Free Agency and Disapointment for Wings fans
Posted 11:08 PM ET | Comments 9
The 2011 free agent class was the weakest group of ufa's that I have seen in a very long time but none the less moves were made and their were still winners and losers which I will give you all my opinion on the moves that all 30 teams made thus far including moves made before the draft. As always comments good and bad are welcomed as I do want your opinion of how you all think your team did this offseason. Without further a do here in my opinion are all 30 teams and my opinion of who is a winner this offseason and who was a loser so far this offseason:
Anahiem Ducks-Losers not just because they havent made any moves but it is more because San Jose and L.A have made and acquired players and I believe Anahiem will take a step back and L.A and San Jose. With that said all that changes if Teemu Selanne comes back.
Boston Bruins- Losers hard to call the Stanley Cup champs losers but losing Ryder hurts but again they still have Tim Thomas.
Buffalo Sabres- Winners Erhoff is a great signing him and Myers will make a great tandem for years to come I think 10 years is a long time but still a good move and take this from a Red Wing fan view Ville Leino is a great great signing.
Carolina Hurricanes- Winners Wow what a difference a week makes just last week Carolina Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford said Chad Larose, Joni Pitkanen, and Jussi Jokinen will not be resigned and all three were resigned this week they resigned all of their free agents thus far except Erik Cole not a huge loss in my opinion and you sign Brian Boucher a very good back up goaltender for Cam Ward.
Calgary Flames- Losers over paid for Tanguay and already a team on the decline will struggle to get in the playoffs.
Chicago Blackhawks- Winners NO MORE BRIAN CAMPBELL ENOUGH SAID.
Columbus Bluejackets- By far the biggest Winners of this offseason acquiring Jeff Carter from Philly signing James Wisniewski. Huge Winners Columbus will be a tough team to beat for years to come.
Colorado Avalanche- Winners with a little hestitation I really like getting Varlamov from Washington BUT giving up a first round draft pick for him gets me nervous, also losing Fleischmann is going to be worse then people are expecting. With all that said with signing Gigure the goaltending for the Avs will not be an issue.
Dallas Stars- Winners they got Ryder, and Fiddler who I think are both very underrated signings. Yes they lost Brad Richards but that was too be expected as not many people expected him to stay.
Detroit Red Wings- Losers as much as this pains me to say the Wings maybe the biggest losers of the offseason so far. Ken Holland signed Jonathan Ericsson for 3.5 million A YEAR a gross overpayment in my opinion. Resigning Eaves is a good deal I'm a huge fan of Eaves but resigning both Eaves and Miller I do not understand. Finally when your only new addition is Mike Commodore sadly the Loser status fits.
Edmonton Oilers- Losers not by much because I do like Ben Eager signing their but when that is the big move that is not a good start to the offseason.
Florida Panthers- Winners even by grossly overpaying for Tomas Kopecky the Florida Panthers are still winners. JovoCop is a very good Defensemen, Scottie Upshall is a decent forward, and I still believe Jose Theodore is a ok goalie and finally Tomas Fleischmann will be a very good player for the Panthers long term if he stays healthy. I can not believe i am saying this but the Panthers WILL make the playoffs this season.
Los Angeles Kings- Winners getting Michael Richards in a trade from Philly is a great move although it could backfire if Brayden Shenn turns out like he is suppose to. Losing Handzus hurts though.
Minnesota Wild- Losers yes they got Devin Setoguchi but they are in a complete rebuild mode and cut a ton of payroll and a long way from even sniffing the playoffs.
Montreal Canadiens- Winners resigning Markov is huge even though he has been hurt the last two years he is going to be a very good defensemen for years to come.
Nashville Predators- Losers allegedly screwed up the qualifying offers to 5 players and 2 minor league players. In addition they lose Joel Ward, and Marcel Goc the Predators are going to really struggle especially if some team makes a huge offer to Shea Webber "cough Wings cough".
New Jersey Devils- Losers no cap room and may lose Zach Parise and Marty Brodeur is not getting any younger.
New York Islanders- Losers maybe good in the future but right now no playoffs in sight.
New York Rangers- This depends on what happens with Brad Richards I have said since the Trade Deadline that I believe Richards goes to the Rangers, they bought out Chris Drury to clear cap room I believe this is were Richards ends up. With the signing of Mike Rupp they will be Winners.
Ottawa Senators- Losers Alex Alud and Francis Lessard as your signings yea Losers.
Philadelphia Flyers- Losers losing Carter, Richards and Leino hurts signing Jagr who has not played in the NHL in 3 years to a 3 million dollar deal hurts worse. I am not a fan at all of the 8 year and longer contracts as they gave Brzgalov. Max Talbot though is a very good signing.
Phoenix Coyotes- Losers losing Brzgalov, Jovo and Fiddler are killers.
Pittsburgh Penguins- Losers the only new addition is Steve Sullivan "yawn" and they lose Talbot and Rupp. On the brightside they were smart not signing Jagr for 3 million dollars.
San Jose Sharks- Winners Brent Burns, Michal Handzus and Jim Vandeermeer very good signings and also taking Handzus away from the Kings is a great move as well. Yes losing Setoguchi hurts but the Sharks have more then enough offense to make up for that.
St Louis Blues- Losers nothing really major to comment on.
Tampa Bay Lightning- Winners with a huge IF being they can resign Steven Stamkos right now they lost Mike Smith and Sean Bergenheim but resigning Stamkos will make them huge winners obviously.
Toronto Maple Leafs- Losers still waiting for that "big move" Leaf fans.
Vancouver Canucks- Winners yes they lost Erhoff but they kept Bieksa, and picked up a great leader in Marco Sturm.
Washington Capitals- Winners resigning Brooks Laich was huge, getting Joel Ward and Roman Hamrlik even better. Ovechkin finally may get past the second round.
Winnipeg Jets- Finally team number 30 is Incomplete only signing Derek Meech and Tanner Glass does nothing for me but you guys have a team for the first time in 15 years oh what the hell WINNERS.
I hope you all enjoyed reading my opinions and I would love yours. Talk to you all next week when we continue free agent talk and other news of the week.
Anahiem Ducks-Losers not just because they havent made any moves but it is more because San Jose and L.A have made and acquired players and I believe Anahiem will take a step back and L.A and San Jose. With that said all that changes if Teemu Selanne comes back.
Boston Bruins- Losers hard to call the Stanley Cup champs losers but losing Ryder hurts but again they still have Tim Thomas.
Buffalo Sabres- Winners Erhoff is a great signing him and Myers will make a great tandem for years to come I think 10 years is a long time but still a good move and take this from a Red Wing fan view Ville Leino is a great great signing.
Carolina Hurricanes- Winners Wow what a difference a week makes just last week Carolina Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford said Chad Larose, Joni Pitkanen, and Jussi Jokinen will not be resigned and all three were resigned this week they resigned all of their free agents thus far except Erik Cole not a huge loss in my opinion and you sign Brian Boucher a very good back up goaltender for Cam Ward.
Calgary Flames- Losers over paid for Tanguay and already a team on the decline will struggle to get in the playoffs.
Chicago Blackhawks- Winners NO MORE BRIAN CAMPBELL ENOUGH SAID.
Columbus Bluejackets- By far the biggest Winners of this offseason acquiring Jeff Carter from Philly signing James Wisniewski. Huge Winners Columbus will be a tough team to beat for years to come.
Colorado Avalanche- Winners with a little hestitation I really like getting Varlamov from Washington BUT giving up a first round draft pick for him gets me nervous, also losing Fleischmann is going to be worse then people are expecting. With all that said with signing Gigure the goaltending for the Avs will not be an issue.
Dallas Stars- Winners they got Ryder, and Fiddler who I think are both very underrated signings. Yes they lost Brad Richards but that was too be expected as not many people expected him to stay.
Detroit Red Wings- Losers as much as this pains me to say the Wings maybe the biggest losers of the offseason so far. Ken Holland signed Jonathan Ericsson for 3.5 million A YEAR a gross overpayment in my opinion. Resigning Eaves is a good deal I'm a huge fan of Eaves but resigning both Eaves and Miller I do not understand. Finally when your only new addition is Mike Commodore sadly the Loser status fits.
Edmonton Oilers- Losers not by much because I do like Ben Eager signing their but when that is the big move that is not a good start to the offseason.
Florida Panthers- Winners even by grossly overpaying for Tomas Kopecky the Florida Panthers are still winners. JovoCop is a very good Defensemen, Scottie Upshall is a decent forward, and I still believe Jose Theodore is a ok goalie and finally Tomas Fleischmann will be a very good player for the Panthers long term if he stays healthy. I can not believe i am saying this but the Panthers WILL make the playoffs this season.
Los Angeles Kings- Winners getting Michael Richards in a trade from Philly is a great move although it could backfire if Brayden Shenn turns out like he is suppose to. Losing Handzus hurts though.
Minnesota Wild- Losers yes they got Devin Setoguchi but they are in a complete rebuild mode and cut a ton of payroll and a long way from even sniffing the playoffs.
Montreal Canadiens- Winners resigning Markov is huge even though he has been hurt the last two years he is going to be a very good defensemen for years to come.
Nashville Predators- Losers allegedly screwed up the qualifying offers to 5 players and 2 minor league players. In addition they lose Joel Ward, and Marcel Goc the Predators are going to really struggle especially if some team makes a huge offer to Shea Webber "cough Wings cough".
New Jersey Devils- Losers no cap room and may lose Zach Parise and Marty Brodeur is not getting any younger.
New York Islanders- Losers maybe good in the future but right now no playoffs in sight.
New York Rangers- This depends on what happens with Brad Richards I have said since the Trade Deadline that I believe Richards goes to the Rangers, they bought out Chris Drury to clear cap room I believe this is were Richards ends up. With the signing of Mike Rupp they will be Winners.
Ottawa Senators- Losers Alex Alud and Francis Lessard as your signings yea Losers.
Philadelphia Flyers- Losers losing Carter, Richards and Leino hurts signing Jagr who has not played in the NHL in 3 years to a 3 million dollar deal hurts worse. I am not a fan at all of the 8 year and longer contracts as they gave Brzgalov. Max Talbot though is a very good signing.
Phoenix Coyotes- Losers losing Brzgalov, Jovo and Fiddler are killers.
Pittsburgh Penguins- Losers the only new addition is Steve Sullivan "yawn" and they lose Talbot and Rupp. On the brightside they were smart not signing Jagr for 3 million dollars.
San Jose Sharks- Winners Brent Burns, Michal Handzus and Jim Vandeermeer very good signings and also taking Handzus away from the Kings is a great move as well. Yes losing Setoguchi hurts but the Sharks have more then enough offense to make up for that.
St Louis Blues- Losers nothing really major to comment on.
Tampa Bay Lightning- Winners with a huge IF being they can resign Steven Stamkos right now they lost Mike Smith and Sean Bergenheim but resigning Stamkos will make them huge winners obviously.
Toronto Maple Leafs- Losers still waiting for that "big move" Leaf fans.
Vancouver Canucks- Winners yes they lost Erhoff but they kept Bieksa, and picked up a great leader in Marco Sturm.
Washington Capitals- Winners resigning Brooks Laich was huge, getting Joel Ward and Roman Hamrlik even better. Ovechkin finally may get past the second round.
Winnipeg Jets- Finally team number 30 is Incomplete only signing Derek Meech and Tanner Glass does nothing for me but you guys have a team for the first time in 15 years oh what the hell WINNERS.
I hope you all enjoyed reading my opinions and I would love yours. Talk to you all next week when we continue free agent talk and other news of the week.
how can you say Tanguay(69pts) @ 3.5M
Here's the thing about some of the "winners" so far -- it's one thing to throw around a lot of cash, bring in the biggest names and make big gains in the short ter. But what about later? Take Florida, for example. Versteeg, Kopecky, Bergenheim, Campbell, Jovanovski? Nice players, yes, but all overpaid.
Even Columbus -- Wiz is not a $5.5 million player, and Carter is nice -- but with a contract that runs through 2022 with an NTC that kicks in by 2012? Jeez. Yeah, these teams improved the most today, but are they contenders yet? And are they well positioned to keep building through the future? I'm skeptical.
And by the way, I only actually left two real comments. Sorry about all the empty mess. I can't believe the myhb comments section STILL hasn't been fixed.
Hope Holland sees something in Ericsson that I don't because he paid way to much.
Message Posted
Some of the guys you really like are washed up and I disagree with 50% or everything you just wrote. Jeff Carter is overrated and Voracek is more valuable, Sturm is done, Tanguay is worth 3.5, Panthers making the playoffs since they signed a bunch of bums is ridiculous.