quote:
Christian Ehrhoff to Pittsburgh Penguins -- one year, $4 million

Everything about this seems right for the Penguins, a team in definite transition. The one-year term is like a trial engagement for both player and team, and the $4 million for a guy who made $18 million in the first two years of his bloated 10-year deal with Buffalo is likewise a win for a Penguins team that is still among the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

Others are Brad Richards, Anton Stralman, Paul Stastny, Jarome Iginla, Ales Hemsky, Jussi Jokinen, and Chad Johnson.

Deals That Should Have Come With A Detonator

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Brooks Orpik to Washington Capitals -- five years, $27.5 million

Let's start by saying Orpik remains one of our absolute favorite players. Brutally honest, hard as nails, he is the kind of guy any team, and we mean any team, would love to have in their locker room. But at age 33, the fact new Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan offered a five-year deal at the astronomical number of $5.5 per year is just plain cuckoo. Two years at that number? OK. Five years at half that number? Still too long given the toll Orpik's style of play has taken on his body, but maybe. Now, is it possible Orpik's presence along with new head coach Barry Trotz helps take the Caps' a giant step forward? Wouldn't be surprised at all. But that doesn't excuse the ridiculous excess of this deal. Does the strangeness of this deal balance out the good work in locking down the top defenseman on the market in another former Penguin Matt Niskanen, whom the Caps inked to a seven-year deal worth $40.25 million? Well, let's just say both are fraught with danger, but Niskanen was expected to command that kind of deal. Orpik? Not so much.

Others are Deryk Engelland, Dave Bolland, Brian Gionta, and Stephane Robidas.

Some Smaller Deals That Make You Go Hmmm
Zach Redmond, Martin Havlat, and Clayton Stoner.

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Posted by UltimateHog

Oregon

Member since Dec 2011

65978 posts

Posted on 7/3/14 at 4:58 pm to UltimateHog

ESPN Free Agency Team Grades

This is ESPN Insider so I'll share for you guys. I'll post the excerpt for the teams I know we have a few fans of in here.

Sabres C-
Flames C
Blackhawks A
Avalanche B-
Oilers C+
Panthers C-
Wild A-
Canadiens B-
Devils C+
Rangers C
Lightning A
Leafs C
Canucks C

quote:
Dallas Stars: B

It was a great day for GM Jim Nill, although this grade is strictly for his free agent signings and not his trade for Spezza. Ales Hemsky is a better fit in the Eastern Conference, but he certainly gives centers Tyler Seguin and Spezza a talented option on the wing at a fairly reasonable price. Hemsky played well for the Senators down the stretch, with 17 points in 20 games after coming over from Edmonton.

The move to Dallas allows backup goalie Anders Lindback to start fresh and try to reach the potential he flashed as Pekka Rinne's backup in Nashville. Dallas starter Kari Lehtonen has benefited under the tutelage of goalie coach Mike Valley, and so should Lindback.

quote:
Pittsburgh Penguins: A

We’ll be the first to admit the James Neal trade leans in Nashville’s favor, but GM Jim Rutherford’s first July 1 at the helm in Pittsburgh was a strong bounce-back.

At a time when GMs make some of their biggest mistakes, he passed on huge money for veteran defensemen Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen to instead land Christian Ehrhoff on a one-year deal worth $4 million. Along with Brad Richards, that was the best contract of the day.

Signing Thomas Greiss on a one-year deal worth $1 million was another value move, for a guy who had a .920 save percentage in Phoenix this past season and sports a .915 career mark. With Marc-Andre Fleury on the final year of his contract, there’s an opportunity in Pittsburgh for Greiss to steal time and possibly future employment.

Marcel Goc was another short-term value signing by Rutherford, coming in at $1.2 million. Depth on the cheap is exactly how playoff contenders are built in the cap era.

quote:
St. Louis Blues: A

It must have been hard for GM Doug Armstrong to watch Western Conference rivals such as the Ducks and Stars shore up their center position while he waited on a decision from Stastny, but the Blues GM got his man, and he got him without having to commit to a max-term contract.

Stastny was the best center on the market, and could have landed more term elsewhere. The annual value of this deal ($7 million) is only a slight raise on Stastny’s last one in Colorado, and is not unreasonable considering the Blues were able to add him without giving up an asset like the Ducks and Stars had to in their center search. Stastny is a proven playoff producer, an ingredient that has been missing from the Blues the past couple seasons.

quote:
Washington Capitals: B-minus

GM Brian MacLellan promised to address Washington's lackluster defense, and did it in a huge way. The Brooks Orpik contract (five years, $27.5 million) isn’t going to look good in a few years -- and has the potential to be a buyout candidate at the end of it -- but in the meantime, he gives Barry Trotz and the Washington coaching staff a veteran defenseman who can coach up the young blueliners in the system, much like he did in Pittsburgh.

The term on the Matt Niskanen deal (seven years, $5.75 million per season) is also concerning, but that’s what it takes to land the No. 1 defenseman on the market. For years, the Capitals needed to upgrade their top four on defense, and finally addressed it this offseason without touching their talent up front.

Justin Peters at $950,000 per season is good value as Braden Holtby's backup. The knock on former Caps GM George McPhee was that he was too conservative at times. You can’t say that about MacLellan.

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