July 03, 2006
Free Agent Frenzy
I have to hand it to the NHL these days. Here we are, almost two full weeks after the seventh game of the Stanley Cup Finals, and we're still talking about hockey.
Of course, the reason is the compressed schedule the league had to adopt in order to get on the ice on-time after the resolution of the lockout. Hockey fans have hardly had a chance to breathe since then.
Think about it for a moment: We started with labor peace last September. That was followed with with a draft lottery and the draft itself in quick succession. Before you knew it, the players were back in training camp and the puck dropped in October before MLB even closed up shop for its offseason.
Thanks to the Winter Olympics there was no really All-Star break. Then the Stanley Cup Finals went to the limit, the league handed out the awards a few days later, and we had another draft before that week was out. In the midst of it all, Edmonton's postseason hangover turned into a trip to the emergency room for alcohol poisoning when the locals learned that Chris Pronger wanted out. Then, before you knew it, Roberto Luongo and Todd Bertuzzi exchanged zip codes.
Seven days later, this past Saturday at Noon, the free agent signing period began and we were treated to what seemed like the busiest 36 hours in hockey history.
Stop the league, I want to get off!
If you're having trouble keeping up, you're not alone. Click here for Jamie Fitzpatrick's list of unrestricted free agents (UFA). And click here to keep track of who went where.
If there's a consensus developing, it's that everybody, and I mean everybody, is overpaying for talent. Plenty of folks are opining in the aftermath -- but visit Jes Golbez, James Mirtle and the aforementioned Mr. Fitzpatrick, who seems pretty cynical about the whole exercise:
History suggests that one of those teams will make the great leap forward next season, a couple will improve marginally, and another will be worse than ever. But stayed tuned, there's much more flesh-trading to come.
Indeed there is. Stick with me throughout the day as we take a look at reaction around the league before I check out for July 4th.
UPDATE: Mirtle is looking at the free agent bargain bin, and it isn't pretty (but his post is pretty funny). BFLOBLOG is looking forward to rooting against Jay McKee.
David Singer is thinking out loud about the Islanders signing NHL vagabond Mike Sillenger. At a minmum, it ought to stop the talk about bringing Mike Peca back to Long Island.
UPDATE: Steve Ovadia tackled free agent season with his own brand of droll humor:
I also like when the Florida papers try and write about hockey. Here's a Miami Herald headline: "Bertuzzi's Play will Determine if Deal was Wise" (login info.). You know. As opposed to any other deal. Anywhere.
Steve also bids a fond farewell to John Davidson, who is leaving the Ranger/OLN/NBC broadcast booths to run the whole enchilada in St. Louis.
While Steve has nothing but praise for Davidson, I found most of his postseason work on NBC/OLN to be rather labored. More often than not, it seemed like he was just trying to fill the air, repeating anecodtes he'd used earlier in the playoffs (How many times did we have to hear about nobody but Carolina wanting to sign Cory Stillman?). Simply put, he was off his game this postseason. Maybe his mind was someplace else?
So if I didn't like Davidson's work, who did I like? I thought Darren Eliot did a competent job, but I thought Neil Smith was consistently the most insightful color man on U.S. television all season long. Of course, he's just passed through the revolving door back into the NHL as GM of the Islanders.
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Totally agree on the Davidson analysis. Watching him during Rangers games was a treat - he's insightful, humorous and knows the ins and outs of his own team quite well. He wasn't always perfect when discussing the other teams, but he was very good. Rangers broadcasts won't be the same (though I would watch just for Rosen and Trautwig - two of the best in the NHL).
In the playoffs, though, he definitely was not on his game. I think you're correct in saying he had his eye on a larger prize.
Finally, Mirtle's comparison between the 2006 Blues and the 2005 Pens seems apt.
Posted by:
at July 5, 2006 01:41 PM
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