NHL Free Agent Frenzy 2008!

[Knightfall]

Okay, so NHl Free Agency came into effect on July 1st, and the number of high priced deals this year, so far, has been staggering. It's only the end of day three and the numbers are just insane!

Here's a list of the free agent signings on TSN's website...

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?id=11353

Most of the really big deals happened on day one such as the New York Rangers signing UFA defenceman Wade Redden to a six-year contract worth $39 million and the Chicago Blackhawks signing UFA defenceman Brian Campbell to an 8 year deal worth $56.8-million.

Eight goalies signed on with a new team on day one of the frenzy. Here's the list...

• Washington signs UFA goaltender Jose Theodore to a 2 year deal worth $9 million.
• Colorado signs UFA goaltender Andrew Raycroft to a 1 year deal worth $800,000.
• Detroit signs UFA goaltender Ty Conklin to a 1 year deal worth $750,000.
• Toronto signs UFA goaltender Curtis Joseph to a 1 year deal worth $700,000.
• Chicago signs UFA goaltender Cristobal Huet to a 4-year, $22.4 million.
• Tampa Bay signs UFA goaltender Olaf Kolzig to a 1 year deal worth $1.5-million (plus bonuses).
• Ottawa signs UFA goaltender Alex Auld to a 2 year deal worth $2-million.
• Buffalo signs UFA goaltender Patrick Lalime to a 2 year deal worth $2-million.

Note that some of the money being thrown around is outrageous for players that really shouldn't be getting it. Case in point, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed UFA defenceman Jeff Finger to a 4 year deal worth $3.5-million a season. I had to ask myself "who the hell is Jeff Finger?"

 

[Knightfall]

Day two of the frenzy was a little more subdued but not by much. The big news was the signing of UFA forward Marian Hossa by the Detroit Red Wings to a one-year contract worth $7.4 million. I wasn't surprised that Hossa chose the Red Wings; however, I was surprised by the amount and the term.

Other major UFA deals on day two...

• Dallas Stars sign UFA Forward Sean Avery to a four-year, $15.5 million contract.
• Ottawa Senators sign UFA Forward Jarkko Ruutu to a three-year, $3.9 million contract.
• Atlanta Thrashers sign UFA defenceman Ron Hainsey to a five-year, $22.5 million contract.
• Pittsburgh Penguins sign UFA defenceman Brooks Orpik to a six-year, $22.5 million contract.
• Columbus Blue Jackets sign UFA winger Kristian Huselius (4-year, $4.75 million).

 

[Knightfall]

Here are the major UFA signings of day three...

• Pittsburgh Penguins sign UFA forward Miroslav Satan (1-year, $3.5 million).
• Phoenix Coyotes sign UFA defencemen David Hale (2-year, $1.4-million).
• Montreal Canadiens sign UFA forward Georges Laraque to a three-year, $4.5 million contract.
• New York Rangers sign UFA forward Markus Naslund to a two-year, $8 million contract.
• San Jose Sharks sign UFA defenceman Rob Blake to a one-year, $5 million contract.

The big new of day three was definitely the Markus Naslund signing. It will be odd watching Naslund play for another team besides Vancouver. Very odd.

 

[Knightfall]

It's been a fairly slow weekend regarding free agency. That isn't unusual as most of the be deals seem to happen during the weeks instead of the weekends. However, there always a few deals and here they are...

Saturday

• Pittsburgh Penguins sign UFA forward Matt Cooke to a two-year, $2.4 million contract.

Sunday

• Minnesota Wild sign UFA forward Owen Nolan to a two-year, $5.5 million contract.

Note that on Saturday it was announced that 15 RFAs will be going to arbitration. You can read about that here: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=242593&lid=headline&lpos=secStory_nhl

 

[Thunderfoot]

Nice to see that St. Louis isn't jumping on the bandwagon. (much)

 

[Knightfall]

Nice to see that St. Louis isn't jumping on the bandwagon. (much)

Yes, the only thing the Blues have done is re-sign Yan Stastny to a two-year contract and match Vancouver's offer sheet to RFA forward David Backes at 3 years, $7.5-million.

A lot of teams have been quiet so far, and I think the smart teams are those that don't overpay during the initial rush of player signings in the first week.

As for today, the major UFA signing is this one: Calgary Flames sign UFA forward Todd Bertuzzi to a one-year, $1.95 million contract.

I'm not surprised that Sutter and Iron Mike want Bertuzzi on the team, but I think they're going to regret it. Bertuzzi is still public enemy number one in the Northwest Division, and he and the Flames are going to have to play Colorado a lot this upcoming season!

It's going to be a messy war. I can also see him becoming hated in Vancouver too. Perhaps, even more than in Colorado. Signing with a rival team usually means that the player ends up getting booed a lot.

 

[Thunderfoot]

However, as hated as he is, maybe that means better ratings in US sports viewing. Hockey doesn't get much love, which I find interesting since it's much faster than soccer, more violent than football and more skillful than basketball...

St. Louis also doesn't have the extra cash to throw around, so they will be very cautious regarding any acquisition. Unfortunately with Detroit & Chicago in their division, it makes for a lopsided set of rivalries (though until recently it was nice to St Louis still coming out even.)

I have this strange feeling that Columbus is going to be big this year...not sure why, but just a sick feeling in my gut.

 

[Knightfall]

St. Louis also doesn't have the extra cash to throw around, so they will be very cautious regarding any acquisition.

It's interesting you should say this just before St. Louis plays a little brinksmanship with the Canucks. They signed RFA forward Steve Bernier to a one-year, $2.5 million offer sheet today, but the offer sheet was quickly matched by Vancouver.

A little bit of payback? I think so.

Here's the major UFA signings for today (or yesterday, depending on where you all live)...

• New York Rangers sign UFA defenceman Paul Mara to a one-year, $1.95 million contract.
• Ottawa Senators sign UFA defenceman Jason Smith to a two-year contract.

Tampa also signed two more players today. The team signed UFA forward Brandon Bochenski to a two-year contract and the team signed forward Evgeny Artyukhin to a two-year, $1.9 million contract. The Lightning have been signing players like crazy since free agency started and I'm beginning to think the new owners in Tampa are not entirely stable.

 

[Thunderfoot]

Well, you know what they say...timing is everything.

 

[Knightfall]

The last couple of days have been busy; although, the players being signed aren't huge impact players.

Yesterday, the Washington Capitals re-signed RFA forward Brooks Laich to a three-year contract and re-signed UFA forward Sergei Fedorov to a one-year contract.

Here are a few of the other important UFA signings from yesterday...

• Columbus Blue Jackets re-signed UFA centre Michael Peca to a one-year, $1.315 million contract.
• Nashville Predators sign UFA forward Josh Gratton to a one-year, two-way contract.

Also of note from yesterday was goaltender Ray Emery deciding to sign a one-year contract with Atlant Mytishchi of the new Russian Continental Hockey League. He didn't get the kind of offers he was hoping for from NHL clubs so off to Russia he goes. Follow that up with today's news that Martin Straka signed a one-year contract with HC Lasselsberger Plzen. He will also act as manager-general for the Czech club.

The biggest new from today, so far, is the signing of UFA forward Pavol Demitra by the Vancouver Canucks. Terms of the deal were NOT disclosed. The article on TSN.ca doesn't even list the number of years the deal was for.

Regardless, it's a big win for the Canucks as the team has had to endure the departure of former captain Markus Naslund to the New York Rangers and the defection of forward Brendan Morrison to the Anaheim Ducks.