Impact of Flyer Moves?

1) As the dust settles on the recent sign and trade of 2 of the summer's bigger available UFA's we have looked into what ramifications(if any) these moves have on the remainder of the league. We called around, and the moves have definitely shaken things up quite a bit in several areas. The Nashville implications were touched on in our last post. Clearly with the impending sale not likely to be approved before July 1st, the current owners are looking to shave salary from the roster. perhaps not gutting it,as a payroll of 30 or so million is mandated by the CBA, but clearly don't look for the Predators to carry a payroll near the limit like they did last season


2) Additionally the cost of the remaining FA's just sky rocketed! As alluded to previously, when Hartnell and Timoven signed those enormous deals it not only removed 2 names from other GM's wish lists, but also significantly re-set upward the values of the remaining names to be had. Hartnell, for all the 'potential', isn't a fuzzy faced 19 year old. He's 25 now. Has 6 years of NHL experience under his belt, and has yet to eclipse 50 points. Yet, he got a 4.2 million dollar deal. Agents for Drury, Briere, Gomez, Smyth, etc should all send Hartnell's agent a % of their commissions! The above folks were rumored to be offered upwards of 6 million. Now, with the resetting of the FA salary structure, 7 or more million is not only possible, but likely!



3) The same can be said of Sheldon Souray. As the only remaining top shelf UFA defenseman the Timonen contract did nothing but help him. Its rumored(correctly) that habs GM, Gainey offered 4.5 million earlier this spring. With that Flyer deal, it now makes that look like a slap in the face to Souray. Last year Chara signed with the Bruins for (at the time) obscene 7.5 million. It would now NOT be surprising to see Souray get 6.5-7 million, or more for his services! Craziness!



4) Additionally, we were told by several sources that since the Flyer-Preds deal was announced last week GM's of impending FA's have been inundated with calls from their colleagues eager to mimic the Flyer deal. In particular Garth Snow, we are told by our Islander source, has been contacted by at least 6 fellow GM's inquiring about BOTH impending Islander UFA's, Jason Blake and Ryan Smyth. Our source was reluctant to say who, but did say that most were from the Western Conference.



5) They said that Snow might entertain an offer for Blake, but will NOT deal the rights to Smyth, who that, as we speak, are desperately trying to woo to remain on the Island. The source say that Wang himself is now involved and stated that if they were to not get Smyth to agree on a deal they wanted to have the fans believe they did all they could to keep him. Trading him for a draft pick therefore is NOT on the table.



6) One of the few teams not unhappy with the Flyer trade were the Sabres. The contracts effectively removed the Flyers from bidding on not only their 2 high profile UFA's, but also the rumored Vanek offer sheet. Of course Buffalo will still have to deal with the higher cost of trying to retain their players, but with their surplus of young talent will be just fine even if were to lose both.

7) With the draft only a mere 36 hours away things are certainly heating up on the trade front. We're told the Caps are frantically trying to make a big splash tomorrow night with a deal that could 'excite their fans' about next season. The Sharks we're told will NOT stand pat with their current roster. That one of their 2 big name centers(Marleau/Thornton) are on the block. The reports that Redden is available are true, but only at the right price. With his 6.5 mil salary their won't be too many options.(Washington/Edmonton) come to mind. We're told there is NO truth to the Brad Richards rumors. Which makes sense. he makes 7.8 million! He had an off season and has a no trade clause! Who in their right mind would deal for him? (Rangers?) The McCabe to the Islanders rumor we're told is all 'media hype'. Those and many more are being tossed around. Most are frivolous and we skimmed over them here, but as they are corroborated with multiple sources we will relay them to our readers. As always, keep it here for all the latest!