Player Salary
Jagr, Jaromir $11,483,333
Tkachuk, Keith $11,000,000
Lidstrom, Nicklas $10,500,000
Kariya, Paul $10,000,000
Bure, Pavel $10,000,000
Sakic, Joe $9,856,018
Leetch, Brian $9,680,000
Holik, Robert $9,600,000
Forsberg, Peter $9,500,000
Pronger, Chris $9,500,000

1995 Top 10 Most Valued Franchises 2002 Top 10 Most Valued Franchises
Team Value
Detroit $126 million
Chicago $122 million
NY Rangers $118 million
Boston $111 million
Philadelphia $105 million
Anaheim $99 million
Toronto $96 million
Vancouver $91 million
Montreal $86 million
Los Angeles $78 million
Team Value
Detroit $266 million
NY Rangers $263 million
Philadelphia $262 million
Dallas $254 million
Colorado $250 million
Boston $243 million
Toronto $241 million
Chicago $218 million
Los Angeles $205 million
Montreal $187 million

http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/teams/dr00007089.html

You get a good sense of who has made it and who hasn’t. And most of the guys who have made it were drafted late..

I dont know about you but Byers scoring 3 goals in 6 playoff games for HFD after missing pretty much the entire season with a torn ACL is pretty impressive to me.

Byers plays with an edge, (averages 200 PIM a season in HFD), has offense and has size.”

Yep, pretty good performance, I will give him that. Especially coming off a torn ACL. I know what thats like for sure. My left knee currently has the same exact problem! But I am thinking this one differently. I see Byers as a 3rd line player, not as a 4th line player. Meaning, for him to be effective he is going to need more icetime, and frankly there is just too much depth on this club to give him that. And believe me. I am a guy that totally appreciated the rugged North American style of hockey. But, as far as Byers is concerned, I think the downfall is that I don’t see him as an impact player. An impact player who needs to impact in the very limited icetime he will get in this system. That isthe reason I was pointing the finger toward Soryal. But that too is contingent upon Soryal also handling the enforcer issues aswell. But b eing that Brash is now the 2nd highest paid enforcer in the game.

I dont know about you but Byers scoring 3 goals in 6 playoff games for HFD after missing pretty much the entire season with a torn ACL is pretty impressive to me.

Byers plays with an edge, (averages 200 PIM a season in HFD), has offense and has size.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnspXe2h3xw

The kid can skate and is one fast mofo!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gr0DDYH7Ws8

i think Korpedo has also peaked. I’m not sorry to see those guys go at all. They had their shot.

WICKY- I totally agree here with you. I don’t thin Byers is very impressive at all. Whether diuscussing his game, or his fighting ability. Or even his ability to play on the 4th line.

To me, 4th liners(especially in this system) need to be able to do as muchas they can in thier 4 minutes of fame per night. With that said, they either need to be able to win a scrap and pump up the team, and or send a message to the other team.

Edge Soryal over Byers here

They need to be able to throw a big hit, at times playing with reckless abandon to spark the club if they are flat.

Edge Soryal over Byers here

Of course if the opportunity arises they need to capitalze on a scoring chance.

Edge Byers over Soryal here

Factoring in all of the above IMO the club would have been better saing the money, inking Soryal to a 400k contact, and maybe tossing Arnason in between he and maybe Voros.