Free Agency Day | Aftermath | July 2nd, 2011

FREE AGENCY DAY! The Aftermath.

This was my first Free Agency Day and I was nervous in the days leading up to it and today was like, wow. I could not take my eyes of Twitter, Facebook, my go-to websites ... oh yes, I went all out obsessive on this one.

In my previous post I said I found it exciting and excruciating at the same time and boy was it. I am not going to lie, it was not pretty. This day had me quite literally crying and laughing.

I had just a few wishes, let me revisit those first:
♦ Leino *must* be resigned by the Flyers
♦ Meszaros too, what the hell. Last night I came across a rumour that he is on the move. I honest to god hope that is a joke. We need our Mesz at the Flyers!
♦ Tim Brent, went UFA, come on Brian Burke, you have to keep this guy at the Leafs
♦ Max Talbot, up until now my somewhat sleazy - and mostly secret - hockey crush, might possibly move to the Leafs, which would finally enable me to cheer for him legitimately lol


If you have been following all the action you will know that:

♦ Leino in fact did not get resigned. Instead he went to what is probably the number two team on my hatelist: Sabres. Or the BKK as I like to call them. Blunt Kitchen Knives. See what I did there ;) ... anyways. I do not know how to deal with this yet. Leino and Mesz are my favourite Flyers. To see Leino move to the Sabres is like the proverbial dagger through the heart to me. Having said that, at least the Sabres were serious about Ville and apparently gave up on the idea of acquiring Brad Richards in favour of securing Leino as he was their primary target. Numbers: 6 years at a whopping $ 27m. And some say that is too much, but damn, I think he is going to be worth it

♦ No movement in regards to Meszaros

♦ Tim Brent. Well, did the Canes get themselves a steal or what? Two years, $ 750k a year. What the hell. Burke could not even offer a few dollars more to keep this guy on board? Guess not. But I like the Canes and I am glad they picked him up. Here is hoping to Brent having a great season!

♦ Max Talbot. Oh man. This is just funny. Here I thought he might be headed for my Leafs. Instead, he has landed in Philadelphia, at my Flyers! Oh boy, a Penguin in the Flyers camp. Numbers: 5 years, $ 9m. Fair amount for him I think, not everyone agrees. I think I would have liked seeing him at the Leafs just a bit more, but hell, I can see how this might work out right. Welcome aboard!

So what else happened? Oh not much ...


♦ Like hell! BOOM! Only the biggest upset of the day: the Jagr signing by the Flyers! Not easy to upset a crazy trading day like this. Unexpected twist and turns, crazy terms & salaries. But Holmgren managed to cause the biggest one, by snatching Jagr away right under the noses of the Pens and Wings. A one-year deal at $ 3.3m. Overpaid, waste of money, locker room poison are just the few negatives I came across today. I only recall him from Olympic games and this year's World Cup and I liked what I saw. Plus he has had a good season in the KHL. I have no idea how this will work out though. But I am going to give this deal the benefit of the doubt. Still. I am going to say that Holmgren is now certifiably insane. Will gladly eat those words if we win the 2012 Cup, but I have great difficulties seeing how this new team can possibly glue ...

♦ Flyers also acquired Andreas Lilja from the Ducks (3 years at $ 1.7m) and extended Voracek's contract

♦ J.S. Giguere signed with the Avs. A 2-year deal worth $ 2.5m. Glad Giggy found a home, he is a great guy. Just did not work out well for the Leafs. The Avs also acquired Semyon Varlamov, saving him from returning to the KHL. Varly will probably be the primary with the seasoned Giggy as a back-up. A bit crazy, but could work. Wonder why the Avs did not go for Vokoun though ...

♦ Burke was in Kandahar and did not acquire anything today. Might not be so bad looking back, but I was expecting *something*

All in all this day brought all the excitement I thought it would. Happy with Max, OK with Jagr, sick with sorrow about Leino. I wonder what the rest of the week will bring! I do know that Flyers-Pens games will be even grittier than before. There will be blood. Fun season ahead!

Oh before I sign off, if you want a crips and clean overview of all the transfers, have a look at:
http://www.eliteprospects.com/


[update July 4th]
♦ On July 3rd, second day of trading, the Leafs acquired Cody Franson & Matthew Lombardi from the Preds. And here is the killer: in exchange for dead balast Brett Lebda! Oh and also Robert Slaney and a 2013 4th-round pick. Good job Burke!

One of my Twitter contacts describes the trade best on his site: LeafsHQ!