When General Manager, Ryan Caster, took the podium at last night's press conference, you could tell he was beaming about something important and that big news was to come. The first order of business was to announce newly acquired defensive center, Kevyn Adams. Adams was picked up from Carolina on day 2 of the draft with two late round picks for future HOFer Steve Yzerman.
When asked about this trade, Caster had this to say, "Well, it all comes down to the dollars and cents of things. With Langy, Pavel and Drapes ahead of Steve on the depth chart at center, we felt there was no way we could pay our fourth line center that kind of money. With Kevyn we lose some of Steve's scoring, but he is just as valuable defensively, younger and costs around five million less than Steve does."
The next bit of news was recently just a rumor until the story was broken by the Chicago media. The Red Wings dealt defenseman Chris Chelios, his six million dollar contract, prospects Nathan Robinson and Darryl Meech to Chicago for defenseman Stephane Robidas. This move was another cost cutting move that the Detroit faithful have come to expect; however, Robidas is a defenseman that can step right into the top six and make an impact. He is only twenty-eight and will make roughly seven-hundred thousand a year over the next four years - a nice improvement over six million a year for two years.
Caster's thoughts on the trade - "This deal is hopefully marks the last cost cutting move I will have to make before the season begins. When I was hired, I knew how hard it was going to be to get the Red Wings payroll under the salary cap figure. Finally, almost a month later I have achieved that goal and can now work on possibly bringing in some young talent and preparing for our preseason schedule starting with training camp in a couple weeks. If you take a look at our team now as compared to when I took over, you will see that we have lost some talent, but we have also gotten a lot younger. I still think we will be a solid hockey team and a good shot to make the playoffs."
Well, there you have it. The Wings are finally under the salary cap figure and are starting to get ready for the season. We expect good things from this club and hope Caster can return the Wings to the great team they once were in the now defunct NHL.