As the resident Wings fan here at VFMS, I was asked my opinion on the (now) ex-Wings players that went running on Free Agent day. The two that went to the Blackhawks are who I would like to particularly talk about.
I am the first to admit that when the Wings picked up Marian Hossa last year I was pretty happy. Not only did we take him from the Pens (which was just fun as a Wings fan), but I was looking forward to seeing what line Babcock would put him on. I was curious to see how he would mesh with players like Zetterberg, Datsyuk and Lidstrom. Hossa took a lot less money than he would have received with any other team to play with the Wings because he wanted to be with a Stanley Cup contender. So Wings fans welcomed him, sang his praise and giggled with glee while waiting for the start of the season.
As the season began, Wings fans had high hopes for our team. How could we not be happy with our team? As the year wore on we noticed the issue that would prove to be our downfall– the penalty kill. Lets be honest, it was awful. With Hossa playing well and the penalty kill such an obvious weakness, Marian as able to fly under the radar during the regular season.
By the time the playoffs started, anything less than Cup #12 would be a disappointment. So what happened? Hossa suddenly couldn’t get his shit together. Fifteen points in 23 games. On other teams that would be considered good, but on the Wings? That’s a little short of what we expected. He was 5th in points behind Zetterberg, Franzen, Lidstrom and Filppula. So thoughts then moved ideas like, “He’ll get it done when it counts.” Well, when he had exactly the same amount of goals as I did in the Stanley Cup Finals (that would be zero). But let’s get back to the point.
Contract talks started with Marian Hossa right after the playoffs. The team was low on cap space (like most other teams out there), but the organization still made some decent offers. A long term deal at $4 million a year. Still less than he may get elsewhere but a chance to stay with the team he said he enjoyed playing with. No deal. And I can’t say I’m upset about it. I would much rather keep around players like Jiri Hudler and Ville Leino (both who are restricted free agents). So have fun in Chicago, Marian. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out.
Ummm, yeah. He's gone too.
No, the news that upset me today was that Tomas Kopecky left… to go to the EXACT same team. Are the Wings suddenly the farm team for the Hawks? Kopecky signed with the Blackhawks for 2 years at $1.2 million per year. Honestly, that seems a bit high for him. He’s not a key player but a decent winger that the Wings had been bringing up to speed.
I would be remissed to not mention Ty Conklin heading to the Blues today. Obviously, the Wings management thinks that Jimmy Howard should be Osgood’s backup next year, so Conk had to go. Howard has been a little shaky the few times he’s been in goal; but I have no doubt that the more he plays, the more confident he’ll become. So let’s get him up there and see what he can do. I will miss having a goalie with a nickname of Conk though. It’s just fun to say “Bring out the Conk!”
These moves do make me look forward to one thing, the first game with the Hawks. One thing is for sure, it could be more than just a little interesting!
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