Loss of a Legend

There are some things that just can't be argued. No matter who you're a fan of or who you hate, George Steinbrenner's greatness is one of those indisputable subjects. Sure, we in Boston have hated the man for decades on end. He's been the thorn in Boston's side since he bought the Yankees in the early seventies. But love him or hate him, there is no question that he will go down as one of the greatest sports franchise owners in history, if not the greatest.

The Yankees were hardly a hot ticket item when he bought the team. When he bought them, he pledged to fans and staff alike that he would be an "absentee owner," assuring them that he wanted nothing to do with the day-to-day operations of the team...uh, yea, nice try George. George's legacy comes not only from his propensity to spend, spend, and spend more, but from his keen interest in the success of his team. When they weren't winning, he voiced his opinions. When they were winning, he told them to win more. When they won three straight titles in the 90's, George wanted four. What more can you ask for in an owner? He always wanted to be on top, and he was alright with spending outrageous amounts of money to get there.

In the history of professional sports, there is only one other man who could raise a complaint to someone who called Steinbrenner the greatest owner in sports history...Jeremy Jacobs...nah just kidding, Jerry Jones. But for me, Steinbrenner will be remembered as the best the sporting world had to offer. Love him or hate him, he was good for baseball, and he will be missed by the Yankees and Major League Baseball alike.

Dear Claude

Dan's right. He kinda read my mind in thinking that the BSP wasn't providing its readers with enough Boston Bruins content. Fortunately for you all, the Bruins reporting looks to be back. I'm gonna take things in a little different direction than Dan, for now, and go over what it is that the Bruins need to do before things kick off in October.

First-off, I'd like to continue praising the Bruins for using common sense this offseason. Past Bruin teams may have let Seidenberg, Boychuk, or even Shawn Thornton walk, but not the Cam Neely-run B's. They've done a good job of retaining their players, and they've done so at cap-friendly figures (with the exception of Andrew Ference, which is still a mind-boggling deal). The Bruins sort of backed themselves into a corner with the Thomas contract and Bergeron's absurd cap-hit, but they've done a very good job of not letting it hinder their offseason.

Pete Chiarelli knew going into June that he needed to upgrade the frontline. He did so by adding Nathan Horton via trade and drafting Tyler Seguin. The Bruins were starved at wing last year, so despite having great depth down the middle, they still couldn't find the back of the net. Horton is the rich man's Milan Lucic. He'll come to Beantown and be a fan favorite (provided he leaves his lazy man's attitude in the Sunshine State). Most important to his skillset is his lethal shot, which, playing next to any of the Bruins' centers, could yield 40 goals. Then you'll have to figure Claude will move either Seguin or Krejci to the wall, giving them an additional weapon on the wing.

So the offense should be much improved. But, in upgrading their scoring, Chiarelli had to part with a good puck-mover in Dennis Wideman. I know, Wideman was dreadful last year. But what a lot of people aren't realizing is that he was a potential Norris Trophy winner two years ago and he was their best player this past playoffs (with apologies to Lucic and Krejci). And this is where the Bruins need to start the "2nd phase" of their offseason. As pitiful as Wideman was at times last year, he's still a good player. So, what is the gameplan for Chiarelli? There are a few options, and some of them could be pricey. First, he's going to have to decide on the player he wants back there. Should he replace Wideman with a rare puck-mover? If he goes that avenue, he could look toward Tomas Kaberle, Joe Corvo, Marc-Andre Bergeron, or John-Michael Liles. Most of those guys, Kaberle especially, will carry a high price-tag. The other option is for the B's to add a stay-at-home defender capable of separating players from the puck in the defensive end. If that is the road traveled, maybe signing Andy Sutton would work. Maybe Chiarelli actually pulls the trigger on a Savard-trade to Calgary and brings Robyn Regehr to Boston. Either way, the Bruins prime-need has gone from offense to defense, and it needs to be addressed.

Now, if I had to predict a lineup for the Bruins to use in Prague come October, it might look like this...

Line 1: Wheeler - Savard - Horton
Line 2: Lucic - Krecji - Seguin
Line 3: Recchi - Bergeron - Ryder
Line 4: Paille - Campbell - Thornton

The Bruins could elect to let Wheeler and/or Campbell walk via free agency, but it seems like a priority to them to get both under contract. If Wheeler moves on, I think the Bruins could realistically start the season with one of their young-guns on Savard's left-side. As Dan pointed out, Jordan Caron has drawn rave-reviews at development camp and could be NHL-ready. Joe Colborne, while a center, has played wing before and offers great offensive upside.

D-1: Chara - Boychuk
D-2: Seidenberg - [Outside Hire]
D-3: Hunwick - Stuart

If the Bruins and Wheeler go to arbitration, then the Bruins will have the opportunity to buy-out one of their roster players in order to get under cap restrictions. If this happens, I have to imagine that it's Ference that gets bought out. Another scenario to move money around is to package Thomas, Savard, Wheeler, or Ryder in a deal. In that case, I'm sure they would look to bring in another defenseman via trade. Either way, the Bruins will be looking to bring in a first or second pairing blueliner to help fill the void left by Wideman.

Aside from what the have now and what they could bring in via trade or free agency, the B's have good depth in the system. Some of the young guns we could see this year:

Brad Marchand: Played a few games last year, but without any great success. Marchand could be a 20-goal scorer one day, but he might just be an Quadruple-A player, NHL style.

Zach Hamill: The 8th overall pick in 2007 has played a grand-total of one game for the B's. He played pretty well in that game, notching an assist, and has had great success in each of the two previous preseasons. The talent is there, but the opportunity isn't. Hamill is a natural center, and a playmaking one, so the need for him isn't drastic and he might never get a real shot with the B's. (Trade Bait)

Joe Colborne: He's been compared to Eric Staal, so that tells you something people's perception of his size and skill. On a talent-basis, he'd make the Bruins over guys like Ryder, Wheeler, and Paille. But with Colborne, it's a matter of NHL readiness. He will likely get a season in Providence to adapt to the pro-style game, but if the Bruins experience injuries like they did last year, then Big Joe could get his shot early on.

Jordan Caron: When they drafted him two years ago at the end of the first round, Chiarelli called him "Lucic Light." He's big, he's tough, and he's NHL ready. He won't wow people with great skill, but he could be capable of contributing right away with his net-drive.

Yuri Alexandrov: Drafted out of Russia years ago, it looked like Alexandrov would never come to play in North America, having been on a KHL team already. Fortunately for the B's, he's here. He figures to be one of those rare puck-movers down the line, but I'm not sure he has NHL size just yet, and he isn't as well refined defensively as coach Claude would like him to be.

Maxime Sauve: Another guy without "wow" skills. If they elect not to retain Campbell, it could very well be Sauve taking his place. He's a perfect fourth-line center and plays much like a smallish bowling-ball they just traded, Vlad Sobotka.

Musical Chairs

Seeing how it is only July, the current Bruins roster is one that could easily change between now and October, but I find it fun to look at the current roster and see what sort of line combinations the Bruins could throw out there. Here is a lineup I quickly made up that I feel could work for the start of the '10-'11 season.

Line 1: Sturm, Savard, Horton
Line 2: Lucic, Bergeron, Recchi
Line 3: Wheeler, Krejci, Ryder
Line 4: Paille, Seguin, Satan?

Defense:
Chara & Boychuk

Seidenberg & Stuart

Ference & Hunwick

It is still unkown what the Bruins are going to do with their centers, and whether or not one of them could move to a wing postion (Krejci or Seguin maybe?). But going on current postions, I feel that as much as people want to see Seguin atleast on the 3rd line, a nice idea would be to put him on the 4th line to start and let him get a feel for the NHL at the start of the season and go from there. Unfortunately for him the fourth line isn't exactly filled with great talent, but if they put Thornton out there over Satan, he could potentially score 50-60 goals. Another young player that could see some ice time is winger Jordan Caron who many are saying is one of the closest to being NHL ready and plays a pro style game.

As far as the defensive pairings go Boychuk impressed me enough last season to put him on the first line with Chara and have two guys who can mash the puck on the point. Following it up with Seidenberg who may take that spot but could be a nice combonation with Stuart. From what I hear Yuri Alexandrov didn't look all that good in the first on ice session, apparently getting caught in between plays alot. However coming from the KHL he certainly has the skills and potential to take over Hunwicks spot.

Stay tuned for a possible lineup provided by our very own Kyle D. in the coming week

Sucker

I'm gonna start this rant by saying I don't blame Lebron James for one thing, and one thing only. If I were a star athlete buried in a city like Cleveland, there is no way I'm staying there once my contract is up. He signed a short-term deal with them to try and bring them a championship, but he knew full-well that he was bolting town once he inevitably failed to do so. Over the years, the Cavs have tried everything to give this guy what he "needed" to bring the city the title it had long waited for. They had Ilgauskus when he showed up, they traded for Shaq, Mo Williams had an All-Star year, and then they went out and brought in Antawn Jamison. In his seven-year tenure with his hometown team, James only reached the NBA Finals one time! For those of you not keeping track...Wade won one, and Kobe went to four and won two. Oh, and that one time Lebron made it to the show...he got swept by Tim Duncan and the Spurs. During the last seven years, it has been obvious that James has cared more about his "brand" than winning.

Now, like I said, I don't blame him for leaving Cleveland. But, signing on with two other superstars in South Beach is the most laughable part of all this. To me, it never really was a debate. Kobe has and will always be the best player of this generation. I'm not really a big NBA guy, in fact, I despise the league, but it's been my firm belief that a guy with two rings during a given period will always trump a guy without any. A lot of people thought Kobe needed Shaq to win on the big stage...he thwarted that argument fairly quickly. Where Bryant was able to do it himself, James could never elevate his game to win it "by himself," despite the fact that he was "the best player in the world." Watching Celtics playoff basketball was never about watching the Green win, because I don't care. For me, it was all about watching them knock Lebron out of the Playoffs. Especially this year. Cavs' owner Dan Gilbert said it right, Lebron quit. He knew the Celts were a hard matchup, so he fabricated an injured elbow and used that as an excuse to take a Sunday-stroll through the series...bravo Lebrick!

But lets get back to the current situation. Had he ditched the Cavs for a team like Chicago, it would have been fine. He would have done what any other "real" superstar would have...go head to head with your enemy! Instead, he chose the easy rode and said to himself..."Well, I guess I can't be Dwayne and Chris when they're together, I guess I'll just join them and hope they can get me a ring!" Can you imagine if Magic, Bird, Jordan, or Kobe did the same? You can't? Me neither, because those guys are competitors. Instead of trying to cement his legend as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, Lebron was more concerned with the Lebron James brand. He would rather have all the spotlight put on him in Miami, where me might be fortunate enough to ride D-Wade to a title, instead of being the lone-stud in Chicago, New York, or even Cleveland in an effort to vault himself into the category of all-time greats. He has said time and time again that he is all about winning, and that it was the reason he chose South Beach. But don't be fooled, his decision was made from a marketing stand-point...anything to be the most recognizable face on the planet. Oh, and Lebron...Kobe already dominates the world market in terms of fanfare. Why? Because he wins, and he wins by himself! That is something you'll never be able to do.

Now, the most questioned aspect of this whole ordeal is how 3 "stud" players who all love to score are going to distribute the basketball. The NBA has been and always will be a league where one player can drastically change the face of a game. More than any other sport, it promotes the play of superstars. A team can win with a single player taking control of a game. For Lebron, it was much like that during his tenure in Cleveland...it's just too bad he isn't Kobe-good or else he might already have a ring. But now you've got three of those guys on one team. Two things that all of those types of players have in common is that they are selfish and they're cocky. It will be a matter of time until James or Wade starts getting uncomfortable when the other gets to take the last second shot. It'll only be a matter of time before Chris Bosh gets sick of going under-noticed in Miami when he could have been the "IT" player in another city. It will only be a matter of time before the ego's of all 3 get in the way of winning. So, for the Heat, I hope you enjoy it. For Bosh and James, I hope both of you regret your decision come this time next year.

Lets get back to this whole marketing ploy for a second. Lebron just couldn't bear to be like everybody else. Instead of us reading that he signed with the Heat on the bottom-ticker of any sports channel, Lebron had to take it to new heights. He couldn't just break the heart of every person in that horrible city in Ohio (which he still laughably calls "home") in a normal way. Instead, he had to call a one-hour "The Decision" special so that he could make a mockery of all the fans that had given him everything over the last seven years. And as much as I understand the marketing aspect for ESPN...they should be embarrassed for the whole ordeal. Yea, I know they wanna boost their ratings, it's their job. But to promote James' selfish and self-promoting behavior is something I thought even ESPN was above...guess not. The worst part about the whole thing was that ESPN was fake-reporting for weeks. Just to get those viewers for their Thursday-night Primetime Special, they just kept churning out new headlines saying Lebron was going here, or Lebron was going there! If there was one humane-feeling person with any sense of a brain at ESPN these days (aside from John Buccigross and Barry Melrose) it has to be Michael Wilbon. You could tell that during the whole special, he was just sitting in his chair thinking to himself how stupid the situation was and how childish James' behavior had become. Wilbon, you're still not a very sports-reporter, but it's nice to see you have a brain.

Then, to add to the whole joke, the Heat held a "party" for their 3-headed "monster." Smooth move, Miami. Lets have three grown men elevate onto the stage with their backs to the crowd with music blaring and smoke and neon lights! What the fuck is this? A fucking Lady Gaga concert? For that ordeal, the Heat should be embarrassed. You would think that their strategy to bring in those three players to play on the same team would be enough to garner plenty of fan support and attention. Nope. Instead, they had to go overboard with theatrics like the NBA usually does.

The only person in the whole situation who has gotten my respect is Dan Gilbert. Owning an NBA franchise generally leads to me disrespecting that person (save for Mark Cuban), but Dan Gilbert was spot-on with his comments. Lebron ditched the city, ditched the team. Instead of thanking the fans for their support, he took the low road and went with the simple: "They'll have mixed feelings in Cleveland. Some will appreciate me for all that I have given the city, and some won't because they'll feel I have turned my back on them." News flash you fucking dipshit: YOU DIDN'T DO ANYTHING FOR THAT CITY! You play basketball for a fucking living! People pay HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS, sometimes THOUSANDS, to come watch your whole fucking charade! All for what? A couple early playoff exits? You giving up on your team against the Celtics? Yea, you gave them a ton, didn't you? It's amazing how self-promoting the NBA and it's players are. It's actually laughable. Dan Gilbert knows that Lebron sold-out. He knows that Lebron only cares about himself, and he isn't afraid to expose it. One of the best parts of this is that Fathead (owned by Gilbert) reduced the cost of Lebron James "wall-art" from $99 to $17.41 (the year Benedict Arnold was born). James is the modern-day Benedict Arnold! Instead of trying to beat his rival, he joined them. Not that it's going to happen, but I wish Gilbert and the Cavs all the luck in the world in trying to uphold their owner's guarantee of a championship before the Heat.

There are no winners that come from the 2010 NBA Free Agent class. The Cavs are the obvious losers. The Heat should be embarrassed for the after-party. Lebron will never be in the class of "all-time greats." Bosh will never again be a front man, he'll just be the bass player. Dan Gilbert, even though he's right, will now be looked at as a "sore-loser." The Knicks, Nets, and Bulls all scrambled to clear the cap space necessary for Lebron, and they all came up short. ESPN will now have the tarnished rep for allowing Lebron's diva-campaign to continue. And, most importantly, the NBA is diminished. Where other sports celebrate "home-cookin'" and loyalty (Ok, not Curtis Martin or Johnny Damon, but you get the point), the NBA promotes slash-and-burn. More importantly, the whole cap-situation in the NBA, with "max contracts" and "mid-level exceptions" and "soft-caps" is an absolute joke. Cool, you've got a $50 million dollar cap. Well, the Lakers just won a championship with a payroll of $91 million. They beat the Celtics, who had an $83 million payroll. Good job NBA, way to be a capped-league with teams operating at $30 million over the "cap."

The biggest question I have for basketball fans: How can you possibly take the NBA seriously?

Kicking the Tires

The B's have already had a busy offseason, and it's only just begun. In retaining some of their secondary players, the Bruins have put themselves in a very good position entering next year. Couple that with the addition of Tyler Seguin and Nathan Horton and you've got a team already much improved from the last campaign. But they'll have several more important decisions to make in the coming week or two that could decide the teams immediate and long-term future.

First off, they'll need to assess the trade market for Tim Thomas or Marc Savard, or both. They've made it pretty public that both of them are available, but who's interested? Lets start with the least likely to move: Thomas...

The Capitals:
The Caps destroyed the Eastern Conference last year with their powerful offensive attack. But when the offense came up firing blanks in the playoffs, they had no goalie to lean on. Jose Theodore struggled and was replaced by young Russian Semyon Varlamov, who also struggled. Now Theodore is gone, and the Caps have Varlamov and young counterpart Michal Neuvirth. While the need for an established, reliable goalie like Thomas is apparent, the Capitals won't break the bank to bring him in.

The Sharks:
The Sharks made a baffling move on Day 1 of Free Agency when they signed Antero Niittymaki to apparently be their starter. Why a team with Cup hopes signs a career journeyman with hardly any playoff experience is mind-boggling, but maybe that's why the Sharks always come up short in May and June. It looked like a good fit, but that signing basically closed the door.

The Flyers:
If there is any remaining possible landing spots, it's probably Philly. They resigned Michael Leighton and they've spent big bucks on the blueline so far this offseason, but they might not be done wheeling and dealing. Paul Holmgren was very weary about handing Leighton the starting gig going forward, and he wasn't hiding it. They are money-strapped just like the Bruins, but Thomas' contract matches up fairly well will either Simon Gagne, Jeff Carter, or Matt Carle. I'm not sure they would part with any of those guys in a deal for a 36 year old netminder, but it's still the best possibility.

I've heard rumors that the Islanders and Penguins have had interest in Thomas, but I don't see the need for either team to sacrifice a player or cap space for another goalie. My bet is that Thomas is a Bruin next year, and he'll be a 35 game "backup" to Tuukka.

Marc Savard, on the other hand, is an entirely different monster. He's a legitimate top-line center with elite playmaking talents. Add to that the fact that he's affordable ($4 mil cap hit) and you have an extremely attractive trade piece. With Savard's resume, it's hard to imagine that any team would flat-out turn down the possibility of trading for him, but for rumors' sake, lets narrow the possible destinations down to the "real interested:"

The Kings:
Hollywood has a need for another pivot. Anze Kopitar can't do it all by himself, and Savard would be a great fit. But, if the Kings make a huge pitch to Ilya Kovalchuk, then it'll make trading for Savvy nearly impossible. If the Bruins could pull a deal off that would bring Jack Johnson to Boston, then it would be a massive haul for Peter Chiarelli. Johnson might be a little too high a price for Savard, but he is exactly what the Bruins need.

The Flames:
Jarome Iginla hasn't had an elite playmaker to play with for much of his tenure in Calgary. They, for whatever reason, decided it was a "good" idea to bring Olli Jokinen back into the fold, so that might throw a wrinkle in their plans to bring Savard aboard. There have been rumors kicked around, as recent as today, that a possible deal between the teams would bring Robyn Regehr to the Hub. Regehr isn't a puck mover like Johnson or Tomas Kaberle, but he's one of the great stay-at-home guys in the league. He'll be almost invisible in the offensive end, but he's a brick wall in front of his own net. The Bruins don't have a pressing need for that type of player, but Regehr would be a big upgrade over Matt Hunwick and Andrew Ference.

The Rangers:
The same thing applies to the Rangers as it does the Flames. They have an elite winger in Marian Gaborik, but he's got nobody to dish the biscuit. They gave Jokinen a shot, and surprise surprise...it backfired (again, good luck Calgary). Now this might be an ideal type situation, but the Rangers have had trouble in their contract talks with RFA Marc Staal. There's no way that the Rangers would part with a young-stud like Staal for Marc Savard, but if the Bruins were able to spice the pot with one of their many prospects, then they would have a great chance to make their defensive unit the best in the league.

There are probably four or five other teams with interest in Savard, but if I had to say there was a front-runner, I'd put the ball in Calgary's court. Trading Savard is a much more likely scenario then one in which Tank leaves town, but is it in the teams' best interest? Trading Savard does nothing to help the offense. Do the Bruins feel they can compete for a Cup with their current blueline? Is Savard a piece they view to be crucial in making a Cup run? Do they really have hopes that Seguin makes the team and has an immediate impact? Who knows. The Bruins are in a fairly good situation. Keeping Savard won't hurt them, because Horton could be 40 goal scorer on his wing. Trading them, if netting one of those 3 guys or another puck-mover, also helps their team. If they'll make a move, I'm guessing it happens this week or next.

My prediction: Savard gets dealt to Calgary along with Andrew Ference/Matt Hunwick for Regehr and Ales Kotalik. The BSP will keep you pink-hats posted...

We Spoke Too Soon

I was one of the many that wrote the Red Sox off after a dismal April and a so-so May. All us doubters has reason to be skeptical, though. Papi was struggling mightily, much like last year. Beckett was a mess, Dice K was hurt, the bullpen stunk, and Theo's strategy of run prevention didn't appear to be working. Then they tore up June (with great thanks to interleague play) and had most thinking that they were "back." I didn't jump on the bandwagon to the playoffs, but a lot of people did...and they may have spoken too soon. Much like the Patriots and Bruins this past year, the Sox are getting destroyed by injuries. Dice K's always managing to end up at his pediatricians office, so we'll discount all his band-aids. Beckett was horrendous in April before being placed on the DL with a variety of issues. So there's two rotation mainstays who can't be counted on, but those were both prior to the June-surge.

Lets jump to post-hot streak. Dustin Pedroia might be the most irreplaceable player on the team (save for maybe Jon Lester, and even still it could be Pedey). Pedroia was on fire during interleague play, and was a large reason why the Sox were able to make such a drastic climb in the standings. He may have broken the smallest bone in his foot, but it can still lead to huge problems if he suffers a setback or needs surgery. Right now, he's expected out for 4-6 weeks (which is a long period of time to begin with). But if he needs said surgery, it'll cost him the entire season. Then you've got the catching situation. Victor broke his thumb, and now Tek has a broken foot. Funny how we take the catching position for granted sometimes. Now, instead of having an All Star-caliber guy behind the plate, or even his serviceable backup, it looks like the Sox are going to lean on recently acquired Kevin Cash...yikes. Those are your "big" hits when it comes to injuries. Then of course you still have Ellsbury, Hermida, and even Mike Lowell.

The Yankees and Rays are tough enough teams to compete with when you're fully healthy, let alone with 7 key guys on the DL. The way the Sox were playing, it was certainly conceivable that they could continue their success and sneak into the playoffs, maybe as the Wild Card, maybe even as AL East Champs. Now they're getting hammered with injuries and the hope could be fading once again. I was never on the 2010 Playoff-wagon, but I was close to hopping in the back seat two weeks ago. I think Sox fans just need to collectively hold their breath and prepare for what could be a tough second half.

Note: As I finished writing this, I happened to come across ESPN Boston's story of Manny Delcarmen landing on the 15-day DL also. Not a killer injury, but it does weaken an already brutally-bad bullpen.
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In other, minor news...the Bruins inked Daniel Paille to a two-year extension worth in the neighborhood of $1 million annually. It's certainly not front-page news, and it's not a marquee signing, but it continues the Bruins trend of using common sense. Paille isn't an electric scorer, but he's one of the league's best penalty kill specialists and has a fairly good skill-set. The Bruins are filling out what looks to be a promising roster for next season (with plenty of young options: Colborne, Seguin, Hamill, Alexandrov, Caron, etc.). A few things the Bruins could have on their checklist during the offseason: trade Tim Thomas and/or Marc Savard, find a puck-moving defenseman, and add another scoring winger if they feel that the above "young options" aren't ready for the NHL.

In other, other news...Paul Pierce is back as a Celtic. This also is not big news, mostly because it's what was expected. My ass Pierce was leaving Boston. He just wanted out of his deal this year in order to get some more long-term security in his contract. A smart move for a 32 year old player, but we all saw it coming.

Free Agent Frenzy (not the Lebron one)

For those of you who thought that the title to this post meant an entire page dedicated to the likes of Lebron, D-wade, Bosh, or Pierce...go elsewhere. It went fairly unnoticed, as always in hockey, that NHL Free Agency also began at midnight on July 1. Now the NHL won't have the marquee class of free agents that the NBA has to offer this year, but it's still going to be a very interesting few days. Already, there has been plenty of movement from teams in both conferences, and defensemen are the hot-ticket. I'll just add my general thoughts on some of today's moves and some remaining free agents:

Gonchar, Pittsburgh, Ottawa:
Losing Gonchar was a big blow to the Pens, no question about it. Their d-corps last year, if you take Gonchar away, was one of the worst in the entire NHL. He's a good powerplay quarterback and is an elite puck-mover from his own end...those types of guys don't grow on trees. So, needless to say, Ottawa picked up a pretty valuable player on the first day of free agency. Pittsburgh, on the other hand, recovered very nicely. Yes, they overpayed for both Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek, but that's not to say that they aren't good players. Martin is similar to Gonchar...not as good, but similar. Michalek is a guy that the Penguins definitely needed last year, when they lost Hal Gill and Rob Scuderi in the offseason. He'll be a good stay-at-home, physical type guy, and he's one of the league's premier shot-blockers.

Goalies:
Really no huge surprises in the goaltending department on Day 1. Chris Mason signed on with Atlanta and should be the starter there, Dan Ellis is heading into a starting role with the Lightning, and Johan Hedberg, Martin Biron, and Alex Auld will head into their familiar backup roles. The one somewhat weird signing on the day was Antero Niittymaki signing for 2 years, $4 mil with the Sharks. I certainly would not think that the Sharks would settle for him as their starting netminder, yet they already have a capable backup in Thomas Greiss at a much cheaper rate. The Sharks figured to be a player for Tim Thomas in a deal, or Marty Turco/Jose Theodore via free agency. Something to keep an eye on I guess...

Jokinen:
This, hands down, was the most baffling move I saw. The Flames gave up Matt Lombardi and their 2010 first-round pick to get Jokinen a season and a half ago, and he absolutely flopped. He was completely ineffective during their stretch run, and they traded him last year to the Rangers for scraps and salary dumps. I've always been a Sutter fan in general, not just Darryl, but all of them. But Darryl has made bad decision after bad decision the last two to three seasons in Calgary, and other than the Phaneuf trade, this one is the worst.

The Blackhawks:
You knew they had to trim down their championship-roster for next season because of their salary cap troubles, but they have gone beyond what I think anyone expected. I criticized their trade of Dustin Byfuglien last week, and I remain critical of the decision to move Big Buff. But, given his cap situation, it appeared he was the guy that needed to go. But, within the last two days...we've seen Kris Versteeg and Andrew Ladd join Byfuglien on the bus out of the Windy City (Ladd, by the way, will actually be joining Buff in the fantastic hockey city of Atlanta). I think Stan Bowman made two great deals this week with Versteeg and Ladd. He got a forward with huge upside in Viktor Stalberg from the Leafs, and then he netted a 2nd rounder and a solid prospect defenseman in Ivan Vishnevsky from the Thrashers for Ladd...not bad for a days work. But when you go big picture, you start to realize that maybe they didn't need to sell Byfuglien for 50 cents on the dollar. The biggest crime here is the poor contract management from the last 3 years in Chicago. They wouldn't have had to go through any of those deals if they had just taken care of Cristobal Huet already and either buried him in the minors or sent him to Europe (that cap hit needed to be off the books the day after the parade). Then you have Brian Campbell, who - while a good player - wasn't worth at the time and will never be worth the ludicrous contract awarded to him by Chicago a few years ago. Yea, they won the Cup, so they did something right, but the Blackhawks have made some outrageous mistakes in the past years and they will pay for it.

Kovalchuk:
I thought a few weeks ago that Brian Burke and the Leafs would make an enormous push to get the best free agent available, but it appears not. They traded for Versteeg and signed Colby Armstrong, so they'll likely have plenty of money already tied up this offseason and won't have enough to make a realistic offer to the Russian. Having said that, it looks like it's LA or the KHL for Kovalchuuk.

And finally...

The Bruins:
It amazes me the amount of speculation that is going on surrounding Tim Thomas' situation. He isn't going ANYWHERE! I can't believe people are talking about how the Flyers, Sharks, Capitals, or 'Hawks would entertain a deal for a 36 year old, injury-prone, $5 million dollar goaltender! Especially considering the fact that you have to pay the guy and give the Bruins an asset in return. I won't spend too much time on Tank, because all the speculation is...speculation. Marc Savard is other news, because he's actually got a chance to be shipped off. Aside from the concussion that he suffered last year, Savard is a very attractive center for a lot of teams. When healthy, he is a premier playmaker. He plays in all situations (only sparingly on the PK) and he's a 90 point player (again, when healthy). Add that to the fact that he's incredibly affordable! Contrary to mass-media belief (Tony Mazz), Savard has a very, very friendly cap-number. Most 90 point players are counting as much as $6 or $7 mil against their teams cap figure, Savard sits at only $4 million! That number, in itself, makes Savard the most attractive piece on the trading market right now. He's not going to Toronto for Kaberle, because the secondary pieces in the deal would be a mess (Toronto views Kaberle as having higher value, same with the Bruins and Savard). I heard a rumor of Savard to Calgary for Robyn Regehr, which is a nice coup for the Bruins if they can pull it off. But, as I said above, the Flames are a bunch of morons and just dedicated cap space to Olli Jokinen, which likely closes the door on any Savard trade. That leaves the Islanders, Kings, Rangers, and Nashville as possible destinations for Savard. He could land up somewhere else, but I would think that those teams have the highest interest. From what I've heard about Savard's relationship with other Bruins, and the team questioning his commitment, it appears as though a deal is very realistic. He's a great offensive player and he's got a cap-friendly contract, but losing a "fairy" like Marc Savard wouldn't be the worst thing for the team (especially if a guy like Regehr is the return). But, if he's kept, having a premier playmaker centering Horton isn't the worst thing either.