Wary of marquee names carrying big price tags and foolish expectations, NHL teams are opting for value and economy in the early days of the
2004 NHL free agent season. Hockey poster boys like Alexei Zhitnik and Paul Kariya remain on the shelf, while grunts like
Mike Knuble and
Antti Laaksonen have already found new homes. One thing is clear: anyone with modest salary expectations will have little trouble finding a job.
This time last year, the Colorado Avalanche were hailed as early Stanley Cup favorites after welcoming Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne. In 2004, the team turns to a couple of less celebrated wingers, Laaksonen (from Minnesota) and Ian Laperriere (from Los Angeles). They combined to score 48 points in 2003-04, compared to the 68 points produced by Kariya and Selanne.
According to the Denver Post, the new guys will make barely $2 million between them next season, with Laperriere getting a modest raise and Laaksonen taking a small rollback. Kariya and Selanne commanded $7 million as a pair, considered one of the best bargains in the NHL until last year's dismal results started coming in.
Boyd Devereaux will be reworking the family budget after seeing his salary slashed by over 50 per cent. Devereaux signed on for one year with the Phoenix Coyotes at $650,000. Last season, the Red Wings paid him $1.6 million to produce six goals and nine assists as a spare centerman.
Right wingers Knuble and Turner Stevenson join the Philadelphia Flyers, leaving Boston and New Jersey, respectively. "Both are huge players, skate well and play physical," explained GM Bob Clarke.
Contract terms were not released. Knuble, who scored 46 points last season while earning $800,000, probably got a raise. Stevenson couldn't have done a lot better than last year’s salary of $1.35 million. You can bet they come a lot cheaper than Mark Recchi and Tony Amonte, two Flyer veterans who are likely to be moving on.
In the current tight-fisted market, the Chicago Blackhawks look like drunken sailors. The NHL's renowned cheapskate team lured winger/agitator Matthew Barnaby from Colorado with a reported three-year contract worth $5.25 milllion, and are said to have spent $6.8 million over four years to sign center Curtis Brown (from San Jose).
Money well spent? The two are sure to make an immediate impact on a dismal hockey team, and by recent standards Chicago paid a relatively low price for a couple of reliable players, each of them settling for a little more, on average, than they made last year.
Among defensemen, the biggest name to switch teams so far is Jaroslav Modry, who went from Los Angeles to Atlanta. No terms available on this one, but considering what Modry gave the Kings last year – 32 points, plus-11 and over 24 minutes every night - for $950,000, you can count him among those who received a reasonable increase in pay.
The early movement indicates that general managers fully expect a salary cap or luxury tax arrangement in the next collective agreement. The NHL Player's Association has sworn it will never agree to any kind of artificial limit on salaries. The players could argue that this summer's contracts are proof that the current system works: if teams want to pay players less, all they have to do is offer them less.
All the action surrounding second and third-line wingers leaves the elite names with nowhere to go, at least for now. But at some point, somebody among the Demitra-Palffy-Bondra set is sure to accept a long-term deal for less than he made on his last contract. It will be interesting to see how such a deal affects the market for so-called superstars.
NHL Free Agents: Eastern Conference
NHL Free Agents: Western Conference
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