NHL Offseason

[Enforcer]

Coming back from vacation last week, I noticed Mone posted a free agent rumor about one of Detroit's own (McCarty) being wooed by the Ducks. But it's not playoff time anymore, so I started a new thread for continued discussion.

Free agents are a big concern for the Wings this year. McCarty, Larionov, Yzerman and Fedorov are all eligible. Realistically, I don't know about Fedorov. If he gets a $12 million/season deal, he's gone. But I don't know who's going to spend like that at this point in the CBA's final days. McCarty is 50/50 and Larionov less than that. Yzerman's mural on the Cadillac building downtown just went up this year, so he's here to stay. Mike Ilitch, who was inducted to the Hall Of Fame last week, has publicly said he will spend to keep the key players and that he's committed to doing whatever it takes to keep the team a winner.

Wings took quite a few trophies this year. Yzerman won the Masterton, Lidstrom won his 3rd straight Norris, Shanahan won the King Clancy. Jackman beat Zetterberg for the Calder, a decision I agree with. Brodeur gets the Vezina (finally) and Forsberg the Hart. I think they got most of them right this year.

Larry

[moneyp]

First of all, here's the only list I can find on the web for 2003 FA status (Larry, did you see Tip is mad-dogging you on the Twilight Alley thread... go get her!):

ANAHEIM
Denny Lambert, (UFA)

Patric Kjellberg, (III) Retired June 6, 03
Fredrick Olausson, (III)
Steve Thomas, (III)
German Titov, (III)

Marc Chouinard, (II)
Dale Clarke, (II)
Jean-Sebastian Giguere, (II)
Niclas Havelid, (II)
Paul Kariya, (II)
Mike Leclerc, (II)
Samuel Pahlsson, (II)
Kevin Sawyer, (II)
Petr Sykora, (II)
Vitaly Vishnevski, (II)

ATLANTA
Dallas Eakins, (III)
Tony Hrkac, (III)
Slava Kozlov, (III)
Uwe Krupp, (III)* Retired May 1, 03
Shawn McEachern, (III) Atlanta May 1, 03
Jeff Odgers, (III)
Damian Rhodes, (III)

Benjamin Simon, (VI)
Jean-Pierre Vigier, (VI)

Lubos Bartecko, (II)
Joe DiPenta, (II)
Mark Hartigan, (II)
Andreas Karlsson, (II)
David Kaczowka, (II)
Derek McKenzie, (II)
Norm Maracle, (II) Russia June 8, 03
Kiril Safronov, (II)
Marc Savard, (II)
Andy Sutton, (II)
Per Svartvadet, (II)
BOSTON
Michal Grosek, (III)
Jeff Hackett, (III)
Don Sweeney, (III)

Ian Moran, (V)

Lee Goren, (VI)
Chris Kelleher, (VI)
Tim Thomas, (VI)
Darren Van Oene, (VI)

P.J. Axelsson, (II)
Bryan Berard, (II)*
Sean Brown, (II)
Bill Bowler, (II)
Nick Boynton, (II)
Carl Corazzini, (II)
Hal Gill, (II)
Jonathan Girard, (II)
Ivan Huml, (II)
Jarno Kultanen, (II) Finland June 7, 03
Zdenek Kutlak, (II)
Andrew Raycroft, (II)
Brian Rolston, (II)
Sergei Samsonov, (II)
P.J. Stock, (II)
Jozef Stumpel, (II)

BUFFALO
Denis Hamel, (UFA)

Eric Boulton, (II)
Curtis Brown, (II)
Tim Connolly, (II)
Dmitri Kalinin, (II)
Adam Mair, (II)
Francois Methot, (II)
Jay McKee, (II)
Miroslav Satan, (II)
Rhett Warrener, (II)

CALGARY
Craig Berube, (III)
Dave Lowry, (III)

Darcy Verot, (VI)

Blair Betts, (II) Calgary June 10, 03
Petr Buzek, (II)
Chris Clark, (II) Calgary May 27, 03
Shean Donovan, (II) Calgary May 27, 03
Chris Drury, (II)
Andrew Ference, (II) Calgary June 10, 03
Ladislav Kohn, (II) Finland June 10, 03
Toni Lydman, (II)
Scott Nichol, (II)
Robyn Regher, (II) Calgary June 5, 03
Oleg Saprykin, (II)
Blake Sloan, (II)
Stephane Yelle, (II)

CAROLINA
Jeff Daniels, (III) Carolina April 25, 03

Craig Adams, (II) Carolina May 25, 03
Kevyn Adams, (II)
Erik Cole, (II)
Patrick Desrochers, (II) Carolina April 26, 03
Jan Hlavac, (II)
David Tanabe, (II)
Josef Vasicek, (II)
Kevin Weekes, (II) Carolina June 6, 03
Tommy Westlund, (II) Sweden April 25, 03

CHICAGO
Mike Eastwood, (III)
Chris Simon, (III)

Mark Bell, (II)
Sami Helenius, (II)
Steve McCarthy, (II)
Steve Passmore, (II)

COLORADO
Bryan Marchment, (III)
Brent Thompson, (III)

Greg deVries, (V)

Eric Bertrand, (VI)
Steve Brule, (VI)
Jeff Paul, (VI)
D.J. Smith, (VI)
Brian Willsie, (VI)

Serge Aubin, (II)
Bates Bataglia, (II)
Brett Clark, (II)
Peter Forsberg, (II)
Steve Moore, (II)
Derek Morris, (II)
Bryan Muir, (II)
Steve Reinprecht, (II)
Philippe Sauve, (II)
Jeff Shantz, (II)
Alex Tanguay, (II)
K.C. Timmons, (II)

COLUMBUS
Andrew Cassels, (III)
Geoff Sanderson, (III) Columbus May 8, 03
Ray Whitney, (III)

David Ling, (VI)

Jamie Allison, (II)
Blake Bellefeuille, (II)
Radim Bicanek, (II)
Matt Davidson, (II)
Rostislav Klesla, (II)
Paul Lavokoki, (II) Columbus June 13, 03
Donald MacLean, (II) Columbus June 13, 03
David Vyborny, (II) Columbus May 8, 03

DALLAS
Ulf Dahlen, (III)
Derian Hatcher, (III)
Kirk Muller, (III)
Lyle Odelein, (III)

Steve Gainey, (II)
Richard Matvichuk, (II)
Gavin Morgan, (II)
Stephane Robidas, (II)
Marty Turco, (II)

DETROIT
Luc Robitaille, (UFA)

Sergei Fedorov, (III)
Igor Larionov, (III)
Darren McCarty, (III)
Jason Woolley, (III)
Steve Yzerman, (III)

Bryan Adams, (VI)
Patrick Boileau, (VI)

Dmitri Bykov, (II)
Mathieu Dandenault, (II)
Pavel Datsyuk, (II)
Stacy Roest, (II) Switzerland June 10, 03

Jesse Wallin, (II)
Jason Williams, (II)

EDMONTON
Jiri Dopita, (UFA)
Cory Cross, (III)
Steve Staios, (III)*

Todd Marchant, (V)

Fernando Pisani, (VI)

Mike Comrie, (II)
Shawn Horcoff, (II)
Brad Isbister, (II)
Georges Laraque, (II)
Ethan Moreau, (II)
Marty Reasoner, (II)
Jason Smith, (II)
Ryan Smyth, (II)
Raffi Torres, (II)

FLORIDA
Igor Kravchuk, (III)
Stephane Matteau, (III)*
Jamie Rivers, (III)

Mathieu Biron, (II) Florida June 14, 03
Kristian Huselius, (II)
Olli Jokinen, (II)
Viktor Kozlov, (II)
Andreas Lilja, (II)
Branislav Mezei, (II) Florida June 12, 03
Ivan Novoseltsov, (II)
Peter Worrell, (II)

LOS ANGELES
Craig Johnson, (III)
Aaron Miller, (III) Los Angeles March 13, 03
Felix Potvin, (III)

Ken Belanger, (II)
Brad Chartrand, (II)
Adam Deadmarsh, (II)
Steve Kelly, (II)
Maxim Kuznetsov, (II)
Jamie Storr, (II)

MINNESOTA
Dwayne Roloson, (III) Minnesota May 20, 03
Cliff Ronning, (III)

Hnat Domenichelli, (II) Switzerland May 10, 03
Pascal Dupuis, (II)
Manny Fernandez, (II)
Marian Gaborik, (II)
Matt Johnson, (II)
Filip Kuba, (II)
Antti Laaksonen, (II)
Willie Mitchell, (II)
Nick Shultz, (II)
Andrei Zyuzin, (II)

MONTREAL
Gino Odjick, (UFA)

Bill Lindsay, (III)

Jan Bulis, (II) Montreal May 5, 03
Gordie Dwyer, (II)
Saku Koivu, (II)
Andrei Markov, (II)
Mike Ribeiro, (II)
Jason Ward, (II) Montreal May 15, 03

NASHVILLE
Brent Gilchrist, (III)
Stu Grimson, (III) Retired June 1, 03
Bill Houlder, (III)

Cam Mann, (VI)
Bryan Lundbohm, (VI)

Cale Hulse, (V)

Denis Arkhipov, (II)
Andy Delmore, (II)
Mark Eaton, (II)
Scott Hartnell, (II)
Andreas Johansson, (II)
Jere Karalahti, (II)
Tomas Kloucek, (II)
David Legwand, (II)
Rem Murray, (II)
Vladimir Orszagh, (II)
Denis Pederson, (II)
Dominic Pittis, (II)
Alexander Riazantsev, (II)
Karlis Skrastins, (II)
Kimmo Timonen, (II)
Clarke Wilm, (II)
Vitali Yachmenev, (II)

NEW JERSEY
Tommy Albelin, (III)
Ken Daneyko, (III)
Jim McKenzie, (III)
Joe Nieuwendyk, (III)
Pascal Rheaume, (III)
Richard Smehlik, (III)*

Steve Kariya, (VI)

Ken Sutton, (II)
Jeff Friesen, (II)
Brian Gionta, (II)
Dave Roche, (II)
Oleg Tverdovsky, (II)
Colin White, (II)

NY ISLANDERS
Kevin Haller, (III)
Garth Snow, (III)

Shawn Bates, (II)
Kenny Jonsson, (II)
Radek Martinek, (II)
Randy Robitaille, (II)
Jason Wiemer, (II)

NY RANGERS
Billy Tibbetts, (UFA)
Ted Donato, (III)
Dave Karpa, (III)
Brian Leetch, (III)
Sandy McCarthy, (III)
Mark Messier, (III)*
Boris Mironov, (III)

Anson Carter, (II)
Alexei Kovalev, (II)
Roman Lyashenko, (II)
Ronald Petrovicky, (II)
Tom Poti, (II)

OTTAWA
Magnus Arvedsson, (III)
Jody Hull, (III)
Rob Ray, (III)
Bryan Smolinski, (III)

Josh Langfeld, (VI)
Jeff Ulmer, (VI)
Bob Wren, (VI)

Martin Havlat, (II)
Shane Hnidy, (II) Ottawa June 11, 03
Wade Redden, (II)
Martin Prusek, (II)

PHILADELPHIA
Eric Desjardins, (III)
Claude Lapointe, (III)
Joe Sacco, (III)
Dmitry Yushkevich, (III)

Mark Greig, (II) Germany May 28, 03
Eric Chouinard, (II) Philadelphia June 10, 03
Tomi Kallio, (II) Finland March 8, 03
Sami Kapanen, (II) Philadelphia June 10, 03
Radovan Somik, (II)
Justin Williams, (II)

PHOENIX
Scott Pellerin, (III)
Paul Ranheim, (III)

Zac Bierk, (II)
Chris Gratton, (II)
Jan Hrdina, (II)
Mike Johnson, (II)
Daymond Langkow, (II)
Danny Markov, (II)
Deron Quint, (II)
Radoslav Suchy, (II)
Ossi Vaananen, (II)

PITTSBURGH
Mario Lemieux, (III)
Kent Manderville, (III)
Jamie Pushor, (III)

Brendan Buckley, (VI)
Jason MacDonald, (VI)

Ramzi Abid, (II)
Joel Bouchard, (II)
Matt Bradley, (II)
Sebastien Caron, (II)
Alexandre Daigle, (II)
Mikki Dupont, (II)
Rico Fata, (II)
Shawn Heins, (II)
Mattias Johansson, (II)*
Hans Jonsson, (II)
Tom Kostopoulos, (II)
Milan Kraft, (II)
Richard Lintner, (II)*
Eric Meloche, (II)
Ville Nieminen, (II)
Toby Peterson, (II)
Rob Tallas, (II)
Dick Tarnstrom, (II)

ST LOUIS
Fred Brathwaite, (UFA) Columbus June 1, 03

Chris Osgood, (III) St. Louis June 11, 03
Rich Pilon, (III)
Shjon Podein, (III)
Martin Rucinsky, (III)

Marc Brown, (II)
Dan Corso, (II)
Pavol Demitra, (II)
Brent Johnson, (II)
Ryan Johnson, (II)
Tom Koivisto, (II) Switzerland June 7, 03
Reed Low, (II)
Tyson Nash, (II)
Cody Rudkowsky, (II)
Bryce Salvador, (II)
Cory Stillman, (II)
Daniel Tkaczuk, (II)

SAN JOSE
Adam Graves, (III)*
Teemu Selanne, (III)

Jonathan Cheechoo, (II)
Chad Davison, (II)
Jesse Fibiger, (II)
Scott Hannan, (II)
Miikka Kiprusoff, (II)
Alex Korolyuk, (II)
Ryan Kraft, (II)
Eric Laplante, (II)
Patrick Marleau, (II)
Alyn McCauley, (II)
Mark Smith, (II)
Marco Sturm, (II)
Miroslav Zalesak, (II)

TAMPA BAY
Dave Andreychuk, (III)
Janne Laukanen, (III)
Darren Rumble, (III)
Tim Taylor, (III) Tampa Bay May 16, 03

Vaclav Prospal, (V)

Dan Boyle, (II)
Ben Clymer, (II)
John Grahame, (II)
Brad Lukowich, (II)
Fredrik Modin, (II)
Stan Neckar, (II)
Nolan Pratt, (II)
Brad Richards, (II)
Shane Willis, (II)

TORONTO
Shane Corson, (III)*
Doug Gilmour, (III)*
Phil Housley, (III)*
Glen Wesley, (III)

Nik Antropov, (II)
Wade Belak, (II)
Paul Healey, (II)
Jonas Hoglund, (II)
Bryan McCabe, (II)
Karel Pilar, (II)
Alexander Ponikarovsky, (II)

VANCOUVER
Murray Baron, (III)
Trent Klatt, (III)
Brad May, (III)

Bryan Allen, (II)
Tyler Bouck, (II)
Atrem Chubarov, (II)
Dan Cloutier, (II)
Chris Herperger, (II) Germany June 14, 03
Trevor Letowski, (II)
Mats Lindgren, (II)
Marek Malik, (II)
Chris Nielsen, (II)
Jarkku Ruutu, (II)
Sami Salo, (II)
Daniel Sedin, (II)
Henrik Sedin, (II)
Peter Skudra, (II) Russia June 7, 03

WASHINGTON
Sergei Berezin, (III)
Calle Johansson, (III)
Ken Klee, (III)

Michael Nylander, (V)

Chris Ferarro, (VI)
Peter Ferarro, (VI)
Trent Whitfield, (VI)

Rick Berry, (II)
Jason Doig, (II)
Josh Green, (II)
Mike Grier, (II)
Stephen Peat, (II)
Matt Pettinger, (II)
Andreas Salomonsson, (II)
_
RETIRED
Uwe Krupp, (III)* Retired May 1, 03
Stu Grimson, (III) Retired June 1, 03
Patrick Roy, (III)* Retired June 1, 03
Patric Kjellberg, (III) Retired June 6, 03

[moneyp]

I'll start with the Ducks, since that's the team I'm most familiar with.

ANAHEIM
Denny Lambert, (UFA)
Patric Kjellberg, (III) Retired June 6, 03
Fredrick Olausson, (III)
Steve Thomas, (III)
German Titov, (III)

All of these guys are probably gone. Kjellberg already retired, Olausson hasn't really been a part of the team for two months now and was rumored to be grousing because he only got in one game in the playoffs. Good luck to both of 'em. We finally got German Titov (earning $1.75 million to play in Cincinnati) and Jason York (earning $1 million *from us* to play in Nashville). I've said it a hundred times, I'd love to have Stumpy back for one more year, but there are a couple of reasons I don't think it's going to happen. One is that his family lives in Toronto and he would obviously like to play a lot closer to them. The other I'll discuss below.

Marc Chouinard, (II)
Dale Clarke, (II)
Jean-Sebastian Giguere, (II)
Niclas Havelid, (II)
Paul Kariya, (II)
Mike Leclerc, (II)
Samuel Pahlsson, (II)
Kevin Sawyer, (II)
Petr Sykora, (II)
Vitaly Vishnevski, (II)

The group II guys are the RFAs. Obviously the top concern here is Jiggy. The guess is that it's going to take $4-5 million to avoid a holdout. The good news is we've got it available. Coming off the books are Titov ($1.75M), Olausson ($1M), York ($1M), Kjellberg ($900k) and Lambert ($550k). That's $5.2 million right there.

Next up is Kariya. He's going to earn a minimum of $10 mil (minimum offer to keep his rights) and he's clearly not worth any more than that. He accepted the minimum offer last time. The thinking is he might do it again, especially given his less-than-stellar playoff performance. He has made mention of taking a cut so that the team could re-sign Teemu. We'll see.

Sykora: Not sure what his current salary is, but he probably is going to earn more than the standard 10% increase. How much more? I dunno, but I'm guessing he falls somewhere in the $6 million range.

Leclerc: Played very well in the playoffs and is due for a raise, but not a drastic one. Has had injury problems three of the last four years and is due for serious knee surgery this offseason, which will probably keep his salary from increasing too much.

Pahlsson, Havelid, Vish: All due for very modest raises at best, unless any of them have an overly-inflated view of their own abilities. Sammy played great after being called up late in the year, really blending well with Chistov and Thomas and becoming a dynamo on the forecheck. It'll be great to have him around for a full season. Chouinard should be back as well.

Sawyer may be gone, as his concussion puts his future in some doubt. I have no idea who Dale Clarke is.

Not mentioned are the guys who are in option years: Gerber, Bylsma and Oates (club option) and Niedermayer (player option). Word has it that Nieds is already working on getting his option put through so no worries there. Gerber's is easily picked up. He's one of the best backups in the league. Danny B may be crowded out by the glut of forward options, which would be a shame. We'll see. I would love to have Oates return, and I think he represents the biggest decision that the team has to make. He played like crap through the first half of the season, but after he got on board, the team's top line really caught fire, and he played well throughout the playoffs. He helps our team in crucial areas, on faceoffs and on the boards (he is unbelievably strong). He's a conditioning nut and it's only one year so age isn't that much of a factor. The factors working against him are his salary ($3 million), his temperament (he's a moody guy and if he doesn't want to be here, it's probably best not to have him around) and the big crunch we're going to have at forward.

Look at our top nine forwards in the playoffs: Kariya, Oates, Sykora, Rooch, Leclerc, Niedermayer, Chistov, Pahlsson, Thomas. Now add to that Andy McDonald, a fast, talented center (10 goals in 46 games) who unfortunately was injured and missed the playoffs, and Teemu, who is supposedly all but a lock to sign with us. That's eleven guys, and none of them are fourth-liners. Somebody has to go, and right now the main candidates are Oates and Thomas, unless we work out some sort of trade. Guys like Krog and Smirnov already deserve more ice time than they get.

Okay, so... Teemu. Allegedly all but signed, should be part of this team by mid-July. He's durable and he's good for at least 25 goals, maybe more. My only concern is that he won't jibe well with our system of play, but I'll trust Murray and Babcock in that regard. But what's the compensation on him going to be? I think I'd rather have Adam at $3 mil than Teemu at whatever he's going to earn.

Prospects: Mikael Holmqvist, our first round pick in '97, who will finally be playing in North America this year. He's 23, 6'3", 198 lbs., should be a threat to make the team. He's probably not a scoring type, but a guy who plays fast hard hockey like Niedermayer. We've got a number of forward prospects, the best of which played in juniors last year. Our depth at forward will probably keep them all in Cincy this year, but who knows? Last year's first-rounder, Joffrey Lupul, *tore it up* for his junior team and has kicked ass in every amateur tournament he's played in. If he burns it up in Cincy, he could be called up.

More on the rest of the NHL later...

[moneyp]

Ooh, a notable free agent entering the market.... Avs aren't even talking with Greg DeVries. He'll be a good D-man for someone out there. I wouldn't mind the Ducks making a run at him if the price was right. We could use another solid body.

[moneyp]

For Larry:

"The agent for Sergei Fedorov says they never turned down Detroit's $50-million contract offer and that they would like to revisit the original five year deal.
Pat Brisson says Fedorov asked the Red Wings for time to deal with some personal issues when the original five year, $50-million offer was tendered during the regular season. Fedorov was going through divorce proceedings with tennis player Anna Kournikova as well as cutting ties with his previous agent.
Brisson says when he sat down with Detroit as his new agent, the offer had dropped to three-years, $30-million. Following the playoffs, the Red Wings improved the offer to four years and $40-million.

"Sergei's not being greedy and asking for more," Brisson tells the Detroit Free Press. "He asked them to be patient while he went through some personal issues, then things changed. At first, he was disappointed. Now he's past that, but July 1 is coming."
Brisson says coming to terms should not be a problem as long as the deal is "in the five-year range".
Meanwhile, Steve Yzerman and his representative met with general manager Ken Holland in Toronto on Thursday. While he would not elaborate on the state of contract talks, Yzerman said he expects a deal to get done which will satisfy both sides. He added that no one had asked him to take a pay cut from the $8-million he earned last season.
As for Darren McCarty, agent Pat Morris says the ball is in Detroit's court. While he termed the talks "constructive", he's not optimistic that a new deal can be done by July 1. Morris says the Wings have moved beyond their original offer of three years, $6-million."

*************************

My own opinion: Fedorov is NUTS if he thinks anyone is going to give him that kind of money on the open market. I think even at four years, the deal is ludicrous. Teams around the league are trying to dump salary expecting a more restrictive CBA.

Does anyone think Stevie Y is helping the team in any way by not retiring? He is D-O-N-E, and taking up $8 million on top of it. Detroit has always been extremely loyal to their longtime players, going so far as to reacquire many of them after losing them in waiver drafts or whatever, so I don't suspect they'd ask him to take a pay cut, but crimony. He should be OFFERING to take one.

[Enforcer]

Derian Hatcher, my ideal defenseman, has expressed interest in signing with the Wings if he doesn't stay in Dallas. Derian is a local boy from Sterling Heights, Michigan. Earlier in the season, noboby took seriously the notion that the Wings might be able to pick him up, but I was pretty adamant that he'd like to come home. Sounds like there is still a decent chance that it could happen. He isn't the prototypical Wings defenseman, but there is plenty of room for a guy like him on the roster.

Yzerman needs to stay for the Wings to win another Cup this coming season. I really believe that. His output in the last few games of the season was really pretty decent, all things considered. He was looking his best at the very end of the regular season, and I think he'll have a decent year this next season. But it's his leadership that means most. The guy is worshipped here and is probably the city's most famous athlete. They just put up a mural of him on the Cadillac Tower downtown.

What Twilight thread? Point me and I'm there!

Larry

[moneyp]

Larry, it's the "Twilight Alley" thread. Good luck with Hatcher. I'd rather see him on the Wings.

MSNBC reports a lot of star players being "actively shopped" here.

The pertinent portion:

"Among those players being shopped, league sources said, are: John LeClair (Philadelphia; he would have to waive a no-trade clause); Jason Arnott, Pierre Turgeon and possibly Richard Matvichuk (Dallas); Radek Bonk (Ottawa); Nikolai Khabibulin (Tampa Bay); Jason Allison and Ziggy Palffy (Los Angeles); Vincent Damphousse (San Jose); Keith Tkachuk (St. Louis); Alexei Yashin (New York Islanders); and Martin Straka (Pittsburgh)."

Leclair being available has been confirmed, which is no surprise, and he's waived his no-trade for a few teams. He's a shadow of his former "Legion of Doom" days, though, only one healthy season in the past three years, and he didn't exactly set the world on fire at that. Last year, when he was in the lineup, he was basically a third-liner.

I'm doubtful about the alleged availability of the rest of these guys. Damphousse has already re-upped with the Sharks for a year, and I think Turgeon has done the same with the Stars.

The Bolts are far apart on negotiations with Andreychuk and Vinny Prospal and may not re-sign them. Really going to be an odd offseason with teams trying to figure out how to go forward from here.

[tippy]

whazzup?

Do you know what would be a cool hockey rink theme song?

Cold As Ice

[Enforcer]

The guy who runs the music at the Joe does some cool stuff. Not that he's the only guy doing this, but some of his picks are excellent.

The Wings acquired Jason Wooley earlier this year and whenever he scores, they play "Wooly Bully."

When Theo Fleury got involved in a scrum, they played "Short People," by Randy Newman.

Every Brendan Shanahan goal is accompanied by the Irish Jig.

Shoving between plays gets, "Push You Around," (or whatever that song's called) by Matchbox 20.

There are some others, but I've forgotten them.

Larry

[Enforcer]

In continuing this neat dialogue with myself, here's the latest: Dominik Hasek may be returning to the NHL. The Wings have the rights to him, but they also have Curtis Joseph under contract for 2 more years and he has a no-trade clause. What a nightmare offseason for Ken Holland. If the Fedorov/McCarty/Yzerman/Larionov signings weren't enough, now he has to deal with this. You can't keep two 8 million dollar goalies, but what do you do with them? For Christ's sake, you CANNOT let the Avs have Hasek. That simply cannot happen. Philly will pursue him, too.

Craziness is everywhere.

Larry

[moneyp]

Yeah, I noticed that myself. It'll be interesting to see how Holland manages to resolve this.

Derian Hatcher is officially testing the free agent waters. Given that there were no significant personnel trades on draft day, I'm guessing the pool's a little shallow right now, Derian... nobody wants to add salary.

On the Ducks front, the team has decided to not pick up Oates option, but Murray doesn't rule out re-signing him at a lower price. Thomas is still contemplating whether or not to retire. LeClerc is mulling over which type of knee surgery to have. Most optimistic forecast is that he'll be out until November. McDonald is still suffering concussion symptoms. Looks like we'll have some open forward slots to start the season.

On the bright side, I'm incredibly pleased with our draft. We got a forecasted top ten pick at the #19 slot (Ryan Getzlaf) and drafted for size, size and more size. Hopefully, one or more of the top three will develop into the power forward we need.

Ryan Getzlaf, 6'3" 195 lbs C
Corey Perry, 6'2" 185 lbs RW
Shane Hynes, 6'3" 210 lbs RW
Juha Alen, 6'2" 210 lbs D
Nathan Saunders, 6'4" 210 lbs, D
Andrew Miller, 6'2" 165 lbs, LW
Dirk Southern, 6'0" 177 lbs, C
Shane O'Brien, 6'2" 217 lbs, D
Ville Mantymaa, 6'3" 185 lbs, D

[Gentle Giant]

Ah, the NHL offseason. My favorite part of the NHL season!

I stopped watching when the Bruins traded my favorite player, Phil Esposito, to the NY Rangers.

[moneyp]

Potentially startling news in Duckland.

TSN is reporting that the Ducks are not going to make Paul Kariya a qualifying offer by midnight tonight, making him an unrestricted free agent. If it happens, this would be the first time someone of Paul's age and ability was not made a qualifying offer.

The qualifying offer would have to be at least ten million to retain his rights. Murray has reportedly been negotiating with him to sign a multiyear deal at a lower rate, in the 6-7 million neighborhood.

The Ducks have also not picked up Oates' option at $3.5 million. They reportedly tried to sign him at $2.2M and it was rejected.

Given what Murray's done here in Anaheim, it's hard not to have faith in him, but letting Paul go would be a seriously risky move. No, Paul's definitely not worth ten million, and losing him probably wouldn't hurt as much as people think, and maybe Murray doesn't want to get into the situation Washington's facing with Jagr. But the Ducks are in a position they've never been in before, coming off a fantastic postseason with the opportunity to exponentially increase our fan base, and letting our most well-known player go for nothing is not the way to capitalise on that. It probably doesn't look good from the locker room, either.

Maybe we'll somehow parlay this into something better. Derian Hatcher, anyone?

[moneyp]

No more "potentially." It's a done deal. Paul's a UFA. Well, on the bright side, without Paul, Oates and all our other refugees salaries, we have at least $18 million off of last season's salary to spend. So Jiggy eats $4-5 million of that. Still $13 million to re-sign our other RFAs and hit the market.

Oy. Looking to the upcoming free agency period with a mix of anticipation and dread. It's gonna be wild.

[Enforcer]

The Wings pick up the option on Hasek, which was expected. Wooley and McCarty signed deals, which I was pleased to hear. Now Yzerman, Fedorov and Larionov are left. Yzerman will resign, no doubt. Fedorov will have to find out if anyone really thinks he's worth as much as he thinks he is. Larionov I would *love* to see back. He won't play for any other team, but he may retire. Tough to call. Now Kenny Holland has to figure out what to do with Dom/Cujo. And he needs to sign Hatcher! The Wings could use him and he wants to play in Detroit (his hometown), so hopefully they can work out a deal.

I was surprised to see Kariya and Oates both become UFAs. It's got to be hard to imagine Kariya on another team. That's kind of how I feel about Sergei (and McCarty, who is now here for 4 years more at least). Hard to say what will happen with those guys. It would be really bizarre if Sergei leaves and the Wings bid for Kariya! Chris Chelios and Kariya are not exactly mutual admirers, so it would be funny to see them on the same team.

Larry

[moneyp]

Fedorov absolutely not back with the Wings, according to his agent (and Holland seems to believe it). Betting they go hard for Hatcher and Kariya now.

Jeff Hackett signs with Philly. Bob Clarke saying something to the effect that he believes Hackett is the guy to take them far in the playoffs. Uh, based on what, Bob? I think getting rid of Cechmanek was absolute stupidity. He had the lowest GAA and highest save percentage the past three years of any goaltender, and despite accusations of playoff collapses, his last two postseasons were pretty good. He just didn't get the support.

[Enforcer]

I'm not sure about Cechmanek. I think he was able to benefit from a team defense that is outstanding. Hitchcock coaches that way and I think the team in front of him had a lot to do with Checko's numbers. In the playoffs, he was at times spectacular, at other times unbelievably bad. Those bad goals deflate a team. If you're consistently giving up 1 or 2 tough goals a game, you give your team a chance every game. Let in 4 or 5 easy ones and they lose confidence that they can win and the game is over.

It seems to me that his emotions can get the better of him. The talk about how he doesn't have a "style" is not all that important, in my opinion. But I think the awful goals he let in during the Ottawa series were hard to ignore. He either shuts you out or he gives up 4 soft goals in a game. It's hard to win with that kind of goaltending. Maybe Ottawa just has his number. That weird meltdown he had the year before may be something he's having a hard time shaking now.

The Hackett thing baffles me, too. Strange choice of saviors, if you ask me.

Larry

[moneyp]

Well, shit shit shit.

Kariya and Selanne have sign with the Avalanche for one year, Kariya for a whopping $1.2 MILLION, Selanne for $5.8 million. That's a fucking charmed life, getting those two guys for $7 million total. Hatcher signs with the Wings for five years, $30 million. Congrats, Slurpy. Congrats, Larry.

Paul can't take six or seven million to sign with the team he supposedly wanted to win a Cup with, but he can take one million to sign with the Avs.

I understand the need not to pick up Paul's contract, but it's clear that didn't pay off. Allegedly the idea was that we were actually going to spend that money on free agents. I guess we're making a run at Fedorov now? If not, then WHICH free agents are we going to spend on?

Several people on the Duck mailing list, season ticket holders, are not going to be renewing. The goodwill earned from last season's playoff run appears to be gone.

[Enforcer]

I don't get the 1.2 million dollar deal. Kariya claims there are reasons why he accepted such a small offer but declined to comment. I could understand it if he played on a terrible team, but this team nearly won the Cup this year. Why settle for such a low sum? Mone, do you think there was some kind of problem with Kariya and the management or teammates?

As for Colorado, they have a nice pair of linemates for Forsberg (potentially, anyway). But all the goals in the world won't win them the Cup if they have David Aebischer in net. There's still work to be done if they want to overcome the loss of Patrick Roy.

I'm thrilled with the Hatcher signing. That makes our blue line for next year Hatcher, Lidstrom, Chelios, Schneider, Wooley and Fischer for a top 6. And Mathieu Dandenault had a great season last season but can probably return to a forward position. If Dom comes back, I think our defense will be much improved, which is what Ken Holland keeps saying is his top priority.

Larry

[moneyp]

Originally posted by Larry Nagel
I don't get the 1.2 million dollar deal. Kariya claims there are reasons why he accepted such a small offer but declined to comment.

It's so that he can be a Group V free agent next year (ten years in the league making under the average salary). That way he can check out his options under the new CBA and work accordingly from there.

I never thought Paul's "I want to win it all in Anaheim" was anything other than bullshit, but this confirms it. He and Teemu could have done the same thing they did for the Ducks that they did for the Avalanche.

As for Colorado, they have a nice pair of linemates for Forsberg (potentially, anyway). But all the goals in the world won't win them the Cup if they have David Aebischer in net.

For Sakic, more likely. They'll probably keep together the Hejduk-Forsberg-Tanguay line that worked so well last year.

The best alternative right now is signing Fedorov. I don't think it's a lock, and frankly I don't want him at the salary he turned down from Detroit, especially with a new CBA in the offing.

Seriously bummed right now.

[Enforcer]

3 players who spent their entire careers with one team have moved on today. Hatcher, Fedorov (supposedly) and Kariya.

Good luck with Sergei if you land him. He is capable of being the greatest hockey player in the world. Unfortunately, he has to decide if he feels like it on a given day if you want to see it. Turning down the 4 yr/40 mil is really weird, and the interview he gave is even more puzzling. He claims he feels "free." Free like he did when Mike Ilitch helped smuggle him out of Russia on his private jet 13 years ago? Maybe he wants to play 25 minutes and score 45 goals on a team that finishes in 3rd place. I can't say I'm happy to see his talent leave, but the man has always confused me.

And I don't blame you for being bitter about Paul. I'm a little bitter myself about Feds right now.

Larry

[moneyp]

Ducks GM Murray held a press conference stating that he was very disappointed, that apparently he made a better offer to Paul and Teemu than the one that they accepted.

Sketchy reports coming in that the Ducks are close to signing Sergei.

[Canuck Don]

More on the player moves from TSN Toronto.

.Avalanche sign Kariya and Selanne


TSN.ca Staff




7/3/2003

The Colorado Avalanche are reuniting one of hockey's most dynamic duos from the 1990's, and they're doing it for a bargain price.



The Avalanche signed unrestricted free agents Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne Thursday, making them teammates for the second time. The two played together in Anaheim for six seasons from 1996 to 2001.



The most surprising news about the signings is how little they cost Colorado. NHL management sources have told TSN that both men agreed to one-year contracts for far less than they made last season.



Related Info
Unrestricted Free Agent Tracker

Kariya has signed for an astonishing $1.2 million for the upcoming season, a huge cut from the $10 million he made in each of the last five years in Anaheim. Selanne's deal will pay him $5.8 million, down from the $6.5 million he got last year in San Jose.



Kariya apparently took the cut to ensure that the two men can play together, and to give them a chance to win the Stanley Cup. The one year deal would also make him an unrestricted free agent again next summer, as he would be a 10-year veteran making less than the NHL's average salary.



Ducks General Manager Bryan Murray could not hide his displeasure. "I'm disappointed obviously, I thought we made a considerably better offer for Paul and Teemu," he told TSN.



Murray would not divulge the financial terms of the offers made to Kariya and Selanne by the Ducks, but sources familiar with the discussions say that Anaheim offerd the two players a total of $9 million for the coming season.



With the Avalanche paying only $7 million to the two players, Colorado has salary room to acquire a goaltender if needed, or to pay Patrick Roy should he decide to end his retirement.



With the signings, the Avalanche now have what is without question the most dynamic group of forwards in the league. Kariya and Selanne join last year's NHL points leader Peter Forsberg, Milan Hejduk, the league's only 50 goal man from last season, and Joe Sakic, who was named the NHL's MVP in 2001.



Between them, the five men have recorded seven 50 goal seasons and eleven 100 point campaigns.



Kariya, Selanne, Sakic and Forsberg also have something else in common: they're all represented by Winnipeg based agent Don Baizley.

[moneyp]

File under "I'm glad somebody said it:"

Don Baizley, the respected player agent for the stars, has no intention of getting into a war of words with any National Hockey League general manager over the decision by client Paul Kariya to join the Colorado Avalanche.

Kariya and close friend Teemu Selanne used their unrestricted free-agent status to sign one-year contracts with the Avs for considerably less than they were paid last season. Kariya was with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Selanne with the San Jose Sharks.

Vancouver Canucks general manager Brian Burke was critical of Kariya's decision, suggesting Kariya should have been loyal to the Ducks, considering he had been paid $71-million (U.S.) over the past nine years.

Burke also was upset that Baizley didn't immediately return a telephone call to the Canucks regarding Kariya.

"Paul and Teemu both honoured the system," Baizley said yesterday from his Winnipeg office.

"I called Brian Burke back. We just didn't connect. I still don't know why he was calling me."

In Vancouver, outspoken Burke expressed empathy for Anaheim general manager Bryan Murray, whose wheeling and dealing helped produce the first Western Conference championship for the Ducks with rookie head coach Mike Babcock behind the bench.

"I think Bryan Murray has the most jam of any GM in our league — taking that step of not qualifying Paul Kariya," Burke said. "I think it took guts, I think it took nerve and I think it took brains.

"[Kariya's] a good player, but he has not been worth what he's been paid for the last three years [$30-million]. [Words] like loyalty don't leap to mind."

Baizley now has four high-profile clients with the Avalanche: centres Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg, and Kariya and Selanne. The contracts have a combined base salary of $27.8-million for next season.

"It's just a coincidence," Baizley said. "I'd like to take some credit for these deals, but really, I'm just a technician along for the ride.

"It's unique, but not mind-boggling. Colorado was the right fit for Paul and Teemu because they're going to play an up-tempo style that fits the skill set. That's not a criticism of Anaheim, because they had to play the way they do in order to win."

Kariya often felt stifled by the trapping style of the Mighty Ducks, even though he produced 81 points last season and Anaheim unexpectedly reached the Stanley Cup final before losing to the New Jersey Devils in the seventh game.

Selanne and Kariya played together for nearly six years in Anaheim before the Ducks traded Selanne to San Jose in March of 2001. They agreed by phone this week — Selanne was back home in Finland — that their best chance to win a playoff championship would be in Colorado.
Kariya, 28, was paid $10-million last season. The Ducks wanted to reduce payroll and did not make Kariya a qualifying offer by July 1, which made Kariya an unrestricted free agent.

Anaheim did make an offer later, believed to be a three-year deal, but Kariya elected to move on. He signed with the Avalanche for $1.2-million, well below the league average of $1.79-million.

By making less than the NHL average and having played 10 years in the league, Kariya could again be an unrestricted free agent next summer.

So could Selanne, 33, who signed with Colorado for $5.8-million, about $700,000 less than he was paid by San Jose.

If there's a labour shutdown after the 2003-04 NHL season, it's expected Selanne will ask Kariya to be a teammate in Finland while the labour issue is ironed out with the NHL Players' Association.

Baizley confirmed that he called Colorado GM Pierre Lacroix to propose a deal for Kariya and Selanne.

Lacroix and Baizley had hammered out earlier a one-year deal for Forsberg worth $11-million next season.

Sakic's contract calls for $9.88-million next season.

[moneyp]

This is kind of funny. Even a Denver Post writer thinks the deal is ridiculous:

Bettman must deny Avs' steal of a deal
By Mark Kiszla, Post Sports

This was a Christmas-in-July sale that would make Santa Claus blush with shame. The outrageous gift given the Avalanche by superstars Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne really is too good to be true.
Is it fair to 29 other NHL franchises that Kariya not only accepted the largest paycut in league history, but also conspired to bring perennial all-star Selanne with him to Colorado?
Ho, ho, ho.
The NHL should stop the madness, strike down these two cockamamie contracts and call the whole thing off.
Of course, that would require the league to display leadership from the office of its commissioner, who is all big leather chair, no gumption.
The Avalanche is lucky Gary Bettman has the spine of an amoeba. For any commissioner who really cared about the competitive balance of his sport would invalidate these ridiculous contracts as fast as Kariya and Selanne autographed them.
"We talked about what was the best situation for us hockey-wise, taking out everything else, and both us said 'Colorado' simultaneously," Kariya reported. He signed for a $1.2 million salary that is an insult to his talent. Add Selanne at $5.8 million, and Avs owner Stan Kroenke picked up Saks Fifth Avenue merchandise at Wal-Mart prices.
Their scheme was super for Colorado. It was horrible for hockey.
For Kariya and Selanne to negotiate low-ball contracts to join one of the league's premier franchises might be nobody's business but their own. When two players with a stunning 736 NHL goals between them begin dickering with the competitive nature of the league, however, then it becomes serious business that should be of grave concern to anybody who cares about hockey.
If NHLPA boss Bob Goodenow is not screaming and shaking an angry fist about Kariya accepting a salary at 10 percent of his true market value, then every pro player should quit the union and go back to playing pond hockey for a case of Molson per month.
If every team with championship aspirations from Vancouver to New Jersey is not protesting this smelly deal that brought Kariya and Selanne wrapped up in a neat bow to Denver, then they might as well keep their sticks in storage, hand the 2004 Stanley Cup to the Avalanche right now and get on with the impending labor war.
While leading Anaheim to the championship round in the feel-good story of the playoffs, Kariya unselfishly played mind-numbing, defensive-oriented hockey and was handsomely rewarded with a $10 million salary. To get more, he settled for far less.
When Anaheim stupidly declined to prevent Kariya from hitting the free- agent market, the 28-year-old forward shook the very foundation of the league, with a rattling body check not thought possible from a 5-foot-10, 176-pound forward who sometimes appears fragile on the ice.
For a shot at winning the Cup, he decided to join Selanne and Joe Sakic on an absurdly talented No. 2 scoring line in Colorado, all at a price less than the team is willing to pay journeyman Mike Keane. That is ludicrous.
While Kariya hears praise for embracing winning over money, it should not be forgotten that he cut the negotiating strength of fellow NHL free agents like a wicked slash to the knees. While accepting a one-year contract does assume risk of injury, especially for a veteran with a nasty history of concussions, Kariya is gambling purely in his self-interest. He now has gained the right to become an unrestricted free agent in 2004, long before his 31st birthday, with blatant disregard for the spirit of the collective bargaining agreement.
Avalanche general manager Pierre Lacroix certainly earned the respect of Kariya and Selanne by building a franchise that has won nine consecutive division titles and two league championships. Without a long record of proven success, Colorado might not be any more attractive than Anaheim, where Selanne and Kariya scored big together in the late 1990s.
Nevertheless, for Lacroix to insist "We were astounded" by the interest of two impact players conveniently skirts the painfully obvious and extremely relevant fact that agent Don Baizley not only represents Kariya and Selanne, but also advises Avalanche mainstays Sakic and Peter Forsberg. It seems naive to believe that such a radical, unprecedented deal could have been closed in a mere 72 hours, if not for a longstanding relationship between Baizley and Lacroix.
Would a game with true major- league standing in the United States have allowed such a controversial transaction without more cries of foul play? Where is the indignation? Are all of Canada's true guardians of hockey off fishing on some deep-woods lake with Don Cherry? Had the New York Yankees stolen ace pitcher Pedro Martinez from the Boston Red Sox at a 90 percent discount, you can bet some senator from Massachusetts would be demanding a Congressional inquiry.
Of course, it is possible the NHL does not care two superstars sold the soul of the championship race to the lowest bidder. Why? The looming labor Armageddon is all about creating a drag on payroll inflation, and by working for Colorado for $1.2 million, Kariya just trimmed the average salary across the entire league by more than $10,000 all by himself.
But when the NHL turned its salary structure into a joke whose punch line was the hilarious lack of zeroes and commas in Kariya's new contract, where was Bettman? Was the NHL commissioner out buying marshmallows to roast at his Fourth of July picnic, while hockey's competitive balance went up in smoke?
No sport that takes itself seriously would let the Avalanche skate on this deal.

********************

First of all, not giving Kariya the ten million is only stupid if you don't spend the money to improve the team. The jury is still out on that.

Also, I disagree that the league should interfere, but on an aesthetic level, I'm with him. I don't think it's any good for the league for players to gravitate to three or four franchises just because they have a better chance at winning. Why the heck would you be a fan of any other franchise, then?

[Enforcer]

The deal is bizarre and will draw a lot of criticism. But the bottom line is that Kariya was on a team that was one win away from hoisting the Stanley Cup. Did he really think that moving to Colorado was going to improve his chances of winning the Cup next year? A team that has a much improved offense but is putting David Aebischer in net? I don't know if I buy it. I think the free agency issue, combined with a basic contempt for the Ducks' hockey "system" must have motivated Kariya more than any chances of winning. Unless he believed that the Ducks would no longer contend next year and that this season was a fluke, it doesn't add up that he would leave a conference champion to play for a team that left the playoffs in round one (with the greatest goalie in the world at that).

I thought there was a real storm brewing in Anaheim when I read that Petr Sykora signed with Washington last week. Then I realized it was another guy with the same name. As for Fedorov, there are those in the Detroit media who think there is still a small chance he may change his mind about returning to Detroit. After the '98 season and the whole Carolina deal, people know how he is about using these kinds of events to his advantage. I guess we're going to hear about Hasek today or tomorrow. That sets the stage for everything else, so there should be more news in the coming day or two.

Larry

[Enforcer]

Hasek officially coming back as of this morning. Now something has to give with the two goalies. If Joseph can be persuaded to waive his no-trade clause, Holland might be able to trade him for someone else like Lindros or Nieuwendyk. The latest rumor I've heard is Joseph for Lapointe. I don't know if I like that trade very much. Lapointe bailed on the Wings for big money and promptly became invisible. Lapointe is tough, but there's enough team toughness now with Hatcher, plus McCarty signing for 4 more years. Scoring touch at center to replace Feds is the top priority.

Dom only wants to play for Detroit, which means he must be pretty confident that Holland can trade Joseph. It would be kind of silly to un-retire only to be traded and then retire again before playing a game. I'm pretty confident, too.

Larry

[moneyp]

Originally posted by Larry Nagel
Hasek officially coming back as of this morning. Now something has to give with the two goalies. If Joseph can be persuaded to waive his no-trade clause, Holland might be able to trade him for someone else like Lindros or Nieuwendyk.

Can't trade for Nieuwendyk. He doesn't have a team!

Not sure about the Rangers, either, although they'd love to be rid of Lindros' salary. They'd then have to find a way to get rid of Dunham. Boston actually seems like the right fit, at least in terms of needing goaltending. Lapointe is the expendable equitable salary, and at least more useful to Detroit than a $4 million backup goaltender.

[Enforcer]

One thing that worries me about Lindros is the concussion history. One more blow to the head and he could be done. Not a good long term investment for a hockey team, although he's certainly not too old. The guy can be a monster when he's healthy. The other thing is he has ridiculous incentive clauses in his contract. It goes up to something like 9 million dollars in a hurry.

Larry

[moneyp]

Originally posted by Larry Nagel
One thing that worries me about Lindros is the concussion history. One more blow to the head and he could be done. Not a good long term investment for a hockey team, although he's certainly not too old. The guy can be a monster when he's healthy.

He was healthy last season and anything but a monster, only 19 goals and 53 points in 81 games. He basically turned into a perimeter player on offense. I think his concussion problems have had him playing scared.