NHL Free Agency... East Edition Pt. 2

Back at the Free Agency/Draft Recap.. 7 teams left, and the two "sexiest" teams are included.

Here we go.

New York Rangers

The Rangers are a team that traditionally tries to win the N.Y. Yankees way. See good player. Target good player. Overpay for good player. Looks like this year they might have continued the trend by signing the often injured Martin Gaborik to a 5 year deal. They did manage to get rid of the ANCHOR of a contract held by Scott Gomez by trading him and his 16 goal scoring 7.5!!! million dollar a year deal to the Habs. They also snatched away veteran goon Donald Brashear from the Caps.

As long as the Rangers have "The King" Henrik Lundqvist in net, they are in the playoffs. But I'm not sure they they are good enough defensively to make a huge impact this year.

Why you should care:

Messier.

Goes to the papers and says " We WILL win tonight" before their Stanley Cup Final game against the Canucks in 1994. Scores a hat trick that night. What a captain. They go on to win the Cup.

Ottawa Senators

The definition of a classless move in sports is asking your team for a trade through the media. It makes it impossible for your team to get fair value. Well, Dany Heatley did just that, and then, when his team found a team that wanted to trade for him, he exercised his no-trade clause. Dick. It will be interesting to see how the fans treat Heats in his first game back in Ottawa, where it appears he will be playing whether he likes wants to or not.

They did nothing in free agency besides signing the pest Chris Niel. Looks like a tough year for the Sens.

Why you should care:

This is less why you should care, more why you should laugh. Movie tie-ins in a pregame ceremony that aren't just actually movie clips will ALWAYS FAIL.....

Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers traded for defensemen Chris Pronger, which is huge. This guy was made to play in Philly. Pronger always dances on that line of playing tough and playing cheap, which is a good assessment of the Flyers as a whole. They lost net presence specialist Mike Knuble to the Caps, but they still have Captain Mike Richards, Daniel Briere, and Simon Gagne to put in the goals.

They signed goalie Ray Emery who had been playing in Russia for the last 2 years to be the started. Flyer fans can't be too confident with that. Pronger will make the team better, but can Emery take them into the playoffs

Why you should care:

Mike Richards plays hockey like it's meant to be played. Scores goals, blocks shots, goes into the dirty areas, fights, kills penalties, he's a superstar paying the price most superstars don't.

Pittsburgh Penguins

When you win a championship in the NHL, the next season you're going to lose some guys. People will overpay for your free agents because they won a championship and now have seemingly more value.

Penguins have added nothing of note, but have retained two key free agents, the aging but still contributing Bill Geurin, and playoff specialist Ruslan Fedetenko. Both players left money and years on the table to return.

Penguins have lost, the tower of a defensemen Hal Gill, and the SUPER solid Rob Scuderi through free agency with the streaky sniper Petr Sykora probably also leaving.

But as a Pens fan, I ain't sweating it. Last year, after the Penguins lost in the finals, they lost the following players:

• Marion Hossa
• Ryan Malone
• Gary Roberts
• Jarkko Ruutu
• Georges Laraque
• Ty Conklin

THAT year they lost a big part of the team, and they won the Stanley Cup the following year. GM Ray Shero has shown he knows what moves to make at the trade deadline to make it to the Finals. And let's be honest, when you have 2 of the best 3 players in the league on your team, you're going to be good.

Why you should care:

Champs. And this song.

Tampa Bay Lighting

Jokes. Like anyone cares. After new ownership took over last year, things have been bad for the Lightning. Questionable trades, questionable Signings, no one coming to the games. The Lightning are a mess.

They added defensemen Mattius Ohlund who is a nice pick up, but they overpayed. Will last year's #1 pick Steve Stamkos make a difference this year?

I dont think so. Lecavelier is dying alive.

Why you should care:

Don't.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto is a team still in rebuild mode, but this year the additions of defensemen Hal Gill and Mike Komisarek will make this year's Leafs better than last year's. Flamboyant GM looked hard for a big splash signing at forward, but hasn't found one yet. I don't think the Leafs are done. Would Alexei Kovalev come to the Leafs?

Step in the right direction year, but not quite playoff caliber yet.

Why you should care:

If you have patience, you'll love this team.

Washington Capitals

The Caps had what should be considered a successful season last year, but losing in Game 7 always gives you a bad taste in your mouth. It was obvious in that series with the Pens that the Caps have enough skill to win. But did they have enough grit?

Well, they may have plugged this hole with the signing of Mike Knuble. This guy goes to the net and is never afraid of contact. Guys like Semin need a Knuble on their line. Even though he is on the bad side of 35, it's a great pick up.

They did lose Federov and Victor Kozlov. Kozlov was just another one of the Caps skilled but soft players, so I think Knuble is an upgrade. Fedorov's leadership will surely be missed, but he wasn't a big producer throughout the season or playoffs. Tough guy Donald Brashear also walked, but tough guys, no matter how loved by the fans, never make or break a lineup.

Capitals will no doubt be a top team in the East. Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Semin will take care of that. But do they have enough toughness to advance further in the playoffs? Will this year be goalie Varlamov's true coming out party? Will Nylander do ANYTHING to earn his 5 million a year? Will Ovechkin ever backcheck? (had to get one stinger in here)

I think it still will take a trade deadline deal for the Caps to move past the second round.

Why you should care:

Ovechkin vs. Crosby meeting every Playoffs should be awesome for years to come.

30 down! That's all for me. Enjoy the summer. Hockey Rules.

NHL Free Agency... East Edition Pt. 1

On to the more interesting and usually more entertaining Eastern Conference.

I always wondered how different conferences get their own personalities. I can't speak for other sports, but in hockey, the East is the more skilled, scoring conference, while the west is the more smash-mouth, grind it out conference. How does that happen? Some things I'll never know.

Here we go.

Atlanta Thrashers

Thrashers are a franchise still searching for their first playoff win in their short history. The insanely good Kovulchuk is really the only player of note on this team. In free agency, they added the solid forward Nik Antropov to help Kovulchuk score goals, and a returning strong no-name back line should have this team fighting for a playoff spot. The big problem on the horizon is they have to convince Kovulchuk to resign next summer. He will demand HUGE numbers to stay in the Atlanta.

Why you should care:

Kovulchuk and Crosby have a little fued that started with this.

Boston Bruins

Over the last two years, the Bruins have returned to their old form, being a bad ass. They went after Hossa, but lost out on him to Chicago. They didn't do much in free agency but I don't think they needed too. They were close last year (conference semifinals), and they are maybe a trade or two away from getting over that hump this year. Definitely a top 3 seed again this year.


Why you should care:

Tim Thomas is old school. Who needs technique?




Buffalo Sabres

After losing Daniel Briere and Chris Drury a few years ago, the Sabres have been a team without any identity. Sure they have the 40 goal scorer Thomas Vanek and the solid goaltending of Ryan Miller, but nothing much after that. They lost a defensemen in Spacek, and gained a defensemen in Montador in free agency. Not much different than last year for the Sabres. They barely missed the playoffs last year, and will probably do the same this year.

Why you should care:

Worst uniform change in history.
From This: ( see the Buffalo AND the Sabres??)
To This:
Let me introduce you to the BuffleSlug
Carolina Hurricanes

The Canes came from the 6th seed last year all the way to the conference finals. Their goalie Cam Ward got hot at exactly the right time. In Free Agency they didn't do much except lock up some of their own important pieces to long term deals. The Canes will go as far as Eric Staal and Cam Ward can take them. 6,7,8 seed seems about right.

Why you should care:

Last year they earned the nickname the Cardiac Canes for this reason. Brodeur=STUNNED

Florida Panthers

The Panthers lost a HUGE piece with the loss of D-man David Boumeester. Panthers will let in at least 25 more goals this season. Mark it down. They did lock up the exciting David Booth to a long term deal after he emerged last year as a real goal scorer. They also signed Marty Brodeur's understudy Scott Clemmenson in goal who did a good job backing up when Marty went down last year. Florida is one of those teams that will always have a tough time. It's not really a free agent destination. They had to draft and trade well to compete. No playoffs again in Sunrise, Florida.

Why you should care:

Check out their Radio Announcer. Gauranteed LOLz. Personal fav 2:55

Montreal Canadiens

Le Bleu-Blanc-et-Rouge lost a lot this offseason. Alex Kovalev, captain Saku Koivu being the biggest names. But to counter that, they signed a lot as well. They acquired the highly overpaid small center Scott Gomez from the Rangers, and three forwards from New Jersey: Gionta, Pandolfo and Brylin. The Habs also got the 30 goal man Mike Camilleri from the Flames. On the defensive side, they added Jaroslav Spacek from the Sabres and the huge Hal Gill from the champion pens. Lots of new names, but lost of big names lost as well.

Montreal was looking for a identity change after a dissapointing 100-year celebration season. Change they got, but improvement? I'm not sure.

Why you should care:

In Montreal 1. Hockey 2. Everything Else.
Also they sing the HELL out of their national anthem. And it's ALWAYS televised. Some things are more important than another commercial. I wish America would follow suit on this one.





New Jersey Devils

Devils are about one man. Goalie Martin Brodeur. As much as I truly hate him, I have to respect him. The Devils ALWAYS make the playoffs because of him. They are slowly shedding their image of being a defensive, sleep-inducing team, and are becoming more of an offesive team. But this off-season the Devils lost a lot of peices and havent added anything yet. Still, when you have Brodeur, you're making the playoffs.

Why you should care:

Brodeur.

New York Islanders

There is a bit of a buzz around the Islanders since they drafted John Tavares #1 in the draft. This kid broke Gretzky's records in junior hockey and should make an immediate impact. But will it be enough? I think not. Caps drafted Ovechkin, one year sucking ensued. Pens drafted Crosby, one year of sucking ensued. Islanders need to suck one more year to get another high draft pick to be a real playoff threat.

Why you should care?

Is this kid the real deal? Only thing we know now is he's not an exciting interview

23 down 7 left!

NHL Free Agency... West Edition Pt. 2

Back at it. Let's finish up the Western Conference.

Los Angeles Kings

The Kings have added two big pieces with acquiring Ryan Smyth from the Avalanche and "The Piece" Rob Scuderi from the Stanley Cup Penguins. They probably paid too much for both players, but they needed them.

Ryan Smythe is one of the NHL players I love. Not that tall, not that strong, not that skilled, but he works his ass off and will pay the price to score goals. Just looking at his face you can see the miles hes put in. His front 6 teeth are all fake. But with all that, he really isnt a #1 center. He's usually good for 30 goals but no more. Every team that wins a cup has a Ryan Smyth.

Scuderi is just a rock. His price rose tremendously with his Stanley Cup win. He scored one goal all season last year, but his job is to stop pucks from going in, not scoring them himself. He's one of those guys that when you see their number flash by the screen, you know this shift will be safe.

Question mark for the Kings is definitely the goaltending. But this year they should see the playoffs.

Why you should care:

Last week I met former Kings prospect Yutaka Fukufuji at the ice rink here in my town in Japan. I asked him, "How was the NHL?" He looked at me, smiled, and said "Fast." He played just one season for the Kings and is now playing in Japan.

Minnesota Wild

Minnesota is one of those teams always fighting with Devils for the title of the most boring style of play in hockey. And they sell out EVERY game. I mean EVERY game in their history. Minnesota people love thier hockey. But new coach this year is promising a more up-tempo game.

Well, they lost the oft-injured but highly skilled Gaborik and gained the slightly less skilled Havlat. Minnesota is always right at the edge of being good. This year I don't think they did enough to change that. They will probably fight for that 6,7,8 seed spot again this year.

Why you should care:

Their logo is kind of weird.

Nashville Predators

The Preds did nothing in free agency besides sign a few of their own guys to new contracts. I don't expect much from them this year, but I've always liked their captain Jason Arnott. Last year he put up the highest goal total (33) of his career at 34 years old. But I get the feeling he wouldn't mind a trade deadline deal to a cup contender before his career is over.

Nashville is one of those teams in a non traditional market that have to OVERPAY for free agents. I mean, would a Canadian player rather play in Montreal or Nashville? Other teams like this are Columbus, Florida, and Phoenix.

Why you should care:

They love knocking each other out after goals.

Phoenix Coyotes

You know you're not good when your coach is the only person people can name from your team. This team is now bankrupt and looking for buyers. Possibly will move out of Phoenix. Yeah, like any free agent was going to sign here.

Coyotes are a mess. No way they make the playoffs.

Why you should care:

You shouldn't but I like watching Gretzky yell.



San Jose Sharks

Sharks have been pissing their fans off for years now. Awesome regular season, lose quickly in the playoffs. They promised their fans some changes after their current playoff exit, but didn't really do much. They are still good and will likely again be in the top three seeds. But can they get over that hump they've been stuck in for the last 3 years? I wouldn't be surprised if they pull a trade before the season to chance something up. They need a little more grit to touch the silver.

Why you should care:

Joe Thornton. Second best passer in the game. Also listen to this big-time play by play guy. This is how its done. You can tell he's genuinely pumped as hell.

St. Louis Blues

Last year the Blues surprised everyone and made the playoffs, only to be bounced in 4 games. But it was still a year of much improvement. With young defensemen Johnson and the scorer Kariya coming back from injury this year, the Blues should only get better. Last year, TJ Oshie came out of nowhere and became a star. He should only improve. I think the Blues are not elite, but a solid playoff caliber team. Their shaved head goalie Mason really carries them.

Why you should care:

Paul Kariya will always be a bad ass in my mind because of this game while he was a Duck. Watch for the puff of air on his visor as the life comes back into him. Serious concussion, comes back and scores. In what other sports do athletes give more to win? Kariya's face after his goal still gives me goosebumps. What a human.

Vancouver Canucks

Vancouver will always be an alright team as long as they keep their insane goalie Roberto Luongo. They just signed their most important forwards Daniel and Henrik Sedin (they're twins) to long term deals, and also got the winger Samuelson from the Wings. Sundin is still undecided about playing next year or not. But the Canucks are for real. They still need one solid defender to be elite, but they will definitely be there in the running for the Cup.

Why you should care:

It's a real hockey town. When I was in Vancouver for a week a few years ago me and my friends were walking down the street. We walk past a restaurant and everyone inside is standing looking at the TV. I mean EVERYONE had stopped. Waiters, Bartenders, everyone. I ask whats happening, and someone tells me, "Its a shootout, the restaurants stops until the shoot out is over." A REAL hockey town.

15 down 15 to go! The East is NEXT.