Schnieder heads to California but Rafalski heads home.

[Sixshooter]

According to the Free Press the Red Wings have come to terms with 34 year old Brian Rafalski from Dearborn.

Previously played for the New Jersey Devils and is an awsome offensive talent. He is not big but he plays good minutes and he is decent defenively.

Contract is reported at 30 mil over 5 years.

I like this signing.

-Jim

[neil duffey]

i like the player, but not the contract. dumb move is ya ask me. 2 years maybe... but 5 for 30?:yikes: now they wont sign danny markov who is invaluable to me when it comes to grit and toughness the wings so sickly lack. not to mention in what 2 or 3 seasons when our boy z needs to be re signed and will comand a very very hefty raise as well as lebda, cleary, franzen and flipps who will all be getting raises when their contracts are up. idk, im not pissed having bryfal play for the wings, but ehh, small and pricey.:rolleyes: mixxed feelings i guess.


edited for typo lol

[Dedge]

i like the player, but not the contract. dumb move is ya ask me. 2 years maybe... but 5 for 60?:yikes: now they wont sign danny markov who is invaluable to me when it comes to grit and toughness the wings so sickly lack. not to mention in what 2 or 3 seasons when our boy z needs to be re signed and will comand a very very hefty raise as well as lebda, cleary, franzen and flipps who will all be getting raises when their contracts are up. idk, im not pissed having bryfal play for the wings, but ehh, small and pricey.:rolleyes: mixxed feelings i guess.

Dude you are gonna give someone a heart attack!:lol: I like the deal. With the way the cap has been going every year, I think it will be ok. Welcome home Raf! And I was wondering the same thing about NYR myself. Maybe we will get Shanny back.:lol::lol:


I was honestly not expecting Schneider to stick around, but I really, really, really, really hope that they sign Markov.

Later,
Dan

[redwingsdude]

If the Wings were gonna let go of Markov if they signed Schneider for $5 million, I don't see how they could ever sign Danny now that they just spent $6 million on Rafalski.

Sorry Neil, that looked pretty stupid before I edited it.

[neil duffey]

huh?

[William H Bonney]

i like the player, but not the contract. dumb move is ya ask me. 2 years maybe... but 5 for 30?:yikes: now they wont sign danny markov who is invaluable to me when it comes to grit and toughness the wings so sickly lack. not to mention in what 2 or 3 seasons when our boy z needs to be re signed and will comand a very very hefty raise as well as lebda, cleary, franzen and flipps who will all be getting raises when their contracts are up. idk, im not pissed having bryfal play for the wings, but ehh, small and pricey.:rolleyes: mixxed feelings i guess.


edited for typo lol


I'm a bit confused myself. Rafalski is a good d-man,, but not 6M a year good. I wonder what really went down with Schneider behind closed doors?? If you think about it,,, the Wings musta been "nowhere close" to what the Ducks gave him.

[NEMichsportsman]

Not excited. I don't think the team was improved as a result.

[redwingsdude]

I'm a bit confused myself. Rafalski is a good d-man,, but not 6M a year good. I wonder what really went down with Schneider behind closed doors?? If you think about it,,, the Wings musta been "nowhere close" to what the Ducks gave him.

Either the Wings wouldn't pony up the cash that Anaheim offered (although it was slightly less than what we gave Rafalski) at the time, or the Wings had planned on paying more to upgrade this whole time.

Either way, it is an upgrade. $6 million is too much, but Schneider is making $5.75 at 38, then the Rafalski signing doesn't look too bad. Remember that Schneids wasn't exactly a defensive specialist, though he did put up numbers, he made lots of mistakes. Raf is much better defensively, and on this Wings team will put up 50+ points every year, even more after Lidstrom retires. He might not have the shot that Mathieu had, but he's a very good puck-mover. Compare his game to Andrei Markov, who just got $5.75 million from the Habs, and people thought that was reasonable.

[Arin]

This deal isnt that bad at all. Rafalski is one of the most underated defensemen in the league.

- nearly the same size as Schneider
- more points than Schneider(in NJ)
- younger
- more durable(hasnt missed a game in last two seasons)
- averaged 25(!!)minutes the last two seasons
- $6mill is a good price; it's market value for d-men of his caliber(he hinted that he had higher offers, but wanted DET, too)
- 5 years isnt bad; Schneider got $6(for two years)and he's 38.
- right hand shot
- better defensively than Schneider


Also, the Wings now have $10.2 mill to spend under the cap and need:
- 1 Hasek
- 1 D-man
- 2 forwards(hopefully one top-6)

We have plenty of cap space to fill these needs. Hasek & Bert both would get cap incentive-based contracts, most likely. Which puts much of their salary onto NEXT season's cap. Bert n Hasek are both wild cards salary-wise, though.
- Hasek - $2.5
- Bert - $2
- Hudler - $900k
- Markov - $3

= $8.4mill

Holland has stated he would dip into his ~$1mill "cushion" if need be, too.

[Chris@hydeboats.com]

This deal isnt that bad at all. Rafalski is one of the most underated defensemen in the league.

- nearly the same size as Schneider
- more points than Schneider(in NJ)
- younger
- more durable(hasnt missed a game in last two seasons)
- averaged 25(!!)minutes the last two seasons
- $6mill is a good price; it's market value for d-men of his caliber(he hinted that he had higher offers, but wanted DET, too)
- 5 years isnt bad; Schneider got $6(for two years)and he's 38.
- right hand shot
- better defensively than Schneider



I'm with you. I trade Rafalski for Schneider in a heart beat.

[redwingsdude]

According to RedWingsCentral, the Wings have exactly $9.2 million U.S. in salary cap space remaining to re-sign his restricted (Jiri Hudler) and unrestricted free agents. If you include Red Wings GM Ken Holland's desire for a $1 million "cap cushion" to guard against injuries and leave room for trade deadline acquisitions, the Wings have about $8 million to spend.

I've heard that a few Russian teams are really interested in Hudler, and might drive up his price. I like Hudler, but bidding on him would be costly.

I also read that Markov already rejected an offer from Holland a week ago.

[Chris@hydeboats.com]

I also read that Markov already rejected an offer from Holland a week ago.[/QUOTE]

Markov did reject an offer and the Wings are standing firm at their price. The Wings are in the low 3 mil range for Bert, but he is apparently fielding offers from other teams in the 4 mil range.

Hopefully we sign some guys up front to fill some gaps. I'd expect to see someone like Bert and a character fourth liner like May added during the summer.