NHL Free Agent Frenzy!

[KrazyHorse]

I'm sure we're going to keep Koivu, Theodore and Zednik.

We were already just about at the salary cap (once you take the 24% pay cut into account) without any major changes necessary

[notyoueither]

You'll do well if you can keep last year's team together facing the teams that have had to unload big time.

[KrazyHorse]

Nope. Still can't match the simple, elegant beauty of

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by notyoueither
You'll do well if you can keep last year's team together facing the teams that have had to unload big time.

Yup. We were a decent team last year.

What's happening to the Lightning? I don't know what their payroll looked like before...

[Tingkai]

Jesus, the Flyers fans have got to be happy. Great move by Clarke. Now who is he going to dump.

Great to see the Oilers getting back into contention. Will Lowe pick up Messier?

The Leafs are dead in the water right now, unless Ferguson can pull off a miracle, which ain't looking likely now. At this point I'd be happy if they can get that idiot Lindros.

[notyoueither]

Originally posted by Tingkai
Great to see the Oilers getting back into contention. Will Lowe pick up Messier?

If they want standing room only, yes.

A great many people, like me, tuned the game out sometime along the road of never ending departures of the all time greats and the merely might be great.

We want our Oilers back!

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
What's happening to the Lightning? I don't know what their payroll looked like before...

I think their payroll was around $32 million, lots of young players.

St. Louis, Lacavalier, and Boyle are restricted free agents. The Bulin Wall is unrestricted free agent, but if they lose him, they still have Grahame.

[Tingkai]

Originally posted by notyoueither


If they want standing room only, yes.

A great many people, like me, tuned the game out sometime along the road of never ending departures of the all time greats and the merely might be great.

We want our Oilers back!

It would be great to see him in an Oiler sweater again, and he can't be asking for much money given his age.

Definitely would be a class act for the Oilers to pick him up.

[Asher]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
Nope. Still can't match the simple, elegant beauty of

That is true, it's a great logo.

[Asher]

Flames re-sign Jordan Leopold for 2 more years ($2.3M deal)

Awesome deal, that guy is a great defenseman who gets way, way better every season.

Calgary has been busy this week, signing Tony Amonte to a $3.7-million, two-year deal and Darren McCarty to a $1.6-million, two-year deal.

Sutter said signing Iginla had been key to convincing Amonte and McCarty to come to Calgary.

"The most often asked question I got was `Well, are you going to sign Iginla?"' Sutter said.

"I'll be perfectly honest, we wouldn't have been able to sign Tony Amonte or Darren McCarty yesterday without them knowing that Jarome was under contract. And we probably wouldn't have been able to sign them if they knew that Jarome was only here for one more year."

The Flames actually offered Iginla a four-year deal.

"Three years. It feels like a pretty long time, a pretty good commitment," said Iginla. "Over the course of my career, three is the longest I've done.

Sutter said there was never any doubt that the deal would get done.

"From almost a selfish standpoint the longer you can go is better but I understand the dynamics. In three years the opportunity for his contract to go up is probably pretty good," chuckled Sutter.

Iginla was excited about the addition of Amonte and McCarty and received a text message from a friend that said "Merry Christmas".

Whether or not there will be any other gifts under the tree is still up in the air, said Sutter.

"Are we done? We don't know that," he said. "The players have to fit with us not only in terms of whether they really want to play here and whether we can fit them in (under the salary cap."

The next major move for the Flames is working out a deal with goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, who was instrumental in getting Calgary into the Stanley Cup final.

Working out a contract with Kiprusoff is just a matter of time, Sutter said.

"We're continuing to talk and it's been very positive and productive," he said. "I don't see it as a real issue where it's a standoff or anything."

[Brundlefly]

Originally posted by Guynemer


Good for Philly. However, with the new rule changes in place, your big, slow defense will likely allow just as many goals as Forsberg picks up for you.

I hope we can mitigate that problem by pairing the big slow guys with some of the quicker offensive-minded d-men we have.

[Asher]

http://www.nhl.com/news/2005/08/231840.html

Canadian teams get busy in NHL market as Naslund, Iginla stay put

(CP) - One would swear it was the 1980s on Wednesday with the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens getting pen to paper with some of the game's top stars.

Jarome Iginla, left, will continue to brighten the Saddledome with his enthusiasm and skill.

Jarome Iginla, arguably the best player in the NHL, committed his future to Calgary after signing a $21-million US, three-year deal. He could have walked away with no strings attached next summer.

Chris Pronger, arguably the best defenceman in the league, parked himself in Edmonton for half a decade, agreeing to a $31.25-million, five-year contract after the Oilers acquired his rights from St. Louis the night before.

The Oilers also swung a deal with the Islanders on Wednesday to get top defensive forward Mike Peca, sending forward Michael York and a conditional draft pick the other way.

Markus Naslund, among the NHL's top four scorers in the last three seasons and a three-time 40-goal scorer, rejected two competing offers and re-signed with the Vancouver Canucks at $18 million over three years.

Alexei Kovalev, one of the league's most dynamic wingers who seemed destined for Pittsburgh, accepted Montreal's offer of an $18-million, four-year contract.

Not since Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, Al MacInnis and Patrick Roy plied their trade north of the border has Canadian NHL clubs - outside of Toronto - had this much to cheer about.

"There's no question with these types of players and these types of signings is huge for the Canadian market," Oilers star winger Ryan Smyth said on the phone from B.C. "And we feel in Edmonton that it's an even playing field now."

Jason Spezza's Senators have been quiet, but that's because they had much of their roster set.
The Ottawa Senators haven't done much on the market so far, but with Zdeno Chara, Wade Redden, Martin Havlat, Marian Hossa and Jason Spezza already in uniform, they began the summer ahead of their Canadian cousins to begin with.

That's not the case in Toronto, where the Leafs have seen unrestricted free agents Brian Leetch, Gary Roberts and Joe Nieuwendyk walk away. Tie Domi may not be far behind.

Toronto, which has enjoyed an economic advantage over the other five clubs in Canada during the last decade, has been eerily silent. Don't blame GM John Ferguson. He only has about $10 million to spend on seven roster spots. They're being outbid by clubs like Florida.

The irony, especially in Alberta, must be delicious. The Oilers were forced to dump stars such as Doug Weight and Curtis Joseph over the last decade because they couldn't afford them.

"It was sad to see guys like that go in the past," said Smyth, an Oiler since 1994. "But times have changed. It's a new CBA and a new market out there for everyone. I think it really benefits our squad."

The Flames also signed free-agent winger Tony Amonte and Darren McCarty on Monday night, signalling they once again mean business after reaching the Stanley Cup final in June 2004.

Iginla, a restricted free agent, will earn $7 million a season, which puts him No. 5 on the salary list behind Jaromir Jagr, Keith Tkachuk, Nick Lidstrom and Alexei Yashin.

"We've signed the No. 1 free-agent in the market, whether he's restricted or unrestricted," Flames head coach and GM Darryl Sutter said at a news conference in Calgary.

The Canadiens also signed defenceman Mathieu Dandenault to a $6.9-million, four-year contract. The 29-year-old was able to leave Detroit because he was a 10-year pro making less than league average. He'll earn $1.7 million in his each of his first two seasons followed by $1.75 million in each of the last two years.

Canadian teams weren't the only ones in action Wednesday.

The New York Islanders signed unrestricted free-agent forward Miroslav Satan to a three-year contract. The 30-year old Satan was cut loose by Buffalo last week.

"We were looking for a star-calibre scorer to add to our offence, and we have landed one of the best in Miroslav," said Islanders GM Mike Milbury. "He's an ideal complement to the rest of our top forwards. This is a huge signing for us."

And Pittsburgh - which had been operating under the league's lowest payroll - signed star free-agent defenceman Sergei Gonchar to a $25-million, five-year deal as the Penguins continue to build a team around the arrival of young star Sidney Crosby.

"I'm thrilled," Gonchar told The Canadian Press in a phone interview. "They're going to play some offensive hockey and obviously as a hockey player like me you want to be part of that kind of team - just try and score as many goals as you can.

"They're putting a team together that's going to have that style of hockey. I'm looking forward to playing that kind of game."

Gonchar said he would also look forward to playing alongside Evgeni Malkin if the Penguins can sign the talented young Russian. Gonchar and Malkin were teammates this past season in Russia.

Gonchar's deal is yet another long-term investment by an NHL club this week. Mike Rathje got five years in Philadelphia, Pronger got five in Edmonton, Derian Hatcher four years in Philly, Alexei Zhitnik four years on Long Island, Adrian Aucoin four years in Chicago and just about everyone else a minimum of three.

It seems getting term is just as important as the actual salary in the NHL's new economic order.

"Yes, yes, that's true," said Gonchar. "It was important. I mean, I'm not going to lie to you, I have a family and I have obligations to make sure I make as much money as I can for all of us, but having the chance to sign a long-term deal, I was happy to do because of the security.

"And signing five years in Pittsburgh, that's important, because it looks like Crosby will become a great hockey player, so not only will I be able to play with Mario but with him as well and that makes me want to be around long-term, too."

Another free-agent star looking for a long-term deal is Mike Modano, who on Wednesday broke talks with the Dallas Stars, the only NHL club he's ever played for. Talks with the Stars heated up late Tuesday night but fell through in the morning.

The Stars announced in a statement that Modano, 35, had rejected their five-year offer.

"Mike continues to weigh his options and, yes, that was an offer that he rejected," Modano's agent Brian Lawton said. "But he has not decided yet what he will do."

Modano appeared headed to Boston although Lawton said another team was also in the mix.

Still unsigned was superstar centre Peter Forsberg and goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin. The Chicago Blackhawks have been linked to both.

"We have interest in them, yes, but we have interest in a lot of people," Hawks GM Dale Tallon said Wednesday from Chicago. "But getting them here is another story. I'm working the phones and hoping to hear something today."

Naslund, meanwhile, received matching offers from two other teams, but opted to stay in Vancouver.

"At the end of the day, I think the fact that we wanted Markus Naslund in Vancouver and more importantly that Markus Naslund wanted to be in Vancouver put us in a position where we were able to sign him," Canucks GM Dave Nonis told a news conference Wednesday.

"From a club standpoint, fan standpoint and I think the excitement standpoint that we'll see in this building, it's a win-win for everybody and we're absolutely thrilled to have Markus Naslund back for at least three more year in Vancouver."

The Canucks also dealt defenceman Brent Sopel to the New York Islanders in exchange for a conditional draft pick in 2006.

Sopel, 28, had 10 goals and 32 assists - all career bests - in 80 games in 2003-04 with the Canucks. He was also plus-11. He has one year left on his deal that pays him $1.59 million this season and can qualify for unrestricted free agency next summer.

"Brent is a polished defenceman just entering the prime of his career after improving in his development with each season in Vancouver," Islanders GM Mike Milbury said in a statement. "Our scouts feel strongly that, like Alexei Zhitnik and Janne Niinimaa, Brent will excel under the new rules changes."

In other news:

-The Columbus Blue Jackets signed free-agent defenceman Bryan Berard to a two-year contract. Columbus wanted Brian Rafalski, but found the price too steep.

-The Stars signed defenceman Martin Skoula to a $3.15-million, two-year contract. He'll earn $1.525 million this season and $1.625 in 2006-07.

-The Bruins signed Leetch on a $4-million, one-year contract.

-The Minnesota Wild re-signed centre Marc Chouinard and goalie Manny Fernandez to one-year deals.

Will Vincent Lecavalier, right, stay in Tampa and defend the Cup?

The agent for Vincent Lecavalier, meanwhile, continues to talk with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Lecavalier can become an unrestricted free agent next summer if he only signs a one-year deal but the Bolts want him long-term.

"We've had some conversations, trying to simultaneously explore the possibility of a one-year deal and a longer-term deal," said Kent Hughes.

Iginla's deal might help set the standard on a young free-agent star like Lecavalier.

"All deals have some impact on it, but to be honest we've haven't gotten to the point of exchanging numbers on longer-term deals right now," Hughes said.

[Tingkai]

"One would swear it was the 1980s ..."

It's starting to feel that way for Toronto fans.

[Asher]

Isn't it all the same to you? It ain't 1967, and it won't ever be again.

Toronto only had a chance when there was six teams.

[Richelieu]

Originally posted by Asher
It's classic.

You should always go for the original