NHL FA Thread

[The King]

Today is probably the best offseason day in all of sports. I love July 1... it's always insanely active. Fire up the FA tracker and enjoy the show!

Free Agency opens up at noon.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?id=25880

[RockStar36]

Re: NHL FA Thread

[insert sarcastic 'the Sabres never do anything' comment here]

[The King]

Re: NHL FA Thread

Im not expecting the B's to either, but there always a ton of surprises.

[OpIv37]

Re: NHL FA Thread

Sabres' FA's (according to the TSN link from MBB above):

Lalime, Patrick
Tallinder, Henrik
Lydman, Toni
Ellis, Matt
Mair, Adam
Torres, Raffi

Any prediction on who stays and who goes? The easy one: Torres is gone. I don't think they can afford to lose the vet presence of both Tallinder and Lydman in one off-season. I hope they keep Tallinder due to the way he and Myers worked together last year (and because Lydman is prone to mental mistakes), but it probably depends on whether or not another team decides to overpay him.

I'm not sure about Mair or Ellis. They're both hard-working grinders, but neither is particularly skilled and Mair, while relatively popular amongst fans, is north of 30. Again, they'll probably keep one and my preference would be Mair.

Unfortunately, I suspect Lalime will be back.

[Dr. Lecter]

Re: NHL FA Thread

You might be right, but I would keep Ellis and Lydman. Tallinder played great at times last year, but trailed off late. Lydman is more phsyical and can play on the PK and PP. I also suspect that because of Tallinder's play last year and the fact that he looked like a stand out next to Myers he is more likely to get a 4 year deal worth 4.5-5 million per.

As for Mair/Ellis, I slightly prefer Ellis because Mair is slower, older and had hip surgery last year. He too can provide some help on the PK if needed. But Mair is more physical and can actually fight 3 or 4 times a year. So it is close.

[RockStar36]

Re: NHL FA Thread

I really don't care if any of them come back. Ellis and Mair give maximum effort all the time, so I appreciate them and wouldn't hate if they came back, but that isn't making or breaking my offseason.

I don't want Hank or Lydman back. Both will come with a pay raise, and both are already overpaid. Hank had a good year thanks to Myers, but was horribly mediocre the prior season.

I want them to sign a PP QB on D. That is priority #1 in my book.

[OpIv37]

Re: NHL FA Thread

With Myers and Tallinder, it's a "chicken or the egg" problem. Did Myers develop so quickly because he had help from Tallinder, or was Myers so good that he made Tallinder look better?

I don't know the answer to that- I'm just throwing it out there for discussion, because I think the answer will have a lot to do with how this organization proceeds with Tallinder.

[RockStar36]

Re: NHL FA Thread

I'm in the camp that thinks Tallinder benefited from Myers, not the other way around.

This reminds me of Spacek last year. Some team is going to give Tallinder more money and I'd be pissed if the Sabres shelled out even more for him. He's a solid d-man for the most part, but what else does he do?

[Dr. Lecter]

Re: NHL FA Thread

I really don't care if any of them come back. Ellis and Mair give maximum effort all the time, so I appreciate them and wouldn't hate if they came back, but that isn't making or breaking my offseason.

I don't want Hank or Lydman back. Both will come with a pay raise, and both are already overpaid. Hank had a good year thanks to Myers, but was horribly mediocre the prior season.

I want them to sign a PP QB on D. That is priority #1 in my book.

To make it clear on the D-men - they come back at the same or similar cost as last year. No significant raise. That is unlikely as Tallinder will likely get a boost and Lydman might as well.

[Dr. Lecter]

Re: NHL FA Thread

With Myers and Tallinder, it's a "chicken or the egg" problem. Did Myers develop so quickly because he had help from Tallinder, or was Myers so good that he made Tallinder look better?

I don't know the answer to that- I'm just throwing it out there for discussion, because I think the answer will have a lot to do with how this organization proceeds with Tallinder.

I think it was a matter that their styles were a great match. Tallinder never leaves his own end, while Myers likes to skate around. Knowing that Tallinder would always be back allowed Myers to be more aggresive offensively and defensively. If the Sabres can match Myers up with another "stay at home" buy, I think it will work. (Rivet? Weber?)

[JD]

Re: NHL FA Thread

If we don't trade for a power play quarterback I'm not buying any tickets this year

[RockStar36]

Re: NHL FA Thread

To make it clear on the D-men - they come back at the same or similar cost as last year. No significant raise. That is unlikely as Tallinder will likely get a boost and Lydman might as well.

Which is kind of my point, they will both get getting raises.

[RockStar36]

Re: NHL FA Thread

For what it's worth - Darcy was on WGR maybe a week or two ago and indicated strongly that the power play was a major concern and would be addressed.

I would actually have little issue with them overpaying a little bit for someone like Gonchar, although his age is a concern.

[SabreEleven]

Re: NHL FA Thread

To make it clear on the D-men - they come back at the same or similar cost as last year. No significant raise. That is unlikely as Tallinder will likely get a boost and Lydman might as well.

I'll bet they'll both get a pay raise and it will probably be with other teams. The salary cap went up so they'll be more money for OTHER teams to throw around.

[hydro]

Re: NHL FA Thread

Sorry Bedard:

Dreger:
- Both Florida and Boston say they don't expect to be very active today. But the Panthers need another forward and defenceman.