I just threw up a little bit, in my mouth.

Khryste, one guy that SHOULD have been cleared out of the way to give some piddling ice time to Meech, Eric3s3on, Q, was Lils.

Anyone remember him just falling to the ice with the puck inside our blue line?  Thank you Ozzie for saving his fat a**.

Well, he can lay down in front of shots, but I’d prefer to keep some ice time to rotate among the young guys during the regular season.

Posted by RWBill from jabbing a six inch sewing needle into my eye. on 06/30/08 at 06:02 PM ET

bah. 
humbug.
there goes the offseason.

Posted by ColdWar on 06/30/08 at 06:24 PM ET

Great move..!

It shows that Holland and Babcock just might know a little more about hockey than the majority of the A2Y19.

Posted by HockeyTownTodd from upset when blogs don’t live up to my expectations on 06/30/08 at 06:32 PM ET

That last sentence should read, “If he isn’t signed by now, he’s more than likely gone.”

If Holland has multiple short- and long-term deals on the table for Stuart, and he hasn’t signed, he’s not going to.  He’s going back to Cali, as they say…

As fer Lils?  Meh.  The guy- or, more precisely, the team- has won a Stanley Cup.  Methinks the Wings might be approaching the point of immunity from his brainfreeze moments.  Hope springs eternal, right? 

P.S.- Security code- ”91united.” Wouldn’t that be funny?

Posted by mudshark on 06/30/08 at 06:35 PM ET

Dear God, Kenny…

All we can hope is that he’s maybe trade bait?

Posted by TeamDub from The gratch. on 06/30/08 at 06:35 PM ET

It shows that Holland and Babcock just might know a little more about hockey than the majority of the A2Y19.

As always, your love for Lilja and Dylan are equally appreciated by the majority of the A2Y19.

Posted by Hoser from Downer Peninsula, Michigan on 06/30/08 at 06:42 PM ET

As always, your love for Lilja and Dylan are equally appreciated by the majority of the A2Y19.

Heh.

Posted by TeamDub from The gratch. on 06/30/08 at 06:44 PM ET

Woohooo!!

Posted by lilja4ever on 06/30/08 at 06:51 PM ET

Woohooo!!

Posted by lilja4ever on 06/30 at 07:51 PM

Hee-hee.  Lucky for you. 

Maybe before he starts turning the puck over too much he will come down with mono and miss about eight weeks.  Will that make anyone feel better?

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 06/30/08 at 06:56 PM ET

Maybe before he starts turning the puck over too much he will come down with mono and miss about eight weeks. Will that make anyone feel better?

Only if that happens right before the playoffs.

Posted by Aphaea from Pennsylvania on 06/30/08 at 07:02 PM ET

It’s a long season. 
Lilja is a big body, hard-hitting defenseman, who can take a pounding and put in tons of ice time...all for 1 million bucks. 
That is a great value...A Walmart special.

Even if you decide to trade him, a lot of teams will see the value in this contract.

Posted by w2j2 on 06/30/08 at 07:21 PM ET

Regarding Stuart:
Let’s say he goes back to Los Angeles…

Can Holland negotiate a long-term deal with Lombardi that says every year he sends us Stuart on March 1 for the playoff run?

Posted by w2j2 on 06/30/08 at 07:26 PM ET

Woohooo!!

Posted by lilja4ever on 06/30 at 07:51 PM

ROFLMAO!

Posted by RWBill from jabbing a six inch sewing needle into my eye. on 06/30/08 at 07:34 PM ET

No Stuart?  No Problem!

Here’s a beer drinkin, Hell Raiser from Western Canada who’ll come in hungover and throw whenever someone runs one of those soft Euros.

Keep me in mind, I’m just sayin.  Pulling players in from the beer leagues is not unheard of for the Red Wings, and it hasn’t worked out so bad.

And I can greet people and hand out trophies, your call.

Posted by DICK LINDSTROM from the basement whacking off. on 06/30/08 at 07:39 PM ET

Ha, congrats Lilja4ever. You’ve earned it.

As for the signing? I’m not a Lils fan, but I’ll take him at this price. Even if we later release him or he sits in the box most of the season, It’s not a big loss.

My only concern is what to do with Meech and Quincy. Ericsson, I love the kid, but he needs more time in GR.

Posted by Nate A from Dark side of the moon on 06/30/08 at 07:45 PM ET

Damn. And I was really hoping they would bring back Jason Woolley.

Posted by Gabriel from San Diego, CA on 06/30/08 at 08:45 PM ET

I’m with W2J2...it’s a long season, and if Lilja is forced out of the lineup by Ericsson and/or Meech and/or Quincey, he wouldn’t bust anybody else’s cap situation if they lose a big guy during the exhibition season.  No worries. 

In all honesty, guys and gals, people get hurt, and that’s why a GM might sign 10 defencemen who can play in the NHL, 16 forwards, and 3 or 4 goalies who have NHL ability.  You want to make sure that your bases are covered, and that if you’ve got to put a few guys through waivers, at least you have them to put through waivers. 

The Wings have a big luxury in that they’re one of a relatively small number of teams that can actually sign those #8/9/10 blueliners, the #14/15/16 forwards, and #3/4 goalies to two-way contracts because they’ve got enough cap space to do so. 

Maybe I’m crazy, but even on the Stuart situation, I’m not panicking.  Holland knows what he’s doing, and he’s got a post-lockout Cup and a team that isn’t being forced to rip itself apart because of cap issues, like the Penguins, to his credit.

He’s got all his pro scouts, Stevie, Scotty, Babs, Nill, and Jimmy D with him right now, and they’re going to do what’s best for the team over the next two months, so that the best team possible takes the ice in Traverse City on September 20th. 

Some desirable (please, don’t use the word “sexy” when discussing sports, at least unless you really think that Brian Rafalski, for example, is “sexy") players will fall by the wayside, but I trust this team’s GM and braintrust.  Let other teams handcuff themselves financially, let other teams make big fireworks, and let the Wings stick to their guns, stick to their master plan, and continue to contend for a Stanley Cup for at least another half-a-decade, and maybe more.

Posted by George James Malik from South Lyon, MI on 06/30/08 at 08:56 PM ET

Let other teams handcuff themselves financially,

Anaheim?

...let other teams make big fireworks,

Tampa?

...and let the Wings stick to their guns, stick to their master plan, and continue to contend for a Stanley Cup for at least another half-a-decade, and maybe more.

So, all there is to look forward to is continued boredom, then?

Well, there are worse things. 

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 06/30/08 at 09:10 PM ET

No, not boredom, pointing at other people and laughing at them, with a sense of smug self-satisfaction and Dan Cleary enjoying his day with the Stanley Cup in Newfoundland on July 1st instead of quiet desperation.

Okay, maybe a little quiet desperation, but mostly pointing at other people’s favourite teams’ and laughing when their GM pays a 20-goal-scorer $8 million a year for six seasons and a second-pair defenceman $7 million in a deal that we’ll soon be discussing under the category of, “Future buy-out candidates.”

Posted by George James Malik from South Lyon, MI on 06/30/08 at 09:14 PM ET

Maybe I’m crazy, but even on the Stuart situation, I’m not panicking.

Allow me to panic for you then, because I for one, do not see Lilja’s positives canceling out his negatives.  *Imitates a chicken with their head cut off*

I was sold on Stuart from day one just about, and I’m certainly not enjoying the fact he’s toying with us after we were way above classy with him.  I thought he said earlier that he knew things would be worked out and he definitely liked it here/wanted to stay?  I know that this is probably his one big shot at a payday, but this is also probably the team he can best fit with (best so far I’d say) and he knows we’re an extremely family-oriented team.  If he’s confident in his abilities, he shouldn’t be worrying about a NTC or not or whatever he’s hung up on.  If he’s confident in his abilities, he should know that we’re not going to dump him for one or two big game costing moves (Lilja wouldn’t be here then O:) ) and he’s got a great shot at sticking the entire 4-5 years.

And I didn’t re-read what I just typed so sorry if it’s a bit, well, scatterbrained.  I’ve been sitting here since about 10am waiting for a signing and it wasn’t Lilja’s I was waiting for.

Posted by movesfan13 from Grand Rapids, MI on 06/30/08 at 09:32 PM ET

Lilja may be back but that doesn’t mean he’s the #4 D-man, at least not forever. I expect Lilja (without Stuart) will start out at #4 but will fade into a reserve D as Meech and Ericsson earn starting jobs over the next year or two. Not a bad signing at all. Cheap, durable, does the dirty work if not handle the puck well. Can’t really complain. And after all, we won a cup with him starting, so…

Posted by Pete K from Chicago, IL on 06/30/08 at 09:59 PM ET

I’m not a Lils fan, but I’ll take him at this price.

Agreed. Liljs just went up a notch in my book because he could have left for more money elsewhere but was smart enough to prioritize winning in a limited role. George is, of course, right that Lila is also an insurance guy who, gasp, can be a good model (on his better days) for the defensive game.

I’m certainly not enjoying the fact he’s toying with us after we were way above classy with him.

Stuart is not Fedorov, or his stupid agent. This is a family thing and I will have no hard feeling about the man. Also, this is indeed a big pay day chance and since he’s not having a (NHL)HallofFame career, I wouldn’t blame him for wanting to pad the bank account for an unknown future.

Posted by Osrt on 06/30/08 at 10:10 PM ET

It shows that Holland and Babcock just might know a little more about hockey than the majority of the A2Y19.
Posted by HockeyTownTodd

That the Braintrust knows more is a give, but Lilja’s contract doesn’t exactly announce him as better than or even equal to Stuart as you said.

just sayin…

Posted by Osrt on 06/30/08 at 10:18 PM ET

Check that HTT. George, via Helen and CBC, is saying that Lils is going to make 2.4–2.5 next season.

Anyone else think that’s, you know, a mil more than we were thinking when we read “slightly more than his previous $1 million salary.”

I’m a little less happy with the signing at that price, but in Kenny we trust.

Posted by Osrt on 06/30/08 at 10:25 PM ET

No, that’s $2.4-2.5 over the course of the 2-year deal.  That’s somewhere between $1.2-$1.25 million per season.

Also: this IS Sergei’s stupid agent, Pat Brisson.  He’s also representing Jagr and a few other UFAs-to-be.

Posted by George James Malik from South Lyon, MI on 06/30/08 at 10:28 PM ET

Gramps will just see that gross over-inflation as further justification of his great love for Lilja.

All I can see is Lilja falling flat on his arse when he stepped on the puck… we paid $2.5M for that?!?!?!

Posted by Hoser from Downer Peninsula, Michigan on 06/30/08 at 10:31 PM ET

Good signing, none of the kids are ready for fulltime PK duty and the thought of Lidstrom and Chelios being the top 2 defensemen PKers the entire season makes me feel uneasy.  Not that they’re incapable, they’re more than capable, but even though Lidstrom is barely human he’s still 38 and Chelios, while a freak, is still 46. 

Lilja does his job well, is a bargain at the estimated 1.2m and is a necessary piece of the puzzle.  If it wasn’t Lilja it’d be some other veteran taking his spot.

Posted by Heaton on 06/30/08 at 11:23 PM ET

Thanks for the clarification George. That makes me feel much better, especially because I have once again, single handedly, against all expectations and tides of destiny, proven Gramps wrong

Posted by Osrt on 07/01/08 at 12:03 AM ET

Great...Lilja’s back.....  Well, he did make it thru the post game six celebration without handing the Cup off to one of the Pens so...sign em up!!!  Chief, the Hasek may become “The Lilja”.  Pass me a drink.

Also: this IS Sergei’s stupid agent, Pat Brisson.

Oh, THAT Pat Brisson! 

Well said.  George James you are spanking them outta the park on this thread.  Great info for my late nite pass through.

Keep it up manana....I love’s to watch and hear of the Wings brain trust at work.

Posted by Rumbear from Sun Eggo on 07/01/08 at 12:45 AM ET

At $1.2 million a season, I’m not saying I’m going to burst into flames, but I think it’s a good level-headed deal.  Lilja gets a slight raise and gets to play on a contender, and we get back our most physical defenseman, most active penalty killer (in terms of minutes played), and best shot-blocker.  In a pinch, he can be slotted in at the #4 spot.  And we keep the team goat for another couple of seasons.  It’s an insurance signing that makes sense, and allows us to put the offers down for Stuart without getting into protracted negotiations.  In short, what Lilja brings to the team, while not the big prize, is good value for $1.2 million.

Posted by AndrewFromAnnArbor from here, waiting for the next piece of the puzzle on 07/01/08 at 04:42 AM ET

I have to agree with Andrew here. Lilja is big,mean, and not afraid to throw his weight around when indicated. He blocks shots, and has proven himself in the eyes of the Wings brain trust. His best feature, of course, is that of the goat.
And don’t forget, he is not our only D-man that has turned over the puck. Heck, I think a few of them have even scored a goal or two on Ozzie. 
We will always need someone to needle. Although, we do have Sammy for that. And with Lils, the price is right.  Bitches!

Posted by Kate from Pa. on 07/01/08 at 06:23 AM ET

Woohooo!!
Posted by lilja4ever on 06/30 at 07:51 PM

Sounds eerily like the Stress Train.

How appropriate.

Posted by markw from Scotland on 07/01/08 at 06:59 AM ET

We are definitely spoiled by having Lidstrom on our team.  We tend to compare all d-men to his near flawless game and that’s where we falter.  We are in a world of $hit when #5 goes to the rafters.  We will become just an offensive team with an average “D”.  Lilja, bonehead as he is, has his faults, but is he really that bad? 
What would his role be in a different team, say, like Tampa?  He would be their top D man.  But yet, he signed for pennies just to play (and hopefully learn a thing or two) with Lidstrom.
Good deal.  Gives us depth.

Posted by cementslinger from Midland MI on 07/01/08 at 07:56 AM ET

+1 for what George said.
In all honesty, it’s a very safe move for many of the reasons above. Look at what our 3rd pairing has for a cap hit if you consider any of the kids with Cheli or Lils. Smart capology by Kenny & Crew.

Posted by MOWingsfan19 on 07/01/08 at 08:37 AM ET

Everybody calm down, things are fine.  Signing Lilja is okay.  I think he’s a buffoon and he makes me nervous when he’s on the ice, but he’s a solid NHL defenseman for $1 million a season.  That’s fine.  If Stuart re-signs, that’s wonderful, but if he doesn’t, oh well.  The reason Kenny’s not giving him market value is Niklas Kronwall.  Niklas Kronwall, my friends, is going to be a superstar NHL defenseman this year.  Holland spends more on Stuart and Kronwall’s play might suffer, who knows.  We’ve got a lot of good young defensemen, we’ll be fine without Stuart.

Posted by TDeters on 07/01/08 at 08:54 AM ET

Great Scott, has Gramps put the A2Y19 in a trance.  Look, I get that Lilja’s a ‘bargain’ (of sorts, you kinda get what you pay for with this particular contract) but quite frankly I’m far more interested in other bargains.

I don’t buy that Lidstrom is going to teach this old dog (33) any new tricks: Lilja is what he is and I think he’s proven to be painfully consistent in his horribly-timed gaffes.

It’s not that I hate every second he’s on the ice in every game that matters (but, yes I do) it’s that Meech, Ericsson or Quincey could all use his ice time to greater benefit and might actually learn something from getting practice/ice time with a guy like Lidstrom or Chelios or Kronwall.  The fact of the matter is these young guys have more potential for improvement and the clock is ticking on our two best D-mentors.

I covet Lilja’s icetime for the youngsters, they are also a bargain, they have a much greater likelihood for marked improvement and when they step on the puck and crumple into a heap as the last line of defense - at least I can say to myself, “oh well, he’s young and inexperienced” instead writhing “@#$* @*! not again!!!”

Posted by Hoser from Downer Peninsula, Michigan on 07/01/08 at 09:06 AM ET

Hoser, I get it, but you can’t say you’re surprised-- this is the M.O. with kids on this team.  They generally don’t get much ice time until they’re beyond ready.  The braintrust doesn’t like putting rookies in even small regular roles, let alone big-time ones.

That being said, it looks like Big Rig may fill in for Stuart after all…

From Red Wings Central:

The Red Wings need to sign Ericsson to a long-term contract this summer or risk losing him to unrestricted free agency in 2009, so it appears a virtual guarantee he’ll have an NHL spot in the fall despite his waiver-exempt status.

Dave at Gorilla Crouch elaborates on the situation:

Here’s part of the reason why Ericsson is likely to be the beneficiary of Detroit’s uncertainty at the #4 d-man slot: he could become a Group 6 Free Agent following this season...I took at look at the collective bargaining agreement. Here’s the pertinent section:

(c) Group 6 Free Agents.

(i) Means any Player who is age 25 or older who has completed three
(3) or more professional seasons, whose SPC has expired and: (i)
in the case of a Player other than a goaltender, has played less than
80 NHL Games…

Ericsson has played two seasons in Grand Rapids and 8 games in Detroit. So at the completion of this upcoming season he’ll be 25 and will have completed three professional seasons. So unless he plays 72 games for Detroit it looks like he would become an unrestricted free agent.

He’s a restricted free agent right now, so I don’t know what the ramifications would be if Detroit signed him to a three-year contract right now but sent him down to Grand Rapids for the full season. Would the final two years be voided and would be become an UFA? That seems unlikely but you can bet that Ericsson and his agent could push the matter by only agreeing to a one-year contract. So I think there’s a good shot Ericsson signs for at least one year but also spends the bulk of the season in Detroit.

Sounds like a good idea to put him in the lineup next year if we want to keep him…

Posted by AndrewFromAnnArbor from a treasure trove of prospects on 07/01/08 at 09:16 AM ET

I think this was a good signing due to Lidstrom being #1 in short-handed icetime amongst d-men and Cheli being #2.  Cheli is probably going to continue to see his games played and ice time drop off.  Lilja was 3rd in short-handed icetime and is a pretty reasonable player to plug in alongside Lidstrom on the top pairing while on the PK.

Posted by Dave on 07/01/08 at 09:20 AM ET

I have to pass this quote along from another hockey board I frequent, regarding the Lilja signing:

They probably want him to play with Jonathan Ericsson so that they can have one Swede learning from another. I don’t know if I’d really want to force Ericsson to have to teach someone else how to play in his rookie season, but the Wings know better than I do.

Posted by Primis on 07/01/08 at 09:24 AM ET

does anyone know if lilja’s contract is a two-way or one-way deal? the price makes me think one-way, but if kenny worked it out, two way makes that a great deal for the wings.

doesn’t look like i’ll be getting any work done today. which is no different than normal i suppose, now i just have a justfication (in my own mind anyway).

security word: ans93wer. clutch.

Posted by rwingscup19 from Dallas on 07/01/08 at 09:30 AM ET

I’m A2Y-Y2K10-safe, bitches!!

Posted by lilja4ever on 07/01/08 at 09:58 AM ET

A2Y19 alert!

Rolston will not sign with Tampa, despite being offered mega-bucks. He is going “free agent” at noon.

That can only mean 1 thing:
He intends to go home...to Detroit!

(We saw this last year, remember?)

Posted by w2j2 on 07/01/08 at 10:02 AM ET

Maybe…

Depends on the offer, but I definitely think he wants to see what else is out there.  Smart choice not to make a decision without knowing all your options - it isn’t as though if he didn’t sign with Tampa he wouldn’t get a job anywhere else.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/01/08 at 10:34 AM ET

Well, he did make it thru the post game six celebration without handing the Cup off to one of the Pens
Posted by Rumbear from Sun Eggo on 07/01 at 01:45 AM

Jebus I swallowed my Propel down the wrong pipe and started coughing uncontrollably at work, stop writing hilarious stuff.

25 minutes away from free agency.  I have to disable my work network card in “network connections”, then use a jumper phone cable to my desk phone to dial up thru netscape ISP, a $9/month account I keep just for this purpose, in order to track you guys from work so I don’t get counseled for misuse of State IT facilities.  It’s slow but pages eventually fill in.  Trouble is if my boss calls me he gets routed to voice mail and if I stay on line/dial up for 3 hours (yes I have) he eventually wanders back here to see why I haven’t called him back in 3 hours.  “ah, must have been in the bathroom when you called and haven’t had a chance to check voice mail” (translation: it’s free agency day cut me some friggin slack).

Posted by RWBill from jabbing a six inch sewing needle into my eye. on 07/01/08 at 10:40 AM ET