Buyout Season Begins

The Blue Jackets did not keep Mike Commodore around for very long in the 2011 season, burying him in the minors for the better part of the season. The rugged defenseman had the last two years of his deal bought out after clearing unconditional waivers on Friday.

Mike Commodore buyout from CapGeek.com
2011-12: $1,391,667
2012-13: $1,541,667
2013-14: $1,141,667
2014-15: $1,141,667

The Edmonton Oilers also bought out a defenseman that was buried in the minors during the 2011 season, Sheldon Souray did not see any action in the year and the last year of his deal was bought out, making him into an unrestricted free agent for the silly season.

Sheldon Souray buyout from CapGeek.com
2011-12: $2,400,000
2012-13: $1,500,000

The Minnesota Wild bought out defenseman Cam Barker, buying out the last year of his deal. Barker did not impress the Wild brass in 2011, only picking up 5 points in 52 games in 2011, so his talents will be taken elsewhere this Summer.

Cam Barker buyout from CapGeek.com
2011-12: $375,000
2012-13: $541,666

Jagr Returns... In Philly

It finally happened! The return of Jaromir Jagr to the NHL is now complete, as the 39-year old Czech winger has signed a 1-year, $3.3 million deal with the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday.

Jagr had spent the last three seasons in Russia, but came back into the North American scene when he played for the Czech Republic at the Vancouver Olympics.  Jagr had made his intentions known that he wanted to return to the NHL a few weeks ago and since then, he had been courted mainly by the Penguins and the Red Wings.  Both teams pulled out of the sweepstakes early on Friday morning and the return will now be with the Flyers.

Jagr's numbers over in the KHL were not stellar, nor were they great three years ago, when he left the NHL. The pundit expectations on TSN were thinking that he'll still be a 60-point player in today's game, but that really remains to be seen.

I'm not terribly excited to see him in the league for another year, but that doesn't mean I'm not curious to see what happens either. I don't think I would pick Jagr in the pool next season, but I don't think that will be an issue, as someone likely will... and way too early for that matter.

Hejda Goes To Denver

The re-tooling Avalanche have now added defenseman Jan Hejda to the mix, signing the 33-year old Czech to a 4-year deal, reportedly worth $13 million, which works out to be a $3.25 million cap hit per season.

Hejda was in the top 10 defensemen available when the clock struck Noon ET and free agency opened up, so this does make for a fairly good signing for the Avalanche. In 2011, Hejda had 20 points in 77 games with the Blue Jackets and does have decent puck moving ability, so it has the makings of being a good fit with a young, mobile team.

Coyotes Sign Mike Smith

The Coyotes had goaltending concerns of their own going into the free agent frenzy, but it looks as though they have made a move to quell those concerns for the time being, signing Mike Smith to a 2-year deal, reportedly worth $4 million.

Smith fell to the way side in Tampa Bay, where Dwayne Roloson really stepped up and took the number one job away, but Smith will get a solid shot (as of right now) to take the Coyotes number one job and run with it.

In 2011 in Tampa, Smith picked up 13 wins, 1 shutout and 1 assist for 29 points in the hockey pool, good enough for 36th among all goalies.  If he does get the starting job in Phoenix, expect those numbers to climb and make for a pretty good pick-up in your pool.

The Coyotes also added free agent forward Boyd Gordon, signing him to a 2-year deal, worth $2.65 million. Gordon had 9 points in 60 games with the Capitals in 2011, he's a depth player at best.

Panthers Ink Upshall

The Florida Panthers had to spend some money on the free agent frenzy, just to get to the cap floor and Scottie Upshall is just the guy to help them out in 2012... through 2016. Upshall signed a 4-year deal, reportedly worth $14 million, which works out to be a $3.5 million cap hit.

Upshall split the 2011 season between Phoenix and Columbus, playing in 82 games, scoring 22 goals and adding 12 assists in the year. Upshall finished 174th in forwards scoring, which has him on the outside looking in for pool worthiness and those numbers are likely to take a hit on a rebuilding Panthers squad.

Panthers Nab Theodore

Major goaltending concerns in Florida have been addressed in the early hours of the free agent frenzy, as the Panthers signed unrestricted free agent Jose Theodore to a 2-year deal, reportedly worth $3 million (a $1.5 million cap hit per season).

With Tomas Vokoun officially on the open market, the Panthers needed to address some starting goaltending concerns and Theodore is the first stop-gap they found.

Theodore made 32 appearances for the Wild in the 2011 season, playing behind Niklas Backstrom, picking up a record of 15-11-3 with 1 shutout, giving him 32 points in the regular season. That was good enough to be 34th among all goalies, considered as one of the better back-up goalies for the hockey pools.

Now, Theodore will battle Scott Clemmensen for the number one job, unless the Panthers have more tricks up their sleeve.

Oilers Sign Eager

The Oilers got a little bit grittier and a lot nastier with the signing of unrestricted free agent forward Ben Eager on Friday. Eager signed a 3-year deal, reportedly worth $3.3 million, which will work out to a very reasonable $1.1 million per year against the cap.

Eager spent the 2011 season with the San Jose Sharks, playing in 68 games, scoring 7 goals and 10 assists in a bottom six role.  Eager's real value, if it counts in your pool, is penalty minutes, where Eager finished 31st in the league with 120 PIM and he should be counted on to possibly do a little bit more of the pugilism while protecting the team's valuable youth.

Garon Signs in Tampa

The Lightning have solved their back-up goalie question early on, being the first team to sign a brand new player in unrestricted free agency. Mathieu Garon signed a 2-year, $2.6 million deal with the Bolts and he will now be considered the back-up for Dwayne Roloson in the 2012 season.

Garon made 36 appearances with the Blue Jackets in 2011, winning 10, 3 by shutout and adding an assist for 27 points in the pool, good enough for 40th among all goalies. Garon should provide ample support for Roloson in Tampa Bay, also should make good use of the number of starts he should get behind an ageing veteran.

Garon could turn out to be a good late-round back-up goaltender for your hockey pool team, especially if you have concentrated on forwards and defense in your opening rounds.

Devils Re-Sign Greene

The re-signing parade continues with the New Jersey Devils re-signing defenseman Andy Greene to a new deal, giving him another four years to play in the swamp. Greene became an unrestricted free agent only a half hour before signing his new deal, which suggests his only interest was to re-sign with the Devils.  No cap number has been announced on Greene, so we'll move on without it.

In 2011, Greene had an okay year, scoring 4 goals and 19 assists in all 82 games, ranking him 74th among blueliners, which is pretty good considering how awful the Devils offense was in the first half of the season.

If the Devils can lock up Zach Parise and get their offense sorted out, I think Greene is definitely a viable solution to a late round pick-up in your hockey pool.

Penguins Re-Sign Kennedy

The Penguins re-signed forward Tyler Kennedy to a new 2-year deal, paying him $4 million, which works out to be a $2 million cap hit per year. Kennedy finished 117th among all forwards in 2011, scoring 21 goals and 24 assists in 79 games.

If all of the Pittsburgh superstars are healthy going into 2012, Kennedy could be a pretty good pick-up for your pool draft, possibly getting some ice-time on the top two lines.

Red Wings Re-Sign Miller

The Red Wings announced that they re-signed forward Drew Miller on Friday afternoon, giving him a 2-year deal, worth $1.65 million, which works out to be a $825,000 cap hit per year.  In 2011, Miller scored 10 goals and 8 assists in 67 games.

Another roster player signed, but don't look for him in your hockey pool draft in September.

Higgins Back With Vancouver

The Canucks re-signed forward Christopher Higgins to a new 2-year deal, worth $3.8 million, a $1.9 million cap hit per season. Higgins played in 62 games between Florida and Vancouver, scoring 13 goals and adding 15 assists. Higgins ranked 218th among all forwards, putting him well outside the draft rankings for the year.

Canucks Re-Sign Salo

The Canucks have reportedly re-signed defenseman Sami Salo to a new 1-year deal, which will pay the Finn $2 million.  Salo was getting prepared to become an unrestricted free agent on Friday afternoon, but the deal was done in the hours leading up to free agency and the Canucks will retain some more of their overall depth on the blueline.


Salo's 2011 season was cut short by an off-season Achilles tendon injury, which limited his regular season to just 27 games.  Salo didn't regain some of his overall offense after the injury, only scoring 3 goals and 4 assists in those games, which has him ranked poorly going into the 2012 season.

If Salo can make it into the 2012 season at 100% health, he should be somewhat of a sleeper pick, especially in the late rounds of a draft, where a lot of people may be looking at picking up some new, inexperienced blood for their team.

With Salo on board, the Canucks now have 18 players signed (eight forwards, eight defense and two goalies) for only $53.4 million, giving them about $10 million for the remaining forwards on on their roster. Of course, with Salo on board, there is a good chance that a defenseman may shift off the team table, but we'll get to that when more things happen.

Wisniewski Signs in Columbus

The best defenseman available for unrestricted free agency did not make it to market, as James Wisniewski signed a 6-year deal to stay with his suitors from Columbus. The Blue Jackets acquired his rights from the Canadiens only a couple of days before the market opened and they were able to nail down a deal with the top dog on the blueline, giving him $33 million in the process.


Wisniewski will bring some much-needed offense to a Blue Jackets blueline, a blueline that has struggled to score some goals in recent memory.  Wisniewski scored 10 goals and 41 assists in 75 games with the Islanders and the Canadiens in 2011.

Wisniewski was the 5th best defender in scoring during the year, which was likely going to make him into a solid candidate for big money, but the Blue Jackets stepped up and gave him about what he was going to make on the open market.

With the deal done, the Blue Jackets take another solid step up the projected cap hit ladder, now having 16 players (11 forwards, four defensemen and a goalie) and a buyout signed on for $48.4 million.

Eaves Re-Signs in Detroit

The Red Wings have continued to capture some of their better talent before they head out to unrestricted free agency, now signing Patrick Eaves to a new 3-year deal. The deal is reportedly worth $3.6 million, which works out to be a very reasonable $1.2 million cap hit per season.

In 2011, Eaves scored 13 goals and 7 assists in 63 games. He isn't quite hockey pool material any more, but he should be able to boost the Red Wings' depth going forward.

The projected salary cap number keeps going up for the Red Wings, as they now stand at $51.5 million assigned to 17 players (11 forwards, five defense and a goalie), leaving them about $12.8 million left to the cap ceiling.

Wild Re-Sign Harding

A harsh turn of events in the pre-season knocked goaltender Josh Harding back a couple of years in his advancement in the NHL. Harding was on the cusp of being moved as a potential starting goalie in another NHL city, but missing the entire 2011 season with a right knee injury has now set him back into a back-up role for the Wild. Minnesota re-signed the potential unrestricted free agent to a 1-year deal, worth $750,000, likely trying to give him an audition again for a number one job somewhere down the line.

Red Wings Re-Sign Ericsson

One last deal to mention from the eve of the Free Agent Frenzy... the Red Wings have re-signed defenseman Jonathan Ericsson, giving the 27-year old Swede a 3-year deal, reportedly worth $9.75 million, which works out to be a $3.25 million cap hit per season.  Ericsson was about to become an unrestricted free agent on Friday afternoon, but the Wings did well to lock him up in a post-Brian Rafalski era.

Ericsson has developed into a fairly steady blueliner for the Red Wings, not quite an offensive force to boast about (3 goals and 12 assists in 74 games), but he'll give Detroit upwards of 24 minutes of ice-time a game and he was a plus player in the regular season (+8), which suggests that he is fairly responsible over the whole of the season.


With Ericsson on the books, I now have the Red Wings going into the Free Agent Frenzy with 16 players (10 forwards, five defense and a goalie) signed on for $50.3 million, leaving them about $14 million in projected cap space for spending.  Detroit can get away with only signing three forwards, two defense and a goalie, which gives them all kinds of flexibility.