July 2005 | August 2005 | September 2005 | October 2005 | November 2005 | December 2005 | March 2006 | April 2006 |
Made By cole*
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
It just doesn't get any better than this. After a whole three hundred days of atomic wasteland the NHL has awoken to discover that there is excitement in the air. All is definitely not lost. One after another big names are being sewn onto new jerseys (but not in New Jersey) and great NHL players are employing moving companies all over North America.Chris Pronger is an absolute gem. The Oilers are brilliant for pulling this off. Only because of the salary cap system is this possible, then Chris takes almost two million in paycuts to stay with the team long term. It hurts to give up Woywitka and especially Lynch, who were both great players and very close to being NHL ready and NHL steady. Brewer isn't a disappointment, because Pronger is just that much better than him. I love the way the Oil is looking these days. Even by adding Mike Peca they are just stock piling leadership and professionalism. I bet Ryan Smyth is smiling.
Forsberg has joined the only team I hate more than the Senators. Bobby Clarke rubs me the wrong way, but he is making some great moves. Getting Forsberg, and moving Roenick in almost a dollar for dollar deal is an unbelievable upgrade. I don't think that the Hatcher/Rathje/Therien move is as good as people are hyping it, but no doubt Forsberg will fly in the East.
The Penguins made their first big splash, getting Sergei Gonchar for a long time coming. I think this is a great fit for Pittsburgh, and I don't believe his style of play would have suited the Leafs.
The Habs make a great move to get Mathieu Dandenault from the Wings. He is solid and skilled, and will help to bolster the blue line in Montreal.
Who's left?
Obviously Scott Niedermayer, but he is out of the Maple Leaf price range, so I'd like Ferguson to take a look at Brian Rafalski and Paul Kariya. It's not too late Fergie......
With another great day done in the NHL, there is teams with new looks and some with familiar faces, which is exciting and so far boding well for parity in the league. Teams who in other years wouldn't be able to land players, like Columbus, Edmonton and Pittsburgh are making all the great moves. 63 days till the puck drops.
Posted by Jon at 5:01 PM | | e-mail me