The next generation of the winged wheel is about to take over. The Detroit Free Press today broke news about the impending departure of Pavel Datsyuk. The news that he is going back to Russia shouldn’t surprise anyone, as it seems like the rumors have been hovering around every time his contract is up. What should surprise Red Wings fans is the fact that he decided to announce this right before the beginning of the playoffs and while he still has a year left on his contract.
The cap implications in this move are absolutely unbelievable for the Red Wings and Datsyuk is well aware of that. Here is what he said to Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom:
“I feel very bad about it,” said Datsyuk, who is walking away from that $7.5 million. “Looking back, I wish I had done a year-by-year contract, not a three-year contract. I stayed (last year) in respect for Ilitch family. I don’t want to leave team in disaster. But if I have to do over again, I would sign a different deal. I didn’t realize it at the time.”
Ouch. So what exactly are the Red Wings suppose to do now?
Over at The Wings Nation they talked about the possibility of trading him to a cap floor team:
“By trading Datsyuk’s contract to a team looking to reach the salary cap floor, the Red Wings would incur a $2 million cap hit as a penalty for moving his contract, but would be free of the other $5.5 million. This option would leave Detroit a significant amount of cap space (and a top-6 roster spot) to possibly pursue a big-name free agent this summer – namely Steven Stamkos.”
The team would first have to find a taker but the idea of trading him away seems to be the most likely. The idea of pursuing Steven Stamkos is an interesting idea. Could this potentially be a blessing is disguise? The Red Wings need to take a deep look at their roster and this may prompt them to do so. Ken Holland has been at this for a long time, Wings fans shouldn’t be too concerned about the implications as he is prone to work his magic.
How they move forward will be critical to this team and their ongoing playoff streak, if they handle it correctly they may have an opportunity to do something truly special. Not rebuild, reload. What a scary thought for the rest of the league.
