Montreal oferece aparentemente a Briere um 6 anos $7 milhões por o contrato. Oof. At that price, I’d hope the Caps pass. Drury’s in LA meeting with the Kings, which makes it seem like there’s serious interest there. THN reports Iginla’s going to sign a 4-year extension. Ryan Smyth has received offers from 9 teams. It’s picking up.

(Later) Or it’s not. Lots of talk, no UFA signings, leading the TSN crew to collectively roll their eyes at the title of their program. Apparently NASCAR is coming up at the 2 o’clock hour, nearly ensuring the program will close without an actual signing.

Wait, we have a signing. Todd White, formerly of the Wild, signs with the Thrashers. Four years at $2.3 per. A useful player. Is he $2.3/year useful? Mebbe.

And the TSN feed shuts down after three total hours, two of them during the Free Agent ‘Frenzy’, and Todd White has his moment to shine. It’s a beautiful thing.

BTW, James Mirtle, hockey journalist par excellence and friend of OFB offered this last night:

(The Capitals’ brass told me personally this off-season that they’ll be in the mix for one top-notch forward and defenseman, so take that for what it’s worth.)

Here’s hoping, right? Thanks to IDidItLangway over at HF for pointing it out.

**UPDATE** Rumors are going around that Tom Poti has signed with the Caps, at 4 years for $14 million total. I’ll investigate.

Confirmed  the Caps have signed defenseman Tom Poti. Poti’s a pure offensive defenseman who should help the power play, has good size and mobility. Drawbacks include a less than stellar defensive game, an irregular willingness to use his size, and being booed out of Edmonton. Not sure how I feel about this one. It has obvious power play upside, but can Poti handle big even-strength minutes?

More on Poti  he was 11th in the league in TOI for defensemen at 25:42 a game and was 11th in the league in defenseman PP scoring (6, 26, 32). It’s my hope that Dave Draper recommended this.

3:51 PM  Sorry for the delay, OFBers. To the action: Anaheim’s defensive corps gets better, or compensates for Neidermayer’s possible retirement, by giving Matheiu Schnedier a 2-year deal for $5.626 total. Aggresive, but he can help any team’s PP. Briere is apparently headed to Philly, so Caps fans still get to dislike him. Zednik to Florida means all the Cap’s left defenders don’t have to play the pass but need to watch out for the down-low moves.

4:11  The Wings sign Brian Rafalski for 5 years at 6 million a year. Schneider didn’t just get replaced on the power play, he got upgraded.

4:46  adroit and astute friend of OFB and keeper of Caps’ Corner (your place for Caps contract info) Drake1588 points out this from our pals at the Fourth Period:

4:19pm - The Devils appear to be interested in Sheldon Souray, now that Rafalski has signed with Detroit . . . Washington is pursuing Michael Nylander.

A Swedish play-making center who has worked well with top-line (if somewhat moody) talent might make sense in DC. The stories of Nylander firing his agent to get a better deal have vacillated as far as truth goes, but he might not be a bad addition to the Caps’ top line. Thoughts?

Cory Sarich allegedly signs with the Calgary Flames for 5 years and $18 million. Silly season.

Rumors persist of Gomez signing with the New York Rangers.

Looks like the Caps are asking about Yashin. Uh . . . discuss.

Drake reports that EJ Hradek has Gomer to the Rangers, money TBA, thought I’m guessing it is not, say, less than Briere got.

Looks like Blake signs with the Leafs, and an interesting trade  Pitkanen and Sanderson to the Oil for Lupul and Smith. Frankly, nice move by Philly.

Now there are rumors going around that the Rangers have signed Chris Drury. Seems a bit far-fetched considering the cap hit involed, but a coup if it’s on the level.

TSN says Drury has signed with the Rangers . . . not sure what to make of it. No word on the money involved, but they pick up two talented players. What’s the cost, though?

** UPDATE ** Rumor is the Caps signed Viktor Kozlov. TSN reports a 2-year deal at $5 million total. Hope he’s not playing center. More on Kozlov is here. He’s a big boy, and that’s two players who have spent time under Ted Nolan’s return to the NHL. Is that a good or bad sign? Nolan is known for demanding the best from his players and is no slouch when it comes to discipline  are the Caps banking on that?

Thanks to the Godfather, Eric McElrain, who let us know that Scott Hannan is an Av for a 4-year, $18 total deal. Jay McKee is jealous.

Thanks to Spector’s the news that surprised me the most today is Scott Niedermayer is apparently about to announce his retirement. Neids doesn’t have anything left to prove, true, but at age 33 you can figure he would have at least 4 solid years of hockey left. He’s a noted family man and has gained most accolades a person in his position can, but I guess he’s done what he feels like he’s needed to do. Like his long-time Jersey blue-liner, congrats, and thanks for the hockey you’ve given us, boys.

Update  Not a wrap-up, per se, the OFB staff will have their ideas on the movement of today soon, but I’m going to have to go off-line now. Thanks for reading, and, more importantly, thanks for your feedback. Please keep it coming with your news and notes of any signings, trades, etc., and for those that asked, we are working on a better format for our live blogging in the hopes it’s not as confusing in the future.

9:42pm (Gustafsson at the helm)  Niedermayer NOT officially retired.

NESN is airing a “Bruins Classic”. One minute left in the first, Bruins 0 / Kings 3 (per the DirecTV guide; the game is from 18 October, 2003 where the Bruins obviously win) . . . Why can’t ComcastSportsNet do something similar? Since HTS became ComcastSportsNet . . . there should be plenty from which to choose.

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Posted at 7:24 am. Filed under CBA, NHL Salary Cap, National Hockey League, Washington Capitals.
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« Rolling in Revenue
Nylander’s Return to DC »

48 Comments

  1. Gustafsson wrote:

    Although the throngs of shoppers on Black Friday are usually out for the bargains and deals, this may be more akin to the crazies waiting in for over a day to be the first one to own the iPhone. Or better yet, paying over-inflated prices for something everyone wants.

    BTW, great recall on Crazy Eddie!

    Crazy Eddie
    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 7:53 am | Permalink
  2. pgreene wrote:

    as long as it’s not us paying silly money to souray, i’m ok with it. how about a breakdown of teams who have landed a big-fish UFA each year, and where they’ve finished in the standings. i suspect that’d be a very interesting list.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 10:12 am | Permalink
  3. Tyler wrote:

    LOL. Doug M. vs. Brett H. could be the next front-office steel-cage match (with the winner to fight GMGM?)

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 12:48 pm | Permalink
  4. Tyler wrote:

    Less ‘it’s picking up’ than after phoning each other for 75 mins, agents and GMs are phoned-out and are talking to journos to find out what they know…

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 1:15 pm | Permalink
  5. Scai wrote:

    Oooooh! Let’s hope that rumour is NOT true!

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 2:31 pm | Permalink
  6. Tyler wrote:

    He got booed out of NYR too. Notice a trend?

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 2:33 pm | Permalink
  7. Scai wrote:

    After looking at the numbers I’d say that offensively he fits the bill. Guess GMGM could have done much worse than that.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 2:35 pm | Permalink
  8. Tyler wrote:

    How? How? How does he fit the bill? He has a mere 58 assists in his last 151 games. That’s like a bill from Taco Bell.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 2:37 pm | Permalink
  9. strungout wrote:

    Horrible.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 2:39 pm | Permalink
  10. Murshawursha wrote:

    I’ll take him. We could use a PPQB. I hope we’ll still sign another defensive defenseman though.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 2:44 pm | Permalink
  11. Scai wrote:

    38 assists last season isn’t bad. He was a No. 1 defenseman on Long Island, he’s gonna be No. 1 in Washington. To me this signing is pretty much in the realm of what had to be expected. The Caps were desperately in need of a guy who can run the powerplay, now they got one.
    If they can get a legitimate first-line-center too, I’ll be satisfied.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 2:59 pm | Permalink
  12. DAN,JR. wrote:

    Poti at 4 years for 3.5 mil per year is twice the money he’s worth and twice as long as I’d consider.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 3:00 pm | Permalink
  13. OrderedChaos wrote:

    I like the 4-year signing — Poti is only 30 years old so they’re not locking in someone for a ridiculous duration into his twilight years (c.f., Timonen’s contract). $3.5M is steep, but we all knew that UFAs would get too much money this offseason, no matter the team.

    Poti is a solid addition to the Caps, though I am confident GMGM isn’t done wheeling and dealing yet… I’d love to see Gomez as a Capital, or Drury, but they’re both longshots of course. If one of them ends up in San Jose then perhaps GMGM can work a deal for Marleau.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 4:54 pm | Permalink
  14. Scai wrote:

    Nylander would be a great signing! Bring him on, GMGM!

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 4:56 pm | Permalink
  15. OrderedChaos wrote:

    Re: Nylander, a two-year deal would be reasonable for him. I like the Swedish connection for tutoring Backstrom, and he’d be a very good setup man for Ovie. If Nylander returns, then perhaps the team can spend big for a top-notch RW to complete the first line. I think Chris Clark skating with Semin and Backstrom on the second line makes a lot of sense — he can protect Backstrom/Semin, dig the puck out of the corners, and crash the net for rebounds.

    If Nylander (or someone like him) does come to DC, then who tops your wish-lists for Ovie’s wingmate (budget be damned)?

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 4:59 pm | Permalink
  16. Stimpy wrote:

    If Nylander comes in, I would like someone like Guerin for 1-2 years. If they can get a cheaper center, Comrie or trade for Horcoff like center, then go for Jason Smith for 4 years.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 5:05 pm | Permalink
  17. Don wrote:

    Smyth for Ovies linemate…budget be damned.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 5:06 pm | Permalink
  18. Stimpy wrote:

    I meant Jason Blake not Smith. Brain and brain, what is brain.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 5:08 pm | Permalink
  19. Scai wrote:

    I say leave a spot open for Fleischmann on one of the top two lines. He has the skill to make it and could be a good setup-man for Ovy or Semin. What’s all the “rebuilding” for if you don’t give the kids a chance to get good minutes?

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 5:08 pm | Permalink
  20. Don wrote:

    i would say Fehr and Fleischmann for the top 2 lines but who knows if Fehrs going to be healthy

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 5:11 pm | Permalink
  21. OrderedChaos wrote:

    Fleischmann plays LW by default — I don’t think the team should assume he’ll easily switch to RW. He can certainly compete for the first-line RW position, but penciling him in there is a bad idea until he proves himself. I’d rather see the team get a true RW for Ovie’s line (along with a center of course), then let Fleischmann challenge for the top two lines.

    Of course if the Caps land Gomez or Drury, then no need to spend on a big-name RW… hell, *I’ll* skate the top line for free in that case. :)

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 5:44 pm | Permalink
  22. Murshawursha wrote:

    Per TSA, Dvorak to the Panthers for two years.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 5:49 pm | Permalink
  23. Murshawursha wrote:

    And of course, by TSA I meant TSN.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 5:49 pm | Permalink
  24. Murshawursha wrote:

    And as far as Ovie’s wing goes, Smyth would be amazing. But I don’t see that happening. What does everyone think of Kozlov?

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 5:51 pm | Permalink
  25. Don wrote:

    i’d rather see us get Jason Blake as Ovies winger as a more affordable option than Smyth.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 6:15 pm | Permalink
  26. OrderedChaos wrote:

    Ryan Smyth may be off to Colorado, five years for over $30M. He’s a left wing, though I believe he’s played RW at times… would love a player of his character and talent on the Caps, but with Ovechkin & Semin already in place he’d have to move to RW, and a 32-year-old might not be willing to make that move.

    Ongoing rumors of the Caps’ interest in Yashin. One would think Yashin’d jump at the chance to center Ovie, and wouldn’t require a super-long contract. But could the team handle his inconsistency? He started out this past year gangbusters until the injury, then seemed to half-ass the rest of the season. A healthy Yashin could be interesting if the price is right, but I’d still rather see Nylander as a mid-range #1 center.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 6:46 pm | Permalink
  27. Don wrote:

    Yashin could disrupt the chemistry in the locker room, yeah he’ll be good for the Alexes, but he has an attitude problem, and we dont need one of those in our locker room.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 7:12 pm | Permalink
  28. Smitty wrote:

    Yashin? No, no, no, no, no, NO.

    He’s like Jagr, just without the offensive upside. Poison in the locker room.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 7:21 pm | Permalink
  29. Chimaera wrote:

    Gomez is rumored to be getting somewhere in the range of 7 per year.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 7:36 pm | Permalink
  30. odessa steps wrote:

    mirtle says

    To Edmonton:
    Joni Pitkanen and Geoff Sanderson

    To Philadelphia:
    Jason Smith and Joffrey Lupul

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 7:50 pm | Permalink
  31. Smitty wrote:

    The Rags are starting to look a little frightening…. Drury to NYR according to TSN.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 7:53 pm | Permalink
  32. Don wrote:

    I hope Kozlov isnt their 1st line center idea and think that they get off easy with that…Nylanders still available.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 8:26 pm | Permalink
  33. Don wrote:

    Hannan signs with Avs making my wife very happy.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 8:30 pm | Permalink
  34. Andy wrote:

    The Islanders have decided to strike back at Washington for swiping two of their players - they’ve signed Jon Sim to a 3 year deal. Hey… at least he’s out of the conference!

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 8:44 pm | Permalink
  35. Don wrote:

    you mean division? lol ya i wanted us to get him just cuz he kills us.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 8:45 pm | Permalink
  36. Don wrote:

    Scott Neidermayer is announcing his retirement tonite.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 8:47 pm | Permalink
  37. Zack wrote:

    Did/do the Caps have any interest in Kariya? He is coming off two solid years in Nashville and would seem to be a good fit on the first or second line.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 9:03 pm | Permalink
  38. Chimaera wrote:

    So, what’s the over under for the Chris Drury/Dr. Jagr fist fight? (of course i mean Jagr cries to management and attempts to get Kip Miller brought in)

    Week 2?

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 9:18 pm | Permalink
  39. Chimaera wrote:

    Kariya would mean Kozlov is signed to be a center. Not sure that’s the plan. But who knows at this point.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 9:19 pm | Permalink
  40. Gustafsson wrote:

    Nylander next?

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 9:28 pm | Permalink
  41. strungout wrote:

    Please no Nylander. I can’t stomach any more of his spins in the offensive zone. I’m still dizzy from his last go around here.

    Sunday, July 1, 2007 at 9:40 pm | Permalink
  42. strungout wrote:

    Kariya signs for 3 years in St Louis.

    Monday, July 2, 2007 at 12:01 am | Permalink
  43. OrderedChaos wrote:

    I still haven’t picked my jaw up off the floor regarding Drury and Gomez BOTH going to one team, let alone the Rangers. Stunning.

    Monday, July 2, 2007 at 7:44 am | Permalink
  44. VT Caps Fan wrote:

    Am I the only one that thinks the Rangers shot themselves in the foot? They went out and got the 2 #1 centers everyone wnated. Both guys will eat minutes; but neither one of them plays Jagr’s style. Neither one of them has the attitude that Jagr is king (we all know that Jagr knows he’s king). Granted both of these guys are complete team players, but to put them on a team with Jagr; good luck. They shot themselves in the foot with 2 long contracts that are pricey. If they got one of those guys, and a role player, then I’d be afraid.

    The Rangers are the Redskins of hockey. No excuse why this team should not compete every year for championships; but both front offices think this is a fantasy league and can go insert any all star with there big ego’s and they will all play well together. I hope they go crumbling down.

    (sorry for the skins reference, but thats what the rangers are)

    Monday, July 2, 2007 at 8:58 am | Permalink
  45. TG wrote:

    As for the Rangers, I’m just thinking Gomez, Drury, Jagr and Lundquist (once he gets a nice raise to the $4-$5 million range) means that they’ve got half the salary cap tied up in four players.

    Let me repeat: HALF THE SALARY CAP GOING TO FOUR PLAYERS!

    And the Flyers will be paying Briere over $6 million per year when he’s 38!

    Suddenly, Kozlov for two years and Poti for four looks a whole lot better.

    Monday, July 2, 2007 at 10:26 am | Permalink
  46. Junior wrote:

    Poti is a good signing for the Caps. The Rangers got way better up front, but worse on the blueline. Worst guy to be so far? Tie between “Devils season ticket holder” and “Islanders season ticket holder” because (1) your Cup contender Devils just turned into “a bunch of guys in front of Marty Brodeur” and (2)one has to wonder how the hell they’re going to fill all the jerseys on the Island - so many guys ran screaming from the Nassau County Coliseum that it’s entirely possible the FDNY will show up and attempt to put it out. Or, if they’ve been to an Islanders game recently, not so much.

    Monday, July 2, 2007 at 4:54 pm | Permalink
  47. Smitty wrote:

    You guys asleep over there? We got Nylander!!

    Monday, July 2, 2007 at 5:41 pm | Permalink
  48. OrderedChaos wrote:

    Smitty: I know it may not seem like it, but we all have jobs that aren’t hockey related. Damn you, mortgage! Apologies for the brief delay, our reactions are forthcoming.

    Monday, July 2, 2007 at 5:59 pm | Permalink

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