Fans seemed to think somehow Garth & Isles went into freefall yesterday. Not quite.

The warning signs were there even before Ehrhoff’s rights were traded to the Islanders. Then the Capitals re-signed Brooks Laich for a whopping 6-year, $27 million deal. Buffalo got Ehrhoff later for 10 years. 10 years, folks.

Then others resigned before free agency even started. Despite words of being aggressive, many of the those who would have been a top 6 forward or a top 3 defenseman were gone within a mere two to three hour window into free agency. It was then that the Isles seemed to change gears.

Marty Reasoner, a target for their 4th line since the start, ended up their only signing. Though Isles fans have been upset that the Isles are parting ways with Konopka, Reasoner is considered by many who have followed him when he played for the Panthers, Oilers and Thrashers to be a clear upgrade. One or the issues cited with Konopka was a lack of well-roundedness in the two way game. Offensively and defensively, he just did not bring as much to the table as he did with a fist or two, or with faceoffs. Despite being called a leader in the lockerroom, something more glorified in the press and blogs than by the Isles themselves, Reasoner was brought in to improve that as well.

Reasoner is known for being a quintessential team player. Reasoner won Thrashers Players’ Player Award in 2009 – voted by teammate as “best exemplifies what being a team player is all about”. In 2010, Panthers Assistant GM Mike Santos, had this to say when trading for Reasoner in 2010 `We’re looking to put character players around our good young players. Reasoner is a guy with a lot of character .. is a very useful player. He can help our kids grow.”

A little fun fact: Reasoner was traded by St. Louis 10 years ago, on July 1, 2001, to Oilers as part of the package to get their captain Doug Weight.

Some fans and bloggers opinions on twitter to me as Reasoner went to Isles:

@ou812jay8: Reasoner was a fan favorite in ATL. Always hustles, never takes a shift off. Great on the PK. Good teammate. Good signing.

@randomhero79: we loved him on the Oil

@elfo1 (Thrashers blogger Chris Telford) I loved Reasoner, definitely an upgrade for Isles

@LitterBoxCats (SB Nation Panthers blogger Donny Rivette) Great guy; you won’t be disappointed.

So, more than just a scrap from the scrapheap, but a target to be a vet leader, team player, PK guy and 2-way force on the 4th line. Isles made a clear choice here for a character guy. The process to find that is just more than Garth looking at a list of players, but a group process to find the right guy that includes NHL player scout Ken Morrow, the internal staff and even players.

The biggest issue is fan expectations, which were fanned by Garth announcing that he would be as aggressive as last season. Big mistake, Garth. Guess this is what happens when trying to give fans and agents who read it some idea that they are willing to spend the $$$. And they have been.

For a while, he was aggressive, but when only a couple hours in those players landed quickly and at large contracts/years, that was over quick. The Islanders are a young team, and will need to keep the cap clear to hold onto those players as they develop. With a new CBA fight coming around the corner, many feel that there will be a cap size rollback. Those teams smashed to the cap or rapidly inflating it this UFA period with huge multi-year deals will be in a bad place when the cap size reduces.

Garth wanted to be aggressive, not stupid. And despite the majority of fans who are besides them self for the Isles not reeling in big fish, there are some applauding some pause and clear-headedness in what might turn into the worst UFA hangover in recent memory. These deals have been just nuts.

Michael Russo of Minnesota’s Star Tribune said it best:

“Christian Ehrhoff makes $1.3 million more than Sidney Crosby next year. These next labor talks should be a doozy”

TSN’s list (not including Brad Richards 9 year deal, making him the biggest fish)

Indeed.

So you might ask… Well why didn’t Garth sign someone anyway? Well who on the top 6 of forwards or top 3 dmen were of the character, team player, yet also could displace those already slated on the top 2 lines? Who has any track record more than just one season or some consistency?

Don’t agree? Garth somehow booted it? That they must do something to get to floor.

To those concerned about cap floor, I have said this on twitter several times now…

The Islanders are at 37 mill now, their RFA  signings to come and inevitable bottom 6 signing (Marty Reasoner) or two (trade?), you are there. Too much has been made without anyone bothering to count it out. Same thing happened last summer, where they were closer than many MSM, bloggers and fans said.

1. What will those teams do if when next CBA most assuredly has a cap rollback?

2. Name a team who has done better at under the radar pickups like Streit, Moulson, Grabner and Paranteau in last 3 seasons?

So is it such a situation to sit there and panic? The issue is that unless they can get a top guy THEY TARGETED, they will not sit a kid or halt development to the top 3 lines. Comeau…upgradeable. So is Parenteau, who can easily shift to a 3rd line.

But what player was still there is to the Isles template and also willing to play for the Isles (non-contender). For those who shout about Florida and how they can get people to sign, they are apple to oranges. Why? The players who sign to Florida have a year round facility for training/skating year round in South Florida. They also overpaid for what many consider “middling stiffs”. Don’t compare, because I am unconvinced Florida got much better.

If you slate Nino for the 3rd line with Bailey and Comeau (or Hunter), the lines are this…

Moulson – Tavares – Parenteau

Okposo – Nielsen – Grabner

Comeau – Bailey – Niederreiter

Matt Martin – Reasoner – Hunter

Haley – Gillies

To those who bring up Petrov’s situation and the KHL, due to his contract and family situation, he is slated to be here in the 2012-2013 season. 2012-2013 might be the season de Haan sees fulltime and Strome comes up for a look. Kabanov, who signed his entry level will is not ready and requires more junior time (and size). 2012-2013 for him? Possible.

If there is a trade, as Garth implied in an exclusive… to the ISLANDERS own PR staff. Unbelievable, folks. Pretty soon, at this rate, they will write their own blogs or Garth can just do interviews into a mirror*

Anyway… per Garth: They will look to make a trade. As for when… don’t hold your breath. They will wait. After all, their top chip, Nabakov, needs to show stuff during camp.

BD

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* stole the mirror line from twitter from the excellent Kevin Schultz, of BarryMelroseRocks.com, who tweeted it to me

The Toronto Maple Leafs recently added some affordable depth to their left wing over the past weekend, inking Clarke MacArthur to a one-year, $1.1 million contract.

It remains to be seen of course if MacArthur can play up to expectations his two previous teams (Buffalo and Atlanta) had of him as a possible 30-goal scorer. It’s certainly indicative Leafs management with their limited cap space (current $375K committed to 23 players following the MacArthur signing) aren’t planning on making any major trades to land more scoring punch heading into training camp and pre-season.

Still, rumors have persisted around the ‘net Burke could still try to move Tomas Kaberle (even though his “no-trade” clause is back in effect), possibly by offering up him up to Boston for center Marc Savard, who reportedly would only waive his “no-trade” clause for the Leafs or the Ottawa Senators.

The Leafs also have nine defensemen under one-way contracts for next season (totaling over $28 million combined) leading some to wonder if Burke might trade a defenseman other than Kaberle for that elusive scorer to bolster his offensive forward lines.

Hate to disappoint you, Leafs fans, but if Burke was going to move a defenseman for a scoring forward, he would’ve done it before August 15^th, when Kaberle’s “NTC” went back into effect.

He’s not moving Kaberle, or Mike Komisarek, or Dion Phaneuf (whom he made captain earlier in the off-season) or Francois Beauchemin.  Let’s face it, if these guys stay healthy that’s a pretty solid defense corps.

Burke isn’t going to give up on Luke Schenn because of his shaky sophomore season, nor will he trade Brett Lebda, who was signed in early July as an unrestricted free agent.  That’s just plain dumb.

And no, he won’t find any takers for Jeff Finger and the remaining two years and $7 million on his contract.

If Burke needs to free up cap space Finger’s a likely candidate to be moved…via demotion, not trade, because there’s simply no market for him. Burke could demote him and then perhaps try placing him in recall waivers in hopes someone might be willing to snap him up at half his salary.

Like it or not, Leafs fans, unless one of the promising young forwards steps up in a major way and becomes a Calder trophy nominee this season, what you see on your current forward lines is likely what you’ll see on opening night in October. There’s no big trade coming to bring in that scoring center or winger you so desperately crave.

Look to within and hope for the best this season.

Lyle Richardson

SpectorsHockey.net
twitter.com/spectorshockey

The saga of “Where will Antti Niemi go” continues to garner more interest, especially now that the Thomas Kaberle trade watch is over and Ilya Kovalchuk’s contract status with the New Jersey Devils remains in limbo.

I certainly understand why some believe he could eventually sign with the San Jose Sharks, as they signed Antero Niittymaki well before Niemi became a UFA. Even I can’t full bring myself to believe the Sharks intend to go with Niittymaki and Greiss as their tandem when Niemi’s now available.

It’s also understandable why some tie Niemi with the Washington Capitals, who’ve insisted for months they’ll go into next season with the young tandem of Semyon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth, though I believe the Caps management and its faith in that goalie pairing.

Some of the suggested destinations for Niemi however have been, to be blunt, ridiculous.

The Montreal Canadiens and Florida Panthers have in recent weeks been cited by internet rumormongers as being interested in the former Blackhawks starter.

Slow contract talks with Carey Price is the obvious catalyst behind the “Niemi to Montreal” rumors but the Canadiens remain intent on re-signing Price and according to Price’s agent the Habs have no interest in Niemi.

As for the Panthers, whoever dreamed up that destination simply didn’t do their homework, forgetting they currently have a solid goaltending tandem in Tomas Vokoun and Scott Clemmensen, plus promising prospects Jacob Markstrom and Tyler Plante in their system.

The only reason the Panthers are linked to NIemi is because former Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon is now GM in Florida but that doesn’t mean Tallon is interested in signing Niemi and creating a problem area for himself between the pipes.

It remains to be seen where Niemi will eventually sign this season but it won’t be with the Canadiens or Panthers.

Lyle Richardson

SpectorsHockey.net
twitter.com/spectorshockey

Hockeybuzz’s “Eklund” recently posted the Calgary Flames were rumored once again in the market for a “top six forward”, claiming he’d heard Dallas’ Brad Richards and Florida’s Stephen Weiss as possible candidates.

If the Flames are shopping for a top six forward they’ll have to dump considerable cap space to afford Richards or Weiss. The former will earn $7.8 million next season, the latter $3.1 million.

Assuming either guy was available – from what I’ve heard, they’re not – the Flames only have $650K remaining in available cap space committed to 22 players.

Even allowing for the off-season rule allowing teams to spend over the cap in the off-season by up to ten percent provided they’re under it by the start of the upcoming season, moving enough salary to afford either Richards or Weiss would be a tough order.

Richards (who carries a “no-trade” clause and from my sources enjoys playing in Dallas) is clearly not an option for the Flames. Even if Richards were willing to accept a trade to Calgary (he won’t) they couldn’t possibly free up enough cap space to take on his whopping great salary with harming their depth elsewhere in the lineup.

Weiss admittedly would be a more affordable option, but if the Panthers trade him their first line center becomes aging Steven Reinprecht while the inexperienced Shawn Matthias becomes their second line center.

Oh, and Weiss also has a full “no-movement” clause, meaning unless he asks out he’s going to be playing for the Panthers next season.

Another point is the Flames still have to re-sign RFA defenseman Ian White, who is headed to arbitration. Even if they were to use White as trade bait it still wouldn’t be enough to entice the Stars to part with Richards or the Panthers to move Weiss.

Finally, one must remember the Stars and Panthers are “budget teams”, which have lower self-imposed caps than the league’s $59.4 million and won’t be keen to take back much salary in any trade, let alone rumored ones for high-salaries talent.

If the Flames are shopping for more offensive depth they’ll have to look for more affordable and easier to move options than Richards and Weiss.

Lyle Richardson
SpectorsHockey.net
twitter.com/spectorshockey

The Chicago Blackhawks continuing salary cap woes remain of considerable interest amongst NHL followers, leading to plenty of speculation as to what moves they’ll make next to get under next season’s $59.4 million cap.

GM Stan Bowman assured forward Patrick Sharp, the subject of innumerable trade rumors, he wouldn’t be dealt, and while it’s believed Bowman would love to rid himself of the remaining six years (at $7.145 million per) of defenseman Brian Campbell’s contract he’s unlikely to find any takers for that bloated deal.

The Bleacher Report offered up the following as a possible measure: trading goaltender Antti Niemi.

“Niemi has an arbitration hearing coming up and it is expected they will reward Niemi around $4 milion per year, the Blackhawks could then match the offer and keep him or let him go to free agency. This should be something to watch in the next few weeks.”

Unquestionably Bowman wants to keep Niemi but sadly they cannot afford to give him a huge raise. If it’s over $3 million they certainly won’t be able to retain him short of dumping more salary off an already considerably weakened roster.

That being said, it makes absolutely no sense for Bowman to accept an expensive arbitration award for Niemi and then struggle to find a trade partner – who’d likely attempt to put the squeeze on Bowman by trying to force him to toss in a promising young prospect or a first round pick – when they can quite simply walk away from the arbiter’s decision.

Niemi then becomes an unrestricted free agent, and Bowman can then attempt to land a more affordable veteran option, like perhaps Marty Turco or Jose Theodore, both of whom are available and would probably be receptive to a one-year offer of between $2-$2.5 million.

All without having to part with any of the likely additional assets trading Niemi would require.

Lyle Richardson
SpectorsHockey.net
twitter.com/spectorshockey

In the wake of the San Jose Sharks failed attempt earlier this month to sign defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson away from the Chicago Blackhawks via offer sheet some bloggers suggested the possibility of the Sharks or another team trying to do the same with Blackhawks restricted free agent goaltender Antti Niemi.

Hockeyleaks.com was the latest to make such a suggestion back on July 16th:

There has been some speculation that the Sharks could now make a second offer sheet to the Hawks, this time for Niemi.  Sneaky move if it happens.

It certainly would be a sneaky move. So why hasn’t it happened? Because Niemi filed for salary arbitration over two weeks ago, making him ineligible to receive an offer sheet.

As an aside, the same thing goes if a team takes a player to arbitration.

One team, the New York Rangers, actually made this move with goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, not because they felt his side was being unreasonable in their salary demands, but rather as a ploy to prevent him from receiving an offer sheet target whilst the two sides were hammering out a new contract. Less than a week later, Lundqvist re-signed with the Rangers.

So remember, kids, if an NHL player has filed for or is being taken to arbitration, he’s ineligible to receive an offer sheet. Here endeth the lesson, class dismissed.

Lyle Richardson
SpectorsHockey.net
twitter.com/spectorshockey

First off, I must admit I was wrong in my opinion Simon Gagne wouldn’t accept a trade to the Tampa Bay Lightning. It’s still a surprising move but I’m guessing part of the reason he agreed to join the Lightning was former Team Canada teammate Steve Yzerman is now their general manager. Gagne has lots of respect for Yzerman and that could’ve been a factor in his decision.

So, out of 26 columns for Hockey Independent breaking down and usually dismissing wild trade rumors, I got one wong. Oh, well, nobody’s perfect, but that’s still a damn good average.

Now, on to today’s fun.

The Bleacher Report recently published a list of 25 players who could still be dealt this off-season.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/420233-26-nhlers-who-could-still-be-dealt-this-off-season#page/1

The list contained the names of some familiar trade bait, like Boston’s Marc Savard, Tim Thomas, Michael Ryder, Chicago’s Patrick Sharp and Brian Campbell, Buffalo’s Tim Connolly, Columbus’ Nikita Filatov, St. Louis’ Eric Brewer, Toronto’s Tomas Kaberle, Vancouver’s Kevin Bieksa, Edmonton’s Sheldon Souray, and of course the aforementioned Gagne.

While I could offer up some disagreements over the possibility of some of those players being dealt nevertheless their names have reportedly been brought up in rumored trade talks, so I certainly won’t dismiss them.

The article also mentioned the names of Calgary’s Jarome Iginla, Florida’s Tomas Vokoun, Anaheim’s Bobby Ryan, Washington’s Michael Nylander, correctly claiming there was no likelihood they would be dealt.

It also suggested the prospects of a trade were low for Florida’s Stephen Weiss, the NY Rangers Wade Redden, Toronto’s Jeff Finger, Carolina’s Sergei Samsonov, whilst Chicago’s Cristobal Huet and Minnesota’s Josh Harding were considered “medium-low”.

I do however disagree with the suggestion LA Kings’ winger Wayne Simmonds has a high likelihood of being dealt. If the Kings weren’t willing to include Simmonds as part of the package for Ilya Kovalchuk last season, I don’t see them using him as bait for a lesser player.

The report also suggested Minnesota’s Brent Burns’ likelihood for a trade as “medium”. While correctly acknowledging their signing of Mark Cullen alleviates some of their need for offensive depth it’s well known Wild GM Chuck Fletcher doesn’t want to part with Burns. Given the number of affordable scoring forwards available in this summer’s UFA market Fletcher could further bolster his offense without parting with Burns.

Finally, they consider Ottawa’s Jason Spezza’s trade prospects as “medium-low”.  Given GM Bryan Murray’s comments following July 1^st that he wasn’t moving Spezza, hadn’t found any interest in the trade market for the center plus Spezza’s “no-trade” clause having now kicked in, the possibility of a Spezza trade is non-existent this summer.

Lyle Richardson
SpectorsHockey.net
twitter.com/spectorshockey

Simon Gagne spent the first 10 years of his career in Philadelphia. Photo/Getty

It has been known for weeks that Flyers left-winger Simon Gagne was on his way out of Philadelphia. The question remaining was, when? That answer came Monday afternoon when Gagne was dealt to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Gagne, 30, was sent South in return for defensemen Matt Walker and a 4th-round draft pick.

“This was a move to solidify our defense,” said GM Paul Holmgren. “Matt Walker is a right shot defenseman that we like; he brings size, grit and toughness to our backend. Simon Gagne played 10 seasons for the Flyers and was not only a good player for us, but also handled himself in a first class manner on and off the ice.”

Gagne, in the 10 years he spent wearing the #12 orange and black jersey, became of the most productive and popular players in the franchise’s history. He was always known as one of the top two-way players in the NHL.

He was the 22nd overall pick way back in 1998, and shortly became one of the top Flyers forwards they’ve seen in a long time.

Gagne played in 664 games for the Flyers. He is 10th on the team’s all-time list. He ranks ninth in team history in goals (259), 16th in assists (265) and 10th in points (524). Sometime in the future, expect Gagne to be inducted into the Flyers Hall-of-Fame.

Nobody will ever forget Gagne’s greatest moment as a Flyer. That moment came during the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals against his new team the Lightning. A game 6 overtime tally that sent the Flyers a Game & in Tampa Bay.

In 90 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, Gagne recorded 32 goals and 15 assists for 47 points, ranking eighth all-time in Flyers playoff history in goals and tied for seventh in game-winning goals (6).

The two-time All-Star and two-time Bobby Clarke trophy winner as Flyers MVP, had combined for 88 goals in 2005-06 and 2006-07 and racked up six seasons of scoring 20+ goals.

After losing an entire season due to a concussion, Gagne has had a history of injuries to his groin, hip and shoulder throughout his years in Philadelphia.

He had a good final year in the orange and black recording 40 points (17G, 23A) and 12 points (9G,3A) in 19 Stanley Cup Playoff games to help lead the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Final.

The left-winger scored the game-winning goal in overtime of Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against Boston to give the Flyers a 5-4 win, as well as the game-winner in Game 7 of the series to give the Flyers the victory.

Gagne was about to enter the final year of his five-year, $26.25 million contract he signed in 2006. His cap hit was set to be $5.25 mill and one the Flyers couldn’t afford to keep.

Although, I don’t think the Flyers are quite finished with the dealing process, this one will hurt the hearts of Flyers fans for some time.

Without Hjalmarsson, making the playoffs would have been an uphill battle. Losing another very good defenseman would have made a big difference to the Blackhawks. Hjalmarsson couldn’t effectively be replaced by anyone inside the organization. There were not many other choices around the NHL either, Bowman realized the same and matched the Sharks offers sheet.

There could have been a strong likelihood both Hjalmarsson’s and Niemi’s agents were dragging their feet on agreeing to contract extensions. As one bright connected hockey guy told me, if you could smell an offer sheet possibility so could their agents. The Niemi camp waited until the eleventh hour to apply for arbitration, his hearing is now set for July 29. Shortly after Niemi’s arbitration became a possibility Doug Wilson made his move.

Wilson waited until after Niemi filed for arbitration. In that way the Hawks wouldn’t be able to make an easy decision on Niemi’s contract. If Niemi would have received a large offer sheet the Hawks could have focused all of their resources on re-signing Hjalmarsson. Wilson gave himself a slight chance of capturing a very good young defender.

The timing of San Jose’s bold offer sheet, although calculated, was curious. Wilson’s had to know down deep he wasn’t getting Hjalmarsson. His attempt to snatch the young Chicago defender could have been solely intended to inflict more salary cap pain. Was Wilson’s realistic mission to cause the Hawks to trade a player they would have been otherwise able to retain?

Even though his club wouldn’t directly benefit, the Sharks GM was helping to weaken one of his main rivals. Maybe Wilson’s actions will benefit another franchise more than his own.

My question to Wilson would be..…Why didn’t you wait until Niemi was signed to a contract extension before writing the offer sheet?

The word was around Niemi was Chicago’s first priority because he had already filed for arbitration. There were whispers Bowman was very close to signing Niemi before Hjalmarsson received an offer sheet. Now Bowman has time and a few options.

If the Blackhawks get very lucky they could retain both Hjalmarsson and Niemi for no more than they would have before the offer sheet. After the $14 million contract extension to Hjalmarsson the Hawks are more likely to be hard pressed to re-sign Niemi without making another trade. But at least Bowman has the chance an arbitration ruling will be in his favor not Niemi’s.

So Wilson’s timing was a bit odd and so was the Blackhawks early reply.  As soon as prospect camp was complete the Hawks GM announced Hjalmarsson would remain in Chicago.

As is often the case with salary cap situations, there are many questions without apparent answers and no way to get replies from the involved parties.

My question for Bowman would be…. Why not wait a few more days to match the offer sheet and leave San Jose uncertain of their next move?

It would have made sense to hold the Sharks up for awhile longer. Why make it easier on them?

Maybe Bowman wanted to get the speculation out of the way because he was already trying to open up more salary cap space by exploring trade opportunities. It still doesn’t make sense to rush to give the Sharks front office notice ahead of the seven day deadline.

If what I am hearing is correct the Hawks are trying to move Brian Campbell more so than anyone of the seven untouchables. (Bolland, Hossa, Kane, Keith, Seabrook, Sharp and Toews)

I have reason to believe the Hawks and Panthers have discussed a deal involving Campbell.

Dale Tallon has been biding his time. His time could be now considering Hjalmarsson received a huge raise. It feels like Tallon won’t let the whole summer pass without making a deal with his former assistant.

Tallon has the cap space and possibly Campbell would agree to go to sunny Florida to work for his former boss. Campbell has a no movement clause. Supposedly Campbell’s contract requires him to list eight clubs which Bowman could negotiate a trade.

It wouldn’t be difficult to list eight teams which either didn’t have the cap space, or would have no interest in Campbell’s services. Although one has to wonder if Florida, Buffalo and Toronto aren’t high up on Campbell’s list. Maybe there are other teams he could be talked into playing for like Colorado or even the Islanders.

If Panther defenseman Bryan McCabe was shipped to Chicago in exchange for Campbell the Hawks would gain close to $1.5 million in cap space. Most important is McCabe’s hefty contract expires after the upcoming season. Tallon would make a splash and the Hawks get back an offensive minded defenseman to help them for one season.

The 35 year old McCabe may not fit into the long range plans for the Panthers.  Campbell is only 31 years old and could be an important rebuilding piece for Tallon.

If Bowman had to pick a contract to dump, Campbell’s would be first choice after Cristobal Huet’s. There is some chance Campbell could be dealt, compared to no chance for Huet. If not put into a corner Bowman would probably not look to deal Campbell.

The biggest loser in the latest salary cap drama could be Niemi, as Hjalmarsson probably received about an additional $1 million dollars because of the offer sheet. The same amount may not come off of Niemi’s deal but he might have to roll the dice and hope for a friendly arbitrator.

Niemi doesn’t have a long resume. For every justification Niemi should be awarded a contract of $3 million or more there are two reasons why he should get paid closer to $2 million.

Maybe Bowman has already made a call to Jose Theodore or Marty Turco. A back-up plan would be a good idea as Corey Crawford might need a veteran mentor. The Hawks could be hard pressed to sign Niemi without making a meaningful salary dumping trade.

Hjalmarsson’s only real leverage in contract negotiations was if another team wrote an offer sheet. I wonder if the Hawks took his re-signing too casually or if Hjalmarsson’s agent played the Chicago front office to perfection.

In hindsight it would have been wise for the Hawks to strongly press to re-sign Hjalmarsson as soon as the Sharks inked free agent goal keeper Antero Niittymaki. Up until then the Sharks were the most logical Western Conference destination for Niemi if he was to leave Chicago by way of an offer sheet.

In the past it seemed odd while during offer sheet haggling the teams chatted. In this day and age that type of behavior could be cause for a claim of collusion. In other instances the end result would be the acquiring team would get the player via trade instead of by an offer sheet.

It would seem the sought after player wouldn’t have the same opportunity to sign as large of a contract extension if acquired by trade. At the very least there would be lawyers eagerly awaiting the chance to prove their client wasn’t allowed a fair shot at the best possible contract. It would seem franchises weren’t really competing with each other.

In the case of the Hjalmarsson’s offer sheet, my whispers indicate the Hawks front office had no prior contact beforehand with the Sharks. Maybe this dilemma was more painful because the Chicago brain trust didn’t see it coming. Then again Bowman had to realize the possibility, although he might have thought there would have been some forewarning. In this offer sheet drama a trade to settle matters wasn’t likely.

Did the Hawks young GM get caught off guard?

No matter what, Wilson has hurt the Hawks and there probably is no chance of retribution coming for a long time.

Wilson chose to come in with a four year offer for Hjalmarsson. He could have written the offer sheet for more money per year but with a shorter term. More likely the Hawks would have passed and taken the draft picks if that were the case. But cap space is also precious for the Sharks.

Now the challenge will be to retain both Hjalmarsson and Niemi without being forced to trade another important team member.

If the Hawks go to arbitration and Niemi is awarded a contract in excess of $3 million they probably won’t be able to keep both players without another salary dump. If they did choose to re-sign Niemi someone off the untouchable list would have to go. Probably not Bowman’s first option but these are desperate times.

Unless a trade was manufactured and agreed to by Brian Campbell the most likely to be dealt could be Patrick Sharp. The trade of Sharp would be a last resort for Bowman.  Campbell’s departure makes more sense and he wasn’t one of the seven untouchables…. (Bolland, Hossa, Kane, Keith, Seabrook, Sharp and Toews)

The other salary cap saving options would boil down to players who are earning only about $1 dollars. Those cap casualty choices are very difficult to make also.

Troy Brouwer, Tomas Kopecky and Marty Reasoner are veterans which could be replaced by minimum salary players. In some ways those players are the last Bowman would want to trade because their contracts are fairly valued. To save around $1 million in cap space two of the three would have to depart.

It still is uncertain what Wilson gained besides making the Hawks squirm and making a few enemies.

If Wilson’s real mission was to acquire Niemi he could have written an offer sheet on him. The Niemi camp gave everyone all the time they could before signing up for arbitration.

The offer sheet for Hjalmarsson wasn’t a shocker but the timing of Wilson and in some ways Bowman was curious. Maybe the end game for everyone involved will surface soon enough.

It could be the Chicago heat and humidity has blurred my thinking.

But if the Hawks do end up making a significant trade with Tallon’s Panthers, maybe the answers were in Florida all along.

Al’ Shots

The agent speak coming from the Niemi camp reminds a little of the Marty Havlat negotiations….we all remember how that turned out.

There is no way the Hawks will sign Niemi to a long term mega contract…front loading isn’t the issue. Even if they were to agree on a five year $15 million dollar deal the cap hit is going to be $3 million no matter how much Niemi receives early on.

If the Hawks wanted to pay Niemi $3 million they could most likely sign him for two or three years and be done with it….Niemi’s haggling is is about not overpaying and over committing to a player who hasn’t played in 50 NHL games yet.

I think Niemi will continue to improve but the Hawks aren’t going to bend over backwards to keep him.

Reported contract signings not confirmed on the Hawks website….??

Igor Makarov has missed the last few prospects camps and seemed to be off the Blackhawks radar. But surprise, surprise the former 33rd overall pick in the 2006 entry draft supposedly has signed a $552,500 two year contract.

Makarov has signed a reasonable contract which will enable him to play with the big club this season. It will be interesting to watch Makarov in training camp. When I last saw him he looked to have potential. I figured he didn’t want to leave Russia but now he could help the Hawks this season. The young right winger is only 22 years old.

As expected Jack Skille signed a deal for about half of his bonus heavy entry level contract, reports indicate. Skille could finally get a chance to stick in Chicago as he too is reasonably priced.

I am still not sure where Skille will fit in, but if not Tallon was always one of his biggest fans.

The Hawks will have some young hungry players competing for jobs.

It is not a coincidence Skille signed a cap friendly, $600,000 one year contract only one day after Makarov agreed to come back to the States.

blackhawkswin@comacst.net

Lyle Richardson
SpectorsHockey.net
twitter.com/spectorshockey

In a recent article NY Post hockey columnist Larry Brooks suggested the NY Rangers “need” Ilya Kovalchuk, making the case for GM Glen Sather to pursue the talented Russian winger:

Brooks cites the lack of a talented center or stud defenseman in the UFA market or in the Rangers system, and scoffed at comparing a signing of a healthy superstar in his prime like Kovalchuk to previous Rangers free agent blunders like Eric Lindros and Theo Fleury.

It’s understandable why Brooks is making the case for Kovalchuk in a Rangers uniform. Apart from Marian Gaborik they lack scoring depth, without which they’ll likely again struggle to make the playoffs next season.

But there are significant reasons why the Rangers shouldn’t (and likely won’t) consider such a move, the most notable being their limited cap space.

Currently the Rangers have just over $4 million in available space and will likely free up another $6.5 million when they as expected demote fading veteran defenseman Wade Redden to the minors.

Still, if they were to sign Kovalchuk to his rumored asking price of $10 million per season that would all but wipe out that available space, leaving management no room to fill out the rest of the roster and leave a cap cushion for next season.

It’s not just next season where a Kovalchuk contract would adversely impact the Rangers.

In July 2011 Brandon Dubinsky and Ryan Callahan will be restricted free agents and possible offer sheet targets. The Blueshirts without Kovalchuk currently have over $45 million committed to 13 players for 2011-12, including Redden.

Adding Kovalchuk would push that committed payroll to $55 million for 14 players, so even subtracting Redden’s $6.5 million would still leave them with $49.5 million already committed for ’11-’12, leaving them no room to retain Dubinsky and Callahan and still fill out the remainder of the lineup.

Not even Glen Sather can justify taking on that much salary for one player and burying/dumping others to free up the cap space for him. He just can’t.

Lyle Richardson
SpectorsHockey.net
twitter.com/spectorshockey

Photo/Getty

Its become a forgone conclusion that one of the longest tenured athletes to ever play in Philadelphia, will have a bitter ending.

Simon Gagne, who was drafted by the Flyers way back in 1998, has been with the organization ever since and looks to be on his way out the back door. The 30-year old left-winger has been with the Flyers since the 1999-2000 season where he made the NHL’s All-Rookie team after notching 20 goals and 48 points.

With the Flyers recent signing of unrestricted free agent winger Nikolai Zherdev, formerly of the New York Rangers, to a one-year $2 million deal. Zherdev, 25, last played in the NHL in 2008-09 campaign with the Rangers where he scored 23 goals and 58 points in 82 games.

The Zherdev signing put the Flyers over the $59.4 mill cap by $1.4 million. So regardless of the Zherdev arrival the Flyers had to shed salary somewhere.

The signing of Zherdev left fans and personal around the NHL a bit puzzled due to the well-known and respected playing style the Flyers are famous for. Although, the russian born 4th overall pick back in 2003 can put the puck in the net with finesse, he cannot play a speck of defense and won’t go anywhere near traffic.

Basically, he is the opposite of Gagne. Yet, this is the man who is likely taking his spot on the wing. Here is my outlook on what i’ve gathered from watching video and talking to people who cover the NHL and have seen Zherdev extensively.

• Zherdev is very talented and can be a magician when the puck is on his stick, and nobody around him.

• Forget about consistent play from him. He is often a player who takes plays off, even some games.

• High traffic areas will be a time where Zherdev will disappear. He isnt the kind of player that will try to muscle his way along the boards, more so around the slot.

• Worst of all, and most importantly, he is one of the worst defensive forwards in the league. He’s been called irresponsible and lazy once the puck leaves his offensive end.

The defensive deficiencies of Zherdev is what made this deal more confusing. Head coach Peter Laviolette’s style is aggressive two-way hockey which the players took onus to and worked hard on becoming one of the top defensive minded teams in the NHL.

Now remember, I did say that Zherdev is a gifted offensive player who has scored 20 or more goals three times in his career, I know his high points. Also, if Laviolette can magically convince Zherdev to buy into his system, than this signing for only $2 mill will make GM Paul Holmgren look like an even bigger genius than he already seems to be.

My problem is simple to understand, he isn’t a suitable replacement for Gagne.

Since making his NHL debut in 1999-2000, ‘Gags’ has racked up seven 20-goal seasons, including back-to-back 40-goal campaigns. I understand the $5 million cap hit he has, and I understand he always has that risk of being one hit away from being on the sidelines for an extensive period of time.

However, we can never discount the fact that Gagne is one of the best two-way hockey players in the league and has been for a long period of time.

Considering Holmgren wants to have enough cap space to re-sign both Dan Carcillo and Darroll Powe, Gagne is the guy to presumably be getting ready to pack his bags. The good thing for Gagne is at least he gets to choose his destination before being traded.

Conflicting reports have Gagne apparently not waiving his NTC, well that’s what the left-winger told a French radio Network last week.

If Gagne refuses the deals that Homer presents to him, he can be waive and be eligible to be picked up by anyone who can pick up the final year of his contract at $5.25 million. There are a lot of teams out there that could use a player like Gagne to give them 25-30 goals if he can stay healthy. But he more suited to play this season with the team he started with.

It will be a shame to see Gagne leave as ugly and bitter as it looks like it will be. Only because he is one the true fan favorites, a future Flyers hall-of-famer, and a dynamic sniper on a team that needs consistent scoring and aggressive defensive play from their forwards.

Its obvious the Flyers aren’t done making moves this summer, so the Gagne fallout could be fast approaching.

You can find this and much more on the Flyers from Chris’ website ‘Faceoff with Chris’ @ http://difrancesco86.wordpress.com

Earlier this month Ottawa Senators general manager Bryan Murray after testing the trade market claimed center Jason Spezza would not be traded, finding no real interest for the center’s services.

Eklund of Hockeybuzz however insists the possibility of a Spezza trade remains likely:

Yes, I have heard Spezza is not being traded, yet I also know that two teams, the Kings and Rangers, have money and are in need of a PR hit, and are likely to get shut out of the Kovalchuk sweeps. Both teams are interested in Spezza and have been for quite some time.

There is one particular source, who maintains the Flames and Senators are still waiting on a possible Spezza for Langkow and Reghr deal. Also rumblings of the Blues…

A few points:

First, Spezza now has a “no-trade” clause (it kicked in on July 1) giving him control over where he could be moved. We have no idea if he’d favor a trade to the Kings, Rangers, Flames or Blues.

Second, the Kings are reportedly seeking a winger, not a center, as their recent on-again, off-again negotiations with Ilya Kovalchuk clearly illustrate.

Third, the Rangers and Senators lack significant cap space so to make such a deal work would mean swapping comparable contracts, not an easy task.

Fourth, regarding a possible swap with the Flames, Langkow is still bothered by a neck injury he suffered last March, which was reportedly part of the rationale by Flames management in bringing back Olli Jokinen.

Murray perhaps might wish to move Spezza but no way does he take on a center who’s still suffering from a potential career-threatening neck injury.

Regehr also has an iron-clad “no-movement” clause and for all we know he might not want to go to Ottawa, or for that matter leave Calgary.

As for the Blues, if they were truly interested in landing an expensive player they would’ve done it by now. While they kicked the tires on a few notables they’ve obviously opted to re-sign their key players and keep their payroll affordable.

Lyle Richardson
SpectorsHockey.net
twitter.com/spectorshockey

Just a quick one today, folks, as everything for now appears centered around the Ilya Kovalchuk free agent saga.

Eklund on July 8th posted “15 Rumors”, amongst which was the following nugget:

“Glen Metropolit may be a Leaf or a Panther sooner than later…and a perfect pickup he would be …I also hear he may stick in Montreal (the Habs would be nuts to not bring him back, in my opinion.)”

Well, color Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier “nuts”, because he announced Metropolit wouldn’t be returning to the Habs…two days before Eklund’s post.

The reason actually isn’t nuts at all. Gauthier currently has limited salary cap space (roughly $5.6 million as of this writing) and must re-sign Carey Price and Maxim Lapierre, plus add three more players – likely to come from the Habs farm team – to fill out the roster for next season.

Metropolit was a good, cheap addition to the Habs last season, but with the recent addition of Dustin Boyd from Nashville, along with the potential addition of younger, cheaper players like Lars Eller, Yannick Weber, Ryan White or Ben Maxwell, Gauthier simply didn’t have the cap space to keep a veteran like “Metro” next season.

Lyle Richardson
SpectorsHockey.net
twitter.com/spectorshockey

The lack of progress in contract negotiations between restricted free agent winger Bobby Ryan and the Anaheim Ducks is leading to speculation he could either receive an offer sheet from a rival club or become trade bait.

Although Ducks GM Bob Murray repeatedly said since April he wouldn’t trade Ryan that hasn’t put an end to the speculation he might change his mind should he remain at loggerheads with the Ryan camp.

The latest comes from Bleacher Report, suggesting a swap of Ryan to the Philadelphia Flyers for Jeff Carter would be a perfect fit:

“There were reports last week that Ryan rejected a five-year, $25 million offer, so it’s hard to say what his camp has in mind for a fair number.

Wouldn’t Bobby Ryan for Jeff Carter make so much sense for both teams?”

Well, it would, if the Flyers were seriously willing to part with Carter, something they’ve been unwilling to do for the past two years.

Indeed, rather than move Carter to dump salary this summer, Flyers GM Paul Holmgren convinced veteran winger Simon Gagne to waive his “no-trade” clause to facilitate an eventual salary-dumping trade.

If a Ryan-for-Carter swap made sense for both teams it probably would’ve been done by now.

Flyers management has consistently resisted moving Carter. Given their recent moves it’s clear they have no intention of doing so this summer.

Lyle Richardson
SpectorsHockey.net
twitter.com/spectorshockey

The Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes certainly got interesting this past weekend, with the NY Islanders jumping into the bidding and the Los Angeles Kings deciding to drop out.

It also led some busybodies in the Russian paper Life Sports suggesting the reason the Philadelphia Flyers were trying to trade winger Simon Gagne and his $5.25 million salary for next season was to clear up room for a pitch of their own to Kovalchuk.

That rumor was tied to Kovalchuk’s Russian agent Yury Nikolaev,who told Northjersey.com’s Tom Gulitti there was no truth to the story, adding he doesn’t get involved in negotiating contracts for his client with NHL teams.

Regardless, the premise for this rumor was absurd.

As has been widely reported the Flyers are believed trying to move Gagne in order to free up cap space both to re-sign restricted free agents Dan Carcillo and Darroll Powe plus to land an experienced starting goaltender via free agency.

The last thing, the very last thing, the Flyers – a team loaded with offensive punch – wants or needs is another scoring winger, especially one who’ll command over $8 million per season on a long-term contract.

Those who run “Life Sports” should stick to covering Russian hockey rather than engaging in wild, ridiculous and absurd speculations about Russian NHL free agents.

.

Lyle Richardson
SpectorsHockey.net
twitter.com/spectorshockey

Heading into the July 4^th long weekend the rumor mill came alive with reports the Philadelphia Flyers were shopping Simon Gagne and the NY Islanders had jumped into the bidding for UFA superstar Ilya Kovalchuk.

I was admittedly gobsmacked by both reports but I’ll leave the Islanders bid for Kovalchuk in the good hands of B.D. Gallof and focus today instead upon the Gagne rumor.

Thanks to the Flyers seemingly constant bumping against the league’s cap ceiling the past couple of years Gagne’s name has frequently popped up in the rumor mill, but his “no-trade” clause always squashed such speculation…until now.

This time, it’s for real. The Flyers approached Gagne about waiving his clause and he agreed to do so.

It’s not as though GM Paul Holmgren really wanted to do this. Gagne bleeds Flyer orange and is a fan favorite but Holmgren needs to free up cap space to re-sign restricted free agents Dan Carcillo and Darroll Powe plus – most importantly – land an experienced starting goalie , with Marty Turco or Evengi Nabokov considered the likely candidates.

Besides, Gagne is in the final season of his current contract, will turn 31 next January and in recent years has been hampered by injury. I think Holmgren might’ve gently raised those points with Gagne when he asked the latter to waive his clause.

In other words, they probably won’t re-sign Gagne after next season and if Holmgren can find another possible Cup contender interested in the veteran winger, Gagne might be willing to accept a trade.

The Los Angeles Kings are rumored as a possible destination for Gagne as the Kings have made no secret of their desire to land a veteran scoring forward.  With the Kings possibly out of the running for Kovalchuk they might find Gagne an affordable short-term option.

For now we’ll just have to wait and see as there probably won’t be anything going on during the current holiday weekend, but whether Gagne goes to the Kings or not it appears he has played his final game with the Flyers.

Lyle Richardson
SpectorsHockey.net
twitter.com/spectorshockey

For the Canucks fans the wait is over as they welcome home B.C. boy Dan Hamhuis, to a reported 6-year deal for $4.5million per year. Last season he scored 5 goals and 19 assists for the Predators. Many teams coveted the 6ft 1”, 203lb, 27 year old.

Earlier today they signed Manny Malhotra to a $7.5 million contract over 3 years. It is expected that he will be the centre on the 3rd line. Last season he chalked up 14 goals and 19 assists for the Sharks.

The Canucks kick started the free agency this morning by signing centre Joel Perrault. It is suspected he will spend time playing for the Moose.

With the arrival of Hamhuis could this signal a trade for Kevin Bieksa?

For more info follow me on Twitter.com/CanucksEdge

 

Twas the Night before Free Agency

Twas the night before free agency, when all through the NHL
Not a GM was stirring, not even Brian Burke’s cell.
The fax machines were shiny and humming with tender care,
In hopes that some overpriced UFA soon would be there.

The hockey fans were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of one-dimensional Russian forwards danced in their heads.
As Gary Bettman talks league growth, CBA, and the salary cap,
Stan Bowman, Holmgren, Lombardi, and Sather all have taken a nap.

When suddenly from the blogosphere tweeted such a clatter,
I tuned to the rumor sites to see what was the matter.
TSN, PuckDaddy, HockeyIndependent (hey, my poem!), Spector, all read in a flash
Blogs, Twitter, pod casts, message boards, Burt the Dog, my fingers in mad dash

As noon breaks, we will all cling to our chosen online hockey info and rumor schmaltz
Whether it be Dreger, McKenzie, LeBrun, Allen, Marek, Eklund or even Allan Walsh.
When, suddenly knocking upon my door I open it with concern and fear,
In walks one Stan Fischler after quaffing way too much free beer.

With that vim and vigor, so opinionated and misbehaving,
I knew in a moment it most certainly had to be The Maven!
More rapid than his love for the NJ Devil Marty Brodeur
he whistled, screamed, shouted and then spat upon my floor.

“Now Gallof! I’ve seen you trying to yank my chain,
How you and your online cronies love to be a real pain!
How you complain, make fun, and criticize with such gall,
When I say: “There’s been nobody better than Scott Stevens, except for Marc Staal!”

FREE AGENT FRENZY 

All it takes is one playoff team on the cusp to lose their mind and panic… sending the rest of the teams into a tizzy. One extra million to slew the entire market. One GM on the line to push a bit, then all the rest to hit the panic button.

Add to all this the salary cap and league minimum, you’ll see the usual goofy inflation as all markets need to dip into their churning waters.

The primary players are always the bigger more lucrative markets. Unless of course, they’ve pushed themselves against the cap. Then again, it did end up working for Chicago, who slammed themselves against the cap, but reaped the rewards.

Besides them, there are always greedy eyes, thinking it is the great equalizer. Sure, it is usually the great equalizer that bloats a team into severe limitations or spends the off-season backpedaling from previous mistakes (calgary, I’m looking at you, but you sure have a lot of company).

What determines market is supply and demand. New ownerships, GMs on the firing line, or just a poor  showing in the playoffs can cause an organization to press hard into the choppy waters.

Smaller markets or teams on the rebuild need to sit back and seek the right fits. Can they appeal with offers of playing time or feature opportunities? You’d lean towards thinking no, yet there are successful relations built on this each season, while everyone is paying attention to the big fish.

One former GM told me that July 1st was the day you’d send out a series of faxes with at least a 10 to 20% above market value. Then you’d hopefully get a response from an agent or two.

Other GMs sit and wait to see what takes place. Who is asking for too much. Who is pricing themselves out of market. Who is not quite getting something they are happy with.

We have had years of quick and rapid deals. We have years of watching the pot boil.

I’d expect to see a lot of activity right off bat at noon time. Chicago’s success, despite their forced hand to make trades after season, is still a success story. They held onto their core, and still remain a force.

Some teams will jump in and try to land the big fish.

Then the waters will calm and things will slow down.

Unfortunately, most teams will be left cold, because in the end, besides that money talks, it is also a organizational popularity contest. Players have families and must decide on much more than just dollar and cents, they need to judge area, organization, venue and much more.

The day is always of more hype than reality, more excitement than actual action, yet it is a day that we all wait for with bated breath. It’s like Xmas in July. A few presents will be unwrapped that will excite a few fanbases. Others, a bit of coal.

Good luck. Make sure to tune in with us at our live chat show that starts at 11am. Special guests will stop by.

Although the Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t move defenseman Tomas Kaberle during the entry draft weekend speculation remains strong the Leafs will peddle him within the next two weeks.

It’s also given rise to some weird rumors linking Kaberle to the NHL’s three California-based teams.

The San Jose Sharks were considered a possibility following the retirement of Rob Blake but with their recent re-signings of forwards Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski to expensive new contracts plus their rumored search for an experience starting goaltender has pretty much squelched that conjecture.

Anaheim Ducks forward Bobby Ryan was considered a possibility if for nothing else based on the fact Leafs GM Brian Burke drafted Ryan when he was GM of the Ducks back in 2005. Current Ducks GM Bob Murray however poured water on that one insisting he has no intention of trading Ryan.

So it was only a matter of time I guess before someone linked the Los Angeles Kings with Kaberle.

Not sure where this one came from but apparently the latest kicking around the internet has Kaberle headed to the Kings in exchange for winger Wayne Simmonds, which prompted the following response from agent Allan Walsh via Twitter:

“hahahahahaha (holding my sides to prevent splitting a gut) “.

This isn’t the first time Simmonds have been linked to another team in trade rumors as there was recently one suggesting the Philadelphia Flyers should swap Jeff Carter for Simmonds

I realize I’ve said this once before but I think it bears repeating again: if the Kings weren’t willing to part with Wayne Simmonds as part of a return for a superstar like Ilya Kovalchuk, why would they do so for a lesser player?

Add in the fact the Kings are widely believed seeking a “name” scoring forward and not another puck-moving defenseman (since they already have two fine young ones in Drew Doughty and Jack Johnson), and the notion of Simmonds being swapped for Kaberle just doesn’t make sense.

Lyle Richardson
SpectorsHockey.net
twitter.com/spectorshockey

Our Daily Rumor maestro, Lyle Richardson, had a piece a few days ago on What factors are freezing NHL’s trade market? over on FOX. It’s a good read because he alludes that the lead up to free agency might be quieter than we think. This, of course, will be a surprise to the rumor hounds who have been pushing a player every which way lately.

In the Toronto Sun, Robert Longley is thinking Writing’s on the wall for Kaberle, despite that Burke might like him.

Penguins: No progress in Hamhuis talks says Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The always excellent @Real_ESPNLeBrun with this on twitter: “As clock nears noon ET tomorrow. Coyotes scrambling with all their UFAs and top priority is Z. Michalek as they attempt to get him re-signed”

Speaking of twitter, @walsha (Octagon-Hockey, Sports Agent/Lawyer Allan Walsh) has some July 1st plans as well besides just doing hockey business: “On July 1st, I intend on tweeting updates throughout the day bringing fans and hockey voyeurs into the world of a sports agent.”

It should be interesting since the internet has lacked a bird’s eye view of Walsh counting Halak’s cash.

The Ottawa Citizen’s Ken Warren seems to think Cheechoo’s NHL career is over. Clearly impossible since Holmgren, Sather or another big money team haven’t called on him to be their latest project. Jokes aside, I’m going to go with this assumption being premature, at best, despite the Ottawa buyout.

NHL.com’s Dan Rosen with a sharp take on “High-priced, star goalies don’t guarantee a Cup”. Though I agree with Neimi, I will suggest that the Marian Hossa uber deal kind of helped, plus let us not forget the huge back-breakers that they did in the two years before to lock them into a Cup or bust tract.

NESN’s Michael Hurley has an interesting piece on how “Cam Neely Downplays Any Issue With Marc Savard”.  Sure, however we didn’t quite believe Silvio when he went to pick up Adriana in the Sopranos. I wouldn’t put too much stock in this one either, folks.

Speaking of Silvio, the warm and fuzzy Brian Burke seems poised to make some splash, so he tells The Star’s Kevin McGran in his piece: “Brian Burke ready to make moves as free agency opens”.

The LIVE CHAT will open at 11am. We will have a breaking news twitter feed in the chat so we all know at the same time as things break. Cut through the blogosphere and twittersphere noise and spend your Free Agent Frenzy day with us!