The Off Wing View » Entries tagged with "Brian Rafalski"
White Completes Wings D Makeover
The Red Wings made one more – and likely final – addition to their blue line this afternoon, inking veteran journeyman Ian White to a two year deal, worth an average of $2.875M per season. With the signings of Ericsson on Thursday evening, and Mike Commodore on Saturday afternoon, the Wings blue line for the 2011-2012 season has taken shape. Follow me after the jump for some analysis of this signing and what to expect from the Wings backend this year. … Read entire article »
Filed under: General, MI-NHL, News, NY-NHL, Signings, SNN-NHL, Sports Nation Network, TX-NHL
Red Wings Qualify RFAs; Re-Sign Logan Pyett
The Red Wings extended qualifying offers to four of their restricted free agents, meaning they will retain their rights. Other teams are able to sign them to offer sheets, which Detroit then has the option of matching. … Read entire article »
Filed under: General, MI-NHL, News, NY-NHL, Signings, SNN-NHL, Sports Nation Network, TX-NHL
Red Wings, Ericsson Agree to 3 Year Deal
On the eve of free agency, the Red Wings have come to terms with Jonathan Ericsson, meaning they will return five of their top 7 defensemen from last season. Ruslan Salei will not be offered a contract, and Brian Rafalski has opted out of the last year of his 5 year, $30M contract for retirement. Ericsson was taken by the Wings at 291st overall, the last pick in the 2002 draft. Ericsson’s will be under contract with the Wings for three seasons, at a cap hit of $3.25M. … Read entire article »
Filed under: General, MI-NHL, News, NY-NHL, Signings, SNN-NHL, Sports Nation Network, TX-NHL
Player Profile: Connor Murphy
With the draft only two days away, we are nearing the end of my Player Profiles, designed to get you ready for Friday night’s festivities. I’ve scoured the globe examining the best talent that could be available when Ken Holland steps up to the podium to announce the Red Wings first selection of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, at 24th overall. The list of players I have profiled includes: Joel Armia, the Finnish Ace. Rickard Rakell, the skilled Swede playing his junior hockey in nearby Plymouth, MI. Tomas Jurco, of the Memorial Cup winning Saint John Seadogs. Vladislav Namestnikov, the talented Russian with all those Red Wings connections. All of the above are supremely talented forwards, and the Red Wings would be thrilled to have any of them. However, if I had to wager a … Read entire article »
Filed under: Draft Coverage, General, MI-NHL, NY-NHL, SNN-NHL, Sports Nation Network, TX-NHL
Player Profile: Jonas Brodin
The 2011 NHL Draft is almost here, and I for one couldn’t be more excited. The Draft is, in my opinion, the official kick-off party for an off-season that is always a lot of fun. After the draft comes the start of free agency as all of the 30 NHL teams jockey to land the biggest fish, to plug the necessary holes and to make themselves better than they were last year. Next up in my player profiles to get you ready for Friday’s draft is a Swedish defenseman by the name of Jonas Brodin. Reader Helm4Life asked me to do a profile of this player for them (sweet screen-name by the way), so here it is. If any other readers want me to profile a certain player before the draft for … Read entire article »
Filed under: Draft Coverage, General, MI-NHL, NY-NHL, SNN-NHL, Sports Nation Network, TX-NHL
Red Wings Off-season Preview: Forwards
Quickly, name what’s wrong with the Red Wings forwards! They are too old right? Not physical enough? Too slow? Whether or not you believe that or not, that is the general belief about the Red Wings forwards and style of play in general. My goal is to change those stereotypes by identifying some free agents the Wings should target this summer. … Read entire article »
Filed under: General, MI-NHL, News, NY-NHL, Signings, SNN-NHL, Sports Nation Network, Trade Rumours, TX-NHL
Red Wings Off-season Preview: Defense
This is the second installment of a three part series where I will look at the three segments of the Wings roster, and what moves they might make in the off-season to shape their lineup. On Saturday, I walked you through the potential candidates to become Jimmy Howard’s understudy. Today, the defense is under the microscope. … Read entire article »
Filed under: General, MI-NHL, News, NY-NHL, Signings, SNN-NHL, Sports Nation Network, TX-NHL
April’s (Abbreviated) 3 Stars!
The Wings only put had to play 5 regular season games in April, so the three stars of the month will come down to those who did the most in that span. The Wings as a team put together a 3-2 record this month, by winning their first two, dropping the next two and then closing out with a victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks. Let’s take a look at who starred in April! … Read entire article »
Filed under: General, MI-NHL, Monthly Stars, SNN-NHL, Sports Nation Network
Big Red Machine Gathering Steam
The Wings stormed out to a two goal lead and never looked back, winning their second straight and dispatching the visiting Minnesota Wild. Though it lacked the same passion and intensity of yesterday’s game against a Nashville squad that is quickly climbing the ranks among the Red Wings top rivals, it was a similar gritty effort that got the job done for the Wings. The win clinched the Central division for the Wings, as the Chicago Blackhawks can now only tie them in points, but would lose out on the tie-breaker. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Game Recaps, General, MI-NHL, SNN-NHL, Sports Nation Network
Battle of the Two Seeds Goes in Detroit’s Favor
Two of the top four seeds in the NHL took the ice tonight in Detroit, Michigan. When the dust settled, the team from the West was victorious in a hard fought, tightly contested battle. It really was an incredible game from start to finish, so join me to break down all the excitement after the jump. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Game Recaps, General, MI-NHL, NY-NHL, SNN-NHL, Sports Nation Network, TX-NHL