Free Agent Frenzy for NHL's Atlantic Division
Rangers, Penguins, Islanders and Devils Busy; Flyers Quiet
Jul 5, 2008
It looks as if everyone in the Flyers' fiercely competitive Atlantic Division took huge steps to improve their team, except the Flyers. Let's look at the major moves their competitors made:
New York Rangers
The Rangers started the free agent period by re-signing defenseman Michal Rozsival, who scored 13 goals and added 25 assists in 80 games this past season, and adding defensemen Wade Redden (80 games: 6G, 32A) and Dmitri Kalinin (46 games: 1G, 7A) in the following days. They also acquired forwards Nikolai Zherdev (82 games: 26G, 35A) and Dan Fritsche (69 games: 10G, 12A) in a four-player trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets. They ended the week with the signing of five-time All-Star forward Markus Naslund (82 games: 25G, 30A). It was just recently confirmed that Jaromir Jagr (82 games: 25G, 46A) is leaving the NHL for Russia to play with Avangard Omsk of the Continental Hockey League, so Naslund's veteran prescence carries much more weight now.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pens began the week by re-signing defenseman Pascal Dupuis (78 games: 12G, 15A) and spent the next few days making sure their core of young players stayed intact by re-signing feisty defenseman Brooks Orpik (78 games: 1G, 10A, 239 hits), forward Evgeni Malkin (82 games: 47G, 59A) and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (25 games: 19 wins, 10 losses, 4 shutouts) all to multi-year contracts. They also tried to help fill the void left by the departure of All-Star Marian Hossa (72 games: 29G, 37A) by picking up forwards Miroslav Satan (80 games: 16G, 25A) and Ruslan Fedotenko (67games: 16G, 17A) from the New York Islanders.
New York Islanders
The Isles' biggest free agent signing happened on day 1 as they locked up puck-moving defenseman Marc Streit (81 games: 13G, 49A), one of the most coveted free agent blueliners on the market. They also added four-time All-Star defenseman Doug Weight (67 games: 10G, 15A).
New Jersey Devils
The Devils, one of the Flyers' fiercest rivals over the past decade or so, re-signed veteran forward Jay Pandolfo (54 games: 12G, 12A) and defenseman Bryce Salvador (64 games: 1G, 10A), and brought forwards Brian Rolston (81 games: 31G, 28A) and Bobby Holik (82 games: 15G, 19A) back to the team with which they have both won a Stanley Cup. Holik has actually won two with the Devils.
Philadelphia Flyers
The orange and black didn't have much cap space to work with this week as they spent the previous year focusing their money on rebuilding a team that achieved its worst record in franchise history during the 2006-07 season. The rebuilding resulted in an amazing turnaround that saw the team make it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. They made a few signings and trades this week that nabbed them AHL defenseman Tim Ramholt (77 games: 4G, 20A), minor league defenseman Patrick Hersley and forward Ned Lukacevic. They also picked up forward Glen Metropolit (82 games: 11G, 22A) from the Boston Bruins and Swedish defenseman Ossi Vaananen (45 games: 7G, 8A), who played in Stockholm last year. Their most important transactions involved the re-signings of forwards Jeff Carter (82 games: 29G, 24A) and Riley Cote (70 games: 202 penalty minutes), and defenseman Randy Jones (71 games: 5G, 26A).
So, pending any further signing or trades, the Flyers will enter next season looking very similar to last. While R.J. Umberger (trade) and Sami Kapanen (retirement) have both left, All-Star forward Simon Gagne (25 games: 7G, 11A) will be returning from injury and looking to thrust the Flyers back into the league's elite. They should have plenty of competition in a division where first and fourth place were separated by only seven points at the end of the season.
Sources:
www.nhl.com, flyers.nhl.com, www.newyorkrangers.com, penguins.nhl.com, devils.nhl.com, islanders.nhl.com
