Spezza ices huge contract with Senators!

Breaking news in the nation's capital, as the Ottawa Senators finally got a deal done with their superstar-in-the-making Jason Spezza yesterday night, agreeing to a new 7-year/$49 million contract extension according to Bob McKenzie over at TSN.

Spezza and Murray have yet to announce anything to the media, but McKenzie did a good job and got the details as to how Spezza would be paid over the course of the next 7 years:

08-09: 4 M signing bonus, 4 M base salary = $8 million
09-10: 4 M signing bonus, 4 M base salary = $8 million
10-11: 4 M signing bonus, 4 M base salary = $8 million
11-12: 2 M signing bonus, 6 M base salary = $8 million
12-13: 2 M signing bonus, 6 M base salary = $8 million
13-14: no signing bonus, 5 M base salary = $5 million
14-15: no signing bonus, 5 M base salary = $5 million

For a total of a whopping $49 million.

Spezza's deal is similar to his linemate's Dany Heatley, who also signed a massive extension early in the new campaign.

The 24-year old has 1 goal and 12 assists in 10 games with the Senators so far, and he likely sat out last night's game vs the Thrashers to finalize this deal with his agent.

This signing may mean the end of the Wade Redden era in Ottawa, as the veteran blueliner is eligible to hit the unrestricted free-agent market and it's unlikly Sens GM Bryan Murray will be able to live up to yet more pressure from the fans and keep the pricey Redden in the fold.

The Missisauga native was due to become a restricted free-agent this summer, and given the recent situations that have unfolded during that period with offer sheets being thrown around (see Dustin Penner, Tomas Vanek, Ryan Kesler), Spezza would've been an attractive option to teams salivating for that God-like player.

-BBeR

-BBeR

Tasty Brownie! Kings ink young phenom to 6-year extension among others

The future is now for the Kings

There have been a few contract extensions handed out in the NHL recently, topping the list are the Los Angeles Kings, who signed forward Dustin Brown to a 6-year contract extension today.

The former 13th overall pick from the 2003 draft has 4 goals and 4 assists so far in 11 games with the Kings and has been a star on the rise ever since his definitive entry to the NHL in 2005-2006, putting up 14 and 17 goal seasons since then.
His points total have been on a uprise as well...from 28 to 46, and if his current pace continues, he will finish the season in the 70-point area.

Brown is poised to become a 30-40 goal scorer with huge upside, and he's a mainstay in Los Angeles for at least 6 more years.
All this at such a young age, the 22-year old Ithaca, New York native will turn 23 on November 4th.

Kings GM Dean Lombardi on "Brownie":

Dustin is an integral part of what we are building here with the Kings.
We like how he competes; we like his toughness; and we are very pleased with how his overall game has developed.

"An integral part" is not far off with guys like Mike Cammalleri (10 G, 3 A), sophomore sensation Anze Kopitar (4 G, 8 A) and star Alex Frolov (3 G, 7 A) all destined for superstardom (or at least come close to it).

On defence? They're well equiped with former Hurricanes prospect Jack Johnson (1 G, 1 A), veteran goldie Rob Blake (1 G, 4 A), the dangerous Lubomir Visnovsky (1 G, 7 A) to go along with new faces Brad Stuart (1 G, 2 A), Tom Preissing (0 G, 2 A) and another guy who's been around a while, Jaroslav Modry (0 G, 1 A).

On paper? They're awesome...but the defence has had its own problems this year totally a paltry -14 rating with Modry being the only blueliner in the plus column (+4).

Kings fans are calling for Rob Blake's head because of his shoddy defensive work and inconsistent performance on the attack...Stuart and Preissing are off to slow starts...Johnson is still adapting with Visnovsky and Modry leading the way.

The future is definitely bright in sunny LA, but can the Kings finally pull out of their misery with the younglings and big names picked up this offseason?

Their current 5-6 start could be better, but if you look at last year, it could be worse.

They have the talent, time to fully exploit it...look for the Kings to be serious contenders now or possibly in the near future

Draper stays in Detroit:
The Red Wings have retained former Selke winner Kris Draper, signing the 36-year old to a new 3-year contract that will pay him $1.6 million per season.

Kenny Holland calls Draper an essential part of the team's core:
Kris has been such an important part of this organization's success.
We are fortunate to have secured a player with his leadership qualities and work ethic for the next three seasons.

He has 5 assists to start the season and has put up double digits in goals for the past 4 campaigns.

Minnesota locks up Burns:
Brent Burns is only 22 but already a force on Minnesota's blueline.
The Wild locked him up to a 4-year contract worth about $14.2 million or an average payout of $3.55 million per season.
Minnesota's former 1st round pick is +6 this season and hopes to repeat the +16 rating he put up last year.

I like Doug Risebrough's reasoning when it comes to these big long deals being thrown around:
Long-term contracts are about projection now.
Not about what they'll make, but their ability to earn it and make things happen during the length of the contract.

Panthers sign Cullimore:
The Florida Panthers have reportedly signed defenceman Jassen Cullimore to a 1-year contract including a 2-week conditioning stint in the minors, likely to replace the injured Noah Welch as the team's 7-8 defenceman.

Markov to Russia:
The Danny Markov free-agent saga is officially over...the veteran signed a contract to play in Russia with Dynamo for the upcoming season and TSN reports that his deal includes an out clause that would allow him to come to North America and sign with another team next summer.
Markov was rumoured to be seeking between $2.5 and $3.5 million, but teams like the Boston Bruins and New York Islanders backed out because of salary cap constraints.

-BBeR

Penner's new deal with Oilers an ominous sign for NHL...

Various media sources are reporting the Edmonton Oilers have officially signed former Ducks forward Dustin Penner to a 5-year/$21.5 million contract.

The young sniper played in all 82 games for the Stanley Cup champions Ducks last season, scoring 29 goals and adding 16 assists for a total of 45 points and 202 shots on goal.

The signing occurs a few weeks after Lowe made a bold move in signing the Sabres' Tomas Vanek to a $7 million per season offer sheet, only to see Buffalo GM Darcy Regier match within 19 minutes.

The 6'4'', 245-pound Winkler, Manitoba native just scored big time in the bank, and the NHL should be worried.

A few years down the road, maybe, just maybe he'd be worth the money he just got from a desperate Kevin Lowe...but at this point in his career? A 24-year old sophomore with a season and a quarter under his belt making a little over $4 million per season seems too much like the old NHL, where GM's paid wildly for any hint of talent available to them.

Scott Hartnell, who recently signed a similar pact with the Philadelphia Flyers, belongs in that pool of "paying for potential, not production" players. Both Penner and Hartnell will earn $4.2 million annually for the next 5 and 6 seasons respectively.

So what does this mean for the future RFA market?

For starters, teams may be tempted to sign future restricted free-agent Jason Spezza to an offer sheet next summer, and with the Senators trying to hold on to potential unrestricted 50-goal man Dany Heatley as well, someone may very well succeed in prying him from Sens GM Bryan Murray's hands.

But not so fast, this signing of Penner is also an ominous sign.
A sign that the NHL is heading back to its old days of overpriced free-agents and overrated players...I'm starting to wonder why we lost a complete season of hockey and why Gary Bettman and the NHL are so STUBBORN not to realize what's going on.

It was a mistake to make the cap rise again to $50.3 million, if the NHL knows what's good for their league finances and fans, they'll lower that number to $45 million next year and leaves GM's little room to spend the $7 million Chris Drury got, and the $10 million Dany Heatley will likely get if this continues next year.
They won't lower the cap, so scratch that.

If they actually used their brains, they'd finally figure out that the more the cap raises, the more salaries for elite players will go up, and the more we'll be drifting back to the pre-lockout era and a potential lockout/labour dispute again.

This signing not only makes the RFA market a whole new attractive destination for GM's, and a headache for the NHL, but it also marks the end of the Brian Burke-Kevin Lowe friendship, at least according to Burke's recent harsh words to the media.

-BBeR

Oh, Thank Goodness

It was an eleventh-hour deal but it still got done and that's what matters. The Ottawa Senators have managed to avoid arbitration with their number 1 goaltender Ray Emery just hours before his hearing was set to begin:

'It was a difficult negotiation,'' Emery's agent J.P. Barry told The Canadian Press. ''Bryan and I started pretty far apart but we worked hard to close the gap and were able to do so this morning after Bryan was able to speak with Mr. Melnyk.''

The 24-year-old Emery was a restricted free agent. He will earn $2.75 million next season, $3.25 million in 2008-09 and $3.5 million in 2009-10, for an average of $3.16 million a season, a big raise over the $925,000 he made last season.

He will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the contract.

Emery emerged as Ottawa's starting goalie last season and led the team to a Stanley Cup final appearance. He went 33-16-6 in the regular season with a 2.47 goals-against average and .918 save percentage. He was 13-7 with a 2.26 GAA and .907 save percentage. Emery has started all 30 of Ottawa's playoff games post-lockout.

The $3.16-million average for Emery eclipses the $2.66-million average salaries from Buffalo's Ryan Miller (signed last summer) and Carolina's Cam Ward and is less than the $4.25-million, one-year deal signed by New York Rangers starter Henrik Lundqvist.

Reports are that Emery turned down a contract that averaged $4 million per season so maybe the contentious issue was that of length and bonuses.

Update: The spreadsheet has been updated with Christoph Schubert's salary number, which averages out to be $833,333 per year (3-year deal worth $2.65 million in total). The red figure for Chris Kelly of $1,046,000 is a hypothetical amount. I don't expect him to come in for over $2 million, and $1.046 million was the number Muckler had previously offered Saprykin.



According to the math, it puts the Senators at just over $44 million. Kelly and Schubert shouldn't cost more than $2 million - $2.5 million which means the Senators could be looking at adding one or two more players. The Senators ought to look at adding at least another two forwards to the mix, assuming that re-signing Lawrence Nycholat was meant to replace Tom Preissing, the Senators should be set on the blue-line although understandably, another bigger, more physical d-man would also help. If the Senators can get another forward signed, Schubert could drop back to D.

However, it is clear that Murray's job isn't finished yet as there are still at least two holes to fill in the forward position. Depending on how he does at camp, Hennessey could be looking at staying on with the big club permanently and it is expected that Nick Foligno should challenge for a spot next year, but there's also no guarnatee on how much playing time Brian McGrattan will see.

UPDATE: That's another one crossed off the list as TSN is reporting that the Senators have re-signed RFA Christoph Schubert to a new 3-year deal. Financial terms were not disclosed but I would probably peg it definitely at either $1 million or under. Perhaps somewhere in the $800,000 - $975,000 mark.


^{Parts cross-posted to Scarlett Ice}

Say that again...Coyotes sign...David Aebischer?!

Usually I will think of a logical solution for every team's UFA signing, but sorry folks, certainly not this time around!

The Coyotes today picked up former Canadiens goaltender David Aebischer off the free-agent front, signing the "crappy" Swiss goalie to a 1-year contract worth a thrifty $600,000

You read the vulgarity right, and Habs fans know that all too well.

I don't understand why a goalie like David Aebsicher would be of logical interest to any general manager in the game at this point in his career.

Surely the 'Yotes could've done better than a 3.57 GAA and a .885 SPCT after the all-star break.
This is the same goaltender who was expected to be a decent 1B goalie and step up when needed.

Well, he was needed, in late February, Montreal starter Cristobal Huet suffered a pulled hamstring and would be out an entire two months, thus making Aebischer the undisputed no.1 goalie during his absence.
So how did this all turn out for our good friend?

Well, he didn't step up like the team needed him to do...so you guessed it, he sucked.
He sucked so bad, that my blood pressure would rise every single time a crappy goal would go in.

At one point, the scouting report opposing teams had on Aebischer was simple...shoot anywhere and you will score.
The team ultimately missed the playoffs and one could argue Aebischer's horrible play in the second half was the main reason.
Even in his backup role down in Hamilton, Bulldogs' goaltender Yann Danis could've performed a hell of a lot better than the Swiss stopper.

I just don't get what was the problem with bringing up Cornell University star David LeNeveu from down in San Antonio?

Exactly, nothing, useless signing, wasted money.

And David isn't too bright either, accepting a backup/1B role on a shaky NHL team with his reputation as a stopper at an all time low while he could've easily signed on with a European team and earned a better living as a no.1 goalie.

This is Aebischer's last good chance to prove he has something left, as he'll likely battle for the starter's role with Swede Mikael Tellqvist.
In 2006, Canadiens GM Bob Gainey pulled off a shocker, dumping the struggling and the troubled Jose Theodore to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for David Aebischer.

Despite his poor numbers with Montreal, Gainey swung a deal that is still being hailed as a steal in the Canadiens' favour, as Habs fans happily watch the miserable Jose Theodore ride the pine at an expensive $6.5 million down in Colorado.

And to this day, I am grateful for this deal, so long Abby, you will not be missed!

--BBR

Souray Signs with Oilers!

BBeR 5:07 PM update: [Sorry for butting in by the way, just wanted to add one thing]
Souray's deal will pay him a total of $27 million over the course of 5 seasons, according to nos amis over at RDS.

According to TSN.ca:

Sheldon Souray is on his way to Edmonton as the Oilers and the free agent blueliner agreed on a contract.

The Elk Point, Alberta native appeared in 81 games with the Montreal Canadiens in 2006-07 and had a career year with 26 goals and 64 points. Nineteen of his 26 goals came on the power play, which set an NHL record for defencemen.

The six-foot-four, 220-pound blueliner was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the 1994 entry draft. He has played in 506 regular-season games with New Jersey and Montreal, recording 66 goals and 120 assists while posting 812 penalty minutes.

The two-time All-Star played three seasons with the Devils before being traded to the Canadiens in 2000 in a deal for Vladimir Malakhov.

(Details to follow)

Looks like Kevin Lowe finally succeeded in landing a big-name free agent. It will be interesting to see how much Souray got.

Crosby signs 5-year contract extension

UPDATED 10:49 AM:
This is now official, as reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

--

The Penguins have signed center Sidney Crosby to a five-year contract extension. The deal is worth $43 million, an annual salary-cap hit of $8.7 million.

It will take effect in the 2008-09 season.

"Sidney has proven himself to be a dynamic player and team leader at a very young age, and it is exciting news for our franchise and our fans to have him under contract for the next six seasons, through 2013," said Fred Shero, the Penguins executive vice president and general manager.

"When you've got a guy who leads the league in scoring and wins the MVP award at the age of 19, you know have someone very special. But Sid also is a tremendous asset for this organization as a leader in the dressing room, and as the face of our franchise in the community. And the fact that he wants to be here long-term is a great statement about the city of Pittsburgh and our organization," Shero said.

---

According to the ever-famous anonymous hockey blogger, Eklund, over at HockeyBuzz.com, the Pittsburgh Penguins have agreed to a 5-year contract extension with young phenomenon Sidney Crosby estimated to be worth in the neighbourhood of $45 million, or, $9 million per season.

"Sid The Kid" became the youngest player ever to win a scoring title last year by scoring 36 goals and adding 84 assists to capture the Art Ross, the Hart, the Pearson and on top of it all, being part of the Eastern Conference's First All-Star team.

CROSBY FIVE YEAR EXTENSION AGREED TO
I just spoke to Brian Metzer who will be posting shortly, but he is hearing that the the deal is somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 years, 45 million.

Brian will be posting a blog shortly in "Blogging the NHL."

A source confirmed to me that the Penguins have agreed to a five year extension in the neighborhood of 9 per season, and since Sid is still under contract for the upcoming season that means 6 more years of Sid in steeltown.

Great work as always by Brian.

There's absolutely no way Crosby would have made anything less than that ghastly big amount the Penguins just handed him, if anything, he made less than what some teams would be willing to give him should he have hit the open market someday.
I know this IS Crosby we're talking about, the next "Great One" crap and all, but seriously, how much longer is this "new NHL" going to go on if top-talent players keep commanding this kind of amount?

And what about next year? Dany Heatley and Patrick Marleau will both likely break the bank should they hit unrestricted free-agency, and where does that leave the rest of those second-tier quality players?

It leaves them salivating with the idea of applying a hefty price tag to any team that wants to pick him up, with the top talent gone, basically raising the market price to a whole new level the NHL SHOULD NOT be going into.

Let's imagine this is a decent forward with many available options and teams seeking him speaking:

"Hey, Heatley just signed a 7-year/$60 million deal! That makes other teams who lost out on him come to me!
Hehe, with that kind of attention shift, I can really ask for more money now that they'd be willing to bring someone in like me since they totally failed to get Heatley!
KACHING!
I'll be seeing green for the rest of my life, and who cares where I end up now as long as they give me the $$$$$$"

I wonder why we had this lockout in the first place and why fans like you and I spent an entire year lamenting the loss of hockey only to be treacherously close to falling back into that hole we all thought the NHL climbed out of two years ago.

And I shiver to think that so many players have "Decent forward"'s mentality as mentioned in my make-believe quote above.

$$$$$$

--BBR

NEW Flyers jersey information leak?

Reader John D. sends in the following (who will as well become a contributor for the Flyers on this blog, you interested? Shoot me an email over at bbrblog@gmail.com, now back to the topic!)

Thanks John for sending this in, really appreciated.

But folks, take it for what it's worth, John didn't get this from the team directly, so it's hardly a done deal, just a rumour.

Thought I'd let the hockey world know some inside information about the
Flyers new jerseys that will be out next year. I was at the Flyers main
practice facility today (in Vorhees, NJ) and will be for the rest of the
week. On my way out, I was talking to the staff, and we were discussing
the new jerseys coming out in the fall.

Apparently, there will be a complete overhaul of the Flyers jerseys and
it will be released on September 14th. No one, even the staff, even
knows what it will exactly look like except for this clue (thanks to the
skate shop staff): "You know what the Buffalo Sabres wore last
year...Yeah, it's like that."

Next year, the Flyers will be sporting 2 new jerseys - a black and a
white model. There will be NO THIRD JERSEY next year. When there is
one though, it will be an orange one. It is most likely going to be
released after this upcoming season or the season after that.

I hope I helped! I know it's not much information, but thats all there
is right now. I'll give regular updates when I get them.

John will also be given updates once he joins in officially on this blog!

-The Detroit Red Wings signed former Blues captain Dallas Drake to a 1-year contract worth just above league minimum at $550 K.
Drake is still effective, even at his current status, and for that price, he may just turn out to be a bargain, much like Yannic Perreault was last season with the 'Yotes.

-Speaking of em 'Yotes, Phoenix has signed former Flyers forward, Mike York to a 1-year deal.
York will net $1 millon over the course of next season before being eligible to hit the UFA market once again.
York's career has slown down big time after a few succesful seasons with the Islanders, he was dealt mid-season to the Flyers, along with defenceman Alexei Zhitnik (later passed on to Atlanta) for centre Randy Robitaille and poitman Freddy Meyer,

How slow, you ask?

I think a downfall from 53 points with the Isles in 2005-2006 to just 21 points in two-half campaigns with New York and Philadelphia is more than enough cause for concern.

-Among other news, the Stars picked up tough-guy Todd Fedoruk today, signing the enforcer to a 1-year/$850 K contract likely to drop the gloves on more than a few occasions next year.
The Canucks agreed to terms with defenceman Aaron Miller on a 1-year contract, the terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

--BBR

GM's are busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy...

Yep, GM's are busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy, busy at this time of year.

Not only do they have to work with their scouting department to pick a single player out of a thousand and pray to God he becomes a star and hope that they didn't just choose the next Patrick Stefan, but those moody guys in tight suits also have to deal with their players, trades and contracts.

Here's my shopping list of the trades and signings GM's have announced over the past 2 days, and they are in chronological order, with the most recent one being at the top of the list and in red.

SATURDAY, JUNE 23rd

Ryan Shannon moves from Anaheim to Vancouver.
Jason King moves from Vancouver to Anaheim.
Minor-league winger Jesse Schultz moves from Vancouver to Atlanta.
Minor-league defenceman Jimmy Sharrow moves from Atlanta to Vancouver.
Minor-league centre Stephen Dixon moves from Pittsburgh to Anaheim.
Minor-league centre Tim Brent moves from Anaheim to Pittsburgh.
Kent Huskins is staying in Anaheim for 2 more seasons ($1.25 million)
Sean O'Donnell is staying in Anaheim for 2 more seasons ($1.25 million)
Alyn McCauley is packing him bags and will move out of Los Angeles. (buy-out)
Chris Thorburn moves from Pittsburgh to Atlanta.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

FRIDAY, June 22nd
Tomas Vokoun moves from Nashville to Florida.
Dean McCammond is staying in Ottawa for a at least 3 more seasons (est. $1.5-$2.5 million)
Tyler Arnason is staying in Colorado for two more seasons (est. $1.5-$2 million)
Gary Roberts is staying in Pittsburgh for one more season ($2.5 million)
Mark Recchi is staying in Pittsburgh for one more season ($2 million)
Vesa Toskala moves from San Jose to Toronto.
Mark Bell moves from San Jose to Toronto.
Andrei Zyuzin moves from Calgary to Chicago.
Adrian Aucoin moves from Chicago to Calgary.

Check back throught the day, as the list will be updated.

--BBR

Walker, Rivet and Horton off the market, Emery to have surgery...

The Florida Panthers have re-signed restricted free-agent forward Nathan Horton.

The deal will pay out a total of $24 million to the 22-year old over 6 seasons.

The signing, per TSN, officially ends all speculation that Horton will be dealt at tomorrow's NHL Entry Draft in Columbus.

Horton had a spectacular season at such a young age, ammasing 31 goals and putting up 31 assists while appearing in all 82 games.

A star on the rise, Horton's season was awesome on the scoresheet, but some off-ice rumours a few months before the deadline, which consisted of Horton's unhappiness in the Sunshine State and his desire to be dealt to a contender, prompted speculation he would be dealt at the trade deadline (didn't happen) or at the draft.

-Craig Rivet really like the weather in Western California, and he's going to be there for another 4 seasons.

The Sharks officially signed their hard-hitting defenceman to a 4-year $14 million contract, a potential UFA, Rivet fit in well with the Sharks and broke out in the playoffs as the team's leading defenceman.

Rivet was traded to San Jose on the eve of the trade deadline, in exchange for Josh Gorges and the Shark's 1st round draft choice (23rd overall)

-The Hurricanes also re-signed forward Scott Walker to a 3-year $7.5 million contract, yesterday.

That comes out to about $2.5 million per season.

The 33-year old was eligible for UFA status on July 1st; he had a decent season in Carolina, but nothing compared to his old Nashville days, scoring 21 goals and adding 31 helpers in 81 games.

"Keeping Scott in Carolina was one of our top priorities this off-season," Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford said in a statement. "He brings skill and grit to our forward lines and he has become one of our team's leaders on and off the ice."

"It was one of the best experiences that I had in renegotiating. I felt really wanted," Walker said. "I like my role, but I also like the way the team is set up for the future, and I think we have a chance to win."

-And to top this transaction segment off, goaltender Ray Emery will undergo surgery for his wrist, which he hurt in November and re-aggravated in the playoffs.

He is not expected to miss the beginning of the regular-season, TSN says he will be out 2-3 months.

Emery, a restricted free-agent, made 925K last year and will likely seek a substantial raise from new Sens GM Bryan Murray, Emery's agent was quoted on TSN's Off the Record with Michael Landsberg that his client might receive an offer sheet soon, and that many teams would be interested in doing so, especially 2-3 teams that he obviously didn't name.

--BBR

As Komisarek and Higgins sign off, Aucoin may join act...

According to various sources, the Montreal Canadiens have officially re-signed restricted free-agent defenceman Mike Komisarek and forward Christopher Higgins to 2-year contracts.

Christopher Higgins and Mike Komisarek are two of the young players we consider to be building blocks for the long term success of our team.

Christopher is a complete player with great offensive skills who improved constantly since making his NHL debut. Mike displayed outstanding defensive poise over the past seasons and his physical presence is an undeniable asset to our group of defensemen.

-Bob Gainey

And these are not measly contracts, ladies and gents, according to our compatriot Renaud Lavoie over at RDS, Komisarek will make $1,5 million next season, and $1,9 million in 2008-2009.

A considerable rase from the 945K he made last season, the $1,7 million (on average) Komisarek will receive over the next two season are well-earned.

The Canadiens' 1st round pick of 2001 had a great 2006-2007 season, was one of two Canadiens to play in all 82 games and in the process, potted a career-high 4 goals, added another high with 15 assists and was a +7.

All that was a considerable improvement, over the 2 measly goals and 4 lonely assists he put up in 2005-2006.

Komisarek was the most consistent defenceman that took the ice for the Canadiens behind Andrei Markov; he was a menacing presence, and he would rough up any player once he got a chance to do so.

Always in the middle of scums and "get-togethers" around his goalie's net, the 25-year old would never be afraid to defend his goalie when the time came.

Reputed for his defensive play and his constantly improving offensive side, Komisarek is also of the funnier figures around the Canadiens' dressing room, and one of the first to talk to the media when given the chance.

Good signing Bob, so there you have it, this officially changes NOTHING when it comes to salary for the Canadiens, they actually saved money here.

The 99.999% sure departure of goaltender David Aebischer will free up $1,9 million in the Habs' cap next year, Komisarek will absorb $1,7 million of that, so if anything here, the Habs did not jeopardize a chance to get top free-agents like Daniel Briere, Chris Drury, Scott Gomez or more realistically, Alexei Yashin, they actually will save a little under 200K.

The Canadiens also re-signed forward Chris Higgins to a 2-year contract, terms have not yet been disclosed, but one can assume that Higgins will make around the same that fellow New Yorker, Mike Komisarek, made.

Higgins got off to a point-per-game start thru 18 games, to lead the Canadiens, until he blew his ankle out and remained out of the lineup for about 2 months.
When he returned, he looked terrible on the ice, and seemed to have lost that spunk he showed in the first 20 or so games.
Nevertheless, Higgins matched his 2005-2006 numbers, and scored 22 goals, added 16 assists in only 61 games.

Both are part of the ever-growing and ever-developping core of Canadiens youngsters, that will surely carry this team in the seasons to come.

On another note, Pierre McGuire revived a seemingly old rumour and one that is getting very tiring and frustrating in Habs' fans minds.
He mentioned, yesterday, on Montreal's Team 990 Sports Radio Station that we should expect a deal to happen between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Canadiens in the following week, most likely on draft day (I'm assuming).

Before you start drooling at the thought of Brent Seabrook or Cam Barker, it's none of those guys, and before you want to run to the bathroom and vomit, it's *sigh* Adrian Aucoin.
Before I run in and puke, I would have gladly welcomed Aucoin a few seasons ago, when he actually knew how to play defence and had a more than minimal offensive side.
Now? He's a washed-up 34-year old with limited talent and a hefty salary hovering around Sergei Samsonov's total, $4 million.

Now, WHY BOB? Why would you want this guy? I mean really, maybe Pierre is mistaken here, maybe Bob is going after some other guy, someone we would never expect...remember Alex Kovalev...who woulda thought of that?

Want to read more about this?

Current Habs History and Opinion The Dotted Line

--BBR

Leafs sign Sundin

TSN reports that Sundin has signed a one year $5.5 million deal with a no-trade clause. An announcement is expected later on today.
I just want to say I love what TSN lists as his flaws:
" While strong on his skates, he's not overly physical considering his size. Is starting to show signs of decay, and becoming more prone to injury with time."

Just thought it was funny.

I am glad that they reached a deal though. I like Sundin even though he is a Leaf, he is a great player and is their "heart and soul" and all the Leaf fans seem to adore him...so good for them.

According to Eklund, Leafs sign Antropov...

I'd like to believe this, but as you know, I'm not too high on Eklund...

Saw this floating around on a message board and thought I would share, believe it or trash it.

Leafs Re-sign Antropov:
2 year deal(e4)According to a great source this is now done...

Oh, stop the presses, this is an E4 people!

Wait till TSN or some credible source comes out with this...

--BBR

Leafs Make a Bad Call in Signing Sundin

TSN is reporting that the Leafs are close to signing Mats Sundin to a two-year, $11 million US contract. All I can say as a Buffalo fan is hallelujah! This really isn't about Mats Sundin, he is a heck of a player. This is more about the continuing penchant for the Maple Leafs, as an organization, to bury its head in the sand and pretend that they are close to being a championship team and that Lord Stanley will come knocking with his cup anytime soon.

Sure, you need top flight players like Sundin to get a cup, but you have to surround those players with workable high quality pieces in order to make your cup dream a reality. The Leafs have it somewhat right. They have started a form of a youth movement and have some great young pieces. Guys like Kyle Wellwood, Carlo Colaiacovo, Mats Stajan and Alexander Steen. They have a horse in Thomas Kaberle. Unfortunately they also have a slew of overpriced and injured or under-performing players like Nik Antropov, Hal Gill, Bryan McCabe and Jeff O'Neill, just to name a few. Reality wise, they are like most teams in the league; they don't want to commit to a youth movement because the want to WIN IT NOW. They don't want to commit to a veteran squad because it has failed so many times before. In the meantime they sputter along with mediocre goaltending, a faltering defense and mediocre offense and seemingly are content to eke into 8th place with 41 sellouts under their belts.

The Leafs management needs to be better than this. Like them or not Leafs fans are passionate, knowledgable and ultimately, loyal. Sometimes it takes hitting bottom to rise out of the ashes. As frustrating as it may be, I have to believe the Leafs fans know that and would accept it. In my most humble opinion the Leafs should have sent Mats packing and sent the majority of the veteran underachievers out the door afterward. While the outlook on this coming season and maybe the next would have been ugly the consolation prize could very well have been named John Tavares. Tavares is the type of player that could lead a young, up-and-coming team like Toronto would be out of the wilderness. The fan base might have been unhappy for two years, but the pot at the end of the rainbow would have made it worth it.

But... the Leafs took the road they have almost always chosen. Bringing Mats back guaranteed they are in the mix for a playoff spot, but not a championship. Until this mentality changes the Leafs are doomed to continue their Lord Stanley drought.

Markov: c'est fait! The $23 million man...

Markov: C'est fait! That was RDS.ca's title of the article they have on Andrei Markov.
The $23 million man, Markov now top-paid player in team's history: The Gazette's intruiging yet FANTASTIC TITLE.

Wait, I have to be unprofessional for a second:
YEEEESSSSS!!!!!!!
YEEEESSSSS!!!!!!!
YEEEESSSSS!!!!!!!
YEEEESSSSS!!!!!!!

Phew, glad I got that out!

Just a single day after my first part to my "Which Hab...only one Hab...$$$$$ Hab" series, featuring ANDREI MARKOV and the MONTREAL CANADIENS, the Canadiens did well and signed the 28-year old Russian to a 5-year $23 million contract.

Markov is now the team's top-paid player in team history, surpassing Saku Koivu's $4,75 million annual mark, and Alex Kovalev's $4,5 million mark.

Markov, get this, will make more than 3 times more money than he made last season with the Canadiens.

He will receive an average of $5.75 million per season, Brian McCabe type numbers, a hefty raise from his 2007 $1.5 million salary.

The priority now remains Sheldon Souray according to GM Bob Gainey, with the cap going up and salary being cleared, thinks that the Habs have enough room to retain Souray as well:
"The question is whether he thinks we have enough", said Gainey.

Gainey also indicated to the press yesterday that the Habs will begin talks with Souray shortly and hope to get a deal done before July 1st.

Look for today's SOURAY vs GAINEY battle, and Souray will be a Hab for 5 more seasons tomorrow as well.

Habs Inside/Out
Current Habs History and Opinion

--BBR

7 Years...

7 Years!

7 Years is a long time.

I was 15 years old when I had my second International Tournament (Soccer) in Denmark.
We went by bus (plane was too expensive), it was a 15 hour drive from Holland, where I live, to Denmark.

So what do you do?

You watch movies!
The bus driver decided to show “7 years in Tibet”.
For the people who don’t know the movie: “Brad Pitt goes to Tibet for 7 Years!”.

I’ll be honest with you, I don’t remember much about the movie, but I do remember one thing; it was a loooooong movie.
Sitting in the bus I had the feeling that I just saw a movie that lasted 7 years. T

The point I am trying to make - Pavel Datsyuk just signed a 7-year deal worth $46.9-million, that pretty much guarantees he will finish his NHL career with the Red Wings.

According to Datsyuk, he signed with the Wings rather than explore unrestricted free agency because, "it's a good hockey town, good tradition (and a) good organization. They help me a lot. I'm very appreciative to play in Detroit."
It’s the biggest an longest contract the Detroit Red Wings organization ever gave to a player in their history.
I don’t think I have to explain that Detroit had some great, great players over the past 15 years.
Still, they have never given such huge contract to a player (not even the “Captain”).

So I asked myself the question: Why him?

Pavel Datyuk (Павел Дацюк, Pavel Dacjuk)!
Born on July 20th, 1978 in Sverdlovsk, USSR (now Yekaterinburg, Russia). Datsyuk grew up in Yekaterinburg and was never considered an elite player because of his size.
He was 5 ft 8 in (173 m), 145 lb (66 kg) at the time.
He stayed with local teams throughout his youth, and was passed over in the 1996 and 1997 NHL Entry Drafts. He was finally picked in 1998 NHL Entry Draft, in the sixth round as 171st overall, by the Detroit Red Wings.
He was the Wings' 8th choice in that draft and while they liked his skills, they were not certain he would ever grow enough and become strong enough to play in the NHL.
As it turns out, he did grow and gain the necessary strength and the Wings decided to bring him to North America.

He arrived in Detroit for the 2001-2002 NHL season.

Datsyuk can amaze people with his 1on1 moves and his ability to make goalies look silly.
He now has back to back 87 points seasons but hasn’t produced in the playoffs. A lot of people were not “high” on Pavel because of his playoff history.

A case can be made here:

Datsyuk only has 3 goals in 42 playoff games, that’s not what you are looking for if you are Detroit.
You don’t have to be an expert to notice that, that isn’t much.
The Red Wings are taking a big gamble with this seven year deal.
However, the Red Wings organization didn’t see it like that, ‘specially Steve Yzerman.

Yzerman (Dutch for Iron Man - ironic isn’t it) was the biggest reason that Detroit signed Datsyuk to a seven year deal. Ilitch said Yzerman repeatedly said “we’ve got to sign him, we’ve got to sign him.”
“Steve has taken a special interest in Pavel,” Ilitch said, “and that made me feel good.” Yzerman, who played with Datsyuk for four seasons, explained why he felt it was important to secure Datsyuk.

He said: “if he leaves this summer, we’re going to try and replace him, we’re going to have to go out on the market and we’re probably going to spend more on a player that we don’t like as much as Pave.

With these UFA agents coming at younger age, you really have to be certain and really know your player and if you believe in him, tie him up! We believe in Pavel.” It’s great to hear that Steve believes in Pavel but before I see him do something in the postseason, I don’t!

Things have changed in Hockeytown. Yzerman and Shanahan aren’t here anymore. Now the kids have to take over. Well, they’re not kids anymore, are they! Datsyuk 28, Henrik Zetterberg 26 and Nicklas Kronwall 26 are the future of the organization. Kronwall signed a five year deal (worth 15 million) and Zetterberg is UFA after 2 seasons and will ask for the same kind of money as Datsyuk. This season Datsyuk stepped up after Zetterberg went down with a back injury late in the season, leading the Red Wings offensively AND defensively. He showed everyone after a slow start of the season (Zetterberg also had a slow start) that he can be a #1 center for the Red Wings.
He needs to be a #1 center for the kind of money he is going to get!
Red Wings fans are spoiled fans. We are used to watching Sergei Federov flying all over the ice. Sergei is the benchmark for Pavel and maybe that’s not fair.

The good news is that Detroit has a #1 center for the next seven years. Did I say that he had signed for seven years? Yeah, I believe I did! He showed that he can be the ‘go to’ guy during the regular season. Now he has to prove it during the playoffs (of course he needs some help other than Zetterberg!).

Do I believe in the little guy?
Yes I do!
And hopefully Wings fans are going believe too. Very soon!


Alex Meulenbroeks

Canadiens lock up Price...

The Montreal Canadiens have signed former world junior star Carey Price to a three-year contract. As per club policy, financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Price will join the Canadiens AHL farm team in Hamilton today.
The Bulldogs have four games left in the regular season.
-TSN

No big surprise here, thankfully, he didn't pull a Jack Johnson.

And, oh, if you're wondrin' how much he'll be putting in his wallet, it's going to be around $650-750 thousand.

The plan is for Price to get some playing time down in Hamilton, likely so he can know what it's like since he'll almost certainly be playing there next year, and, to keep Jaroslav Halak on the Canadiens' roster.

Yann Danis has played well enough to salvage the no. 1 job with Halak up in Montreal.

Phillipe Sauve and Cedric Desjardins each backed up Yann Danis, but none received any significant playing time.

Sauve, a former Avalanche turned Flame traded to Phoenix, was acquired from the Boston Bruins in a "loan" deal, which sent enforcer Aaron Downey to the Bruins' minor league affiliate.

Carey Price's spectacular international play has Habs fans drooling, however, all you guys can forget about him being here next season or the season after (yup, you too Jacques Demers), he is expected to be the Canadiens starting goaltender come the 2009 Centennial Anniversary season of the Montreal Canadiens which will include plenty of interesting suprises: the all-star game, the draft, the world juniors, a Habs movie and likely Carey Price and our Russian friends Alexei Emelin and Pavel Valentenko.

The Habs are set for a bright future.

-There's also speculation that Bob Gainey will step down as GM of my dear Canadiens, there is no source to prove this, but it's going around on the airwaves...

Free-agent market trimmed yet again...

Man, at this rate, there'll be nothing left for teams to feast on and me to write about!

Following suit to Pavel Datysuk, two other big-name free-agents have been officially taken off the list.

The list no longer includes the Avs Captain Joe Sakic and the talented bleu-liner from Ottawa who goes by the name of Anton Volchenkov.

TSN reports that Volchenkov has signed a three-year deal, it was announced by Sens GM John Muckler in the last hour.

"Anton has been one of our top defencemen all season," GM John Muckler said in a statement. "We're pleased to have secured him for the next three years, two of which were restricted and the third season when Anton would have been an unrestricted free agent."

Ouch, imagine him being restricted for the next two seasons, with the arbitrators giving away money like there's no tomorrow, he could have possibly made more than he's going to make over the next three years.

No wonder Muckler's happy, although contract details have yet to be released, instead of paying along the lines of $2-2.5 million (that's what I expect he got), he'd probably have to pay about a million and maybe more.

If that were to happen, then he'd be in a sticky situation, just like the Sabres were last off-season when an arbitrator award JP Dumont $2.5 million.

The Sabres just couldn't afford it and they let him go to Nashville.

Except for Muckler, it could have been a much more serious loss.

The loss could've been one of his two top-notch defencemen, namely Chris Phillips (since they'd have less money to keep him) or the man in question Anton Volchenkov (see the Dumont situation.)

Anyhow, great signing by Muckler and it remains to be seen how much he's going to be putting in his bank account in the next three years.

The announcement comes just 2 days before the Senators playoff quest begins at the Scotia Bank Place against number 87 and the Penguins.

Volchenkov, 25, is having a career year for the Senators, who drafted him 21st overall back in 2000.

He only had one goal, but has picked up a high 18 assists and an equally career marker with 19 points.

A more impressive stat, is his +37 mark, which ranks 5th in the NHL.

His play has picked up in the second half, after a slow start which led to many trade rumours involving the young Russian.

-Joe Sakic has re-signed a one-year deal with the Colorado Avalanche, per the Denver Post.

The classy Canadian forward, has shown that he still has scoring power left in the tank.

Sakic, 37, is having a phenomenal year with 36 goals and 64 assists, his highest total since he amassed 118 back in 2000-2001.

He made $5.75 million last year and there's no indication he'd make any less this upcoming season.

Datsyuk signs 7-year pact with Detroit...

Pavel Datsyuk will be a Red Wing for a long time.
How long you ask?

Oh, just seven years.

According to TSN, At 1:00 PM today, Red Wings GM Ken Holland announced the deal, which will pay the young Russian star $6-7 million anually, for a total of $46.9 million in that span.

He's making $3.9 million this season and it's paying off; the 28-year old forward has 27 goals and 60 assists to lead the Wings this season and is poised for greatness in the years to come.

He would have been a highly-sought player on the free-agent market, but instead, he decided to remain in Hockeytown for the next 7 seasons.

"Pavel really wanted to commit here for his career,"general manager Ken Holland said of the longest contract extension in team history."In the end we felt very comfortable with a long-term commitment to Pavel."

"Everyone in the organization wanted him to stay with us," said team owner Mike Ilitch.

I hope for the sake of Ken Holland, that he'll live up to this money.
If anything, he's certainly going to come close to living up to that.

Nevertheless, the 2006 Lady Byng Memorial recipient is happy.

"This contract was extremely important to me," Datsyuk said. "Especially since I have been a Red Wing since 2001."