Avalanche eye key free agents, hope for 20 years from Sakic—by Terry Sanford
DENVER, Colo. – The Colorado Avalanche management face several tough decisions with their free agent group. With the future of four core players in doubt and at least four other important contributors becoming unrestricted free agents on July 1, Francois Giguere has his work cut out for him.
Joe Sakic, the team’s captain, has already informed the team that he will need a longer time frame to make his decision on possible retirement. He is Joe Sakic after all and Giguere and the ‘Avs will give him as much time as he wants in hopes that he will indeed come back for a 20th season, albeit at a reduced price.
Swedish fan-favorite, Peter Forsberg, with his troublesome 
ankle/foot/groin is still seeking medical information to determine if his defective body parts can be fixed in such a manner that will allow him to continue to play up to his ferocious standards. Like Sakic he too is unrestricted and has indicated that if he plays anywhere next season it will be with the ‘Avs.
Another original ‘Av, defenseman Adam Foote whose acquisition at the trade deadline sparked the ‘Avs playoff push, is said to be in negotiations with the team but the words “far apart” were used to describe the current state of the talks.
Former Vezina trophy winner, Jose Theodore, truly showed that he is still capable of carrying a team in a playoff series during the first round victory against the Minnesota Wild. He is also an unrestricted free agent and Colorado is working to get him signed as well. Despite his previous difficulties he is the best available starting goalie and the ‘Avs do need to keep him here.
Andrew Brunette has been one of the best free agent signings for the ‘Avs in recent history. He has provided a strong presence and scoring flare as well as solid leadership and admirable work ethic. Unfortunately it appears the ‘Avs are not seeking to re-sign him.
Recent reports indicate that Colorado is working hard to get puck moving defenseman John-Michael Liles signed to reasonable deal. Liles has had his ups and downs this past season but after last year’s trading deadline saw him still a member of the team, his play improved significantly.
Two more defensemen, Kurt Sauer and Jeff Finger, are also set to become unrestricted free agents and the Avalanche will probably chose one or the other of these solid stay-at-home types to give a contract to. Finger is a more likely candidate as he also brings a toughness that Sauer lacks.
“The Sheriff”, enforcer Scott Parker, was signed recently to a two-way contract. He seldom gets any playing time but it was probably hard for the Avalanche brass to ignore the 24-6-4 win loss record with Parker in the line-up since he was reacquired from San Jose last year.
It will truly be a different Avalanche team next season with the distinct possibility of losing one or both of Sakic and Forsberg. Young centers, Paul Stastny and TJ Hensick are close to being ready to take on the Butch and Sundance roles as the number one and number two centers but another year under Sakic and/or Forsberg’s tutelage would greatly benefit them both.
This year’s draft picks, while a promising group, will likely have no immediate impact on the team as none appear to be NHL ready.
Contact Terry Sanford at terry.sanford@prohockeynews.com
Foundation set, Blue Jackets need renovation at the top–by Tom Schettino
For a team with so many early first round picks over the years they should be a slam dunk to be an excellent team by now. For the most part the youngsters have not lived up to their respective billings, but now would be a good time to start. Players like Derick Brassard, Gilbert Brule, Jakub Voracek, Alexandre Picard, Rostislav Klesla and Pascal Leclair will all snapped up in the early part of the draft, but only Leclair and Klesla have come through as expected. For a team that needs scoring punch the emergence of one of the aforementioned prospects or 2008 Entry Draft selection Nikita Filatov would be a wonderous thing. The offense was so week last year only two players (Rick Nash and Nikolai Zherdev) could come up with over 60 points.
Columbus is a team in transition, they have four UFAs and eights RFAs (including former Ohio State forward R.J. Umberger who was acquired from Philadelphia during the NHL Entry Draft weekend) who saw time with the team last year. Perhaps unlike any other team in the league General Manager Scott Howson is going to be able to sift through who he believes is important and remake the roster to fit his and Head Coach Ken Hitchock’s style of play. There are a few players who are essential to the club whom they will need to return. It starts first and foremost with Leclair who has arbitration rights and needs to be paid at least $1.4 million next year. Newcomer Umberger leads the rest of the RFA pack with Dan Fritsche, Picard and Aaron Rome as strong candidates to return. The Blue Jackets have Michael Peca, David Vyborny, Ron Hainsey and Dick Tarnstrom on the UFA list, and one would suppose the club would love to have Hainey back and would probably go for Peca too. The 2008-09 season will be crucial for the team and Zherdev as the love/hate relationship will have to be analyzed completely as Zherdev can become an RFA with arbitration rights after the year.
Columbus would dearly love to find someone who can mesh with Nash, so they may be in the hunt for a premier center or a dynamic winger. Because the Blue Jackets would like to enter the playoffs for the first time don’t be surprised if they go after a young RFA and sacrifice the draft picks especially since their draft this year netted Filatov, Umberger (he was acquired for the team’s second first round pick, the 19th overall in the draft) and a good crop of defenders. The team’s cap stance is excellent and depending on what the club’s internal budget turns out to be, the team could be major players in the draft. It might be a good idea for the team to make a run at a player like Brian Campbell whose puck-carrying skills are so strong he can raise the output of the other players around him.
This offseason has the potential to turn around the franchise. There are pieces in place, but the team needs to build the talent around them. A key will be selling NHLers on the city itself because you can have all the money you want, but if you cannot get anyone to play there, the money will do you no good.
Aging Stars in Texas—by Brian McLean
DALLAS, Tx. – The Dallas Stars made tremendous strides in the post-season going six games into the Western Conference Finals against the Detroit Red Wings who eventually hoisted the Stanley Cup when all was said and done.
With the NHL Draft complete and Lord Stanley resting comfortably after its fall during celebrations in Detroit, it’s time to turn attention to Free Agency.
Dallas has an aging roster with 17 players listed as Free Agents. Four of the five listed, Stu Barnes, Loui Eriksson, Niklas Hagman, Antti Miettinen and Brad Winchester saw action during the Stars run towards the Stanley Cup. Stars back-up goalie Johan Holmqvist was present during the post-season but did not see action in any of the 18 play-off games. It must be noted that all five players are listed as Unrestricted Free Agents.
At 37-years old, age may play a factor with center Stu Barnes on a roster that needs younger legs. In each of his four full seasons as a Dallas Star, the former first round pick in 1989 has seen action in 77 or more games each season. For 2008, Barnes skated in 79 regular season games earning 12 goals and 11 assists for 23 points and nine games during the play-offs posting two goals and an assist for 3 pts.
Niklas Hagman played the entire 82 game regular season earning 27-14-41 but only 2-1-3 in 18 games during the post-season run. He was productive during the regular season but Hagman came up short during the play-offs. To his advantage, Hagman has completed two consecutive full season runs with Dallas and still has some time left at 28-years old.
One year younger than Hagman, Antti Miettinen in his third NHL season skated in 69 games during the regular season for 15-19-34 and 1-1-2 in 15 post-season games. There hasn’t been a noticeable point increase over Miettinen’s three years with the Dallas Stars. The 2008 season had the 27-year old producing more points for the amount of games he played when compared to his first year as a Star going 11-20-31 in 79 games played.
As with Hagman and Miettinen, age may be a save for the 27-year old Winchester who is the youngest of the three, eight months younger then Miettinen. The concern is Winchester’s performance on ice which was at a minimum in the 41 games he played with Dallas earning only 1-2-3. His productivity in the post-season was 0-0-0.
Former Tampa Bay goalie Johan Holmqvist and teammate Brad Richards joined the Dallas Stars in a five player trade at the trade deadline. Holmqvist served as back-up for Stars starting goalie Marty Turco. Since becoming part of the Stars roster, Holmqvist only saw action in two regular season games but 47 games while he was in Tampa Bay. Holmqvist did not see any playing time during the play-offs. It would be beneficial for Dallas to retain his services in the back-up role.
As for the remaining players listed, right winger Konstantin Pushkarev stands out. Pushkarev, a restricted free agent skated in 49 games with the Iowa Stars, the AHL minor league affiliate of Dallas netting 40 pts. (13-27-40). Selected as the 44th pick overall in the 2003, Dallas will need to make a conscious effort to retain the 23-year old Pushkarev grooming him to eventually make his way to Dallas for a permanent slot on the roster.
Youth is something Dallas needs to consider to stay contenders for the Stanley Cup.
Contact the author at: brian.mclean@prohockeynews.com
Red Wings will fine tune to prepare for Cup defense—by Brian Jennings
DETROIT, MI – When you win the Stanley Cup, very rarely do think of a team with needs heading into the off-season. With an aging defense core, and the retirement of Dominic Hasek, the Red Wings have issues, even if they are far and few between.
General Manger Ken Holland must decide how to go about handling an aging defense core with very few prospects in the system, and must decide what to do with goaltender Jimmy Howard. Is he going to finally get his chance behind Chris Osgood, or will the Wings go after a veteran goaltender to hold the fort.
The Wings have five free agents on offense and all of them currently make under $1 million a year. Valtteri Filppula had a 19 goal, 17 assist season and will be on the Red Wings to-do list. Look for him to make closer to $2 or $3 million a year by the time negotiations are over. Darren McCarty is a fan favorite and should be signed to a one-year deal if the team decides to bring him back.
On defense, Chris Chelios is a retirement announcement waiting to happen, but will the ageless wonder go one more season? Brad Stuart came over from Los Angeles at the trade deadline, but rumors persist he might go back to LA. If he does and Chelios retires it could open up some cap space for someone such as Brian Campbell or Mark Streit.
The Red Wings have commitments up to $41 million for next season, and they will have opportunities to upgrade a team that just won the Cup. Might be nice to be on top don’t you think?
As far as the goaltending goes, look for Howard to finally get his shot at Osgood’s job, but expect Howard to get in roughly a third of the games this season as an open audition for the future.
Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com
Aggressive Oilers hope youth comes to forefront in 2008-09—by Shellie Lima
With the 2007-2008 season in the rearview mirror, Edmonton can look forward to a promising season from their youthful squad. At the end of the season, head coach Craig MacTavish told the Edmonton Journal, “there are so many guys on the team playing better than they’ve ever played before, and the objective for them is to come in at this level next year. I think it’s realistic that they can.”
Forwards that are facing free-agency are Curtis Glencross, Jarret Stoll, Marc-Antoine Pouliot, Geoff Sanderson, Zack Stortini and Marty Reasoner.
Glencross’s agent has been involved in negotiations with the Oilers for the last few weeks, but nothing isfirm yet. Glencross would like to remain on the Oilers roster, but they are balking at the amount of money he wants to stay. The Oilers have Raffi Torres, a capable forward that can play his part if they miss the deal.
After a disappointing season by Stoll, he knows he could be potentially traded, but his experience on the team would be an asset since so many of the players are still young.
You must be logged in to post a comment.