On the Wings

Update (6:11 PM): Eric McErlain, writing at the excellent NHL Blog at the AOL Fanhouse, points out that this means the end of the rumors of Pavel going to Washington to play with Alexander Ovechkin.

I can’t say I feel sorry for a set of fans who get to watch Alexander the Great all the time, but I can definitely understand if they’re disappointed the search for a top-tier center to complement their star will be that much harder now. - Matt

Update (4:45 PM): Christy has posted a reaction to the signing here and Dave has posted his here. And here is IwoCPO’s again, in case you haven’t seen it. - Matt

Update (4:10 PM): TSN reports the contract is for $46.9 million. If it’s divided evenly, that means $6.7 million a season, which jives with the reports that it’s between $6 and $7 million. Of course, it could be some kind of tiered thing rather than the same number for each year, so all we can say at the moment is that it’s $6.7 on average. - Matt

Update (1:55 PM): Some notes from the press conference:

… The deal is for 7 years, not 5 as originally reported. The guys on Team 1270 said it’s between $6 and $7 million a year (no surprise there) and point out that it could be a bargain in a few years if League revenues continue to go up.

… One other comment by the Team 1270 crew got me thinking: what does this mean for Henrik Zetterberg? I, and I think most fans would agree, consider Hank the more important of the two, and I hope this doesn’t preclude them signing him to his own extension in two years (I was wrong below, he is only signed through 08-09).

… Ken Holland was the first to speak and he just talked about Pavel being in the prime of his career and how this is a tremendous comittment by both the team and Datsyuk.

… Mike Illitch was next and he talked about how Steve Yzerman had been telling the team, “we gotta sign him, we gotta sign him,” which tells you something about the team’s motivation for getting this done now. It’s a little harder to criticize Kenny if The Captain was the one advocating the deal.

… Pavel was next and he seemed to have a prepared statement, which he read in a heavily-accented monotone, finishing by saying he was “happy” with the deal and to be staying in Detroit. I’m just going to say he sounded so unenthused because he doesn’t know the language very well.

… Steve Yzerman was the last to say a word before the questions. He assured us that it was not a rash decision, that it was a long, hard process and not an overnight thing. He cited his own playing experience with Datsyuk as well as Pavel’s past and present, and projected it onto the future. One of the more interesting things he said was that the team has not had access to a top-five draft pick like Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin and that Pavel Datsyuk is the team’s #1 pick.

… The first question, predictably, was about Pavel’s playoff performance. Yzerman responded by saying Pavel’s low numbers are not from lack of effort, to which he can attest, having played with him. To The Captan, Pavel’s playoff statistics are an aberration, and he’s confident that Datsyuk will answer those questions. He noted that Pavel was not expected to play last year in the first round, but decided to go himself, and by the end of the series, he was become more and more dominant.

… Next, Ken Holland had to answer a question on the length of the contract. The team apparently first offered a shorter term deal, but Pavel wanted something longer, and the team, after some deliberation, felt comfortable with that idea. He confirmed that it is the longest deal in Red Wings history and said that it fits well because of Pavel’s age (28).

… As for the question “Why now?”, Ken said that he and Gary Greenstin had agreed to work something out, if possible, when the latter got back from a scouting trip to Russia. Of course, had they not gotten it done before the postseason, they would have waited until after the playoffs.

… The next question was about Zetterberg and what the plan is for him. Holland said he has two years left on his contract and the team cannot talk to him until July 1, 2008, according to the CBA, but of course the team wants to sign him. It’s just down the road.

… The final two questions got brief answers: Yzerman said he participated in talks about Pavel with Hollad, Jimmy Devellano, Jim Nill, and a guy I’d never heard of named Ryan Martin (apparently, he’s Director of Hockey Administration) and that the whole experience was very educational. Mike Illitch then evaded answering a question about whether or not Pavel would be playing in Joe Louis Arena by the end of the contract.

All in all, I’m impressed with this deal. The comments by Yzerman help allay most concerns about its timing and length, and it was good to hear his perspective on Pavel’s playoff troubles. The vote of confidence from Yzerman, however, does mean the pressure on Datsyuk to produce this postseason, as well as those in the future, has spiked. There isn’t much of any room for excuses.

Of course, it could end up being a mistake to sign Pavel so long, but that’s something we’ll only be able to say with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight. The fact is, the Wings couldn’t let Datsyuk leave this summer, because even potential to produce in the playoffs is better than him being on another team. - Matt

The Wings have signed Pavel Datsyuk for another five seven years, according to Ted Kulfan and WDFN. No financial details yet, obviously. There is a press conference at 1:00, when the announcement will officially be made.

This is great news, as it means the Wings will have both him and Henrik Zetterberg for at least three two more years, which is when Hank’s contract runs out. It also makes Holland’s job this summer that much easier, though some would prefer that he had waited and are already lining up to chop off Ken’s head if Pavel doesn’t win the Conn Smyth this year.