Salvador signs with NJ

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

So many posters here sound like my 85 year old grandmother who still complains every time she visits the grocery store that milk isn't 0.10 cents any more.

Deal with it - its 2008. The people here that think they are going to find a better mid-D man for less than that price are usually the same that scream "bloody murder" when Lou stands pat and does nothing.

He's damned if he does -- or if he doesn't w/this forum.

I'm not one of those who puts Lou on the untouchable pedestal, nor do I agree with every move he makes, but.....Anybody here honestly think from behind their keyboards they could do better than Lou? Get over yourself - he's forgotten more about wheeling and dealing than any of us. For once, at least he recognizes that there are things that needed fixing.

We're bitching about half a million, a year in the contract, or 10 games, meanwhile the Rags just saddled themselves w/ a Redden Albatross - perspective is a real bitch.

All in all, the deals on 7/1/08 may not have been Lou holding gusy at gunpoint for their future, but at least there were no major gaffs.

Lets let the UFA process play out, and let these guys actually play before we condemn them huh?

Since the "10 games" reference in your post is something that I mentioned in my post (about being a lock to miss 10 games a year), I'll respond.

I'm not condemning Lou or Salvador, and all in all I think Lou had a solid first day yesterday. (I think these are the kind of signings that Lou's going to go for from here on out...I think he'd rather overpay slightly for middle or upper-middle guys than overpay massively for upper-tier or perceived upper-tier guys. And considering some of the madness that took place yesterday, I can understand why.) I am a little concerned about the length and dollars of the Salvador deal, because he's 32 years old, has a history of missing some games, and that's a problem that doesn't tend to go away with age. (I admit it...if this deal had been for two or three years I would have felt better about it...maybe that's nitpicking, but that's how I feel...but even with the fourth year it's not like I hate this deal.) And it's like I said about the way Lou handled Rolston's signing...I like that Lou clearly came to the free agent table with a clear plan in place, knew which guys he wanted to keep and acquire, and did what he needed to do to make that happen.

[squishyx]

Salv is the real deal. I don't know what any detractors can have against him. He's defensively reliable, well spoken, and a team player. Everything he has said since he got here, and after the signing has been nothing but gold.

The fact that he was the go-to shutdown guy for Sutter immediately after he was brought in speaks volumes. On the Blues, he was one of two players in the plus, and he was up in the teens.

If people need something to complain about, we have other defensemen making more money who are riddled with worse injury problems.

Its not a knock on him its a matter of how many of those defensively reliable, well spoken and team player defenseman do we need? The coffers are full if you haven't noticed. Sure he is an upgrade over some of the D we had, but was that minor upgrade worth the contract? i doubt it but it isn't a terrible deal like the 3-M's so whatever.

[DaneykoIsGod]

So many posters here sound like my 85 year old grandmother who still complains every time she visits the grocery store that milk isn't 0.10 cents any more.

Deal with it - its 2008. The people here that think they are going to find a better mid-D man for less than that price are usually the same that scream "bloody murder" when Lou stands pat and does nothing.

He's damned if he does -- or if he doesn't w/this forum.

I'm not one of those who puts Lou on the untouchable pedestal, nor do I agree with every move he makes, but.....Anybody here honestly think from behind their keyboards they could do better than Lou? Get over yourself - he's forgotten more about wheeling and dealing than any of us. For once, at least he recognizes that there are things that needed fixing.

We're bitching about half a million, a year in the contract, or 10 games, meanwhile the Rags just saddled themselves w/ a Redden Albatross - perspective is a real bitch.

All in all, the deals on 7/1/08 may not have been Lou holding gusy at gunpoint for their future, but at least there were no major gaffs.

Lets let the UFA process play out, and let these guys actually play before we condemn them huh?

Well said LA.

Reading some of the aftermath posts yesterday, you'd get the impression that most people only would have been happy if we signed Hossa and Campbell to contracts worth $500k per year with a team option to re-up the deals at the end of each of the next 10 seasons. Wake up, people. Considering the state of the market, Lou had a great day yesterday. In fact, I'd go so far as to say Lou had a better day than any other GM in the league.

Get some perspective. No matter what anyone says about Hossa or Campbell, Brian Rolston was the most sought-after UFA of the day with 17 teams bidding for his services, and we got him for only four years! Everyone else who wound up with a prize UFA ended up committing to deals of five, six or eight years. Salvador is making $2.9M while Jeff Finger is making $3.5M. Hell, in what could be the best outcome of the day the Rangers are totally screwed. They're left with only $11M in cap space and a dire need for a first AND second line winger. It's totally conceivable that they only land one or none of those today, depending on how the Hossa and Jagr chips fall.

We won yesterday. Won big. Enjoy it.

[adavid]

Happy Birthday NC!

Get ready to put Hossa on the back of your jersey and the #18!

or perhaps Rolston.

Thanks!

I finally convinced my wife to buy me another. She still wears her 1970's King's sweater and doesnt see why anyone needs a new one. ugh.