Northeast Division 2008 Free Agency Preview

It is time to turn our attention to the Northeast Division as we look at what July 1st has in store for teams in the NHL. This is always an intriguing division and I don't expect that to change in 2008-09. Between coaching changes, playoff disappointments, and fan expectations every team in the Northeast has something to get fired up about this summer.

Boston Bruins

Pending UFA's:

• Alex Auld ($600,000)
• Glen Metropolit ($500,000)
• Bobby Allen ($500,000)
  

Pending RFA's:

• Petteri Nokelainen ($984,000)
• Mark Stuart ($942,000)
• Dennis Wideman ($600,000)
  

Cap $$$ Committed: $43.5 million
Notes: The Bruins don't have many holes to fill and they will enter next season with more or less the same roster as last season. That could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on who you ask. Getting Patrice Bergeron back should be a big boost for the Bruins. Looking beyond next season, the Bruins need to start coming up with a long term plan in net as Manny Fernandez and Tim Thomas are both going into the final years of their contracts.

Buffalo Sabres

Pending UFA's:

• Teppo Numminen ($2,600,000)
• Dmitri Kalinin ($2,250,000)
• Jocelyn Thibault ($760,000)
  
• Nolan Pratt ($550,000)
• Michael Ryan ($475,000)
  

Pending RFA's:

• Steve Bernier ($850,000)
• Paul Gaustad ($750,000)
• Dan Paille ($585,000)
  

Cap $$$ Committed: $37.8 million
Notes: The Sabres have a good group of young, talented forwards to work with, but their blue line is thin and they need to get Ryan Miller signed to a long term deal ASAP. John-Michael Liles would probably make a nice addition to their defensive corps and he could be had for less than what they offered Brian Campbell before they traded him to San Jose.

Montreal Canadiens

Pending UFA's:

• Michael Ryder ($2,950,000)
• Bryan Smolinski ($2,000,000)
• Patrice Brisebois ($700,000)
• Mark Streit ($600,000)
  

Pending RFA's:

• Mikhail Grabovski ($700,000)
• Andrei Kostitsyn ($612,000)
• Ryan O'Byrne ($590,000)
• Jaroslav Halak ($500,000)
  
• Josh Gorges ($495,000)
  

Cap $$$ Committed: $32.5 million
Notes: Michael Ryder is a goner, let's get that out of the way right from the get go. Beyond that, they need to take care of locking up all of their RFA's and they would be wise to take care of Mark Streit as he was a big part of what made their league leading power play tick. They are also rumored to be going after Mats Sundin in a big way, which would only serve to fuel what is already one of the league's nastier rivalries.

Ottawa Senators

Pending UFA's:

• Wade Redden ($6,500,000)
• Martin Lapointe ($2,400,000)
• Cory Stillman ($1,750,000)
• Mike Commodore ($1,300,000)
• Chris Kelly ($1,262,000)
• Shean Donovan ($925,000)
• Randy Robitaille ($625,000)
• Luke Richardson ($500,000)
  

Pending RFA's:

• Antoine Vermette ($1,075,000)
• Andrej Meszaros ($984,000)
• Brian McGrattan ($550,000)
  

Cap $$$ Committed: $28.8 million
Notes: In all likelihood the Ottawa Senators are going to be a very different looking team next season. They have a slew of UFA's and stand to lose most of them. Re-signing Chris Kelly should be a top priority for the Ottawa front office and they would be well served to bring back Stillman and Commodore if they can get them at the right price. Wade Redden is all but gone, but locking up Meszaros could help to ease that loss. Like seemingly every other team in the Northeast (except for the Habs) they need to come up with a plan in goal beyond 2008-09. Ray Emery will likely be bought out at any moment and Martin Gerber is too inconsistent to be a viable long term option for a team with realistic hopes of challenging for the Cup.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Pending UFA's:

• Mats Sundin ($5,500,000)
• Dominic Moore ($700,000)
• John Pohl ($475,000)
  

Pending RFA's:

• Matt Stajan ($950,000)
• Kyle Wellwood ($950,000)
  

Cap $$$ Committed: $38.7 million
Notes: Like the Bruins the Leafs have most of last season's roster under contract, and like the Bruins that may not be great news. The big story will be what happens with Mats Sundin. The Leafs will undoubtedly do all they can to bring him back, but will he reverse his stance of wanting to remain a Leaf and head to Detroit or Montreal? The Leafs also have a lot of good buyout candidates in Darcy Tucker, Andrew Raycroft, and even Bryan McCabe. The Leafs may be forced to take a few steps back this offseason in order to begin the rebuilding process under new coach Ron Wilson.

In Response To The Richard Zednik Incident

By now I'm sure everyone has seen the video of Richard Zednik getting his neck cut by teammate Olli Jokinen's skate. It's pretty gruesome stuff and I have no intention of embedding or linking to it here (it's not hard to find if you're looking.) I do have a lot on my mind regarding what happened to Zednik though so I'm just going to lay it all out and let you all do with it what you will.

• First and foremost, prayers go out to Zednik and his family. It looks like he is going to make a full recovery. I'm sure playing hockey is the furthest thing from his mind right now, but I'm hoping he makes it back. If for nothing else than the ovation he should get when he hits the ice again for the first time.
• Hats off to the medical staff involved for keeping their cool and tending to Zednik. I don't care what the doctors are saying now, they saved Zednik's life.
• I really don't think they should have finished the game. There were only 10 minutes left in the third. The NHL could have easily called it an official game at that point and nobody would have batted an eye. I really feel for the guys who had to go out and play after seeing Zednik go down.
• How amazing is it that Zednik got himself all the way to the bench? Zednik's composure and toughness were off the charts.
• Did this really have to happen in Buffalo?
• Sabre's announcer Rick Jeanneret did a superb job of handling the call. I really can't stand the way Jeanneret calls a game, but you could really feel how hard it was for him to watch this situation go down, let alone have to talk everyone through it. You could tell from his voice that he was reliving the Malarchuk accident all over again and that he was really wishing he wasn't. It was genuinely hard to listen to him, but he handled it like a pro.
• Finally, I'm sure there are going to be people crying for mandatory neck guards on players after this. I'm so against this I can't even tell you. The players shouldn't be forced into wearing an uncomfortable and unnecessary piece of equipment because of a freak accident. I got hit in the neck with a skate once when I was playing Midget hockey (didn't amount to much more than a nasty scratch) and after I got the thought of "Whoa, that could have been bad." out of my head, at no point did I think I should start wearing a neck guard. They aren't worth the trouble and discomfort, and I'm not even convinced one would have prevented what happened to Richard Zednik. I don't actually think the NHL will actually consider making neck guards mandatory (if for no other reason than how uncool they look), but I just know the issue is going to come up.
  

Wrapping Up The Winter Classic

The NHL rang in the New Year in a big way this afternoon with the Winter Classic outdoor game in Buffalo between the Sabres and the Penguins. It was a snowy, frozen day in Buffalo... the perfect setting for an outdoor hockey game. In anticipation for the game I pulled on my brand new Sidney Crosby Winter Classic tee, dropped some extra ice in my Mountain Dew as a sign of solidarity for my friends and acquaintances lucky enough to be in attendance, and settled in for the NBC telecast. And the rest was history...

The Event...

• The opening overhead shot of a snowy Ralph Wilson Stadium set the perfect mood for what promised to be an epic afternoon for true hockey fans.
• The side rink for kids to play on behind one of the goals was a nice touch. How sweet would it have been to be one of the kids lucky enough to get to take a skate down there?
• The players weren't especially bundled up for the most part, but full credit go to the Buffalo players rocking the eye black.
• Great anthems. Really helped the crowd kick it up an extra notch to start things out.
• The Penguins look great in the old powder blues. I'd love to see them pull these uniforms out again. I could see putting together a nice winning streak in those babies.
  
• As far as play was concerned the weather could have been better, but it was perfect from an atmosphere point of view. Nice and snowy in the first, pretty decent for the second and most of the third, then snowy again for the end of the third, OT, and the shootout.

When you look up picturesque in the dictionary...

The Game Itself...

• Huge goal by Colby 21 seconds in to start things off. I really thought that might have been enough to seal the win given the conditions. Must have been the soccer side of my brain at work.
• Even in a blizzard Sidney Crosby is still the best thing on skates.
  
• Nice goal by the Sabres to open the second. As mentioned by the announcers, it was hardly a coincidence the scoring was happening early in periods.
• There was some genuine exciting hockey while the weather eased up a bit in the second. It was nice to see two of the hardest skating teams in the NHL get a chance to open it up for a bit.
• The penalty call on Colby at the end of regulation was laughable. Especially given the circumstances.
• The changing sides during the third period and overtime really rubbed me the wrong way. The NHL committed to playing a game in nasty weather, so deal with it. I don't see how making players skate to the far bench for the last 10 minutes of regulation and the second half of overtime is doing them any favors. Just a bad move on the NHL's part.
• Nice shootout goal by Ales Kotalik. Kept it simple and nailed a perfect shot.
• Kris Letang is flat out nasty in shootouts. It's just sick how bad this kid makes NHL goalies look.
• Nice to see Sid nail the winner on the big stage. We all know shootouts aren't exactly his bread and butter, but it was an ideal finish to a great event if you're Gary Bettman (and if you are... YOU SUCK GARY!)
  
• Ty Conklin is in the zone. If he can keep this up it could be real interesting to see who gets sent down once MAF gets healthy. Has Sabu been Sabu'ed?
• Kudos to all the players! They played a fantastic game in conditions that were less-than-ideal at best.
• Hats off to the ice crew too. Kept things safe and as playable as possible.
  

The Broadcast...

• As I already said, beauty overhead shot to open the broadcast. Brought a smile to my face.
• Mike Milbury eh? Someday NHL broadcasting execs will learn that there is a difference between having personality and being a jackass. Unfortunately this will probably be after we've all been subjected to 10+ years of Jeremy Roenick doing color for national broadcasts.
• All in all the commentary was pretty solid. They didn't cater to people who know nothing about hockey as much as I feared they might. That said, someone should have told Emerick, Olczyk, and Pang that there were other players on the ice besides Sidney Crosby and Ryan Miller.
• Speaking of Miller, that Amp Yo Mama commercial was pretty solid, but what is J.S. Aubin doing in there? Pascal Leclaire and Andrew Raycroft should both be shopping for new agents as I type this.
• NBC continues to screw over the NHL with their intermissions. For a league that is trying to get back into the mainstream, how is a first period intermission consisting of talking about Slapshot and Bob Costas waxing nostalgic about his run-in with the "real" Ogie Oglethorpe going to help that? And if that wasn't enough, they took things to another level between the second and third with old Bobby Orr footage, the worst Sidney Crosby highlight montage ever, and then footage of Mike Milbury in the stands beating a fan with a shoe. How absurd is that? Can you imagine Ron Artest doing the halftime show for an NBA game 20 years from now and them showing footage from the brawl in Detroit and laughing about it? This is the kind of stuff that sets hockey back in many people's eyes and I seriously doubt it helped turn any casual viewers into hockey fans. NBC needs to get it together and actually try to market the game. I don't think there was one person watching who actually cared if Bob Costas almost got beat up on a bus 30 years ago, but I guarantee there were plenty of people watching who still don't know who Evgeni Malkin is.

Overall I think the Winter Classic lived up to its name. It generated a lot of buzz for the NHL and nobody could have watched that game and walked away disappointed. If you ask me the next logical step for the NHL would be an outdoor All-Star game. Maybe in New York (Giants Stadium anyone?) I wish I could have been there in person, mostly just so I could say I was, but I did get to jump around my living room trading high fives with my 17 month-old son after Sid iced the shootout win for the Pens. And that is something I wouldn't trade for tickets to any game ever. Happy New Year hockey fans, it's only going to get better.

O Hockeytown, Where Art Thou?

Enough is enough, it is time to strip Detroit of its (undeserved?) Hockeytown title. I never liked the whole Hockeytown thing to begin with, especially since the Red Wings bestowed the title on themselves. Shouldn't something like that be voted on? Well that's just what we're going to do! We're going to choose a new Hockeytown right here and now.

The nominees:

• Buffalo - Plenty of teams in the NHL are having attendance issues these days, some even failing to sell out home playoff games (yes, I'm looking at you Detroit). Well the Sabres not only sell out their games, they also packed the area outside the arena with fans to watch the game going on inside projected onto a big screen. How many teams could pull that off? The Sabres were also named the best franchise in sports by ESPN not too long ago (for whatever that is worth). Buffalo is a strong choice to take on the mantle of Hockeytown, USA and probably has to be considered the favorite here.
  
• San Jose - Hidden on the west coast, I don't think most people realize what a good hockeytown San Jose is. But is it worthy of being Hockeytown? Sharks fans have come a long way. I remember being at the San Jose arena during the '93-'94 season to see the Sharks take on the Nordiques and someone sitting behind me asking the person they were with if the Nords were an expansion team. Well the Sharks have carried on and now their fans are (for the most part) as knowledgeable as they are loud, and that is saying something. If you don't think San Jose belongs on this list, take in a playoff game at the "Shark Tank" and then get back to me.
  
• Chicago - This may turn out to be an optimistic choice on my part, but I think Chicago is in for a hockey renaissance. The team is loaded with young talent and the team and fans both seem eager to put the Bill Wirtz experience behind them. They're even getting home games on TV now! Seriously though, I don't think there is any doubt Chicago is back on the hockey map.
  
• Minneapolis/St. Paul - In very Red Wing-esque fashion, the Wild have declared Minnesota the "State of Hockey". They are pretty much right though so I'll let it slide. As far as hockey goes, Minnesota is pretty much South Canada, and that's a good thing. The Wild's fanbase is as knowledgeable and passionate as it gets in the States. Of course I have to mention that they are on their second run with the NHL.
  
• Dallas - A surprise nominee to many I'm sure, but deserving nonetheless. I can say from first hand experience that going to a Stars game is as good as it gets. The arena is top notch and it has fans to match. It will always be Cowboys first in Dallas, that is just how things work here in Texas, but there is also a die hard Stars fanbase in Dallas that can't be matched. If you are a hockey fan, you owe it to yourself to take in a Stars home game. Just don't expect to sit down a whole lot. A definite dark horse in this contest, Dallas may just get my vote.
  
• Detroit - I'll give the incumbent a chance to defend its title here, but I don't think it deserves it any more (if it ever truly did). I have a hard time calling somewhere Hockeytown when you've got empty seats for home playoff games. I think Wings fans in general have grown a bit tired of the same-old same-old from the Wings and are a bit apathetic at this point. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.
  

Just missed the cut:

• Pittsburgh- The Pens have as rabid a fanbase as you will find, but I can't bring myself to put Pittsburgh on the list when they're less than a year removed from almost losing the team.
  
• Denver - The Avalanche have a great track record since relocating from Quebec. I just don't see them at the level as some of the teams above. Denver sort of strikes me as Dallas-lite.
  
• Boston - A great hockeytown to be sure, but the Bruins are an afterthought on the Boston sports scene.
  
• Nashville - Just kidding. The situation in Nashville is a joke/mess. Just move them to Kansas City already. Then in 5-10 years when that fails they can move to Hamilton.