I have never been a Max Talbot fan. I loved when he fought Dan Carcillo in the 2009 playoffs and held his finger to the Wachovia Center crowd. That was great. But, on the whole, I’m not a huge fan of his.
Just a thought – Max Talbot should shut it
NHL
Kovalchuk deal nixed. Now what?
So, Ilya Kovalchuk’s ridiculous contract was nixed by the NHL. Some sources (Scott Burnside) say it was nullified before the news conference but, the Devils went ahead and announced it anyway.
It was a bad deal, borderline cheating. But, the Chris Pronger and Marian Hossa deal are just as bad, and the league did nothing about them. So, why is Kovalchuk the example?
Personally, I think it is the right thing to do for the NHL. This ridiculous contract structuring needs to be stopped. Unfortunately Lucky Lou wasn’t so this time around. Hopefully he turns around and gives the guy an actual contract – one that gives him the term he is looking for, plus the right annual earnings. Maybe they can keep it under ten years too.
Better yet, maybe the Kings swoop in at the 11th hour to steal the big fish back.
Deal with the Devils (and a Flyers trade)
The goat rodeo is finally over. Ilya Kovalchuk has found his team for 2010-11, and beyond.
The Russian right-winger signed a staggering, 17-year $102 million deal with New Jersey today, ending the courtship for the biggest name in the 2010 free agent pool. After much speculation that Kovalchuk would end up in Los Angeles, he stayed with New Jersey – the team that sold the farm to get him at the trade deadline.
Sabres stay static on July 1
July 1 must not be a good day at HSBC Arena. The Sabres have never done too much on the opening day of free agency, particularly in the past few years. Mark down 2010 as another one of those days.
With a free agent pool deep with defensive talent, and two UFA defensemen likely leaving the team, it was believed that the Sabres would make one or two acquisitions today. They didn’t disappoint in every sense of the word, although most fans expecting Tomas Kaberle are likely up in arms about the Sabres’ signing.
Jordan Leopold is not a bad pick-up. Three years at or around $2 million (his 09-10 salary was $1.75MM) is not a bad rate for a reliable defenseman. Leopold has playoff experience from his Cup run with Calgary and he has shown he is a capable power play contributor. Just don’t expect him to be Duncan Keith on the man advantage.
While underwhelming, Leopold addresses the loss of the Sabres’ two top left handed defensemen. With Mike Weber coming up from the minors, Buffalo shouldn’t lose too much skill. If they were to find another guy later in free agency they might be golden – reason being, Chris Butler and Andrej Sekera do not deserve a regular shift. Continue reading
Quick hit – full update later
It’s UFA Day in the NHL – one of the most exciting, yet, over analyzed days of the year.
In the 4 1/2 hours since free agency opened there have been a boatload of deals; 21 to be exact. The deepest position in this year’s free agent pool is defense and the bulk of today’s signings have been on the back-end.
Sergei Gonchar (Ottawa), Zbynek Michalek (Pittsburgh), Paul Martin (Pittsburgh) and Buffalo’s UFA pair of Toni Lydman (Anaheim) and Henrik Tallinder (New Jersey) all went quickly.
Only a handful of forwards are off the “board” but, my favorite for the Sabres to bring in, Colby Armstrong, went to Toronto for more than I think he is worth. Perhaps the second biggest forward name, behind Ilya Kovalchuk, is gone as well – Ray Whitney signed with Phoenix this afternoon.
Now that the biggest names (defensively) have been picked clean, I expect things to slow to a crawl in terms of signings. You won’t see the rat race for the big names that you see in the first few hours. However, there are always good value players that don’t go early who can contribute on a high level for teams. So, fans around the league can’t get too discouraged if their teams don’t make a major splash right off the bat.
More to come later, including a full wrap-up of day one of free agency.
It’s almost UFA day – what will the Sabres do?
The dearth of trades leading up to the beginning of free agency, Thursday at noon, has been somewhat surprising.
Ten days ago rumors were rampant that players like Tomas Kaberle, Jason Spezza and others would be moved on or before the draft. At the very worst they wouldn’t last past June 30. But, there have only been a few “major” deals. Vancouver acquiring Keith Ballard and Victor Oreskovich for a first-round pick, Steve Bernier and Michael Grabner is probably the biggest – followed closely by Nathan Horton and Greg Campbell for Denis Wideman and a pair of picks. Aside from Dustin Byfuglien, the Chicago-Atlanta trade was heavy on numbers but weak on talent.
Either way, the only moves that have been made have been to clear cap space rather than acquire talent. Most of the fringe acquisitions have been smart, but have lacked the pop that all the rumors have predicted. Continue reading
Habs on the right side of the dial this time
After completely missing on their choice to dump Jaroslav Halak and sign Tomas Plekanec, the Montreal Canadiens have made a smart move.
The dumped problem child, Sergei Kostitsyn to Nashville in exchange for Dustin Boyd and Dan Ellis. Boyd will help Montreal, especially compared to what Kostitsyn brought to the table. In the event the Habs can sign Ellis, they will have absolutely fleeced the Preds – a team that is making moves quicker than Deep Blue.
The Predators have made three moves this offseason, none of which have improved the team. They have inherited a fringe defenseman, a prima donna winger and a part-time NHLer. They sent out three players who started most nights for them in 2009-10 in Ellis, Dan Hamhuis and Jason Arnott. The only silver lining in it all is that the Predators got something in return for Ellis and Hamhuis, instead of letting them walk for free – even if the return was questionable.
As for the Habs, it seems like Ellis is interested in signing with Montreal. If that is the case, the Habs have found their 1B to Carey Price. If Price can get his game back in order the bleu, blanc et rouge have found themselves a strong goaltending combo. Continue reading
Where do they go from here?
The Flyers, Bruins and Blackhawks have been the biggest movers and shakers so far this offseason.
The Blackhawks unloaded yet another player when they moved Colin Fraser to Edmonton for a 6th round pick. So the Hawks have now unloaded five contracts, four of which were NHL players. Chicago has now cleared $6 million in salary cap space after having just over $1 million earlier in the week.
Chicago still needs to make a move or two in order to free up the cap space they need.
I expect to see Cristobal Huet shipped out shortly, whether it be by trade or buyout. However, I think a buyout of his $5.625 million cap hit is more likely. A year or two in the KHL would do a lot for Huet’s game and it would likely bring his salary demands down. But, there is no place for him in the NHL making what he is now, that means his cap hit is the next move for the Blackhawks to make. After unloading him the Blackhawks will have $11 million in space and likely have the space to acquire the role players they need for next season.
NHL Awards have a distinct Buffalo flavor
First, let me give props to the NHL for doing such a good job with this year’s annual award show.
Jay Mohr was hysterical as the host, the presenters were all pretty good, except Jamie Kennedy mispronounced the Vezina Trophy, and the performances were solid as well. All-in-all, I thought it was a huge success, especially compared to years past when the show was dryer than my mother’s cooking. It was particularly funny when Duncan Keith complained that they were trying to send him off by cuing the music, while Alex Ovechkin just waited until they turned his mic back on.
My only real disappointment was that Ryan Miller didn’t win the Messier Leadership Award. I wasn’t too torn up because it is a fake award so it didn’t really matter. But, I feel that Miller truly shows the meaning of a true leader and deserved the victory. Although, Sidney Crosby does have so many of those attributes as well. Continue reading
The first domino(es) falls in Chicago
Chicago has taken the first step in alleviating their salary cap nightmare.
This afternoon, the team sent playoff hero Dustin Byfuglien to Atlanta along with Brent Sopel, Ben Eager and Akim Aliu in exchange for the Marty Reasoner, Jeremy Morin, the 24th and 54th overall selections in the 2010 draft.
The trade sheds about $4-5 million from the Blackhawks cap. That is assuming Morin plays in the AHL next season.
While the trade hasn’t officially gone through, this will end up better for the Blackhawks than for the Thrashers. Even though Atlanta gets the top player in the deal, they also inherit two sub-par players in Sopel and Eager. Meanwhile, Chicago now owns five picks in the first 60 of the draft, that gives them the ability to restock their prospect cupboard for the next 3-5 years.
In addition, Atlanta loses a quality role player in Reasoner and the first round selection they acquired from trading Ilya Kovalchuk.
Two in the Box 