New Jersey, Ottawa, San Jose and Tampa Bay free agency previews

Will Devils be major free agent players?  By Tom Hoffman
 
VOORHEES, NJ – Last year, the New Jersey Devils had a rough off-season in terms of free agency.  While they did sign Dainius Zubrus and Vitaly Vishnevski, they didn’t come close to replacing the two key players lost from their Stanley Cup winning teams of 2000 and 2003, Scott Gomez and Brian Rafalski. 
 
This off season the biggest name the Devils could lose would be Jay Pandolfo, though it is expected that Pandolfo will return to the only NHL team he has ever known. Bryce Salvador could also be brought back but with the Devils depth on the defensive end his loss would not be a huge one.
 
Ideally the Devils would like to pick up a player who would give a boost to an offense that struggled during the regular season (206 goals, only four teams had fewer) and was practically non-existent during their opening round five game series loss to the New York Rangers. Most likely this need will be taken care of via the trade route as most of the choices out there are probably out of the Devils salary range. 
 
Look for some smaller scale signings to make for some good competition during training camp and to possibly boost the struggling offenses in both Lowell (AHL) and Trenton (ECHL).
 
Contact the author at tom.hoffman@prohockeynews.com
 
Season of change ahead for Senators—by Tom Schettino
 
The Ottawa Senators began the 2007-08 season on an amazing 15-2 run, but fell below water the rest of the way with a 28-29-8 mark. Due to the strong start the Senators salvaged a playoff berth, but were steamrolled by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round.
 
If people in Ottawa did not like their team last year, the good news this year is it will be a different club. The team has their top forwards back with the exception of Cory Stillman who is slated to become an unrestricted free agent (UFA) and the club would like to settle matters with restricted free agent (RFA) Antoine Vermette who will need a $1 million plus tender offer in order to be qualified. The biggest difference on the team will be on defense which is a good thing since no other Eastern Conference playoff team gave up more goals than the Senators did. Wade Redden and his $6.5 million salary is slated to leave town and the club cut their ties to backup netminder Ray Emery, so the club will be shooting for a new top two defender to play with Chris Phillips and a goaltender to back up starter Martin Gerber. Fans should also be encouraged as the team said they would spend up to the cap minus a safety net for injuries, recalls and possible trade opportunities during the season.
 
The team does not need a top-line player, unless management offloads Jason Spezza, Dany Heatley or Daniel Alfredsson, but any trade involving any one of them would be a blockbuster and would likely bring large salaries in return. The team would like to get some scoring depth and will round out their roster with some youngsters such as Cody Bass and Nick Foligno each of who are trying to crack the lineup. The blueline will need at least one top player and could need a few defenders if the Andrej Meszaros (RFA) contract discussions fail and playoff battler Mike Commodore moves on. With all the departures on the blueline look for rookie Brian Lee to get a strong chance to play.  
 
Ottawa went with defender Erik Karlsson with their first pick of the 2008 Entry Draft and no one believes he is NHL-ready, so there will be little to no help from the draft in the NHL this season. All in all the Senators are going to have to plan their future while trying to regain their usual dominance during the regular season.  
 
Sharks stay the course for next season—by Shellie Lima
 
Now that the 2007-08 season has come to an end the Sharks are again looking forward. After a third straight year the Sharks fell in the second round.  A new head coach, Todd McLellan from the Stanley Cup champion Red Wings has arrived and General Manager Doug Wilson thinks he’s the best fit for the future.
 
McLellan knows what is expected of him already. His history with the Red Wings as assistant coach taught him what is needed to be successful and he had a successful minor pro career in the AHL.
 
This last season wasn’t anything to be upset over. The Sharks were in the playoffs, but again fell short of the ultimate goal.  So, what’s in store for the Sharks of 2008-09 season? 
 
Returning forwards include Joe Thornton, Milian Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo, Patrick Marleau, Devin Setoguchi, Jeremy Roenick, Torrey Mitchell, Joe Pavelski and Mike Grier. Thornton is one of the best scorers and set-up men in the league.  He has played 77 games or more in each of the last five seasons.
Michalek has the size to be an impact player, but hasn’t been able to come through in his line-ups. Injuries haunted Cheechoo early in the season, but he’s expected to be back strong for the next season.
A slump has hit Marleau, the team captain, but he’s confident he can overcome it during the off season and come back to his potential. Setoguchi and Mitchell were in their rookie seasons, but played very effectively and are only expected to be better next season. Roenick signed a new contract late in June securing his place for another year with the Sharks. Pavelski would have been a restricted free agent but signed a two-year contract with the Sharks.
 
In addition the Sharks had provided qualifying offers to Ryane Clowe, Marcel Goc, Riley Armstrong, Mike Morris, Lukas Kaspar and Brad Staubitz.  As far as depth in the ranks of forwards, Logan Couture, Lukas Kaspar and Jamie McGuinn are promising players who on the AHL level now. Soon to be unrestricted free agents are Curtis Brown, Tomas Plihal, Patrick Rissmiller, and Jody Shelley.
 
Returning defensemen include Craig Rivet, Douglas Murray, Kyle McLaren, Matt Carle and Marc-Edourad Vlasic. The Sharks have a promising blue line defense, but will need to improve their depth. Most of these players are still young and not playing to their full potential. The Sharks have tendered a qualifying offer to Christian Ehrhoff on the defensive line, so he will probably be in the lineup too.
 
As far as goalies, the Sharks have a star in Evgeni Nabokov and signed Brian Boucher late in the season as a backup. Boucher had originally been scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent, but signed a contract with the Sharks for another season.  This will allow more time for prospects Thomas Greiss and Taylor Dakers to get more playing time in the minor levels.
 
shellie.lima@prohockeynews.com
 
 
Lightning look for help for Lecavalier, Stamkos—by Don Money
TAMPA, Fla.  When you finish dead last in the standings like the Tampa Bay Lightning did last season, there is no place to go but up. The question remains as to how far they can climb and who will be making the ascent with them. In the past month, the Lightning have gone through more changes than a ensemble cast member in a Broadway show. First, head coach John Tortorella was shown the door. Then, the sale of the team to OK Hockey, headed by Hollywood producer Oren Koules and real estate mogul (and former NHLer) Len Barrie, was approved by the NHL’s Board of Governors. That was followed by the drafting of budding superstar Steven Stamkos with the number one pick in the draft. Next was the long anticipated

announcement of Barry Melrose as the team’s new head coach. Finally, in one day, the team lost Director of Player Personnel Bill Barber but gained Brian Lawton as V.P. of Hockey Operations. Whew! Koules and Barrie have said that they plan to be “staggeringly aggressive” when they dip their toes into the free agent market come July 1. Melrose wants players who will bring some swagger back to the Bolts, especially at home in the St. Pete Times Forum, as well as speed and enthusiasm. The question is how aggressive can they be without running afoul of the salary cap, which was just increased to $56.7 million (editor’s note the team gave up a third or fourth round draft pick—depending on conditions—to obtain the negotiating rights to Pittsburgh’s Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts). One thing does look certain: the team is about to announce a deal with star forward Vincent Lecavalier that will extend his stay in Tampa for another nine seasons following this coming year (he would have become an unrestricted free agent next July) at a cost of $77 million dollars. For several years, as Vinny has gone, so have gone the Lightning. Guaranteeing his retirement in Tampa was a necessity for the long term health of the franchise. In 2008-2009, Lecavalier’s salary will be $6.875 million. Tampa also has welcomed back winger Vaclav Prospal, who they had dispatched in a trade last season. His rights were sent back by Philadelphia and already the Lightning have agreed to a four-year, $3.5 million per season deal with the 33-year old who tallied 57 points in 62 games with Tampa before being dealt to Philadelphia for defenseman Alexandre Picard in February. The new owners and Melrose all agree that as far as they are concerned, Tampa’s goaltending is in good hands. Mike Smith ($950,000), who came over in a trade deadline deal from Dallas, and Kari Ramo ($658,333) should make the NHL roster with Riku Helenius ($821,667) waiting in the wings in Norfolk. How confident are they? They released net minder Marc Denis for the purpose of buying out his contract, eliminating a body from the logjam and saving themselves more than a million dollars of cap room. The defensive corps is all tied up as well. Dan Boyle ($6.7 million), Filip Kuba ($3 million), Brad Lukowich ($1.57 million), Shane O’Brien ($950,000) and Paul Ranger ($933,333) are locked in as is Picard ($800,000) who earned himself a spot. Mike Lundin ($687,500) and Matt Smaby ($791,667) showed promise as well, giving Melrose a good replacement corps. Boyle, Kuba and Lukowich all turn 32 this year but Melrose feels that with some maturing of the younger guys and work by the group as a whole, it is an OK unit. The forward lines were where the majority of the problems were last season. Even with Lecavalier (92 points) and Martin St. Louis (83 points, $5.25 million salary), the Lightning had major problems scoring. Defensively, the forwards were a disaster as well as only Jeff Halpern (even) and Michel Ouellette (plus-11) had positive plus-minus stats. Halpern ($2 million) will be out of the lineup until at least January thanks to a knee injury suffered at the world championship earlier in the spring. Ouellette ($1.25 million salary) should work well in Melrose’s hustle-till-you-drop plans. Unrestricted free agent Mathieu Darche is another perpetual motion type that the new coach says he wants on his roster. Stamkos is sure to command a hefty salary, which will eat up a fair share of Tampa’s available cap room. Qualifying offers have been made to RFAs Ryan Craig (forward), Jay Rosehill (defense) and Justin Fletcher (defense). Players like UFAs Chris Gratton, Doug Janik, Kyle Wanvig and Andre Roy could become casualties based on where Melrose wants to take the team. So where do the Lightning go? The new ownership has said its priority is to get a pair of wingers who compliment Stamkos. Malone, who played in Pittsburgh, certainly could fit the bill as he possesses scoring talent, an eye for defense, a physical presence and the knowledge of working with a hockey prodigy (Sidney Crosby). Brian Rolston might work, especially since he comes from the Minnesota Wild defensive system, a scheme that Melrose is fond of and has hired former Wild forward Wes Walz to teach. Michael Ryder (Montreal) is a big winger who could protect Stamkos and put up numbers. It all depends on what is left after Stamkos makes his requests, albeit limited to the rookie maximum (about $2 million) and Melrose’s vision for the future. Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com