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Made By cole*
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Breaking news is the best thing around. Here we go.Adam Foote to Columbus for a little under 5 million a season. Aucoin to Chicago for 4 per annum. Nieuwendyk and Roberts to the Panthers for 2.125 a season. The Flyers are set to announce Hatcher and Rathje. And a lot of people want a piece of Mikey Modano.
It hurts bad to lose Joe Nieuwendyk. He is still a dynamic player at 38 and was the best player the Leafs had in the post season two years ago. The price Florida paid was too much though. In my mind, the Leafs would obviously tried to get him for a little over a million, which would have been nice if Mike Keenan didn't decide to shoot the moon. I think it's too much money to tie up in both Nieuwendyk and Roberts.
Adam Foote. What a warrior. I was not suprised he got a deal of this ilk, but I am suprised it is in Columbus. What a great situation for those young defenceman. Look at how much Eric Brewer improved at the World Cup by playing with Footer and obviously Foote taught Skrastins and John Michael Liles a tonne in Colorado. A great pick up for any team.
Aucoin to the Blackhawks proves that Chicago is serious. They already have a good young defense, and this pick up is a significant upgrade from Brian Berard. 4 million seems like a lot, but Aucoin is an all-star an absolute horse.
The Flyers have upgraded their blueline size significantly as well. In my mind Hatcher has become a bit of a post, but Rathje is a great pick up. He's big and strong and mobile enough to play in the new look NHL. The Flyers are making some noise, but they've still got some payroll work to do. They'll make a strong bid to be first in the East this year.
The Mike Modano sweepstakes are heating up. I dont' really get it myself, but he is a veteran, and a good skater. I dont' really know or care to speculate where he ends up, not that it's a disrespect to him, I just don't see him making a huge impact this season.
Forsberg and Naslund will not play for the Rangers. Even though they've both said they'll take a cut, they still want to play for the Cup, and the Rangers are a long way from there. That being said, there haven't been any serious rumours as to where these guys will end up.
I think Paul Kariya could be the steal of the free agent market. He may not be the best player out there, but he will have a bounce back year. Has any one ever fallen so quickly out of the spotlight as him? He had a tough year with injuries and whatnot, but right now he'll come at a low price, and he's healed up. I think he'll explode back onto the scene and play for Canada in Turin.
Alright, I'm going to stay locked on the rumour mill, and hope to see much more action today on the market, now that a few guys have signed.
Posted by Jon at 9:02 AM | | e-mail me