FRENZY AFTERMATH

As the dust begins to settle after the whirlwind that was yesterday’s Free Agent Frenzy, there are still a few big names that went unsigned. Most notably Mats Sundin, Marion Hossa and Jaromir Jagr still haven’t found a home even though the money rumored to be thrown at these guys is enough to make your head spin. Apparently, the notion of Jagr returning to the Penguins was enough to make even him chuckle. Hossa just seems to be waiting for his choice of a few teams to out bid one another for his services. As for Sundin, well, the money offered from the Canucks had to be enough to make him sit up in his chair, but Mats may just be more concerned with protecting his legacy or the desire to win a Cup before he hangs up the skates. Since the Canucks are nowhere near Cup contention, the $20 million for 2 years may just be a flattering offer in Sundin’s eyes. Hey Mats are you nuts?? $20 million will go a long way in easing the pain of never playing for the Cup and you wouldn’t be the first guy who decided to take the money and run. Think about it.

I’m not sure what the hell is going on in Tampa. They seem to be fixated on boosting the offensive side of the roster instead of shoring up one of the weakest defenses in the league. I’m sorry, but Kolzig is not the answer to the problem. Sure he is better than what you had, but he isn’t enough to fix what truly ails you. I guess this is the route to go if you want to lose games 9 – 8, or better yet if you just want to pull a smoke and mirrors trick on your fan base to sell tickets aka “Look at the shiny thing”, or even better still if you just want to tank another season and increase your chances of landing Tavares in next years draft. Anyway you look at it you are left scratching your head at the decision making.

The Bruins found out that they just aren’t comfortable parting with big money for big names. They were rumored to be big players in the weeks leading up to July 1st, but the closer it came the more timid they became when they found out just how much money was being tossed around. Still the only task the B’s had to accomplish was to find a scoring winger to play along side Savard and they found it Michael Ryder. I thought this was a smart and affordable move for the Bruins, as Ryder should regain his form in a better situation than what he had in Montreal. Sure he is no Hossa, but he has the speed to keep up with Savard and a much better nose for the net than anyone else they have on their roster. He should easily become their top goal scorer next season. Picking up a blue-chipper in Blake Wheeler will help them in the future, as he should develop into a top tier winger. Many still find the defense to be suspect, but under the guidance of Julian the B’s backend will suffice for now.

Before I get into any detail on the rest of the league I’m going to wait until the rest of the chips fall into place as there are still some 2nd tier players left on the market that can help quite a few teams. I will continue to update the latest transactions that happen on my Free Agent Tracker post so be sure to check it often to see who ends up where. Enjoy!