yave1964 Posted July 17, 2022 Share Posted July 17, 2022 Three days after a record free agency frenzy, there are scant few players remaining who are capable of moving the needle. Here is about all that is left NAZIM KADRI Absolutely the best remaining free agent, supposedly colorado wants to find a way to resign him, he wants to return but contracts would have to be moved out to do so. Seattle and Calgary are also in JOHN KLINGBERG Seattle also in on Klingberg who is disappointed in the lack of interest around the league and is willing to bet on himself by taking a one or two year deal. FULL KESSEL Look, all jokes aside he can still score and at 34 is not going to break the bank. He will sign with a team like the Islanders sooner or later who need offense. NINO NIEDERREITTER 200 foot game but is eroding a bit as a player, he will find a home probably on the third line soon PK SUBBAN Coming off his massive contract, a shadow of his former self but defense is always in demand. With the money Montreal saved trading Petry it would be a homecoming if they bring him back. Buffalo rumored to be in on him as well. EVAN RODRIGUES Nice secondary scoring surprisingly unsigned. Versatile and talented someone will get a bargain Thats it folks six free agents of worth are all that is left. Really. Unless you like to take chances on aging 11th or 12th forwards or 6th defenseman like Raffl, Stastny, Gagner, Heinen, Stalman, Chiasson or Bozak. Half a dozen real players looking for a home. Time is on the side of the buyers who are few and far between. Most of the rest will struggle for a PTO camp invite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted July 17, 2022 Share Posted July 17, 2022 I'd throw in Robert Hagg in that group of value-depth UFAs that, if signed for a reasonable amount, could help a team. Not sure what some people were ever really expecting from the guy, but at 27 yrs old, he very clearly is NOT an offensive weapon option. What you will get is a big bodied, defense first, hitter and shot blocker. Skates reasonably well and should be a nice fit on someone's bottom pairing better than some guys who already occupy those roles. Some team like Toronto, Edmonton, even Pittsburgh or the Lightning, who'd rather run out the offense, could use a stable, simple gamed player like Hagg manning the back end. He also has an underrated ability to hang onto the puck and get it to the right guys, thus keeping his turnover rates down. Keep him away from the other team's top lines (except as a penalty killer, where he has also shown he is a good positionally) and he should be fine on a deep team that doesn't expect him to be a driving force on offense. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruxpin Posted July 17, 2022 Share Posted July 17, 2022 26 minutes ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said: I'd throw in Robert Hagg in that group of value-depth UFAs that, if signed for a reasonable amount, could help a team. Not sure what some people were ever really expecting from the guy, but at 27 yrs old, he very clearly is NOT an offensive weapon option. What you will get is a big bodied, defense first, hitter and shot blocke He was better than he was ever given credit for in Philly. Flyers threw in a first rounder to trade him for a lesser, but higher paid, him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted July 17, 2022 Share Posted July 17, 2022 13 minutes ago, ruxpin said: He was better than he was ever given credit for in Philly. Flyers threw in a first rounder to trade him for a lesser, but higher paid, him. I agree. He wasn't that bad in Buffalo either from the games I watched him play. Thing is, he isn't the type of player to "elevate" anything, thus with the Sabres he got exposed as well when he was put into spots where he needed to cover down someone's top six. On a deep team, he can be spectacularly unspectacular, and as long as he doesn't shat the bed with bone headed plays or goes out of his way to hit someone when a simple nudging off would do, he would be fine. IMO, he definitely has more IQ power on the ice than someone who will remain nameless, but sounds like "bistro" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Math Posted July 17, 2022 Share Posted July 17, 2022 17 hours ago, yave1964 said: JOHN KLINGBERG Seattle also in on Klingberg who is disappointed in the lack of interest around the league and is willing to bet on himself by taking a one or two year deal. Well, he's asking too much for too may years according to some insiders around this case. The possibility to re-sign him became possible with the Burns trade in Carolina but signing Miller instead shut the door ot this option. And no way he'd have come back at a lower rate than Lindell. However, he was a turnover machine last season and barely played at this standards, being one of the worst Dmen in the League at 5 vs. 5. This isn't helping his cause and with so many good teams being close to the cap, it's gonna be difficult for him to find a satisfactory landing spot. 17 hours ago, yave1964 said: PK SUBBAN Coming off his massive contract, a shadow of his former self but defense is always in demand. With the money Montreal saved trading Petry it would be a homecoming if they bring him back. Buffalo rumored to be in on him as well. On a max. 2 years at no more than $2M AAV, I'd take him. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted July 17, 2022 Share Posted July 17, 2022 28 minutes ago, Math said: Well, he's asking too much for too may years according to some insiders around this case. Sounds like the perfect Flyer... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted July 17, 2022 Author Share Posted July 17, 2022 45 minutes ago, Math said: Well, he's asking too much for too may years according to some insiders around this case. The possibility to re-sign him became possible with the Burns trade in Carolina but signing Miller instead shut the door ot this option. And no way he'd have come back at a lower rate than Lindell. However, he was a turnover machine last season and barely played at this standards, being one of the worst Dmen in the League at 5 vs. 5. This isn't helping his cause and with so many good teams being close to the cap, it's gonna be difficult for him to find a satisfactory landing spot. On a max. 2 years at no more than $2M AAV, I'd take him. Third pairing and second power play I think he still has value. Really fell hard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted July 17, 2022 Share Posted July 17, 2022 (edited) Never was a big fan of his, but Paul Stastny (I've always found him too streaky, and always seemed to be leaving fans expecting more), who will be 37 when the season starts, is still out there too. He is coming off a pretty nice 45 pt season over 70 games last year, and looking back at his last four years, I think it is reasonable to expect maybe a 35-40 pt year from him should anyone sign him. Whether he still has the desire to continue playing in the NHL would have to be gauged, but if he still wants to go through the grind, I think he'd make a decent 3rd line center, who can also take lots of draws as he is still a damned good face off man (54% career, and pushed it up a bit last season at 56%). Former top six guys sometimes have trouble adjusting to bottom six roles, but again, if he has the desire, I think he makes an upper echelon 3rd liner/defensive forward specialist, who will chip in production. His last cap hit was 6.5M, but on a contract somewhere under 3M AAV, for a year or two, even I'd take him on my team. Edited July 17, 2022 by TropicalFruitGirl26 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted July 17, 2022 Share Posted July 17, 2022 Damn...what the hell are the Florida Panthers doing over there? I think it's safe to say they are NOT gonna repeat as President's trophy winners next season, and in fact, I think they may even find it challenging even making the playoffs if any two of Detroit, Buffalo, or Ottawa take the expected big leaps forward. Panthers have lost lots of good players (Giroux, Acciari, Marchment, Chiarot), and replaced them with........ Gerald Mayhew, Anthony Bitetto, the HUSK ( @yave1964 ) of Marc Staal, and signed today, Michael Freakin Del Zotto?? At least the two way show me contracts of Chris Tierney and Nick Cousins MAY give them something. But the Panthers better hope their main core players knock it out of the park because I am very underwhelmed by the majority of those "additions" 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted July 17, 2022 Share Posted July 17, 2022 1 hour ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said: Damn...what the hell are the Florida Panthers doing over there? I think it's safe to say they are NOT gonna repeat as President's trophy winners next season, and in fact, I think they may even find it challenging even making the playoffs if any two of Detroit, Buffalo, or Ottawa take the expected big leaps forward. Panthers have lost lots of good players (Giroux, Acciari, Marchment, Chiarot), and replaced them with........ Gerald Mayhew, Anthony Bitetto, the HUSK ( @yave1964 ) of Marc Staal, and signed today, Michael Freakin Del Zotto?? At least the two way show me contracts of Chris Tierney and Nick Cousins MAY give them something. But the Panthers better hope their main core players knock it out of the park because I am very underwhelmed by the majority of those "additions" Hmm...I am going to taper back my 'Panther Bashing' just a bit. Upon further review, the one real loss Florida had was Mason Marchment. Noel Acciari is a good grinder with a bit of scoring that should be easily replaceable, and both Giroux and Chiarot, while providing their respective skillsets, were simply rentals and the Panthers were doing fine even before acquiring them. They were brought on to put the Panthers over the top, which obviously, didn't happen. As for the signings, those are mostly two way contracts, and likely to start the season in Charlotte, with the possibility of a callup or two, but the Panthers shouldn't have to rely on the likes of Bitetto, Del Zotto, etc for their defensive needs. The core of the Panthers is still pretty good (Huberdeau, Barkov, Ekblad, Verhaeghe, Bobrovsky, Bennett, Reinhart), and Tierney and Cousins COULD revitalize themselves playing for a fast paced team like Florida. I still can't see them being the top team in points again this year, as I feel many of their players, while good, had career years (tough to duplicate) so, just like the Minnesota Wild who also had a bunch of players exceed career highs, regression is natural. But if the Panthers can maneuver their cap around, maybe pick up a low cost value player or two along the way, like some we mentioned here, they should be in the playoff picture again, even with the rising of some of the bottom teams from last season. So my apologies to all 17 Panther fans for wondering "What the hell is going on over there" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted July 18, 2022 Share Posted July 18, 2022 On 7/16/2022 at 8:12 PM, yave1964 said: Thats it folks six free agents of worth are all that is left. Did Patrice Bergeron retire or something?? No love for him?? I haven't seen anything?? Shouldn't he be on the list? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yave1964 Posted July 18, 2022 Author Share Posted July 18, 2022 9 hours ago, OccamsRazor said: Did Patrice Bergeron retire or something?? No love for him?? I haven't seen anything?? Shouldn't he be on the list? I didnt list Bergeron because he has been clear he has no interest in continuing his brilliant career anywhere save for Boston. He is technically a free agent but he is Beantown bound or off to the golf course. I gotta believe he has a few years at least left in him as he is still a near elite faceoff man and easily the best defensive forward of his generation. I hate Boston sports teams for their arrogance but like Brady before he left for Florida, I absolutely am mesmerized by Bergeron when he is on the ice. No player today IMHO has a more complete game, he does everything not only well but at a near elite level. There are better scorers but like bob Gainey and others of their ilk his selfless play is a thing of beauty. Long rant, sorry. Long story short, he is not leaving Boston. Mores the pity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Math Posted July 18, 2022 Share Posted July 18, 2022 I'm not this has come out of Québec, but Bergeron seemed to have re-signed for one year with the Bruins. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OccamsRazor Posted July 18, 2022 Share Posted July 18, 2022 2 hours ago, yave1964 said: I didnt list Bergeron because he has been clear he has no interest in continuing his brilliant career anywhere save for Boston. He is technically a free agent but he is Beantown bound or off to the golf course. I gotta believe he has a few years at least left in him as he is still a near elite faceoff man and easily the best defensive forward of his generation. I hate Boston sports teams for their arrogance but like Brady before he left for Florida, I absolutely am mesmerized by Bergeron when he is on the ice. No player today IMHO has a more complete game, he does everything not only well but at a near elite level. There are better scorers but like bob Gainey and others of their ilk his selfless play is a thing of beauty. Long rant, sorry. Long story short, he is not leaving Boston. Mores the pity. Thanks for the explanation. So we notice Giroux sure never came out and say this. So now we know the depth of love each has to play for their respective teams. Not that either is wrong. Just the difference in loyalty. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted July 18, 2022 Share Posted July 18, 2022 3 hours ago, OccamsRazor said: So we notice Giroux sure never came out and say this. So now we know the depth of love each has to play for their respective teams. Not that either is wrong. Just the difference in loyalty. Hmm...I dunno. I wouldn't be so quick to bash Giroux over something like that. For sure, Bergeron is showing super loyalty towards the team he became a star on, but then again, Bergeron and Giroux are at different places in their careers. Patrice is at the back end of it, while Giroux still has quite a few more years in him. Add to that, the fact that Bergeron actually has a SC ring, while Giroux doesn't.... I think Claude simply is looking to where he has a chance to win one, and if he can do it closer to home in Ottawa, with a good up n coming team while he does it, that'd be gravy for him. Would Bergeron had stayed this loyal had he NOT won his Cup and would have liked a chance for a ring before he retired? Very possible he would have Ray Bourque'ed his way out of Boston too! But back to Giroux, I saw an interview done with him where Claude talked about his time in Philadelphia and going home to Ottawa. He actually spoke highly about the Flyers in general and about their fans in particular. I'd say that should merit some 'loyalty points' for him. He just wants to win and be on a team he feels "right" in (apparently the Panthers didn't feel right), and where he could spend the rest of his useful years in quest of a Cup. Unfortunately, with the mess Philly has going on, who knows when they see the light of day for a decent playoff run, let alone a title. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted July 18, 2022 Share Posted July 18, 2022 Slim pickings... Doesn't matter. Flyers' inapt management doesn't have cap room for anything... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radoran Posted July 18, 2022 Share Posted July 18, 2022 On 7/17/2022 at 2:57 PM, TropicalFruitGirl26 said: Michael Freakin Del Zotto?? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Math Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 Well, no surprises there: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 23 minutes ago, Math said: Well, no surprises there: What about the guy representing KLINGBERG? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radoran Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 3 hours ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said: What about the guy representing KLINGBERG? What about the guy who spent a 2/3/4 to acquire DeAngelo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicalFruitGirl26 Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 1 minute ago, radoran said: What about the guy who spent a 2/3/4 to acquire DeAngelo? That guy? I think most would agree he needs to be fired into the Sun 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radoran Posted July 28, 2022 Share Posted July 28, 2022 10 minutes ago, TropicalFruitGirl26 said: That guy? I think most would agree he needs to be fired into the Sun What did the sun ever do to us? 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts