A look at where Thrashers are prior to UFA season
It is said that one cannot know where they are going unless you first know where you have been…or even where you are now. With that in mind, let’s take a look-see at exactly where the Thrashers are right now before we embark on our trip to the NHL’s UFA talent pool later this week.
Given the players that Atlanta has currently under contract as well as RFAs that have received qualifying offers, I’ve put together a possible lineup that Craig Ramsay could skate out on the ice. Next to each player, I’ve placed their salaries… basing the information on numbers listed on gapgeek.com.
Since I do not yet know what the RFAs have been offered, I have listed their salaries from last year’s contracts…though certainly those will be adjusted once we gain an appreciation of their new offers.
Nic Bergfors, Bryan Little and Nik Antropov should be back o celebrate more goals together. But who else could Rick Dudley bring in to join them? (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Forwards:
Bergfors – RFA ($800,000)
Antropov – $4,062,500
Byfuglien – $3,000,000
Kane – $3,100,000
Peverley – $1,325,000
Little – RFA ($900,000)
MacArthur – RFA ($1,400,000)
Slater – $1,000,000
White – $2,375,000
Eager – RFA ($1,000,000)
Cormier – $845,833
Thorburn – $660,000
Press Box: Kingberg – $790,000/ Machacek – $858,333
Defense:
Hainsey – $4,500,000
Enstrom – $3,750,000
Oduya – $3,500,000
Sopel – $2,333,333
Bogosian – $3,375,000
Kulda – $516,000
PB: Valabik – $762,500
Goal:
Pavelec – RFA ($1,400,000) / Mannino $500,000
Considering the roster listed above, the salaries of those currently under contract totals $37,253,499 and the RFA numbers from last season come to $5,500,000. This would bring the estimated total to $42,753,499…leaving the team with about $16.5 million in cap space.
Should so chose to do so, other players that could be mixed and matched above are…
Forward Anthony Stewart – RFA ($600,000)
Forward Angelo Esposito – $916,667
Defense Ivan Vishnevskiy – $821,667
F.orward Fredrik Pettersson – $615,000
Defense Paul Postma – $875,000
Either way you would put the team together, it can be safe to assume this will not be the lineup we see in three months. But this at least gives a decent snapshot of where we are at the beginning of our journey.
Could Boris Valabik find himself fighting for another NHL team next season if Pavel Kubina re-signs with the Thrashers? (AP Photo/John Amis)
Now, looking forward…where might Rick Dudley look to improve upon what he has to work with at this time?
In goal, I would be stunned if we see a Pavelec/Mannino tandem. I’d also me very, very concerned. But if Hedberg is to be re-signed, then Mannino heads back to the AHL Wolves and we see a return of last season’s pairing between the pipes.
Hedberg made about $1.1 million last season…so his return would elevate the payroll about half a mil or so if he replaces Mannino.
The other options here are a UFA or trade.
On defense, most of us are hoping to see Dudley and Co. bring Pavel Kubina back into the fold. To that measure, Dudley has said the two parties are still a little ways apart and Ramsay hopes the veteran defenseman is will to accept a “hometown discount”.
Kubina seems to like the Thrashers’ decision to hire Ramsey saying, “I like the direction of the team and I really like Rammer. He’s a great teacher”.
If Kubina does return…adding $3-4 million to the payoll…then that alters the makeup of the Thrashers’ blueline. My take would be that he’d replace Valabik on the roster…making Boris expendable for trade. It’s either that or Dudley keeps Kulda in Chicago. But personally, if a choice had to be made between the two, I’d rather see Kulda in a Thrashers jersey than Valabik this season.
Mark Popovic and Christoph Schubert are slated to be UFAs Thursday morning. Dudley has said that they expect the two to take a dip in the UFA pool this week.
Up front…I would love to see the Thrashers come to terms with Maxim Afinogenov. The 24-goal scorer from last season had indicated he’d be willing to play here again, however I can’t blame him at all for turning his nose up at a contract that spans only one season. Personally, I’d have given him at least two years, possibly three given what he did here.
What part of the Thrashers roster concerns you most?
- Offense (30%, 43 Votes)
- Defense (2%, 3 Votes)
- Goal (48%, 68 Votes)
- All Three (20%, 27 Votes)
Total Voters: 141
Loading ...But it looks more and more likely that Max will seek employment elsewhere come Thursday morning. As Dudley recently told Chris Vivlamore, “We’ve talked to Afinogenov, although it would seem now that Max will test the free-agent market. We’ve made him an offer”.
Colby Armstrong, Eric Boulton and Evgeny Artyukhin are also pending free agents. Bolts is mulling over an offer from the Thrashers while Army and Arty will more than likely seek employment elsewhere.
Dudley has indicated he would like to add a 15-goal scorer. To get one, he could test the waters in the UFA pool, of course…or take a Valabik and/or Todd White, package them up with picks/prospects and go on a little shopping spree.
As far as cap issues are concerned, an apples-for-apples type of deal involving those two would be offset by a player that earns somewhere in the neighborhood of $3-3.25 million. While that seems like a lot of money to shell out for a 15-goal scorer, keep in mind that that level of production would more than double White’s output of last season.
And for only about a mil more. Just sayin’….
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
227 comments Add your comment
Bobby Lalond
June 29th, 2010
4:58 pm
Klingberg or Petterson WILL have a permanent spot on the roster.
Alan R.
June 29th, 2010
5:11 pm
Glad you’re safe, LAC.
Joe Friday
June 29th, 2010
5:11 pm
Nabokov’s the only UFA that I’d want as an upgrade, otherwise go with Moose again. Mabye we can trade for one. Didn’t some info leak that Dudley was trying to get in on the Halak deal, that would have been nice. Who else has a goalie to trade (and no I don’t want Huet).
Joe Friday
June 29th, 2010
5:12 pm
LAC, did Bruce Levenson finally catch up with you?!?
Zoomo
June 29th, 2010
5:14 pm
I’d tenf to think Klingberg is a year away and Petterson was signed for AHL depth. No?
World Be Free
June 29th, 2010
5:16 pm
Joe-what’s your thoughts on Harding?
I agree that Nabakov would be an upgrade and there’s not anyone else available in his class.
Thomas Magnum
June 29th, 2010
5:37 pm
If I’m a GM then I try to sign Nabokov (which probably won’t happen) and then I immediately go for Ellis who is the 2nd best option in my opinion and could probably be had for around 2 mil a year and sign him for 2 years. Then I go out and do whatever I can to sign a 20plus goal scorer. If you get those two things then this team looks pretty decent and could compete for a playoff spot. Without them….yikes! It could be a long season with so many young guys.
R. Stroz
June 29th, 2010
6:27 pm
The Habs acquire rights to goalie Dan Ellis for Sergei Kostitsyn.
kracker
June 29th, 2010
6:35 pm
twitter kausatoday The Habs acquire rights to goalie Dan Ellis for Sergei Kostitsyn. They’ll try to sign him to play with Price. Dustin Boyd joins Montreal.
Lowballed in Lanta
June 29th, 2010
6:54 pm
Ellis’ rights traded to Montreal.
World Be Free
June 29th, 2010
7:25 pm
Looks like we better up the offer to Moose and keep him here. Don’t know why Ellis would want to sign in Montreal, knowing he’s going to be a backup again. Strange days.
Jack
June 29th, 2010
7:29 pm
oh well. What does dudley have against resigning his own players. He has made great moves so far, but WTH???? You have plenty of money to spend and money you need to spend to get over the minimum.
Can we say COME ON DUDLEY
Brendan
June 29th, 2010
7:47 pm
LAC, welcome back. Hope you are making a full recovery.
Rawhide, we are spoiled, sir. Spoiled to have you in our midst. What a great, and timely read. Well, we know they must at least spend to the FLOOR of the cap, right? I’m guess our budget will be around $55 million this year, including bonuses for Bogosian, Kane, maybe even Burmistrov, assuming he signs his capped entry-level contract. It’d be nice to get Kubina back, but I don’t want longer than a 3-year deal for the 32 year old. I hope we at least stay in the bidding for Kubina on July 1.
I voted for goaltending, in the poll. If Moose isn’t back, and he may not be, then I hope we do invest some money in netminding. I’m sure these owners don’t WANT to miss the playoffs. But if they do, they might regret not fully addressing the goaltending situation in July. We can’t just count on some miraculous waiver claim to fall into our laps.
TrueBlue
June 29th, 2010
7:56 pm
WBF, technically Ellis hasn’t signed anything. Each team got rid of a player that they did not want or need. Ellis could still be on the table. I agree though, why go there to be a backup goalie?
Red Light
June 29th, 2010
8:07 pm
I’ve been hearing a lot of negativity about Price off the ice. Also heard Chad Denny is one of his buddies, so that can’t be a good sign. If Ellis signs in Montreal, it won’t be for less money than he made in Nashville IMO. I say he gets 1-3 years at a minimum of $2.25 million. Dustin Boyd looked decent in the games I saw late in the season, and Sergei Kostitsyn needs to find an identity. He should get a lot of opportunity to do so if he sticks with Nashville.
Erik Christensen turned down a two-year deal with NYR. Thank goodness!
Alan R.
June 29th, 2010
8:08 pm
and Petterson was signed for AHL depth. No?
No. He did sign a two-way contract, that would see him making ~500k/yr in the NHL (~65k/yr AHL). He’s gotta tryout for the team, and if he sticks, that’s awesome. However, he’s not a “depth” signing.
Red Light
June 29th, 2010
8:10 pm
Floating, floating, floating in cyberspace. Release me Fair Mistress of the Keyboard! Thanks in advance Trixie.
World Be Free
June 29th, 2010
8:30 pm
True Blue-agreed, would have been nice if we were proactive enough to have traded for his rights, if he is our #1 goaltending target and he might want to play here. He is 29 years old, his prime earning years and we know Price is the man in Montreal. So I doubt he is going to sign in Montreal to be a backup. I looked at Biron as the #2 guy in Montreal. Look for Buffalo to possibly resign Lalime for 1 year, moving Biron towards Montreal. Sabres are too cheap and Darcy Regier is an idiot.
Curly
June 29th, 2010
9:57 pm
Here’s Dud’s UFA 15-20 goal scorer…. Raffi Torres
https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/teams/players/bio/?id=2123
Trixie (Rawhide's Secretary)
June 29th, 2010
9:58 pm
Mr. Red Light, Kracker, R.Stroz & Brendan – I have freed your comments from Blog Purgatory. If I didn’t know any better, I would think you gentlemen conspired to deliberately clog up the spam filter.
Am I not paying enough attention to you boys?
Joe Friday
June 29th, 2010
10:00 pm
Guys, see Montreal also sees Ellis as a backup, he’s not a #1. From reading Ellis’ Twitter he’s pretty excited. Nabokov? Trade for tim Thomas? He’s damaged goods but he’s also a he’LL of a Goalie if healthy
Rawhide
June 29th, 2010
10:03 pm
Well…looks like we have an unhappy Moose when it comes to what Dudley and Co. offered him.
Joe Friday
June 29th, 2010
10:13 pm
Tring to get Moose to take a hometown discount in an effort to spend whatever hard cap they have on a scorer? Not a sound stratgery…need to upgrade goal, d, and a scorer, is our hope now just 1 of those 3?
R. Stroz
June 29th, 2010
10:31 pm
I hear a little birdy chirping…the ASG is CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP
Our team identity maybe materializing…the barely legal team.
Jack
June 29th, 2010
10:38 pm
What is this Raffi Torres you speak of?
Smoothie
June 29th, 2010
10:43 pm
I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up signing either Alexie Ponikarovsky or even Ruslan Fedotenko. One has a strong connection and friendship with Antropov and the other played for and won his first Cup with Craig Ramsay. He’s been averaging right around 15-18 goals / season for the last 4 or 5 years so there you go. Ruslan struggled a bit last season, but might thrive playing for Rammer again with younger, speedier guys in ATL.
Just throwin’ it out there for discussion…anyone?
Jack
June 29th, 2010
10:46 pm
I like it Smoothie, what about goalie
Smoothie
June 29th, 2010
10:57 pm
Hmmm, a goalie? With Ellis possibly signing in MTL, I would say either Biron or Nittymaki as a #1b goalie with Pavs. Perhaps Minny’s Harding if we can persuade them to take MacArthur in return.
We qualified C-Mac but I think we may be dangling him as trade-bait. Now that the draft is over and considering some teams won’t be able to get what they want in UFA, I think we’ll have a little more leverage in a trade. Just can’t believe we didn’t buy-out White…how’s it sound Stroz?? Cheep, cheep, cheep!
Well, Dudley’s a dealer and I fully expect him to make a couple more moves by training camp.
IDWT
World Be Free
June 30th, 2010
5:42 am
Torres-always been a big fan, plays physical and scores. Had a good season in Columbus last year then got traded to BUF at the deadline and totally bombed. He couldn’t find his niche with the Sabres. Good player, high draft pick with the Islanders has played for 4 teams. Tronna native that is supposedly headed to the Leafs as a UFA with our buddy Colby. Don’t know how affordable he would be but the Leafs love to overpay for hometown boys.
Smitty
June 30th, 2010
7:03 am
I was listening to Jeff Marek on HNIC radio last night and he spoke very highly of Kumitsov during an interview with Dudley. They both feel he has a chance of being on the roster this fall. Dudley said he has bulked up some but still needs to add a little more. I think we had this type of conversation last year concerning Kane and that turned out OK.
As for Kubina, someone mentioned we have a lot of money tied up with the defense. I would like to make a pitch for Hamhuis if Pittsburg does not sign him and maybe offer Enstrom and White in a trade package to get some more help up front.
Badger Bob
June 30th, 2010
7:08 am
Okay, I’m more down now that I was after the 2005 Draft Recap Blog…
Smoothie – I think Duds had something in mind when he changed his tune from “20 goal scorer” clearly stated in his post-trade presser to “15 goal scorer” more recently, and perhaps that’s ’cause he went back and looked at Fedotenko’s numbers.
Looking at our line up I’m concerned about where the goals come from. Assuming we need at least 230 in order to compete for a playoff spot, try breaking that down to individual goal scorers and you’ll be concerned too. Consider we’ve subtracted 3 of our top 5 goal scorers (yes, Colby cheese was our No. 5!). So Bergfors replaces Max’s scoring and Buff replaces (or hopefully improves upon) Colby’s, we’re still down 40+ goals. We need improved Kane output in the dreaded sophamore year, Bergie to maintain, Little to rebound to 25+, Pevs to return to previous form and Antro to put up career best numbers again… a lot of ifs…
A solution? Sign Max for 2 – 3 years. Perhaps they’ve offered and he wants 4, but he is important. And sign Arti! His 5 goals in 17 games translated to 24 goals over a season. There’s your 20-goal UFA, Duds. You traded for him, but won’t resign him after a good showing here? Unless Arti is asking $2M plus, I don’t see why we haven’t signed him. You can’t tell me MacA is worth $1.4M and Arti is not worth whatever he is asking (probably <$1.4M).
I agree with the depth strategy, but we've got to get 40 – 50 goals from the third line and I just don't see it.
Red Light
June 30th, 2010
7:24 am
A very interesting piece by Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post. Although the Caps have disappointed in the playoffs, their roster moves are focused first and foremost on bringing guys up through the system. Hershey, their AHL affiliate, won the Calder Cup and GM McPhee says that rather than give out a deal they don’t like for 3-4 years, they’d rather wait on guys in the system to develop. Must be nice to have that luxury.
Seems to me that despite their postseason misgivings, the Caps are still head and shoulders above the other four teams in the Southeast Division, which means at worst, they’ll be the No. 3 seed next April in the Eastern Conference.
Neuvirth, who will be part of the goaltending tandem with Varlamov, is 30-6 with five shutouts in the AHL playoffs during the last two seasons and both guys are only 22 years old.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/capitalsinsider/mcphee-caps-to-proceed-prudent.html#more
Red Light
June 30th, 2010
7:27 am
Smitty: Hamhuis might cost you more than Kubina and certainly for a longer term. He is no “Blue Light” special. All top-4 defensemen on the UFA ledger will be expensive to sign tomorrow.
Smitty
June 30th, 2010
7:54 am
Red Light: I agree Hamhuis will cost more and for a lot longer. He is only 27 or 28. His cost could be offset by Kubina leaving and Enstrom or Hainsey being traded.
World Be Free
June 30th, 2010
8:13 am
Red Light-did you get a chance to watch Hershey Bears in the playoffs on NHL Netowrk? Pretty good team, Neuvirth was as solid as your numbers would indicate. There’s some symmetry between the Bears and Capitals from a system standpoint, a characteristic of how successful NHL teams work with their minor league affiliates.
Badger Bob
June 30th, 2010
8:16 am
In looking at our lineup and considering where goals will come from, I may be more depressed now than after Rawhide’s 2005 Draft post.
Say we need 230 goals again in order to have a shot at the playoffs (we had 230 last year, and averaged 231 over the past 4 seasons). To get there we need 25 goal seasons from:
Anrto (another carrer high year);
Pevs (needs to return to form);
Bergie (no sophamore slump allowed);
Little (also a return to form); and
Buff (a career high year).
Then, assuming 20 goals from Kaner, 30 from our Dmen (we had 33 last year, including Pasha’s 6, playing an offensively aggresive style) and 10 from our 4th line, we need each and every 3rd line player to score 15.
So that’s 5 or 6 ifs on our top two lines, and a HUGE question on our third line. Consider only 5 guys scored 15 or more goals in a Thrashers uniform last year, and only two of them look to return. Yikes!
I’d say we need to sign Max or his replacement (Lombardi or Poni) and NEED to sign Arti. Dudley confuses me on Arti – his 5 goals in 17 games with ATL translate to 24 goals in a full season, so Duds 15 or 20 goal scorer is under his nose, drafted by and traded for by Dudley, no less.
Number 1 need is certainly goalie. But number 2 need is goals. All you “sign Kubes” guys better also be “trade Hainsey or Toby for a true top 6 forward” guys.
glovesave29
June 30th, 2010
8:25 am
JF – Montreal did not bring in Ellis for the sole purpose of being Price’s backup. First of all, he is an insurance policy…a co- number one brought in as Price is erratic, both in his play and between the ears. He is one bad week away from the entire city of Montreal turning on him (most have already!)They traded away a player who was (although very talented) lazy and did not fit the system or in the locker room. This is no different than the Hamuis summer tour 2010…trade a lesser pick, or a lesser player for the opportunity to sign him prior to 1 July. Trying to get a good deal before the prices start to escalate drastically. And of course he’s going to say nice things…who trashes a potential boss in the interview process? He’s also putting a good face forward to all who may want to sign him. He’s playing politics…and good for him for doing so. Show’s he is a smart guy…and he certainly has the ability to be a starter in this league.
TableHockey
June 30th, 2010
8:37 am
Geez Badger – that’s some depressing math.
I too am baffled by the feet dragging that’s happening with our UFAs. Is Dudley looking to clean house? I would like to think he looks several moves ahead as opposed to DW who seemed more reactive but we need to sign some scorers and unless Max and Arty are just asking for too much, they would combine for 40 goals easily.
Bummed to hear about Ellis’ rights going to MTL especially considering the recent news from Chris V about Hedberg not being happy with his offer. I think, based on how many shots our goalies were facing last season on a nightly basis, there is no way Turco or Nabokov comes to ATL. I think Ellis would definitely be willing to come to ATL and would be a good back-up if Pavs gets shaky during the season.
Red Light
June 30th, 2010
8:44 am
100 percent on target glovesave29.
BB- Excellent recap. Concerning the Arty saga – in my mind is quite simple really. He made $1 million last year and while he contributed nicely while he was here, I personally believe no player that averages less than 10 minutes per game and has less than 200 NHL games under his belt is worth $1.2 million (with a raise) unless there is an upside, particularly for a third- or fourth liner. I don’t care if he is the meanest SOB in league, which he isn’t, I wouldn’t pay that kind of money for him. If Slater is worth $1 million, then Arty isn’t worth $1.2 million plus because you can run Slater out on the penalty kill’s 2nd unit. Of course, that’s just my opinion, but I think entry level guys can do as much as Arty. This is purely a budget move in my mind and can’t fault Dudley’s thinking on this one. I’m thinking Arty asked for more than $1.2 million.
I don’t think Hainsey or Toby is on the market. I could be wrong, but even though Hainsey was overpaid to come here, he logs lots of minutes and with the right partner like Oduya, I think he will continue to be valuable. Enstrom takes a lot of heat on this blog from some people, but while small and a bit timid about shooting, he leads Thrashers d-men in time of possession, which simply means when the puck is on his stick, the other team can’t score.
As Ramsay said, he wants four or five players on the attack and both Hainsey and Enstrom are excellent in joining the rush. Bogo is too. I think Kubina’s money is better spent on a guy like Paul Martin or Volchenkov, or even Willie Mitchell, who are solid shutdown defenders. You pair Oduya and one of those with Hainsey or Enstrom and you have complementary pairs.
What do you think about that concept?
World Be Free
June 30th, 2010
9:01 am
I took a look at the current list of UFAs; seems like most teams are doing what we are doing, playing the waiting game with their UFAs. I had a top 40 UFA list published a few weeks back; of the top 40, only 4 are signed. All is this is fine with me, as long as we have a plan for goaltending, since we will need a backup plan if someone steps up and signs Moose to the type of deal (money and term) that he is looking for.
Glovesave-a buddy of mine that’s a Habs fan sez the same thing you do about Ellis going to Montreal, which brings up the question of why the Habs would have traded Halak if they knew Price had head issues. This was clear last year when Price lost his #1 job to Halak. Now the Habs are going to pay good money to a backup / insurance man when you could have invested that money in Halak, a guy who proved his worth last season. Price has a little Jeff George in him and that is not good for the Habs.
Badger Bob
June 30th, 2010
9:07 am
Great points as usual, RL. You’ve turned me around on Arty. And I’m 100% with you on retaining Toby and Hainsey – I was giving a reality check to the keep Kubina crowd. With the Octo budget, we can’t tie up over $20M in Dmen, so I think we have to keep our top 5 as is and add Vish/Kulda/Boris. Spend the $4M on a forward or a goalie.
How can Octo be willing to pay $101M to Kovy and not a few M to these other guys? C’mon, lock up Moose for 1-2 years. He’s as good as anyone out there, and we don’t need a younger goalie because the future is Pavs et al.
kracker
June 30th, 2010
9:11 am
Why is everyone so sure our various ufa/rfa have been low-balled? Have you seen the offer sheets? Potential FAs will either accept a reasonable offer from the current team’s perspective (the HD) or they will go for big bucks July 1. Perhaps they get what they want elsewhere, perhaps they will eventually resign with the current team.
If Dudley has offered each potential signee what he feels they are worth and a length of term he feels is proper for that player on this team, again, exactly how is it low-balling if a player wants more money and/or more years. It’s called the free agency system, folks.
If all our FAs had been signed two weeks ago the same would likely be complaining that Dudley had to grossly overpay to get them to forego testing free agency.
Criticism where warranted is just fine. Carping, at this point, is simply carping for the sake of doing it.
J.B.
June 30th, 2010
9:27 am
i think it’s important to note, and i’m sure someone already has, that ellis could still be available. if i was a free agent only a day away from multiple offers guaranteed, i’d be inclined to hold off signing with MTL for 24 hours just to see what’s out there and how valuable I am. if he does sign with the Canadiens, there are other options in goal that wouldn’t be the end of the world by any means.
I would be ok with Ponikarovsky coming here. I think he’s more talented than his playoff results showed.
I don’t think a high priced d-man is on Duds’ radar for tomorrow, but if i’m wrong the one to enter a bidding war for is Volchenkov.
I believe I know how most people will respond to this but would it be worth a 1 year league minimum contract to Cheechoo just to see if the guy needs a change of scenery? I know he’s been in steep decline, but I just can’t get past he’s a Richard Rocket winner.
kracker
June 30th, 2010
9:37 am
Cheechoo is this season’s Max??? Probably less likely to happen with Cheech but I’d certainly be OK with him coming to camp on a tryout basis, the same as Max did.
J.B.
June 30th, 2010
9:44 am
kracker – yep. forgot to write that part… i meant on a tryout basis first and then a 1 year league minimum contract if he performs. thanks for the correction.
Smoothie
June 30th, 2010
9:45 am
Great discussion folks. So many options, so little time!
I like the idea of trying to lure in a Paul Martin or Volchenkov. In my opinion, those guys are worth over-paying for. Going forward, it should be all about defense and keeping teams from denting the back of our net. Ramsay’s teams have always made big-time improvement in GAA and not just because of the goaltending. However, it would be nice to get a Khabibulin of our own, but I’m just not sure if any of the veteran guys outside of Nabakov are worth more than $4 M +.
Martin was Oduya’s partner for at least a year, no? Perhaps Johnny can help put the full-court press on Martin and get him here for between $4.5 and $5 M? We paid Kubina $5 M last year; why not lock up a younger, shut-down guy for 4 years @ $4.5 M per? Martin is only 28 and should have some very productive years left. He’s just the kind of D-man you want to help your team keep the puck out of your own zone.
Lastly, “NHL Sources Say” tweeted that we’re targeting Pavol Demitra in UFA…wrong “Pavol” if you ask me. But then again, Demitra could be had for an incentive-laden deal with a fairly small base eh? He’s 35 right?
Badger Bob
June 30th, 2010
9:47 am
JB – Cheech is a strange situation. He was never a true 50-goal scorer (he did that in the first year post-lock out, when the new clutch and grab rules were in play and all scoring was inflated, and was being fed by Marleau and THornton, who had career highs for assists that year), but his decline is amazing. If we are to experiment with a cast off, I’d take Modano and his leadership over Cheech.
Rawhide
June 30th, 2010
9:51 am
kracker – I have to agree with your 9:11 am post. I’ve heard a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth around here about Dudley “low-balling” or “dragging his feet” in regards to UFAs. Fact is, he has extended offers to all free agents that he seeks to retain…at the price he is willing to pay for their services. The ball is in their court now.
As I’ve said before…I”ll wait to judge the product as a whole when we see what team has been assembled and try to refrain from judging parts and pieces as the process plays out.
J.B.
June 30th, 2010
9:53 am
Modano is going to cost ALOT more than Cheech. Modano will likely have offers tomorrow… Cheechoo will not. Also, there’s no way in hell Modano will sign anywhere on the cheap. Cheechoo would likely agree to come in on a tryout basis. I see what you’re saying though…
Smoothie
June 30th, 2010
10:02 am
Mark Recchi is more productive than Mike Modano right now and he’s 2 years older. I think Modano would be foolish to think he can get more than a cool mill and some incentives built in. But you never know. They don’t call it the free-agent frenzy for nothing. Not this year tho IMO.