NHL general managers may be gearing up for the noon ET commencement of the annual unrestricted free agent spending frenzy but some are also taking care of a few re-signings.
-The Anaheim Ducks reportedly are close to re-signing restricted free agent Corey Perry to a multi-year deal similar to that signed by teammate Ryan Getzlaf last season (which was worth over $5 million per season) but due to salary cap issues apparently cannot officially announce the deal until after noon on July 1st.
No one should be surprised by this news. After losing Dustin Penner to an offer sheet from the Edmonton Oilers last summer there was no way Ducks GM Brian Burke would risk losing Perry to an offer sheet from another rival team this summer.
-The Buffalo Sabres have been busy, re-signing forward Paul Gaustad to a four-year contract worth $2.3 million per season against their cap, and opening contract talks with goaltender Ryan Miller, who’s eligible for UFA status next July.
After losing players to the UFA market over the last three seasons Sabres management have shifted gears and now hope to get Miller re-signed this summer (maybe on July 1st?) and intend on opening contract talks with Jason Pominville (another player eligible for UFA status next summer) very soon.
-The defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings are still trying to keep defenseman Brad Stuart off the UFA market with last-minute contract talks but they did successfully lock up blueliner Andreas Lilja to a two-year deal worth an affordable $1.25 million per season.
-It remains to be seen if the San Jose Sharks can retain impending UFA blueliner Brian Campbell but they did ensure that they’d a physical presence on the roster by re-signing enforcer Jody Shelley to a two-year contract.
-The Florida Panthers raised some eyebrows today by re-signing forward Rostislav Olesz to a six-year contract extension worth $3.15 million per season.
That’s a lot of coin to invest in an injury-prone young forward whose best season was a 30-point performance in 2006-07, but the Panthers are obviously investing in potential here, expecting Olesz to blossom into the scoring star he’s been projected to be.
For their sake that potential had better pan out, otherwise they’ll have an unmoveable contract on their hands.
The first round elimination of the Anaheim Ducks not only means there will be a new Stanley Cup champion in 2008 but also the possibility that the NHL careers of Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne might finally be over.
This unexpectedly early exit by the defending champs will raise questions about their off-season plans. The most significant:
- Rumors of GM Brian Burke possibly leaving to take over as team president or GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs have been swirling for months.
- Burke or his successor if he leaves will have to determine if they’ve got enough money to retain their key free agent players.
- Corey Perry is a restricted free agent whom they must re-sign before July 1st to prevent him getting an offer sheet from a rival club.
- Veteran forward Doug Weight faces an uncertain future as he probably won’t be re-signed.
- Trade rumors will likely dog the team over their lack of offensive production this season, among the lowest in the NHL.
But the most immediate question will be the respective futures of Niedermayer and Selanne, who kept fans guessing throughout last summer and the first half of this season if they’d return to the Ducks or retire.
Eventually they returned, which bolstered the Ducks in the regular season but ultimately their presence wasn’t enough to prevent the Dallas Stars from ending Anaheim’s dreams of consecutive championships.
Their contract situations are identical to last summer. Selanne is again an unrestricted free agent while Niedermayer is signed through next season at $6.75 million, although he now only has that one season remaining.
Considering that Ryan Getzlaf and Chris Kunitz re-signed new contracts that begin next season which will take up $5.325 and $3.725 million per season respectively, that could rule out a possible return of Selanne if he so desired.
Burke is on record as saying he won’t be as patient with Niedermayer as he was last year when awaiting his future plans, which means the Ducks GM will probably want a decision from the smooth-skating blueliner before July 1st, perhaps sooner.
It’s unlikely Niedermayer and Selanne will take as long to make decisions on their respective hockey-playing futures as they did this season. It’s possible a decision from both could come as early as this week.
If this season was, indeed, the real last dance for Niedermayer and Selanne, it will bring to a close two future Hall of Fame careers.
Niedermayer has been one of the best defensemen of his era and certainly ranked among the very best in NHL history. He was a key member of four Stanley Cup championship teams (three with New Jersey and one with Anaheim), won the Norris trophy in 2004 as the league’s best defenseman and the Conn Smythe trophy as the 2007 playoff MVP.
Selanne has been of the most exciting goals-corers of his era, with 552 goals and 1158 points in 1067 games. He set the existing NHL rookie record for single season goals (76) and points (132) as the 1992-93 rookie of the year, won the Richard trophy as the 1999 NHL goal-scoring leader, the Masterton in 2006 for perseverance, and a Stanley Cup with Anaheim.
With the NHL trade deadline now past the next notable round of player movement won’t occur until June, 2008, and most of it will be free agents signing with new teams.
While the focus as always will be on unrestricted free agents, this summer the threat of offer sheets is now a very real one, thus hockey fans will be nervously watching the contract talks of their favorite restricted free agent players as July 1st approaches.
Many teams haven’t wasted time this season, locking up their best RFA players to lengthy, long-term contracts now rather than risk another club either setting the price or plucking them away.
As a result, the list of the top RFA players has shrunk considerably since the start of the season, but there still remains some quality talent who, if unsigned by July 1st, could be tempting targets for offer sheets. It’ll be interesting to see how many of the following are re-upped by the end of June:
Anaheim: Corey Perry.
Columbus: Pascal LeClaire.
Detroit: Valtteri Filppula
Edmonton: Tom Gilbert and Joni Pitkanen.
Florida: Jay Bouwmeester.
Minnesota: Pierre-Marc Bouchard.
Montreal: Andrei Kostitsyn.
Nashville: Martin Erat, Shea Weber and Ryan Suter.
Anaheim Ducks general manager Brian Burke continues to very busy in recent days. After swinging two trades in a week and placing goalie Ilya Bryzgalov on waivers, Burke also found the time to re-sign one of his key players today to a multi-year contract.
Center Ryan Getzlaf, who’s emerged as one of the Ducks brightest stars, was re-signed to a five-year, $26.5 million contract, which breaks down to an annual cap hit of $5.3 million per season.
Getzlaf was slated to become a restricted free agent next July, making him eligible to receive offer sheets from rival clubs.
Having lost winger Dustin Penner last summer to the Edmonton Oilers via an offer sheet it’s apparent Burke wasn’t going to risk losing Getzlaf the same way, or to have a rival team dictate Getzlaf’s contract.
Getzlaf is only 22, and with 21 points in 19 games is on pace for an 88-point season, which would be a career-best to date. Given the fact he’s yet to reach his prime and could hit even higher point totals in future seasons, $5.3 million per season could end up being a bargain for the Ducks as salaries for the league’s top players keep rising in the coming years.
With Getzlaf now under contract, Burke’s attention will turn to Corey Perry, who’s also slated for RFA status next July and like Getzlaf is on pace for a career-best season, currently on track for 43 goals and 70 points.
Don’t be surprised if Perry is re-signed long before July 1, 2008.
The Getzlaf signing is yet another example of the ripple effect throughout the league by the Edmonton Oilers successfully signing away Penner from the Ducks last summer as well as their unsuccessful attempt at signing Buffalo’s Thomas Vanek.
General managers can no longer assume they have the luxury of an entire summer to negotiate new contracts with their top restricted free agents, not when there’s perhaps a desperate rival with available cap space and a willingness to overspend waiting to pounce.
They deserved it. They out-played, out-muscled and out-hit the Ottawa Senators, and proved they could also match the Senators speed.
I’m thrilled for Teemu Selanne, who waited fifteen years to finally play on a Cup champion, and he was able to do it for the team with which he’d had most of his greatest individual success.
I’m happy for the Niedermayer brothers, who got to win a Cup together.
I’m also happy for warhorses Sean O’Donnell and Todd Marchant, who like Selanne went years without playing for a winner and now, in the twilight of their careers, are part of a Cup championship.
I'm happy for guys like Ric Jackman and Chris Kunitz, who were fortunate to be picked away from struggling teams to end up playing key roles in the Ducks success.
GM Brian Burke deserves full marks for taking a team with lots of promising young talent, bringing in some key veterans like Scott Niedermayer, Chris Pronger, Selanne, O’Donnell and Marchant, hiring Randy Carlyle as head coach, and forging a championship team.
But some credit also goes to Ottawa Senators head coach – and Burke’s predecessor – Bryan Murray, as the Ducks two brightest young stars, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, were drafted by him.
Speaking of the Senators, they deserve credit for getting this far. They’re a very good team, one that has made significant strides in their growth, and finally shook off the “choke artist” label. This is a team that, with a bit more grit and scoring depth, could find themselves hoisting the Cup in the near future.
I think this Ducks team is built to last, but then again, so many of us thought the same thing about the Carolina Hurricanes and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The salary cap broke up those Cup champions, and it remains to be seen if the Ducks will suffer the same fate.
But that’s in the future. For now, all that matters is the Ducks are the 2007 Stanley Cup champions, and deserving champs at that.
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.
