News Article: Zetterberg to decide future later in July

[jkutswings]

Disregarding everything else, this point feels like it's becoming outdated. Yeah Holland signed some ugly deals back when we were a playoff team. But the last few years? Basically all his FA deals have been minor, smart deals.

Nov 2015: Abdelkader, 7 years
July 2016: Helm, 5 years
July 2016: Nielsen, 6 years
July 2018: Green, 2 years

Each within the last few years, and every one has some sort of no trade or no movement clause.

Our cap situation is starting to clear up. More and more contracts are entering the stage where they become moveable.

Once he starts using that cap space shrewdly, you'll have an argument. But saying that a guy who blows half his paycheck on Keno suddenly has more money to play with isn't an argument for him having changed his ways.

His TDL deals have been on point. 10+ picks in 3 straight drafts. Got saddled with a dead cap hit of Datsyuk and turned it into Hronek while other teams pay to get rid of contracts like that. A struggling Tatar became 3 drafts picks, one of them Joe Veleno, another the 2nd round pick of the team that just lost their biggest star and risk finishing near the bottom next year.

What's not to like?

I never said I didn't like the results of getting rid of players. But none of that changes the bad deals that guys get inked to in the first place.

 

[NickH8]

It really doesn't matter where you pick in the top 10, but it matters how you pick. Winnipeg had one high pick with Laine at 2. the rest were from the lower half of the top ten.

Now the question... is our management competent enough to make those good picks?

 

[njx9]

Good. I hate tanking and a losing culture.

"Losing culture" is bogus balogna, at best, that's *easily* disproved by looking at your own damn team's history.

You want a "winning culture"? Stop giving up roster spots to abject losers who are well known for failing spectacularly in any game that matters, defensemen who are well known for not actually playing defense, and giving NMCs and lifetime contracts to mediocre, 3rd-line-on-their-best-day players. There's a reason guys like Stamkos won't even take our calls. There's a reason a guy like Tavares turns down more money to go to a team like Toronto.

But hey, if having guys like Vanek, Nielsen, and Green make this team legitimately enjoyable for you to watch, good on you. You can stomach far less interesting hockey than I can.

 

[SCD]

It really doesn't matter where you pick in the top 10, but it matters how you pick.

That is a little extreme. It is much easier to build a championship team around a Crosby or McDavid than a #5-10 pick. Not a guarantee, but makes it easier.

 

[NickH8]

That is a little extreme. It is much easier to build a championship team around a Crosby or McDavid than a #5-10 pick. Not a guarantee, but make it easier.

Sure, but it's possible to build a team in the #5-#10 range like Winnipeg has. Do I think our current front office can do so? To be honest, I don't know. We'll see in the upcoming years.

 

[Frk It]

Further, when pretty much every team except Detroit has taken a turn in the competitive dunk tank this generation it stands to reason that every team except Detroit that wins a Cup will have made a top 5 pick (or two, or a dozen) within their competitive window. It's a statistical misnomer to claim there's a correlation because I'm pretty sure that almost every team in the NHL has made a top 5 pick since Detroit last had one (who still hasn't had one for 30 years), so anyone who wins a Cup will ring that bell.

The difference, obviously, is that some teams made a top 5 pick that worked, which is a wholly different thing.

You can argue the strength of the correlation, but I don't see how you can deny there is a correlation there.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Good. I hate tanking and a losing culture.

I don't really understand how signing aging vets and still finishing 27th in the league is somehow a winning culture.

Especially when Green and Vanek don't exactly exude a high compete level and winning culture.

 

[Heaton]

Z has been a warrior his entire career, now is a great time for him to retire. No use destroying his body any longer when there is little to play for. He can still help the rebuild by being part of the organization, but he can focus on the quality of life after hockey too.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Z has been a warrior his entire career, now is a great time for him to retire. No use destroying his body any longer when there is little to play for. He can still help the rebuild by being part of the organization, but he can focus on the quality of life after hockey too.

Not to read too much into an unsubstantiated sentence at the start of that article, but him deciding after a golf outing with teammates makes me wonder if he is retiring and wants to tell some of the guys in person before he makes it official.

 

[Cyborg Yzerberg]

Z has been a warrior his entire career, now is a great time for him to retire. No use destroying his body any longer when there is little to play for. He can still help the rebuild by being part of the organization, but he can focus on the quality of life after hockey too.

That’s where I am too. Zetterberg has been my favorite player for over a decade, and a top three favorite player of all time. I want him to do what’s best for him and his health.

 

[ShelbyZ]

If he retires, then svechnikov will get a roster spot.

You'd think so, but given that they'd be taking a huge hit at center, I'd expect Holland to panic sign whatever veteran C is still left on the UFA market that can slot in between Nielsen and Glendening on the depth chart.

 

[Pavels Dog]

Nov 2015: Abdelkader, 7 years
July 2016: Helm, 5 years
July 2016: Nielsen, 6 years
July 2018: Green, 2 years

One of these is not like the others.

 

[RedWingsfan55]

Not to mention that's how the wings got good at the start of our long run.

Cup winners since the Detroit Red Wings in 2008. Pittsburgh (Crosby, Fleury, Malkin), Chicago (Toews, Kane), Boston (Kessel - traded for Seguin), LA (Doughty, Schenn - traded for Richards), Washington (Ovechkin, Backstrom). In brackets are their top 5 picks (that I remember). And you'll notice quite a few #1 and 2 overalls in there.

Of the group, only Boston evades being a product of a healthy losing streak. Of course, Boston is the only one on the list other than Washington with a single Cup. Pittsburgh and Chicago both claimed 3, with LA getting 2.

So look, I get the pride of not tanking. I get the rhetoric that it's bad for morale and look at Edmonton and Phoenix. But the teams above are champions because they picked high multiple times AND made savvy moves to put those players into positions to win. You can bet against the odds, it happens time to time, but the bundle of hardware being handed out to those rosters puts a spotlight on how important elite talent is and where you find it.

 

[Syckle78]

I feel like if you're nearly 38 and not sure if you're healthy enough to play, you should err on the side of good health and take your contract to Robidas island. Yeah, you might be able to get another year, but it's probably not going to be worth the physical cost long-term.

I think he's already decided he's done. If he can't commit by now he's just stalling making it official.

 

[ShelbyZ]

I would think Zetterbergs contract will be easy to move whether he hangs them up this summer or next. Lots of cap hit, but very little to no real money to pay out depending on if he goes LTIR or the Datysuk route.

EDIT: Obviously Datsyuk route is unrealistic considering cap re-capture...

 

[KJoe88]

"Losing culture" is bogus balogna, at best, that's *easily* disproved by looking at your own damn team's history.

You want a "winning culture"? Stop giving up roster spots to abject losers who are well known for failing spectacularly in any game that matters, defensemen who are well known for not actually playing defense, and giving NMCs and lifetime contracts to mediocre, 3rd-line-on-their-best-day players. There's a reason guys like Stamkos won't even take our calls. There's a reason a guy like Tavares turns down more money to go to a team like Toronto.

But hey, if having guys like Vanek, Nielsen, and Green make this team legitimately enjoyable for you to watch, good on you. You can stomach far less interesting hockey than I can.

Lol. Deliberately losing like in Buffalo or Edmonton is a culture I don’t want to be apart of. It’s toxic. And it’s ***** as a fan to want a team to lose for higher picks. Say what you want about the team, but they try. Just because you hate the team doesn’t mean they deliberately lose or don’t try to win; that’s the difference. Believe it or not that’s not what the standards are behind the tv screen I imagine.

And JT went to Toronto because it was his dream. Oh, and the 80 million dollars that were in his hotel bedroom. Stop with your awful semantics

The legitimate blind hate for management is beyond excruciating to read. It’s also dumbfounding how many people actually think these recent signings will block players from playing. If they play it’s because they EARNED it. And guess what? Guys like Rasmussen (who some seem to hate) will play this year. Same with Zadina. And maybe a couple young defenseman. Not sure what you’re on about.

 

[jkutswings]

One of these is not like the others.

In your opinion, which assumes that Green stays healthy and shows no further decline in production. But at a minimum, that's 3 bad deals in the last few years, so that particular criticism has not yet "gotten old".

 

[WingedWheel1987]

Unless Z hired Jack Johnson's parents to manage his money, he isn't gonna stick around for another 70-80 point season for a one million dollar salary.

 

[Pavels Dog]

In your opinion, which assumes that Green stays healthy and shows no further decline in production. But at a minimum, that's 3 bad deals in the last few years, so that particular criticism has not yet "gotten old".

I don't think re-signing our best D-man for 2 years is a bad deal at all. And the common theme with all the other deals is that they were made when we were a playoff team and the term was too long. Want to know what ugly deals for rebuilding teams look like? See Jim Benning's moves yesterday.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Unless Z hired Jack Johnson's parents to manage his money, he isn't gonna stick around for another 70-80 point season for a one million dollar salary.

especially when Blashill works him like a rented mule.

 

[ShelbyZ]

Unless Z hired Jack Johnson's parents to manage his money, he isn't gonna stick around for another 70-80 point season for a one million dollar salary.

X2.

When Zetterberg signed his current contract, he probably fully intended to be done with the NHL possibly this summer but most likely after 18-19. Those last three years were thrown on there simply to shave $1-1.5M off the contracts AAV, a luxury they had with the old CBA.

Same thing for Franzens deal, Luongo, Pronger, the contract Kovalchuk walked away from, etc. etc.

 

[raymond23]

Bigger question is who gets the C.

 

[Flowah]

Z has been a warrior his entire career, now is a great time for him to retire. No use destroying his body any longer when there is little to play for. He can still help the rebuild by being part of the organization, but he can focus on the quality of life after hockey too.

I hope he calls it too.

Would help the tank, free up a roster spot, free up a ton of money. He's gotta hand over the reins some time. Now's a good a time as any. Larkin can learn in a trial by fire.

Bigger question is who gets the C.

I expect a veteran to get it for a couple of years and then hand it over to Larkin. 40% Larkin gets it immediately.

 

[Winger98]

I want to see Z back for one more season to get to 1000 points. But if he's not coming back, I hope he just flat out retires and doesn't screw around with this LTIR stuff.

 

[njx9]

Lol. Deliberately losing like in Buffalo or Edmonton is a culture I don’t want to be apart of. It’s toxic. And it’s ***** as a fan to want a team to lose for higher picks. Say what you want about the team, but they try. Just because you hate the team doesn’t mean they deliberately lose or don’t try to win; that’s the difference. Believe it or not that’s not what the standards are behind the tv screen I imagine.

Deliberately losing like Toronto and emerging as a legitimate playoff team is absolutely toxic. They'll never be good that way! Matthews and Marner are just too entrenched in that losing culture, and now, they've infected Tavares!

And that's to say nothing about the team you apparently root for - it's unfortunate that they never recovered from the losing culture. It absolutely ruined Yzerman.

And JT went to Toronto because it was his dream. Oh, and the 80 million dollars that were in his hotel bedroom. Stop with your awful semantics

Is that why he turned down more $13m in San Jose? Because of the "money in his hotel bedroom"? Do you even know what "semantics" are?

The legitimate blind hate for management is beyond excruciating to read. It’s also dumbfounding how many people actually think these recent signings will block players from playing. If they play it’s because they EARNED it. And guess what? Guys like Rasmussen (who some seem to hate) will play this year. Same with Zadina. And maybe a couple young defenseman. Not sure what you’re on about.

"Hate" is what people shriek when they don't want to actual argue their own point and just want to "discredit" another post as shrilly as possible. Good luck with that.

But cool story on the "earning it" nonsense. I'm sure there's some way that has anything at all to do with my post.