NHL Free Agency Market Observations

[Special K]

There's been some big moves by many FA's early in the market but I have to say my favorite signing so far was Toronto inking the absolutely horrid defenseman Hal Gill from the Bruins for 3 years. Good RIDDANCE! What were the Leafs thinking? I've been dying to see the B's get rid of this nuisance for 3 years and they've finally done so.

Bruins also signed Zdeno Charra from Ottawa and Marc Savard from Atlanta, sure get rid of Joe Thornton last year for peanuts and now go out and make big signings ??? I'll never get this organization. Ottawa also signed highly regarded Hurricanes netminder Martin Gerber which was surprising to see Carolina let go.

Any other thought so far on this years market and signings?

 

[EagerBeaver]

SK,

The Maple Loafs are an incompetently run hockey team with more money and resources than any NHL team other than the Rangers, but they have a history of terrible personnel decisions so this really is not a surprise.

The Hurricane had to let Gerber go because of the play of Cam Ward who established himself as a premieréelite level goaltender in the playoffs.

 

[joelcairo]

The Leafs and Bruins are both hopeless. Leafs last won a cup in 67 Bruins in 72 (only because they had a ton of talent starting with Orr). I'll be astonished if either of them wins another cup in my lifetime (and I'm still planning on being around for awhile). Meanwhile all the GMs are starting the same old nonsense of throwing cash at anything on skates - didn't these morons learn anything from the lost season?

 

[Doc Holliday]

I actually like the moves that the Leafs made recently. Andrew Raycroft will be a star with the Leafs for years to come. Pavel Kubina & Hal Gill, along with Tomas Kaberle, Bryan McCabe & Carlo Colaicovo, will be part of a dominating defense for years to come. Kubina is a great offensive defenseman...he's quite big at 6'5 & was an all-star playing alongside Tomas Kaberle at the recent Olympic games. Hal Gill is the big (6'7) defenceman that the Leafs have been looking for all along to move the traffic in front of the Leafs' net.

As for the Bruins....$5 million for Marc Savard??? Holy smokes!!! They must have got him mixed up with Denis Savard, now retired!! $7.5 million for Zedeno Chara??? He's good, but he's no Bobby Orr!!!! Cripes!!!

Can't figure out the one where Pronger was dealt to Anaheim. He had asked the Oilers to deal him to an eastern team since his wife supposedly didn't like the west coast. Now, he winds up in Anaheim of all places!! Looks like Mrs. Pronger might have a thing for Mickey Mouse!

And finally...will the Habs sign anyone??? What are they waiting for??

 

[HonestAbe]

The Bruins can't get any worse so anything at this point is an improvement. Is there a "we fucked up again, clause" in the Thornton trade that allows them to buy Joe Thornton back?

Any word on the schedules release date? Last year it was July 27 at noon. Wondering if it will be sooner this year since there was no strike. A "must know" if you want to get first crack at tickets.

 

[spin]

The Maple Loafs are an incompetently run hockey team

Once again ladies & gentleman the voice of reason, Mr.EagerBeaver

Pavel Kubina & Hal Gill, along with Tomas Kaberle, Bryan McCabe & Carlo Colaicovo, will be part of a dominating defense for years to come. Kubina is a great offensive defenseman...

Hey Doc with that group you guys won't have to worry if one of your wingers go's down with an injury, with the exception of Mr.Gill seems like you have a lot of defensemen wanting to be forwards - Who's going to be playing DEFENSE on that "dominating" group of yours???

$7.5 million for Zedeno Chara??? He's good, but he's no Bobby Orr!!!! Cripes!!!

Well compared to 6 million a year for Brian McCabe sounds like the steal of the century! Talk about not being Bobby Orr!

Word on the street is that Pronger needed to leave Edmonton in a hurry because a female member of the Edmonton Media (with whom Mr.Pronger had grown quite close to over the long cold winter) is now apparently with child

 

[Avery]

Word on the street is that Pronger needed to leave Edmonton in a hurry because a female member of the Edmonton Media (with whom Mr.Pronger had grown quite close to over the long cold winter) is now apparently with child

http://www.christiechorley.com/

There`s also lots of other speculation about Pronger:

https://perb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=50028

Of course, it`s on the internet, so it must be true, right?

 

[Special K]

Hal Gill is the big (6'7) defenceman that the Leafs have been looking for all along to move the traffic in front of the Leafs' net.

Doc,

Have you ever actually watched Hal Gill play defense before? Lol. He's the biggest weakling in the NHL, he's about 6'10" on skates and gets shoved around and schooled by guys have his size. He epitomizes the word "Awful"!

As for Raycroft, last season was an abomination for him. Hopefully it was just a sophomore slump because he's definitely got potential although I do suppose anything is better than 70 year old Eddie Belfour at this point

 

[picasso]

And finally...will the Habs sign anyone??? What are they waiting for??

Word has it the Habs have already made a pitch to Brendan Shanahan of the Red Wings and are waiting for his decision. Shanahan already has 3 Stanley Cup rings and would be a much needed upgrade for the Habs offense. The downside is he's 37 years old and I'm not sure whether he can go the full long season without getting injured. But when he was in the lineup he was terrific and the Red Wings were like a scoring machine last season.

 

[picasso]

Chara overrated

So the Bruins got rid of a 6'7" lug to get a 6'9" sloth in Chara ? If anything, the Sabres exposed Chara's slowness during their playoff runs. Another genius move by Boston !

 

[picasso]

Word on the street is that Pronger needed to leave Edmonton in a hurry because a female member of the Edmonton Media (with whom Mr.Pronger had grown quite close to over the long cold winter) is now apparently with child

Well I was shocked when I read that a few days ago, especially considering Pronger had inked a big five-year contract with the Oilers last summer. But I think, the Oilers got a great player in Lupul in the trade with Anaheim. The guy is only 23, born in Edmonton, has tremendous upside. I was impressed watching play against Colorado in the playoffs, especially in that game where he scored 4 goals!

 

[Special K]

Word has it the Habs have already made a pitch to Brendan Shanahan of the Red Wings and are waiting for his decision.

Rumor also has Shanahan signing with the Bruins because he wants to be close to his home which is in Massachusetts.

 

[Special K]

So the Bruins got rid of a 6'7" lug to get a 6'9" sloth in Chara ? If anything, the Sabres exposed Chara's slowness during their playoff runs. Another genius move by Boston !

Maybe the Sabres exposed Chara but every team in the NHL exposed Hapless Hal Gill.

 

[EagerBeaver]

The Globe and Mail had a very good article today analyzing the free agent moves/signings and cited 5 teams (led by Anaheim and Vancouver) which dramatically improved themselves, and the Maple Leafs were not one of those teams. There seems to be a trend in the NHL towards becoming enamored with bigger defenseman but as Special K has pointed out, if a guy is a pussy at 6'7" and gets his ass kicked on a regular basis, does that make him better than a guy who is 6'2" and tough as nails, a la Scott Stephens?

Here is a link to the article:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060705.wxnhl05/BNStory/Sports/home

 

[Doc Holliday]

I quote the same article saying "The Leafs' blueline received a boost with the additions of Pavel Kubina and Hal Gill, but so far no help up front." I totally agree. The Leafs didn't give up the gold mine to sign Hal Gill (they expect him to be a middle-of-the-pack defender) and they still have more signings to go. With Fergie as GM & the very respected and highly regarded Paul Maurice at the helm, i sense that the Leafs' glory years of the 90's (when they came 1 goal from making it to the Cup) will soon return. Don't forget folks: the Leafs were only 1 win away from a playoff spot, and had the same amount of points as the Edmonton Oilers did. The Oilers, who made the playoffs during the last game of the regular season, went on to the Stanley Cup finals and lost in the 7th and deciding game. Don't count them Leafs out yet!

 

[picasso]

There seems to be a trend in the NHL towards becoming enamored with bigger defenseman but as Special K has pointed out, if a guy is a pussy at 6'7" and gets his ass kicked on a regular basis, does that make him better than a guy who is 6'2" and tough as nails, a la Scott Stephens?

If I were a GM, I'd go for not only tough guys but also FAST guys on the blue line. It's not enough to be tough back on defense in today's NHL, you gotta have speed too. A classic example of a tough guy who lacks speed and was very ineffective during the last NHL playoffs is Derian Hatcher of the Flyers. A big bust in Philly!

 

[picasso]

Rumor also has Shanahan signing with the Bruins because he wants to be close to his home which is in Massachusetts.

There are a couple of factors favoring the Habs though. Playoff-caliber talent and better team management. Plus, Montreal ain't that far from his MA home.

 

[BobKnob]

Shanahan

Shanahan would be a great fit with the Habs. LEADER all the way and he could still score 15-20 goals. Shanny would take the pressure off of Koivu to do everyhting for the Habs. Look what happened when Koivu went down
a) big mid-season slump b) out of the playoffs in 4 straight

Yes he is 37 and near the end of a great carreer, but the price would be reasonable, no salary cap damage. Maybe we merbites can throw in some of MTL's finest SPs as enticement!

 

[joelcairo]

Too bad about Paul Maurice going to the Leafs - the guy is smart, classy, and a damn good coach so he deserves a hell of a lot better than going to the Toronto Wasteland.

 

[spin]

Don't forget folks: the Leafs were only 1 win away from a playoff spot, and had the same amount of points as the Edmonton Oilers did. The Oilers, who made the playoffs during the last game of the regular season, went on to the Stanley Cup finals and lost in the 7th and deciding game. Don't count them Leafs out yet!

WOW - only in Toronto

Shanahan would be a great fit with the Habs. LEADER all the way and he could still score 15-20 goals. Shanny would take the pressure off of Koivu to do everyhting for the Habs. Look what happened when Koivu went down
a) big mid-season slump b) out of the playoffs in 4 straight

Yes he is 37 and near the end of a great carreer, but the price would be reasonable, no salary cap damage. Maybe we merbites can throw in some of MTL's finest SPs as enticement!

Thanks but no thanks, lets face it the Canadiens are not on the brink of being a legitimate Cup contender only 1 veteran player away from winning it all... I don't think Shanahan would be a good fit at all in Montreal (no offence I like Shanahan) but at 37 this team just isn't built for guys like him.

Maybe picking up a guy like Samsonov (at a reasonable price) would help...