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The first thing that became clear as I was tallying up the results after Burke's first UFA pickup was that a lot of MLHS'ers saw the Colby Armstrong signing coming. 76 of you in fact. 13 of those 76 (Beathoven, moimoi28, Gordie Orr, dlb, xXGods SoldierXx, 2 Minutes, Sugar Hill, Sk8trBoi, Doorman, CbtSpr, JD, CarltontheBear, Tiguak) predicted the length and value of contract within 100K, some predicting 3 years, $3 million on the nose. While the majority of those who had Armstrong signing in Toronto had him netting a contract more in the 2.5 million/year range, there were almost as many predicting Armstrong would receive the $3 million he got or a shade above... which indicates the supposed "Finger-like" overpayment wasn't all that unexpected. Around these parts at least, many knew the price going in.
Somewhat surprisingly, there has been a fair amount of debate over yesterday's signing of Colby Armstrong.
I find this interesting because much of the criticism seems to revolve around the notion of $3m equating to more than a 15 goal career average, even though Armstrong wasn't exactly acquired for his offensive prowess.  The main criticism seems to be, why would the team be willing to make a $9 million investment over 3 years, when similar production can likely be found at a cheaper rate?
Now, it seems most decided to stop at that point and take the easy road; that being negativity for the sake of negativity (a known idiosyncrasy of Canadian hockey fans). But instead of screaming "WHY did they sign him?", I propose a different question: Why DID they sign him?
If the Toronto Maple Leafs hope to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs next season, the franchise must now focus on further bolstering the top six.
While the acquisition of Kris Versteeg certainly helps, and Colby Armstrong could potentially step into a top six role to add a physical presence with some offensive upside, the Leafs are still in need of more pure goal-scoring ability up front. Options are scarce in the free agent market, but the likes of Matthew Lombardi (although reports indicate he is seeking upwards of $4 million per season), Alexander Frolov and Ilya Kovalchuk are still available.
Flyers officially kick off July 1st festivities by acquiring Andrej Mezaros from the Lightning in exchange for a 2nd round pick. Rumors of Boston centre Marc Savard potentially heading out west to Calgary as well.
As for the Maple Leafs, they will have $10.5 million in cap space to play with today, though that figure does not include the possible removal of Kaberle's $4.25 million via trade or Finger's $3.5 million as a potential waiver candidate.
The Leafs have been linked to defenseman Dan Hamhuis, forwards Raffi Torres and Colby Armstrong, and will also kick the tires on sniper Ilya Kovalchuk. Darren Dreger believes the club will look at adding a 3rd line forward along with a defenseman to "stockpile for later deals". Stay tuned to this blog for updates on signings throughout the day. [more…]
Trades are never won or lost when initially made, and tonight's multi-player deal with Chicago is the very embodiment of that fact. Analyzing a deal that sent Kris Versteeg and Bill Sweatt to Toronto for Viktor Stalberg, Phillippe Paradis and Chris Didomenico involves a lot of subjective potential measurement. Â Making the task more difficult is that two teams often come together to execute a trade for very different reasons in a salary cap era.
On the eve of unrestricted free agency, the Maple Leafs made a big first move to upgrade their forward group. According to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun, [more…]
Monday afternoon's 5pm qualifying offer deadline has come and gone. A QO is simply a mandatory minimum contract, valued at either the player's previous year's [more…]
If Brian Burke is contemplating the idea of acquiring Marc Savard, the Toronto Maple Leafs may be on the verge of adding a substantial piece to its rebuilding plan.
That may sound strange considering the playmaking center is nearly 33 years old and is the beneficiary of a seven-year contract, but there are other factors at play that makes this rumor an enticing one.
According to Howard Berger, who reported live from the NHL Entry Draft this weekend, there is a ton of steam behind the Leafs and Bruins [more…]
It may seem uncharacteristic of  Brian Burke, historically a headline maker at the Entry Draft, to sit essentially idle on the hockey world's biggest stage. Important to remember is that the big man can be patient when he needs to be. The Anaheim and Calgary deals of last February, when Burke waited until certain pressure points reached a head, were both examples of Burke's willingness to sit back until the time was right to pull the trigger - despite all the temptations to hit the panic button as his team sat in the Eastern Conference basement with no first round pick to look forward to.
It's around 2PM eastern time, meaning National Hockey League GM's are likely getting ready to juggle their BlackBerry's while getting set to sit down for lunch at a local Los Angeles hot spot. Â With the many fantastic views and atmosphere, it may be the last relaxing moment of the day for these GM's.
And most wouldn't have it any other way.
The Toronto Star continues to shine a light on the Kaberle front. According to Brian Burke, he has "four concrete offers" on the table and seems to be rather confident he can land a first round pick. That said, the Toronto Sun suggest that of the six teams interested in Kaberle's services, the Ducks have expressed the strongest interest.
