Not!
Really? Did Comcast Sportsnet drop the ball again? On a big free agency day, the Wizards got their props, but not a single story, teaser, any comment on the Washington Capitals and their free agency. Did DC media just take 5 huge steps backward since the love fest in April?
Apparently so. The Caps play in the District too, and they have some pretty important news going on today with free agency and all. Caps fans are starved for news judging by the numbers of those coming to my corner of the internet. I understand if you can't get GMGM on camera, but Tarik looks good in HD. You could do a phoner with Green or some agents. Or, at the very least acknowledge that the Capitals exist and that free agency is today at noon.
That's Comcrapstic! Why did I ever change the channel from the NHL Network?
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Division Notes
Free agency rears its ugly head today. As far as the Capitals, they are looking to keep as much in house as they can. But for the rest of the Division, it's a potpourri of needs and wants come the noon deadline. Let's take a quick gander at the Southeast Division.
Atlanta Thrashers - Obviously they are pretty disappointed about the outcome of last season's debacle. But they were able to move some hefty change from their cap by moving Marion Hossa. Now the dizzy birds are ready to spend some cash and pull in some much needed free agents. GM Don Waddell has his hands full with six roster players that are unrestricted free agents and a host of roster spots to fill.
"We're probably around $33 million-and-change committed," Waddell said Monday. First on his list, a veteran defenseman (stand in line). Plus he needs some goal support for Illya Kovalchuk, or a playmaker that can compliment him.
Carolina Hurricanes - If you had a team that desperatly needed a little help, it may be the Hurricanes. They couldn't finish their season out and fell out of the playoffs when they couldn't close out the Panthers in their last game of the year. But GM Jim Rutherford has some problems. One, he doesn't have much cash to lure many free agents. And two, they have 10 forwards fighting for spots.
"I don't think we'll be very active," Rutherford said. "Certainly there are some players there that we could consider, but I think in order to balance our team out to add the type of player we'd like to add on defense, it'd be more apt to be done through trade."
Florida Panthers - A team that made some moves, but not a lot of noise. The Panthers just freed up some cap space by sending Ollie Jokinen to Pheonix, but don't think they now have cash to spend. Jacques Martin has his hands full trying to keep the players he already has. Instead of being buyers, as you might think they would be, most likely they are in the same boat as the Capitals trying to keep the players they want in Panther jerseys.
"I don’t know at this point,'' Martin said. "Look at the people that we have. In order to get people we want, we would have to trade. It always depends."
Tampa Bay Lightning - By far the most active team in the off season in the league, not to mention the Division. They couldn't wait for the noon deadline to come around. Instead they traded picks to get the players they wanted and they seem ready to load up even more by lunch time. Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts were quick signs after getting their rights from Pittsburgh. Brian Rolston's rights were also traded from the Wild but the GM Jay Feaster has yet to get him under contract.
Team owner Oren Koules seemed to be the spokesman for the recent moves. "We made a lot of promises" to the Tampa Bay area and "we want to show we're keeping up our end of the bargain. … We want to show off."
Washington Capitals - Well you know. Green. Huet. Morrisonn. Gordon. Laich. Fehr. Possibly Fedorov if a compromise can be made. The Caps could be looking for help from free agents if they feel they can't get their RFA's and UFA's under contract. With all this talk, no one really has been talking about Matt Cooke and his plans. Eh, too much Green on our minds.
Happy Canada Day to our friends toward the north. Happy free agency day for the rest of us.
Atlanta Thrashers - Obviously they are pretty disappointed about the outcome of last season's debacle. But they were able to move some hefty change from their cap by moving Marion Hossa. Now the dizzy birds are ready to spend some cash and pull in some much needed free agents. GM Don Waddell has his hands full with six roster players that are unrestricted free agents and a host of roster spots to fill.
"We're probably around $33 million-and-change committed," Waddell said Monday. First on his list, a veteran defenseman (stand in line). Plus he needs some goal support for Illya Kovalchuk, or a playmaker that can compliment him.
Carolina Hurricanes - If you had a team that desperatly needed a little help, it may be the Hurricanes. They couldn't finish their season out and fell out of the playoffs when they couldn't close out the Panthers in their last game of the year. But GM Jim Rutherford has some problems. One, he doesn't have much cash to lure many free agents. And two, they have 10 forwards fighting for spots.
"I don't think we'll be very active," Rutherford said. "Certainly there are some players there that we could consider, but I think in order to balance our team out to add the type of player we'd like to add on defense, it'd be more apt to be done through trade."
Florida Panthers - A team that made some moves, but not a lot of noise. The Panthers just freed up some cap space by sending Ollie Jokinen to Pheonix, but don't think they now have cash to spend. Jacques Martin has his hands full trying to keep the players he already has. Instead of being buyers, as you might think they would be, most likely they are in the same boat as the Capitals trying to keep the players they want in Panther jerseys.
"I don’t know at this point,'' Martin said. "Look at the people that we have. In order to get people we want, we would have to trade. It always depends."
Tampa Bay Lightning - By far the most active team in the off season in the league, not to mention the Division. They couldn't wait for the noon deadline to come around. Instead they traded picks to get the players they wanted and they seem ready to load up even more by lunch time. Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts were quick signs after getting their rights from Pittsburgh. Brian Rolston's rights were also traded from the Wild but the GM Jay Feaster has yet to get him under contract.
Team owner Oren Koules seemed to be the spokesman for the recent moves. "We made a lot of promises" to the Tampa Bay area and "we want to show we're keeping up our end of the bargain. … We want to show off."
Washington Capitals - Well you know. Green. Huet. Morrisonn. Gordon. Laich. Fehr. Possibly Fedorov if a compromise can be made. The Caps could be looking for help from free agents if they feel they can't get their RFA's and UFA's under contract. With all this talk, no one really has been talking about Matt Cooke and his plans. Eh, too much Green on our minds.
Happy Canada Day to our friends toward the north. Happy free agency day for the rest of us.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Lightning Storm
A storm front is rolling through the league. It's the Tampa Bay Lightning not waiting for any dumb ol' deadline. With new ownership in place, it looks like they are prepared to spend what they need to get the job done in the '08 - '09 season. But are they getting a little too reckless this off season?
The Lightning, the most active Southeast Division team thus far, couldn't wait for the July 1st deadline to come around to sign free agents. They traded a couple of draft picks for the rights for Gary Roberts and Ryan Malone and as a result, both have signed.
Tampa is looking to win now, "damn the torpedos, full steam ahead" kind of attitude. Now that they have ownership that seems ready to spend some cash, a new head coach, Vinny Lecavalier signed for life and a few free agents under the belt, the Lightning expectations are high for next year.
But at a cost. Malone signed a seven year, $31.5 million contract. Some now are saying that is too much for a player of his stature. He will earn between $7 and $8 million in the first two years. Plus the Lightning hired Greg Malone, Ryan's father, as head pro scout (a move to assure Malone would sign in Tampa?). And the Lightning might not be done pulling big deals.
They traded a conditional pick for the rights to Brian Rolston from the Minnesota Wild. Rolston and Malone, to me, seem like the exact same player. Both gritty forwards with a scoring touch.
Also rumors are circling around trading Dan Boyle and the team may be shopping the defenseman around. Which is a bit funny since Boyle has a "no trade" clause. But Tampa is looking to win now. Obviously, they believe since they have pulled the number one draft spot that their time is now. It was time to change the team's makeup and try to buy a playoff spot.
Time will tell if the Lightning's latest moves will pay off for them. Even their ownership claims "nothing is guaranteed here, but we hope to have a chance to get another quality player in a Lightning uniform sooner rather than later." It sure makes the division a bit more interesting.
The Lightning, the most active Southeast Division team thus far, couldn't wait for the July 1st deadline to come around to sign free agents. They traded a couple of draft picks for the rights for Gary Roberts and Ryan Malone and as a result, both have signed.
Tampa is looking to win now, "damn the torpedos, full steam ahead" kind of attitude. Now that they have ownership that seems ready to spend some cash, a new head coach, Vinny Lecavalier signed for life and a few free agents under the belt, the Lightning expectations are high for next year.
But at a cost. Malone signed a seven year, $31.5 million contract. Some now are saying that is too much for a player of his stature. He will earn between $7 and $8 million in the first two years. Plus the Lightning hired Greg Malone, Ryan's father, as head pro scout (a move to assure Malone would sign in Tampa?). And the Lightning might not be done pulling big deals.
They traded a conditional pick for the rights to Brian Rolston from the Minnesota Wild. Rolston and Malone, to me, seem like the exact same player. Both gritty forwards with a scoring touch.
Also rumors are circling around trading Dan Boyle and the team may be shopping the defenseman around. Which is a bit funny since Boyle has a "no trade" clause. But Tampa is looking to win now. Obviously, they believe since they have pulled the number one draft spot that their time is now. It was time to change the team's makeup and try to buy a playoff spot.
Time will tell if the Lightning's latest moves will pay off for them. Even their ownership claims "nothing is guaranteed here, but we hope to have a chance to get another quality player in a Lightning uniform sooner rather than later." It sure makes the division a bit more interesting.
Green Schmeen!
So just about everyone has their eyes set on Mike Green's and in some little part Cris Huet's possible signings with the Capitals before (or at) the deadline, noon Tuesday. Well not everyone.
Tarik takes a look at Chris Clark's progress, which still looks like he has a ways to go if he is still feeling pain when he skates. He's got a couple of months before camp so I guess we will see.
The Flyers didn't waste much time to get former Cap Steve Eminger under contract. Emmy signed a one year contract and seems happy with the change of scenery.
Else where around the league, Ryan Malone will not be a Penguin anymore. He just agreed to a pretty nice deal in Tampa Bay so we will be seeing a lot more of the kid in at the phone booth. Malone will get seven years, $31.5 million. Nice chunk of change from a player that was considered a must get this off season.
John-Micheal Liles and Adam Foote signed on the dotted line with Colorado. Liles might be a good example to look at in terms of Mike Green's contract. He resigned with the Avelanche for four years and slightly over $4 million for each one of those years. Foote's contract is 2 years and $12 million.
Of course if you do want to keep up to date with all the talk on Green, feel free to check out these links:
How much Green for Green? - Corey Masisak
Green's Green - Japers' Rink
Capitals, Green continue to talk - TFP
Tarik takes a look at Chris Clark's progress, which still looks like he has a ways to go if he is still feeling pain when he skates. He's got a couple of months before camp so I guess we will see.
The Flyers didn't waste much time to get former Cap Steve Eminger under contract. Emmy signed a one year contract and seems happy with the change of scenery.
Else where around the league, Ryan Malone will not be a Penguin anymore. He just agreed to a pretty nice deal in Tampa Bay so we will be seeing a lot more of the kid in at the phone booth. Malone will get seven years, $31.5 million. Nice chunk of change from a player that was considered a must get this off season.
John-Micheal Liles and Adam Foote signed on the dotted line with Colorado. Liles might be a good example to look at in terms of Mike Green's contract. He resigned with the Avelanche for four years and slightly over $4 million for each one of those years. Foote's contract is 2 years and $12 million.
Of course if you do want to keep up to date with all the talk on Green, feel free to check out these links:
How much Green for Green? - Corey Masisak
Green's Green - Japers' Rink
Capitals, Green continue to talk - TFP
Friday, June 27, 2008
Green References
There are two good articles to read if you are curious about Mike Green's status and what it really means to the Capitals.
First is Corey Masisak's look at what the Caps' cap hit will really look like if we sign the ones we want in sort of a worse case scenario (i.e. he did the math, where I was too lazy to). It will give you a good idea what GM George McPhee is looking at as he discusses contracts with players and agents. It also talks about the other free agents that have to be signed as well.
Second is Scott Cullen's look at the restricted free agency and how it affects the teams involved. This is a good guide to gauge what other teams are looking at if they were to make an offer for any of the Capitals RFAs.
Both will give you a good idea what the Capitals are looking at, and how the rest of the league looks at the Caps situation. The beauty part of both articles is neither one of them claims to know what is going to happen or go into to much rumoring. Just the facts.
In other news, the Ducks have waived my friend and yours Todd Bertuzzi. This was a case of paying too much for a player that gave him marginal results in the lineup. Not sure who would pick Bertuzzi up after this, but I could see him going to help a team in the Central Division.
Also the Philadelphia Flyers have locked up Jeff Carter to a multiyear deal. The Calgary Flames also signed players Craig Conroy and Daymond Langkow. Maybe that some players are starting to sign contracts, the rest of the league will start to fall in line getting players to sign. Let's hope the fad continues through the weekend for the Caps. Have a great weekend.
First is Corey Masisak's look at what the Caps' cap hit will really look like if we sign the ones we want in sort of a worse case scenario (i.e. he did the math, where I was too lazy to). It will give you a good idea what GM George McPhee is looking at as he discusses contracts with players and agents. It also talks about the other free agents that have to be signed as well.
Second is Scott Cullen's look at the restricted free agency and how it affects the teams involved. This is a good guide to gauge what other teams are looking at if they were to make an offer for any of the Capitals RFAs.
Both will give you a good idea what the Capitals are looking at, and how the rest of the league looks at the Caps situation. The beauty part of both articles is neither one of them claims to know what is going to happen or go into to much rumoring. Just the facts.
In other news, the Ducks have waived my friend and yours Todd Bertuzzi. This was a case of paying too much for a player that gave him marginal results in the lineup. Not sure who would pick Bertuzzi up after this, but I could see him going to help a team in the Central Division.
Also the Philadelphia Flyers have locked up Jeff Carter to a multiyear deal. The Calgary Flames also signed players Craig Conroy and Daymond Langkow. Maybe that some players are starting to sign contracts, the rest of the league will start to fall in line getting players to sign. Let's hope the fad continues through the weekend for the Caps. Have a great weekend.
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