Bad news for Red Wings.

[frog hopping kilik]

As I said, he calls everyone from teams he doesn't like a bunch of hacks. <
><
>"When someone beats you with a flashlight, you shine light in all directions."<
>Ph33r flashlights.<i></i>

[rayeanne33]

Selanne and Kariya wanted to come here, they took big pay cuts to do it too, so I don't understand your logic there Frog.<
><
>I'm glad that now there's a level budget field. I think that a lot of smaller teams were being hurt by not being able to afford big name talent.<
><
>On the other hand, I think those smaller teams are also hurt because they don't have support to help up their revenues. More fans = more dollars spent on tickets, food and merchandise. I think instead of adding teams to the league we should be cutting back teams where they don't have a fan base. Just like baseball - I wouldn't be sad to see the Rockies go, and I bet neither would 75% of Colorado residents. Half the games I see on ESPN are in nearly empty stadiums.<
><
>Off to ramble elsewhere.... "Fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony."<
>The Matrix<i></i>

[frog hopping kilik]

Hmm... I don't think I ever saw any salary numbers for Selanne and Kariya, so I guess I'll have to take your word on that. My guess is that if they wanted to play for the Avs, it was because they were a high-caliber team, which is largely a direct function of their payroll. As far as the rest of their star players went, it was impossible for almost all teams to ever compete to sign them if their contracts were up, simply because of the difference in payrolls. The Jackets could never have even DREAMED of getting Foote before, whereas now, they could afford to offer him a big-time contract (big-time by the new NHL standards). It's hard not to get annoyed when you don't even get a shot because the other team is that much richer.<
><
>Anyway, seeing as Columbus is actually a really good hockey market with loyal fans (no other major pro sports teams in the city, sold out games all the time over the last four years, even though they sucked), it's good to see the team actually be able to afford some high-level talent to reward the fans for their loyalty. I can't really say so much for some other less-devoted markets, though. *coughphoenixcough* <
><
>"When someone beats you with a flashlight, you shine light in all directions."<
>Ph33r flashlights.<i></i>

[Nakor BlueRider]

Yeah, both those guys went really cheap to play for Colorado. I wasn't angry at Colorado for that (at least, not more than I ever am) so much as I was angry at those two players -- cornerstones for their teams -- giving up their teams (which both made better offers than Colorado) to go play for the Avalanche. Especially Kariya, who was Anaheim's captain. Anaheim fans were particularly pissed, if you'd seen some of the signs in the arena at the time. <i>There are many rules of<
>physics that govern our world.<
>There is only one exception.<
>His name is Nakor.</i><
><
>--Nakor, the Blue Rider<
><
><i></i>

[DEVILRAYS]

I didn't think Kariya and Selanne specifically wanted to play for the Avs; they took pay cuts to play for the same team, which just happened to be the Avs. They would have taken the same pay cuts to play for the Rangers had it come to that. Kariya and Selanne are best friends who were teammates in Anaheim; they had played for different teams after Selanne was shipped to San Jose.<
><
>At this point, I wouldn't be too surprised if Selanne went to Nashville now after Kariya signed with the Predators...unless I have been completely out of the loop with this and Selanne already signed with, I don't know, the Penguins. <i></i>

[frog hopping kilik]

No, as far as I know, Selanne's still on the market. I dunno if the Predators have the cap room to sign both him and Kariya, though. They do have the rest of the team to worry about and all. Still, if Selanne was willing to take a pay cut before to play with Kariya, maybe he'll be willing to take one again. Who knows? <
><
>"When someone beats you with a flashlight, you shine light in all directions."<
>Ph33r flashlights.<i></i>