Knowing that the Bruins likely wouldn’t be involved in any dealings, I wasn’t anxiously awaiting the news of a big signing and grumbling every time someone on my B’s wishlist signed somewhere else. Instead, I was able to enjoy Wysh’s “live blog” (really just a series of tweets from various news sources) providing updates on all the happenings. For the most part, I found myself in disbelief at most of these deals, to the point that it looked some GM’s had a few too many celebratory Canada Day drinks given their absurdity and some appeared to have hit the bottle too early hard, too early, and slept through most of the day. So, let’s take a look at why your team was a loser yesterday.
Anaheim – One of the few teams that could be considered to have escaped relatively unscathed. The Pronger deal at the draft may set them back, but considering the return they got on him and Scott Neidermayer’s return, they should be fine. They still have cap space and could even unload JS Giguere, allowing them to take on another big contract in a trade (read: a superstar).
Atlanta – Their primary concern is signing their RFA’s (particularly Colby Armstrong and Kari Lehtonen), which has yet to happen. Only notable move was to let Brian Burke dump Pavel Kubina’s salary onto them. With rumors circling that their financial situation is close to that of the Coyotes, it’s no wonder that they did nothing and that no one wants to sign there. Other GM’s should start sending trade offers for Kovalchuk now.
Buffalo – Did they really give Steve Montador $1.55 mil. a season? He was absolutely brutal on the Bruins last year, making more passes to opponents than to teammates. He also has a knack for picking fights and subsequently getting his ass handed to him. Not really sure how he’s an upgrade over Jaro Spacek, even if he is making a little less. Looks like they are still using their farm system to try to fill their roster, even though they are in need of a major shakeup.
Calgary – Managed to get Jay Bouwmeester signed before July 1st (despite his claim that he wouldn’t sign) and to a very reasonable deal. There was no way that they could re-sign Cammalleri, since their payroll continues to have some major albatrosses. They are going to need someone else to step up with goal scoring.
Carolina – I think they overpaid for Eric Cole, considering his playoff scoring goose-egg, but he was a major contributor for their push to the playoffs. They have some money to spend still, which they could use either for defensive help or to re-sign Chad LaRose.
Chicago – Now that William Wirtz is dead, they’ve decided to thrown money around like they’re the Rangers. Given the economics of the salary cap, a team can barely afford to keep its up and coming stars (especially a team that has a bunch of former high draft picks). Between this summer and next they need to extend the deals of Cam Barker, Kris Versteeg, Duncan Keith, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Troy Brouwer, Ben Eager, Andrew Ladd, and Adam Burish. So, how exactly do you do that when you’re already paying Brain Campbell $7 mil. per and then signed Marian Hossa until he’s 42? Opposing GM’s, start lining-up to make your trade offers! In terms of actual movement, Hossa is an upgrade over Havlat – and guarantees that they’ll lose in the Finals! – and Madden and Kopecky seem like reasonable replacements for Walker and Pahlsson.
Colorado – A large chunk of their available cap space will be held hostage until Joe Sakic decides on whether to retire. Their only major move, both for little money, was to extend Peter Budaj and bring in Craig Anderson in hopes that one becomes a reliable goalie. It looks like this season will be another right-off for them, but they have a ton of expiring contracts, so could be major players in the trade market later in the year, or in free agency next year.
Columbus – They got their backup goalie in Garon, added a character veteran in Pahlsson, and made an extension offer to Rick Nash. Manny Malhotra’s cry for an overblown extension were likely blown by the Pahlsson signing. This team still has a lot of cap space, with tons of guys nearing the end of their deals.
Dallas – Always exciting to see a non-playoff team do nothing. Their cap space is presently being held hostage by Jonas Gustavson’s decision between playing goal for the Stars or the Leafs. Most spots in their lineup are filled, so any changes would come from prospects or trades. Of their current roster, they only have 5 players under contract for 2010-11, so they may just be waiting until then.
Detroit – No one expected them to do anything, nor did they really need to. Tried to re-sign Hossa, but he opted for their Original Six rival (and the most ridiculously front-loaded deal ever). Now they have some cash to re-sign Jiri Hudler.
Edmonton – Had their cap held hostage by Dany Heatley, only to find out that he wouldn’t accept a trade there. Refused to offer Roloson a two year deal, instead signing Khabibulin, who has a hostry of tanking following a new contract. If the Heatley deal is truly dead, they may look to deal for another sniper (a’la Phil Kessel).
Florida – Failing to move Jay Bouwmeester and the trade deadline just keeps looking worse for these guys. They didn’t move him then, hoping it would show their commitment to trying to make the playoffs (both to him and the fans). Unfortunately, they ended up just missing the playoffs and then Bouwmeester announced he wouldn’t re-sign. So they swap him Calgary for one of their expiring contracts, Jordan Leopold, who now doesn’t want to sign in Florida either. At least David Booth re-upped.
Los Angeles – They have a ton of cash to spend, but did nothing. They were supposedly active in bidding for guys like Kovalev, Havlat, Hossa, and Gaborik. Because of their cap space, they are always in a position to make a trade, which might their best bet for a goalie upgrade (rather than signing Marty Biron).
Minnesota – The flashy, exciting, new Wild essentially came out of yesterday going par for the course. They lost the oft-injured Gaborik, but replaced him with the oft-injured Havlat. Havlat’s deal is one year longer than what Gaborik got from the Rangers, but was $1.5 mil. less per season (probably about right, considering Gaborik’s a flashier scorer). In the meantime, they are waiting around for Saku Koivu to decide if he wants to play with his little brother. Looking ahead, they have a bunch of contracts coming off the books next summer, so that whole “flashy, exiting, wide-open” hockey may have to wait a year.
Montreal – At this point, is there anything else to say other than Bob Gainey hates his job? How else do you explain his crazy moves yesterday? It was like he had a wheel in his office with the names of all the free agents and whoever it landed on got a contract. They needed size up front, so they relieved the Rangers of the horrid contract of 5’11” Scott Gomez. He also signed 5’7” Brian Gionta and 5’9” Mike Cammilleri to go along with Gomez. They needed to get faster on defense, so he signed 35 year old Jaro Spacek and the barely able to skate Hal Gill. Even adding these five players, the Habs still need 4 forwards just to fill their roster. It appears that none of their unrestricted forwards will be back, as they still need to extend RFA’s Guillaume Latendresse and Tomas Plekanec, while only having $8 mil. left in cap space. The reality is, Gainey may have improved his forwards (at least his top line), even if he didn’t add the needed size, but those defensive signings were abysmal. And, with both goaltenders heading into free agency next year, no one knows what to expect from Jesus Price.
Nashville – They tend to promote players from within, despite having a few veterans on their roster, and then reward those guys down the line. They extended Steve Sullivan, who is finally healthy, and Joel Ward, but any other moves that they make would likely just be for depth, even though they have tons of cap room.
New Jersey – Was Lou Lamoriello out of the country yesterday? I know that he’s not a typical July 1st over-reactor. He got Johnny Oduya extended earlier in the week, but considering that they lost John Madden, Brian Gionta, and Scott Clemensen they are likely in need of some help. If last season, or the previous three, proved anything, it’s that you can’t rely on Brodeur.
New York Islanders – The focus is on a slow rebuild, centered around John Tavares and Kyle Okposo. They are one of the few teams that presently has to spend to get to the salary cap floor, which is always scary. They could either throw a retarded contract at an undeserving player, or take on salary dumps from other teams. Despite the DiPietro contract, Garth Snow has done a reasonable job with a bare bones roster and a number of ex-Providence Bruins’ grinders playing for Scott Gordon. Gordon is a great teacher and is probably the perfect fit.
New York Rangers – It is hilarious to watch Glen Sather piss away any reclaimed creditability. He was being praised by Rangers fans for hypnotizing Bob Gainey into taking Scott Gomez. Then, a few hours later, he was signing Donald Brashear to contract of more $1 mil. per season and then committing to Marian Gaborik for 5 years. Gaborik is the kind of offensive star that Tortorella loves (think Martin St. Louis), but $7.5 mil. for a guy who is mocked for his lack of durability (a big minus with Torts).
Ottawa – Welcome back, Dany Heatley! This team is going to be a mess until that dickhead decides what team he wants to ruin next. I have to assume that the only reason to pay Chris Neil $2 mil. per was based on the assumption that Heatley would be leaving town. Now? I have to assume that no one really wants Heatley, especially if it means giving up more than one roster player. They’re balls are in a salary cap vice.
Philadelphia – Losing Mike Knuble hurts, especially since he was the anti-Briere (big, tough, durable, bargain-priced). They made their big move, trading away a billion first-round picks (and former first round picks) to get a washed-up Chris Pronger for one year. Is there an over-under line on the number of games he misses due to suspension this year? What about Emery? Pronger’s addition made them early faves for the Cup, but their goaltending situation is still a head-scratcher. Yes, they had to go for bargains, given their cap-crunch, but is any Flyer fan looking forward to the return of Brian Boucher? And what do they do next year, when they are faced with looking for a new starter?
Phoenix – What player wants to go there? No one is really sure who is calling the shots, with the league supposedly having a hand in team affairs. You can’t even make jokes about their situation, it’s just sad.
Pittsburgh – Their core is mostly stable, but they did lose depth, especially on defense. For some reason, only fans of his former teams regard Hal Gill as terrible, while everyone else thinks he’s great. They’ll having his massive frame screening Fleury. Oh, wait, maybe they won’t. Rob Scuderi is a bigger loss, since they likely can’t afford him. They need a puck mover on D and a back-up goalie. Other than that, it’s hard to fault the Stanley Cup champs for only adding Mike Rupp.
San Jose – So when does that whole team overhaul begin? Their cap situation meant that any moves would be via trade, but they did nothing. We kept hearing rumors of a Heatley for Marleau trade, but it never materialized. They presently do not have enough forwards on their NHL roster, with about $4 mil. in cap space and Ryan Clowe waiting for his post-rookie-contract raise. Expect this underachieving team to be the same.
St. Louis – Gotta love the fact that they are free agency winners without doing anything. Ty Conklin gives them a reliable backup goalie, but the real story is the number of injured players they’ll get back for next season. John Davidson has done a brilliant job with this team, surpassing expectations and seeing them grow very quickly. They have some cap room and depth to play with and are always willing to make a trade. Don’t be surprised if they make a big splash move.
Tampa Bay – Going into the draft, they needed league mediation to determine who gets to make personnel decisions. Now that Oren Koules has been relieved of such power, the team may be able to put together a roster containing actual defensemen. Brian Lawton clearly has taken that idea to heart, drafting Victor Hedman and signing Mattias Ohlund and Matt Walker. Ohlund’s contract was excessively long term, similar to the deal given to Lecavalier that they now want to back away from. The still need more defensemen, with a bunch of their underachievers as pending restricted free agents, and have plenty of cap space, but whoever knows what kind of madness they will manage.
Toronto – Brian Burke was surprisingly quiet. Either he is biding his time, waiting for next summer when a lot of their contracts expire or he is setting his sights on other moves, such as a trade for Tomas Kaberle. Adding Colton Orr was underwhelming given his lack of skill, but does add a ton of toughness. I think they greatly overpaid for Komisarek, but he represents the kind of big, physical defender that Burke wanted (even if he continues to get his lunch handed to him by Lucic). They still need a legit goal scorer, but Burke has never been shy about using lots of grinders. Depending on if they sign Jonas Gustavsson, they may need goaltending help. Burke’s only failures were that he was unable to lure the Sedins and that he couldn’t trade up in the draft for either Tavares or Schenn.
Vancouver – Rather miraculously, the Cannucks re-signed the Sedins. It looked like the twins were walking and that Gaborik would be reuniting with his BFF Pavol Demtira. I also love the Mikael Samuelson signing, as he gives them another grinding forward with decent offensive skills. I still think that they need to shake up the roster somewhere if they want to take the next step. Their upcoming storyline is if they can get Luongo signed to an extension.
Washington – No one expected much movement from the Caps, so no big shocks that their only move was adding Mike Knuble. Losing Federov to the KHL will hurt a team that is defensively challenged, but Knuble adds an offensive grinder that they lacked. Now he can go to the front of the net when Ovechkin or Green has the puck at one of the wings. That’s freaking scary. They still don’t know how reliable Varlamov is in net and their defense is still questionable in its own zone.