NHL Free Agency Reaction
7/13/2009 | Posted by
Devin
I’ll refrain from using the terms “winners” or “losers” right now because nobody will really know that until the season is played out. If someone were to write a winners and losers column a year ago, I’m sure the Red Wings would’ve been the winners for signing Marian Hossa and Pittsburgh the losers for letting him go…how did that work out again? So with that thinking in mind, I’m just going to give my two cents on some of the deals (and only some of the teams) that took place during draft day and during the signing period. We’ll just have to revisit this column after next season to see how accurate I was (or wasn’t).
Anaheim
- I like what Anaheim has done so far. Signing Saku Koivu to a modest one year deal to play with friend Teemu Selanne should work out well. Trading Chris Pronger away as he headed into the last year of his deal was a good move. They got a very good return from Philadelphia out of an expiring contract so instead of losing him for nothing or getting next to nothing for him at the trade deadline, they maximized their return during the off-season. Very nice. If I were the GM, my next move would be trying to move J.S. Giguere and his $6 million dollar cap hit, then sign Jonas Hiller to a long term extension.
Atlanta
- Unless the words “contraction” or “relocation” are involved, I highly doubt I’ll be excited about Atlanta hockey. They have a chance to lock up Ilya Kovalchuk as he heads into the final year of his deal, but realistically they should be looking at trading him and getting something for nothing. I’d be very surprised if he re-signs with the Thrashers. Granted he would be getting a big pay day, but one would think he would actually like to win at some point in his career (and play in front of more than 128 fans per night).
Buffalo
- I would’ve liked the Sabres to have been slightly more active, but I didn’t expect it. I hear a ton of bashing by hockey fans about how the Sabres are so cheap and they just let everyone go. I’d like to mention that the players they have let go (Briere, Drury, Campbell, McKee) all have busted with their new team, or they are very close to busting in Campbell’s case. It’s almost as if the Sabres knew these guys weren’t worth that much money and decided to bite the bullet. Sure they took their hits at the time, but they are looking pretty smart right now. I could sit here all afternoon and rattle off some of the dumb contracts that were handed out this summer. I’ll take a cheap team any day to a team throwing $4 million dollars down the drain per season to drag Nik Antropov on the ice and have him act like he gives a damn.
Now that I’m done ranting, I can talk about what the Sabres actually did do so far. One area they had to address was blue line toughness and they did just that by signing Steve Montador. I was highly in favor of this move before free agency started so I was quite pleased when they announced the deal. If they were to acquire another defenseman and move Henrik Tallinder and/or Toni Lydman I’d chalk this up as a successful off-season. That will be a tough sell though and I don’t see it happening. Re-signing Matt Ellis doesn’t exactly excite me either. There has to be another move made before the season starts.
Losing Jaroslav Spacek hurts on the offensive side, but I really could care less. I said prior to free agency that I would only want him staying in Buffalo if he took a pay cut and it was evident from the start he wouldn’t do that. After seeing what Montreal paid for him, I’m very happy the Sabres didn’t offer a similar deal. Sure they will have to replace his 45 points, but that is where players like Chris Butler and Andrej Sekera will come into play.
Regardless, they were only two points out of the playoffs and most likely missed out on those points when Ryan Miller was out. Miller will be back and he’ll have some more attitude protecting him this time around (or so I hope). If he stays healthy next season, I see post-season hockey in Buffalo’s future. Then again, Scott Gomez is now in their division so all bets are off.
Calgary
Chicago
- Let’s see…the Blackhawks botched the paperwork for their restricted free agents which caused quite a large mess, then they throw a 12 year deal at Marian Hossa. Granted it’s a modest cap hit for Hossa, but 12 years? How many years will they be into that deal before they are sick of Hossa? Four? Seven? Nine? I think that contract is completely ridiculous. He is a great player, don’t get me wrong, but a 12 year contract is a bit much. One a side note, they have roughly $43 million already committed to the salary cap next year and still have to deal with the pending restricted free agency of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Duncan Keith. Good times in Chicago.
Colorado
- Sad to see Joe Sakic retire but it was his time to go. Props to Sakic for knowing when it was
time to call it quits. He was one of those players where you just had to sit back and respect his game. He will be missed by the entire league for sure. In other moves made by Colorado, I’m horribly unimpressed. I really don’t see how they will be improved at all next season. The mighty have fallen and they have fallen hard.Columbus
- Nice job locking up Rick Nash. It would’ve been a disaster to make the playoffs and then lose their franchise player in the upcoming season. Smart move to give him his money and ensure he’ll be the face of the franchise for many more years to come. Steve Mason should improve after his highly successful rookie season so Columbus fans should be looking forward to more post-season hockey (and maybe even a win or two).
Edmonton
- While the possibility of acquiring Dany Heatley still exists, it’s not looking very good for the Oilers. Already having him turn the trade down once hurts. Personally, I was rooting for the trade. Anything to get that guy out of the Eastern Conference is a good deal in my eyes. Signing Nikolai Khabibulin could be a good move as well, assuming he returns to form. I was very unimpressed with him in Chicago but you never know what a change of scenery will do for the guy.
Montreal
- Hmmm…where do I start with Montreal? If you recall in my defenseman rankings and above, I said Spacek would be a good deal if he took a pay cut. He’s getting older and really wasn’t worth the money Buffalo was paying him. So what do the Canadiens do? They sign him to a three year deal AND give him a raise. But wait, it gets better. They also acquired the horribly
overpaid Scott Gomez effectively bailing the Rangers out of that TERRIBLE signing. Seriously, can anybody honestly tell me Gomez is worth over $7 million per season?Ah yes, it gets better. They then sign Mike Cammalleri to a $6 million per season deal and throw another $5 million per season towards Brian Gionta. When I spoke earlier about getting drunk and running a tab up, this is pretty much what I was talking about. Do you think Bob Gainey rolled over one morning with a bunch of empty bottles next to bed and a pile of fresh contracts and said to himself, “What the hell did I do last night??”
NY Rangers
- As said above, the Rangers got bailed out of the terrible Scott Gomez contract which was a good move, but then they used that money to sign Marian Gaborik to a long term deal. But hey, if he can actually stay healthy it will be a good deal. I’m thinking the odds aren’t very good with that. Oh but wait, it gets better. The Rangers also decided that Ales Kotalik was worth three million per season for the next three seasons.
Examine that last sentence again. THREE MILLION PER SEASON. Are you kidding me? If you asked me, “What potential signing by the Sabres would force you to jump off a bridge with concrete shoes on?” I would definitely answer “Signing Ales Kotalik to a three year, three million dollar contract.”
The only way this contract turns into a good one is if Kotalik finishes with more than 25 goals (this has never happened in his six NHL seasons) OR the Rangers participate in 82 shootouts this season.
And please, if you’re a Rangers fan, try to defend this signing. I want to know why giving this guy a raise is a good idea. I want to know why signing him to a three year deal is a good idea. I know I was a little harsh above, but I guess I’m just basing it on watching the guy play for almost a decade. I’m sure a change of scenery is all he needs. Just like Dmitri Kalinin last season…right?
Ottawa
- Ottawa has severely screwed up this Dany Heatley situation. Instead of looking for that perfect deal, they should’ve been looking at as a chance to escape from his monster contract. I’m sure there were offers good enough, but Brian Murray is a complete idiot so that probably didn’t matter. On the positive side, they signed Alexei Kovalev and he’ll probably tear it up just to stick it to Montreal.
Philadelphia
- In the race for stupidity with Montreal leading the way, Philadelphia vowed to not be outdone and threw their hat into the ring. First they tried to find a few trade partners to unload the “great” Daniel Briere but couldn’t find any takers. What? They couldn’t find anybody to take an undersized, aging, $6.5 million per season forward who missed 53 games last season? I’m shocked.
I initially thought the trade for Chris Pronger was a good move, despite what they gave up, until I saw the contract they gave him. Hey, Chris will be in his early 40’s by the time this contract is up, but let’s do it anyways! Did I mention that Ray Emery is going to be their goaltender? Yeah, this is going to work out just fine in Philly.
Pittsburgh
- Re-signing Bill Guerin was a very smart move for both sides. Guerin was smart to take a pay cut for another shot at the Cup, and Pittsburgh was smart for recognizing his benefits and making that a priority.
Despite losing Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill, the Penguins did sign Jay McKee for a cheap price. Smart move. When McKee was in Buffalo he was a shot blocking machine. The Sabres let him go because he wasn’t even close to being worth $4 million per season and I think St Louis proved that by buying out the final year of his contract this summer. However, the price is cheap and if he stays healthy for 60+ games, it will be an extremely good deal for Pittsburgh.
- A few years ago when Anaheim beat Ottawa in the Stanley Cup Finals, while all the Buffalo fans were still lamenting their loss in the Eastern Conference Finals (again), I thought to myself that even if Buffalo made it to the Cup they would’ve been plowed over by Anaheim. That year the
Ducks were big, tough, and mean. Well, Brian Burke has taken that model to Toronto and things are looking up for the Leafs.He started last season by getting rid of all the soft overachievers and continued this summer by bringing in loads of toughness. He took a low risk/high reward chance on Swedish goaltender Jonas Gustavsson and has brought in a ton of defense to basically overhaul the roster. One would think they will have to deal some of those defensemen for some scoring, but it’s early and I’m sure Burke will get it done. I’m going to miss the days of Toronto being a pushover in the Northeast Division.
Vancouver
- The Canucks locked up the Sedin twins which was smart for both sides and also signed Mikael Samuelsson from Detroit. Now they just have to lock up Roberto Luongo before he puts that Red Wings sweater on next summer.
Washington
- Did you hear that the Capitals might actually sign Maxim Afinogenov? Yeah, my thoughts exactly.
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Ranking The NHL Free Agents - Goaltenders
6/17/2009 | Posted by
Devin
We’re going to start our NHL off-season talk with the goaltenders who are set to become free agents on July 1st. There is a pretty solid list of available candidates, and by solid I mean as solid as a plate of Jell-O that hasn’t had enough time to solidify yet.
First up, we’ll rank the top 10 available unrestricted free agents.
1. Martin Biron (Philadelphia) – Biron was one regular season win short of po
After spending much of his career in Buffalo and eventually losing his starting job to Ryan Miller, the Sabres shipped him off to Philly where he signed a 2 year, $3.5 million dollar contract. With the upcoming cap situation in Philly being extremely tight and the Flyers already signing Ray Emery to a one year deal, things aren’t looking so good for Biron in Philly.
He is sporadic at times and that can hurt a team but I still feel he is the best candidate for a team needing someone to start between the pipes. He is only 31 years old and his salary is not that much compared to some of the other goalies in the league. In my mind he would actually make for the perfect backup goaltender, but after starting a large amount of games in Philly for the past two seasons, I can’t see him embracing that backup role once again (and the salary that goes along with it).
2. Nikolai Khabibulin (Chicago) – One could argue that Khabibulin was a huge disappointment in Chicago after landing his monster deal of close to $7 million per season. I would completely agree with the person arguing that point. In his four seasons in Chicago he started 50, 60, 50 and 42 games. His win-loss record was much better this season, but so was the overall team. Sorry, but for someone pulling in that kind of money, he should be starting around 70 games and leading his team to the post-season each time.
Last off-season the Blackhawks signed another somewhat shaky goaltender in Cristobal Huet, so I see no possible way that they retain the services of Khabibulin. He will no doubt need to take a pay cut if he wants another job in the NHL, but he should be able to contribute to another team. He hasn’t been nearly as good in Chicago as he was while winning the Cup in Tampa Bay, but someone will give him another shot. If not, the KHL still awaits.
3. Scott Clemmensen (New Jersey) – Most people will probably recognize Clemmensen as the guy who saved the Devils season while Martin Brodeur was out with a long term injury. Upon returning, Clemmensen was shipped back down to the AHL to finish up the season. This was more about clearing waivers than any form of respect, but I have a feeling that it didn’t sit too well with Clemmensen. He now hits the open market and has proven he can play effectively at the NHL level. While subbing for Brodeur (and Kevin Weekes), Clemmensen posted a 25-13-1 record and two shutouts. His GAA and save percentage were statistically in the top ten among league leaders. I have to assume that a team in need of goaltending will want to give him a shot seeing that he is only 31 years old, but there is always that off chance that he’ll return to New Jersey to be Brodeur’s full-time backup. There is always that chance that he was a product of the New Jersey system.
4. Ty Conklin (Detroit) – I’m actually quite fond of Conklin as a backup. Although he didn’t play very much for Buffalo in his short stint with the Sabres, he played well enough to impress me. Last season he helped carry Pittsburgh to the post-season while starter Marc-Andre Fleury was injured. This season he headed to Detroit to split time with Chris Osgood. Conklin has bounced around several teams so there must be something I’m missing, but I think he is a very suitable backup goalie. I also think he is perfect for Detroit. In 40 games for Detroit this season, Conklin went 25-11-2 with 6 shutouts. Osgood is heading into the final year of his contract and Conklin is more than capable of filling in from time to time. If I were Detroit I would look at locking him up with another one year deal and then seriously addressing the goaltending situation the following summer.
5. Manny Fernandez (Boston) – Fernandez hits the market and looks to be finished in Boston. While splitting time with Tim Thomas, there is no doubt that Thomas is the man in Boston. Fernandez started 28 games this past season with Boston posting a 16-8-3 record in the process. He definitely doesn’t deserve a contract over $4 million (what he was making in Boston) but he should be able to hook up with someone and split time between the pipes.
6. Dwayne Roloson (Edmonton) – Roloson hits the market at the ripe age of 39, which isn’t 
7. Antero Niittymaki (Philadelphia) – Along with Martin Biron, Niittymaki hits the free agent market and there appears to be no room for him in Philly. His contract was considerably less than Biron (1.375 million) so the Flyers might have plans for him to split time with Ray Emery (everyone in Philly shudders). Niittymaki is only 28 years old and went 15-8-6 in 32 regular season starts last season. While those numbers aren’t necessarily great, they could be worse (see Emery, Ray). He might have to take a brief pay cut to the tune of one million per season, but it wouldn’t be a terrible investment. Now Ray Emery…well that’s another story. (Had enough yet Philly?)
8. Craig Anderson (Florida) – Last season Anderson split time with Tomas Vokoun going 15-7-5 in 31 starts. Anderson never fully got into a groove as the Panthers goaltending situation depended on whether or not the team won or loss the previous game. When he got an extended amount of playing time, he proved he was capable of winning games for the Panthers. He may not want to split time this way with Vokoun again, so look for him to test the free agent market and see what else is available.
9. Manny Legace (St Louis) – Legace posted a 13-9-2 record in 29 starts for the Blues last season. While these numbers aren’t great, either is the unrestricted class of 2009. Legace may end up staying in St Louis to serve a similar role, but one has to assume he’ll receive a significant pay cut, unless someone thinks he is worth $2.5 million per season. Seeing that someone like Ty Conklin makes much less per season, there is no way this is happening.
10. Brian Boucher (San Jose) – Boucher went 12-6-3 in 22 games with the Sharks last season. He was in a pretty good spot backing up Evgeni Nabakov for the first round chokers last season. One could argue that Boucher benefited from playing for the best team in the regular season, which is a fair argument, but I can’t ignore the stats when doing these rankings. Boucher only made $650,000 last season so I could see him getting a slight raise for a similar role. His days as a number one goalie for long gone.
The list for restricted agents is much smaller. And by smaller I mean most of the players are still playing in the AHL so I don’t know nearly enough about them to do rankings. So to keep this simple, here are the top three goaltenders that are eligible for restricted free agency.
1. Kari Lehtonen (Atlanta) – If I’m Kari Lehtonen, I’m begging my way out of Atlanta. I don’t
2. Brian Elliott (Ottawa) – Brian Elliot got the pleasure of playing for the Senators once their season was effectively over. Regardless of that fact, he quickly turned them into a much better team as Ottawa was actually one of the better teams towards the end of the season. In 31 games played, Elliot went 16-8-3 with one shutout. One would assume with him being only 24 years old, that Ottawa would lock him up and not allow anybody else to entertain offers for him. Based on what I saw last season, I’m not looking forward to seeing Buffalo face him multiple times a season.
3. Peter Budaj (Colorado) – Budaj almost single handedly killed my entire fantasy team this past season. Luckily I dumped him and squeaked into the playoffs. Nevertheless, with so few restricted free agents with NHL experience, Budaj is near the top of the list. Who knows, with him only being 26 years old maybe he’ll get much better as time goes on. He’ll need to if he wants to improve on his 20-29-5 record that he posted last season. Then again, playing for the Avalanche these days isn’t exactly the perfect scenario for a young goaltender.
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