Welcome to Team Truculence: A Look at the Maple Leafs and the Rest of the NHL

="MsoNormal">UFA Yogi Spacek, Montreal, 3 years, $11.5 M. Hey, nothing wrong with this signing. Yes he’s 35, but he also had 45 points in 80 games with Buffalo last year. The issue will be with team chemistry, which I’ll touch on later (don’t you love the teasers?).

KHABIBULIN.  Edmonton. 4 years, $15 M. He’s durable, he’s a gamer moreso than people want to give him credit for. He’s played in cold-weather Canada before. KHABIBULIN will be fine making it to 40…or at least 39.

UFA Erik Cole, still Carolina, 2 years, $5.8 M. If you’re keeping score at home, that’s $2.5 per year for his production, and an extra $800,000 over the course of the contract for what he allows Eric Staal to do, which involves general awesomeness.

UFA Scott Clemmensen, Florida, 3 years, $3.6 M. The rumours have always been there. Watch for Florida to try to get Tomas Vokoun to waive his no-trade early next season (LA perhaps?), so that the Panthers can utilize Clemmensen’s tremendous abilities at the cost of a backup goalie.  It’s just good Cap utilization.  A great signing.

UFA Ian Laperriere, Phili, 3 years, $3.5 M.  This would be a great signing if Laperriere, a perfect stereotypical Phili player, was going to be healthy for even 164/246 regular season games on this contract, let alone the playoff games.

UFA Hal Gill, Montreal, 2 years, $4.5 M. Nothing wrong with the contract, and Gill played a little better than I thought he would in the Finals. He’s a 4-5 D (still). Solid pickup.

UFA Mike Cammalleri, Montreal, 5 years, $30 M.  Blurg,  The typical overpaying of a 1st line player who isn’t a “$6 million a year” player.  Hey Montreal, remember when you used to have Cap space? Oh, those were the days.  Funny thing is, this wasn’t even their worst signing of the day.

UFA Mike Komisarek, Toronto, 5 years, $22.5 M. Two more things.  First, for $1.5 million/year for the next 5 years less, Komisarek is going to mangle Cammalleri every chance he gets. Second, Komisarek has a partial no-trade clause in his contract, which will see him provide Brian Burke a list of 12 teams he would be willing to be traded to that season. And we haven’t even gotten into the whole shutdown pairing with Luke Schenn/Mentoring Schenn storylines.

UFA Steve Sullivan, Nashville, 2 years, $7.5 M.  Sullivan’s tale is completely heartwarming, and it’s great to see him get a nice contract. It’s also great to see Nashville keep a productive scoring winger. It’s pretty rare.

UFA Sammy Pahlsson, Columbus, 3 years, $7.95 M. Michael Peca is officially in play!  What’s that, he’s past his prime? Shame. Anyway, very nice signing for Columbus. Watch out, they’re putting the pieces in place…

UFA Marian Gaborik, NYR, 5 years, $37.5 M. Did you hear that crushing sound off in the distance around 8:15 PM EST? That was my heart breaking. This is a perfect fit though. For Gaborik, he still gets a huge contract with term, and for Sather, he gets to make a signing that people will pan him for. Thing is, he shouldn’t be panned for it.  Damnit.  (Again for a reference point, Monday’s article.)

UFA Brian Gionta, Montreal, 5 years, $25 M. Hey Bob Gainey, 2006 called.  They said they’ll release the version of Gionta that you signed for an extra $5 million. *Bob Gainey looks around confused.* “Well which Brian Gionta did I sign?” The one who scored 20 goals & 60 points in 81 games on an offensive juggernaut last season.  “Oh @#$%.” 

UFA John Madden, Chicago, 1 year, $2.75 M.  (Back to the stars) *Lou Lamoriello is rolling around on the floor, laughing uncontrollably.* Apparently Chicago doesn’t send their pro scouts to Devils’ games. There’s a reason New Jersey let him walk…

RFA Mikhail Grabovski, Toronto, 3 years, $8.7 M.  Another good signing.  Jeez, maybe this Burke guy knows what he’s doing?  Who’d have ever thought that?  Madness.

And finally, UFA Mikael Samuelsson, Vancouver, 3 years, $7.5 M.  Every playoffs, Samuelsson is good for two rushes starting from center ice and ending with him putting the puck in the net. It’s a part of life, like the air we breathe & the cake we eat. Yes he’ll see some time with the Sedins. However, seeing as Alex Burrows has been the best fit of anyone with the Twins since they’ve been in Vancouver, expect Samuelsson to find a home on either a hybrid scoring/checking line with Ryan Kesler, or on a straight checking line.

 

One thing to note: teams that undergo tremendous roster upheaval end up with myriad chemistry issues throughout the year. This is why the Montreal Canadians will be lucky to be the 8th seed again this year.  Don’t be surprised if & when they don’t make the playoffs in 2009-10. 

Now, we’re gonna have some fun with lists.

 

My Top-5 UFA signings thus far

1. Craig Anderson (Again, watch), Colorado
2. Mike Komisarek, Toronto
3. Marian Gaborik, NYR
4. Scott Neidermayer, Anaheim
5. Mike Knuble, Washington

 

My Bottom-5 UFA signings thus far

1. Marian Hossa, Chicago
2. Brian Gionta, Montreal
3. Mike Komisarek, Montreal
4. Donald Brashear, NYR
5. John Madden, Chicago

 

My Top-20 Remaining UFA’s (With rumours or straight-up guesses in parentheses)

1. Joe Sakic (Colorado or a Snow Blower Safety Class.)
2. Francois Beauchemin (Burke wants him.)
3. Alexei Kovalev (?)
4. Alex Tanguay (Dallas could use yet another Softy…)
5. Mats Sundin (Will he even be back?)
6. Mathieu Schneider (May as well stay with the Habs.  Oh wait, they probably don’t have the Cap room left.)
7. Saku Koivu (Either Minnesota or Anaheim.)
8. P.J. Axelsson (?)
9. Sergei Zubov (One more shot with Dallas.)
10. Todd Bertuzzi (Would he take a small salary with incentives to return to Calgary?  If not, who else would take him?)
11. Dominic Moore (Toronto or Bust?  Maybe he & his brother, fellow UFA Greg, will sign a package deal somewhere.)
12. Dennis Seidenberg (Carolina again?)
13. Mike Comrie (Ottawa)
14. Martin Skoula (Minne?)
15. Manny Fernandez (Perhaps LA?)
16. Nick Boynton (?)
17. Kyle McLaren (A Cap casualty last year when SJ buried him in the minors.  He can still play.  But for whom?)
18. Manny Malhotra (Current Status: Swimming against the FA current.)
19. Antero Niittymaaki (?)
20. Paul Mara (Remember when everyone thought he was gonna be great?)

 

So that was a fun 2600+ words, I hope you enjoyed it.  I’ll be back with my 2nd Annual Why Pittsburgh Should Trade Jordan Staal article soon enough.  Until then…well, I hope you’re not a Habs’ fan!

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