Yawn, what a relatively quiet free agency period this has been. Let's take a look at what's happened so far:
L.A. Kings: The plan to snag Ilya Kovalchuk fell through and though his contract's currently under review, the Kings decided to pass on him and went for Alexei Ponikarovski. IMO, this was a better move for them to get his established two-way abilities than it was for them to get Kovalchuk (who's pure offense) or bringing back Alexander Frolov, who really needed a change of scenery (and got it in the form of signing with the New York Rangers.) The team looks pretty good going into the fall, but now that Matt Greene needs to recover from shoulder surgery, it looks like either a depth defensemen could be signed or one of the prospects/minor-league guys will have a shot at getting a spot in camp. Should be fun to watch.
Detroit Red Wings: No major signings here, but Mike Modano's been offered a contract in excess of $1M to be Detroit's third-line center. Considering the fact that Detroit's third-liners are as talented as the second line of any other NHL team, Modano would do well to return home, as he was born and raised in good ol' Livonia. Also, Aaron Downey's been offered a PTO to compete for the enforcer spot on the Wings roster. He was cut out of camp by the Phoenix Coyotes and didn't play professional hockey last season, so this could be an uphill battle for him/wishful thinking for proponents of Red Wings toughness than it could be something that becomes legitimate. Related note: Brad May will likely retire, though he has yet to make a formal decision.
Phoenix Coyotes: Well, the team signed Andrew Ebbett to a one-year, two-way deal and he will compete for a spot out of camp. They're hoping that they signed the guy who was nearly a point-per-game producer for the Anaheim Ducks in 2008-09 and not the guy who bounced around the waiver wire all of last season. The team made a bunch of minor signings in hopes of fortifying the San Antonio Rampage with toughness and veteran leadership for the young guys next season.
Anaheim Ducks:Um... the Ducks announced their new ECHL affiliation with the Elmira Jackals? Actually, that's not fair, because Cam Fowler was signed to a deal this week (no work on whether or not Long Beach's Emerson Etem will be signed as well) and Brendan Mikkelsson signed his qualifying offer. The team is set to go to arbitration with James Wisniewski while both RFA Bobby Ryan and UFA Teemu Selanne remain unsigned. Oh, and the team still needs another Top Four defender to have a solid chance at being competitive next season.
Kamis, 29 Juli 2010
Senin, 05 Juli 2010
Bob Probert: 1965-2010
One of hockey's most feared enforcers (and one of Detroit and Chicago's most beloved players) passed away today at 45 years old after collapsing on his boat on Lake St. Clair in Windsor, Ontario. Rest in peace Probie.
Kamis, 01 Juli 2010
Thoughts on Day 1 of Free Agency
Well, it's July 1st, which means teams are turning over a new stone. That said, we're going to expand and add the Anaheim Ducks and LA Kings to our coverage as well. With that said...
Anaheim Ducks
General Manager Bob Murray managed to lock down Saku Koivu for another two seasons (which is a promising sign Temmu Selanne will follow suit) and managed to sign defenseman Toni Lydman from the Buffalo Sabres. Not bad, but they definitely still need another top-four defenseman (Luca Sbisa could still benefit from further development) while getting the Bobby Ryan situation solved. Murray went public with the discussions that thy offered a 5-year/$25M contract to him and it was still denied. Ryan seems to want salary that's identical or higher than Ryan Getzlaf or Corey Perry. Will someone try an offer sheet? It would be fun to see what happened if they did.
Detroit Red Wings
Ken Holland didn't make any signings today but that had to be expected considering they aren't in the market for any large components. Still, some versatile depth defenders remain available as to some logical choices for the "enforcer" role (we're hoping Holland drops his requirement of needing the guy to take a two-way contract.) We'll see who the Wings shore up soon enough.
Los Angeles Kings
The L.A. Kings were very silent today; but if the rumors pull true, we'll soon know why. Supposedly, they're the front runners in the Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes and should soon know whether or not if he'll be playing in L.A. The team did manage to lose two players to free agency. While Alexander Frolov was considered a welcome departure, losing Raitis Ivanans to the Calgary Flames not only opens up a hole for the role of the enforcer, but also a really good team-first kinda guy who's great to have in the locker room. There's still a handful of enforcers available though and it might not be a bad idea for them to call Andrew Peters; he can be had for cheap and doesn't have to play in every game the way some of their younger energy players due (like Wayne Simmonds and Richard Clune.) Otherwise aside from some fine tweaking (and signing Kovalchuk) L.A. has a pretty fine looking team.
Phoenix Coyotes
The team lost Zbyenk Michalek to the Pittsburgh Penguins but retained Derek Morris for four more years. Veteran forward Ray Whitney also agreed to a two-year contract to help shore up a veteran scoring forward. The team apparently couldn't come to terms with Matthew Lombardi, who is now seeking a deal from other teams. Lee Stempniak has been offered a contract, but he hasn't responded due to being on his honeymoon. As it stands, the team could stand to sign a scoring forward (would love for it to be Lombardi, would be fine with it being Stempniak or Viktor Tikhonov, and would have to see whomever else would be considered), a veteran two-way forward on a short deal (Mike Modano), and a depth defender to round out a very underrated defense corp.
Around the NHL
- Martin Biron was the first free agent to sign today; securing a two-year deal with the New York Rangers.
- Olli Jokinen and Alex Tanguay going to the Calgary Flames will help them out as long as they play on the same line. One's a playmaking winger in decline while the other's a scoring forward in decline; put the two together and hopefully some magic will happen.
- 4 years and over a million a season to Derek Boogaard? I like him and all but are you freakin' kidding me New York Rangers?
- The Atlanta Thrashers gets tougher with Andrew Ladd while signing Chris Mason to platoon with Ondrej Pavalec. Suddenly Atlanta's starting to look fierce.
- New Jersey's defense looks pretty sharp; as defenders Hendrik Tallender and Anton Volchenkov secured multi-year deals while goaltender Johan Hedberg signed on to back up Martin Brodeur for the team.
Anaheim Ducks
General Manager Bob Murray managed to lock down Saku Koivu for another two seasons (which is a promising sign Temmu Selanne will follow suit) and managed to sign defenseman Toni Lydman from the Buffalo Sabres. Not bad, but they definitely still need another top-four defenseman (Luca Sbisa could still benefit from further development) while getting the Bobby Ryan situation solved. Murray went public with the discussions that thy offered a 5-year/$25M contract to him and it was still denied. Ryan seems to want salary that's identical or higher than Ryan Getzlaf or Corey Perry. Will someone try an offer sheet? It would be fun to see what happened if they did.
Detroit Red Wings
Ken Holland didn't make any signings today but that had to be expected considering they aren't in the market for any large components. Still, some versatile depth defenders remain available as to some logical choices for the "enforcer" role (we're hoping Holland drops his requirement of needing the guy to take a two-way contract.) We'll see who the Wings shore up soon enough.
Los Angeles Kings
The L.A. Kings were very silent today; but if the rumors pull true, we'll soon know why. Supposedly, they're the front runners in the Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes and should soon know whether or not if he'll be playing in L.A. The team did manage to lose two players to free agency. While Alexander Frolov was considered a welcome departure, losing Raitis Ivanans to the Calgary Flames not only opens up a hole for the role of the enforcer, but also a really good team-first kinda guy who's great to have in the locker room. There's still a handful of enforcers available though and it might not be a bad idea for them to call Andrew Peters; he can be had for cheap and doesn't have to play in every game the way some of their younger energy players due (like Wayne Simmonds and Richard Clune.) Otherwise aside from some fine tweaking (and signing Kovalchuk) L.A. has a pretty fine looking team.
Phoenix Coyotes
The team lost Zbyenk Michalek to the Pittsburgh Penguins but retained Derek Morris for four more years. Veteran forward Ray Whitney also agreed to a two-year contract to help shore up a veteran scoring forward. The team apparently couldn't come to terms with Matthew Lombardi, who is now seeking a deal from other teams. Lee Stempniak has been offered a contract, but he hasn't responded due to being on his honeymoon. As it stands, the team could stand to sign a scoring forward (would love for it to be Lombardi, would be fine with it being Stempniak or Viktor Tikhonov, and would have to see whomever else would be considered), a veteran two-way forward on a short deal (Mike Modano), and a depth defender to round out a very underrated defense corp.
Around the NHL
- Martin Biron was the first free agent to sign today; securing a two-year deal with the New York Rangers.
- Olli Jokinen and Alex Tanguay going to the Calgary Flames will help them out as long as they play on the same line. One's a playmaking winger in decline while the other's a scoring forward in decline; put the two together and hopefully some magic will happen.
- 4 years and over a million a season to Derek Boogaard? I like him and all but are you freakin' kidding me New York Rangers?
- The Atlanta Thrashers gets tougher with Andrew Ladd while signing Chris Mason to platoon with Ondrej Pavalec. Suddenly Atlanta's starting to look fierce.
- New Jersey's defense looks pretty sharp; as defenders Hendrik Tallender and Anton Volchenkov secured multi-year deals while goaltender Johan Hedberg signed on to back up Martin Brodeur for the team.
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