Battle Of Hudson

TSN reports Victor Kozlov has signed with the Caps.

Sportsnet reports that the rags have signed Chris drury. Details unknown as of yet. Great for the Rags, but as an Islanders fan, just kill me now.

TSN reports that Jason Blake has signed a 5 yr $20 mil contract with the Leafs. Though not unexpected, this will hurt the Isles big time.

ESPN reports that the Rangers have signed Scott Gomez to a 7 year deal.

Michel Ouellet signs with TB for 2 years.
Carolina lands Justin Hamilton for 1 year.

Folks, this was a great day, but I need a huge break.

I’ll be blogging all the action tomorrow, stay tuned!

5:18 I’m headed for a break. I’ll be back at 6.

5:12 Buffalo fans, how do you feel about all this?

5:11 Briere says that other teams offered him more cash per year.

5:01 FLORIDA HAS SIGNED RADEK DVORAK TO A 2-YEAR DEAL.

4:57 It’ll be interesting to see if the Devils re-sign Johnny Oduya in the wake of the Rafalski walk.

4:49 TFP is reporting Pat Quinn may be the next Devil coach. Ugh.

Also, Canes and Kings in the market for Brad Stuart.

4:46 Rumor is that Souray’s getting close to a decision. Devils and Kings are big in the running.

4:40 SCOTT NIEDERMAYER HAS TOLD BRIAN BURKE THAT HE IS LEANING TOWARD RETIREMENT!

4:37 That’s a real smart signing by the Hawks. Does that mean they’ve given up on Zeus?

4:36 No Panic Yanic (! at the Disco) Perrault signs with the Hawks. 1 Year/1.5 Mill.

4:34 Alexei Morozov announced that he’ll stay in Russia for another season.

4:32 The Caps are looking into bringing back Michael Nylander.

4:28 Haha, speculators. TFP reports that NJ is after Souray now that Raffy has signed in Detroit.

Just a word for the Red Wings: If you love pathetic point shots, your in for a great year.

4:24 Devils may have a shot in the Gomez race again.

4:12 Look for the possibility of Roman Hamrlik signing with New Jersey, or one of the other lower-tiered D-men (Hannan, Stuart) or even Souray.

4:05 SARICH TO CALGARY, 5 YEARS, 18 MILLION.

4:04 RAFALSKI TO DETROIT, 5 YEARS, 30 MILLION.

4:04 It’s calm..for now.

3:57 Final note on Briere: The contract features a no movement clause.

3:53 DO NOT LISTEN TO ANY REPORTS OF GOMEZ TO THE RANGERS UNTIL TSN OR SPORTSNET SAYS IT.

WFAN is airing a Mets game at the moment. They likely did little research (if any) and likely mentioned it in passing during a station ID. This is by no means a done deal.

3:51 Rafalski has an offer from Edmonton, they’re waiting his answer.

3:48 Official word on Briere’s Salary: 8 Years, 52 Million. He’ll be a 10 million dollar man for the 07-08 season.

3:47 WFAN in NY is reporting Gomez to the Rangers. Discard it for now, WFAN is by no means a trusted hockey source. And it’s also the Devils flagship, so I don’t think they’d get the info before TSN or SN.

3:44 TSN REPORTS THAT DANIEL BRIERE’s DEAL IS 8 LONG YEARS, between 48-56 million in salary.

3:41 Denis Grebeshkov re-signs with the Oilers. So the Ryan Smyth deal wasn’t a TOTAL failure. Ok…it was.

3:40 Toronto is talking to Kariya, Smyth and Blake. Likely topics: What a playoff game Post-Lockout looks like.

3:37 THE FAN 960 is REPORTING THE THE FLAMES HAVE SIGNED CORY SARICH

3:33 GOMEZ RUMORED TO THE LEAFS FOR 5 YEARS.

3:31 BREAKING NEWS: FLYERS GET BRIERE! SPORTSNET.CA REPORTS

3:30 Back at the helm, I see I’ve missed nothing. I’ll update some rumors momentarily.

3:01 Chris at The Arena Program informed me that Schnieder signing opens up the possibility of ANA signing Drury if Niedtoretire (Sorry, slightly bitter Devs fan still) and Selanne hang it up. Certainly he has the cash to go head-to head with anyone.

2:58 One more on Burke, he still has $9 Mill in cap room, $15-16 mill if Nieds decides to hang it up.

2:56 If Nieds returns, you can just put him and Pronger out there every other shift, and have Beauchemin and Schnieder out with a little O’Donnell and DiPenta mixed in. Either way, the Ducks are set for another serious run.

2:54 Now we might see some dominoes fall. Watch the rest of the day go by without an inking. Brian Burke = God frankly. If your a Ducks fan, and you don’t a golden shrine made in his image yet, your nuts.

2:53 The Ducks have signed Matheiu Schnieder, 2 years

Year 1: 5.5 Mill
Year 2: 5.75 Mill

Very interesting.

2:49 The FAN 590 in Toronto is reporting that Brian Rafalski and Philly are talking and getting very close.

2:48 Shout out to AllDucks.com, and all the members reading the stuff over there. Thanks for reading. I have a feeling Ryan Smyth and Daniel Briere are going to take their time. This is just pure speculation, but I think Drury might get done today, same with Gomer.

2:42 6 Years, $24 Million for Ryan Whitney in Pittsburgh.

2:41 Still not sure if the Jokinen for Tanguay rumor is true.

2:36 Atlanta could still be busy, trying to re-up Slava Kozlov.

2:35 Many sources are saying Schneider to the Isles, or possibly Anaheim. Detroit will likely re-up if they can’t get Brian Rafalski.

2:30
Tom Poti – WSH – 4 years, 3.5 Mill per
Brett McLean – FLA – 3 years
Richard Zednik – FLA – 4 yers
Ryan Whitney – PIT – TBA

2:00 PM SEE YOU AT 3:00 PM!!!!! THANK YOU FOR COMING!

1:59 PM The guys try to excuse wasting your last 3 hours. I say…it was just fun speculating.

1:59 PM Drury will likely be the first domino, says Pierre.

1:58 PM Bertuzzi and Lang are ones to watch. Shanahan as well.

1:58 PM They repeat the numbers again.

1:57 PM Parise and Emery may be RFA candidates.

1:56 PM They scrape the bottom of the bottle talking about RFA Offer Sheets.

1:54 PM The Edmonton Oilers are in the mix for a trade.

1:53 PM Chris Drury may be meeting with LA face-to-face right now. LA, MTL, STL, PHI and NYR are in the mix. McKenzie says Gomez and Rafalski will be signed by 6PM.

1:51 PM White was not ranked among TFP’s Top 30 UFA, and scored 13 goals last season. Atlanta has made all the signings today. All 2.

1:50 PM Yeah, breathtaking, eh? 10 minutes to go.

1:48 PM BREAKING NEWS: Atlanta Signs Todd White, 4 year/9.5 Million.

1:47 PM The Reporters are as dull as The Sports Reporters…who knew?

1:46 PM They blab about choices players make when they decide on a team.

1:45 PM More The Reporters.

1:44 PM Doug says the big key is self-imposed GM budgets, and not the cap.

1:43 PM Doug bets Michel Ouelett’s had many offers today.

1:42 PM Petr Sykora
Pierre: Pittsburgh
Doug: Detroit

Michel Ouelett: Atlanta
Pierre: Atlanta
Keith: Washington

1:41 PM Michal Handzus
Pierre and Keith: Stay in Chicago
Doug: Columbus

Tom Poti
Keith: Calgary
Pierre: Rangers (Not a chance)

1:40 PM Bill Guerin
Jonesy: Ottawa

Brad Stuart
Doug: LA

1:39 PM More right fits for players.
Matheiu Schnieder
Pierre & Keith: Detroit

Slava Kozlov
Doug: Detroit

1:37 PM COMMERCIAL

1:36 PM RUMOR: ALEX TANGUAY TO FLA FOR OLLI JOKINEN

1:33 PM More stuff on Iginla. 4 or 5 year deal.

1:33 PM BoNY PROGRAM NOTE: I WILL BE GOING OFFLINE FROM 2-3PM, BUT WILL BE BACK FROM 3PM till the rest of the day for updates. Keep tuning in to Battle of NY for the latest news! And we’ve got 27 minutes of blogging to go!

1:30 PM Commercial Again.

1:28 PM Answering TSN’s question, I’d take Thornton over JI any day.

1:26 PM Treading through filler material right now.

1:24 PM Danny Briere’s received 9 offers, narrowed them down to 5.

1:23 PM Miller says teams are dropping out right now as the prices go higher.

1:21 PM Who could use Drury the most? LA. Los Angeles apathy is at an all-time high, they need a good, proven winner, and an American kid. Hmm, who could fit that bill.

1:20 PM Commercial.

1:19 PM Souray’s hair will land him in NY according to Dougie.

1:18 PM Brian Rafalski
Pierre: Detroit
Doug: Some US City

1:16 PM 1 Year Deal for Jackman btw.

1:15 PM Chris Drury:
Pierre: San Jose
Doug: Colorado
Keith: Los Angeles

1:14 PM They’re talking about good destinations for the Top 5. Pierre says Gomez would be a good fit in VanCity or Philly. I still don’t think Gomez will stay in the East. MacLean says LA. He’d look good feeding Anze Kopitar.

1:13 PM Commercial.

1:11 PM Hopefully Jumbo Joe and Iggy will return the dollar values to normalcy now. Probably not.

1:09 PM Briere and Drury have likely narrowed it down to Philly, LA, and Montreal. Ryan Smyth’s received offers from 9 teams. BREAKING NEWS: Jarome Iginla close to signing a 4-year extension, 7 million a year. THN Reports.

1:08 PM Reported offer for Briere from MTL would be 6 yrs./$42 Mill. Briere and Drury are in LA right now.

1:08 PM KT’s tried calling Paul Kariya, but he wouldn’t take the call. BREAKING NEWS: Barrett Jackman re-signs in St. Louis. Tkachuk is surprised.

1:07 PM Yeah, Tkachuk should use his experience with Team USA to base free agent acquisitions on.

1:06 PM They’res the Tkachuk phone again. They’re talking to him now, from his kids baseball tournament in Kansas City, with cheers in the background. Keith bullshits Duthie about “possibly” coming back to STL.

1:05 PM Talking Head goes on about news you already know. Dupuis, Tkachuk, Jumbo Joe.

1:04 PM Looks like this’ll be nothing but a scare. They go to a SportsCenter update. I thought we left VERSUS to get away from SportsCenter.

1:04 PM Here we go.

1:01 PM DAMN YOU CLIFFHANGER!

1:00 PM Still with the friggin’ HHOF. Enough already.

12:59 PM I’ll reset with the breaking news in the next post!

12:59 PM McGuire says he’s got a signing “Coming Forward”

12:58 PM God dammit, talk about Mike Modano’s Hall of Fame chances when he retires, how about that.

12:58 PM BREAKING NEWS: BUT THEY WON’T TELL US!

12:57 PM Hockey Hall of Fame Talk. Pierre would take Belfour, Zubov over Joseph, Blake for the HHOF.

12:54 PM Commercial

12:53 PM 16-20, Handzus, Poti, Hamrlik, Sykora, Ouelett.

12:53 PM TSN’s 11-15, Schneider, Zubrus, Kozlov, Stuart, Guerin

12:52 PM The reporters say Boston’s moves will hurt team chemistry.

12:51 PM Devils fans? What do you think of Alex Auld for 15 games at under $1 Mill?

12:50 PM Gomer rumored to St. Louis, Chris at the Arena program reported at possibly 7 mill a year.

12:49 PM The Reporters debating Hasek. Dougie took a shot at Hull for his shots at CBJ on NBC last year.

12:46 PM Commercial.

12:44 PM Duthie references THN’s Player Poll for a 4th time.

12:43 PM Leafs Lunch is saying Gomez will sign 7 years/7 mill a year with NYR/PHI.

12:42 PM Any UFA’s, if you’re taking a look at NJ…look at this beauty!

http://www.newjerseydevils.com/njd/prucenter/view-cam.php

12:41 PM Kevin Lowe is interested in Rafalski, maybe Souray, Hamrlik. Gomez is interested apparently, close to home. He’ll be looking at Drury and Briere.

12:40 PM James Duthie’s Gospel is apparently the THN Players’ Pool. The same one where 65% of players said they’d accept a homosexual teammate. Sure. Edmonton is the 2nd least desirable place to make money and play hockey apparently.

12:39 PM Edmonton has re-signed Dick Tarnstrom, who played in Switzerland after spending 05-06 in PIT and EDM, as they turn their focus to the Oil.

12:38 PM COMMERCIAL.

12:37 PM Sheldon Souray could come to New Jersey, and start an NJ version of their pizza place in MTL. I’d happily come. I always love a fresh take on pizza.

12:34 PM Duthie thinks Crosby should be the next $10 million player. I sort of agree.

Battle of New York INSIDER’s PERSECTIVE

Mike Chen, Battle of California:

I’m guessing they’ll nail down Marleau for about $6 million per year and I don’t think that any oftheir forward signings (if they do try to get anyone) will be for morethan Marleau’s contract. That’s just an educated guess.

And contrary to what Keith Jones says, I do think it’s possible tograb Drury and keep them together IF Drury takes about $6 million togo to a contender. Cheechoo’s locked in for cheap and they’ve gotenough young talent as long as a FA forward isn’t hemmed in for morethan 3 years. I don’t think this’ll happen though, and I think SJ willfocus on D.

My guess is that SJ’s budget will be about 45 mil.

12:33 PM Calgary may be looking at Scott Hannan.

12:32 PM TSN doesn’t use any eye candy reporters. Dude in CGY says D.Sutter has 11-12 Mill under the cap. If you’ve got Jarome Iginla, Mikka Kiprusoff, Daymond Langkow becoming a UFA possibly next year, and Dion Phaneuf an RFA, you save a little money.

12:31 PM New Jersey will be a scary place if it’s without Gomer or Raffy next year. There may be shots fired in the rink instead of outside. Sorry, bad joke, I’ll be here all week.

12:30 PM Dreger says all the coveted players will take their time.

12:28 PM Gord Miller’s Wild Card of the Day: Brian Rafalski. All of them seem genuinely surprised that he’s still on the market. Bob says the phones are going crazy for him.

12:26 PM Commercial.

12:23 PM Players apparently love it in SJ. California is going to be a force to reckoned with in the hockey world for some time.

12:22 PM Joe Thornton – “California Rocks”.

12:21 PM Jumbo Joe loves SJ, apparently not enough to live there. He’s on the line with Duthie right now.

12:20 PM Kudos to Thornton. Based on what we’ve been seeing, he could’ve easily commanded $10 Million. Now the worry goes to Marleau. What do you think the Sharks will do? Leave comments, E-Mail at SMLepore@comcast.net, and IM at Incudude530.

12:19 PM BREAKING NEWS: THE SHARKS HAVE SIGNED JOE THORNTON TO A 3-YEAR EXTENSION, WORTH $7.2 Million A SEASON

12:19 PM Pierre McGuire argues that, complaining about his lack of playoff production. The panel chooses Scott Hannan over Brad Stuart.

12:18 PM Doug says, at 27, Danny Briere’s the only guy that’s worth the big bucks.

12:16 PM Kyle Calder may be an ideal guy for the Canucks.

12:14 PM They check in on VANCity right now. ‘Nucks would like to be 2 mill under, giving Dave Nonis 7 mill to work with. They apparently need another forward.

12:11 PM COMMERCIAL. Back after this.

12:11 PM Remember when BUF could’ve had Briere for 5 yrs/$25 mill last year?

12:09 PM TSN’s going through the Top 5’s again.

12:08 PM Front-loading contracts will kill small market teams, says Dreger.

12:07 PM Miller, McKenzie and Dreger say there’s a possible $10 million with the flexible salaries.

12:05 PM The guys talk about Rafalski’s value, saying that a team might make a mistake overpaying him. Once agian, they remind us that the cap is $50.3 mill, the floor is $34.3 mill, and the max salary is $10.06 Mill, sadly.

12:04 PM Keith and Doug won’t shut up about COL, but they’re very right.

12:03 PM Dougie Mac says the GM calls the agent, and asks for permission to talk to the player. I like Doug MacLean, but I disagree with a lot of what he says. Pierre says STL will have a big draw. I reported last night on KK that Scotty Gomez might be interested there.

12:02 PM Recap of what’s happened so far…nothing, unless you count Pascal Dupuis re-upping for $800K in ATL. Keith Tkachuk and Manny Fernandez went back to STL and were traded to MIN yesterday. That cell phone during the fatty Tkachuk interview’s annoying.

12:00 Noon THE TAMPERING PERIOD ENDS! General Managers may now show interest in unrestricted free agents. Blah blah blah. Let’s see where the first domino falls. My pick? Michal Handzus.

11:59 AM Commercial as we hit 12!

11:57 AM Pierre McGuire says John Paddock should coach the Sens. Dale Hunter and Patrick Roy are Jonesy’s choices, and former teammates. Dougie says Murray should do both.

11:56 AM Doug MacLean says bigger creases, Pierre McGuire says no, Keith Jones says no.

11:55 AM Can we not talk about Phil Esposito right now?

11:54 AM Haha, Jonesy’s dumb. Jonesy, PMac say Xenophobia caused Cherri’s drop. DMac says it’s the right call.

11:53 AM We go back to P-to-the-Mac-G’s raving lunacy about Alexei Cherepanov’s consistent bridesmaid status. They’re doing something called the Wednesday-Night Quiz.

11:51 AM They’re using all their commercials for before the start so that they can have time to break stories when they want.

11:50 AM Technically, he’s not even a Bruin for another 10 minutes, since Boston would be over the 06-07 cap.

11:48 AM Manny Fernandez on the line with JDuth. Am I the only person who thinks this move isn’t a great idea?

11:47 AM They suggest that if you deal UFA, they can’t go back to the team for a certain time period.

11:46 AM The reporters are Canada’s answer to ESPN’s The Sports Reporters. Dave Hodge, Damien Cox, Michael Farber and Steve Simmons debate the “rent-a-player” system.

11:45 AM A Reminder, drop me a line at E-Mail SMLepore@comcast.net, AIM Incudude530 or leave a comment if you have any questions!

11:41 AM Lindros is no longer a gamble because he’s a 4th liner. Dougie Mac says he’ll have a hard time finding a job. Commercial.

11:41 AM Forsberg could go back to Philly or Denver at a bargain.

11:40 AM Pierre says not Montreal, but other teams will risk on Yashin.

11:38 AM Matheiu Schnieder and Dainus Zubrus are possibilities for Les Habs.

11:37 AM Habs are looking for 2 d-men and a top 6 forward.

11:37 AM Gainey’s got some room to play, but will have to deal with some arbitrations.

11:36 AM The gang is talking Habs right now.

11:34 AM Another break. We’re halfway to Noon.

11:33 AM Wow, they’re really given it to MacLean about this stuff.

11:32 AM I think Jonesy’s lost me on the fact that Toronto still sucks.

11:31 AM Pascal Dupuis (ATL) has re-signed for 1 year, $808,000. I like Dupuis a lot, he’ll provide them energy off the 4th line.

11:30 AM They have the money for Ryan Smyth, and would be interested in Jason Blake and Paul Kariya.

11:30 AM JFJ is looking to dump Kubina or McCabe.

11:29 AM JFJ has about $6 mill in wiggle room. $8 mill counting the 10% overage.

11:28 AM Back and headed to Toronto.

11:27 AM Commercial

11:26 AM TFP’s 10 Best Available (Teams Interested in Parens):

1. D. Briere (BUF, MTL, NSH, MTL, WSH, LA, EDM, SJ, PHX, CHI)
2. S. Gomez (NJ, WSH, LA, CHI, EDM, PHX, PHI, VAN, TOR)
3. P. Forsberg (NSH, PHI, COL, VAN)
4. C. Drury (BUF, ATL, PHI, WSH, TOR, CHI, SJ, NSH, COL, BOS, MTL, NYR, CAR, LA)
5. S. Souray (MTL, LA, PHI, WSH, FLA, ANA, SJ)
6. R. Smyth (NYI, EDM, TOR, PHI, PHX, VAN, COL, CGY, DET, NYR, DAL, ANA, OTT, SJ)
7. J. Blake (NYI, NYR, VAN, ATL, MTL, DAL, TOR, STL, EDM, CHI)
8. S. Hannan (SJ, PIT, ATL)
9. T. Bertuzzi (DET, FLA, PHX, MTL, TOR, BOS)
10. P. Kariya (NSH, VAN, ANA, MTL, OTT, TOR, NYI)

11:22 AM The Sens will let Oleg Saprykin go. MacLean says OTT’s in the worst cap shape of any team, and Redden’s “Not goin’ anywhere”.

11:21 AM Phoenix has placed Dave Scatchard on waivers.

11:20 AM TSN’s James Cybulski says Redden, Emery, Schaefer and Corvo could be on the block in Ottawa. Redden is the most likely moved due to his salary.

11:18 AM They’re looking at needs for all 6 Canadian Teams. This is a good time to remind you that TFP is your source for all the chatter. Right now, they’re reporting that MTL is after Daniel Briere.

11:18 AM We’re Back.

11:16 AM Commercial. Back after the break.

11:14 AM Is it just me, or is Brian Burke much smarter than everyone else in hockey?

11:13 AM BRIAN BURKE! Says he hasn’t heard from Nieds or Teemu. He’s giving them as much time as they want.

11:13 AM Cool, the NHL takes privy over NASCAR and Boxing here.

11:12 AM Pittsburgh, Toronto and Vancouver will all be players according to Miller and Duthie.

11:12 AM More rankings:

6. Sheldon Souray
7. Scott Hannan
8. Paul Kariya
9. Jason Blake
10. Michael Nylander

11:12 AM Pierre is shocked that Rafalski hasn’t resigned with the Devils yet.

11:11 AM Duthie and McGuire are naming the Top UFAs.

5. Brian Rafalski
4. Daniel Briere
3. Ryan Smyth
2. Chris Drury
1. Scott Gomez

11:10 AM Miller points out that if your team missed the playoffs more than once recently, you have no shot at signing anyone.

11:10 AM Bob says the Sharks want to sign Joe Thornton first, before they take care of anything.

11:09 AM Gord Miller, Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger have their own insider’s studio. They make jokes about Blackberries and Hamilton and whatnot. Dreger points out that their are some key players who need to look into re-signing (Crosby, Heatley, Ovechkin, Emery, etc.).

11:07 AM Note that the salary floor is $34.3 mill, the cap $50.3 mill, and the max player salary is $10.06 million. Doug MacLean say no one will make $10 Mill. MacLean says no one should make $10 mill, but players might be able to command $8 mill.

11:06 AM Pierre says that Toronto’s John Ferguson, Calgary’s Daryl Sutter and Edmonton’s Kevin Lowe will be active. Jonesy says his Flyers, the Sharks, the Rags, the Avs, and the Kings will be active. The Avs will be active because they have what every team wants.

11:05 AM Doug MacLean, Keith Jones (!) and Pierre McGuire are the panel for today. Duthie points out that this is the youngest UFA Class ever.

11:04 AM Also talk of the deal between Minnesota and Boston for Manny Fernandez.

11:04 AM Quick talk about Keith Tkachuk’s re-signing

11:03 AM Souray also in that group, Kariya as well, Jason Blake…really? Nylander, now we’re just going Tier 2.

11:01 AM The panel is hosted by James Duthie and right now they’re showing highlights of the top UFA prizes, Briere, Drury, Gomez, etc.

11:00 AM Let’s rumble!

10:54 AM Remember to leave comments and questions, I will look for an answer.

10:52 AM Just so that no one is comfused, please note that what we’ll be watching is TSN’s “Free Agent Frenzy” show on NHL.com (and TSN and TSN.ca in Canada) with the myriad of TSN hockey experts and Bob McKenzie, Darren Dreger, and Pierre McGuire on cell phones live on camera.

Should be fun! See you in 7 minutes or so!

10:43 AM “The frenzy! The greatest experience in life and I missed it”
-Dr. John Zoidberg

Don’t miss out on all the hooplah, we’ll be ready to go with Free Agent Frenzy coverage in about 15 minutes tops.