Jimmy Devellano on Fan 590 with Roger Lajoie:
“But the curve ball thrown at us was Jiri Hudler being signed by the Russian team, and why it was a curve ball was, uh, he was a restricted free agent, we were negotiating with his agent, he filed for arbitration, so...All appearances were that Jiri Hudler would come back.
Now it's a little bit gray as to whether he will be back. He might be, he might not be. The problem then becomes, if you wait to find out, uh, and he leaves, you've got quite a bit of money under the cap, but then the free agents are all eaten up, for any of the good ones that might be left.”
“But the curve ball thrown at us was Jiri Hudler being signed by the Russian team, and why it was a curve ball was, uh, he was a restricted free agent, we were negotiating with his agent, he filed for arbitration, so...All appearances were that Jiri Hudler would come back.
Now it's a little bit gray as to whether he will be back. He might be, he might not be. The problem then becomes, if you wait to find out, uh, and he leaves, you've got quite a bit of money under the cap, but then the free agents are all eaten up, for any of the good ones that might be left.”
So it might not be the whole “peaceful parting of ways” that we thought it would be. It appears that Happy caught management by surprise on this one, which does not sit well with me at all. The question is, did he file for arbitration with the intention of re-signing with the Wings, and then the offer from Moscow changed his mind? If so, Mr. Hudler is to blame for Red Wing’s current predicament. Sure, the league didn’t have to take 
such a hard stance against it, but what did we all expect…them to pass on a chance to screw the Wings over? Please. Hudler should know better than to pull a move like that.
such a hard stance against it, but what did we all expect…them to pass on a chance to screw the Wings over? Please. Hudler should know better than to pull a move like that.It’s probably going to end up with nothing more than time lost. And that time lost could prove to be very costly as the Free Agent pool gets shallower and shallower.
“Roger, up front, we've lost 82 goals, between Samuelsson, Hudler, and Hossa, we've lost 82 goals. There aren't many hockey teams that can afford that, us included, so we're a little bit, um, concerned, to put it mildly, but we're going to try to be active and try to get it at least half figured out, but, Roger, the salary cap has caught up to us.”
“Roger, up front, we've lost 82 goals, between Samuelsson, Hudler, and Hossa, we've lost 82 goals. There aren't many hockey teams that can afford that, us included, so we're a little bit, um, concerned, to put it mildly, but we're going to try to be active and try to get it at least half figured out, but, Roger, the salary cap has caught up to us.”
Front office is worried....
Damnit.
While the situation IS worrisome, the Wings will do okay. This might be as close to a rebuilding year as they will see, but they will stay close to the top in the standings. Of course, we fans will stress out and bitch and moan as we have the tendency to do, but I don't think the year will be a total loss. Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy ride!*
ReplyDelete*(Yes, I know the quote isn't correct.)