We Can Rebuild Them

With the exclusion of the newly-acquired Joni Pitkanen, the Oilers line-up could pretty well be set for the opening face-off in October, but there's still a long way to go for the Oilers. Re-signing Raffi Torres and Matt Greene were steps in the right direction and the acquistion of Mathieu Garon through free-agency was also quite a solid move.

The Oilers line-up suffered dearly in the points department as 10 of the top 11 players in points went down in the overall points standings from the season previous. Only goalie Dwayne Roloson, who had increased ice-time after full season with the squad went up and took first place on the team. Both Hemsky and Horcoff dropped 97 positions in the rankings, so the offense has been a major focus.

Raffi Torres	Shawn Horcoff	Ales Hemsky
Geoff Sanderson	Jarret Stoll	Fernando Pisani
Ethan Moreau	Marty Reasoner	Patrick Thoreson
Marc Pouliot	Robbie Schremp	Zach Stortini

Joni Pitkanen *	Steve Staios
Ladislav Smid	Dick Tarnstrom
Matt Greene	Denis Grebeshkov

Dwayne Roloson

Mathieu Garon

As of right now, it really looks like the fourth line is open to anyone who really wants the job. Both Pouliot and Schremp have been with the organization for some time, but neither of them can crack the line-up full time. With the emergence of Andrew Cogliano, they could have someone who will jump right into the line-up and give any one of the centres a good push in the coming season. Also a Ryan O'Marra or Robert Nilsson could make the jump into a full-time role.

You should assume that both Tarnstrom and Grebeshkov should jump straight into the Oilers line-up, which should give a good shake-up in front of Roloson. Neither of the two, or Pitkanen for that matter, are a Chris Pronger and it would be foolish to assume that this is the best six in the league, but they do make themselves a little more competitive if all six can be regulars in the line-up, instead of having the revolving door in the five & six slots.

Unless there is a marvelous signing before camp, the Oiler players have not really increased in pool value, but if they remain healthy, they could be pretty good little sleepers, as they did run into a few injury problems through last season. Adjust their numbers accordingly...


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NHL, Hockey Pool, Free Agents, Signing, Trades, Hockey, Edmonton Oilers, Raffi Torres

More Depth in Vancouver

The Canucks signed a few more players on Tuesday. They added Byron Ritchie and Brad Isbister through free agency and finally got prospect goalie, Cory Schneider, to sign on the dotted line. With little cap room left to manuever in, the Canucks will be left with only these kind of signings until the end of the summer.

In Ritchie, the Canucks will get another grinding third or fourth line winger with speed and grit. Ritchie had 14 points with the Flames and may fare better with a centre like Ryan Kesler or a winger like Jeff Cowan, but there really isn't too much of an offensive upside that would reflect well in a pool.

Isbister is a career underachiever who has yet to find his best fit. There really is no easy route to place him on the Canucks roster, unless he gels really well with Brendan Morrison or Ryan Kesler. He notched 5 points in 19 games with the Rangers last season and maybe he'll get a quick shot with the twins to see if they found a new winger to revive his career with the Sedins.

The idea for Cory Schneider will be to make it into the Moose system and hopefully fast-track him to back-up Roberto Luongo. Schneider, 21, will forego another year in NCAA's Boston College (where he posted some great numbers) to expedite his pro career. There is quite a bit of hope on this kid, as he'll shoulder a lot of weight in a worst-case scenario for the Canucks.

Daniel Sedin	Henrik Sedin	Taylor Pyatt
Markus Naslund	Brendan Morrison	Matt Cooke
Byron Ritchie	Ryan Kesler	Jannik Hansen
Ryan Shannon *	Jeff Cowan	Alexandre Burrows

Mattias Ohlund	Sami Salo
Kevin Bieksa	Lukas Krajicek
Willie Mitchell	Alexander Edler

Roberto Luongo

Cory Schneider

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Zubrus Deals in Jersey

Dainius Zubrus waited a couple extra days to be picked up by the New Jersey Devils. Zubrus signed a 6-year deal worth an average of $3.4 million. This signing is probably going to actually drop his stock, as Zubrus played with some talented players in Buffalo and did more of a checking role. He has never really panned out as an offensive threat and it might be a little harder to find him a linemate right away. He should mesh right away in the responsible defensive forward role and the Devils could make good work with him along the boards.

Wait and see who he ends up with in training camp before you slot him into your list for draft day.

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Habs are Filling Gaps

The Montreal Canadiens jumped into the free agent pool with a splash over the weekend. They managed to snag both Roman Hamrlik and Bryan Smolinski off the wire. Both veteran players should each play key roles in hopes that the team can make the playoffs once again.

Hamrlik should assume the spot that Sheldon Souray may or may not leave behind, but with more defensive responsibility. Hamrlik only scored 7 goals for the Flames last season, which is much less than his predecessor. Hamrlik isn't the type of player that changes the level of play to what city or surroundings he finds himself in, so I could safely tell you that his stock won't rise or fall with this move.

Bryan Smolinski is the same sort of player as Hamrlik, but plays a solid centre. Playing in all 82 games with Chicago and Vancouver last season, Smolinski re-affirmed everyone that he is still a valuable member of any team and seems to work at his own pace. He should stay right about where he is in the standings when it comes to draft day.

Alexei Kovalev	Saku Koivu	Michael Ryder
Guillime Latendresse	Tomas Plekanec	Christopher Higgins
Alexei Perezhogin	Bryan Smolinski	Andrei Kostitsyn
Garth Murray	Maxim Lapierre	Steve Begin

Andrei Markov	Roman Hamrlik
Mark Streit	Mike Komisarek
Francis Bouillon	Mathieu Dandenault

Cristobel Huet

Jaroslav Halak

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Ducks Get Bigger

If there was anything to be said about the Ducks and their championship ways, it would be that they had such great size and a blueline corps like no other. Already in the Silly Season, they've decided to sign more size and another defenseman. Both Todd Bertuzzi and Mathieu Schneider has jumped on board the Anaheim bandwagon and will join the champs with eyes on repeating the feat in 2008.

Bertuzzi is still desperately in need of some time to help his back heal. He only managed to play 15 games last season between Florida and Detroit, but he did manage to pot 11 points in those games. If Bertuzzi is going to return to form with a good off-season regiment, he could very well be a Top 50 kind of player that he once was. It's hard to see if he'll return to the dominant Top 10 player he was a few years ago. He should be considered as a possible sleeper in 2008... but if people are talking about him, slot him into an appropriate round.

Mathieu Schneider also had some injury problems in 2006/07 which limited his play to only 68 games. A good off-season could also do him a lot of good, if and when he assumes a large role due to the retirement of Scott Niedermayer. This Anaheim blueline will be something else, if Niedermayer doesn't retire.

Now, the line-up will have a few holes in it, as Teemu Selanne hasn't given his word as to whether or not he'll come back... many people saying that he won't, so here is the current line-up with Restricted Free Agents listed with an asterisk.

Chris Kunitz	Andy McDonald	Todd Bertuzzi
Dustin Penner *	Corey Perry	Ryan Getzlaf
Rob Niedermayer	Samuel Pahlsson	Travis Moen
Bobby Ryan	Todd Marchant	George Parros

Scott Niedermayer	Chris Pronger
Mathieu Schneider	Francois Beauchemin
Sean O'Donnell	Kent Huskins

Jean-Sebastien Giguere

Ilya Bryzgalov

The Ducks are still a little ways from being done in the marketplace, I'm sure with the hole that Selanne leaves behind, there will be a shopping list worked from in Brian Burke's office. Even a Bill Guerin might be a decent fit with the size of the Ducks. Stay tuned!


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Busy in Philly

One of the big prizes ended up in Philadelphia as the Flyers are getting overhauled. Daniel Briere signed an 8-year deal worth $52 million. He'll be fitted in somewhere with some new faces.


The Flyers also added a couple more faces via the trade routes. The Flyers shipped defenseman Joni Pitkanen and forward Geoff Sanderson to the Oilers for Jason Smith and Joffrey Lupul.

As you can see, the Flyers added some quality talent through trades and signings. The big question is less about skill now and more about chemistry. There's a lot of new faces, some good... most of them, expensive. Here's a look at what the roster will be like at this point:

Mike Knuble	Daniel Briere	Simon Gagne
Scott Hartnell	Jeff Carter	Joffrey Lupul
Scott Upshall	Mike Richards	Sami Kapanen
Ben Eager	R.J. Umberger	Stefan Ruzicka

Kimmo Timonen	Randy Jones
Jason Smith	Derian Hatcher
Lasse Kukkonen	Braydon Coburn

Martin Biron

Antero Niitymaki

There's a lot of potential in this line-up, but how will they mingle?

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An Avalanche of Change

Somebody had to win the Ryan Smyth sweepstakes, I didn't actually think it would be the Colorado Avalanche. Not only did they sign Ryan Smyth... they dropped a ton of cash on defenseman, Scott Hannan. A pair of signings that should make the Avalanche a greater threat to a playoff spot.

The two signings cost the Avalanche in the neighbourhood of $50 million over the next four and five years. Smyth will add an instant punch to the Avalanche line-up when he skates with Joe Sakic and Scott Hannan will provide some solid minutes in most situations.

With all this depth now, the Avalanche look like they can compete with the other four teams in the Northwest Division into a playoff spot. It's going to be a tough fit to get three teams (let alone four) into the playoffs, but the Avalanche are definitely going to try.

Andrew Brunette	Joe Sakic	Ryan Smyth
Wojtek Wolski	Paul Statsny	Milan Hejduk
Ian Laperriere	Tyler Arnason	Marek Svatos *
Brad Richardson	Cody Burki	Scott Parker

John-Micheal Liles	Brett Clark
Scott Hannan	Karlis Skrastins
Jordan Leopold	Kurt Sauer

Peter Budaj

Jose Theodore

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The Rangers Transformation

It didn't take long after the salary cap went up that the Rangers starting spending again. They locked up both Scott Gomez and Chris Drury on July 1. The Rangers dropped over $14 million a year for quite some time. With these two centres, the Rangers are now a lean, mean scoring machine. When they sign up Henrik Lundqvist, they'll be from top to bottom, one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.

With all this new scoring, the Rangers will be a popular team in the hockey pools everywhere. As of right now, the Rangers look a little like this:

Martin Straka	Scott Gomez	Jaromir Jagr
Sean Avery *	Chris Drury	Matt Cullen
Marcel Hossa *	Blair Betts	Petr Prucha *
Colton Orr	Ryan Callahan	Ryan Hollweg

Michal Roszival	Paul Mara
Marek Malik	Fedor Tyutin
Thomas Pock	Marc Staal

Henrik Lundqvist *

Steve Valiquette

* indicates Restricted Free Agent

The Rangers are still expected to sign Brendan Shanahan in the coming days and they will still shop around looking for another Top Six forward and Top Four defenseman. The Rangers still have some cap space to work with and they do like to spend all their monies.

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Some More Signings in the Frenzy

Todd White really made a name for himself in Ottawa and Minnesota and now he'll get his chance to show off his stuff for the Thrashers. He really hasn't had a big season in a couple years and I don't forsee a big year coming with the Thrashers. His speed should be beneficial to play with Kovalchuk or Hossa, but he'll probably end up being a solid third-liner in the organization.

The Flames made a little adjustment on the blueline by adding Cory Sarich. Known more as a defensive defenseman, you'll probably not look to Sarich in your hockey pool, but he might make guys like Phaneuf a little more confident in the offensive zone.

Another team with a big youth movement needed some experience to help guide the way and the Blackhawks signed Yanic Perreault to a 1-year deal. Perreault should provide the young Blackhawks with a good mentor as well as a bit of depth. Perreault scored 21 goals last season and also played in the All-Star Game.

Michel Ouellet didn't have to wait long to be picked up. The Tampa Bay Lightning came a calling and signed him to a 2-year deal and added him to the plethora of forward talent. Ouellet could be a very good winger to Lecavalier or Richards, so I would say his stock just went up.

Eric Perrin was snatched up as a character player by the Atlanta Thrashers. Perrin isn't really a pool-worthy player, nor does he really have a large impact. Why am I even writing this bit?

Sheldon Brookbank was added to the Blue Jackets line-up this weekend. Brookbank isn't a big hired gun, rather a bit of a bruiser. He probably won't figure into the pool as well.

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Viktor Joins Alex

The Washington Capitals were obviously looking for a spark for Alexander Ovechkin and they may have found it in Russian centre, Viktor Kozlov. Kozov came over from the Islanders, where he had a fairly decent season.

25 goals in 81 games isn't anything to sneeze at and he does have some talent moving the puck as well, so he could be groomed to find some time with young Ovechkin. He'll also play a big role with some of their young talent coming up the ranks as well. They have a Nicklas Backstrom of their own that will also find some time as the pivot for Ovechkin.

At the moment, his stock should remain the same as there is no guarantee where he'll fit in the line-up. Watch and wait to see where he slots in... if there's an Ovechkin connection, his stock will soar.

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And That's Not All...

Michael Nylander has also landed in Washington. The Capitals are quickly becoming quite deep down the middle and it's going to be a joy for the wingers to have pucks fly onto their sticks. Nylander had a good year with the Rangers and Jaromir Jagr, but his spot was soon filled when the Rangers made their splash on the free agent market.

Nylander was over a point-per-game last season, in large part to a good linemate, and should be a good linemate to Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin or Matt Pettinger. At this point, Nylander's stock probably will stay the same... you can make that Jagr to Ovechkin comparison at your draft day, but much like Kozlov, there isn't a guarantee of where you'll play.

Also, in other free-agent acquistions... the Capitals picked up defenseman Tom Poti. Poti has been the guy who just hasn't fit in terribly well, even with the potential he's always shown. He had an alright season with the Rangers as well, but should fit in a little bit better as the big shot on the Capitals power play come October. Pool-wise, things got a bit better for Poti.


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Schneider Flies with the Ducks

With the impending news that Scott Niedermayer is all but retiring this summer, Ducks GM, Brian Burke, tried to fill that potential gap with another veteran defenseman. He did quite well in that he managed to sign Mathieu Schneider to a 2-year deal.

Schneider had himself a great season with the Red Wings despite his injury woes. Schneider did manage to rack up 52 points with the Wings in only 68 games. If he can have a healthy season in Anaheim, the target will probably be in the 70-point range. Health concerns do weigh heavily when it comes to picking him in your pool. There's very little chance he'll be available in the late rounds, so be advised... the risk for 70 points is quite high, but it's certainly in your better interest if you need a defenseman.

If Niedermayer chooses not to retire and play out his contract, Schneider's ice-time will probably come down a bit, but for health concerns, that might not be a bad thing. Also, if Niedermayer isn't to retire, Francois Beauchemin will also have a lack of minutes. All things that should be considered down the road.


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Panthers Better Up Front

In Miami, the Panthers went to the bargain bin to see what they could find and they didn't do too badly. They signed up 28 year-old forward Brett McLean for 3 years, Richard Zednik for two years and also Radek Dvorak for a couple years.

In McLean, they've picked up a forward who has really built his game piece-by-piece. He has turned himself into a very well rounded player and one who may find himself in a really good role for the Panthers. If GM/Head Coach Jacques Martin likes what he sees, I would imagine there will be quite a bit more ice-time for McLean and that alone should increase his stock a bunch.

Zednik is quite the journeyman winger in the league and the Panthers are almost building themselves as a journeyman's team. He had some injury problems last season and didn't quite get the output people came to expect out of him. The Panthers should be a good fit for Zednik, who will hopefully get his numbers back into the 30's, 40's or even 50's.

Radek Dvorak really hasn't found his niche with any one team yet, so Florida isn't really a bad place to try. Dvorak only scored 10 goals in 82 games last season and will find himself with some new linemates and maybe a little bit more ice-time, but it can't be too much. I wouldn't quite qualify him just yet for my pool team.


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Penguins Keep Getting Stronger

The Pittsburgh Penguins had a lot to do this off-season and they accomplished quite a bit. They re-signed a few key free agents and picked up a few more as well. Now that the team is hanging around in Pittsburgh, their old friend Stanley may come up for a visit as well.

First on the list of things to do was getting defenseman Ryan Whitney locked up for the long-term. Six years at a price of $4 million per year is fairly long-term. He had himself a breakout season and should be a pillar of strength for the Penguins down the road.

Next, they found themselves signing a new back-up goalie in Dany Sabourin. Sabourin played a handful of games behind Roberto Luongo in Vancouver and played pretty well when his name was called. Sabourin's stock as a back-up goalie has just gone up a bit, as he'll see a few more games with the Pens.

As good as Ryan Whitney is now, he still has some room to grow and so the Penguins went out and signed up a mentor for the young buck. Darryl Sydor signed on with Pittsburgh and should provide some veteran leadership to the team. Sydor's stock should rise from his 21 points last season... I should imagine that anyone who plays on a team with Crosby and Malkin should have some points just handed to them.

Experience was also on the docket for the forwards as well... Petr Sykora signed with the Penguins on Monday to a 2-year deal. Sykora had a decent year in Edmonton last season and could provide Malkin or Staal a decent winger to play with. 20+ goals shouldn't be a hard target to reach for Sykora this season.

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Jackman Looks Ahead

Barrett Jackman signed a 1-year deal as a Restricted Free Agent. He'll be turning 27 late this coming season and will be up for Unrestricted Free Agency next season unless he signs a big extension during the year.

Jackman isn't a big-time point producer on the blueline, but he does do his job quite steadily. He finished 56th among defenseman scoring last season and he should remain pretty solid in that spot for this coming draft.

Maybe, just maybe... a kid like Erik Johnson (if he was to sign) would be a good fit with Jackman, unless he's really slated to be his replacement.



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Thornton Extends

Well, we won't be biting our nails about Joe Thornton any time soon when it comes to the Free Agent Frenzy. Thornton will be in San Jose for at least another four seasons. He had one more year on his current deal, but signed a 3-year extension that will pay him $7.2 million per year. When the Sharks go calling other free agents, those players will have the comfort in knowing that Thornton will be around.

Will this effect the pool at all? Not really. Thornton will remain a Top 5 pick in any pool. He should be considered a model for consistency, as he's had 3 years in the Top 5 of the pool in the last 4 years, the other one was a miss because of injury. That year, he finished 29th... still a first rounder in a deep pool.


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Tkachuk Does Sign

It's no real big surprise after the St. Louis Blues traded to have Keith Tkachuk back in the fold that they'd sign him as well. Tkachuk received a 2-year deal worth $8 million to come back and don the Blues' new uniform and re-unite him with Doug Weight.

Last season, Tkachuk was not very dominating when it came to his play. He certainly wasn't the top 30 kind of player he was only a few short years ago. With injuries and poor teams in St. Louis and a poor fit in Atlanta, Tkachuk hasn't had a great deal of chances to redeem himself. I don't see it happening again this year... if you can hold off on taking him until a little bit later in your draft, you'll probably think of him as a bargain.

When did you ever think you'd ever hear or see "bargain" and "Keith Tkachuk" in the same thought?

Thought so.


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Fernandez to Boston

Manny Fernandez may have found himself a full-time starting job as the Wild has sent him to Boston for Petr Kalus and a 4th Round Pick in 2009. This may not be a free-agent signing, but it is definitely news worthy.

Fernandez should be able to walk in to the Bruins organization and take the reigns as the number one guy in Boston. Fernandez won 22 games in a platoon situation and earned over a point a game in the regular season and if he wins the number one job, he should have his work cut out for him.

In return, the Wild get a draft pick and prospect Petr Kalus. Kalus had 5 points in 9 games last season and could have a good shot at playing in the bigs with Minnesota. The Czech winger never really found himself too comfortable in Boston and he might have a little bit more help to flourish under Jacques Lemaire.


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