NHL Free Agency

[Exile]

There are so many free agents out there right now and the market opened up today. There will be some high profile moves and strangely it could be the traditionally bad teams making them because these tend to be the guys with the cap room!

Derian Hatcher is currently in Philadelphia and people have been crying out for a big hitting defenceman in Flyer land, the concern is his price, age and speed however but this deal could be one to go through in a few days - I'm not certain as a Flyer fan what to make of it yet. Hatcher, I dunno.

Nieuwendyk and Roberts have signed in Florida, that's two gone from Toronto to sunnier climbs - I could make a retirement home joke since they're both pretty darn old but Florida need some vet leadership let's face it they have sucked despite having one of the best goaltenders in the league last year. They could be so much more with a few key pieces I would think.

I hope for some more intriguing moves in the near future for free agency and most of all I want to see the Flyers get themselves a defenceman, perhaps two and a winger...not sure if there's the cap room for that since I'm not certain on the numbers right now. This is just what I'd like in an ideal world (actually an ideal world sees Pronger, Niedermeyer and Satan start playing for the Flyers on Oct. 5th...Satan needs to play for New Jersey though, I think even I'd consider getting that jersey with his name on the back - pure awesomeness)
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Cry woe, destruction, ruin, and decay -
The worst is death, and death will have his day.

[Locke]

I'm just happy the Rangers drafted themselves a big ol defenseman. Youth, thats what the Rangers need to go after. That and suck one more year so they can draft the as he's been called the "American Sidney Crosby" whose name is escaping me at the moment.
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Legendary Locke


3 Time Suikox WWE Fantasy Champion

[Exile]

You mean Phil Kessel I take it, he's supposed to be pretty good his knocks being that he's currently too small/light. Same knocks as Crosby in those regards but small players can do the business if they are skilled enough and these kids are supposedly.
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Cry woe, destruction, ruin, and decay -
The worst is death, and death will have his day.

[Kalidor]

I am watching the free agency pool with a somewhat interested eye, though it becomes much more interested if it has to do with my team, the Vancouver Canucks. One of their key players, Markus Naslund, is in the free agency pool, and I hope that they can manage to keep them. Budget wise the Canucks are really in an opportune place, only having about five players with existing contracts. Luckily two of them Todd Bertuzzi and Ed Jovanoski are players that you really want to keep. I don't know where the Canucks are going to go from there though. They play a very offensive style, and with the proposed rule changes that are coming in, I think they stand to benefit. What I would like them to do is to captilize on thier already offensive style by bringing in more offensive talent. There's certainly enough of it out there, waiting to be had. And with unrestricted free agents like Teemu Sellanne and Paul Kariya floating around, I think it's quite viable that they could grab a nice quick, offensive player or two.

The part where I'm a little bit nervous is the goal tending position. Dan Cloutier is probably one of the top ten goalies in the league right now, so I think it's in their best interest to keep him. He is a restricted free agent, so they could get him back if they made him a qualifying offer. Hopefully they will, and soon. Alex Auld may have potential, but why bank on someone that you aren't sure of when you have a very respectable net minder just waiting to be signed back on?

What team are you pulling for, PF? I seem to think for some vague reason that you are a Flyers fan, and not just because your post referenced them. Am I right?

[Barbarossa Rugner]

I am just glad hockey is back. That is not to say that i am the biggest hockey fan in the world, but i think the sports nation needs the NHL. I had been screaming for years that the only way the NHL is ever going to make a profit league wide was if they formed some sort of salary cap. That is just how it is and it is evident when you look at the nfl and nba, the mlb being the exception. I think baseball will eventually find itself in a similar situation in order to even the playing field so other teams can compete, but that is a whole other topic. I just wanted to say that i was happy to see hockey finally on the road back.
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The Rune on my Sword, the Dragon King Sword, is protected against any form of magic, Even the rune of the Gate - Barbarossa Rugner

[Exile]

[Kalidor]

I don't know PF. Were it six, perhaps even three years ago, I would agree with you, that the Flyers had made a killer deal in this trade. The events of the last three years have really cast doubt upon Forsberg for me. The guy is a walking bag of injuries, and he seems to be getting better and better at collecting them. Perhaps the year off will have helped him in that; if you're a Flyers fan you can only hope so. Personally, I think that there were other forewards on the market that were better investments. Take Jarome Iginla, for example. This guy is the present of the NHL, whereas Forsberg is, if not the past, becoming it. Iginla's skills are top notch and so is his relationship to the fans and media. The Calgary Flames are lucky indeed that he signed that three year deal with them; he will be there cornerstone, and bringing in other players like Tony Amonte will only help to build them up. I would even say that my beloved Canucks did better than the Flyers did in resigning Markus Naslund. He's a definite team leader, more so than Forsberg I would say, that isn't as injury plagued. I would also say that his style will be one that is more useful with the changes that will be coming to the NHL. His speed and skill will be great to watch with a more open ice surface.

All in all, I think that Forsberg, while still better than most, is really not among the elite of the NHL anymore. The Flyer's could have done better by holding off. The Forsberg signing also pushed them over their salary cap, so they're going to have to ship off a few players in trades unless they want to pay that massive tax.

[Exile]

Well Iginla was only an RFA that the flyers have tried numerous times to trade for, Calgary weren't going to let him go by any means. Oh and this coming from a Flyer fan who Amonte played for last in the NHL, he hits so many posts!

I really do have to disagree with you, I still think Forsberg is there or there abouts in terms of best players in the league. Naslund is great as well, I have them around the same quality level and as I say a healthy Forsberg is someone who can pick a pass out of nowhere and create problems for a D, that hasn't changed in my eyes. If I think about his competition for best players I suppose there's Lemieux, Pronger, Lidstrom, Iginla, Naslund. After that I'm not sure there's anyone better than Forsberg and I really don't believe I'm being Flyer biased with this one, I've always thought as Forsberg as one of the best when he was an Av.

They only need to get rid of Jeremy Roenick and they are under the cap limit and as I said he's as much of an injury concern with his concussions as Forsberg is. 5 million is a good deal for Peter.
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Cry woe, destruction, ruin, and decay -
The worst is death, and death will have his day.