Snore…

So here’s why I didn’t do a big NBA post in the last couple of days: Not that much of any interest actually happened! Or, to be more specific, nothing that really changes the equation as far as next year’s title contenders are concerned. The Lakers signing Ron Artest only makes them better, and he is a net addition over Trevor Ariza despite being older- especially on defense. Oh, and don’t forget the Rockets likely won’t have Yao Ming at all this season. Antonio McDyess could help the Spurs, but if they are going to win the West, it’ll be on the backs of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker just like in previous years. Any other serious contenders? Maybe Portland could get in there if the youngsters blossom, but they still be a year or two away. Shawn Marion is a good addition for Dallas, and they kept Jason Kidd, but is Marcin Gortat really ready to become a starter, especially for over $6 million per year? Oh, and Marion, as noted in the article about his acquisition, had a rough time in Toronto last year.

I guess the East could be a little more interesting, with Detroit letting Rasheed Wallace go to Boston and instead bring in Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon. Will a big chemistry change and infusion of youth get them back to the elite level? Not sure those two guys are really on par with the old Pistons troika, but then Larry Brown and Flip Saunders did do yeoman’s work getting that bunch to play bigger than the sum of their parts in sheer talent. The Raptors are quietly building a good team, which Hedo Turkoglu strengthens further still. Of course, with Chris Bosh a year from free agency, their window to make a title run may not be a big one. But they’re definitely in the conversation along with Cleveland and Boston. Doubt Orlando’s gonna stick; they really did catch some fire in the playoffs and Turkoglu came up huge for them in several games. But they should have Jameer Nelson back at the point, and of course Dwight Howard isn’t even in his prime yet. Plus, they turned Courtney Lee and a couple of other pieces (including Rafer Alston, who was going to lose his point guard job upon Nelson’s return) into Vince Carter.

I mentioned Bosh’s impending free agency. Well, he, LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and others undoubtedly heard about this coming season’s decreased cap and that it could be lower still in 2010. In fact, this piece from Alan Hahn suggests that LeBron could actually see his 2010-2011 salary decrease if he opts out of his contract to become a free agent, instead of taking the option and waiting a year (though he could also take a shorter-term contract and hit the market again before he turns 30). Meanwhile, Frank Isola’s not impressed at how Wade is treating the Heat.

A little less random analysis down the road if warranted and especially closer to the season. Soccer and other stuff later today.

More Free Agent Fun

Apparently, miss a few hours today, and you miss a ton. So, here’s a round-up of what else happened in the NHL today, plus some reaction from various pundits.

Newsday and ESPN both reporting that the Rangers have signed Marian Gaborik to a five year, $37.5 million contract. It’s a lot of money, but Gaborik is 27 and is a top notch scorer when healthy. Okay, that’s a big question mark with him. He missed all but 17 games last year for Minnesota with a hip injury, although he recorded 13 points in the games that he did play, and scored 42 goals just two years ago. Also, his salary would be comparable to the now-departed Scott Gomez, and again, assuming good health, Gaborik’s definitely a better scorer than Gomez while still being able to set up others too. Which means Rangers GM Glen Sather turned Gomez into three players (Gaborik, Chris Higgins, and Ryan McDonagh) who could all contribute in the years to come, probably for no more than an extra $1-2 million per year. Potentially very good business on his part. After Marian Hossa, Gaborik was the most coveted winger in the free agency pool.

They also lost Fredrik Sjostrom to Calgary. No surprise there. He wanted a pay raise, and is a good penalty killer. Still, even at $750,000 a year, he was dispensable. Rookies probably could give them about the same, and for something closer to the league’s minimum salary. On the other hand, adding Sjostrom to the signing of Jay Bouwmeester must make Miikka Kiprusoff very happy in the Flames’ crease.

Montreal continued to splash the cash and remake its team (sounds like longtime captain Saku Koivu is headed elsewhere), and tonight their arch-rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs were heard from too. The Habs added Mike Cammaleri and Brian Gionta. Both are solid scorers, and if Cammaleri’s 31 goal outburst last year wasn’t a fluke, his $6 million per year price could soon become a bargain. Gionta at $5 million seems a bit pricey, although he has scored 20+ goals in each of the past four seasons for New Jersey. Checking line standout Steve Begin headed to Montreal’s other rival, Boston. Meanwhile, Toronto traded Pavel Kubina to Atlanta for Garnet Exelby (a couple of other relatively minor names were involved too). The Leafs clear a bad contract, while Atlanta adds some veteran leadership to their young blueline, which features 20-somethings Zach Bogosian and Tobias Enstrom. Also, while Toronto didn’t sign Cammaleri, a a Toronto-area native, they did win the bidding war with several teams for now ex-Canadien Mike Komisarek. Good defensive defenseman, and if he takes fewer penalties while maintaining his physical presence, look out. Toronto should improve next season, and they could leave plenty of bruises on teams even in defeat.

Minnesota acted swiftly to replace Marian Gaborik, signing Martin Havlat, who was made redundant in Chicago by the signing of Marian Hossa. They have also offered Saku Koivu a deal (his brother Mikko plays for the Wild) and might get an answer within a day or two.

Finally, a quick round-up of some other deals. Some fairly notable players changed addresses, including John Madden and Sami Pahlsson, while Chris Neil chose to stay in Ottawa. The National Post (Canada) has an even more extensive list, plus some quotes on a few of the bigger moves.

So now let’s hear from the peanut gallery. SI’s Allan Muir joined me and others in questioning the day’s big move, Hossa’s big score with the Blackhawks. Again, it was about the length of the deal and how the Blackhawks intend to pay for some of their other stars once they get off of entry-level contracts. This Detroit fan was pleased that his team didn’t match what the Wings’ rivals offered.

Muir also sounded off on perceived winners and losers. Personally, I think the Knuble and Ohlund signings will make a bigger impact than those of Komisarek and Khabibulin- even if he can help the Oilers persuade Dany Heatley to waive his no-trade-clause to join them.

This Panthers fan had a somewhat light-hearted, somewhat cynical take on the day.

Puck Daddy likes the Gaborik signing, as well as what the Blue Jackets did (adding Pahlsson and back-up goalie Mathieu Garon). He’s not so sure about Montreal’s team construction. They might score goals, but he is right about their sudden size issues. Wouldn’t surprise me if they get worn down by physical teams unless they fix this over the next three months. Bob McKenzie is also unsure what to expect from the Canadiens next season.

Other Ranger fans seem mixed on Gaborik, based on posts to blog threads or their own commentaries. SNY’s bloggers worry about the injury problems but appreciate his obvious talent. Rangers Review definitely likes the move. Hockey Rodent thinks there’s more to come.

Hall-of-Fame reporter Eric Duhatschek thinks Calgary became a serious title contender. Bruce Arthur adds that the Flames have so much money tied up in eight players, that injury problems could lead to a repeat of last year, when they were too close to the cap to dress the full allotment of 20 players for several games. Beyond that, he says, it was a very interesting day in Canada as each team tried to get better. And with the cap and stronger Canadian dollar in place, none of that country’s six teams has an excuse for losing anymore.

I’ll be back some time tomorrow. We’ll run through whatever else transpires, and get into some moves in the NBA and other sports. Oh, baseball’s All Star Game voting ends this week and Manny Ramirez can return from suspension too…

Free Agent Frenzy Part Two

More deals roll in. I won’t be here all afternoon, but once I leave, I’ll come back tonight or tomorrow with some broad reactions to whatever happens today.

2:28- The Islanders sign Dwayne Roloson to a two year contract. He could back-up Rick DiPietro or start if/when the U.S. National team starter has another injury. Also, the Blackhawks sign Tomas Kopecky from Detroit, to go along with Marian Hossa, and Ty Conklin leaves Detroit for St. Louis.

2:47- Reports from TSN and Puck Daddy that Steve Montador has signed with Buffalo. The Boston Globe’s round-up of early signings thinks it’s a case of Sabres coach Lindy Ruff believing Montador can improve his defensive game with better coaching. Having Ryan Miller in goal helps too…

2:55- The Rangers sign Donald Brashear away from Washington, while the Caps add Mike Knuble from the Flyers. Not a Brashear fan although he has developed into more than just a fighter. Apparently, Ranger fans now have to forgive him for crushing Blair Betts last season. Knuble should add some scoring depth to Washington’s forwards, taking the heat off the likes of Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin. For two years and $2.8 million per, it could be a bargain. Coincidently, Brashear’s contract with the Rangers is virtually identical.

3:27- Nothing big right now, some relatively minor signings, although Scott Niedermayer has re-signed with Anaheim (which was virtually certain after they traded away Chris Pronger), while Philadelphia signs Brian Boucher for what will be his second stint with the Flyers. He’ll compete with Ray Emery for the starting job in goal. Not that this will give Flyer fans too much confidence.

4:03- Jaroslav Spacek signs with Montreal for three years and $11.5 million. Decent offensive defenseman, but might be overpaid at that rate. It probably means Mike Komisarek isn’t coming back.

4:19- Edmonton addresses their goaltending need by signing Nikolai Khabibulin to a four year deal. He’s 36, but was excellent last year (25-8-7, 2.33 GAA), winning away the Blackhawks’ goalie job from Cristobal Huet. Almost certainly an upgrade over Dwayne Roloson.

4:21- Erik Cole re-signs with Carolina for two years.

4:48- Puck Daddy’s live blog posts confirmations that Scott Clemmensen has signed with Florida. He did a great job in New Jersey filling in for the injured Martin Brodeur during the mid-part of last season, and while he will likely again be a back-up, this time to Tomas Vokoun, he apparently will also get a nice pay raise too. Further, Ian Laperriere leaves Colorado to join the Flyers. Both players signed for three year deals.

5:06- Hal Gill is headed to Montreal. Two years, $4.5 million. He did well for Pittsburgh during the playoffs last year, but don’t ask him to be a front-line defenseman. He tends to do a little better in the #2 or 3 pairing. Elliotte Friedman of CBC notes that Gill likes disciplined defensive systems, which could make him a good fit for Jacques Martin.

5:17- More from me later. Gotta run.

Marian Hossa Signs

There’s the big one, reports Pierre LeBrun, and confirmed on some of the live blogs elsewhere. And what a whopper contract it is- 12 years averaging $5.2 million per. Nice addition for the Blackhawks, of course, but can they still afford the pay raises that will eventually be owed to Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and perhaps a couple of others? Oh, and Hossa will be 42 years old when his contract expires (although obviously he may not be playing at that point). This blogger already seems a bit skeptical, making reference to Brian Campbell and his albatross of a contract. On the other hand, a Penguins fan writes that Hossa’s cap hit will be less than Martin Havlat’s ever was, and he’s probably a better player too. We’ll see who got this one right eventually.

Free Agent Frenzy

As TSN hypes NHL free agency every year! We’ll update from time-to-time over the course of the day with stuff culled from various sources. Quick-fire reactions as warranted.

Canucks will take over a $12 million cap hit per year to keep the Sedin twins. Mild surprise there, because it sounded like Toronto was going to bid and possibly go all-in on them. But they keep the playmaking and goal-scoring pair, and for not much more than they would have paid under one of those 10-12 year deals players have gotten lately (these contracts are for 5 years each). At least one Canucks fan/blogger likes it on the grounds that Vancouver is keeping its core intact, and might now even have a window to win the Cup, especially if they add one more top-notch scorer.

On the other hand, they lose Mattias Ohlund, who is headed to Tampa. The ‘Bolts did give him a seven year deal, even though he’s 33 years old, but that keeps the cap hit under $4 million per year. For at least the first 3-4 years of the deal, he should definitely improve their porous blueline from last year, and could be a valuable mentor for this year’s #2 overall pick and fellow Swede Victor Hedman. As Scott Burnside notes in ESPN’s running blog (linked above), this may up the price for Mike Komisarek and Rob Scuderi, because with Jay Bouwmeester choosing to accept Calgary’s offer last night, there aren’t many good defensemen on the market.

1:15- Puck Daddy has a live blog with twitters from various good sources and some comments. Good stuff so far. Also one from TSN. I will mostly post what is officially confirmed. Nonetheless, there are rumors that the Leafs have signed former Ranger Colton Orr. Not a bad move, because as Derek Harmsworth notes, Brian Burke wants them to be a tougher, workmanlike team than they have been in recent years.

1:20- Remember to hit refresh (or just check in every so often) for updated posts. WordPress doesn’t post what I add automatically…

1:27- Another blog notes that Radek Dvorak re-signed with Florida, which the Sun-Sentinel confirms. Scintillating, I know.

1:34- A Flyer fan’s wishlist. Not sure if they’ve really got the cap room to do much though. Chris Pronger might be it for the moment.

1:43- Andy Greene resigns with New Jersey. Probably more of a depth move than anything else; they actually didn’t give him a qualifying offer because of cap considerations, hence he became a free agent.

1:50- TSN confirms the Panthers have re-signed David Booth to a 6 year contract worth over $25 million. Booth set a personal-best with 31 goals last season, and could make next year’s U.S. Olympic team.

That Didn’t Take Long

Scott Gomez in somewhat happier times, Image courtesy of http://www.umich.edu/

Even before the NHL’s free agent frenzy, we have a big trade. Scott Gomez is now a Montreal Canadien. He and a couple of minor prospects head up I-87/Autoroute 15, while the New York Rangers get restricted free agent to be Chris Higgins (a native of Smithtown, NY), touted prospect Ryan McDonagh, and journeyman Doug Janik.

Image Courtesy of jthockey.wordpress.com

Quite a few pundits seem to have thought this deal would set the Rangers up to acquire Dany Heatley, whom the Ottawa Senators have been trying to trade so they wouldn’t have to pay him a $4 million bonus tomorrow. Actually, the relationship between Heatley and the Senators has very much deteriorated in recent months, but the bonus essentially provides a built-in deadline. But right now, there doesn’t seem to be any indication that the Rangers are prepared to pay a steep price in prospects for Heatley, especially if Ottawa won’t take on the big contracts of Michal Rozsival or Wade Redden; trading Gomez rid New York of $4-5 million a year (assuming they sign Higgins, which GM Glen Sather apparently expects to do). Perhaps, they will use the freed up salary cap space for someone else, or to deal with eventual contract extensions for some of their better young players, like Marc Staal or Brandon Dubinsky. There is also the possibility of a salary cap decrease in 2010-2011 depending on what the economy does to ticket and sponsorship sales across the league next year.

Excluding that stuff though, it’s probably a better deal for the Rangers than for the Canadiens, as Adam Gretz writes. Higgins had an injury plagued 2008-09 season, but is a decent two-way player and seems to have the type of lunch-pail attitude head coach John Tortorella wants. McDonagh was a first round pick only a couple of years ago and scouts give him strong marks for his speed and talents as a “defensive defenseman.” Gomez can be a terrific playmaker, should improve Montreal’s offense, and in general, the Canadiens need to clean their house after an ugly finish to last season. Still, they gave up a lot for him, not to mention the amount of money they have to pick up. Might be a sign that Montreal doesn’t expect to recruit any major free agents, and if so, Gomez doesn’t really bring them much closer to Stanley Cup contention on his own, even if he can put up the numbers he once did in New Jersey. Puck Daddy rounds up some of the other blogospher reactions.

Image Courtesy of GettingGlenergized.blogspot.com

And in the last hour or so, The Fourth Period is also reporting that Jay Bouwmeester has signed with Calgary for five years and $33 million. CBC and the Flames have confirmed the deal. The Flames acquired his rights from Florida over the weekend for Jordan Leopold (who is also supposed to become a free agent tomorrow) and a draft pick. This was not a small risk, because Bouwmeester was definitely going to be the most coveted free agent of the summer. Still, he is originally from Edmonton, will be joining a pretty good team led by Jarome Iginla and goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, and he’s probably not leaving more than about $1 million per year on the table. Kudos to the Flames for this one.

Tomorrow could be pretty wild, so hold on tight!