Silly Season 2009: Free Agents and Trades--Who Goes Where?

asq2 wrote:Saku Koivu is a top-6 player, but I'm pretty sure it'll be for the Minnesota Wild.

Actually, they're shaping up pretty nicely up front. Havlat, Bouchard, Brunette, Nolan, Miettinen, Sheppard and potentially the Koivus.

Should be an interesting year in the North-West. Even Colorado looks better with an improved goal-tending situation, Matt Duchene and a healthier Paul Stastny.

I guess that was kind of what I was hinting towards, he won't come to Ottawa, and frankly, I don't see anyone coming in terms of FA's

Why would they? You would have to be brain dead or beyond desperate to come here. At this point, Atlanta is a better choice.

Until the whole Heatley situation is sorted out and certain players in Ottawa can prove they can lead a team, the basement is where The Sens will be.

I don't know. I'm not as optimistic as Prags, but I don't think we're going to be terrible next season.

Not bad enough to land a top-3 pick.

We're probably staying in the top-10 though, depending on the return for Heatley (and if he's traded).

If we are not in the top 10 next year I would be shocked.

asq2 wrote:I don't know. I'm not as optimistic as Prags, but I don't think we're going to be terrible next season.

Not bad enough to land a top-3 pick.

We're probably staying in the top-10 though, depending on the return for Heatley (and if he's traded).

we will be a middling team at best, but that is due more to Clouston's coaching effectiveness and our young guys will play surprisingly well.

The frustrating thing for me is that I don't get a sense of what direction this team is wanting to take. Are we re-building, or trying to compete?

Murray's moves haven't really given me a sense of either direction. In the end, I can only see this team being mediocre.

Honestly I don't think we are any better than TO. Maybe we are better than the Islanders but I'm not sure. I think the Thrashers may pass us with the addition of Antropov and Kubina. I do expect Montreal to fall out of the playoffs but I don't see them being as bad as us. So having said that Bottom 3 in the conference for sure with today's roster.

asq2 wrote:The frustrating thing for me is that I don't get a sense of what direction this team is wanting to take. Are we re-building, or trying to compete?

Murray's moves haven't really given me a sense of either direction. In the end, I can only see this team being mediocre.

I don't think Murray knows either, he figured Heatley would have been dealt by now I figure, then he would have been able to go on with his game plan as normal, now Heatley is still here, Murray has missed the big ticket UFA's, and we are stuck with a line up that still could be without a top line scorer if Heatley does get moved or if he holds out.

IF Heatley gets moved then I would love Tanguay as a replacement. I doubt he gets moved in time though.

The thing is, Penner + Cogliano + Smid basically = Heatley salary-wise.

I know Cogs is a RFA next season, which complicates it a bit, but I'm not sure it's the greatest excuse to not make any signings.

Of course, at this point, especially now that NYR has signed Gaborik, Edmonton is probably offering Schremp, Penner and Pisani.

Skrastins to Dallas, 2.75 over 2 years.

MaxHockey.com's snapshot this morning of the remaining UFAs includes some interesting names...(and note who's been signed since)

Plenty of free agents remain on the open market as we begin July 2, including:

Alex Kovalev, Saku Koivu, Alex Tanguay, Nik Antropov, Sergei Zubov, Mark Recchi, Maxim Afinogenov, Robert Lang, Mike Zigomanis, Francois Beauchemin, Adrian Aucoin, Todd Bertuzzi, Manny Malhotra, Ales Kotalik, Kyle Calder, Marc-Andre Bergeron, Travis Moen, Mats Sundin.

asq2 wrote:The thing is, Penner + Cogliano + Smid basically = Heatley salary-wise.

I know Cogs is a RFA next season, which complicates it a bit, but I'm not sure it's the greatest excuse to not make any signings.

Of course, at this point, especially now that NYR has signed Gaborik, Edmonton is probably offering Schremp, Penner and Pisani.

And Murray is accepting nothing less than Gagner, Penner, Eberle, pick(s)....


The reality is that the Edmonton trade is dead and gone. He will not be going to Edmonton and as a result he will probably be staying in Ottawa.

Quite frankly, I don't want him traded now. I want him to sit and rot in Ottawa. Diddle him. Diddle piece of Dung! Wing Dang Doodle Donkey Wang!

cas wrote:Diddle him. Diddle piece of Dung! Wing Dang Doodle Donkey Wang!

Cas>On a lighter note, you could have a rap song in the making there...

PS to all, esp ASQ>Scuderi to the Kings confirmed, so that seems to give the Kings some extra assets on D they can use for a trade...

PPS to all> I did a quick scan of the updated rosters...wow, it's enough to make your head spin.

NHLNumbers.com is also up again, adjusted for the increased cap. The site gives you a complete picture of who's signed on what team; how much each club has committed, and what they have left right now, to spend.

So I can see some more players on the move over the summer as GMs look to trim their budgets and address some needs.

Have a look at the link here:

http://nhlnumbers.com/

According to RDS tonight, Kovalev may be in the crosshairs of the Kings, the Caps and the KHL...
http://www.rds.ca/canadien/chroniques/277660.html


Selon ce que RDS a appris, deux équipes étudient la possibilité de soumettre une offre de contrat à Kovalev. Il s'agit des Kings de Los Angeles et des Capitals de Washington.

L'équipe d'Avangard de la KHL en Russie lui a aussi présenté une offre.

davetherave wrote:PS to all, esp ASQ>Scuderi to the Kings confirmed, so that seems to give the Kings some extra assets on D they can use for a trade...

Unfortunately, I don't see the Kings making a deal for Heatley. I suspect they'll be targetting Tanguay to play with Stoll and Brown.

I'm holding out hope, though.

Personally, I'm good with the actual roster. Makes everybody works harder to earn a spot (LOVE the competition with our prospects). A kind of season that the Leafs had last year (lost in competitiveness) would be ok to me. We are also getting younger.

Thats all well and good, but isnt that more of a rebuild?

Exactly.

Ottawa needs to deal a few pending UFA's and some other guys that might not have a NTC this up coming season as well then.

It really is time for Ottawa to rebuild in a big way. The window is not only closed, it got slammed on our fingers.

Neely4Life wrote:Ottawa needs to deal a few pending UFA's and some other guys that might not have a NTC this up coming season as well then.

It really is time for Ottawa to rebuild in a big way. The window is not only closed, it got slammed on our fingers.

Why? What changed? We're still on target for 3 years down the road. Heatley won't stay, he'll be dealt this summer. I don't think anything catastrophic has happened personally. And I love the coach, I'm starting to come around with our D, we just need to deal Heatley and get on with it.

What do we have that's worth dealing and has some value? (Players without NTC/NMC)

Sens4thecup wrote:What do we have that's worth dealing and has some value? (Players without NTC/NMC)

If we can't reach a deal with him soon, Volchenkov. I shudder at the idea, but it's gonna be batted around a bit this summer.

Heatley will be moved. We need to be patient.

I'm starting to feel that the Senators management is going to need a major upheaval. Too much nonsense has happened in the last two years that make Ottawa an unappealing place to "work".

SpezDispenser wrote:

Neely4Life wrote:Ottawa needs to deal a few pending UFA's and some other guys that might not have a NTC this up coming season as well then.

It really is time for Ottawa to rebuild in a big way. The window is not only closed, it got slammed on our fingers.

Why? What changed? We're still on target for 3 years down the road. Heatley won't stay, he'll be dealt this summer. I don't think anything catastrophic has happened personally. And I love the coach, I'm starting to come around with our D, we just need to deal Heatley and get on with it.

People might hate me for saying this, but the guys with the most value come trade deadline day in Ottawa (when The Sens are completly out of it) is A Train. I love the guy but teams might pay out the a$$ for him, especially with that cap hit. A team going for it may very well give up that young prospect and a 1st rounder for the guy.

With guys coming up they are going to need that time in the 5, 6 spot and A Train is about as expendable as he will ever be.

N4L is right, but the flip side is that he's a good role model for the kids coming up and he's shown a real dedication to the team - I'd hate to think how much more damage it would do to the reputation of the Senators if they sent away one of their most loyal and dedicated soldiers

SpezDispenser wrote:

Sens4thecup wrote:What do we have that's worth dealing and has some value? (Players without NTC/NMC)

If we can't reach a deal with him soon, Volchenkov. I shudder at the idea, but it's gonna be batted around a bit this summer.

Heatley will be moved. We need to be patient.

I still love the idea of Volchenkov for Alzner, although at this point we should probably start looking at improving our forward situation.

It's a far cry from the years of leading the league in goals.

Acrobat wrote:N4L is right, but the flip side is that he's a good role model for the kids coming up and he's shown a real dedication to the team - I'd hate to think how much more damage it would do to the reputation of the Senators if they sent away one of their most loyal and dedicated soldiers

It's something that might have to be done to start to build the front end though. It would be awful to see him go but a team that is looking for some help on the blueline for the upcoming season may very well give up a few assets to grab him.

Neely4Life wrote:

Acrobat wrote:N4L is right, but the flip side is that he's a good role model for the kids coming up and he's shown a real dedication to the team - I'd hate to think how much more damage it would do to the reputation of the Senators if they sent away one of their most loyal and dedicated soldiers

It's something that might have to be done to start to build the front end though. It would be awful to see him go but a team that is looking for some help on the blueline for the upcoming season may very well give up a few assets to grab him.

Unfortunately, he's not the type to be a "rent-a-player" for a cup run, then come back home

No shot, but our blueline is loaded, sadly, he is expendable in that sense. His character and heart are not though... but they are an asset that is very valuable.

That's why I'm so hesitant to see him go - right now, the character and heart are probably more important than the skill level

We can probably move forward keeping him. Guys like him are hard to find, whereas an offensive player can be purchased at the right price. I'm worried about him wanting Komisarek money though. We can't do that.

You have 3 or 4 guys in Ottawa who can lead this team, I love A Train as much as anyone, but still, choices are going to have to be made, and if there is a position in Ottawa that is extremely expendable, its the 3, 4 -left handed D man.

$4.5M? stretch out a contract to beyond retirement, then figuring on early retirement given his style of play, the cap hit becomes a non-issue.

On that front - can you sign a contract to last to age 45 or 50 or whenever? I know it sounds ridiculous, but if signed before 35, then as long as the final years drop to league minimum, retirement negates the actual value but cap hit can be brought down tremendously (and unless you end up with a Chelios or give them a NMC/NTC, you can be fairly certain that they'll retire once they're sent down, so the team still has a degree of control).

Thing is, I think if you look at the future blue-line (Cowen, Karlsson, Wiercioch et al), a Volchenkov-type defenceman would really complement them beautifully.

Unfortunately, at 27, Volchie might be reduced to near-Jason-Smith effectiveness by the time those three (hopefully) become top-pairing calibre defencemen.

Thats exactly it, and at 27 and a low cap hit, his value may never be higher than it is now.

Neely4Life wrote:Thats exactly it, and at 27 and a low cap hit, his value may never be higher than it is now.

IMHO Neely is correct in this respect...solid d-men like Volchenkov have tangible value, and there are more than a few teams who would welcome his combination of character and ability.

The available UFA pool continues to shrink and we are moving into the 'trading' part of the summer.

Bryan Murray may find himself among the GMs who decide on looking towards the future, rather than simply next season.

These GMs take the view that accumulating young, inexpensive talent means they have to forego short term success for the opportunity to build a strong team over the long term.

Dean Lombardi and John Davidson are two examples whose clubs are starting to emerge as a result.

The next few months will show us which GMs follow that philosophy; which ones have decided that spending now to go for the Cup is worth the risk; and which ones are somewhere in between.

Interesting how some observers praise Ken Holland for signing his stars to 'lifetime' deals (Zetterberg, Franzen et al) and then are 'surprised' when other GMs follow suit. Getting 'creative' with the cap is now part of the business...and a necessary one.

How many mid-range UFAs will remain unsigned? While about 50 deals were done over the last few days, I believe some 300 UFAs are on the market. We may see what NHLPA Director Paul Kelly meant when he called some players 'cap casualties'--players out of contract who can't find new homes--very soon.

Here's the updated UFA list from TSN:
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?id=11850

TSN's Matt Cullen also has an article today that reviews a number of UFA signings, especially the less flashy ones.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=283421

Are these players 'worth the money?' is always the question asked...but the answer is simply that the market dictates the price.

You either play the game, or you watch the others...

Is there a 'right' or 'wrong' way to build your team? The contrast between Pittsburgh and Detroit's approaches in winning their respective Stanley Cups, and what the previous winners, Anaheim and Carolina, have done since then, reveals that the answer is far more complex than most of us imagine.

The Rangers just signed Tyler Arnason to a two-way contract, as well as Corey Locked and Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau. I'm kind of shocked Arnason accepted the fact that it was a two-way, but after only amassing a paltry 22 points last season, guess that's what he deserves.

Oh Tyler.

Another Red Wing takes flight elsewhere. From Spector's Hockey:

TSN reports the Vancouver Canucks have signed former Detroit Red Wings forward Mikael Samuelsson to a three-year contract. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

SPECTOR'S NOTE: A good signing by the Canucks. Samuelsson's had three seasons of 40 or more points and his versatility and playoff experience makes him a solid addition.

Per MaxHockey.com Free Agent Live blog @ 2:11 PM ET, Wild sign ex-Bruin d-man Shane Hnidy and the Pens re-up Fedo at $1,8MM/1yr.

http://www.maxhockey.com/Freeagents/Freeagents_070109.php

Doesn't this give the Wild too many d-men?

Neither capgeek nor CapCentral list Martin Skoula as being on the Wild roster. Is he a free agent?