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my previous article covered some of the top UFA right shooting forwards available. Montreal’s own Joel Armia was among the top 5 under 29 in goals this past year. Though his post season was interrupted with some injuries, Armia nearly matched his (abbreviated) regular season output of 7 goals by netting 5 in the post season. That may be motivation for he and Montreal to work out an extension.
There is something very cruel about the end of the Stanley Cup playoffs. An intense battle lasting several rounds ends and within minutes, the losing team goes from crushing defeat to a handshake line. Montreal was such an exciting add to the post season this year. Cole Caufield has such a bright future, and Carey Price reminded the world how good he can be. Seeing it come to an end is disheartening, at best. I really liked what the league’s most elite collector for Stanley Cups did in turning things upside down. Underdogs all the way, my favorite type of sports story.
This year’s contest between Tampa Bay and Montreal can never happen again without realignment. (At least not as a cup final). Two Eastern teams battling it out (and I’m sure there is some bitterness regarding this strange development out west). Regardless, everything is about to go completely haywire. In a day the buyout window opens, and a whole new list of “bounce back” candidates will appear. This will get a little more mention later on, but I have to wonder if Drouin won’t at least get some consideration during the buyout window.
The mad rush to expansion, and then entry draft, and then free agency is officially in full swing. Montreal doesn’t have a “massive” task ahead of them, but there is some work to do.
The Montreal Cap Friendly Page. With 11 UFAs and 5 RFAs, Montreal has around 12 million in space to work with. The drum has been beaten by myself and by many here to see Tatar come back into the fold. Many Wings fans miss the Slovakian bulldog and what he brought to the game. Jon Merrill is another face I’d love to see come back. While he doesn’t get a lot of high praise, he’s missed when he’s not there. Eric Staal is also a UFA. There’s that small tinge that wonders if Marc would try to get him to Detroit. I’m not big on loading up on more veterans, it’s just a fleeting thought. The brothers Staal do enjoy getting the opportunity to play together.
To be sure, Katkaniemi and Lehkonen will need raises. The UFA class is comprised of several veterans on low $ deals who want to win a cup. One of the more perplexing situations is found in Drouin. The 26 year old has 5.5M for 2 more seasons and is sitting at home. No clue what’s going on, but the deal that sent him to Montreal is still a stinger, no doubt. I have to think a buyout is at least being discussed.
Goaltending gets slightly less expensive as Jake Allen drops to 2.875M from 4.35M this year. Price still has 5 more years at 10.5 million. Before his post season brilliance, There had been back and forth (online) regarding an attempt to get him to waive his clause and head to Seattle (should they want to accommodate). Keeping in mind there are many in Florida hoping Bobrovski will head to the west coast as well. What price did to help get the Habs to the finals was absolutely brilliant. He was the first 10 million dollar player to win a post season round, and came as close to the summit as you can get without celebrating.
UFA
Tomas Tatar LW/RW (30) 4.8M
Phillip Danault C (28) 3.08M
Joel Armia RW/LW (27) 2.6M
Eric Staal C (36) 1.625M
Corey Perry RW (36) 750K
Michael Frolik LW/RW(33) 750K
Alex Belzile RW/C (29) 700K
Laurent Dauphin C/LW (26) 700K
Lukas Vejdemo C/LW/RW (25) 700K
RFA
Artturi Lehkonen LW/RW (25) 2.4M
Jesperi Kotkaniemi C/LW (20) 924K
Otto Leskinen LD (24) 935K
Cale Fleury RD (22) 771K
Michael McNiven G (23) 700K
Check out some of my previous posts
The expansion draft is swiftly approaching.
In my third installment of Summer Reading, Chelios found out exactly what Yzerman was like as a leader..
My third “Gear Corner” focused on helmets.
Alex Tanguay is a new assistant coach in Detroit.
I posted about the state of the Wings being at about half of the team it needs to be..
Frank Seravalli’s top 20 list has some options for Detroit.
My second summer reading post took a look at the world’s funniest bar fight.
My second “Gear Corner” talked a bit about gloves.
The Golden Knights are out of the playoffs.
Updated mock drafts have Detroit looking at Wallstedt, Eklund and Edvinsson.
Helm and Filppula could be moving on.
Jared McIsaac may finally be healthy enough to have a solid pro year.
My first “summer reading post” covered Chelios’s career defining fib.
Friday was my first gear corner with Doug Todd from Warrior Hockey.
Albert Johansson won’t be competing for a spot in North America this season
I will be featuring the writings of Kevin Allen for a summer reading program this year. It’s tough to break up the summer months, and the one on one formats that Kevin has perfected is not only a pleasure to read but gives insight that isn’t easy to come by. I’ll be starting with Chris Chelios “Made in America”.
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