Atlanta = Hockey Purgatory

A lot has come out in the last couple of days about how Dan Boyle was treated by the new Tampa Bay owners in his final days with the Lightning. Just read the following quote from Boyle:

"I've given this franchise everything I had. I love it. I love the area and the fans. But at the end of the day, I was misled and lied to and completely disrespected. When you're threatened to be put on waivers and end up in Atlanta, it was an eye-opening situation for me."

I'm sure the first thing people think about when they read that quote is how out of control Koules and Barrie are turning out to be in Tampa, but not me. Just look at what Boyle said there again... threatened with ending up in Atlanta. This is what is has come to for the Thrashers. They have to overpay for any free agent to sign with them and now this. I'm sure Ilya Kovalchuk and his agent are counting the days until his contract runs out. I wonder where the over under is for how many years before the Thrashers move. Three or four sounds about right to me at this point.

Let The Impulse Buying Commence!

Well, the Tampa Bay Lightning just couldn't wait until July 1st to start signing free agents. After acquiring the negotiating rights to Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts over the weekend, they followed through and signed them both this morning. To his credit, Penguins GM Ray Shero just got the team a 2009 third-round draft pick in exchange for two players he was never going to bring back anyway. It's the little things...

So the Lightning are now on the hook for $31.5 million to Ryan Malone over the next 7 years. I'm sure this will be a heavily discussed topic this offseason, but you can put me in with the people who think this is too much money for Malone. If that is the kind of money it was going to take to keep Malone, then I think Shero made the right move in letting him walk, regardless of the other contracts he is dealing with. $4.5 million per season is too much to pay a guy who has as many 30-goal seasons in the NHL as I do (yes, that is none).

Tampa did do one thing right with the Malone contract though. By heavily front loading the deal, it will be easy to part ways with Malone in a couple years if necessary. With almost half of the total payout coming Malone's way in the next two seasons, it will be much easier for the Lightning to either trade, waive, or buyout Malone after the 2009-10 season if they need to. Of course if the salary cap continues to go up this contract might not look so bad by then. It is also nice to see that the whole "Sign with us and we'll give your dad a job" trick isn't just for college football any more.

All in all I am not going to totally hammer the Lightning for this signing. I think they did the best they could with the numbers involved and clearly the new owners are committed to turning this team around in a hurry. That being said, I am happy the Penguins are not the ones on the hook for Malone's new contract. I do like the Roberts signing for Tampa. He will be a good presence in their locker room and they were (again) smart with the way they structured the contract. I do think it is interesting that there is already talk of having to move Dan Boyle as a result of these contracts. Maybe Koules and Barrie should have looked over the financial paperwork a little more before whipping out the checkbook this off-season.

Fantasy Focus: 1st Half Freaks And Flops

It's Fantasy Focus time again! In this week's installment I am going to look back on the first half of the 07-08 NHL season and name my All-Freak ("Freak" in a good way) and All-Flop teams. Keep in mind this is strictly from a fantasy point of view and is not taking "real" performance into account. So with no further delay...

1st Half All-Freak Team

Center - Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim) - This was a really tough call. Getzlaf, Lecavalier, Crosby, and Datsyuk were all outstanding in the first half of the season. I'm giving Getzlaf the nod here because he is a good source for PIMs, has a great +/- rating and of the four had the lowest expectations entering the season and was undoubtedly the last drafted in every league on the planet.
Honorable Mentions: Vincent Lecavalier (Tampa Bay), Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh)

Right Wing - Jarome Iginla (Calgary) - Jarome has been the total package this season. He has contributed big time in every category possible. The only way Iginla could do any more for his fantasy owners would be to suit up in goal and get a couple shutouts. First half fantasy MVP in pretty much any format.
Honorable Mentions: Daniel Alfredsson (Ottawa), Corey Perry (Anaheim)

Left Wing - Dany Heatley (Ottawa) - Don't expect to see this name here at the end of the season as Heatley is set to miss the next 6 weeks with a separated shoulder, but before that Dany had been outstanding. Think of Heatley as "Iginla-lite", he produces across the board and will be leaving a huge void in his owners lineups until he returns.
Honorable Mentions: Henrik Zetterberg (Detroit), Alexander Ovechkin (Washington)

Defense - Nicklas Lidstrom (Detroit) - The old Swede just keeps getting it done. I'm sure Lidstrom owners wouldn't mind a few more goals from the Detroit captain, but winners can't be choosers. Just be happy with what you've got and smile on your way up your league standings.
Honorable Mentions: Brian Rafalski (Detroit), Sergei Gonchar (Pittsburgh)

Defense - Chris Pronger (Anaheim) - Points and PIMs, it's hard to ask for more. An improvement on the meager +2 rating would be nice, but the return of Scott Niedermayer (and eventually Teemu?) should help that a bit.
Honorable Mentions: Dion Phaneuf (Calgary), Zdeno Chara (Boston)

Goalie - Evgeni Nabokov (San Jose) - Nabby owners have been treated to an outstanding season from the Sharks' netminder. With Vesa Toskala shipped off to hockey purgatory Toronto, Nabokov has had the San Jose crease all to himself and started every single one of the team's first 41 games. He responded with tremendous numbers and is probably keeping more than a few owners (including yours truly) firmly entrenched atop their respective standings.
Honorable Mentions: Roberto Luongo (Vancouver), Pascal Leclaire (Columbus)

1st Half All-Flop Team

Center - Patrick Marleau (San Jose) - What a year it has been for the San Jose captain. If I had a dollar for every time I read this season that Marleau was about to break out of his slump I could quit my job and live on the beach somewhere. The stats speak for themselves; 8 goals, 13 assists, -14, 9 power play points and 0 game-winners. What more can I say?
Honorable Mentions: Brad Richards (Tampa Bay), Chris Drury (New York Rangers),

Right Wing - Jonathan Cheechoo (San Jose) - Are we beginning to sense a trend here? Cheechoo has been even worse than his teammate Marleau so far (as hard as that is to believe) netting only 5 goals and 7 assists to date. That's a far cry from the guy who led the NHL in goals just two seasons ago. I can only shudder at the thought of the homers who drafted Cheechoo and Marleau this season.
Honorable Mentions: Maxim Afinogenov (Buffalo), Martin Havlat (Chicago)

Left Wing - Alexander Semin (Washington) - I've had a front row seat for the train wreck that has been Alexander Semin's season so far... he's on both of my teams. He's the kind of guy that will drive you crazy because he has been hurt most of the year, but he has so much upside that you just can't bring yourself to cut him, so he just ends up taking up a roster spot all year. Hopefully he can get healthy and put it together in the second half. But I wouldn't count on it.
Honorable Mentions: Pavol Demitra (Minnesota), Simon Gagne (Philadelphia)

Defense - Dan Boyle (Tampa Bay) - Boyle could return to the Lightning lineup at any time now (check your waiver wire!), but that won't help those who drafted him forget that he only played four games in the first half and was held pointless with a stellar -7 rating to go along. Not what most people envisioned for the Lightning point man.
Honorable Mentions: Bryan McCabe (Toronto), Sheldon Souray (Edmonton)

Defense - Alexei Zhitnik (Atlanta) - Unlike Boyle in Tampa, Zhitnik has actually stayed healthy and been playing all season. You wouldn't know it by looking at his numbers though. Zhitnik was outstanding after joining the Thrashers at the trade deadline last season, but he has been nearly invisible so far this season. At least he's racked up 38 PIMs.
Honorable Mentions: Kevin Bieksa (Vancouver), Matt Carle (San Jose)

Goalie - Ray Emery (Ottawa) - There were a few strong candidates here (see the Honorable Mentions), but in the end I had to go with Emery. I can only imagine how many owners thought they had a great mid-round pick in Emery, only to have him spend the first half of the season fighting injuries, teammates, and the puck. He's a good candidate for a second half rebound, but for the time being it is Flop-City for the Senator voted Most Likely To Be Traded.
Honorable Mentions: Marc-Andre Fleury (Pittsburgh), Mikka Kipprusoff (Calgary)

So there you have it, the best and worst from the first half of the season. Some of these choices were no brainers, while others were a lot tougher than I thought they would be. If you had told me before I sat down to do this that Ryan Getzlaf would have been my All-Freak center I would have laughed you out of the room. Not to mention how mentally and emotionally prepared I had gotten to make MAF my All-Flop goalie. Thank you Ray Emery!

Here's looking forward to the second half of the season. There's nowhere to go but up for most of us!