In my initial reaction to Mathieu Schneider’s decision to sign with Anaheim, I wrote,
“If he wanted a lot more money than the Wings could pay, that’s one thing, but leaving at a price the team could probably afford is an insult. And the fact that he left to go to the team that eliminated the Wings from the playoffs is even worse (if you recall, Sergei Fedorov did the same thing). I thought Schneider was better than that.”
Those comments were an emotional response and came out of ignorance of the real story. That was no excuse to question Schneider’s character like I did, though, as he earned the right to the benefit of the doubt during his time here in Detroit.
Now that more details have come out, the reasons for Schneider’s decision are clearer: the Wings’ low offer, the fact that a California team is better for his family, the opportunity to help the Ducks repeat, and friction between him and Babcock. Those reasons don’t make his decision any less disappointing and hurtful, not least because there was no warning, but they are legitimate reasons and it would be unfair of me to hold it against him.
It’s a tricky thing to wish Schneider the best in Anaheim, as I view the Ducks as the new Avs, but if that’s what they are, Schneider can be a new Joe Sakic: the member of a hated rival team that can still be respected.
I have to agree with you Matt in a way about the initial reaction, however, one thing that crossed my mind that was different in yours, was the money. Looking at two-year deal worth 11.25M, my disappointed thoughts slowly turned to careless ones. I feel like if that’s what it takes to acquire the rights to him, then so long Schnids. After all, we did end up signing a five-year deal with a perfect replacement, a hometown boy who’s contract ends when he just turns Schneider’s current age of 38. I do have to say however, I surely wasn’t surprised. The Detroit Free Press a few weeks ago first brought up the possibility of the Anaheim signing, mentioning the housing conveniences for Mathieu, and the money the Ducks had to toss around. But even knowing of the possibility doesn’t make the loss any sweeter.
Fact is, your exactly right Matt. The Ducks are the Avs of the new age. A rivalry was sparked in 2003 when the Ducks swept Detroit in the first round of the playoffs, fueled when Mike Babcock came abroad, re-lit when the Red Wings lost the Conference finals to the Ducks last season, and is not set into full out flames when the Ducks buy 2 of our top UFA’s. Well, maybe it wont pan out this way, but it would make for a hell of a game anytime the Ducks come to town.
In closing, I do have to put out there that with the big talent getting swooped up early, Wings GM Ken Holland should get on the ball and make a few signings eh? At least make a little noise. Re-signing players like Dom and Danny is important, but god forbid we forget to sign a power forward or a scorer. The Wings are good, don’t get me wrong, but we could REALLY use a player like these… Hopefully both in the same cheap package.
I didn’t think that the money was such a big deal, because I thought the Wings could have afforded that much and that was proven when they gave Rafalski $6 million. In fact, that’s what offended me at first: had he taken more than the Wings could afford, that have been more understandable. It wasn’t until later that we found out the Wings hadn’t offered him more than a number “in the fours.”
It seems as though the biggest reason was that the Ducks are in California, which is where Schneider’s heart is. It works best for his family and that’s a reason I’m willing to accept. For whatever reason, though, I hadn’t looked at it from that angle in the weeks leading up to the signing, thinking instead that he was happy and satisfied living in Michigan.
For me, the biggest indicator of a budding rivalry between the Wings and the Ducks is the animosity that started coming out during the series, not to mention the fact that Anaheim beat us and went on to win the Cup. Add in Pronger’s cheap shot on Holmstrom and you have a situation similar to what happened in the 96 playoffs with the Avs, who left Kris Draper’s face a mess and went on to win the Cup that year. Hopefully, history will repeat itself, with the Wings beating the Avs in the Conference Finals and winning the Cup, much like they did in 97.
As for Holland, I don’t think he can do much more. He needs to get Hasek signed, but after that, there won’t be much space left. He definitely won’t make a big splash. If anything, we’ll see a minor signing of a forward who’ll hopefully turn out to be a surprise like Mikael Samuelsson was in his first year here.