On Frozen Blog

A compelling early storyline on the 2007 free agent season is the arms’ race within the Atlantic division — wildly resembling the free-spending days previous to the NHL’s 2004 lockout — while the Northeast division appears content to be picked clean.

The Flyers and GM Paul Holmgren signaled their intention of expensively revamping their roster ahead of last weekend’s Entry Draft, when they lavishly overpaid for a pair of six-year contracts for recently acquired Predators Kimmo Timonen ($38 million) and Scott Hartnell ($25 million). To this they added UFA pivot Daniel Briere on Sunday, locking him up for eight years at $6.5 million per.

Also yesterday Holmgren shipped out promising young Finnish defender Joni Pitkanen for Oilers’ captain Jason Smith and on-again, off-again winger Joffrey Lupul. If there’s one thing to be gleaned from all the sweater-changing on Broad Street this offseason, it’s that locker room chemistry last season was a bit of a weakpoint. Another might be: Holgren and Flyers’ management is hell-bent on spending their way out of it. 

Not to be outspent by a division rival — or anyone, for that matter — Rangers’ fantasy league GM Glen Sather ponied up a combined $85 million on Sunday for a pair of no. 1.5 centers, Chris Drury and Scott Gomez. Drury has 70 goals his past two seasons, and as such perhaps is signaling himself a legit 30-goal guy (at least on 110-pt. Sabre clubs), but in six of his eight seasons he scored fewer than 25. He turns 31 this August. Gomez is coming off a 13-goal campaign in Jersey, and in six of his seven big-league seasons has failed to score 20 goals. So no wonder he earned a $7-million-dollar-a-year deal. At least it can be said that while with the Devils Gomez skated in an offensively restrained system, and now on Broadway, he’ll enjoy a good deal more freedom. Like Briere’s deal in Philly, those for the new Rangers’ centers extend well into next decade.       

Drury and Gomez are terrific hockey players, and they are exceptionally wealthy now. But they also appear to be very similar to the caliber of players whose July contracts drove the NHL into financial panic a mere three years ago.

Pittsburgh apparently believes that its Stanley Cup aspirations require an anti-youth movement: its three most significant roster additions, beginning with February’s trade deadline and continuing into free agency, are Gary Roberts, Petr Sykora (the decent-but-in-decline one), and Darryl Sydor.   

I have a difficult time working up any sympathy for Jersey DevilLou, but in just the past couple of years he’s watched the likes of Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Petr Sykora, and Scott Gomez walk away, uncompensated for. He’s got a brand new building to fill showcasing hockey that this morning appears, if possible, even more boring than that of the past six or seven years.  

But to the extent we should feel any sympathy for any other Eastern conference rival (and I’m not suggesting we should), take a look at the roadkill carcass on Long Island. Gone are Ryan Smyth, Tom Poti, Jason Blake, Viktor Kozlov, and (mercifully) Alexei Yashin. Team Wang did add Jon Sim. (That’s no doubt got the phones of the Isles’ sales staff buzzing.) Remember last summer when UFA signee Brendan Witt talked of something special being built on Long Island? It’s not a long overdue replacement for Nassau Mausoleum, and it’s sure not a postseason hockey club in ‘07-’08.  

Meanwhile, things sure are acquisition-quiet in the Northeast, which certainly is better than being the road pickings on the Isle. For weeks all I heard among the ‘Net chatter was how Bob Gainey and Montreal were posied to make a big overhaul of a middling roster. That may still happen, buit it’ll take trades to achieve it — the high-end free agent movement passed them by unacted-upon. Free agent “Bridesmaids” is the operative word out of Montreal early this week. Gainey lost the game’s most fearsome point presence in Sheldon Souray and late this afternoon replaced him with Roman Hamrlik. Downgrade.   

The Leafs, like the Habs, were forecast to be offseason roster movers and shakers. They came out of the gate Sunday and signed Jason Blake. His 40 goals last season were a breakthrough. Or a Brady Anderson flash-in-the-pan. He turns 34 this September.

The Bs missed the playoffs and have also sat still. Ottawa is in the best shape of anybody in the Northeast, having drafted so well at the top, middle, and late in drafts, up front and on the blueline. Still, late Monday it appeared as if the Eastern champs were slated to lose quality blueliner Tom Preissing. The Sens have been picked at the past two summers by free agency and are now joined by Buffalo as victims of their standings success.  

If the Islanders have a rival in roster-gutting, it’s Buffalo. Last season the Sabres were lauded for their four-line depth. They’ll need emergency reserves in ‘07-’08, cause they’ve lost 150 points down the middle. Sad, isn’t it?

The Southeast has, I think, showcased only one headline player in free agency thus far, and that’s who it needed to be: we in D.C.