Jokinen deal emphasizes defense and balanced scoring for Panthers—by Tom Schettino
For the longest time the Florida Panthers have searched for a player who could play alongside Olli Jokinen and his $5 million plus cap hit. But on draft day the team took a different tack as they sent their captain to the Phoenix Coyotes for defensemen Nick Boynton and Keith Ballard. The deal will allow the team to give their younger players a bigger role, gives the team the ability to sign another player and solidifies an already strong defense. Even though the team missed the playoffs last year by nine points, there were some encouraging signs including the fact the team allowed the fewest goals of any non-playoff team in the Eastern Conference. While they weren’t the strongest offensive club in the league by any means, the team scored more goals than some playoff teams did. If the defense gets better and the team can score the same amount of goals—or a little more—the playoffs are not out of the question.
First and foremost for the team is the Jay Bouwmeester contract. Bouwmeester played over 27 minutes of each game and is a tendered free-agent, which means the Panthers can match any offer he might receive from another club. Defenders Jassen Cullimore, Magnus Johanson, Brandon Mezei and Steve Montador are all UFAs and the team might let all of them walk due to their depth on the blueline. Up front the team has qualified the free agents they wanted to keep, but they need to finish the Rostislav Olesz deal in order to retain some of their offense.
Obviously any free agency talk in Florida is going to center on bringing in a player who can punch up the offense. The team is pretty young up front, so a leader-like player or a number-one guy would not be out of the question. The team is set in goal and on the blueline, so any additions made to the team would be players the team feels can excel or provide some leadership to this young team.
In addition to their already young forwards such as Olesz, Nathan Horton, Stephen Weiss, Gregory Campbell and Derek Booth the team could promote even more young players. Highly-touted Shawn Matthias did well in limited action and Michael Frolik, Michal Repik and Anthony Stewart each have a chance to become solid NHLers. The club also has Keaton Ellerby and Noah Welch as defenseman candidates. Welch made the team last season, but was hurt in October and missed the rest of the season. The team has their own affiliation with Rochester this year after splitting the roster with Buffalo most recently which will give the team a chance to put their own stamp on their own prospects.
Kings look to find mentors in Free Agency—by Andy Villaneuva
With the 2008 NHL free agency just days away, the Los Angeles Kings are poised to make a few moves during free agency. Unlike other teams who are building for this season the Kings are looking to build from the last few drafts, along with getting a couple of free agents that can gel with a young core of players that are the future. First things first, Los Angeles is still pursuing a head coach as of June 27, 2008. Speculation has General Manager Dean Lombardi is leaning toward Associate Coach Mike Johnston who recently served in the same position under former Kings coach Marc Crawford in Vancouver. One coach the Kings should attempt to court is ex-Tampa Bay Lightning head coach John Tortorella who led the Lightning to a Stanley Cup Championship in 2004. His ability to teach the younger players to mature is one of the keys to what Lombardi wants in a coach. Tortorella was also able to mix a good group of veteran players in with up and coming stars to win the Cup. Don’t look for Los Angeles to sign a big name free agent during the free agency period. Lombardi has made it clear that his first set of business is to lock in the younger projected superstars to long term contracts. So come July 1 Lombardi’s goal is to make sure that forward Dustin Brown (33 goals and 27 assists for 70 points), Alexander Frolov (23 goals and 44 assists for 77 points), Patrick O’ Sullivan (22 goals and 31 assists for 53 points) and leading point scorer Anze Kopitar (32 goals and 45 assists and 77 points) are not able to wriggle away. The Kings will also attempt to re-sign defenders Jack Johnson, Peter Harrold and Joe Piskula. The Kings also opened up about $3 million in cap space when they dealt Mike Cammalleri to the Calgary Flames for the 12th pick in this year’s draft (more on the draft later). Los Angeles will then look to get their main restricted agent signed to a deal. Erik Ersberg, who played well at the end of the season when being called from the AHL Manchester Monarchs, is the one player the Kings must lock up. If they do so it will allow the Kings to have veteran net minder Jason LaBarbera and Ersberg fight for the starting job. It will also allow minor league goalies Jonathon Quick, Janathan Bernier and Jeff Zatkoff some time to mature and get playing time with the AHL’s Monarchs and ECHL’s Reading Royals or Ontario Reign. Los Angeles will then have to sign defenseman Rob Blake for less than the $6 million he earned last year to give some leadership to a very young blue line corps. The Kings are pretty well set at forward with some talent awaiting promotion at the minor league level. Forwards like Ted Purcell and Brian Boyle were all called up during the season to fill in for injured veterans and did will. Los Angeles will probably look to shop forward Michal Handzus $4 million contract, while they hope that veterans Derek Armstrong and Kyle Calder will find their scoring touch that vanished last season. Prior to the draft, the Kings looked very suspect on the blue line. That has since changed, when Los Angeles took as their second pick Drew Doughty, who many have as a can’t-miss star. Lombardi then rolled the dice and traded away Cammalleri for the right to pick 12th. What materialized for “Trader Dean” was a chance to send the 12th pick to Buffalo for the 13th pick (D Colten Teubert) and a third round pick (D Vaitas Voinov). With those three picks alone, the Kings had one of their best drafts in recent memory. With Doughty the Kings were able to get a good stick-handling defenseman that is a playmaker and in the future will man the power play. Teubert will give Los Angeles a physical stay at home defenseman that they desperately need. The Kings will have a project with Voinov, whose strength is playing the puck in his zone and being able to move the puck up ice. Los Angeles also traded away their second round pick to Colorado for defenseman Brad Richardson. Los Angeles was able to raise eyebrows on the second day of the draft when Kitchener center Justin Azevedo was available in the sixth round. Azevedo lead the Rangers to the Memorial Cup Championship and earned the CHL Player of the Year award with 43 goals and 124 points. With Los Angeles shoring up a vulnerable defensive line with three straight draft picks and trading for a veteran defenseman it allows the Kings to be selective during the free agency period. What it also does is show the fans in L.A. that they are building for the future.
Potential Free Agency Mess in Minnesota—by Brian Reynolds
SAINT PAUL, Minn. – With the 2007-08 season behind us, as well as the NHL Entry Draft, the focus of the NHL officially turns to free agency. Many reports, including that on XM satellite Radio’s NHL Home Ice channel (204), have the free agency period mired in even more rumors than pre-draft week. Hard to believe there was a juicier rumor out there than Evgeni Malkin going to the new Russian KHL for $12.5 million a year, but we will see.
As for the Wild, they ended the season staring down the barrel of a gun if they thought they were going to put the same team on the ice in 2008-09. After being bounced in the first round of the playoffs, the decision must have come quickly to not even attempt to field the same squad, but for argument’s sake, we will look at what the team was looking at had they decided to do so.
Wild General Manager Doug Risebrough had to have had long talks with Coach Jacques Lemaire to convince him to come back after Lemaire raised concerns that much of the team was in their contract year and seemed more interested in playing for themselves than the team. His concerns were legitimate considering the Wild have 22 free agents if you count the players with the Wild’s AHL affiliate.
Forwards Brian Rolston, Pavol Demitra, and Todd Fedoruk, along with defenseman Keith Carney, Petteri Nummelin, and Sean Hill all are or were set to become unrestricted free agents on July 1. A quick glance shows some huge names headlined by Rolston and Demitra. Less of a priority, but as important, are the teams AHL UFA’s in Houston such as forwards Serge Payer, Joel Ward, Steve Kelly, along with defenseman Andre Lakos, who each need to have their futures decided as well.
The Wild don’t fare much better with restricted free agents (RFA’s). A list headlined by playmaker Pierre-Marc Bouchard also includes D Kurtis Foster, and RW Stephane Veilliux.
To sort out the mess, we can first eliminate those who the Wild have told they will not be returning. Veteran blue-liners Carney and Hill were both told they will not be with the Wild next season.
Three players can already be removed from consideration due to their signing in Europe. Nummelin, Chris Simon, and Branko Radivojevic have all signed to play overseas next season.
While several of the players in Houston who are on the list are top Wild prospects, the likelihood of them signing elsewhere is most likely minimal, especially for the RFA’s. Matt Foy is the greatest risk to leave since he has been right on the cusp of an NHL career for the past two seasons, but has never been given a real shot to prove himself. He will most likely look elsewhere for a team that will give him the best chance to play.
RFA’s Foster and Veilliux will almost certainly be back. It is unlikely that any team is going to submit an offer sheet on role players that have been molded to fit Lemaire’s system exclusively. Moving any of the three would be likened to trying to put Ford parts in a Chevy. While it is possible, it would take heavy retooling, and why put in the effort when you could simply develop your own role player types?
Foster is also rehabbing after a nasty broken femur injury ended his season and will not return until November at the earliest. Veilliux flat out is not going anywhere, as he is a Wild system developed player, and is one of Lemaire’s favorites.
UFA Todd Fedoruk participated in the Wild road tour, a publicity tour, and contributed well after being claimed off of waivers. If the two sides can agree on a reasonable number, Fedoruk will return. Voros should be back, as he is a former seventh round pick, and while he shows passion and energy, teams are not going to be willing to part with the compensatory picks for him. However it appears Minnesota does not have much interest in making that happen.
Cutting our list back significantly gives us the chance to focus on the players the Wild are focusing on. Demitra has been told by Risebrough that his return is unlikely at best. Demitra has been vocal about his dislike of Lemaire’s system, and has been seen shopping himself in Vancouver.
This is where the free agency market starts to get messy for the Wild, and where you will see the most headlines being made. The return of Demitra is a basic non-starter due to the fact that the team has made it clear that Brian Rolston is the team’s top priority. Bouchard is a thorn in Risebrough’s side, and negotiations there have thus been sketchy.
According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune negotiations are not going well with Rolston. They are together on a multi-year deal, but Rolston wants “market-value” and the Wild disagree about what that value is. Rolston is over 35, meaning if he gets the multi-year deal he wants, and is injured or retires, his entire contract counts as a cap hit for the entirety of the deal.
The report also states that the Wild have made three offers, with no counter offers, and Risebrough is growing tired of a one-sided negotiation. Rolston’s agent, Steve Bartlett, apparently has a philosophy of not countering, but if he wants his client to get the contract they want, that will need to change.
Risebrough sees no need to make a fourth offer, meaning negotiations are stalled unless one side decides to budge. The confusing part is that Rolston wants market value, but his agent is unwilling to tell the Wild what that value is. The stalemate could all be posturing, but it looks real, which doesn’t look good for a deal to be done with the Wild anytime soon–if at all.
Bouchard’s status could be described as even messier than Rolston’s. While Bouchard is an RFA, offer sheets could be a real possibility in his case. Risebrough reportedly shopped him for Olli Jokinen, but the Coyotes wanted nothing to do with another potential UFA next season. Risebrough has said he plans to make a multi-year proposal, but Bouchard may want to hold out and opt for arbitration, that way he can see what the unrestricted market would bring after next season.
Odds on both players would not be on the side of betting they get deals done with the Wild. Rolston will command one of the top contracts, after Marian Hossa, in a weak free agent market. He and Ryan Malone will both likely score around five million a year, regardless of the fact that neither fans nor media think either is worth that much.
Looking out at the rest of the free agent class, combined with needs on the Wild squad, there are hints where Risebrough may look. The Wild need a center, preferably either a top-line center, or a center who can allow Mikko Koivu to become the first line center. To shore up this weak spot, the Wild will likely look at players like Brendan Morrison or Bobby Holik.
Photo courtesy of the NHL
If they decide they want a veteran to help develop James Sheppard and Benoit Pouliot, and for the right price, you could even see Sergei Fedorov in a Wild sweater. Daymond Langkow would be a good fit, but the offer from Calgary to stick around may be too much to beat.
After drafting three defensemen, trading for Marc-Andre Bergeron, signing Reitz, as well as locking up Brent Burns and Nick Schultz to long-term deals, the blue line appears set for 2008-09, though if the right deal presents itself, the Wild could still use some depth. While the Wild will not make a splash for a player such as Wade Redden, they may move to get a player such as Kurt Sauer if the price is right.
On the forward side, the rumors are, of course, flying. Fans want Hossa, but he has made it clear he does not want to play in Lemaire’s system. However, if the Wild lose Rolston, and have given Demitra a pass, their only true scorer is Marion Gaborik. The Wild are well under the salary cap, so if the Rolston situation falls apart, they could made a big push for a big name forward. Either way, they still have cap room, and could look at players like Miroslav Satan or Andrew Brunette.
The situation is this, the Wild have repaired their broken blue line for the most part. While they lack two true top four guys, they have a solid corps. Their goalies are solid as long as they do not have a need to tap Houston for help. They need to focus on the forward positions, especially on the right side of the ice (where they have the potential to lose all four starters). The team also needs to find someone who can score goals. They have plenty of room to make moves, though they need to clean up their own house first.
Look for the Rolston situation to fall apart, and the Wild to make a move for a replacement. One possibility is Malone from Pittsburgh. At center, they could sign Brendan Morrison (Vancouver). If Fedoruk returns on the wing, they could add Andrew Brunette (Colorado) back into the fold. Bouchard might force them into arbitration and sign a one year deal, or the Wild could use him as trade bait, maybe with Pouliot or a first round pick for a true scoring forward.
The Wild are more than one piece away from a Stanley Cup championship, but Risebrough is correcting the errors after allowing so many contracts to come due at the same time. If so than the Wild will have the pieces to compete. If they take a risk and spend some money, they can vastly improve the team. If not, they will lose Rolston and Demitra and still not be able to replace either of them. If that is the situation, they will most likely miss the playoffs completely.
The author can be reached at bryan.reynolds@prohockeynews.com
