SAKS-AVENUE

Yup. We know T.O offered 7 mil, so if Gainey can just beat that with 7.5 or so I think Sundin can be had. Both Vancouver and Toronto are going to stink next year and Mats knows it. Hopefully Gainey holds his ground and we sign him for even less because he simply wants to WIN!!!!!!!

I never thought in a million years we would have the toughest player in the NHL put on the red white and blue. Oh shit! I have been wanting this for our team for years. An a$$ kicking mofo that can play. Out of everyone, you know who's balls just got bigger. Lil ####. He started crap on his own anyway, now with big George around he'll become even braver. I Friggin LOVE iT!!!!!! Who's moving out?

From our conversation last night that's one less signing for Bob. Now let's shake Dandy, Boullion and Begin and we are set for Shanahan and Sundin. It could work. O.B and Gorges won't cost too much and we'll have some wiggle room. Very little but some. ****whoops forgot about Halak. He is just as whiny as Grabs. I wonder how much Gainey will give him.

Not Yet.

As much as I hate to say trade "the cube" and Begin for draft picks, by doing it and also inserting Valetenko and Stewart puts us 3 million under the cap. I would do it if it meant Shanny and Sundin. 3 mil covers spare players and hopefully we won't have any long term injuries.Although we have all kinds of cheap depth to fill the roles of short term injuries. If Saks goes down we have an extra 4 million to fill the void with whoever. We can make it work but I'm not Bob Gainey and neither are you. I just want a Stanley cup really soon.

If Dandy's contract is up he will be gone. Why would he stick around? or better yet.....Why would we resign him?

It's o.k to be over the cap for a moment. Sign those two for 8 and 2 and clean house to stay under the cap. Waive Dandy, Kosto,Begin, and trade Laps bring up Chips fill the holes and move on. We are trapped by the cap but not like you make it sound.... "impossible". There are ways around it all. Be creative and get what you need. Oy ya....by the way .....do it now when there is time to figure it out. We all know the trade deadline in March means shit. nobody does anything beause of cap constraints so screw it and take care of the situation now even if it means capping out.

be careful what you wish for. I'm not too keen on Demitra, he's slowed down, not what we need. But Shanny for a low salary and Sundin coming in for Gainey's original offer of 8. Wow.......that would be exciting. That's my wish. Woooooooohooooooo!!!!

What would you pay Hamrlik? The guy was outstanding last year. Worth every penny. Considering Streit got 4 and we could have given the money to Souray, I'm thrilled with Hammer and what he brings to the club along with what he is paid.

HA! YA, 4:30 p.m September 10th 2008

O.K From this I realize Mats has a lot on his mind. If he is about to retire than money certainly is not an option for him,he is set for life and realizes that. He truly will go where his heart leads him. It won't be Vancouver. I think he will play eventually and it will be for Toronto or Montreal. Since he would like to win a cup i'm putting my bets on Montreal, it just might take a few weeks. So see you guys in a few weeks. No more signings for the Habs as I am sure Gainey would like to keep the door open for Sundin. Mats Sundin needs more time to decided his future, releasing the following statement. "I would like to thank all the teams who have expressed such sincere interest in my services." "The numerous options provided to me were impressive and I have no doubt that each one presented a unique opportunity for me to finish my career in a terrific hockey environment. "I spent a great deal of time yesterday reflecting upon the teams who stepped forward and the opportunities that each provided." "Unfortunately, I am simply not close to being ready to make a decision about resuming my career at this time." "I wish all the teams the very best and thank them for their interest."

I'm very hopeful with our young team, no doubt, but a strong Detroit just got a whole lot stronger. I feel we need to keep pace at this point. Mats would help this team leaps and bounds and I want that as a fan. I'm not going to kill myself if it doesn't happen but would seriously be more confident in reaching a possible Detroit-Montreal final with him on our side than not. That's all.

No ....just asking.

What's going on with Joe Sakic? Isn't he available?

We need Mats bigtime now! or our 100th birthday cup is in serious jeopardy. With Hossa joining the wings that is.

I haven't and maybe I should because I just don't get how some of these teams seem to be loaded with multiple 8 million dollar players, while we struggle, yet we have one guy just over five as our highest paid player.I'm so pissed at the Nucks right now. Hopefully Mats realizes how shite they will be and takes less to play with us.

Sure, but I just don't trust the guy. He blew me away last year. The year before he might as well have been benched all season. Which Kovy shows up this year? Plus he is easy to cover. Just hit him and if he doesn't disappear he becomes half the talent he usually can be. With a guy like Mats you can't stop him even if you throw 5 guys on him. Big difference when you want to *coughcreateroomcough* Take what I said with a grain of salt. I love Kovy, but Mats is more difficult to handle because he uses his skill and size together, not so much for Kovy, it's pretty much just skill with him.

Agreed, but, I still feel Boullion is an asset. The guy hits and he hits harder than guys twice his size. He was great in last year. There is no denying that. His price tag? arguable, but not a cap killer.

You fishing for bets? ha ha ha I agree

I wouldn't go that far. Inasanity? If you need cap room those are guys you clear first. Not an easy thing but he tops the list. Players like him are a dime a dozen when you need an extra million dollars. Your acting like he's Malkin and only being paid 1.5 million. Plus he doesn't bring all the players potatoes during the season.

Sign Sundin, tell Latendresse what his job really is, bring in Pax, get rid of Dandy, get rid of Kostopolous. That would be a good start.

You are probably right. Let's match it anyway and then clean up with trades or waive guys. A lot of teams are in cap trouble so now is the safest time to waive players to make room. I think Gainey could figure it out and not hurt the team's future.

true enough TruthMonger. It's funny, I keep forgetting that. Even though we scored the most goals I feel we still had trouble scoring. Especially during the Philly series when it mattered most. It was our powerplay that inflated those numbers. I would rather end in the top 10 on the powerplay, #1 in goals against and have a solid 5 on 5 goals for stat. I think Mats would help that stat and our goals wouldn't seem so hard to come by, even though we scored a lot last year.

I'm not saying he won't, but if everyone on the opposing team is covering a guy like Mats who thrives in those situations, would create a lot more room for A.Kosty to become a lethal sniper quicker. That alone would be worth having Sundin around. You never can tell what's going to happen next year. Maybe Higgins will blow chunks again next year. We might get knocked out in the first round because Higgins misses a million open nets again and we won't want to sign him. Komi might have a career ending injury. My point was we'll clear the deck and worry about those signings when the time comes. Next year we might let Tanguay and Kovalev walk, trade Laps and Higgns and bring in Pax and Chips. You don't know what we'll need next year , but this year we need Mats Sundin........... now. Kapeesh?

Don't be surprised if he pots 40-50. Yes Julien will give him every chance to look good. A fresh start will give Ryder a positive attitude, very important!!!! A powerplay with Savard, Bergeron, a healthy shot from Chara, Lucic clearing the front of the net. Ryder will thrive. That set-up is something we could not give him. He will do well, just like Ribs. Just wait for that first toe drag as he pops it past O.B and over Price's shoulder. It's going to sting.