I'm on vacation right now, but it's been a while since I've posted anything so I figured I'd give my two cents on two topics relating to the NHL: the Leafs UFA signings & trade and the Burke vs Lowe feud.

Yesterday, one of my favourite Toronto sports media types, Howard Berger, Wrote a nice blog entitled "Leaf Acquisitions Deserve Time". The thing that caught my attention the most were the paragraphs that he quoted from Larry Brooks and Eric Duhatschek.

Brooks gave his award, an event that I'm sure had all of the NHL's and Hollywood's finest on the red carpet, for "Least Understandable Free Agent Signing of the Year". As I'm sure you've guessed, the Leafs won this prestigious award for their signing of the man, the myth, the legend, Jeff Finger. Now, I'm not in any way trying to say that this was a great signing, but saying it was the worst out of the ones so far is pretty narrow minded, or at least lazy because who doesn't like to pick on the ol' Maple Leafs? I guess he liked Atlanta giving Hainsey $4.5 mil for 5 years. Yes, he put up 34 pts in 2006-07 and 32 pts this past season, but he also was a minus-19 when he put up 34 pts in 2006-07 and was a minus-7 this past season...Hainsey is a defenseman right? You say you're a fan of that one? Well, how about Chicago signing Cristobal Huet for $5.625 mil for 4 years. $12 mil in two goalies, pure brilliance! The Islanders giving up $4.1 mil for 5 years for one-dimensional Mark Streit. Or you can look across the state with the Rangers giving Wade Redden $6.5 mil for 6 years. Lots of money and years to tie up in a 31-year old defenseman who's been on the decline the past two years.

My award, I know you've all be waiting for this, for "Least Understandable Free Agent Signing of the Year" would go to the Tampa Bay Lightning for the contract they gave Ryan Malone. Since when did averaging half a point a game in four NHL seasons warrant a player $4.5 mil for 7 years, that's right SEVEN YEARS! As has been well documented in the past, you don't sign power forwards to long-term deals. Just like RBs in the NFL and catchers in MLB, power forwards ware down quicker than any other player in hockey because of their style of play.


Eric Duhatschek
As for Duhatschek's comments, they seem premature and short-sighted. First off, 9 times out of 10 you overpay for free agents. That's the price you pay for not having to give up any players for that player. Secondly, since when was trading up to draft a premiere shutdown defender, signing two 28-year olds, soon to be three once Frogren gets under contract, and trading for a 24-year old considered "mortgaging the future"? Yes, they don't have a 2nd round pick in the 2009 & 2010 drafts...so far. It's obvious one of McCabe or Kubina will be moved. You don't think a 2nd round pick, maybe a 1st, will be involved in a trade for one of those guys? Plus with Kaberle, McCabe/Kubina, Colaiacovo, Stralman, Finger, Frogren, White, Kronwall and Schenn all scheduled to compete for spots in camp, a player like White, Kronwall or maybe even Colaiacovo will most likely be changing teams either in the summer or during the season which would bring in another pick or prospect.


Kevin Lowe/Brian Burke
Lastly, about the Burke vs Lowe feud. With all due respect to Burke, and I do mean with all due respect, he has to let this thing go. Lowe's job is to make his team better and he did so by signing Penner. It's not Kevin's fault he caught Burke with his pants down. Plus the Ducks ended up with a top 15 pick in a deep draft this past June because of it. If you're a smart GM you get your top players signed before any other team can sign them, plain and simple. Which is what Burke did this year with Perry. GM's kept saying after the lockout how the young players were a lot more important because of the cap, but the GM's still never paid too much attention to them until Lowe finally woke them up.


Take off,
Coco

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