What Mr. Lowe has done has ended the boys Club. Mr. Lowe has has served notice that all the RFA'S have more options than just to sit around and wait for their gm's to sign them which is not just a bad thing , It has made GM's more aware of the RFA'S which means General Managers have to do thier jobs. I am sorry but that is a nut shell. The main reason the Burke is mad is because Lowe caught him with his pants down. And if a manager dilly dallies then he deserves what he gets. Maybe the Ducks and Sabers should be more mad at themselves instead of Lowe. Also another effect of what Lowe has done is made the off season a lot more fun to watch. You can bet if Buff and Ana have a chance they will return the favor, and if even if they don't it will be fun to watch if they do. Will other GM'S follow suit? I think they already have or thought about it I am sure other teams thought about signing Vanek to an offer sheet.
I thought I could go into the future rfa's well the biggest one that I think that could get offer sheets if they don't get signed
Phaneuf, Dion His Body Checks are the best combined with his shot makes him one of the best young dmen in the Game.
Weber, Shea
See Dion if not as good as Dion and could see some action.
Getzlaf, Ryan
Burke Can't afford to let this happen again big power Forward who can shoot and skate.
Svatos, Marek
Did Colorado Make a mistake by signing him for only one year?
Stoll, Jarret
Yes Mr. Lowe you have one to
Now there is whole bunch more out there that I could mentioned but the point is made. These rfa's have a lot more options and they could be laughing all the way to the bank.
The main winners are the fans, they will now show more interest in their players and other rfa's from other teams, which only mean one thing the NHL becomes winners why, because they get more Attention in the off season. Thankyou Mr. Lowe
Flamestr
Well said, er, written, um... oh you know what I mean. :)
Good Blog Flamestr...I agree...Lowe has woken up the GM population and they are all scurrying to sign their RFA's before next summer!
Good Blog Flamestr...I agree...Lowe has woken up the GM population and they are all scurrying to sign their RFA's before next summer!
WOW...i'm impressed that a flames fan actually had something nice to say about anything that happens in oil country. kudos!
Good Stuff Flamestr...not quite Dougstr level, but hey, you're getting there....I agree, teams will have to re-think their RFA strategies in the future.
Some GMs had already started locking up their free agents before their contracts expire. Look at Thornton, Iginla and Bieksa to name a few. This isn't a problem if you sign players before it gets to this level and, if you sign them early enough, you'll usually get bargain prices for it as well.