Flip Senior On His Way to Detroit

Often bereft of compatriates to play with, Valtteri Fippula was a lonely Fin after the departure of 2nd Finnish player in Red Wings history, Ville Leino. His loneliness won't last long however, with Ken Holland's signing of his older brother, Ilari Filppula to a one-year, two-way $500k contract.

From Ansar Khan at mlive:

The Detroit Red Wings have signed 28-year-old Finnish free-agent forward Ilari Filppula, the older brother of Valtteri Filppula."

He adds some depth to our organization,'' Red Wings assistant general manager Jim Nill said. "His career has blossomed in the last 2-3 years. He was one of the better players in Finland. It's time to see if he can play in the best league in the world.''

Ilari is a 28-year old winger, who also has the versatility to move to center when needed. He has spent his entire professional career in the Finnish SM-Liiga, playing for JYP, Jokerit Helsinki and most recently TPS Turku where his club won the Finnish Championship and he earned himself the Jari Kurri trophy as the playoff MVP.

Filppula is 5'11", 191lbs and last season with TPS, he tallied 12 goals and 37 assists in 58 games but was a minus-3 despite leading his team in scoring. He's said to be a good playmaker but doesn't skate as well as his younger brother, Valtteri.

Holmstrom Signs Two-Year Extension; Becomes Wing for Life

Tomas Holmstrom will remain in Detroit for the rest of his career, much to the joy of Red Wings' fans and the dismay of opposing goalies.

Last season Holmstrom scored 25 goals and 45 points in 68 games, but those numbers don't include all the screen-shots he doesn't tip or get an assist on. "Homer" has had his butt in the faces of NHL goaltenders for 13 seasons, getting cross-checks and stinky gloves in the face as a result. However, doing it all wearing the Winged Wheel means he also got repaid with 4 Stanley Cups along the way.

Holmstrom's cap-hit will drop from $2.25m last season to $1.875m for the next two seasons, a great deal for 25 goals, no doubt.

Per Ansar Khan of mlive: "I'm very excited about it; I know Tomas is, too,'' Howard Gourwitz, Holmstrom's agent, told Booth Newspapers. "It's a real honor to play for one team your entire career. To have won four Stanley Cups is a dream come true. He's really excited and he's proud to stay here.''

This signing gives us a clearer picture of how the Red Wings' roster will shape up. With 17 players signed at approximately $52.25m. The salary cap is expected to be around $58m to $58.8m, leaving Ken Holland with plenty of space to make all the anticipated re-signings. Two UFA's -- Todd Bertuzzi ($1.5m last season) and Andreas Lilja ($1.2m), five RFA's -- Darren Helm ($.6m), Justin Abdelkader ($.8m), Drew Miller ($.5m), Patrick Eaves ($.5m) and Derek Meech ($.5m) are all expected to receive offers to stay in Detroit.

Steve Yzerman Bolts for Tampa Bay

Contrary to earlier reports from thefourthperiod, Steve Yzerman will be leaving the only NHL team he's ever been a part of, to take the helm of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

In Tampa Bay, he inherits a promising team with a mixture of experienced stars the likes of Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, and high-end young talent like Steven Stamkos, Steve Downie and Victor Hedman. The Lightning have failed to make the playoffs for the past 3 seasons; a streak Stevie Y. hopes to immediately break.

Tampa Bay Lightning owner, Jeff Vinik fired head coach Rick Tocchet and GM Brian Lawton at the conclusion of the season after the Lightning improved to playoff contention, but fizzled out down the strech to fail again. Vinik has promised to leave all hockey decisions to Yzerman, including the hiring of their new head coach.

Stevie Y. has been with the Red Wings organization for 27 years and his presence will be sorely missed. Current GM Ken Holland and Assistant GM, Jim Nill are likely to be given long-term contracts in the near future, which I'm sure weighed in on Yzerman's decision to pursue an outside opportunity.

It's a reality Red Wings fans always hoped wouldn't eventuate but ultimately knew would. Stevie is gone from Detroit. I, for one, wish him every success in Tampa Bay and I think he'll do very well with the club. With new ownership, I think it's not a bad place to be and I think he'll do very well there. Personally, he's been my hero for the longest time and I now have a genuine favorite team in the East.

Congratulations Stevie Y. Best wishes. But most all... thank you.

Steve Yzerman Declines GM Job in Tampa

According to The Fourth period, Steve Yzerman has declined Tampa Bay's GM offer.

First, Dave Nonis took himself out of the running for the general manager position with the Lightning. Now, it appears Steve Yzerman is out of the mix, as well.

Nonis signed a two-year extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier this week. According to several sources, TFP has learned that Yzerman has turned down the opportunity to become the GM of the Bolts.

I'm really glad to hear this. Stevie Y. is my hero and while I'd understand if he did, it'd be awful to see him at any other franchise. It won't be any time soon, but the GM job will be available for him in Detroit one day. I hope he's around to take it.

Babcock vs. Rafalski

Today will without a doubt be a historical day in Canadian and to a lesser extent American sports as the undefeated United States go for Olympic glory against the hockey super-power of Canada.

Last night, Red Wing Valtteri Filppula took home Bronze as Finland beat Slovakia 5-3, to officially end their "Cinderella" story Olympic run. Today Brian Rafalski will do better than that, the only question is, how much better?

Today, they're on opposing benches, as Rafalski, the tournament's leading scorer and possible MVP thusfar, will be met by Mike Babcock's team. Tomorrow, they'll be pulling in the same direction against the Colorado Avalanche back in Detroit. One of them, still riding high in the glory of victory, one still feeling the disappointment of an Golden opportunity lost.

While no players from Hockeytown are wearing the Red Maple Leaf for Team Canada, Red Wing influence reigns supreme on the Gold-medal favorite. Aside from Detroit's Mike Babcock managing the bench, Steve Yzerman is the team's Executive Directive with Wings' GM, Ken Holland his Associate Director.

For Brian Rafalski, he holds the honor of being the last remaining Red Wing with a shot for Gold. Eight other Red Wings; Zetterberg, Lidstrom, Kronwall and Franzen for Sweden, Datsyuk for Russia, Filppula for Finland, Tollefsen from Norway and Kolosov for Belarus, began the Olympic tournament.

With only hours left until puck-drop, both nations prepare for an historic battle between the biggest rivalry in international hockey for the last two decades. The U.S. looks to avenge their loss on home soil in 2002 with a role-reversal of winning Gold in Canada.

The Canadians, on the other hand, seek vengeance of their own for last Sunday's shock loss to this same U.S. squad as well as the incredible World Junior Championship upset at the start of the year when Team USA's juniors ended Canada's five-year winning streak in the Gold-medal game of that tourney. Further to that, Canada seeks redemption for their embarrassing 7th-place finish in the 2006 Torino Winter Games.

I, for one, cannot wait for the puck to drop on this historic affair. Regardless of the outcome, the game is without a doubt the best possible scenario for the NHL. Let's just hope the game lives up to the anticipation.