I think he’s jumping off a bit too prematurely.  Sure Ken will work a number of angles if Hossa proves to be nearly the fit it seems he will be.  In fact he should make everyone around him even better.  But you can only have so many players at $7M.  You need to ink 21 players or so and if Lids, Hossa, Rafi, Dats, Z, Kronner and Stuart account for $41M that leaves little room for 14 more players even if the cap goes up by $6M again.

It’s likely that to keep Hossa one of those will have to be jettisoned.

Posted by RWBill from jabbing a six inch sewing needle into my eye. on 07/07/08 at 06:33 PM ET

Never say never, but at the trade deadline, a few folks were saying, “Shero wouldn’t have given up all those players if he didn’t think he could resign Hossa.” It might work, but I think Hossa will go after the money next time.

Posted by penguinsfan on 07/07/08 at 06:49 PM ET

Read the comments to that article? So sick of idiots saying players won’t stay here because of how crappy the city is, as if any of them actually live within the city.

Posted by Jeff on 07/07/08 at 07:13 PM ET

I’d like to see a moratorium on camparing any city to Baghdad or Beirut unless you have actually been there.  I’m sure there are several residents of either of those cities who would be quite happy to trade the car bombings and other violence for the problems of Detroit (which of course are completely different and worse than the problems of other large cities like Chicago, Baltimore, Atlanta, D.C., etc ad infinitum...)

No doubt if he Hossa works out well Holland would like to keep him, but the salary cap likely won’t permit it and he’ll have to go elsewhere.  Far too early to make any decisions in that direction, anyway.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/07/08 at 07:18 PM ET

Um, there are some very nice places in the city of Detroit, especially downtown, where upscale, fancy-pants types live in lofts, and there are some neighbourhoods in Detroit that do not look like they were bombed out.  The city’s got all sorts of messed-up problems and a city government that’s as crooked as a Bobby Hull stick blade, but it’s not what it was ten years ago, that’s for sure. 

We’ll see about Hossa.  I’d suggest that it’s just as premature to suggest that he’s going to stay or go as it is to suggest that the Red Wings have won the Cup outright.  There’s a full year for the Wings to “sell” playing in Detroit to Hossa, and there’s a full year where he might not work out, too, so let’s wait a bit before declaring the case closed…

Posted by George James Malik from South Lyon, MI on 07/07/08 at 07:32 PM ET

Um, there are some very nice places in the city of Detroit, especially downtown, where upscale, fancy-pants types live in lofts, and there are some neighbourhoods in Detroit that do not look like they were bombed out.

I know, that’s what I meant!

All big cities are like that - there are areas of Baltimore that are all expensive, renovated historic rowhouses with elegant tree-lined streets and areas with open-air drug markets like the one two blocks north of where I used to work and it isn’t unusual to hear the flat sound of gunshots while waiting for the bus.  That’s why I get annoyed when anyone says “[whatever city] is nothing but a war zone” because it isn’t true of the whole region.

It’s just ignorant and annoying in its repetitiveness.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/07/08 at 07:51 PM ET

Never say never, but at the trade deadline, a few folks were saying, “Shero wouldn’t have given up all those players if he didn’t think he could resign Hossa.”

I was thinking the exact same thing when I read Campbell’s piece.

We’ll see what happens, but all projections should also be put on hold because we don’t know what the cap number will be next year.

Players don’t live in any city center, except maybe NY. They live in cushy burb mansions; more power to them.

Posted by Osrt on 07/07/08 at 08:52 PM ET

Campbell’s figurin’ (as my mother used to call it) has a couple of flaws in it.

One, neither Hank or Hossa will be offered $8M. They’ll be offered no more than $7.45M. That was Kenny’s promise to Nick, and he’ll keep it.

Two, there’s no way Franzen will accept $3M. Not when guys like Avery are getting $4M. It’ll probably take $4M (and maybe more if he has a great season) to sign the Mule. But if he’s offered $4M, I think he’ll take it...even though it’s less than he could make on the open market next summer.

Three, as others have pointed out, the only way Hossa stays is if someone else goes. So, here’s one scenario for your consideration…

At the trade deadline, the Wings trade Happy (sniff! sniff!), Sammy (yawn!) and Lilja (yippee!) for a quality prospect (one who needs another year or two of seasoning in the minors) plus a high draft pick or two. That frees the Wings from the salary demands that Happy and Sammy would impose on the team for next season.

In their place, the Wings insert Leino (to replace Happy), Helm (to replace Sammy) and Ericsson (to replace Lilja). The end result is a comparable lineup, but at a much lower 2009-2010 cap hit.

Once those deals are done, they offer Hank, Mule and Marian whatever fits under their upcoming cap. If Mule holds out, his money goes to Hossa...and vice versa. Hopefully, all three will see the wisdom of accepting a little less so they can stay together and win more Cups.

Anyway, it’s just one of the ways that Hossa might be able to stay.

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 07/07/08 at 10:53 PM ET

In their place, the Wings insert Leino (to replace Happy), Helm (to replace Sammy) and Ericsson (to replace Lilja).

Perfect scenario for me. I hate to see Happy go, but if the others work then yee-haw.

Posted by SharkBaiter from Somewhere north of the 45th on 07/08/08 at 12:10 AM ET

is Happy, Hudler? I didn’t see that one in the glossary.

Posted by cowboycoffee from San Francisco, CA on 07/08/08 at 01:18 AM ET

Yup, Happy Hudler. He’s a ninja mini-me, scoring and performing without anybody really noticing.

Posted by Osrt on 07/08/08 at 02:04 AM ET

If Hudler is traded I will cry.  If he’s traded to a team I don’t like I will run someone over with my car.

I like spunk.

(If Sammay and Lilja are traded I will shout with joy, however.)

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/08/08 at 06:41 AM ET

Jiri Hudler is listed at 5’-9” and 178 lbs. But there are times when the little tyke gets up in the face of a guy like Pronger and acts like he’s looking down at the guy who’s got 8 inches and 100 lbs on him.

He doesn’t realize he’s a midget, and that’s why we love him. If it weren’t for that spunk, he would be 100% expendable in the eyes of the fans.

Resigning Hossa is a bit of a pipe dream, but if getting rid of Hudler makes it a possiblility, then I’m ok with it. But it’s gonna take alot more than that methinks.

Posted by Nate A from Dark side of the moon on 07/08/08 at 08:24 AM ET

Never say never, but at the trade deadline, a few folks were saying, “Shero wouldn’t have given up all those players if he didn’t think he could resign Hossa.”

I actually agree with the sentiment of this comment that there are no guarantees in this type of situation, but let’s just clarify that Shero’s got a lot of work to do before he’s mentioned in the same breath as Ken Holland.

Posted by Nathan from Jonny Ericsson's ice cream truck on 07/08/08 at 08:34 AM ET

If Hudler is traded I will cry.

I’ll be right there with you, hence the “sniff, sniff” in my post.

If he’s traded to a team I don’t like I will run someone over with my car.

Damn. I sure hope no one pisses you and Osrt off at the same time. It could be a bloodbath!

Jiri Hudler is listed at 5’-9” and 178 lbs. But there are times when the little tyke gets up in the face of a guy like Pronger and acts like he’s looking down at the guy who’s got 8 inches and 100 lbs on him.

Agree 100%. My favorite Happy moment was when he got into it with Phaneuf after a play had stopped. He shoved Scary Face in the chest with his stick and Phaeuf just backed up and skated off shaking his head like he couldn’t believe what had just happened. It was hilarious.

The only reason I included Happy in the scenario is because (1) he’ll be due a raise next year and (2), if Hossa stays, there just doesn’t seem to be a place for him on the top two lines (which is where he really deserves to play).

The odds are he’ll stay and Hossa will move on, and that’s okay with me...as long as Sammy and Lilja move on too. During the playoffs, I think Happy proved to everyone that he’s no longer a defensive liability. So if Hossa’s leaving moves Happy up to the second line, then hooray for that.

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 07/08/08 at 11:35 AM ET

Damn. I sure hope no one pisses you and Osrt off at the same time. It could be a bloodbath!

I’ll be the one in a blonde wig and sunglasses behind the wheel of the getaway car.

He’s like a feisty terrier facing down a Dobie (I’d say Rottweiler, but every Rottie I’ve known has been a complete sweetie).  Not to mention that he was so emotional after winning the Cup that he was speechless and stuttering from the enormity of it.

I’m actually hoping for a series of extremely minor and very conveniently timed injuries this season to give Jiri more playing time than he would normally get, since all he does with it is score goals.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 07/08/08 at 11:50 AM ET

I’ll be the one in a blonde wig and sunglasses behind the wheel of the getaway car.

After Orst’s proclamation of “man-love” for Wally, I think you both might be wearing the same disquise. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Just kidding, Orst. Really, just kidding.

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 07/08/08 at 12:36 PM ET