Lots of free agent signings , lots of question marks. Darrien Hatcher now at home with the Wings $6 mil a year, Colorado takes on Selanne and for the bargain basement price of 1.2 mil Paul Kariya, but they don't have a goalie. Speaking of goalies , thought Jeff Hackett was retiring , signed with the Flyers. Still no takers on Fedorov , who's wants 12 mil a year. And Todd Marchant who signed with Columbus??? And this silly season has just begun, stay tuned .
Signings
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Yes, and poor old Cujo is still looking for a home. haha Looks like Toronto is tossing up the normal excuses, of the pending player shutdown etc of not wanting to sign anyone.
Here's a piece on what I've been saying.
Toronto operating in complete vacuum
DAMIEN COX
HOCKEY COLUMNIST
Toronto Star
Aware that lame-duck Maple Leaf GM Pat Quinn was wondering and worrying over the nature of this summer's free-agent market, the league's more successful teams went out and decisively set it for him.
He probably should send them a thank-you note.
Sadly for Quinn and ever-hopeful Leaf fans, of course, the market parameters may now be in place but the big dogs have already taken a huge bite.
Rats. And with Larry Tanenbaum probably hoping that his third day as emperor of MLSE would be more triumphant than utterly embarrassing.
One day after Quinn said the Leafs wouldn't be signing any big-name free agents because they had no earthly clue how the industry was going to operate in July and August, both the Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings made it clear they weren't planning to wait for the market to come to them.
For the incredibly small price of $7 million (all figures U.S.), less than the salary paid to retired goalie Patrick Roy last season, the Avs added high-octane attackers Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne to a lineup that already includes Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and Milan Hejduk.
That Kariya was willing to play for the relatively tiny salary of $1.2 million for his own special reasons — friendship with Selanne, free agency again after this season — made it a unique opportunity for Avs GM Pierre Lacroix, who now has added flexibility as he searches for a new goalie.
The Leafs, in the unlikely event they were aware of the discount bargain, would have needed a few weeks to mull it over.
The Avs just pounced. It could be this fixation with championships that make them act that way.
Simultaneously, the Detroit Red Wings inked defenceman Derian Hatcher.
He got a five-year contract worth an estimated $30 million, a figure somewhat less than the estimated $7 million per season he had been looking for from Dallas and well below the salaries of top rearguards like Rob Blake, Chris Pronger and Nicklas Lidstrom.
Apparently, neither the Avs nor the Wings are as concerned about the implications of the post-2004 economic order as the Leafs, who despite their outrageous wealth are more focused on their 2007 celebrations for the 40th anniversary of their last Stanley Cup.
That the Leafs were caught punching the snooze button was just more evidence that having Quinn run the show indefinitely while a committee searches for a new GM has the potential to leave the club poorly positioned for the coming season.
Richard Peddie made it clear last week that change was necessary because the team's recent results just weren't good enough.
Say, like those of the past 36 years?
Yet that change isn't so important that the guy who's on his way out shouldn't be allowed to continue running the club indefinitely.
And this apparently makes sense to somebody.
The Leafs were clearly lulled into a false sense of complacency when the market was quiet for two days, clinging to their usual mantra of budget-before-Cups and assuming that some of the moves made by other NHL clubs over the past week meant everybody had agreed to collude, er, cut costs this summer.
Not the Wings and Avs. They have a championship in mind for next season.
The Leafs? Ask them and they'll tell you all about their glorious run to the conference final two years ago.
It's not just that Kariya, Selanne and Hatcher all signed, and that Columbus aggressively jumped into the market with a $14.5 million, five-year deal for speedy Todd Marchant.
After all, the Leafs have missed out on the odd free agent before.
More interesting is that Kariya and Selanne both signed for significantly less than they made last year, Kariya in particular, while Hatcher and Marchant were acquired for lower salaries than they likely would have received in recent years.
These were solid business opportunities.
Speculation, meanwhile, suggests that Sergei Fedorov may be close to an $8 million-a-year contract with Anaheim, 20 per cent less than the figure he turned down from Detroit in recent months.
Out of Kariya, Selanne, Hatcher and Marchant, only Marchant, a good checker with some offensive potential, will arguably be overpaid under the terms of his new deal.
The Leafs, meanwhile, could have used the savings from the roster deletions of Shayne Corson and Robert Svehla alone ($6.5 million) to pay Hatcher and bolster a weak defence with an elite rearguard.
As it stands, they've lopped Corson, Svehla, Glen Wesley, Jonas Hoglund, Jyrki Lumme, Phil Housley, Doug Gilmour and Anders Eriksson off the payroll from last season.
Oh yeah, and raised ticket prices coming off their first-round playoff ouster at the hands of Philadelphia.
And not a dime yet spent on enhancing the roster.
Even if the Leafs do lurch into action now, they'll be viewed as desperate buyers, rather than keen ones.
But look on the bright side, Leaf fans. Nobody else has a GM search committee going.
The Leafs have that market all to themselves.
Toronto operating in complete vacuum
DAMIEN COX
HOCKEY COLUMNIST
Toronto Star
Aware that lame-duck Maple Leaf GM Pat Quinn was wondering and worrying over the nature of this summer's free-agent market, the league's more successful teams went out and decisively set it for him.
He probably should send them a thank-you note.
Sadly for Quinn and ever-hopeful Leaf fans, of course, the market parameters may now be in place but the big dogs have already taken a huge bite.
Rats. And with Larry Tanenbaum probably hoping that his third day as emperor of MLSE would be more triumphant than utterly embarrassing.
One day after Quinn said the Leafs wouldn't be signing any big-name free agents because they had no earthly clue how the industry was going to operate in July and August, both the Colorado Avalanche and Detroit Red Wings made it clear they weren't planning to wait for the market to come to them.
For the incredibly small price of $7 million (all figures U.S.), less than the salary paid to retired goalie Patrick Roy last season, the Avs added high-octane attackers Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne to a lineup that already includes Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg and Milan Hejduk.
That Kariya was willing to play for the relatively tiny salary of $1.2 million for his own special reasons — friendship with Selanne, free agency again after this season — made it a unique opportunity for Avs GM Pierre Lacroix, who now has added flexibility as he searches for a new goalie.
The Leafs, in the unlikely event they were aware of the discount bargain, would have needed a few weeks to mull it over.
The Avs just pounced. It could be this fixation with championships that make them act that way.
Simultaneously, the Detroit Red Wings inked defenceman Derian Hatcher.
He got a five-year contract worth an estimated $30 million, a figure somewhat less than the estimated $7 million per season he had been looking for from Dallas and well below the salaries of top rearguards like Rob Blake, Chris Pronger and Nicklas Lidstrom.
Apparently, neither the Avs nor the Wings are as concerned about the implications of the post-2004 economic order as the Leafs, who despite their outrageous wealth are more focused on their 2007 celebrations for the 40th anniversary of their last Stanley Cup.
That the Leafs were caught punching the snooze button was just more evidence that having Quinn run the show indefinitely while a committee searches for a new GM has the potential to leave the club poorly positioned for the coming season.
Richard Peddie made it clear last week that change was necessary because the team's recent results just weren't good enough.
Say, like those of the past 36 years?
Yet that change isn't so important that the guy who's on his way out shouldn't be allowed to continue running the club indefinitely.
And this apparently makes sense to somebody.
The Leafs were clearly lulled into a false sense of complacency when the market was quiet for two days, clinging to their usual mantra of budget-before-Cups and assuming that some of the moves made by other NHL clubs over the past week meant everybody had agreed to collude, er, cut costs this summer.
Not the Wings and Avs. They have a championship in mind for next season.
The Leafs? Ask them and they'll tell you all about their glorious run to the conference final two years ago.
It's not just that Kariya, Selanne and Hatcher all signed, and that Columbus aggressively jumped into the market with a $14.5 million, five-year deal for speedy Todd Marchant.
After all, the Leafs have missed out on the odd free agent before.
More interesting is that Kariya and Selanne both signed for significantly less than they made last year, Kariya in particular, while Hatcher and Marchant were acquired for lower salaries than they likely would have received in recent years.
These were solid business opportunities.
Speculation, meanwhile, suggests that Sergei Fedorov may be close to an $8 million-a-year contract with Anaheim, 20 per cent less than the figure he turned down from Detroit in recent months.
Out of Kariya, Selanne, Hatcher and Marchant, only Marchant, a good checker with some offensive potential, will arguably be overpaid under the terms of his new deal.
The Leafs, meanwhile, could have used the savings from the roster deletions of Shayne Corson and Robert Svehla alone ($6.5 million) to pay Hatcher and bolster a weak defence with an elite rearguard.
As it stands, they've lopped Corson, Svehla, Glen Wesley, Jonas Hoglund, Jyrki Lumme, Phil Housley, Doug Gilmour and Anders Eriksson off the payroll from last season.
Oh yeah, and raised ticket prices coming off their first-round playoff ouster at the hands of Philadelphia.
And not a dime yet spent on enhancing the roster.
Even if the Leafs do lurch into action now, they'll be viewed as desperate buyers, rather than keen ones.
But look on the bright side, Leaf fans. Nobody else has a GM search committee going.
The Leafs have that market all to themselves.
Toronto's biggest problem is no one has full authority to do any deals so no one will grab the bull by the horns , sign some one and except blame if it doesn't work out, too many indians , not enough chiefs and no gonads in management .
Go a little bit further down on the anatomy and you got it. Dryden was a great goalie but is an egghead, must be the legal training , by the time he gets his head wrapped around something , its too late , management is just as bad as when Ballard ran it , not as entertaining though.
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