Free Agent Open Thread
Kent Wilson
June 30 2010 10:28PM
I was going to prepare a Flames primer to free agency, but decided not to re-invent the wheel when I saw Haley had already done an admiral job of things. Make sure to visit M&G for a thorugh overview.
I have to say, this is perhaps the murkiest July 1 for the Flames I've seen since the lock-out. Previously, whether facing many or few obstacles, the obstacles were at least apparently obvious.
Not so this year. The Flames cap room is not only tenuous but also completely muddied by Dawes (buy-out?)
Kotalik (uh...waived for an as-of-right-now unclear purpose) and pending $3M+ contract of Ian White (maybe?). The lackluster free agent pool makes things even less certain - we know the Flames want "offense", but there's no clear method to acquire the requisite players. Big trade on it's way? Almost every Flame worth anything on the trade market has a NTC. And the club doesn't have much in the way of prospects or draft picks to dangle either.
As such, we enter things almost completely blind. There's a chance the coming week will end without any significant changes whatsoever. And probably an equal chance the face of the team may have been altered irrevocably. We can only sit back and watch as things unfold. And hope.
Anyways, Pat, Bob, Myself and Ross Creek will endeavor to keep up with on-the-spot updates and analysis as things come down tomorrow. Feel free to share you comments, questions, fears, hopes, dreams and reactions in the comments.
Guys its clear as day what Sutter is doing!
Sutter loves to play the dangle one thing in front, get everybody distracted, while his real deal is elsewhere!
Flames signing Jokinen = Sutter putting screws to another team (probably ottawa) for a trade.
Making the other team think we will walk makes a deal go through.....
My take is that we are getting a center Via trade; no "Jokin"en here.
Seeing this ad on TSN makes me think, as a flames fan, investing in a BAS body action system might be good value for the upcoming season. Might need to vent regularly.
I'm stunned. Completely stunned. ... ...
That would be a grand relief.
Jokinen was freaking terrible, also Brent Sutter absolutely failed in his bounded duty to put him in a position to make the team better.
If there was ever a case to be made for firing a new coach 20 games into the season, it was last season with Brent.
Anyways, Jokinen could probably help the team a bit in really sheltered minutes. And some coaches have the courage of their convictions, they *WILL* put their so-called stars in limited minutes. Our coach isn't one of them. Jokinen will see difficult icetime and the Flames will get creamed.
Pass. BIG pass.
One of Bieksa or Salo must be getting moved. Canucks have an insane salary for the back-end.
Hamhuis - 4.5 Ballard - 4.2 Bieksa - 3.75 Salo - 3.5 Edler - 3.25 Erhoof - 3.1
Luongo - 10 (5.3cap)
That's nuts. 22.3 in 6 d...add 5.3 for Luo and 10 in real dollars. Yowzas. Then you got 6, 6, 5, for the Sedins and Kesler.
They're burning money in Vancity.
Yeah, Lawrence, I think this day really highlights which GMs are smart and which are lucky.
Pens' Shero is terrible, same with Gillis in VAN. Sutter isn't any hell either to be honest.
Phoenix' Maloney is pretty good, but the gold standard is the Sharks' Wilson. He's been turning water into wine in Cali for about 5 seasons going now.
OH. MY. GOD
F MY LIFE!!!
It's that matrix scouting system thing they got going on in San Jose. Everyone wants to know what it is...cause it's working.
Well. Well.
Jokinen 3M x 2, TSN reports.
I will say this. Anybody who had a hard-on for Spezza doesn't have the right to complain. Spezza and Jokinen, they are similar players. So shut your trapholes.
This is the twilight zone. I was stunned before but now...
I'm...
f my life
I cannot believe he would do that. Why why why why why why?
Ok, so Joker at a discount coming back with a vengeance isn't as bad as Jokinen at 5M last year was. Would rather have Lombardi at 3M but this COULD work.
I think this just confirms that Darryl was in the bidding for Boogard, and possibly Laraque.
Throw up your crazy rumours here because they're probably all true.
P.S. - I'm glad we didn't get Spezza but he and Jokinen are not equal. Gimme Spezza any day.
Well fellow Flames fans. Call me a band wagon jumper, say what you want but I cant possibly cheer for this team. Sutter has completely ruined all of my interest. Anything short of him being fired wont bring me back. Philly is the team of the future!
@R O
I agree with you on most things, but that is borderline moronic. They may be cut from the same mold, but they are not similar players.
@ dotfras No way it works. He sucks, we suck with him.
...
It's time for me to step away from the computer.
I wanna know the dollars. Tanguay + Joker for 4.5 is the max. After that, I'm less happy.
Please make that 3mil x 2 yrs actually be 2.5 mil x 2 years.
I'm FAR from a joker fan, but Matt Barnaby is a tool.
P.S. - I'm glad we didn't get Spezza but he and Jokinen are not equal. Gimme Spezza any day.
They are similar players, point totals boosted by circumstance. I think it's obv from watching that Spezza's more capable in the OFF zone, but damn if he would drown in the type of Brent-Sutter minutes he'd have to play.
Those things don't need to be mutually exclusive, jb.
if jokinen official, then darryl better be fired in order to rectify this.
I hope Iginla, Kipper, Regher, and Bourque all demand a trade now. All of them deserve better than this. Make a team of Stajan's and Kotalik's and watch them fail. They are "never-was" and deserve nothing better.
ok so im expecting us to sign Jeff Friesen now too. Anything is possible. Dear god...
I'm trying to convince myself that Tanguay was the piece that would have made the Jokinen experiment work. I logically know that the guy has talent but it amounted to nothing in Phoenix, Calgary, and NY. Realistically he hasn't been a force since Florida.
I want to believe there's rhyme and reason to this move but I just don't get it. Especially when you look at the NY trade. What has happened on this team in the last 6 months?
I just don't get it.
Dreger Tweets:
Jokinen to Flames is done. 2 years, $3 mil per.
Kent, don't have a heart attack, OK?
I propose we change the name of this post to "Angry Reactions Open Thread."
Dreger Tweets:
I won't lie to you, working this Jokinen story today has been among the more bizarre experiences of my career. lol
Liquor sales are booming in Calgary and area tonight
Well there's still moves that need to be made although I'm still in shell shock here.
Someone needs to check on Kent...
Sorry guys. A writer from Puck Prospectus called be about some stuff.
So Jokinen's back is he?
Absolutely, positively rid-god-damn-diculous.
Good question on Fan960:
"Do we know what is up with Langkow?" Is he really healthy? I know it was scary for him but maybe he's done?
Question to Sutter
"Why in Gods name did you trade Jokinen in the first place? Also, what about his abysmal season here last year convinced you to bring him back? Finally...are you totally insane?"
Haha Jermaine- "I haven't talked to the man on the street, because it is likely to be violent."
The first one is the $64,000 question really. Why trade him and take on Kotalik? What about Higgins?
I just don't get it, but maybe it's SOOO CRAZY it's beyond my average brain?
Because they had to get that SOB Prust out of Calgary and they had to sacrifce Joker and take on Kotalik to do it. Just like the year before they had to sacrifice Lombardi and a 1st and take on Joker to do it.
Prust is the key to this - he's obviously evil.
@Gange
...don't you have a neighbour kid to yell at or city counsellor to complain to about the pot hole on your street?
@maimster
Good one Maimster.
Brings up a good question though: Why is Prust always the plus one??
I don't have a lot of sympathy for us frankly.
Two years ago most were applauding the Jokinen trade. Hindsight is worthless to me, foresight is what counts.
Jokinen was never a good player and I foresee a lot of pain. But, I'm used to it with this team :)
Langkows not still injured. It didnt look that bad and I seem to recall he walked out of the hospital shortly after being admitted. I would put good money then now trading away Langkow. He has no value right
So, uh...Sutter spent almost all the cap money today, didn't he? What about the 4th line and Ian White?
Fool me once, shame on you. Etc.
This is bonkers.
HAHAHA Like he cares about the cap. He'll probably try to bribe Bettman to give us more money to use. Good thing he did all of this with an assistant GM.
As if to stir the pot Dreger tweeted the following:
Jokinen's agent says Sutter called soon after free agency opened. Sutter also spoke to Jokinen and told Olli he shouldn't have traded him.
On the positive spin side, If I have to have Kotalik or Jokinen I'll take Olli. At least he shows more than indifference to playing hockey.
That's a good thing, no?
Yeah, but if the best you can say about him is that he's better then Ales Kotalik then that's not saying very much is it.
It's really not all that bad..... Over the past TWO years, Jokinen is 77th in scoring - 107 pts. I think getting traded to NY was a wake up call for the guy, we've signed him for cheap, he's coming back with something to prove, much like Tanguay. Sutter picked up two guys who want redemption.
Wondering what's gonna happen with our FA's though, hoping we get Higgins back, wouldn't mind seeing White back (although he may be too costly) I don't see how any of this works without getting rid of either Staois or Sarich.
...either they are going to trade Langkow or they don't think Backlund is ready yet.