The OFFICIAL 2008-09 NHL Offseason Thread

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by bsak16

Pfft...I'll take the Flyers against the Pens without Hossa, Orpik, Malone, and Roberts. And with a healthy Colburn and Timmonen.

From Rob Rossi of a Pittsburgh Paper...

No Oprik (yet) but add in Eaton. Hands done best player in our zone the Penguins have. When healthy.

Originally Posted by bsak16

TSN is reporting the Detroit Red Wings have signed Ty Conklin

Adam Hall to Tampa 3 yrs./$1.8 million

Jesus...Laraque and Ruutu are still out there Tampa, in case you've forgetten them!

I liked Hall, he played well on the 4th line, RH faceoff guy, played PK and scored some big goals in the playoffs. But he's a replaceable guy.

[DeToxRox]

Conklin is nice insurance. We needed a vet in the system. He will probably mentor Larsson in Grand Rapids.

[Dr. Sak]

Look at Tampa they have…



Malone, Roberts, Adam Hall, and Michelle Oulette



That’s 10% of the 2006 Pens team…

[Dr. Sak]

Oh well so much for Flyers getting Finger(ed).

Toronto signs UFA defenceman Jeff Finger to a 4 year deal worth $3.5-million a season.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by bsak16

Look at Tampa they have…



Malone, Roberts, Adam Hall, and Michelle Oulette



That’s 10% of the 2006 Pens team…

Hall was in Nashville in 06, not here.

But maybe we can convince them to take back Sydor.

[Dr. Sak]

Ok sorry got my teams that were suppose to be in Kansas City by now mixed up!

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by bsak16

Oh well so much for Flyers getting Finger(ed).

Toronto signs UFA defenceman Jeff Finger to a 4 year deal worth $3.5-million a season.

as much as I like Finger, that's too much

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by bsak16

Oh well so much for Flyers getting Finger(ed).

Toronto signs UFA defenceman Jeff Finger to a 4 year deal worth $3.5-million a season.

$3.5M a year

Holy shit...it's going to cost the Pens $6M to keep Orpik now!

[Pyser]

that is a really, really curious goalie decision in washington. what more could huet have possibly done for them to stay?

[Draft Dodger]

Originally Posted by Pyser

that is a really, really curious goalie decision in washington. what more could huet have possibly done for them to stay?

I'm more curious to see where Huet is going to end up

[Draft Dodger]

er, nevermind. looks like Chicago

[Suburban Rhythm]

Cory Stillman to Panthers, 3 years/ $10.6M

And also read same as DD, looking like Huet to Chicago

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

as much as I like Finger, that's too much

To be honest, I have never heard of this guy.

Hard to understand this one.

[TazFTW]

"NY Rangers sign UFA forward Aaron Voros (undisclosed)"


Yay?

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

To be honest, I have never heard of this guy.

Hard to understand this one.

Should you be surprised?

The Leafs have been giving their fans the Finger for years!

[DeToxRox]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

To be honest, I have never heard of this guy.

Hard to understand this one.

Really? Seems easy to understand.

Toronto's $ + FA =

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by Draft Dodger

er, nevermind. looks like Chicago

4 years $5.6 per year

So the Hawks are paying about $12.5M for their goalies this year--unless they can dump the Bulin Wall

[Suburban Rhythm]

Penguins sign Eric Godard from the Flames, which ensures Laraque is gone. And Godard will only dress as needed....like to knock out Riley Cote.

[DeToxRox]

After seeing the staggering amount of money flying around right now, all I can say is God bless Kenny Holland.

[TazFTW]

Darcy Tucker to Col for 2 yrs $4.5 mil

[Draft Dodger]

I fucking hate Tucker

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

After seeing the staggering amount of money flying around right now, all I can say is God bless Kenny Holland.

Ament to that. For years too many Wings fans have stomped their feet, screamed and hollered about Holland not making the big free agent move. But if you take a moment and really look at the players signed and, more importantly, what they signed for, it all makes sense.

Stuart at $3.75. Conklin at $750,000. Those addresses two needs and were both right around the right price, if not a little below market value.

bsak, I expect to continue to receive constant Ty Conklin insider updates.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by TazFTW

Darcy Tucker to Col for 2 yrs $4.5 mil

That's a good bargain.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Stuart at $3.75.

That is the big deal. I expect Orpik to get about the same.

Stuart, Orpik, and Jeff Finger. One of these things is not like the other.

[Pyser]

i thought it was a bit much, but when you add in what he makes from the buyout, he just made out like a bandit

[Dr. Sak]

Originally Posted by Suburban Rhythm

Penguins sign Eric Godard from the Flames, which ensures Laraque is gone. And Godard will only dress as needed....like to knock out Riley Cote.

Cote knows his role. He is a punching bag at $500,000. Laraque did call him the pound for pound toughest guy in the league.

[Suburban Rhythm]

First offer sheet of the year-

Vancouver signs David Backes to a 3 year $7.5M offer sheet. Compensation back to St Louis would be a 2nd round pick.

Do we have any Blues guys around here who can give us more detail?

My thoughts are Backes is a nice player, but not a $2.5M guy. I know Vancouver has cap space this year, but into the future, not so certain.

[Dr. Sak]

I heard on XM on the way home that Backes is a guy that USA expects to be on their Olympic team in 2010. I'd say the Blues will match.

[Draft Dodger]

nhlnumbers.com seems to be adding these contracts as quickly as they are getting reported

[Suburban Rhythm]

One more...Ottawa solves their goaltending issues....with Alex Auld, 2 years, $1M a year.

[Travis]

Lalime to Buffalo, 2 year deal for $2 million.

[Coder]

TSN reports that Sundin has been offerred 10 mil per year for 2 years by the Canucks!?!!!

Jeepers..

[Pyser]

rolston has gotten offers from 17 teams so far

[Arctic Blast]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

We're going to miss Cole around here. A hard worker, which this team often seems to lack (playing with consistent effort has been their achilles heel since they moved here). What's funny is the reaction around here is "we only got one guy for him?" rather than your "Edmonton only got Cole for Pitkanen?".

Oiler fans have this history of massively over-rating their own players, so they expect to get ridiculous amounts for them when they're moved. I don't know why this is the case, but that's how it is. So, a lot of Edmontonians seemed to be expecting a team to break the bank in a deal for a defenseman who plays to his talent level half the time and has been pretty much hated in his own locker room both here and in Philly. And, let's keep in mind that Cole is SIGNED for another year...Pitkanen is still an RFA.

[Maple Leafs]

Originally Posted by Coder

TSN reports that Sundin has been offerred 10 mil per year for 2 years by the Canucks!?!!!

I argued on my blog that the Leafs should offer Sundin a one-year deal at $10M if he would accept a limited NTC.

The Vancouver offer is interesting. Over the past few months we've heard that Sundin wants to stay in the east and that he wants to play for a winner. Neither of those is true of Vancouver. I guess we'll see if it was really all about money all along.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Brian Campbell to Chicago 8 years/ $56.8M

[Arctic Blast]

Sounds like it's pretty much official...Brian Campbell to Chicago...8 years, 56 million.

[Pyser]

thats a lot of money. but at least they are an exciting team

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by Pyser

rolston has gotten offers from 17 teams so far

Per the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Rolston turned down 3 years/$13.5 from TB earlier. I assume this was TB's take it or leave it offer to Rolston, before moving on to the other 18 forwards they signed.

Also says offers from Pittsburgh, Detroit, NJ and NYR.

At more than $4.5M a year, I don't want him in Pittsburgh.

[Pyser]

the devils could really use him, if only for the pp. but it wouldnt kill me if we dont land him. we never land anyone, anyway

[Travis]

Originally Posted by Arctic Blast

Oiler fans have this history of massively over-rating their own players, so they expect to get ridiculous amounts for them when they're moved. I don't know why this is the case, but that's how it is. So, a lot of Edmontonians seemed to be expecting a team to break the bank in a deal for a defenseman who plays to his talent level half the time and has been pretty much hated in his own locker room both here and in Philly. And, let's keep in mind that Cole is SIGNED for another year...Pitkanen is still an RFA.

I know I weighed in on this earlier, and just wanted to clarify my thoughts on the matter. It's not so much getting Cole that I'm disappointed in, it's that they didn't package Pitkanen up to get a true first liner to pair up with Hemsky. I'd have much rather seen Lowe take a run at Jokinen with Pitkanen as part of that package (for a guy who has two years left on his contract and at a time when dealing Joni's rights would have likely been worth a bit more than today). Maybe Cole can step in here and light it up, but given his history, I can't imagine we can realistically expect a 30 goal season out of him and that's the sort of player Lowe should have been looking for at this juncture (imho). I'd have much rather seen them sign Stoll to a one year deal and see what he could have done this year than to add Visnovsky at $5.6 per for the next 4 seasons when Pitkanen could have been had for that or less and we'd have also been able to keep Greene.

For better or worse, they dealt Stoll at a low value point, failed (again, imho) to fully capitalize on their best trade chip in Pitkanen and are now faced with having to move some bad contracts with only prospects and draft picks to sweeten the pot in those instances. For a team having a hard time attracting UFA's you've got to really capitalize on trades and while I hope to be proven wrong, the only deal I'm a fan of right now is the Torres for Brule move.

[Coder]

Originally Posted by Maple Leafs

I argued on my blog that the Leafs should offer Sundin a one-year deal at $10M if he would accept a limited NTC.

The Vancouver offer is interesting. Over the past few months we've heard that Sundin wants to stay in the east and that he wants to play for a winner. Neither of those is true of Vancouver. I guess we'll see if it was really all about money all along.

I don't think it's about the money for Sundin.. even if he signs that 10 mil contract.. (which, apparently, is 5+5 per year, and the second year seems to be optional). I don't really understand the saying that he wants to stay in the east.. i mean.. why?

Right now the hottest contender based on free agency and off-season alone would be Tampa, but they haven't expressed any interest and I don't think they have any room. I'm reading in a Swedish newspaper that the other teams showing an interest are Florida (no), Rangers (could be) and Detroit (best alternative if he's after a winner).

10 mil is a LOT for Sundin.. and I don't think he's worth it (and I have a great deal of respect for him). If I were Sundin, and Detroit offered me around 5 per year, I'd be all over that like a cop on a doughnut.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Mike Commodore to Columbus - 5 years/$18.75M ($3.75M per)

So he gets the same as Stuart...making Stuart's deal look that much better.

Pens are rumored to be offering Orpik $18M over 5, so please let it get done!

[Honolulu_Blue]

So the Blackhawks sign Brian Campbell to a $57M deal? That's 8 years at $7.1M.

They also sign Huet to that big deal.

Hmmm... Well, I guess Chicago feels like the time is now. They get Huet to shore up the goaltending (though I have no idea what they plan on doing with the Buhlin Wall and his massive contract). They get Campbell to shore up the D. They must figure that Towes and Kane will only be getting better and better. I think this is the new ownership, well the old ownership's son, trying to make a statement.

That's a lot of money for this guy, but anything that will bring a spark to the Central Division is ok by my book. Nashville, St. Louis, and Chicago are all pretty dull. That's 24 games, or almost 30% of the schedule, of more or less "bleh" games.

I don't know about all this for Chicago. That's a lot of money for Huet, a ton for Campbell, they still have Bhulin hanging around...

[Suburban Rhythm]

Ossi Vaananen comes back to the NHL, 1 year $1M to Philly

Also, earlier David Backes offersheet by Vancouver has already been matched by St. Louis.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

So the Blackhawks sign Brian Campbell to a $57M deal? That's 8 years at $7.1M.

They also sign Huet to that big deal.

Hmmm... Well, I guess Chicago feels like the time is now. They get Huet to shore up the goaltending (though I have no idea what they plan on doing with the Buhlin Wall and his massive contract). They get Campbell to shore up the D. They must figure that Towes and Kane will only be getting better and better. I think this is the new ownership, well the old ownership's son, trying to make a statement.

That's a lot of money for this guy, but anything that will bring a spark to the Central Division is ok by my book. Nashville, St. Louis, and Chicago are all pretty dull. That's 24 games, or almost 30% of the schedule, of more or less "bleh" games.

I don't know about all this for Chicago. That's a lot of money for Huet, a ton for Campbell, they still have Bhulin hanging around...

I agree both those moves seem on the overpayment side. Bulin has 1 year left at $6.75, so as long as it works this season, they don't have that bad of a cap mess.

Reading Khabi to LA...which on one side makes little sense-- they just moved Visnovsky's salary, why take one back?

But, they just took Gauthier's from Philly, and similarly, Khabibulin's contract expires next season. For a team that may believe they are going nowhere next year, Gauthier and Khabibulin represent about $9M in expiring contracts that 1) get them to the cap floor this year and 2) give them lots to spend on 2009 free agents.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Dola

Per TSN, Rolston to NJ. 4 years / $20M

This is a sign...Rolston back to NJ, Jagr to Pittsburgh can't be far behind.

[Tekneek]

Don Waddell crashes and burns once again. He might end up having to offer inflated contracts just to hit the cap minimum.

[Pyser]

Originally Posted by Suburban Rhythm

Dola

Per TSN, Rolston to NJ. 4 years / $20M

This is a sign...Rolston back to NJ, Jagr to Pittsburgh can't be far behind.

not a bad price for a guy who has over 90 goals in the last 3 years and will help the pp a lot. not a great price, either, though.

maybe a year too long, but hey, ill take it.

[RomaGoth]

Rumor has it that Edmonton is now interested in Hossa.