CANADA DAY NOT THE SAME WITHOUT FREE AGENT FRENZY
Here’s a look at what might have happened around the NHL if there was no pandemic
Well that was weird.
When was the last July 1 you, the true hockey fan, didn’t blow off the better part of the afternoon watching TV, Twitter or any other trusted source of NHL news? When was the last time you didn’t spend much of Canada Day glued to the opening of the free agent market?
Don’t ask me. I can’t recall. Anyway, here’s a guess at what the highlights might have been had the pandemic not pushed the league’s schedule back months, at least …
CATCH OF THE DAY
That would be Alex Pietrangelo, the 30-year old captain of the defending Cup champion Blues. In 70 games this season, the big defenceman had a career high 16 goals to go along with 52 points, just two off his personal best. Pietrangelo, solid in all areas of the game, logged an average of 24:11 of ice time this season. His cap hit was $7.5 million and, with Erik Karlsson the top paid D-man in the league at an $11.5-million cap hit, Pietrangelo would have received a raise of approximately $4 mil per year. The Maple Leafs would have wanted to bring him home, but they’d have to make a major roster change to free up space. He probably would have ended up in Colorado, where he’d push the Avs over the top, or maybe the Devils if he wanted to move East.
MORE BOTTOM LINE
As for other D-men, Torey Krug would have been high on the wish list of many teams if the 29-year old Bruins blue-liner didn’t heed the advice of Ray Bourque by staying in Boston. A superb PP quarterback who plays much bigger than his five foot nine and 186 pounds, his last deal carried an average annual value of $5.25 million and he too would have been given a hike in the $4 million range. The native of Livonia, Mich., grew up cheering for the Red Wings and it’s easy to envision him pulling on the red and white … It didn’t work out as planned in Toronto for 28-year-old Tyson Barrie, but as a right-handed point man who has produced in the past, he would have been handed a deal somewhere in the $6-million range he made this year … Another right-hander, Sami Vatanen (cap hit: $4.87 million) would have received offers from teams hoping he could play the first injury-free season of his eight-year career … Same goes for Justin Schultz, another producer when not on the shelf coming off a $5.5-million cap hit with Penguins.
DIALING UP OFFENCE
Two subpar seasons removed from his MVP performance, Taylor Hall still has another 39-goal, 93-point season or two in him, or at least that’s what teams would literally bank on. Making big pitches for the 28-year-old coming off a $6-million cap hit likely would have been the offensively challenged Blue Jackets and Stars … Defensive shortcomings and any remaining off-ice baggage aside, Mike Hoffman scored 65 goals in 151 games with the Panthers the last two seasons. He would have signed for at least the same $5.187 million with a team that has a strong room … A trade to Vancouver rekindled Tyler Toffoli’s offensive game and quite likely the interest in the still 28-year-old winger coming off a contract with a cap hit of $4.6 million … In his last three seasons with the Panthers, Evgeny Dadonov has averaged 27 goals. At 31 years old coming off a deal with a $4-million cap hit, he would have scored a decent raise … The ninth pick of the 2010 entry draft, Mikael Granlund struggled in two seasons with the Preds but also toyed with the 70-point plateau for a couple of years in Minnesota. At 28 and with a $5.75-million cap hit, he would have been given a raise to relocate again.
THE BUCK STOPS HERE
The best of the free agent bunch in goal is 30-year-old
Braden Holtby, who was at a $6.1-million cap hit and the
Caps are allowing to leave because they have 22-year-old Ilya Samsonov waiting in the wings … Robin Lehner (cap hit: $5 million) deserves a No. 1 job. Don’t most Swedes gravitate to Detroit? … If 35-year old Corey Crawford (cap hit: $5 million), 30-year old Jacob Markstrom (cap hit: $4 million) and 34-year old Thomas Greiss (cap hit: $3.33 million) had gone anywhere, it would have likely been as backups.
THE WILD CARD
After a season off, does 35-year-old Dustin Byfuglien want to resume his career? Not likely, but if he does, teams would be lined up for a reasonably priced shot at his combination of size, toughness and skill.
FINISHING TOUCHES
According to Cap Friendly, Ottawa’s local NHL team had a final cap hit in 2019-20 of $74,319,369, which was second lowest in the NHL. Elliotte Friedman reports that the flat salary cap under a modified CBA, unless changed, is $81.5 million over the next two years and $82.5 million in 2022-23. That big “uh-oh” heard on Canada Day sounded like it came from Kanata … It’s possible Jay Cutler has become more popular as a pet detective than he was as the Bears’ quarterback. The 580,600 followers of if jay had instagram seemed relieved to see him solve the mystery of what was killing his chickens. When the trap he set was ignored by the intruder, Cutler spent a night in a tree stand, fending off a storm and wearing night goggles, to discover the culprit was a raccoon. “Chicken heads were ripped off and bodies were left in the chicken yard. Gruesome stuff but the reality of the situation,” Cutler reported to his flock of fans. “Unfortunately I’m sure this raccoon has some family members.”