The Los Angeles Kings last night dealt defenseman Lubomir
Visnovsky to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for center Jarret Stoll and
defenseman Matt Greene.
As per the LA Times this move clears over $10 million in cap
space for the Kings although it’s uncertain if they’ll be making any
significant moves in the UFA market. It’s been rumored they might re-sign Brad Stuart, whom they
deal to the Detroit Red Wings at the February trade deadline.
For the Oilers it’s a more intriguing move, setting up the
possibility that Joni Pitkanen may have played his final season in Edmonton and
could either be dealt or signed away via offer sheet. Visnovsky is a
puck-moving defenseman but the Oilers were also believed in the market for a
scoring forward, which Pitkanen might land them in a deal.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have gotten a jump on the UFA market
in a big way over the weekend, acquiring the rights of forwards Ryan Malone and
Gary Roberts from the Pittsburgh Penguins and forward Brian Rolston from the
Minnesota Wild.
Malone re-signed a seven year, $31.5 million contract with
the Lightning on Sunday, which breaks down as $4.5 million per season against
their cap but is front-loaded to pay him between $7-$8 million per season in
the first two seasons, while Roberts is believed close to signing has signed a one-year, incentive-laden contract with the Bolts paying him a base of $1.25 million that could rise to $2.07 million if he achieves his bonuses.
It remains to be seen if they’ll get Rolston signed as it
could cost them around $5 million per season but evidently the Lightning’s new
ownership aren’t concerned about it otherwise they wouldn’t have wasted their
time.
If the Bolts should get all three under contract it’ll have
only cost them a third round pick in 2009 to the Penguins and a conditional
pick in 2009 or 2010 to the Wild.
While these moves should excite the Lightning fanbase it is
troubling to see them loading up at forward whilst doing nothing so far to
address their weaknesses in goal and on the blueline.
This summer’s UFA market is now short two defensemen as the
Colorado Avalanche announced Sunday the re-signing of Adam Foote and
John-Michael Liles.
Foote’s contract is for two-years, $6 million, which will
count as $3 million per season against the Avalanche’s cap, while Liles’ new
deal is reportedly four years at over $4 million per season.
It wasn’t unexpected to hear of Foote’s re-signing but Liles
was long rumored to be on his way out of Colorado, and he might’ve received
over $5 million on the UFA market. His agent however last week expressed a hope
that his client would be retained. Retaining both should provide stability to
the Avs defense corps.
The Bolts' signings really highlight the fact that this year's UFA market is really thin. Is Malone really worth all that hype? We're talking about a player who went with a ratio of a .5 point a game, and it's not like he's only at his second year, it'll already be his fifth.
I dont think these signings have anything to do with a "thin" FA class. Its more the Lightning owners, mostly Len Barrie, going after the guys they targeted from the beginning, without letting anyone else get a shot at them.
Spector, what do you think about the reduction in risk of these contracts with most of the money front loaded. Is this a way to basically protect the team and give it a much lower buyout option than if the annual salaries were evenly distributed? In this way, a team can overpay a quality FA, and give him a long term contract, but after the first few years, if things dont work out, they can buy him out?
If this is the case, I'd be shocked the NHLPA isnt screaming bloody murder about these front loaded contracts.
I think that you will see more and more of these front-loaded contracts going forward. But I don't think that buyouts are the only thing that is in play. It is also a lot easier to trade a player that has a more salary-friendly contract. The reason that players are agreeing to these terms (and the NHLPA is not up in arms over them) is that it is almost like guarateed money for the player. Meaning, if you get a career-ending injury in year three of a 5-year deal, that player already made a majority of their cash. Look at Malone...the way he plays, he is a long-term injury waiting to happen. If he makes it through two seasons, he's got 15+ million in the bank for his troubles. I wish my employer would front-load my contract. Dang! :o)
The Lightning should be more fun to watch already this season. If they make a good move or two on the d-line, all the better. I don't think people have given Mike Smith enough of a chance. The Bolts were terrible defensively last year. I liked what I saw from Mike Smith most nights. He tried to do too much sometimes, but he was like a man on an island. I don't blame him for trying to take the bull by the horns. We'll see if he can keep from getting gored so much this year, eh?
Being an Oiler fan, I like this deal. I bet they wanted to save their money to lock up Johnson, Doutry and a few of their younger forwards longterm in the coming seasons. Who knows what they'll cost. But about the Clippers comment... I think you said that earlier this year or late last year.
I think it was a good move for Edmonton, because I didn't think they wanted to re-sign Stoll, and Green wasn't getting a whole lot of ice time to be considered important enough to hold onto.
With any luck Torres with be out of town in the coming weeks. If that happens I just might have to start idolizing Lowe, despite the Pronger deal.
And why are the Bolts chasing all of these forwards? Past their first pairing defensemen, the bolts don't have much on the blue line. Signing Malone and Rolston long term will make it tough to keep Stamkos even as a RFA most likely... leaving no money to spend on defense as usual.
Have any of you heard of this new Guru movie where Toronto and LA face off in the Stanley Cup final? Well, it seems to me that they are, in fact, vying for the first overall pick in next year's draft. Hmm, with the seeming lack of vision on the part of both management teams this may be just what we're witnessing. Good luck to both of them, don't they know it's a lottery and that you aren't guaranteed anything, even if you're the most pathetic team in the league.
BlackGold and Thadd: I dont malign the TB blue line like everyone else does. Sure they are young guys, but they all have a ton of upside and are in no way as bad as the media makes it out to be.
Look at the second half of the season, when Torts started moving away from his aggressive forecheck. The GA went down, at a cost of the GF. I think these guys can really succeed if put in a better, defensive system that allows them to grow.
And dont ever underestimate the impact of having a player friendly coach, rather than a guy who's likely to yank you after one mistake.
I agree. I thought that O'Brien and especially Picard showed a lot of potential last season. All I'm saying is that signing a decent FA defenceman would do a lot for this team. If he could stay healthy, Mark Eaton would be a good fit for little money on this squad. He's a decent skater and is a PK fiend.
Dunno about anyone else, but if Tampa Bay were to pick up Mark Streit tomorrow, I think they have to be considered playoff material.
Any word out of Broadway, regarding any of their FA's? Taking a season off to rebuild in New York, I guess... Havent' heard anything about Avery, Roszival, Shannahan, or Jagr lately. I know rumors can spread a false sense of hope or dread, but I'd rather be misinformed than in the dark sometimes.
Chaas - Yeah, especially considering it's NY, it's been pretty darn quite.
bolts - The Lightning picked up a d-man today, but not a big splash. A 26-year old AHL guy from the Flyers (Janne Niskala). He put up decent numbers for Milwaukee last year 44 points in 80 games, but I don't know what his chances of making the NHL club are.
Last edited by BlackGoldPenguin21 on June 30th at 1:49 PM.
The Visnovsky for Stoll/Greene trade is one of those deals where you can't instantly pick a winner or a loser until you see how it plays itself out. There are just too many question marks.
I've been a big fan of Visnovsky for a long time and he should be able to provide the Oilers with some creativity on the blueline. That said, he's coming off a poor season (by his standards) and is tied to a big contract that now has a no-movement clause. Oilers fans have to hope that 2007-08 was just an off-year for Lubomir, or the team may have picked up an expensive albatross.
Stoll is a talented heart-and-soul guy who just hasn't been the same since he missed half-a-season in 2006-07 after getting his bell rung. He played most of last year like he was in a fog: every game his timing was off by half a tick. I hate to see the Oilers give up on him, but he's just too risky a signing as an RFA. Do you try to lock him up long-term on the cheap (crossing your fingers in hopes that he's recovered) or do you let him play out the string and risk losing him as a UFA next year? I pray he can bounce back next season and doesn't turn out to be damaged goods.
Matt Greene is going to be a solid addition to the Kings blueline. This kid is going to develop into a Jason Smith in-the-corners kind of defenseman and I have no doubt True_Kings_Fan will become a Greene fan in short order.
*** continue ***
Last edited by Matt_McCallum on June 30th at 4:32 PM.
The biggest question mark with this deal is a guy whose name doesn't appear in the swap. Clearly this trade is the prelude to another transaction that will see Joni Pitkanen headed out the door, like Lyle predicts, either via a trade or an offer sheet. (My money is on the latter.)
The Oilers will also need to replace Greene's size and solid defensive game. While there are a couple of kids in the pipeline who could be pressed into service (like Theo Peckham or Taylor Chorney), given Philadelphia's cap problems, perhaps this might mean a return engagement by Jason Smith?
Last edited by Matt_McCallum on June 30th at 4:33 PM.
I will not love Stoll or Green. They are Avarage players on a crappy team now they are avarage players on a lousey team.
Lubo was one of the best we had but again on great teams he is a #3 at best.
This was a pure salary dump and now your on the hook for 28 mil for the next 4 years and a no movment clause.
This is not a wait and see. You guys won here. Stoll is a bust. The breakout season will never come and he was a -23 and now goes to a roster of kids. Green was a throw in. You put green in Detroit he is playin in the AHL right now.
I will not love him ever. I will not love any player brought in by the classless excuse the Kings have as a GM.
I am just tired of being lied to every season by Dino Lombardi
Hell Dino from the Flintstones could do a better job at least he is purple
And you say every guy comming out of Edmonton is a heart and soul guy.
if there are all heart and soul why are you getting rid of them. There #### name me a TRUE superstar drafted by the Oilers sence say 1992. Don't answer Ryan Smyth either. He is a above avrage player
There is a reason why no one wants to go there to play. Lubo's comments were just being nice even he said "For family LA works better for me"
Last edited by True_kings_fan on June 30th at 6:45 PM.
Boltsfan: Less GF means less excitement. Less excitement means fewer tickets sold. Something that the florida teams can't afford.
Just look at the ticket sales of Carolina and New Jersey.
Sure Minnasota plays a defense first style and sells tickets. But they're afraid of losing their franchise again and will watch any kind of hockey as long as they stay competitive.
TKF: Smyth didn't ever have superstar skills, but he had the ability to be an impact player just like any superstar did. He had guts, could take the pain and he does things on both sides of the rink when their team needs it the most. He's heavily overpaid because he's pretty much in the same shape as Peter Forsberg... well almost there.
Heart and soul guys are important, because good worth ethic is contagious. I'm convinced that Stoll will have a much better season next year.
Matt: Lowe really surprised me with this deal. But how could we go out and acquire more defensemen? Assuming Pitkanen is gone, we've still got:
Smid, Grebeshkov, Souray, Gilbert, Stiaos and some guys in the minors. Signing smith to a 1 year deal for 2.5-3 mill might be a smart deal, but I wouldn't mind seeing us trying to get rid of Stiaos.
If Ottawa is interested in Pitkanen I wouldn't mind a Pitkanen + Stiaos for Vermette + Mcamond kind of deal. Signing Smith and bringing up a dude from the AHL or signing a cheaper UFA defenseman would work out much better.
Thadd: I dont buy that at all! Not all southern hockey teams need to score like NBA franchises in order to get fans. The TBL have been one of the best attendance teams in the last 8 years, even through a lot of losing. TRy not to make base assumptions about "non-traditional" hockey markets.
Im smelling a tampa bay- edmonton trade coming,perhaps pitkanen, torres, rolloson for martin st. louis, think about it, TB needs a great offensive defenceman in pitkanen a strong physical presence who can still score in torres and a reliable goaltender in rolli and the oilers already have a solid blue line great goaltending and amazing young talented forwards & prospects and depth & grit in their veterans but lack that dynamic star forward who can score on a regular basis.if not TB then someone else but same situation.Also the new oilers owner said he is willing to spend up to the salary cap max to bring star free agents to edmonton.they have 8.5 mil left in capspace and have all of their young guys locked up, so i could see them offer hossa or yagr or someone good that 8.5 mil$. guess we will see tomorrow.
Last edited by canadian_oil on July 1st at 1:22 AM.
North Jersey .com is reporting mutual interest in Rolston returning to NJ where he was drafted. Have you heard this, and if so how true do you think it is? I"m a Devils fan praying to have a good day today and sign some impact players, of which Rolston is one.
not bad so far, i picked torres and pitkanen to leave edmonton today just waiting for rolli now. cole is not the dynamic scorer i had in mind but hey... what can ya do.
Hey, now that we've finally got Glenn Anderson in the Hockey Hall of Fame, the push can start to get Kevin Lowe inducted. I'll give you the chance to get in on the ground floor of the campaign...
I'll happily compare the Kings draft record from 1992 vs. that of the Oilers, even though the Kings have the advantage of having drafted in the Top 4 four times in that period. (Edmonton drafted in the Top 4 once, using a 4th overall pick the team got in a trade with Winnipeg.)
According to pages 186-187 of your 2007-08 Los Angeles Kings Media Guide there are only eight guys in bold print (i.e. drafted and playing with Los Angeles prior to last season). Make that six now that Cammalleri and Visnovsky are out the door.
Oh, you've certainly drafted a number of impressive players over the years -- Olli Jokinen third overall in 1997, for example -- but they just haven't managed to stick with the Kings, have they?
I'll work up a detailed comparison this weekend and post it on my FOX blog.
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
