THAW DEAL: How Wings will change in new NHL world

July 14, 2005
BY NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA and GEORGE SIPPLE
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITERS



The minute the new collective bargaining agreement is made available, the Red Wings will tear through it as if it were a gripping novel, not a gargantuan legal document.


"I've got to get that CBA," Wings general manager Ken Holland said in a recent interview. "I've got to know how it affects me. I've got to know what I can do."


The Wings have heard a lot of things, and they have gone over a lot of scenarios. They have a good idea of what's going to happen when the NHL officially reopens for business.


Amid a mad scramble unlike any the league has ever seen, they will get ready to go to training camp in September. They will have to maneuver to stay under a salary cap, cutting ties with some star veterans in the process, while filling holes on the roster, the biggest being goaltender.


And with fans alienated by the lockout that canceled the 2004-05 season, they will have to work to make Detroit worthy of being called Hockeytown again. They might reduce ticket prices.


They are confident they can continue to have a strong team in a strong market. But until they can study the agreement and separate rumor from reality, they won't really know what they're dealing with.


"Obviously, the first order of business is to learn the CBA as quickly as possible," Holland said. "I mean, they're going to put down something in front of us that's going to be an inch thick, and it's going to be all the rules that govern what we can and can't do and how we run our business. Everybody in our organization is going to have a copy of that thing."


The salary cap will draw the most attention. Owner Mike Ilitch said Wednesday that the Wings had hired a "capologist" to help assure they would be in compliance.


"It's brand new, and you can easily mess up," Ilitch said. "And (if) you mess up, the fines are going to be heavy. It can get disastrous if you don't comprehend everything and follow the rules."


The cap is expected to put the Wings' payroll in the high $30-million range -- quite a cut for a team that used to operate in the high $70-million range. The Wings have almost $31 million committed to only 12 players for 2005-06, taking into account a 24% salary rollback. They will have to clear some room.


Will Captain Steve Yzerman be back? Ilitch said he had a hunch Yzerman would want to play with Kris Draper and Kirk Maltby.


"I think that'd make a great line," Ilitch said.


But it seems nothing and no one will be sacred.


"Obviously, my hope is Steve wants to play one more year, and my hope is we can figure out something that works," Holland said. "At the same time, when it comes to every player, they've got to be paid fairly. We're going into a new world, and I can't be paying any players on potential, and it's hard to be paying any players on past service. Your players have to kind of be paid based on what he can contribute to the team. We've never dealt in a cap world before."


Chris Chelios and Curtis Joseph probably won't have their contracts renewed. There could be buyouts that don't count against the cap -- Derian Hatcher, Darren McCarty and Ray Whitney are candidates -- not to mention trades.


When the Wings won the Stanley Cup in 2002, their fourth line was Luc Robitaille, Igor Larionov and Tomas Holmstrom.


"That was a tremendous luxury," Holland said. "Those days are not going to happen anymore. You're not going to be able to have three guys on your fourth line making a million and a half. Your fourth line now and your extra forward, to me, are going to be young players or they're going to be real good veteran players who have bounced around. ...


"Going into the new world, we're going to have to have some younger, cheaper players in the six, seven spot on defense, on the fourth line, in the 13th forward. That's what's going to kind of allow you to have some top-end players."


The Wings need to announce a replacement for former coach Dave Lewis (expected to be Mike Babcock), prep for a quick-and-dirty draft, sign players like Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, explore a frantic free-agent market, find a new No. 1 goaltender ... the list goes on and on. They have so much to do in so little time, but Holland wants to be careful not to rush things.


"I don't know how fast things are going to happen," he said. "I think you're better off to move a little slower when you know exactly what decisions you're making, how they're going to affect you short-term and long-term."


The Wings hope to keep competing for the Stanley Cup. They have always emphasized skill, and rules changes are supposed to be coming that will favor skilled players. Although they won't have a huge monetary advantage over most teams anymore, they still should be a free-agent destination. After what has happened to hockey, if all else is equal, players should want to come to a city where the sports matters.


And the Wings hope the sport will still matter in Detroit as it did before. Ilitch said the Wings were going to look at reducing ticket prices.


"We'll analyze everything, and then we'll go from there," he said. "But whatever has to be done, I'm going to do it."


Contact NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA at 313-222-8831 or cotsonika@freepress.com.

Does anyone know if Holstrom is still with us?

Wings move forward

From coach on down, they won't resemble the team that Detroit has come to expect.

By Ted Kulfan / The Detroit News


Paul Chiasson / The Associated Press

Former Mighty Ducks coach Mike Babcock is expected to be the new coach of the Red Wings, who didn't retain Dave Lewis.




Balancing the books


Here is the contract status for Red Wings players (salaries in parentheses):

Under contract: Kris Draper ($2.8 million), Jiri Fischer ($1.75M), Derian Hatcher ($6.5M), Tomas Holmstrom ($1.8M), Robert Lang ($5M), Manny Legace ($1.5M), Nicklas Lidstrom ($10M), Kirk Maltby ($1.9M), Darren McCarty ($2.25M), Jamie Rivers ($425,000), Brendan Shanahan ($3M - player option), Ray Whitney ($3.5M)

Unrestricted free agents: Chris Chelios, Mathieu Dandenault, Curtis Joseph, Mark Mowers, Mathieu Schneider, Jason Woolley, Steve Yzerman

Restricted free agents: Pavel Datsyuk, Niklas Kronwall, Jason Williams, Henrik Zetterberg






DETROIT -- They will name a new coach, likely early next week, and from there, a new version of the Red Wings will take form.

This will be a new team, make no mistake.

Wednesday's announcement of an agreement between the NHL and the players union on a collective bargaining agreement begins the transformation of the Red Wings and the other 29 teams.

Changes will be made. The contracts of some high-salaried veterans likely will be bought out as the free-spending Wings adjust to a salary cap.

First, though, comes the likely hiring of Mike Babcock.

Babcock, a former coach of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, will replace Dave Lewis, who was let go last week.

Fiery, enthusiastic and hard-driving, Babcock will get the attention of his new team.

"He's a guy who is a good communicator," ESPN analyst Darren Pang said. "Mike wants to be a good coach. He studies the game. I've been impressed with him during his time in the league."

But the team Babcock would have seen a year ago, compared with what he'll see in training camp this year, is much different.

With 12 players committed to the Wings at a cost of about $32 million, general manager Ken Holland has tough decisions to make.

"The veteran Red Wings have been in the spotlight for how many years now, there is only a certain amount of time that a person can shine," said Tequila Harris, 26, of Detroit. "It is now time for our up-and-coming players."

Here is how the Wings break down by position:


Goaltender


Manny Legace is the only one who is signed. He is supposed to earn $1.5 million before the 24 percent rollback. That's manageable under the salary cap, but it's also easy to buy out.

The Wings could go after a No. 1 goaltender such as Nikolai Khabibulin, an unrestricted free agent from the defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning.

Whether the Wings will be able to afford Khabibulin is debatable. Whether Khabibulin even wants to leave Tampa is questionable.

Other candidates could be Chris Osgood or Sean Burke.

Osgood, a former Wing, loves the Detroit area and was disappointed to leave when Dominik Hasek came aboard in 2002. Osgood and Legace are good friends and would form a capable duo.

Burke is a proven veteran, with one glowing omission from his r?sum?. He has never won a playoff series.


Defensemen


Nicklas Lidstrom, Derian Hatcher, Jiri Fischer and Jamie Rivers are signed.

Hatcher, who is owed nearly $20 million over the next three years, could be a candidate for buyout.

Free agents include Mathieu Schneider, who is likely to be too expensive to return; Chris Chelios, who is 43 and would need to accept a huge pay cut; Mathieu Dandenault, who could be attractive to other teams with more salary-cap room; and Jason Woolley, who also would need to accept a significant cut.

The Wings would love to retain Dandenault and wouldn't mind adding one more big-name veteran, but that will be difficult.

Rookie Niklas Kronwall is expected to develop into a top-four-caliber defenseman fairly soon after his great season with the Wings' minor league affiliate in Grand Rapids.


Forwards


Kris Draper, Tomas Holmstrom, Robert Lang, Kirk Maltby, Darren McCarty, Brendan Shanahan and Ray Whitney are signed.

Pavel Datstyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and Jason Williams are restricted free agents.

Steve Yzerman is unrestricted.

Whitney and McCarty are candidates to be bought out. Each has multiple years left on his deal, and the Wings need the cap room.

For one, they need it to sign Datsyuk and Zetterberg. Datsyuk and the Wings were not on the same page before the lockout. It will be interesting to see if a deal can be reached now, and if Datsyuk is willing to play in Russia if nothing can be worked out here.

Yzerman hasn't given a clear indication if he will play another season. He's another veteran who would be asked to take a lot less money to return.

Holland indicated last week he'd like to have Yzerman back.

The Wings also would like one more big, scoring wing. Before the lockout they were interested in Glen Murray, formerly of the Boston Bruins.

Senior vice president Jimmy Devellano said the Wings will examine the collective bargaining agreement when it arrives at Joe Louis Arena and do whatever is necessary to stay competitive.

"Changes will be made," he said, "but changes were going to be made regardless. There will be changes, and there will need to be adjustments."

I just read that the Wing might have a hard time signing Pavel. The were pretty far appart when they last negoatied.

They are screwed if they can't resign him, IMO.