What Happens Now?

Unlike most of sports media, namely those who cover and follow the NBA, I've waited until the NHL Playoffs reached their conclusion before deciding to post my thoughts on the upcoming offseason. I'm not sure if NBA-guys are just wired differently, but don't you want to see the Playoffs through (especially a Lakers-Celtics ending) before you start babbling about where free agents are going to land. Alright, that's enough NBA "bashing" for me for now. It was a frustrating season and/or playoffs for a lot of teams this season. The Capitals won the Presidents Trophy only to get ousted by an 8-seeded Montreal in Round 1 of the Playoffs. The Leafs traded 3 drafts picks (one being Taylor or Tyler) for Phil Kessel and still stunk. The Penguins still couldn't find a suitable winger for Crosby or Malkin to play with. The Hurricanes went from Conference Final a year ago to missing the Playoffs entirely. And, of course, we all know the somber story of the Boston Bruins. What does all this go to say? That the 2010 offseason is going to be a busy one. Even the team with it all figured out, the Hawks, will have to trim payroll to get under the cap next year, and that means moving some of their key players. In the salary-cap-era, things are always interesting. Instead of Coors Light Cold Hard Facts, I'll offer up a refreshing 6 pack of PBR Crisp Clean Speculation.

1. Kaber-gone
Brian Burke must have suffered from Jim Duquette syndrom (Kazmir for Zambrano) when he made the deal to acquire Phil Kessel last summer. He gave up the 2nd and 32nd picks in this years draft, as well as the Leafs' first rounder in 2011. All this leaves Burke with a whole mess clean up. He will likely start by dealing Tomas Kaberle on Draft Day. Doing this will accomplish two things for Burke. Most importantly to Burke is that it will likely allow him to trade back into the first round this year. Kaberle won't likely fetch the top 5 pick that has been rumored, but a mid-to-late first round pick is probably a good price-tag to put on him. Secondly, it will rid Burke of a $4 million cap hit and a free-agent-to-be in 2011.

2. Hawks lose a few feathers
Would they love to keep everybody? Yea, without question. Can they? No. As good a job as the Blackhawks have done in building their championship team, they've made some terrible judgments on the value of certain players in previous years (Brian Campbell, Cristobal Huet). As a result, they'll have to start to move some of their key players out of town. They'll, in all likelihood, need to move 2 of the following: Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg, Dustin Byfuglien, Niklas Hjalmarsson, and Campbell.

3. Kovie stays, and goes to...
If there is one thing that Russian players have, despite their selfish play and childish attitudes, it's pride. The KHL will come calling for Ilya Kovalchuk's services, and they'll even offer the most lucrative of deals. But the talent level and security of the KHL is vastly inferior to the NHL. The Russian "pride factor" will be the one keeping Kovalchuk in North America. In fact, I expect him to land in...Toronto! Brian Burke will be making a ton of moves to give his team a make-over this offseason, and he'll create enough cap room to make a play for the biggest free agent on this years market.

4. Price stays, Halak goes
Jaroslav Halak's play during the playoffs, where he single-handedly beat the two best teams in the East, will ironically be his ticket out of Montreal. As it stands now, Halak will likely demand more from the Habs, and at the same time he will attract more suitors and fetch the best deal. Montreal is financially strapped, so it's nearly impossible for them to keep both (and they won't). Price has been inconsistent over the last two years, but there are many (myself included) who believe that he will still be the better of the two. Where will Halak land? I'm guessing the Habs will re-ink him and then ship him to St. Louis for one or two of the Blues' young forwards.

5. Niedermayer sticks around
The Ducks didn't make the playoffs last year, and Niedermayer is 36 years of age, but he still has plenty left in the tank for at least one more season. Despite his age, he's still one of the best skaters in the league in a premiere defenseman. No, the Ducks aren't close to being a Cup contender, but Nieds has plenty left to accomplish and signs a one-year deal.

6. Sharks change over to Hammerhead logo
Alright, they won't change the logo, but the San Jose Sharks will look dramatically different by October. They once again failed to live up to fan-expectations in the playoffs, and they'll take drastic steps to prevent it from happening again. First, I don't see Marleau or Evgeni Nabokov wearing the teal-sweater next year, as they'll pursue albatross contracts and the Sharks have already seen that they're not part of the winning formula. But the biggest change for the team this offseason will come via trade. Joe Thornton's one-dimensional play makes him an easy target to shutdown in the playoffs, and his tenure in California could come to an end. Where will he go? Maybe Calgary for Jay Bouwmeester, or maybe to Ottawa for the disgruntled Jason Spezza. Either way, I don't see Jumbo Joe playing next to Dany Heatley in 2010-2011.


Is everything I just wrote going to come true? Probably not. I can't predict the future, after all. But I think there's a good possibility of each happening, or at least some of them. Anyway, what do you guys think? Am I close or far off?