*** OFFICIAL NHL Free Agency Thread 2010***

[DevsJetsYanks88]

Post any links of signings. Been quite busy and haven't kept up on it, but here's a couple affecting local teams...

Paul Martin signs 5 years/$25 million with the Penguins

Martin Biron signs with the Rangers

[crazyjetsman28]

Reports from TSN are that Kovalchuk will resign with the Devils at 7 years 60 million bucks. http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=326655

The Devils will probably have to trade somebody in the coming weeks to get under the cap...my guess is Danius Zubrus and Bryce Salvador which combine for 7+ million over the cap

[DevsJetsYanks88]

Originally Posted by crazyjetsman28

Reports from TSN are that Kovalchuk will resign with the Devils at 7 years 60 million bucks. http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=326655

The Devils will probably have to trade somebody in the coming weeks to get under the cap...my guess is Danius Zubrus and Bryce Salvador which combine for 7+ million over the cap

If this turns out to be true, I will be very pleasantly surprised. I really did not like our chances of bringing him back heading into the off-season. I've heard people saying that he choked in the playoffs this year, etc., but IMO he was one of the few players that played well for us against Philly and was praying they could find a way to re-sign him. Adding Arnott as our 2nd line center will turn out to be greatly beneficial as well I believe. What are your thoughts on the signings of Tallinder and Volchenkov to bolster the D?

[crazyjetsman28]

Originally Posted by DevsJetsYanks88

If this turns out to be true, I will be very pleasantly surprised. I really did not like our chances of bringing him back heading into the off-season. I've heard people saying that he choked in the playoffs this year, etc., but IMO he was one of the few players that played well for us against Philly and was praying they could find a way to re-sign him. Adding Arnott as our 2nd line center will turn out to be greatly beneficial as well I believe. What are your thoughts on the signings of Tallinder and Volchenkov to bolster the D?

I thought Kovy played hard throughout the Flyers series and you can't say that for everyone on the roster. I'm pumped about the D...they have needed a Stevens type defender since Stevens retired and Volchenkov fits that perfectly. Losing Martin hurts, but I think Greene filled his role as play making defenseman well when he was injured. Tallinder is not flashy but will be solid.

The question is who gets traded to make room for Kovy. I was thinking Zubrus since he has the most upside of our larger contracts. I'd love to get rid of Rolston and his 5 million bucks this year or next year. Langenbrunner has also been rumored in a trade as well...love Langs but he was awful after the Olympics...maybe a trade and giving Parise the C is in order.

I'm pumped for next year though from these moves, I thought the D got stronger and was pretty happy with the team's outlook before the Kovy signing(well pending signing)

Here is my ideal lineup for next season if Rolston and Salvador get moved

Parise Zajac Langenbrunner
Kovalchuk Arnott Elias
Zubrus Josefson Clarkson (Josefson will probably make the team as a rook next year)
Leblond Pelley Zharkov

Greene Volchenkov
Corrente Tallinder
White Mattou(if resigned) or another rook maybe Eckford

[morite]

Any chance the Isles use that offer from the Devils to send Kovy a last minute offer he can't refuse?

I'm a Ranger fan, so I'm not rooting for either of those two teams. But from a competition standpoint, the Devs always find a way, not worried about that...would love to get the Isles competitive again and make it a 5-team division. I think they will eventually get there without Kovy, but him and those up-and-coming young stars would give them a big boost.

[BigBensAngel7]

i was upset that gonchar went to the sens, however i am thrilled with the two players we signed.. now if we can only get some wingers for sidney

[crazyjetsman28]

Originally Posted by morite

Any chance the Isles use that offer from the Devils to send Kovy a last minute offer he can't refuse?

I'm a Ranger fan, so I'm not rooting for either of those two teams. But from a competition standpoint, the Devs always find a way, not worried about that...would love to get the Isles competitive again and make it a 5-team division. I think they will eventually get there without Kovy, but him and those up-and-coming young stars would give them a big boost.

If you believe the rumor mill the Islanders offered him 10 year 100 million and he declined it, so maybe he just doesn't want to play there.

Edit: But I guess if he was so opposed to the Isles he would have signed with NJ yesterday when the report came out...so you could be right

[crazyjetsman28]

Originally Posted by BigBensAngel7

i was upset that gonchar went to the sens, however i am thrilled with the two players we signed.. now if we can only get some wingers for sidney

Martin will be great on the Pens. He is not the most physical defenseman but he is sound with his positioning. He has been more injury prone the last couple years. Not just the broken arm but he will just randomly miss games with mysterious upper or lower body injuries. He is great with the puck though and a good qb for the power play...that is where he will be missed most in NJ.

[BigBensAngel7]

Originally Posted by crazyjetsman28

Martin will be great on the Pens. He is not the most physical defenseman but he is sound with his positioning. He has been more injury prone the last couple years. Not just the broken arm but he will just randomly miss games with mysterious upper or lower body injuries. He is great with the puck though and a good qb for the power play...that is where he will be missed most in NJ.

i think that is why they went after martin when gonchar left. we are still a pretty young team(in age of our guys). so i look for us to win the stanley cup the next 5 yrs..lol

[Jordy]

Rangers finally get the backup goalie I've been pleading for since Henrik has been on Broadway. And Sather gets him for a bargain. Then he goes and overpays for an enforcer (Boogaard). He just can't help himself I suppose. Word is, Edmonton was ready to give the guy more $ for the same 4 years. Sather should have let them have him. I agree that signing Shelley for 3 years would have been a mistake also but don't avoid one mistake and replace it with another mistake. Same ol' Sather.

In this year of FA financial restraint by most teams, I think the Pens overpaid for Martin and Zbynek, not that another team wouldn't have also. (And before anyone says it, yes, the Rangers overpaid for Redden and Roszival). Martin's a nice Dman but IMO he's not worth $5M per nor is Zbynek worth $4M per. I know 2 guys who love these deals...Marc Staal and Dan Girardi.

And either Kovalchuk is using the Islanders to get more from the Devils or the Islanders are leaking this contract number to appease their fans and let them know they are serious players in FA. I'm sorry but I can't believe the number because no way Kovy turns that down. Yes he wants to go to a glamorous team with a chance to win but the Isles are an up and coming team with a new arena on the horizon and he can be a part of that. No one in their right mind would turn down an additional 3 years and $40M. Sundin jumped at vancouvers money 2 years ago. So would this guy. I don't think the Islanders ever put that offer on the table.

[crazyjetsman28]

Originally Posted by Jordy

Rangers finally get the backup goalie I've been pleading for since Henrik has been on Broadway. And Sather gets him for a bargain. Then he goes and overpays for an enforcer (Boogaard). He just can't help himself I suppose. Word is, Edmonton was ready to give the guy more $ for the same 4 years. Sather should have let them have him. I agree that signing Shelley for 3 years would have been a mistake also but don't avoid one mistake and replace it with another mistake. Same ol' Sather.

In this year of FA financial restraint by most teams, I think the Pens overpaid for Martin and Zbynek, not that another team wouldn't have also. (And before anyone says it, yes, the Rangers overpaid for Redden and Roszival). Martin's a nice Dman but IMO he's not worth $5M per nor is Zbynek worth $4M per. I know 2 guys who love these deals...Marc Staal and Dan Girardi.

And either Kovalchuk is using the Islanders to get more from the Devils or the Islanders are leaking this contract number to appease their fans and let them know they are serious players in FA. I'm sorry but I can't believe the number because no way Kovy turns that down. Yes he wants to go to a glamorous team with a chance to win but the Isles are an up and coming team with a new arena on the horizon and he can be a part of that. No one in their right mind would turn down an additional 3 years and $40M. Sundin jumped at vancouvers money 2 years ago. So would this guy. I don't think the Islanders ever put that offer on the table.

It's all speculation with Kovy at this point. I'm thinking the Islander offer probably wasn't that high as well, if there even was an offer. I'm thinking he will sign with the Devils at some point, maybe Lou wants to clear cap space now, and thats the delay. It's getting to the point where I don't even care anymore I just want to know what's happening and be done with it. The Devils are in good shape with or without him IMO.

[crazyjetsman28]

Kings GM says they are re-engaged on Kovy....I guess the Devils were just leverage to try to get some more of the Kings. I will give LeBron credit at least he will end his circus in one fell swoop, imagine if he did what Kovy is doing, ESPN would explode

[DevsJetsYanks88]

Originally Posted by crazyjetsman28

Kings GM says they are re-engaged on Kovy....I guess the Devils were just leverage to try to get some more of the Kings. I will give LeBron credit at least he will end his circus in one fell swoop, imagine if he did what Kovy is doing, ESPN would explode

+1

I just want to know what the hell he decides already.

[DevsJetsYanks88]

And still no word on Kovy...

[Led Halen]

Kovy is really bothering me with how drawn out these contract decisions are....worst part is he is holding up what happens with other players (ie Kaberle, Gagne, etc) by taking forever to make a decision

[Bay Ridge Jet]

Originally Posted by Led Halen

Kovy is really bothering me with how drawn out these contract decisions are....worst part is he is holding up what happens with other players (ie Kaberle, Gagne, etc) by taking forever to make a decision

whatd you think of the Paul Martin signing?

[Led Halen]

Originally Posted by Bay Ridge Jet

whatd you think of the Paul Martin signing?

I am very pleased with the Martin signing, I always looked at him as a consistent dependable, albeit not flashy player. Anytime you can get a quality d-man from a quality defensive team like the Devils its a good thing. The Pens had essentially the same offensive group last year as they did when they won the cup the previous year.....the difference between he two years was defense (losing Gill and Scuderi). If you watched the Pens in the playoffs especially it was clear that their defense needed a little overhaul.

I would have loved to kept Gonchar, but his price tag along with his age and injuries the last few years made losing him the right choice. He was great as a Penguin and I hope to see him do well in Ottawa.

I don't expect Martin to be lighting people up or being a shut down type d-man (Michalek maybe a shut down type guy), but I expect him to be positionally sound and good in his own end, which is something the Pens lacked last year. Also both Martin and Michalek possess a pretty good breakout pass, and I would expect Martin to chip in a decent amount of points and get some time on the PP.....provided he stays healthy.

All this being said, I agree with Jordy's earlier post and do think the Pens overpaid a bit for both, but it seems like that was how the market was this offseason, especially for D-men. These signings leave only 2 mill left to sign either another winger (most Pens fans are clamoring that they need another wing) or a third line center (rumors are Staal moving up a line with Malkin moving to wing). GM Shero usually leaves around 1 mil in cap space for trading purposes, etc, so really the Pens have only 1 mil to sign another forward. I personally think they go with what they got and hope one of the highly touted young prospects (Tangradi, Johnson, Jeffrey, Letestu) are ready to contribute full time in the NHL.

You got any dirt on Martin? How do you feel about him leaving NJ?

[crazyjetsman28]

Latest on Kovy from the LA Times was that they couldn't come to an agreement over $$$ during their face to face. Im at a point where I don't even care if he comes back to NJ...this has dragged out wayyyy too long

[Revi$_I$l@nd]

Originally Posted by crazyjetsman28

Latest on Kovy from the LA Times was that they couldn't come to an agreement over $$$ during their face to face. Im at a point where I don't even care if he comes back to NJ...this has dragged out wayyyy too long

I care.

A lot.

He wants to play here and any fan that doesn't want him here is in for a rude awakening next season if we don't find a suitable replacement (which we won't)

[crazyjetsman28]

Originally Posted by Revi$_I$l@nd

I care.

A lot.

He wants to play here and any fan that doesn't want him here is in for a rude awakening next season if we don't find a suitable replacement (which we won't)

If Kovy doesn't come back it isn't the end of the world. They will be stronger on D next year, with Volchenkov and Tallinder replacing Martin, and the offense will benefit from having an actual center on the second line in Arnott. They might even go back to trying to swing a trade for Kaberle which I think would be a soild move as well.(Depending on who was traded)

Now would a line of Elias Arnott and Kovy be sick...no question and I'd be pumped for it, but there has been nothing about Kovy to the Devils for over a week. I gotta consider it an extreme longshot if he signs here at this point.