In summary…
I wanted to make a post that summarized all of the moves / events that have happened thus far in the offseason regarding the Detroit Red Wings.
In order from earliest to latest…
- Veteran defenseman Chris Chelios re-signed for one more year at $850,000 to start the offseason.
- Less than a month later, fellow defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom signs a two year contract worth $7.6 million/year. Lidstrom took a hometown discount instead of asking for the allowable maximum of $8.8 million.
- Chris Osgood then re-signed with Detroit for two more years with a salary of $900,000/year.
- On July 3rd, captain Steve Yzerman retires after 23 years in the NHL. We still don’t know who will become the new team captain but it’s most likely either Nicklas Lidstrom, Kris Draper, or Henrik Zetterberg. Yzerman still has $400,000 in bonuses that will count against this season’s salary cap.
- Wings fans had quite a scare when veteran goaltender Eddie Belfour (aka Psycho Eddie) came in for a physical over the 4th of July holiday week. He ended up signing with the Florida Panthers, thankfully.
- Brendan Shanahan signs a one year deal worth $4 million with the New York Rangers. Had he stayed, it would of been his 10th year with the Red Wings.
- Within a couple of days, GM Ken Holland re-signed forward Dan Cleary and defenseman Brett Lebda. Cleary agreed to a two year deal worth $1.325 million. Lebda will be with the Wings at $2.6 million over four years.
- In late July, Holland finally signs someone who didn’t play for the team last year. Defenseman Danny Markov signs a one year deal worth $2.5 million to help bolster the Wings defense.
- Holland was able to avoid arbitration with forward Jason Williams by getting him to sign a $1.6 million/year contract for two years.
- Goaltender Dominik Hasek returns for his third stint in Detroit for $750,000 plus incentives that won’t kick in until after the first round of the playoffs.
- Cory Cross heads to Germany where he will play for the Hamburg Freezers in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL).
- Former goaltender Manny Legace signs with Central Division opponent, the St. Louis Blues.
- Center Greg Johnson signs a one year contract worth $500,000. Johnson played for Detroit in the mid-90s and was traded away right before the Wings won the cup in 1997.
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4 Responses to “In summary…”
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August 22nd, 2006 at 10:48 am
[…] Also, Christy Hammond has a comprehensive breakdown of the Summer of Ken. A transaction-by-transaction view of the few months following Holland’s statement that he would be adding grit, goaltending, a tougher blue line and hinted at a “7 skater turnover.” […]
August 22nd, 2006 at 1:59 pm
Great breakdown! Not to split hairs, but you’ve got Cleary listed as a Defensemen. I’m a nerd.
August 22nd, 2006 at 10:17 pm
BDH- Thanks for the correction! I can’t believe I accidentally put that down…my bad!
August 23rd, 2006 at 12:46 pm
No problem. Even with that accident, you’re still more accurate than Helene St. James!