The NHL’s salary cap and its current player transfer agreement with the International Ice Hockey Federation resulted in a growing exodus since the past summer of players signing with European teams.

While the NHL and the IIHF will be re-opening the agreement in January aimed at better compensation for European teams and improved player development, no changes will be made regarding the salary cap.

That still means players who might have had jobs with NHL teams in the past will be faced with playing in Europe if they hope to keep their playing careers alive.

That’s led some observers to suggest this weakens the NHL talent base whilst bolstering the European leagues, especially with recent speculation of Russian billionaire Alex Medvedev forming a rival European league.

A close examination of the caliber of the talent bolting for Europe since July 2007, however, indicates no weakening of the NHL talent base.

The most notable of those players include Alexei Yashin, Petr Nedved, Aleksey Morozov, Oleg Saprykin, Jan Bulis, Anson Carter, Dmitri Afanasenkov, Jamie Lundmark, Ville Nieminen, Ossi Vaananen, Danny Markov, and Ed Belfour.

Not to be cruel, but this list consists of has-beens and never-weres. Of this list, only Markov and Vaananen would still have value today to NHL teams.

Most of the former NHL’ers who headed overseas since the summer made little significant contribution to their respective NHL teams last season, hence the reason they were unable to land new contracts.

Some, like the LA Kings’ Oleg Tverdovsky, NY Rangers’ Darius Kasparaitis, Boston Bruins’ Stanislav Chistov and Columbus Blue Jackets Alex Svitov, broke existing NHL contracts to play in the Russian Super League. Russia is currently not part of the NHL-IIHF player transfer agreement.

Those players did so either to avoid toiling in the minors or to earn more money and playing time back in Russia, but only the Blue Jackets were upset over losing their player. The departures of Tverdovsky, Kasparaitis and Chistov were greeted almost with silence by their respective NHL teams. The Rangers actually encourage Kasparaitis to return to Russia.

The reason is quite clear: they were no longer good enough to be NHL players, and their respective NHL teams were pleased to be free of their remaining contractual obligations.

It’s their inability to play well enough to merit NHL contracts that kept most of the aforementioned players out of the league, not the salary cap.

If Yashin, Tverdovsky, Nedved, and Kasparaitis were still in their playing prime it would be a worthwhile concern that their absence hurts the NHL talent. Nobody misses them now, and if the European leagues want them, they’re welcome to them.

If impending free agents like Alexander Ovechkin, Nicklas Lidstrom, Marian Hossa, Corey Perry or Dion Phaneuf were signed by European teams next summer it would merit concern.  However, the NHL is the showcase of the best talent in professional hockey and there’s no European team or league that can competitively bid for the NHL’s best talent.

That’s why some of this concern about a European “super league” challenging the NHL’s supremacy is baseless.

Any new “super league” would either have to convince the top teams in the currently established European leagues to join them or would have to create new teams in those countries.

Don’t expect either prospect to be successful. Many of the current European leagues have rich legacies and aren’t about to tear themselves apart to join a new “super league”. Fans of those respective established leagues won’t transfer their loyalties from their current teams any more than most NHL fans did when the World Hockey Association was in its heyday in the 1970s.

Furthermore, many of the European teams lack NHL-style facilities to pack in the kind of audiences required to drum up the revenue required for NHL-style payrolls, and it remains to be seen if European hockey fans would warm to the prospect of paying much higher ticket prices.

Even the richest teams in the Russian Super League having payrolls less than half of those of the top NHL teams. It takes big bucks to entice the top NHL talent to Europe and that kind of money just isn’t there.

Ultimately, the level of talent heading to Europe won’t make European leagues significantly stronger and aren’t a direct challenge to the NHL’s superiority.  

Eurohockey.net reported earlier this week former Philadelphia Flyers netminder Robert Esche had signed to play with Ak Bars Kazan of the Russian Super League this season.

Esche was one of the few goalies of note (Curtis Joseph and Ed Belfour being the other two) still available in this year’s unrestricted free agent market. Joseph is believed working out back in Toronto awaiting an offer whilst Belfour has signed to play in Sweden this season although it’s believed he might have an “out” clause in his contract should an NHL club come calling.

It’s not surprising Esche didn’t get any takers thus far, as his last two NHL seasons were not memorable. Apart from a decent showing against the Buffalo Sabres in the opening round of the 2006 playoffs, Esche simply didn’t play as well as he did prior to the lockout, resulting in his stock dropping dramatically heading into this year’s UFA market.

Some internet speculation last month had him possibly heading to the NY Rangers or Edmonton Oilers as a backup, but the Blueshirts are more concerned about their blueline depth whilst the Oilers have a very capable backup in Mathieu Garon.

It’s still possible that Esche could find his way back to the NHL this season as injuries and/or inconsistent goaltending could force a few teams to give his agent.

The Los Angeles Kings could head that list, as their goaltending continues to be their Achilles heel. Put simply, their best goalie is Jonathan Bernier, whom they returned to his QMJHL team for the rest of this season so as not to hamper his development or bruise his confidence by rushing him too soon into action.

Dan Cloutier proved an expensive, injury-ravaged bust. Jason Labarbera has yet to prove he’s anything more than a really good minor league netminder, and J.S. Aubin is better used as a backup, not a starter.

Goaltending isn’t their only concern as the Kings defensive game needs improvement but it would go a long way to calming their blueline corps down if they know they’ve got a decent starting goalie behind them to cover their mistakes.

Granted, Esche didn’t have a very good 2006-07 season, and was uneven the previous year, but he could well be determined to improve his game and to make the most of a second chance. It wouldn’t be the first time a player left unsigned because of weak performances shone when given another opportunity by an NHL team.

Esche could probably be had for a reasonable, incentive-laced contract for this season, plus he’s not too old, like Joseph and Belfour, nor does he have lingering back problems, like Belfour. And unlike a trade, signing him won’t cost them players or prospects in return.

The only signing problem is that since he’s now playing in Russia he’d have to clear waivers before reporting to the Kings, so it would likely be best to get him soon before other teams start having goalie woes and look to Esche as a solution.

Barring either a character or physical flaw that would scare away Kings management, Esche appears to be the best solution to their goaltending problems right now.

At this point, what have they got to lose?  Carrying on with what they’ve got could eventually cost them the season anyway, so it’s worthwhile to give Esche a shot.

With the start of NHL training camps set to start in roughly two weeks time there’s been very little unrestricted free agent signings to report. Indeed, the most significant moves have been UFAs signing with European clubs.

That’s because the salary cap has forced most general managers to be more frugal with their money, even those still possessing plenty of salary cap space.

Most GMs appear intent on evaluating their rosters during training camp and pre-season to determine if their lineups need bolstering via free agency or trades. Some might even wait until the opening weeks of the season.

That means available UFAs like Danny Markov, Jason Allison, Curtis Joseph, Ossi Vaananen, Mike Johnson and Brent Sopel could continue playing the waiting game for some time yet.

The Edmonton Journal recently reported UFA defenseman Bryan Berard has accepted an invitation from the New York Islanders for a training camp tryout in September.

Berard, who began his NHL career with the Islanders (winning the Calder trophy as rookie of the year in 1997), spent the past two seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets but back injuries limited him to only 55 games.

Despite having lost most of the sight in his right eye in 2000 during a freak injury he’s proven that this hasn’t hampered his game, posting good offensive numbers prior to hurting his back. He’d also received a two-year suspension from international competition for use of a banned substance, which he claimed was unintentional but took full responsibility for his actions.

It’s likely the back injuries rather than his right eye or his claim of unintentional use of a banned substance that killed off most interest in him as a free agent. He’s fortunate to get a tryout invitation, but if he proves to have made a full recovery from his back surgery and has a good camp he could earn himself a contract with the Isles, although it’ll likely be worth less than $1 million.

Now for the continuous parade of players heading overseas.

It was announced today that former NHL goalie Ed Belfour had indeed signed a six-month contract with Leksand of the Swedish second league.

A recent report on Belfour claimed he looked sharp in recent practices but apparently not sharp enough for an NHL club to take a chance on him.

That doesn’t mean necessarily mean we’ve seen the last of “Eddie the Eagle” in NHL action as it’s possible he might return at some point this season should an NHL club come calling, but of course that contingent on Belfour having an “out clause” with Leksand.

If an NHL club does sign him they’ll have to do it prior to the start of the upcoming season, otherwise he’d have to pass through waivers where he could be plucked away by another NHL team.

Former Tampa Bay Lighting and Chicago Blackhawk forward Nikita Alexeev has signed with Ak-Bars Kazan of the Russian Super League.

Drafted 8th overall in the 2000 draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning, Alexeev was once considered a promising prospect and early last season appeared poised for his long-awaited breakout season with 15 points in his first 20 games, but his production tailed off dramatically.

The Bolts finally lost patience with Alexeev and dealt him at the trade deadline to Chicago but he failed to catch on with the Blackhawks, who cut him loose at season’s end.

Janne Niinimaa’s career as an NHL defenseman is likely over but he may have found a new place to continue his playing career, as he's rumored to be signing with Swedish club Linkopings HC.

Niinimaa’s performance tailed off significantly after the 2003-04 season, where injury and an inability to adapt to the post-lockout style saw him bounce from the NY Islanders to the Dallas Stars to the Montreal Canadiens over the last two years.

Former Florida Panthers winger Juraj Kolnik will be playing next season in Switzerland as will former Atlanta Thrashers winger J.P. Vigier. Both signed with HC Geneve-Servette of the Swiss National League last week.

Finally, former NY Rangers center Jarkko Immonen signed with JYP of the Finnish League.

As the summer progresses and the opening day of NHL training camps fast approaching, more unrestricted free agent NHL players are signing with European teams.

In most cases they’re either marginal players unable to land with new teams or aging veterans who cannot find NHL teams willing to take a chance on them.

-Former Atlanta Thrasher and Dallas Star forward Patrik Stefan signed with SC Bern in Switzerland.

Stefan was the first overall pick in the 1999 entry draft but he never played up to lofty expectations. He’s now best known for a bungled attempt to score an empty net goal earlier last season against the Edmonton Oilers that turned into a game-tying goal for the Oilers.

-A report out of Sweden claims goaltender Ed Belfour could be signing with a Swedish team.

Belfour, an eighteen year NHL veteran and a two-time former Vezina winner, posted decent numbers last season on a rebuilding Florida Panthers team. However, there’s not much of a market for goalies this summer in the NHL, and concerns about Belfour’s age and injury history also likely dampened interest in him around the league.

-Nils Ekman, former San Jose Shark and Pittsburgh Penguin, has signed with Khimik Mytishchi of the Russian Super League.

Despite consecutive 50+ point seasons with the Sharks prior to landing with the Penguins, no NHL teams tried to sign Ekman, most likely based on his injury-shortened 2006-07 season that limited him to only 34 games.

-Veteran defenseman Jamie Heward was unable to find any takers for his services in the NHL, so he’s opted for SKA St. Petersburg in Russia.

Heward is yet another of those veteran players finding it harder to find contracts in the NHL due to the salary cap. Teams would much rather invest their money in promising young talent rather than on older veteran players.

-Russia’s unwillingness to sign off on the player transfer agreement between the NHL and the International Ice Hockey Federation enticed another Russian player under contract with an NHL team to sign a more lucrative deal with a Russian club.

Columbus Blue Jackets center Alexander Svitov recently signed a three-year contract with Avangard Omsk of the Russian Super League, despite having re-signed a two-year contract in June with the Jackets for $2.25 million.

Svitov follows in the footsteps of countrymen Oleg Tverdovsky and Stansilav Chistov, two player also under contract with NHL teams that were obviously unhappy with their role on their respective teams and apparently found better options back home.

For the LA Kings and Boston Bruins, losing Tverdovsky and Chistov respectively wasn’t a big deal as both were likely slated to begin the coming season in the minors. Their departure frees up cap space for the Kings and Bruins, which could be used to bolster their depth in the coming season. Tverdovsky and Chistov will be considered suspended by the Kings and Bruins so their salaries won’t count against the salary caps of these two teams.

For the Blue Jackets, however, Svitov’s “defection” cuts into their depth at center. The club planned to use him as their third line center, and reports out of Columbus now suggest the team might be forced back into the UFA market to find a replacement for Svitov.

There's not a heckuva lot of talent remaining in this year's NHL UFA pool, which isn't unusual two weeks after the free agent frenzy began, although it wasn't a particularly deep pool this season. 

James Mirtle has been keeping track of the remaining UFAs, and as you can see, there really isn't much to choose from.

Still, there's a few gems still available, perhaps for bargain prices the longer they remain on the market.

For scoring forwards, only Peter Forsberg, Teemu Selanne and Alexei Yashin remain. The first two could retire while Yashin is apparently miffed over supposed "low ball" offers and could play in Russia next season.

The best checking center would be Mike Peca, provided he can avoid the injuries that have plagued him in recent years. 

Martin Gelinas and Mike Johnson appear to be the best checking wingers still available.

There's still a few good defensemen remaining, with Danny Markov, Andy Sutton and Ossi Vaananen likely to attract interest in the coming days from teams seeking blueline depth.

Not a lot of depth in goaltending, but Ed Belfour, Curtis Joseph, Alex Auld and Robert Esche could attract some interest.