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The Big Name Game---Top 20 UFA's Left....and new rumours....updated 5:25

July 2, 2007, 2:20 PM ET [ Comments]
Eklund
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Afternoon Rumours:

5:37 Nagy to NYI (e2)
5:25 Souray to NYR (e3), Dallas (e3)
5:20 Lang to Chicago (e4)-DONE
Hamrlik to Habs...done

Rumour: Preissing to LA KINGS (e4)---edit DONE per Ottawa Sun.

Go to the THE RUMOR CHART for real-time updates


TOP 20 UFA's LEFT AND RUMOURED DESTINATIONS
(so many great impact guys left, getting to 20 was tough)

1. Dominik Hasek (Detroit, LA)
2. Brendan Shanahan (NY Rangers, Buffalo, Montreal, Detroit)
3. Michael Handzus (Chicago, Montreal, Buffalo, Colorado, San Jose, Toronto)
4. Slava Kozlov (Toronto, Atlanta, Dallas, Buffalo)
5. Sheldon Souray (LA, NJ, Anaheim, San Jose)
6. Bill Guerin (St. Louis, Ottawa, Calgary, Toronto, Vancouver, Islanders)
7. Danny Markov (NJ, Buffalo, Islanders)
8. Dainius Zubrus (Islanders, Montreal, Tampa)
9. Todd Bertuzzi (Calgary, Montreal, Boston)
10. Ladislav Nagy (LA, Toronto, NJ, Edmonton, Wild)
11. Teemu Selanne (Retiring)
12. Mike Peca (Islanders, Penguins, Capitals, Toronto, Montreal)
13. Mike Comrie (Ottawa, Washington)
14. Roman Hamrlik (Edmonton, LA, NJ, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Columbus)
15. Wes Walz ( Wild, Buffalo, Chicago, Montreal)
16. Bryan Smolinski (Vancouver, Florida, Pittsburgh, Washington, Columbus)
17. Ruslan Fedotenko (Detroit, NJ, Calgary)
18. Radek Bonk (Washington, Ottawa)
19. Joey McDonald (Nashville, Tampa, Chicago, Pitt)
20. Brent Sopel (Colorado, San Jose, Atlanta)



This morning has been a morning of reflection for quite a few teams. I could write a novel about yesterday, but I will start here...


Yesterday the teams were divided into essentially four groups...Here are two of them.

The "IN-THE-GAME" Teams that Scored....

Philadelphia:
An unreal beginning for Paul Holmgren the GM going back to last February. Briere has destroyed the Flyers enough in recent years. He is one of three captains the Fyers have acquired and I can tell you from being in the locker room last year that is an ENORMOUS plus. The Flyers also grabbed Smith and Lupol. Grit and a Sniper. HOWEVER, and I can't stress this enough, I am sad to see Pitkanen go. He is the best player in this deal. He will be an All-Star, and I feel that he just was on a slippery slope for some reason in Philly. Edmonton fans will absolutely love Pitkanen. Last year he was a very yound d-man on a very bad team and still scored points. I think this is one of those good for both teams trades.

NY Rangers:

The Rangers were almost unbeatable towards the end of last season. It is hard to agrue with what Drury will bring to this group. It is extremely debatable that Gomez will bring more than Nylander did. He does bring more "sizzle," but in Nylander you had guaranteed chemistry with Jagr. Jagr is a very chemistry driven player. The big question that remains is the defensemen they have. There are still Souray rumours out there, and I would absolutely do that. I would also consider Berard. The issue in NY now is can they sign Shanahan and more importantly Lundqvist. Lundqvist is a four million dollar goalie at least. I have a feeling that Shanny will take a big discount with perhaps some promises of more down the line...Ortmeyer is a player that I would have kept...He was huge in the shot blocking category, and that category is really the key to defense in the new NHL.

Colorado:

Two huge signings and still money to play with. There was no player who was bigger in a UFA signing then Joe Sakic was in getting Ryan Smyth. Ryan will love Colorado, a city that may be the most friendly and most beautiful to play in...(despite the "mysterious airport.") Hannan got very expensive, but Colorado has their mind set on him and felt he was "the guy." The Kings wanted Hannan in the worst possible way, and the Sabres were also rumoured to be in that battle. I firmly believe that Peter Forsberg will be joining this group in January...(e4) The Avs also have a great young nucleus with Statsny, Hedjuk and the likes...Plus I still believe that Jose Theodore will be the "comeback player of the year."

The "In-the-Game" teams that did not score:

The Canadiens:

There was no team that wanted to make a bigger splash then the Habs. There was also no team that worked harder. They were runner ups for Briere, Smyth and even tried to go after Gomez at the end...The Habs ARE NOT done yet. There is a reason the Habs haven't signed the Blakes or Kariyas. They are holding out for a big trade. No question
They are on the verge of making a big trade for some money. I keep hearing Patrick Marleau and Elias. The Habs are much better off going via trade then they are going after UFA's. The UFA issue with Taxes becomes a bigger and bigger issue as the price gets higher. However, Shanahan is out there and has always wanted to play in Montreal.

The Maple Leafs:

JFJ, despite the dire situation with his father's illness, has been on the phone for three weeks trying to clear cap space. The Leafs were right there until the end with Smyth, Gomez and Kariya. They made a great signing with Blake and still are the running for Handzus, Nagy, and Guerin.

The Los Angeles Kings:

Lombardi worked like crazy and met with Drury yesterday. His main goal was to grab some solid d-men. He lost out on Hannan, but I fully expect that Stuart is on his radar. As are Peca and Fedotenko. It is also very possible that he goes after Ray Emery. The Kings also have Johnson on D this year and of course some great young talent.

The San Jose Sharks:

They were very in the Drury and Smyth sweepstakes. They did make a huge signing in Joe Thornton who went to San Jose for far less than anticipated. In fact Thornton's deal was a HUGE monkey wrench in the plans of Gomez, Smyth, Drury and Briere. That was the reason that we saw it take until 3 pm for the doors to open up. The Sharks are still going to be very busy. Handzus is a name to look to and I could still see Guerin returning.


As for the other teams, teams like the Islanders and Sabres who lost a ton of players, I would still hold a ton of hope.

The Sabres shouldn't have kept those two guys..it just doesn't make any sense. They have some great young players. Vanek is a stud and needs more ice time. Stafford will step in and immediately fill a huge part of the hole left by Briere, and Connelly will be healthy al year....This money gives this team some money to fill in some needs. Especially on the experience side of things. I said it before and people laughed at me, but I feel that the Sabres will still be the team to beat in the East, and by adding some players they will see a huge influx of energy. You in Buffalo all saw how much Zubrus added last year. And you can get players MUCH better than Zubrus. This Sabres team peaked out a bit...They needed to change a few little aspects. In the new NHL you need a goalie and you need a coach...The Sabres have both.

The Islanders.

Everyone is freaking out on Long Island. It is not as bad as it looks at all! They have money and have shown they will spend it. They have some good young players and they will be players here over the next two months. The Islanders still have some players and they still have a very creative team up front. I am telling you...Blake had run his course and the Ryan Smyth move, although they gave up a ton, got them into the playoffs, and got the young guys a needed taste. The Isles are FAR from done, and need more than Ryan Smyth with that money.


Much more coming...
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