Wings sign Brian Rafalski
The Red Wings have signed the top available defenseman, Brian Rafalski, this offseason to a five year contract valued at $30 million. The salary cap hit will be $6 million over those five years.
While Rafalski isn’t the offensive defenseman that Schneider is, he did put up 55 points (all but 8 were assists) and that was in New Jersey. I bet we’ll see that number rise here in Detroit. Plus, Rafalski is a hometown boy (Dearborn, MI) and we got quite a discount. TSN had reported that he wanted a salary like Timonen’s, which would have been out of the Wings’ price range.
Plus, this signing is only $0.25-0.5 million more per year than Mathieu Schneider’s deal with the Anaheim Ducks. Admittedly, the Wings signed Rafalski for three more years than the Ducks did with Schneider, but Rafalski is younger and I’m quite excited to see him in a Winged Wheel uniform.
Before writing this post, I did a victory dance in my living room. This signing definitely boosted my spirits after losing Schneider to Anaheim. Since we rarely play New Jersey anymore, I can’t comment much on Raflaski’s play but he sounds like a great defenseman.
ASSETS: Is an extremely intelligent player and skates very well along the blueline. Can be a terrific power play quarterback and steadying influence from the back end.
FLAWS: Doesn’t have ideal size for an NHL blueliner and tends to get knocked off the puck from time to time.
CAREER POTENTIAL: No. 2 defenseman.
Update:
Rafalski even turned down a better offer for 6 years at $40 million to play for Detroit. Talk about taking a discount to play for a competitive team!
“It was a difficult decision leaving New Jersey, the only team I’ve known, but I’m coming home to play for the team I grew up watching,” Rafalski said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “To have this opportunity, is a dream.”
The three-time All-Star was born in Dearborn, just outside of Detroit.
Rafalski’s agent, William Zito, said five teams tried to sign the defenseman - including one offering a six-year, $40 million contract - but he wanted to play for his hometown team.
“It’s a pretty neat thing for him,” said Zito, adding it was bittersweet for Rafalski to leave New Jersey.
Rafalski is excited to play for his hometown team, especially one who is a playoff contender year in and year out.
Duthie: Born in Dearborn, Michigan, did the Red Wings get a hometown discount, at 5 years and $30 million dollars, were you offered more elsewhere?
Rafalski: Um, well, regardless, it was a very generous offer for the Red Wings, and there were other offers out there, I’m not going to get into details, but it was enough for me to go to a franchise where we have a very good chance of winning the Stanley CUp, and it’s a situation where I’m going to feel very comfortable, and enjoy every aspect of life, whether it’s at home, at the rink, everything, and that was pretty important. Outside of New Jersey, I’d say that Detroit was my…Um, you know, Detroit is obviously my #1 choice now, that’s why I’m there, but it didn’t work out in New Jersey, and I understand, and, you know, it’s time to move on and go to a new start.
Spector thinks Detroit did a good job filling Schneider’s vacancy, but it’ll hurt their chances at re-signing Todd Bertuzzi or Danny Markov.
Rafalski’s departure from the Devils caught most observers by surprise. He’d expressed his desire to remain with the only NHL team he’s ever played for, and with Scott Gomez poised to leave it was expected that Devils GM Lou Lamoriello would re-sign Rafalski.
But according to reports out of New York, Rafalski didn’t receive any offers from Lamoriello, and opted to go with the Red Wings for a hefty $6 million per season.
He should be a good fit in Detroit, indeed, he’s a terrific replacement for the departed Schneider. He plays a very good two-way game and stepped up well over the last two seasons with the Devils to fill the void left from Scott Stevens’ retirement and Scott Niedermayer’s departure via free agency. Rafalski’s playoff experience also makes him a good fit with the Wings, meshing with Nicklas Lidstrom and Chris Chelios on Detroit’s blueline.
This signing likely means Todd Bertuzzi won’t be back unless he agrees to a paycut, and it could cast doubt on the possibility of the Wings re-signing blueliner Danny Markov, especially when they still have to re-sign goalie Dominik Hasek.
Eric McErlain at the FanHouse likes the signing from Detroit’s perspective:
For the Red Wings, signing Rafalski has to be considered something of an upgrade. Though he’s no youngster, Rafalski is five years younger than Schneider and helps the Red Wings shed a few years on a blue line that boasts greybeards like Nicklas Lidstrom and Chris Chelios. As for Rafalski, it’s hard to imagine a situation better for a puck moving defenseman like him than heading to Detroit, where he may spend some time either helming a power play unit of his own, or spending time beside Lidstrom.
But while the deal is nothing but upside for the Wings, it’s pretty close to a disaster for the Devils. Once Scott Niedermayer left for Anaheim, Rafalski became the defacto #1 defenseman in New Jersey, eating up the power play minutes that once belonged to Niedermayer, albeit doing it at a far more reasonable price. But with Rafalski gone, the blue line is starting to look awfully thin, as Lamoriello will have to find a way to replace the 25 minutes per night that Rafalski used to put in. Replacing his puck moving skills might be a bit more problematic, with Paul Martin being the only logical choice remaining on the roster.
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5 Responses to “Wings sign Brian Rafalski”
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July 1st, 2007 at 9:52 pm
This is a good signing! I’m looking forward to seeing him in the Winged Wheel. Now if only Dom and Bert would sign!
July 2nd, 2007 at 12:23 pm
The more I hear about him, the more I like the signing. Hopefully, we’ll hear about a Hasek deal in the next 24 hours!
July 17th, 2007 at 3:44 pm
[…] Defenseman Brian Rafalski has signed on to be a member of the Red Wings for the next five years. His contract is valued at $30 million — being able to play for his hometown team (Rafalski hails from Dearborn) also gave the Wings a healthy discount — Rafalski turned down at least one offer for 6 years and $40 million. Perhaps the best available defenseman in this year’s crop of free agents, the Wings should be thrilled with this addition. He is still relatively young and offers a formidable replacement for Mathieu Schneider, who quickly bolted Detroit for Anaheim. [Behind the Jersey] […]
January 1st, 2008 at 6:19 pm
[…] signing period began with a bang as Mathieu Schneider and Todd Bertuzzi headed west for Anaheim and Brian Rafalski joined the Red […]
March 18th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
[…] season. The biggest signing came on July 1st when the Wings picked up offensive defenseman Brian Rafalski. While he doesn’t have the offensive numbers Schneider earned over the last couple of years […]