Summer is now in full swing, but that doesn't mean there isn't hockey to talk about. July 1 was not only Canada day, it also was the start of the 2011 NHL free agency period. Like every year, this time of year during the peak of summer is a time where the teams try to find that missing piece that wasn't around last season. It has now been 10 days since the start of the "Free Agent Frenzy" and things are starting to die down a little. So now that the dust has settled I thought it would be a good idea to go through some of the bigger stories from the frenzy so far and offer my opinion on the different topics. In this post I will discuss the drama that was the Brad Richard's signing, the confusion coming out of Tampa Bay regarding Steven Stamkos, the 2 blockbuster trades made between the Sharks and Wild and the amazing moves made by Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon. Of course many other things happened that I don't have time to discuss, like Washington's goalie shakeup and Toronto's defence boost, but I picked my topics because they have the biggest chance at changing the standings come October.
When the free agency period opened, Brad Richards was dubbed as the biggest player available, and he knew it. In a rather interesting turn of events, Richards went to his agents office in Toronto and let teams come and pitch him their team and city. Teams like LA, Buffalo, Tampa Bay and Toronto all came and pitched him contracts and he also participated in conference calls from the NY Rangers and Calgary Flames. I was rather surprised by this reaction by teams on day 1 as they all really wanted him and showed it. He must have felt like a king with the offers he was receiving and the pitches he saw. Still, he left us all in suspense for 1 day and after he slept on the idea, signed a contract with the NY Rangers, the front runners from the start. I am very glad we did not have a saga like last season with Ilya Kovalchuck and though Richards' contract is still a ridiculous amount of money and lasts until he turns 40, at least he didn't make it as big of a deal as he could have. Though it was amazing that he could just wait for teams to come to him in Toronto, I commend him for his quickness in getting a deal done. It was a very nice thing to see and expect him and Marian Gaborik to be an explosive forward tandem for the Rangers for the next few seasons.
The next biggest center being talked about right now is 21 year old scorer Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He is a restricted free agent and last season scored 46 goals while making $900K. So it is clear he is due for a raise, the question being how much? He is listed as a restricted free agent because he has yet to play 7 years in the league or turned 27 so the Lightning still have the rights to negotiate with him. But other teams can now submit an offer sheet to Stamkos and if he signs one, the Lightning have 7 days to match that deal or they receive some draft picks as compensation, likely 4 first round picks. The only player ever to be lost by a team to an offer sheet was when the Anaheim Ducks lost Dustin Penner to the Edmonton Oilers in 2007. The media has snatched onto this story and refuses to let go and every time Tampa GM Steve Yzerman speaks, rumours of Stamkos suddenly appear. Some say that talks are not going well and that the Lightning want to trade him. Others say a deal will get done, and still others think Stamkos wants an offer sheet to get out of Tampa. The teams that are most interested in him are the Calgary Flames, LA Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs, Buffalo Sabers and Philadelphia Flyers, though I am sure the Florida Panthers, Winnipeg Jets and Colorado Avalanche could be in on him to as they are below the salary cap minimum. I can not imagine Stamkos would want out of Tampa, especially after their amazing playoff run last month. They are real contenders and most of the teams that want him are not as close to championships as Tampa is. Sure the lure of money is their, but if he can get $7 million from Tampa and the promise of a championship, I don't know why he wouldn't take it. This is probably the biggest decision of this young man's life and whenever he decides on his verdict you can expect a blog post about it.
The NHL's Western Conference is always in the media less than the East and so the 2 trades made between San Jose and Minnesota were not covered nearly enough as they should have been. The first trade on the night of the draft's 1st round saw the Sharks sign Devon Settoguchi and prospect Charlie Coyle along with the 28th overall pick that night to the Wild for star defenceman Brent Burns and a 2nd round pick for 2011. By adding Burns, the Sharks complete their strong defence with a big offensive guy who can score and defend with the best of them. His size should complement Dan Boyle who is a good scorer but a little small for intense defending. Setoguchi just couldn't get the ice time he needed to be a scorer for the Sharks and should see his point totals rise as he will be one of the Wilds more offensive players. The second trade came late on the night of July 3rd and was a 1 for 1 player swap of Danny Heatley from SJ for Martin Havlat of the Wild. This one came out of nowhere and will greatly improve both teams. The Wild finally get a big name player in Heatley who can score and draw attention back to the team. The Sharks are known for their bigger players like Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Ryan Clowe and now they have Havlat who is fast and can score 25 or more goals. Every year the Sharks are contenders and with the addition of Burns and Havlat, they just might go all the way next year. The Wild have been stuck on the brink of the playoffs the past few years and by adding more scoring they might just be able to sneak into the playoffs for the first time in a while.
The last major story so far this summer has been the amazing job done by Dale Tallon as GM of the Florida Panthers. The Panthers haven't seen playoff action in the last 11 years and most recently have held the 3rd overall pick so they should be on the rebuilding track. But with the sudden increase in the salary cap, the Panthers found themselves below the cap minimum and after losing their 2 highest paid players in Bryan McCabe and Tomas Vokun, Tallon became aggressive. Tallon is the man who assembled the Chicago Blackhawk team that won the cup in 2010. Once the bell rang on July 1st, Tallon began his work by signing Scottie Upshall, a speedy scorer to a very expensive contract, higher than any team would have considered for him. He then went and got a former Panthers 1st overall pick Ed Jovanoski and then goaltender Jose Theodore for a more affordable deal. He then added center Marcel Goc, big winger Tomas Kopecky, scoring winger Tomas Fleischmann and playoff hero Sean Bergenhiem before the day ended, clearly the busiest man that day. He added winger Matt Bradley and yesterday traded for former 1st round pick Angelo Esposito to round out his moves. If you add players already in their system, they suddenly are potentially going to end their playoff drought next season. Both 3rd overall picks Eric Gudbrandson and Jon Huberdeau should make the team next year to go along with regulars Stephan Weiss, David Booth, Shawn Mathias and Dimitry Kulikov. I love watching teams rebuild properly like the Panthers are doing by drafting a foundation with Kulikov and Weiss and adding the missing pieces. Tallon is a smart man and I hope the Panthers find success under his leadership. It should be an exciting time for hockey in south Florida again with all of the new acquisitions and maybe the sport can continue growing in the sunshine state.
As you can tell by this post, the start of summer has been hectic for hockey fans and for all the NHL GM's. Players are moving left and right and though it is exciting it is also exhausting. I will try to maintain my updates once a week but if there isn't much action it will be more difficult. I am developing some ideas for the future but am not quite ready to release them yet, ideas similar to my article about the Canadian teams and their chance at a championship. I also joined a site called www.hockeytracker.net where I write specifically about my favourite team the Detroit Red Wings about once a month and other bloggers like me also contribute. You can follow me on Twitter at @jbenny15 where I will provide updates as they come along. And please tell your friends and family about my posts as I am hopping to reach as large of an audience as possible and to get my name out to as many people as I can. Feel free to comment below with your opinions on the article and continue to enjoy your summer.
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