Happy NHL UFA Day (Canada Day in Canada)

This has already been an intriguing offseason for the NHL, and things can get even more interesting today.

Here are some notes I’ve collected on various teams, players, and situations:

*Brad Richards is interesting, but the real drama surrounds Steven Stamkos, the 21 year old restricted free agent from the Tampa Bay Lightning. After a surprise trip to the Conference Finals this year, Steve Yzerman is probably going to match any offer thrown Stamkos’ way, but it will be interesting to see at what price the market bears, and if there is any line that Yzerman will not cross to retain his young franchise Center. According to Capgeek.com, at least 19 teams have the available cap space to offer Stamkos a league maximum $12.86M contract.

*Speaking of all that cap space: some GMs are going to make utterly stupid, franchise soul crushing deals today. It’s just a given, with the weak crop of FAs and the amount of space created with the surprising increase in league revenues. Giving Glen Sather $25M of cap space on July 1^st is like putting Charlie Sheen in front of a small mountain of cocaine on his birthday. Come December there will already be hoards of fans looking back in regret at some dumb moves made today.

*Even some traditionally lower spending, less aggressive, teams have been throwing some weight around in the pre-July 1^st buildup. The Florida Panthers have taken on over $10M in salary from the Chicago Blackhawks in the form of Brian Campbell and Tomas Kopecky. The Buffalo Sabres traded for the rights to, and then inked Christian Ehrhoff to a 10 year deal and added tough blueliner Robyn Regeher to go with him. The Columbus Bluejackets dealt for Jeff Carter, formerly of the Philadelphia Flyers, and brought in James Wisniewski to sign for a big deal. And even the lowly New York Islanders have been making some noise about trying to bring some marquee talent back to Long Island.

*One of the reasons we have seen some trades, is that after the big guy (Brad Richards) at the top, there is not a lot of premium talent out there at the UFA level this year. Simon Gagne is intriguing, but a definite injury concern. Erik Cole might be able to help bolster some teams offense, but proved in his stint in Edmonton that he can’t carry a load himself and needs some good supporting guys on his line. After that it’s a bunch of mid-tier guys like Tyler Kennedy, Scottie Upshall, Tim Connolly, Ville Leino, Brenden Morrison, and Sergei Samsonov. Those are all guys who may have some potential, but none of them are elite game breaking talents. They are either really talented 3^rd liners or fill in quality top 6 forwards.

*Then you have the older guys looking for one last deal. For Mike Modano, Kris Draper, and Doug Weight that magic # of 40 may mean the end of the road. Teemu Selanne proved he still had it last year, but for him its supposedly the Ducks or nothing. Alexei Kovalev will probably find warmer welcome in the KHL than any North American rink this fall. John Madden, Andrew Brunette, Cory Stillman, and Jason Arnott are all in their late 30s and could fill in well in a role for a contending team, or chase the most money on a retirement deal in say, Long Island.

*On the Defensive side of the zone, Tomas Kaberle is the big “get.” Ask any Toronto fan how much they want him back. Ed Jovanovski could be an intriguing pickup for some teams looking for blueline help. I irrationally hate Roman Hamrlik. Ian White is versatile. Bryan McCabe and Sean O’Donnell are old, and play like it.

*If a team is looking for help between the pipes, some options are available. No big names are out there, but plenty of 1A type guys who will get you through. Tomas Vokoun and Brian Boucher are the most solid of the bunch. After that it is a mismash of former Senators, Redwings, Bluejackets, and Avs.

Flyers Explode Roster; Shakeup Hockey World

When the Flyers goalie situation imploded in the 2nd round of the Playoffs this spring and the team was swept by Tim Thomas and the eventual Cup winning Bruins, owner Ed Snider had finally seen enough. He ORDERED General Manager Paul Holmgren to rectify the situation in the Flyers net that had been left derelict since Ron Hextall skated away to Quebec in a fit of rage.
In following his bosses orders Holmgren brought in the hottest name available, trading for the rights to restricted free agent Ilya Bryzgalov from the Phoenix Coyotes. Holmgren only then faced one problem: he was up against the salary cap and would need to move some cash off his roster to free up room to sign the hottest goalie on the market. Rumors swirled around trade deadline addition Kris Versteeg and middle pairing defenseman Matt Carle. Absolutely nobody in the hockey world saw the combination of brazen moves that Holmgren was really cooking up coming down the pike.
Within an hour time span yesterday, instead of tinkering around the margins, Holmgren boldly blew up the very core of his roster, trading away Team Captain Mike Richards to the LA Kings and Assistant Captain and prime sniper Jeff Carter to the Columbus Blue Jackets. In doing so Holmgren cleared out a combined 20 years and $109.6 million off the team’s books through the 2021-2022 season.
In trading Richards to the Kings, the Flyers picked up versatile tough guy winger Wayne Simmonds and the Kings top prospect, 19 year old Brayden Schenn, and a 2nd round pick for the upcoming NHL entry draft.
In dealing Carter to Columbus, the Flyers acquired a former 1st round pick in Czech Winger Jakub Voracek, and two more picks for the current draft, the 1st round (8th overall) and 3rd round picks from the Jackets this year. Schenn is signed on an entry level contract for the next 3 seasons, and Simmonds and Voracek are both restricted free agents. Holmgren had better do his damndest to ink those guys by July 1, or he will have some major egg on his face. He did manage to bring Bryzgalov under wraps, signing him to a 10 year deal, with an annual Cap hit of $5.6 million dollars. That leaves his squad with $7.5 million in cap space, and sets them up nicely with a bunch of young assets to build around at forward. It does hurt them however in short term production up front, for a team who’s defense and goalie are signed to win RIGHT NOW.
There is rampant speculation that the other shoe is ready to drop, whether it be a UFA signing of Brad Richards from the Stars, or deal to bring in restricted Free Agent Steven Stamkos from the Tampa Bay Lightning, one hardly gets the feeling that things are completely settled in Flyerland. If they had simply traded Carter for Voracek and picks, that would have been an understandable salary dump to sign a goalie. But in moving their Captain in Mike Richards, the Flyers signaled a seismic shift in the way the organization will be structured going forward. And as the ground shifted under them, other teams felt some aftershocks as well.
The team setup to come out best immediately from this is the LA Kings. With Anze Kopitar already in the fold, Richards gives them an elite 1-2 punch at Center along the lines of Cup contenders like Detroit(Datsyuk/Zetterberg), Pittsburgh (Crosby/Malkin), and Chicago (Toews/Sharp). They have some good young goaltending in place, adequate role players at wing, and a solid defensive core. They will also be able to unload winger Ryan Smyth, whose numbers have been decreasing in production relative to his salary in recent years. Smyth wants to go home to Alberta, and the Kings will probably get something decent in return from either the Flames or the Oilers for the Canadian hero. The Flames already moved Robyn Regehr to the Buffalo Sabres in anticipation of bidding for Smyth.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are not as close to contention as the Kings, but they FINALLY have their legitimate #1 Center in Carter to play alongside their longtime standout Rick Nash. So the Flyers have a solid Goalie and the Jackets have an elite Center. This may be signs of a forthcoming hockey apocalypse. I like the Blue Jackets up front now, especially if they bring back Scottie Upshall, but on their blueline it’s a bad combination of too young, and too average. When Grant Clitsome and Fedor Tyutin are your ‘name’ guys on defense, that is never a good sign. They do have a massive $21 million in cap space however, and some key pieces in place to at least shape themselves into a playoff team, so lets wait and see how the situation unfolds for Ohio hockey.
Things got very interesting in the trade market yesterday, and with the draft taking place this weekend, Jagr still floating out there (although the league ruled he won’t be able to sign till July 1 now) and Ryan Smyth ready to move back home, don’t expect things to settle down from now through the start of free agency.

Six Times Steckel

With the trade between the New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals that sent Dave Steckel to the Pine Barrens for Jason Arnott, the Penguins will now see the man who injured Sidney Crosby six times a year. In case you have been living on Mars or in the Charlie Sheen Porn Family for the last 2 months, Steckel may well have ended Crosby's season when he hit lowered his shoulder and blindsided him in the head while the puck was the other end of the ice during the waning moments of the Winter Classic's second period. Crosby, slow to get up, would continue in this game and also play the following tilt against Tampa Bay but suffered another cheap head shot via Victor Hedman ( who received a boarding minor for his troubles) and has been missing from the lineup since.

According to a DC sportswriter being interviewed by Mark Madden last Monday, Capitals bench boss and resident NHL whiner Bruce Boudreau apparently gets hot under the collar anytime a reporter merely mentions the Steckel hit. Of course, there is not shortage of subjectsthat raises Boudreau's blood pressure; standing up is probably a daunting task for him. But my misguided point in this post is whether or not the Penguins will seek any further retribution against Steckel now that they will see him six times a year?

My guess is NO. The shorthanded Pens have already met the Caps twice since the Winter Classic and while the Penguins tough guys continued to challenge Steckel to a fight during the first matchup( Much to the ire of Boudreau of course), he did finally drop the gloves against the much smaller Tim Wallace. That would seem to settle the score if there is such thing as a finite hockey code, but as we learned last month on Long Island, enough is not enough for some people. The Bruins haven't gotten enough of Matt Cooke still challenge and target him every chance they get so what's to say the Pens don't call up Ogie Ogilthorpe and have him take a Flying Gillies at Steckel before pummelling the back of his head while he is unconscious on the ice? the answer to that would be simple : organizational class.

A few trades

Dustin Penner is the newest member of the Los Angeles Kings. The Kings, who are fifth in the Western Conference standings with 74 points, are my pick for biggest acquisition. Penner is a legitimate goal scorer with 32 this season and 105 in 343 NHL games.

This was the biggest deal on a rare slow last day for the NHL trade deadline. The Kings are 8 points behind the division-leading Sharks and are ready to make a push. Los Angeles gave up prospect Colton Teubert and draft picks in 2011 and 2012.

The Devils parted ways with Jason Arnott, who went to the Capitals for David Steckel. Steckel is the No. 1 enemy around Pittsburgh for being primarly responsible for Sidney Crosby's absence in the Penguins' lineup. He will fit right in with New Jersey.

I don't think the deal helps the Capitals too much. They need some good blue liners if they want to take that next step.

Pittsburgh didn't do anything, which is fine. I like the additions of Neal, Niskanen and Kovalev.

NHL Trade Deadline Update

Been a quiet morning for the NHL trade deadline day. Reports are that the General Managers who hold the rental players are asking way too much in return. I expect at least a few of those bottom dwelling teams blink and start dealing guys off in the afternoon. Biggest deal so far: Niclos Bergfors from the Atlanta Thrashers to the Florida Panthers for Radek Dvorak. Atlanta gave up too much there, imo. They got Bergfors as a center-piece to the deal for Ilya Kovalchuck with the New Jersey Devils last year and he has shown goal scoring promise. I don't see why they would give up on that potential they so coveted last year for a short term fill in, which is all Dvorak brings them. There is a reason this is a franchise yet to win a playoff game.
Biggest deal that WON'T happen: Brad Richards of the Dallas Stars to the New York Rangers for a king's ransom. Start with the Rangers 1st round pick, add in two of their young performing roster guys, and you may have a deal, but I don't think even Glenn Sather would gove up that much for the UFA to be. Then again... Its Sather.

Another Penguin injured

As I'm sure you all know, Brooks Orpik was injured last night after taking a Patrick Marleau shot off his hand late in the first period in the Penguins' 3-2 OT loss to the Sharks. It is another injury to a star player, and one, according to Ray Shero via the FAN, that could keep the blue liner out a long time.

If I was running the team, it would be my concern that the amount of injuries will start to take their toll on the Penguins. I do believe they will make the playoffs, but how will they fare with the injuries, especially with Evgeni Malkin out for the season and with Sidney Crosby's fate to be determined?

Can Pens win Cup without Malkin?

The Pittsburgh Penguins title hopes were dealt a severe blow when Star Forward Evgeni Malkin went down with a season ending knee injury Feb. 4th against the Buffalo Sabres. Without their former Conn Smythe winner, are the Pens still a legit threat to win the cup?
Obviously the most important part of that question relies on the health of their other star forward, Sidney Crosby, who is battling back from a concussion suffered in early January. Sid must be able to not only come back this spring, but also be able to get his game back to the level it was at before he went down with the injury for his team to have any chance of a long playoff run. The thinking here is that if he can’t get back on the ice at least practicing by early March that it will be very difficult for him to build back up his strength and conditioning to the point where he can get through the playoffs carrying the team offensively. I’m not saying this in hopes that the Pens rush him back, just the opposite in fact. If the calendar is winding into March and his symptoms haven’t subsided, what is the drop-dead date for the team just shutting him down for the season and telling him to go relax at some secluded beach resort until he absolutely feels 100% better? Too much of the teams future is tied into Crosby, and with Malkin already down they have to put a deadline on bringing him back and risking further complications.

But let’s assume that they can get Crosby back and project that his game will be at least around 90-95% of what it was on December 31st come playoff time? At that point they have the game’s biggest offensive weapon, a pretty well proven big game playoff goaltender, a good cast of role-player forwards, and a very solid, if slightly under-experienced blueline.

IF GM Ray Shero thinks he can get Crosby back and healthy, I would say this team is two players away from a cup run. A veteran blueline lunch-pail guy to fill the 7th spot on the roster, and the elusive scoring winger unicorn for Sid to play with. One dude who fits that scoring winger role is going up against the Pens today, Feb. 16th, Milan Hejduk of the Colorado Avalanche. Hejduk would have to waive the no-movement clause in his contract to be out the door to Pittsburgh or anywhere else, but he is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season and can choose to play wherever he likes at that point anyway. The Avs are struggling mightily, Peter Forsberg's comeback lasted all of two games, and the team has dropped 8 in a row, the latest being a 9-1 drubbing at the hands of the Calgary Flames on Feb. 14th, and are now a full 10 points out of the last playoff spot in the very tough Western Conference. Although he has spent his entire career with the Colorado organization, it’s hard to speculate that Hejduk would object to being dealt to a contender this spring to put up some numbers and get a chance to shine in the playoff spotlight once again. The Czech winger is 35 years old and this most likely will be his last chance to cash in on a high dollar multi-year contract this summer.

He would slot in very nicely with Crosby and Pascal Dupuis on the Pens top line, which would allow Chris Kunitz to play with Jordan Staal on the 2nd line and provide some quality depth scoring. It also leaves the door open for a 3rd line that clicked earlier in the season for the team of Chris Conner, Mark Letestu and Tyler Kennedy, and a 4th line would be loaded with tons of playoff proven sandpaper.

Dupuis-Crosby-Hejduk
Cooke-Staal-Kunitz
Conner-Letestu-Kennedy
Asham/Rupp-Talbot-Adams

I think with the emergence of Letestu as a capable 3rd line center, they can definitely afford to move versatile prospect Dustin Jeffrey at the deadline along with a high draft pick to acquire a top wing rental for Sid, again with the caveat that Crosby is getting some quality symptom free days in his recovery process come the 2/28 trade deadline.
According to Tim Benz of WXDX in Pittsburgh, Crosby is still going through a very frustrating good day/bad day routine right now where he was still experiencing headaches as recently as Saturday, Feb. 13th.

Frolik will shine with Hawks

The NHL trade deadline is still a few weeks away, but the Chicago Blackhawks got an early jump on the annual hockey swap-meet by dealing for Michael Frolik of the Florida Panthers. True, the Czech winger who was once dubbed "little Jagr", is having a down year numbers-wise and was recently buried in the Sun-Cats lineup, but make no mistake: this was a steal for the defending champs. Frolik has the speed, vision, and offensive instincts to be a great weapon on a front loaded team of skilled forwards like Chicago. Frolik is still quite a young player at 22 and already has two 20-goal seasons under his belt with room to grow. Coming to a team like the Blackhawks should be a jolt of energy to a young man who seems to have been playing this season in the doldrums. Playing on lines with guys like Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, and Jonathan Toews can't hurt either. I think Frolik will find his time with those guys in Chi-town quite productive.