Vancouver Canucks

Winners and Losers

What financial crisis? More than 30 players signed on the dotted line today, including the Habs who spent more than $80m on the market. Some moves were surprises, others not so much. Here’s a look at who won and who lost, but more importantly, how it affects our beloved Canucks.

For the time being, the Chicago Blackhawks walked away from July 1 hauling in the best forward in Marian Hossa on a monstrous 12-year, $62m contract. Taking a page from Hossa’s “if you can’t beat ‘em…” book, the Hawks dipped into the Detroit roster by signing the big forward as well as Tomas Kopecky. Never mind that the Hawks have to juggle salary next year with Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, and Duncan Keith are all due for big raises next year, Dale Tallon has assembled a team full of talent that can score goals in a hurry. They’ll be looking good for the 2009-10 season, but who knows what’s going to happen after that. The Hawks are in a salary cap bind but for the moment they look as if they could unseat the Wings from atop the Central Division. I have my doubts about Tallon’s managerial abilities, especially concerning the salary cap, but no doubt the guy can bring in talent in a hurry. The Hawks have plenty of BC boys the Canucks may be more than willing to poach.

The Calgary Flames lost some firepower in Mike Cammalleri, but they got Jay Bouwmeester under wraps which gives them the best defense in the West, bar none. They’ll be tough to play against but they’re up against the cap and missing a top six winger. Like most teams they’re not quite done yet but Darryl Sutter rolled the dice on Bouwmeester and hit the jackpot.

Not to be outdone, the Edmonton Oilers locked up the durable Nikolai Khabibulin for four years at a very reasonable $3.75m per year. He’s an upgrade over Dwayne Roloson and Jeff Deslauriers isn’t quite ready for full-time duty yet, but Steve Tambellini addressed the Oilers’ most pressing issue swiftly and decisively. Now if only the Dany Heatley trade can fall through… Regardless, the Canadian content in the Northwest just got much, much tougher.

The Toronto Maple Leafs didn’t make too much noise on the trade market asides from dealing Pavel Kubina, but you gotta love what Brian Burke is doing slowly. He’s added a lot of size with Mike Komisarek and Garnet Exelby, both physically imposing defensemen with very manageable contracts. He didn’t quite make a splash on the offensive front, but things look pretty good in Toronto, asides from the Colton Orr signing. If they trade away Tomas Kaberle, however, I think it would be a mistake because the Leafs don’t look too mobile right now on the back end. Mike Van Ryn may not be the same after that Milan Lucic hit and Jonas Frogren and Jeff Finger can’t be counted on to make that stretch pass. Kaberle’s name continues to be linked to the Canucks, but I doubt very much we’ll be giving up anything substantial, let alone anything close to the Chris Pronger package.

The most underrated pick-up might have been Washington with Mike Knuble. They missed out on Bill Guerin at the deadline who spurned them for Pittsburgh, but Knuble’s younger and a better skater. Chris Clark managed to pot 30 goals playing alongside Alexander Ovechkin - my bet is that Knuble can do better. His grit and tenacity will give Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom tons of room to operate. I have always hoped that Knuble could come out west. The other under-the-radar move is Minnesota grabbing Greg Zanon, who was third in the league in blocked shots and will make life for Niklas Backstrom much, much easier. I think he’s one of the more underrated defensemen in the league, much better than, say, Johnny Oduya, who many hockey pundits were fawning over. I honestly think Oduya’s skill set was boosted by New Jersey’s system.

The Lightning don’t make a lot of rational moves, but they finally addressed their blueline problem by adding the tough as nails Matt Walker and the dependable Mattias Ohlund to a 7-year contract worth $3.75m per season. Good for Ohlund - while I do disagree with the length of the deal, he has earned it and I’m glad to see he’s getting rewarded after being under appreciated for so long. It’s sad to see this guy go, but the salary cap demanded it and it was inevitable. He will no doubt be a great mentor to Victor Hedman. Best of luck to Mattias.

I’m not sure what Bob Gainey has in mind. First, I was completely dumbstruck by the Scott Gomez trade - he’s a small, play-making centre with limited upside and a humongous contract. He then opts to replace Komisarek by signing the aging Jaroslav Spacek (2009 Jeff Finger Award) and the immobile Hal Gill. I appreciate the need for veteran presence on the blueline and grit and size, but where’s the mobility? Adding Mike Cammalleri doesn’t hurt, but he can’t carry a team and the rest of the roster needs filling out. That’ll be difficult to do since Gainey’s already got $13m+ tied up in two questionable forwards. Don’t forget that the Habs are still only one season removed from finishing tops in the East. Apparently, Gainey thinks its time for a complete roster overhaul. So far, I don’t like what I’m seeing. I still would’ve liked to see Vincent Lecavalier in a Habs jersey. With that Gomez trade you can sure bet that Lecavalier’s salary and contract was not a deterrent in negotiations with Tampa.

The Canucks made a splash by re-signing the Sedins to very affordable 5-year, $30.5m contracts. It’s a shade more than what was previously rumoured and at $6.1m it’s a little on the high side, but the fact that the Sedins took less years outweighs the bad. At that type of money it’s quite a good deal for point-per-game, consistent, and durable players. I still have my doubts about whether the twins can carry the team, but at least Mike Gillis will have the opportunity to hit the reset button five years down the road as opposed to twelve. I’m not sure if the Canucks ever targeted Cammalleri, but I have to say I was a little disappointed when the Habs nabbed him. The Canucks did make a minor splash by signing former Blue Jacket Aaron Rome, but he’s purely for depth purposes and most likely won’t see any regular playing time. There’s still some good names out there worth pursuing so it’s not quite over yet. Marian Gaborik and Brian Gionta remain names of interest.