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Best, Worst, Most Desperate! |
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So far this has been the most exciting off-season ever! I mean what’s missing? Free agent signings, trades, coaches on the carousel, a guy named “Boots” getting into trouble, Mats hangin’ out.
Phew!! I’m sweating and I’m just watching. Just a few bullet points and obvservations:
Best Signing
Rangers – Marcus Naslund (2 yrs/$8m) He’s on the back nine (ok, he may be on the 17th hole) but I think he will have a huge year. Watch what he does playing with Scott Gomez.
Worst Signing
Rangers – Wade Redden (6 yrs/$39m) The term of 6 years is absolutely stunning. You’ll never meet a nicer guy than Wade Redden and that’s part of the problem. Unless he somehow can start the season playing like he did 5 years ago the Garden fans will let him hear it and when that happens, the “good guy” will feel even more pressure. Pressure that will be extremely difficult to handle. Expectations are often a curse for certain players and I think they will be for Redden. This is one of those times I really hope I’m wrong.
Most Desperate Signing
#1: Maple Leafs – Jeff Finger (4 yrs/$14m) Finger is 28 with one full NHL season to his credit. Last season? 19 points and $900K. Leafs got the Finger all right.
#2 :Thrashers – Ron Hainsey (5 yrs/$22.5m) Hainsey is 27 and has only played 3 years in the NHL. Top season is 34 points. He made $900k last year. This signing pretty well tells you not many UFA’s had Atlanta in their cross-hairs.
Best Non-Money Grab
Marian Hossa – 1 year deal with Detroit. I will never say a bad word about Marian Hossa as long as I live. I watched his brilliance with Pitt in the playoffs and now have a window into his true character. I don’t think he will win the Cup in Detroit but he deserves a standing ovation for thinking of the Stanley Cup first…and the mega-contract second.
Best GM Job
Brian Lawton – Tampa Bay. Talk about being thrown into the fire. It was never publicized that after the draft, Jay Feaster didn’t return to Tampa. That meant that former agent, Lawton, who was just supposed to be a liason to the new ownership, was thrust into the GM’s seat his first week ever in a management position.
Within 2 weeks, Lawton signed UFA’s Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts, Vinny Prospal, Radim Vrbata, Ollie Kolzig, Mark Recchi, Adam Hall and a few others. When he wasn’t busy signing guys (ok, that was between 3am and 5 am on a Thursday) he was doing something at which many veteran GM’s have failed - convincing a high-ticket player to waive his no-trade clause.
Dan Boyle didn’t want to move and Lawton had to show that he had an aggressive side. Remember now, this was in his first week on the un-expected job. The list of teams Boyle agreed to go to was limited. Still, Lawton made an excellent deal with San Jose.
My Greatest Curiosity
How much will the goalie equipment really shrink?
All those ready for the puck to drop say “I”
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