Some claim that the most exciting time in hockey, is during a period where the ice has long melted away. The Entry Draft and the Free Agent Frenzy that soon follows, provides fans the only realistic time to speculate a plethora of player movement around the League. And even those that have witnessed their teams plummet to the basement, hope is back within reach.
Here are a few things I would like all of you to be on the look out for.
1. Teams looking to gain cap space.
Those with high profiled trade bait will work hard to get their deals done at the deadline. With the offer sheet scare in the air, GMs will not wish to hold on to their players any longer than they have to. Which may result in falling short of the market value. I'd be very surprised if players such as Jokinen, Marleau, Nylander, Kubina (or McCabe), or possibly RFAs such as Sundin or Jeff Carter make it through the draft weekend untouched. For in order to be set with a plan in place on July 1st, there must be room within the mandated budget.
2. Solidifying the nets.
The Leafs, Panthers and Bruins all made deals to bring in a new starting goaltender during and around last years draft, which may have set a new trend. Could the same prove true this season? If so, moves for Budaj, Roloson, Chris Mason, Niittymaki and UFA Conklin are all possiblities.
3. Finalizing the front office moves.
With word of the Tampa Bay Lightning looking for permission to talk to Coyotes Assistant Coach Rick Tocchet, the fate of Mike Sullivan looks to be in the hands of the Atlanta Thrashers who have yet to fill their head coaching job. While ESPN analyst Barry Melrose appears to have no competition for the head coaching position of the Bolts. And the strange timing of the Kings decision to fire head coach Marc Crawford, might prove to have something to do with the availability of Joel Quenneville. The circus in Toronto, where they have decided to prolong Cliff Fletcher's interim title, have many believing that it directly ties them with the end of Brian Burke's contract in Anaheim. But do not count out the fact that Nashville is in an ownership crisis and that GM David Poile has strong ties to both Fletcher and Ron Wilson. In either event, do not expect Cliff to be sitting in the captain's chair for the entire year.
4. Might they retire?
Last offseason, all eyes were on Anaheim as both Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne while they couldn't make their damn minds up. Don't expect that to happen again this season. Not in Anaheim nor anywhere else.
Players such as Jagr, Straka, Sakic, Sundin, Naslund, Niedermayer, Selanne, Shanahan, Kolzig, etc. may all choose to hang up their skates this season, or at the very least ship off to Europe to play in one of their many leagues. However, I doubt the first 5 mentioned will be going anywhere, other than in some cases, to another franchise. Should any of them choose to not detail their future plans with their respective clubs by July 1st, they may all be waiting at the nearest bus stop.
5. Offer Sheets?
No offer sheets will be made until much later in the free agent swap meat. Considering that only Kevin Lowe tendered such a document (actually two of them) last offseason, it may be a bit presumptuous to think that every RFA out there will be snatched up and brought to a new team against their team's will. But if another GM out there is careless with his cap situation as Brian Burke was last go around, all bets are off. With the Cap raising yet again, the discrepancies between the highest payrolls and the lowest, will push the possibility of an offer sheet to the forefront. Both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia appear to be in the biggest bind right now. However, many things can change between now and late July. What we shouldn't expect to see, is an offer like the one made to Vanek in Buffalo last season. Expect the GMs to wait until they know for certain that their offers cannot be matched. Not without some other player movement being involved.
6. Finally... the draft.
I don't expect to see many surprises in this year's draft. Stamkos will be the first kid called to the stage, followed by a group of defenders mixed in with a Russian forward in there somewhere. Some teams may choose to trade up or down in this draft, as they tend to do every season. But do not look for it to happen among the top 10 overall.
~ LeaferSutherland
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