Will Wings make moves to nab Parise and Suter?
When July 1 rolls around, the Western Conference is apt to take a strange turn. Then again, if the same team which appears to be in the best possible position to make the biggest noise that day does as expected, it could also be a different conference or division which is impacted the most.
We speak here of the Detroit Redwing sand the approximately $20 million they have at their disposal to chase free agents and an owner with a track record indicating he’s going to do just that. Question is, will realignment go ahead after Collective Bargaining Agreement talks are finished or not?
Players like Ryan Suter and Zach Parise are apt to be stoked about joining a team that already has the likes of Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg and quite likely a returning Nicklas Lidstrom and also boasts a long tradition of winning despite this year’s early exit from the playoffs.
The Wings figure to have the inside track on both these prize catches — just as perhaps the Vancouver Canucks have a possible similar advantage if Nashville flames out in the second round and they determine they must do something with restricted free agent Shea Weber sooner than later if he decides not to stay with the Predators. But that’s several steps removed.
If, in fact, it is going to be ‘business as usual’ July 1 — as all the GMS have been told to say — the Wings will be loading up. And given the Devils are expected to lose close to $20 million (before playoff revenue, that is) this season, the chances they’ll be shelling out massively to retain Parise is as likely as he is to believe that he will get help around him in such a budget crisis. So many feel the gifted young forward is a goner in New Jersey.
Both he and Suter have already been asked about that possibility of going to Detroit and both declined to comment of course. But both talked about the great tradition the Wings have developed over the years, not the least of which is their reputation for treating players well. Doubtless other teams will come out of their boots for both of these young Americans, and Minny might even throw a bank in the direction of the hometown Parise, but it’s not likely to cut much mustard given how poorly the Wild have performed .
While free agency this year is not exactly brimming with great talent, there is going to be significant movement and a great deal of money spent by teams looking for help. And after these playoffs, anyone who happens to be a pretty capable banger with a little speed is likely to hit the jackpot in a way they might never have believed possible before this spring when so much of the talent was eliminated in the first round.
It’s extremely unlikely the Canucks will be able to generate the kind of cap room necessary for these top players, even with a favourable money outcome in a possible Roberto Luongo trade. After all, they’ll be looking for a significant asset if they do the deal and any team taking him is going to want to give a contract back.
He’s slated to make $6.7 million in real dollars for the next few seasons but the smaller $5.3 million cap hit means it’s unlikely such a deal would yield much space for Vancouver. And history not only tells us bringing Americans to Canada rarely works, it also instructs us that U.S. born players almost always find a way to pass on Canadian teams.
The B.c.-born Weber is quite another matter should the Preds decide they need to make a deal now rather than hang on next year hoping they can re-sign him.
While there needs to be a lot more decision making on the part of both parties before something like this could come about, Vancouver at least has a few young, cap friendly defencemen who might interest the Preds should it come to a trade. If they’ve lost Suter however, they might be expected to come out of their financial boots to hang onto Weber, so that situation is a long way from resolved
Vancouver needs a good sized third line centre with some playmaking ability and that’s not going to be available in the free agent pool unless Chris Kelly wants to leave Boston for the dreaded Canucks. That spot will have to be filled by the trade route unless Manny Malhotra makes a miraculous recovery over the summer.
The Wings however, whatever conference or division they end up playing in, are sitting pretty.