By some coincidence the NHL free-agent market opens annually on Canada Day, which for many fans in the Great White North seems like a perfect fit for the national holiday.
It gets even better when the Canadian teams make the kind of noise they did on the first day of shopping, which on the whole turned out to be one of the most frenetic in years. All six teams north of the border got in on the action during a day that featured several eyebrow-raising signings, with five of them involved in significant deals.
Ottawa came close to joining the party, but ultimately were undermined by the self-centered arrogance of Dany Heatley, who asked to be relocated but refused to waive his no-trade clause for a deal the Senators had to acquire Andrew Cogliano, Dustin Penner and Ladislav Smid from the Edmonton Oilers.
The day still got off to a fast start before the market opened at noon when the Vancouver Canucks kept the Sedin twins with five-year deals for both. Meanwhile the Calgary Flames were setting up an introduction for their newest free-agent prize Jay Bouwmeester, but the headline grabbers really came later and from big American markets Chicago and New York.
They both involved players named Marian. The biggest deal saw the Blackhawks give 12 years and $62.8 million to 30-year-old Marian Hossa, one of the prize catches of this market, but the Rangers weren't far behind, gambling on gimpy Marian Gaborik for $37.5 million over the next five years.
• Blackhawks sign Hossa | Rangers get Gaborik | Offseason Movement
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| Chicago is Marian Hossa's fourth team since 2008. (Getty Images) |
Apparently neither do the Blackhawks, who raised a few eyebrows for the length of Hossa's contract in these economic conditions. But Chicago's annual cap hit will be just over $5 million and the deal is front loaded enough to make it feasible to buy out Hossa halfway through it. The Rangers, meanwhile, had the cap space to go after the high-scoring Gaborik because they cleared the decks by moving Scott Gomez in a stunning trade 24 hours earlier.
But they ended up using it on someone who played only 17 games last season because of hip surgery, making him one of the riskiest if not most dynamic players available.
"He's a guy we targeted from the beginning," Sather said about the last of the original Minnesota Wild players. "We're very happy to have him and we didn't give up anyone from our lineup. That was our goal."
All in all it was a remarkable first day with more than 30 players changing teams for deals worth more than $300 million dollars. There's more to come in the next few days, but in the meantime, here's a look at some of the most interesting moves of day one.
Nikolai Khabibulin to Edmonton
Chicago signed Hossa along with forwards Tomas Kopecky and John Madden, but might have actually taken a step back by losing goalie Khabibulin to the Oilers. Khabibulin didn't give Chicago much in the first three years there, but he took the Blackhawks deep into the playoffs last season in the final year of his contract. It was enough for the 36-year-old veteran to parlay it into a new four-year, $15 million deal with the Oilers. That's an upgrade for Edmonton over 40-year-old Dwayne Roloson, who skipped town for a two-year contract with the New York Islanders, where he'll either back up or prop up Rick DiPietro.
Mattias Ohlund to Tampa Bay
Ohlund is one of the NHL's most underrated defenseman because he spent his entire 12-year career in relative anonymity with Vancouver. But the 31-year-old is rock solid and savvy in his own end, and with his new seven-year deal Ohlund will be able to serve as a personal mentor to fellow Swede defenseman Victor Hedman, which is no small consideration in Tampa. The 18-year-old Hedman was the Lightning's first-round draft pick last week and is seen as a franchise type defenseman who will be in the lineup next season. Hedman has played against men in the Swedish Elite League, but he has yet to live outside his country. Having someone to ease the transition on and off the ice for him makes Ohlund an even more valuable acquisition.
Mike Cammalleri, Brian Gionta to Montreal
The Canadiens have lots of free-agent money to spend, but they seem to be intent on using it to become a modern-day version of the Smurfs. One of Montreal's biggest problems in recent seasons has been a lack of size, so they've addressed that by trading and signing pipsqueak forwards in the last 24 hours. The Canadiens picked up Gomez and his expensive contract the night before free agency opened and then signed Cammalleri and Gionta for $55 million combined over the next five years. They're all good offensive players, and they're smaller than anyone the Habs had up front last season. Maybe that's why Montreal also signed big and sometimes plodding defensemen Hal Gill and Jaroslav Spacek. The Canadiens are in the process of revamping the lineup, but it's hard to understand the logic so far.
Mike Komisarek to Toronto
Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke couldn't make the splash he wanted at the draft, and the Sedin twins were gone before he had a crack at them in free agency. So Burke settled for continuing Toronto's rebuilding to his specs, getting bigger and tougher with the deals he made. The biggest was signing Komisarek away from Montreal for $22.5 million over five years, which is a little more than the Canadiens offered, but far less than the 27-year-old, stay-at-home defenseman was thinking about as he tested free agency. Plus, the Leafs picked up a couple of heavyweights, signing Colton Orr from the Rangers and trading for Garnett Exelby from Atlanta. Komisarek is the key though, gives Toronto one of the league's better young rearguards and a little more flexibility to trade Tomas Kaberle.
Craig Anderson to Colorado
Anderson wrote a Tim Thomas-light story last season with the Panthers as he proved himself worthy of being a No. 1 goalie after several years of trying. Problem is Florida is going through an ownership change and is locked into an expensive deal with Tomas Vokoun. So they couldn't hang on to Anderson, who will earn only $600,000 more a season than the guy the Panthers signed to replace him. That's a break for the Avs, getting someone who could solve the serious goaltending problems they have, and at a reasonable price of $1.8 million for each of the next three seasons.
