It begins! NHL Free Agency (12pm ET)

[BlueNGold]

Quote: Originally Posted by rdnk

Hell Atlanta looks pretty darn good with all the moves they made. Also Washington fans, know you know how Wings fans feel when they do nothing for the first week of free agency.

The difference is the Wings actually have Cups.

I agree about Atlanta. That team is making some really nice moves. I'm impressed. Hey Bettman, if you get it through your head that Atlanta isn't a hockey market, I'll gladly take the Thrashers.

[tyler289]

Quote: Originally Posted by rdnk

Hell Atlanta looks pretty darn good with all the moves they made. Also Washington fans, know you know how Wings fans feel when they do nothing for the first week of free agency.

Except you have multiple Cups and the best front office in the sport.

[Vince]

Quote: Originally Posted by slickdtc

So Philly signs Meszaros, Sean O'Donnell, and Jody Shelley, as well as the resigning of Braydon Coburn. I like Meszaros, but I'm pretty meh on O'Donnell and Shelley. O'Donnell is a aging, lumbering defensemen last I checked. Not too high on those guys... and Shelley is a fighter/enforcer. I guess I wasn't expecting much since I like our offensive depth and we signed Leighton to a 2 year deal the other day. I love the depth of defense now, though. So it's Pronger/Carle, Timonen/Coburn, and O'Donnell/Meszaros. Nice!

Shelley is a hockey player...Great cycler. Causes havoc. I'm a Ranger fan and he was amazing the final week of the season. He can play.

[Fiddy]

so, are the Flyers over the cap as of right now?

[Qb]

Quote: Originally Posted by MizzyMike05

If the Penguins could get Kariya or anyone like that for 1 year at a cheap price, I would say that we had a solid offseason.

Any forward signing would have to be really cheap; preferably $1M at the most and absolutely no more than $1.5M. I can see Shero bringing someone in on a tryout deal in camp or a buyout victim on a 1-year/800K or so deal (like he did w/McKee).

Quote:

And why is Washington so quiet today?

I think they're banking on Alzner and Carlson, which might be the best move as both guys can really play.

Quote:

And Kovalchuk is probably at the Airport buying his ticket back to Russia lol.

He's got his own free agency market, unlike all the d-men and second/third tier forwards who were competing against each other. He may go to the KHL, but I don't think the lack of a first day signing is an indicator that he will.

[slickdtc]

Quote: Originally Posted by Vince

Shelley is a hockey player...Great cycler. Causes havoc. I'm a Ranger fan and he was amazing the final week of the season. He can play.

Right, right. He's a Lapierrerre type of player, right? Tough, not the most skills but enough to make you a fan of his. The problem is, we already have Lapierrerre. And to an extent, Dan Carcillo (though I wouldn't say they're the same player, mostly just sharing the fighting experience). I saw that Arron Asham was a FA, so maybe Shelley's the replacement? Kind of surprising considering how well Asham played for us in the playoffs.

[Ridgeberg]

Tampa Bay signed Pavel Kubina to a 2 year 7.7 mil dollar contract. First year pays 4.2 mil second year pays 3.5 mil.

This seems like a pretty smart move, replacing Meszaros' bloated contract with Kubina's. Plus, the last two years for Kubina have been a lot better than Meszaros.

[tyler289]

Caps GM McPhee:

"It's going as expected for us," he said. "We got 121 points last year because we're a pretty good team and we don't really need a lot. As we expected, the guys that are out there really aren't better than what we have, and their prices are inflated."

Andddddd this is why we're still lightyears from a Cup. We choke in the first round up 3-1 on an 8 seed, and the management says, "We're fine guys, there is nobody out there better than Tyler ****ing Sloan and John Erskine on defense."

It's a sad state of affairs when I expect another disappointment next year (probably a first-round loss) and pray that Leonsis will man up and clean house (maybe sell the team to someone who isn't a jerk to fans on his blog and knows what it takes to win). He can focus on his real baby, the Wizards.

/rant