NHL Free Agency Recap

By Scott

The NHL free-agency period is just three days in, but most of the big-impact moves have already been made. And, of course, we've got all of them covered.

Marian Hossa to Chicago Blackhawks

Chicago made the biggest splash of the week by signing former Red Wing embarrassment Marian Hossa. By embarrassment, I mean, of course, Hossa's disappearance in the Stanley Cup against the team he turned down a contract extension from last summer. However, Hossa was extremely productive during the regular season, racking up 40 goals and 31 assists. The Blackhawks locked Hossa up to a 12-year deal which, if Hossa plays it out, should allow him to play out the rest of his career in Chicago. And, don't forget that the 'Hawks signed former Devils Center John Madden, who is regarded as one of the best defensive forwards in the league. These moves put the Blackhawks right next to the Flames as the favorites in the West. The only question now for Chicago is goaltending. Nikolai Khabibulin bolted for Edmonton leaving free-agent bust Cristobal Huet to protect the net. If Huet can live up to his contract, the Blackhawks will represent the West in the finals.

Marian Gaborik to New York Rangers

The New York Rangers made an expensive gamble by signing Minnesota Wild forward Marian Gaborik. Gaborik's career has been one marked by durability issues and instability. He has never played a full season throughout his 9 year career, and is coming off of hip surgery that forced him to miss 65 games last season. Gaborik has also been subject to countless trade rumors over the years, but the Wild were never able to pull the trigger on a deal. Add up the injury concerns and the fact that Gaborik wasn't that successful at the height of his healthy days, and he could very easily be joining the likes of other New York Ranger free-agent busts, Chris Drury, Scott Gomez, Wade Redden, Bobby Holik, Darius Kasparaitis, Valeri Kamensky, Stephane Quintal, and Scott Fraser.

Dany Heatley rejects trade to Edmonton Oilers

Disgruntled Ottawa Senators' forward Dany Heatley has been itching to get out of Ottawa so badly that he requested a trade at the beginning of the offseason. So, Senators GM Bryan Murphy granted his wish and constructed a deal that would send Heatley to Edmonton in exchange for forwards Dustin Penner and Andrew Cogliano, as well as defenseman Ladislav Smid. Everything was great, except Heatley never waived his no-trade clause, and the deal fell

through. Why? Because it's Edmonton. No one wants to play in Edmonton. The Hockey News did a players' poll last year that asked the players where they would least liked to be traded to. Edmonton finished second to last with 11% of the polled players voting against the snow-drowned city. Even Jay Bouwmeester voted against playing in his hometown to play in Calgary where living conditions are considerably more desirable, and Edmonton is within driving distance. You really can't blame Heatley for hoping that a better team in a more livable location will put a sufficient deal on the table. But, as is the result of most trade demands, Heatley will probably be a Senator come October.

Jay Bouwmeester signs with the Calgary Flames

Unlike Canadian National Team teammate Dany Heatley, Jay Bouwmeester's wish of relocation was granted. Bouwmeester escaped from Florida with his negotiating rights shipped to Calgary. The Flames had 4 days to convince JayBo to sign with them before he could hit the open market and get showered with lucrative deals by every team imaginable. Where did the Flames muster up an extra $6.6 million-a-year to give the defenseman with such a star-studded roster? Who knows, but pair Bouwmeester with Dion Phaneuf or Robyn Regehr and it's hard to believe anyone will beat Calgary, and it's very possible nobody does. The Flames have certainly surpassed the Red Wings in terms of overall skill, but the biggest question will be putting all of their skill together, something they failed to do this season after acquiring goal-scorer Olli Jokinen.

Southeast Divison Gets Stronger

Often the most criticized division in the NHL, if not sports, the Panthers, Thrashers, Lightning, and Hurricanes were all some of the most efficient players in the free-agency market this week. The Hurricanes brought back 3 wingers, including shootout specialist Jussi Jokinen, and Chad LaRose and Erik Cole who both decided to test the market only to come crawling back to Carolina. The Lighting added some seriously needed depth and talent to their defense by

adding former Vancouver defenseman Matthias Ohlund and former Chicago defenseman Matt Walker. The Panthers also added some defensive depth by signing Jordan Leopold, Clay Wilson, and Ville Koistinen. Florida then picked up former Devils goaltender Scott Clemmensen to replace Craig Anderson. Clemmensen ably filled in for Martin Brodeur last season, going 25-13-1 in his absence. Finally, the Thrashers added a playmaker in forward Nik Antropov and a top-4 blueliner in Pavel Kubina. The Antropov signing could be a ploy to keep Ilya Kovalchuck in town for the long run with his contract expiring after this season.