Roughly two hours into free agency and there haven’t been any monumental signings. The Jaromir Jagr deal to Philadelphia was strange, to say the least. Otherwise there hasn’t been much action from any of the big-name players.
TSN.ca has a killer UFA tracker that updates with all of the current signings from the day.
I touched, quite briefly, on the Jagr contract. The Flyers gave him $3.3 million for this season in hopes that he still has enough magic to help fuel a cup run. I really don’t understand their point of view on this one. By committing just over $3 million to Jagr, the Flyers are further handcuffing themselves in regards to signing a guy like Ville Leino.
Add to that the fact that Max Talbot was just given a five-year deal worth $9 million from the Flyers. If Philly is happy moving forward without Leino, so be it. I was under the impression that he was a guy they wanted to keep around to be part of their up-and-coming core.
I say oh well. If the Flyers falter due to these signings, I won’t be mad. In fact, I will be very happy. As for the Sabres, the only major player the fans are watching is Brad Richards. From everything I have read and heard, the white whale will make his decision tomorrow, at the earliest. I think the Sabres do have a very real shot at getting him. Of course the Rangers may have the best shot based on the most recent word to come down. New York will have the ability to match any contract that is offered to Richards. Personally, I think that is pretty lame. Does that mean that the Rangers won’t make him the offer he wants? Or does it mean that Richards wants to hear offers but would ultimately like to play for the Rangers? I understand his train of thought. His old coach is in New York, it is a big city with plenty to do. However, there is a lot of media coverage and Richards did want to shy away from that if possible.
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