Monthly Archive for July, 2007Page 2 of 3

Ellis re-signs; team confirms Ference, Berkhoel signings

Published
by
Matt Saler
on July 5, 2007
in Matt Ellis and Roster Moves
. 0 Comments

Jason Kasiorek of Griffins Central reports that Grand Rapids Griffins captain Matt Ellis has signed a one-year contract extension with the Wings. I haven’t seen him play all that often, but among Griffins fans, Ellis has a reputation as one of the hardest-working players in the organization and that will no doubt endear him to Mike Babcock come training camp.

According to Kasiorek, Ellis would have to clear waivers to return to the AHL, which means the team will have to come to a decision on his status. Given that they re-signed him, it seems they’re looking to carry him as a 12th or 13th forward, pending his camp performance. Ellis’ history indicates that he’s unlikely to disappoint. I expect to see him in the Winged Wheel next year, perhaps on a line with Hudler and Kopecky, at least to start off.

Matthew Wuest* of Red Wings Central says a team source has confirmed the signings of defenseman Brad Ference and goalie Adam Berkhoel to one-year contracts. Both are for depth (read: for the Griffins), though Ference could conceivably earn an NHL spot. RWC has Berkhoel in the fourth spot in the Wings’ goaltending depth chart, behind #3 Jimmy Howard and ahead of #5 Stefan Liv, whose RFA status and sub-par performance last season obviously knocked him down a spot.

*Who, by the way, says Ellis signed a two-year deal. I’m going with the Griffins expert on this one, though, until shown otherwise by an official source.

Greg Wyshynski on the first 48 hours of free agency

Published
by
Matt Saler
on July 5, 2007
in Links
. 0 Comments

Greg’s columns are always worth a read, so check it out.

Jiri Hudler re-signs

Published
by
Matt Saler
on July 5, 2007
in Jiri Hudler, Links and Roster Moves
. 0 Comments

Update (8:45 PM): Word has come down from the front office that Hudler just has to work on getting “a half-step quicker” and he’ll be second power play material. - Matt

Two years, $2.03 million. He’ll make $880,000 this season and $1.15 the second year. I wonder if that contract includes a clause that will force Babcock to give him half-decent ice time. It’s not like he hasn’t proven he deserves it over and over again. (thanks Tim)

More on Jiri Hudler

Published
by
Matt Saler
on July 4, 2007
in Hockey Bloggers, Jiri Hudler and Links
. 1 Comment

Dave at Gorilla Crouch has a good post up on Hudler’s situation here.

Kozlov re-signs with Atlanta

Published
by
Matt Saler
on July 4, 2007
in Links, Slava Kozlov and Thrashers
. 3 Comments

Update (2:35 PM): Ansar Khan takes a look at some of the other possibilities for the Wings. - Matt

Well, there goes that possibility. Not that it was all that likely after the Rafalski signing, but we could still hope, right? The Wings probably could have afforded Kozzie’s new 3-year, $11 million ($3.6M a year) contract. Oh well.

Retraction

Published
by
Matt Saler
on July 3, 2007
in Mathieu Schneider
. 2 Comments

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.

Correction

Published
by
Matt Saler
on July 2, 2007
in Jiri Hudler
. 1 Comment

Yesterday I wrote that the Wings have about $8 million to use to bring back to Dominik Hasek, Todd Bertuzzi  and Danny Markov. That was only partially true at the time. I forgot that Jiri Hudler is a RFA this summer, so if the Wings want him back, they’ll need to fit him in that $8 million limit too. With Todd Bertuzzi’s departure, that job has probably gotten a little easier, though Holland will no doubt look to sign a second-line forward to replace #44 and that, coupled with the team’s apparent desire to sign a “depth defenseman” will make it tough to fit everyone in. Hopefully Jiri doesn’t become the odd man out.

Bertuzzi bolts to Ducks

Published
by
Matt Saler
on July 2, 2007
in Ducks, Links and Todd Bertuzzi
. 4 Comments

Update (8:35 PM): TSN has updated the article and it now says Bertuzzi will get $8 million over two years. Given that $4 million a year was s more than the Wings could offer him, it’s no surprise he left. I guess he wasn’t all that serious about wanting a longer-term contract. - Matt

Two-years, terms not disclosed. That’s another Wing packing his bags to fly to Anaheim. Screw you, Brian Burke. And Todd? You’re evil again.

Link

Lang signs with Chicago

Published
by
Matt Saler
on July 2, 2007
in Blackhawks, Links and Robert Lang
. 0 Comments

Update (11:47PM): $8 million ($4 mil/yr), same as Bert’s deal. (via Snapshots) -Sarah

It’s a two-year deal, but the amount was not announced. We’ll be seeing a lot of ole’ Robert.

Free Agent Update

Published
by
Matt Saler
on July 1, 2007
in Brian Rafalski, Danny Markov, Dominik Hasek, Mathieu Schneider and Todd Bertuzzi
. 2 Comments

Ansar Khan has an update on the status of the Wings’ free agent situation.

In summary:

… Hasek should sign within a day or two, having told the Wings he’d rather wait until after the first day of free agency to make a deal

… Todd Bertuzzi is shopping himself around the market, looking for a longer-term deal than the Wings are willing to give him. So, his return may not be all that likely. The Wings are looking for a “second-tier free-agent forward,” to, I assume, replace Bertuzzi in the event he doesn’t re-sign.

… The Wings are looking to spend their remaining $8 million on “Hasek, a forward, and a depth defenseman.” Quite frankly, I don’t really understand the need for a depth defenseman when the team’s blueline corps now stands at Nick Lidstrom, Brian Rafalski, Niklas Kronwall, Andreas Lilja, Chris Chelios, Brett Lebda, and, likely, Derek Meech. Seems pretty solid to me.

… Danny Markov turned down the Wings’ last offer, so he’s looking less and less likely to re-sign. Not much of a surprise there.

… The Wings apparently didn’t offer Schneider the kind of money they offered Rafalski (as in up to $2 million less per year). So, it seems that all along they were more intent on pursuing the younger Rafalski than on keeping the older Schneider. That’s surprising, given how re-signing #23 was listed as a priority all along.