• 09Jul

  Free Agency Report Cards

  Draft, Free Agency, NHL

  I have been quite the slacker in my hockey fan and blogging ways this week, having neglected to keep everyone up to date on the craziness of the first week of the NHL’s free agency period.  After Tuesday’s initial onslaught, the hits just kept on coming throughout the week, with some big signings still coming in late last night.  To catch up, I’ve compiled a list of each teams gains and losses since Tuesday, a graded each team.

  TEAM	GAINED	LOST	GRADE
  	Re-signed Corey Perry, signed Stu Bickel, Brendan Morrison	Marc-Andre Bergeron, Todd Bertuzzi, Doug Weight	Locking up Corey Perry was important and Burke got it done early. Morrison is a solid addition up front. No big splashes, but great adjustments to an already great team – now if Burke would shut his mouth we’d be all set. Grade: B+
  	Re-signed Johan Hedberg; signed Ron Hainsey	Bobby Holik, Jesse Shultz	It’s hard to sign players who have no interest in playing in your town. Atlanta reportedly offered Brian Campbell more money and he turned them down. They are still $8 million under the cap floor and the biggest name they could bring in was Ron Hainsey. Don Waddell has his work cut out for him. Grade: F
  	Signed Blake Wheeler, Michael Ryder, Petteri Nokelainen	Glen Metropolit, Alex Auld, Sean Curry	Michael Ryder is a great pickup. He had the best season of his career under Claude Julien in Montreal and surrounded by the young talent in Boston will look to repeat that. The B’s can only hope that Blake Wheeler will live up to the hype. Grade: B+
  	Patrick Lalime, Craig Rivet	Dmitri Kalinin, Steve Bernier	Much better offseason for the Slugs this year. Craig Rivet can at least attempt to fill the hole left by Campbell, and Lalime will be a better backup for Ryan Miller. I wouldn’t be surprised to see another move up Regier’s sleeve, though. Grade: B-
  	Re-signed Brandon Prust, David VanDerGulik, Mark Giordano, Jim Vandermeer; Signed Rene Borque, Ryan Wilson, Pete Vandermeer, Curtis Glengross, Todd Bertuzzi	Curtis Joseph, Eric Godard, Krisitan Huselius, David Hale, Owen Nolan	Lots of movement in Calgary. The locked in their core, tossed off those that weren’t working, and brought in some new talent and toughness to compete in the increasingly difficult Western Conference. I think we’ll see them do better than just barely scraping into the playoffs this year. Grade: A-
  	Re-signed Anton Babchuk, Ryan Bayda, Tim Conboy, Wade Brookbank, Dennis Seidenberg; acquired Joni Pitkanen	Erik Cole, Darcy Hordichuk, Keith Aucoin	The deal with Edmonton came as a bit of a surprise – Pitkanen will certainly solve some of their defensive woes. Otherwise, not much change from a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in 2 years. Grade: C
  	Cristobal Huet, Brian Campbell	Rene Borque, Patrick Lalime, David Koci	The Hawks were the talk of the town on July 1 – bringing Brian Campbell in with a monster deal. They have an interesting situation to sort out in net, but with their young core constantly improving and the solid blueline help, I think we’ll see the Hawks be a contender next season. Grade: A-
  	Re-signed Wojtek Wolski; Signed Per Ledin, Andrew Raycroft, Darcy Tucker	Andrew Brunette, Jose Theodore, Kurt Sauer, Jeff Finger, Wyatt Smith	Disappointing moves thus far from Denver. Replacing Theodore with Budaj and Raycroft is gutsy, and the biggest signing thus far is Darcy Tucker. With the potential losses of Sakic and Forsberg, the Avs are going to have to do a lot better than that. Grade: D
  	Re-signed Michael Peca; signed Raffi Torres, Mike Commodore, Kristian Huselius, RJ Umberger	Nikolai Zherdev, Dan Fritsche, Ron Hainsey	Columbus is doing a bit of an overhaul – and depending on team chemistry next year, they could be in good shape. Umberger was a steal, and Huselius is a great replacement for Zherdev. With Ken Hitchcock at the wheel, I think the Jackets have a shot at their first playoff berth this season. Grade: B+
  	Re-signed BJ Crombeen, Mikhail Grabovski; signed Sean Avery, Maxime Fortunus, Garrett Stafford, Landon Wilson	Niklas Hagman, Nolan Baumgartner	Winners (or losers?) of the Sean Avery sweepstakes, Dallas’ asshole factor certainly increased. Hagman was great in the playoffs but can be replaced. We may see Hull & Co make another move before the summer is out. Grade: B-
  	Re-signed Andreas Lilja, Brad Stuart; signed Ty Conklin, Marian Hossa	Garrett Stafford, Mark Cullen	The Hossa deal caught everyone by surprise and is a genius move by GM Ken Holland to improve his already stellar lineup. Conklin is a great replacement for Hasek after proving himself in Pittsburgh last season. Detroit will be seriously favored to repeat. Grade: A
  	Gilbert Brule, Erik Cole	Joni Pitkanen, Raffi Torres, Curtis Glencross	Kevin Lowe made a serious play for Marian Hossa – clearing out cap space in the form of Raffi Torres and Joni Pitkanen to do it – and came up short. He’s been obviously quiet (well, he hasn’t signed anyone, anyway) since. He’s going to have to do better than just Erik Cole to improve this team. Grade: C-
  	Re-signed Rostislav Olesz; Signed Cory Stillman, Keith Ballard, Nick Boynton	Olli Jokinen	Olli Jokinen (and all the bad attention he had begun to attract) is gone. Cory Stillman is a decent replacement, although at their best, Jokinen is probably the better player. Florida still has some problems to address, with the exception of Tomas Vokoun between the pipes. And with players like Jay Bouwmeester coming out and saying they want out of Florida, you have to worry about the state of the locker room. Grade: C
  	Denis Gauthier	Patrik Hersley, Ned Lukacevic, Rob Blake, Ryan Flinn	When you’re rebuilding with a young team and bringing in a new coach after finish nearly dead last in the NHL, the last thing you want to do is drive away a veteran player like Rob Blake. Grade: F
  	Re-signed Kurtis Foster; Signed Andrew Brunette, Marek Zidlicky, Craig Weller, Jesse Shultz, Owen Nolan	Ryan Jones, Todd Fedoruk, Brian Rolston, Aaron Voros	Losing Brian Rolston hurt. The impending departure of Pavol Demitra hurts as well (he’s rumored to be signing in Vancouver). A lot of toughness left with Fedoruk and Voros. Brunette’s a good signing, and Owen Nolan brings in some toughness and veteran leadership, but we may see Minnesota suffer like Buffalo did last year. Grade: C+
  	Re-signed Andrei Kostitsyn; signed Alex Henry, Cedrick Desjardins, Georges Laraque, Marc Denis, Ryan Flinn	Mark Streit, Michael Ryder, Jann Danis	Locking up Andrei Kostitsyn, especially after his performance in the playoffs, was a great signing by Bob Gainey. Georges Laraque will bring some much-needed size and toughness to the small, fast Habs team. Marc Denis gives them some flexibility in goal by adding a netminder older than 23 — however declining he may be –  to their roster. Solid additions. Grade: B+
  	Ryan Jones, Drew McIntyre	Alex Henry, Chris Mason	Pretty quiet in Nashville. They managed to retain the bulk of the core of their team, and after Dan Ellis’ performance in the playoffs, Chris Mason was expendable. Nothing spectacular but no great losses either. Grade: B-
  	Re-signed Bryce Salvador, Jay Pandolfo, David Clarkson, Barry Tallackson; signed Brian Rolston, Bobby Holik	Sergei Brylin, Arron Asham	The Devils needed scoring, and Brian Rolston (pursued by a whopping 17 teams) should be a big help, both at even strength and as a power play QB. Bringing back Bobby Holik will give them some toughness in front of the net and adds another true center. Locking up Salvador bolstered a weak defense, and Pandolfo was a must-sign. The team is close to the cap and has more bodies than roster spots. Look for GM Lou Lamoriello to move some players before the season starts, probably to acquire a defenseman. Grade: B
  	Mark Streit, Jann Danis, Doug Weight, Mitch Fritz	Drew Fata, Ruslan Fedotenko, Miroslav Satan	The signing of Mark Streit was quietly one of the best signings on July 1. He’s young, still developing, and looked great in the playoffs for the Habs. Solid grab for the Isles. Doug Weight is rapidly declining, so the move is marginal. Losing Fedetenko and Satan makes room for some of the young forwards in the Isles farm system to make their debut – but who knows how well they’ll be able to carry the team. Garth Snow would be wise to to lock up some more veteran talent. Grade: D
  	Re-signed Michal Rozsival, Paul Mara, Stephen Valiquette; Signed Aaron Voros, Patrick Rissmiller, Wade Redden, Markus Naslund, Nikolai Zherdev, Dan Fritsche, Dmitri Kalinin	Jaromir Jagr, Sean Avery, Martin Straka, Fedor Tyutin, Christian Backman, Mitch Fritz	The Rangers will be a very different team next year. With Jagr and Straka headed for Europe and various other players scattering around the league, Sather, in all his glory, threw a massive contract at Wade Redden and big contracts at Markus Naslund and Dmitri Kalinin. Nikolai Zherdev is a gamble, but could have serious upside if he shows up. The Rangers, as always, have the star power to be great – but if the pieces don’t fit they could struggle.Grade: B-
  	Re-signed Shean Donovan, Alex Auld, Jarkko Ruutu, Jason Smith	Cory Stillman, Ray Emery, Mike Commodore, Wade Redden	Buying out Ray Emery’s contract was the first order of business and rid Ottawa of the locker room issues that plagued them all season last year. Alex Auld was brought in as a replacement backup goalie. Jason Smith is a solid defensemen and great leader, having captained his last two teams. Wade Redden is no great loss, as he was not performing well in Ottawa the last several seasons. The biggest test for Ottawa will be if they can overcome the internal issues of last year. Grade: B-
  	Re-signed Jeff Carter, Riley Cote, Randy Jones, Patrik Hersley, Ned Lukacevic, Ossi Vaananen, Glen Metropolit, Nate Raduns, Arron Asham, Sean Curry	Denis Gauthier, RJ Umberger, Jason Smith	Gained a solid forward in Glen Metropolit. Arron Asham has the potential to be a solid 4th line man, but as a Devils fan, I will tell you he doesn’t always show up. Losing RJ Umberger in order to clear cap space for Jeff Carter will hurt if Umberger explodes this year. The team will miss captain Jason Smith in the locker room and on the blue line. Grade: B
  	Re-signed Al Montoya, Brian McGrattan; signed Kurt Sauer, Todd Fedoruk, Mikkel Boedker, Viktor Tikhonov, Derek Nesbitt, Drew Fata, David Spina, David Hale, Olie Jokinen	Radim Vrbata, Craig Weller, Pete Vandermeer, Keith Ballard, Nick Boynton	Olie Jokinen is a great addition for the young Coyotes – a change of scenery will certainly help Jokinen and he can guide the young forwards on the team. Losing Ballard and Boynton is no great loss, as they sign Sauer and Hale in their place. Fedoruk adds toughness and some scoring. Grade: B+
  	Re-signed Pascal Dupuis, Mark Eaton, Brooks Orpik Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury; signed Eric Godard, Miroslav Satan, Ruslan Fedotenko, Janne Pesonen, Matt Cooke, Ben Lovejoy	Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts, Adam Hall, Jarkko Ruutu, Marian Hossa, Ty Conklin, Georges Laraque	Everyone has been making a big deal about the Pens losses since the beginning of the free agency period, but their roster is still pretty strong. They’ve replaced Laraque with Godard, and brought in secondary scoring with Satan and Fedotenko (though neither are as strong as Hossa). Orpik, Malkin, and Fleury are locked up for the long haul. They’ll miss Gary Roberts in the locker room and Dany Sabourin is a weaker backup between the pipes. Regardless, this team will still be at the top of the pack next year. Grade: B+
  	Rob Blake, Dan Boyle, Brad Lukowich	Brian Campbell, Patrick Rissmiller, Graham Mink, Mat Carle, Ty Wishart, Craig Rivet	San Jose lost Brian Campbell. So they turned around and signed Rob Blake, Dan Boyle, and Brad Lukowich. That’s one way to fill the gap on the blueline. They’ll be at the top of the pack again this year. Grade: A
  	Re-signed Yan Stasny	Ryan Johnson	Quiet much? St. Louis is sticking by their current squad and letting them develop. That squad was a bottom feeder last year. GM John Davidson might want to consider bringing in some new talent. Grade: F
  	Re-signed Ryan Craig, Janne Niskala, Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts, Olaf Kolzig, Adam Hall, Radim Vrbata, Evgeni Artyukhin, David Koci, Matt Carle, Ty Wishart, Mark Recchi, Andrew Hutchinson, Brandon Bochenski	Marc Denis	Pittsburgh 2.0? After taking their pick of the Penguins free agents, Tampa moved on to add their pick of several other top free agents. Radim Vrbata is a solid pick, Ryan Malone will be a great winger for Steve Stamkos, and Gary Roberts can play “veteran leader” for another young locker room. But where’s the defense? Trading away the top pair hurt, despite freeing up cap space and bringing in a talented Matt Carle. Goaltending is a question mark. Can this be a better team than the NHL’s worst last year? Grade: B
  	Re-signed Dominic Moore, John Mitchell, Matt Stajan; signed Curtis Joseph, Jeff Finger, Niklas Hagman, Wyatt Smith	Kyle Wellwood, Darcy Tucker, Andrew Raycroft	Out with the old, in with the new. New GM Cliff Fletcher has not been shy about letting old players go, and rumor has it more may be on there way out. The team needs an injection of fresh blood, but the current signings aren’t going to turn the team around. More movement will have to happen before the end of the summer. Grade: C-
  	Kyle Wellwood, Darcy Hordichuk, Ryan Johnson, Curtis Sanford, Mark Cullen, Nolan Baumgartner, Alexandre Bolduc, Steve Bernier	Marcus Naslund, Brendan Morrison	Losing Naslund, Morrison, and Linden (retired) all in one shot hurts the Canucks. Reports say Pavol Demitra is close to signing, which would be a good replacement for Naslund. Wellwood is talented but injury-prone. Bernier is also a solid pickup. Grade: C
  	Re-signed Mike Green, Tyler Sloan; Jose Theodore, Graham Mink, Keith Aucoin	Cristobal Huet, Olaf Kolzig, Matt Cooke	Theodore replacing Huet is going to be an interesting scenario for the Caps. Huet really carried them through the last half of the season, and you never know which Theodore is going to show up. Re-signing Mike Green was huge, as he is proving to be one of the best young defenseman in the league. If the goaltending works out, watch out for Ovie & Friends next year. Grade: B

  There you have it.  The rich get richer, as San Jose and Detroit come out stronger than ever, and bottomfeeders like St. Louis, Atlanta, and LA have done very little to improve.  In any case, the NHL will have many teams that look very different next year, and it should make for some very entertaining hockey.

  Is it October yet?

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  Posted by Sarah @ 3:27 pm

2 Responses

• Greg M Says:
  July 9th, 2008 at 9:53 pm

  Excellent breakdown! As a Ranger fan (don’t hate me) when I used to watch hockey all I can say is that I wish Glen Sather could build a team the same way he could for the Oilers in the 80s.

• Sarah Says:
  July 9th, 2008 at 10:07 pm

  Thanks!

  Sather had seemed to at least be dishing out exorbitant amounts of money for younger, talented guys the last 2 seasons, (:P) and was putting a pretty talented team on the ice even if they weren’t getting it done. I’m not convinced it’ll come together for them as well this year. His glory days are definitely behind him.

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