wings. As far as I know, no one else is reporting this so I’m inclined to disbelieve it for now. If it’s true, then my anger against Ken Holland, for his apparent inaction, is assuaged.