Offseason Spotlight On The Atlantic Division
By Matt Canamucio, NHL Editor
Philadelphia, PA -- (Sports Network) - Heading into August means a few things in the National Hockey League. Training camps will be opening sooner as opposed to later, and the season is just over two months from its start.
This offseason has been the first where we could really see how the new salary system effects each team individually. Some have had enough room to maneuver while others were limited to minor moves because they needed their cap space to re-sign restricted free agents.
In the first of our series of offseason spotlights, let take a look at the Atlantic Division. Three clubs -- the Devils, Rangers and Flyers -- made the playoffs in 2005-06, and this summer we have seen a little bit of everything from this group.
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Like many playoff teams from this past season, the Devils haven't made a huge splash this summer by adding big name free agents or pulling off a slick trade. Instead they have focused on bringing back their own.
Winger Patrik Elias made it to the open market and was the best free agent forward available when July 1 hit. However, he didn't last very long as the Devils quickly locked him up with a new seven-year contract. The Czech forward is the club's perennial leading scorer, and his return from Hepatitis A sparked the Devils' run to the postseason in 2005-06.
In addition to Elias, GM Lou Lamoriello re-signed Jamie Langenbrunner and Colin White, and hired former Canadiens coach Claude Julien to stand behind the bench.
Again, Lamoriello and Co., in typical Devils fashion, haven't been flashy this summer. On the other hand, they can brag about signing one of the top players available.
NEW YORK RANGERS
The Rangers didn't go out and sign Ed Jovanovski and trade for Chris Pronger, but that doesn't mean Glen Sather has sat back and watched things go by in his beach chair. Fresh off the team's first playoff berth since 1997, Slats has added a three-time Stanley Cup champion in Brendan Shanahan, as well as fresh winners Aaron Ward and Matt Cullen, whom he plucked from Carolina.
Granted, Shanahan is 37-years-old, but he is coming off a season which saw him tally 40 goals and 41 assists in a complete 82 games. Is there any guarantee he will post those numbers again? Of course not, but it's dice worth rolling. A power play unit with Shanahan and Jaromir Jagr on the wings isn't a bad vision to have.
Aside from the Shanahan signing, the next best move for the club might have been allowing defenseman Tom Poti to leave for the rival Islanders. Poti, who was best known for drawing the ire of the MSG faithful and making bonehead plays with the puck, is finally out of the shadow left by Brian Leetch when he was traded.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
The Islanders, after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2001, have been one of the more aggressive clubs this postseason. New York began by overhauling the hockey operations department with Charles Wang's dual hiring of GM Neil Smith and head coach Ted Nolan. Smith then went to work by adding the likes of Brendan Witt, Mike Sillinger and Poti.
Then, the bizarre happened. Smith was ousted by Wang because he couldn't conform to the owner's new "by-committee" approach to hockey operations. He was quickly replaced by quirky backup goaltender Garth Snow, who retired as a player to take the job.
No, this isn't a movie script for Slapshot 3.
Wang is obviously trying to re-invent the wheel by thinking a group of decision makers is better than one man in charge. His point of view is likely an over-correction after yielding all that power to Mike Milbury for years. But when there are too many cooks in the kitchen, there's usually a grease fire.
Of course, without a GM resume to back him up, the chances of Snow going on a power trip are very slim. He, Bryan Trottier and Ted Nolan are more likely to be on equal footing than if Smith were still there. Of course, it remains to be seen how often Wang will add his two cents.
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
The Flyers were picked by many to win it all after a seemingly fruitful 2005 offseason. While the signing of Peter Forsberg proved to be well worth it, the additions of defensemen Derian Hatcher and Mike Rathje didn't quite have the same effect. While both players played through injury woes, it just seemed as if the two blueliners didn't fit in with the "new NHL."
This summer the Flyers have been far less aggressive, due in large part to their cap situation. Anyone who was expecting a run at Zdeno Chara or Jovanovski was sadly disappointed. The biggest blueline additions have been Nolan Baumgartner and Lars Jonsson.
Bob Clarke did add some punch on the wing with aging but capable forward Geoff Sanderson, who scored 25 goals for Phoenix this past season.
Clarke has been spending most of his time re-signing restricted free agents like Antero Niittymaki and Joni Pitkanen, and he still has to lock up Simon Gagne. The most important thing for the Flyers has yet to be determined, and that is the status of captain Keith Primeau.
Primeau is still trying to come back from lingering concussion symptoms, and he canceled a recent trip to Finland where he was supposed to work out. It seems to be a long shot at this point but the club is holding out hope.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Last summer the Penguins were the toast of the hockey world because they won the right to select phenom Sidney Crosby. A year later the team is close to being sold and still rebuilding. The beauty of it is that, in addition to Crosby, the Pens have other young studs coming in the pipeline, including Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Stall -- the latter of which was the team's top pick this year.
Pittsburgh also began a new era in the general manager's office this year, as Craig Patrick was replaced by Ray Shero. Shero has for the most part tweaked things with the likes of Jarkko Ruutu and Mark Eaton, who make you go "meh." However he did manage to sign Mark Recchi after the club essentially rented him to the Cup-champion Hurricanes in March.
The Penguins' success in the near future isn't going to be because of big-time free agent additions. Their first priority should be and is developing what they have in the works.
ATLANTIC AT A GLANCE
Best move, right now - The Devils bringing back their anchor in Elias.
Best move, come playoff time - What the Rangers did. Especially with the addition of Shanahan. It was obvious down the stretch and in the playoffs that they needed some winners on that bench.
Worst move - The whole front office fiasco on Long Island. Wang let go the only guy that knew what the heck he was doing.
Predictions right now - 1. NY Rangers; 2. New Jersey; 3. Philadelphia; 4. NY Islanders; 5. Pittsburgh.
By Matt Canamucio, NHL Editor
Philadelphia, PA -- (Sports Network) - Heading into August means a few things in the National Hockey League. Training camps will be opening sooner as opposed to later, and the season is just over two months from its start.
This offseason has been the first where we could really see how the new salary system effects each team individually. Some have had enough room to maneuver while others were limited to minor moves because they needed their cap space to re-sign restricted free agents.
In the first of our series of offseason spotlights, let take a look at the Atlantic Division. Three clubs -- the Devils, Rangers and Flyers -- made the playoffs in 2005-06, and this summer we have seen a little bit of everything from this group.
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Like many playoff teams from this past season, the Devils haven't made a huge splash this summer by adding big name free agents or pulling off a slick trade. Instead they have focused on bringing back their own.
Winger Patrik Elias made it to the open market and was the best free agent forward available when July 1 hit. However, he didn't last very long as the Devils quickly locked him up with a new seven-year contract. The Czech forward is the club's perennial leading scorer, and his return from Hepatitis A sparked the Devils' run to the postseason in 2005-06.
In addition to Elias, GM Lou Lamoriello re-signed Jamie Langenbrunner and Colin White, and hired former Canadiens coach Claude Julien to stand behind the bench.
Again, Lamoriello and Co., in typical Devils fashion, haven't been flashy this summer. On the other hand, they can brag about signing one of the top players available.
NEW YORK RANGERS
The Rangers didn't go out and sign Ed Jovanovski and trade for Chris Pronger, but that doesn't mean Glen Sather has sat back and watched things go by in his beach chair. Fresh off the team's first playoff berth since 1997, Slats has added a three-time Stanley Cup champion in Brendan Shanahan, as well as fresh winners Aaron Ward and Matt Cullen, whom he plucked from Carolina.
Granted, Shanahan is 37-years-old, but he is coming off a season which saw him tally 40 goals and 41 assists in a complete 82 games. Is there any guarantee he will post those numbers again? Of course not, but it's dice worth rolling. A power play unit with Shanahan and Jaromir Jagr on the wings isn't a bad vision to have.
Aside from the Shanahan signing, the next best move for the club might have been allowing defenseman Tom Poti to leave for the rival Islanders. Poti, who was best known for drawing the ire of the MSG faithful and making bonehead plays with the puck, is finally out of the shadow left by Brian Leetch when he was traded.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
The Islanders, after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2001, have been one of the more aggressive clubs this postseason. New York began by overhauling the hockey operations department with Charles Wang's dual hiring of GM Neil Smith and head coach Ted Nolan. Smith then went to work by adding the likes of Brendan Witt, Mike Sillinger and Poti.
Then, the bizarre happened. Smith was ousted by Wang because he couldn't conform to the owner's new "by-committee" approach to hockey operations. He was quickly replaced by quirky backup goaltender Garth Snow, who retired as a player to take the job.
No, this isn't a movie script for Slapshot 3.
Wang is obviously trying to re-invent the wheel by thinking a group of decision makers is better than one man in charge. His point of view is likely an over-correction after yielding all that power to Mike Milbury for years. But when there are too many cooks in the kitchen, there's usually a grease fire.
Of course, without a GM resume to back him up, the chances of Snow going on a power trip are very slim. He, Bryan Trottier and Ted Nolan are more likely to be on equal footing than if Smith were still there. Of course, it remains to be seen how often Wang will add his two cents.
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
The Flyers were picked by many to win it all after a seemingly fruitful 2005 offseason. While the signing of Peter Forsberg proved to be well worth it, the additions of defensemen Derian Hatcher and Mike Rathje didn't quite have the same effect. While both players played through injury woes, it just seemed as if the two blueliners didn't fit in with the "new NHL."
This summer the Flyers have been far less aggressive, due in large part to their cap situation. Anyone who was expecting a run at Zdeno Chara or Jovanovski was sadly disappointed. The biggest blueline additions have been Nolan Baumgartner and Lars Jonsson.
Bob Clarke did add some punch on the wing with aging but capable forward Geoff Sanderson, who scored 25 goals for Phoenix this past season.
Clarke has been spending most of his time re-signing restricted free agents like Antero Niittymaki and Joni Pitkanen, and he still has to lock up Simon Gagne. The most important thing for the Flyers has yet to be determined, and that is the status of captain Keith Primeau.
Primeau is still trying to come back from lingering concussion symptoms, and he canceled a recent trip to Finland where he was supposed to work out. It seems to be a long shot at this point but the club is holding out hope.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Last summer the Penguins were the toast of the hockey world because they won the right to select phenom Sidney Crosby. A year later the team is close to being sold and still rebuilding. The beauty of it is that, in addition to Crosby, the Pens have other young studs coming in the pipeline, including Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Stall -- the latter of which was the team's top pick this year.
Pittsburgh also began a new era in the general manager's office this year, as Craig Patrick was replaced by Ray Shero. Shero has for the most part tweaked things with the likes of Jarkko Ruutu and Mark Eaton, who make you go "meh." However he did manage to sign Mark Recchi after the club essentially rented him to the Cup-champion Hurricanes in March.
The Penguins' success in the near future isn't going to be because of big-time free agent additions. Their first priority should be and is developing what they have in the works.
ATLANTIC AT A GLANCE
Best move, right now - The Devils bringing back their anchor in Elias.
Best move, come playoff time - What the Rangers did. Especially with the addition of Shanahan. It was obvious down the stretch and in the playoffs that they needed some winners on that bench.
Worst move - The whole front office fiasco on Long Island. Wang let go the only guy that knew what the heck he was doing.
Predictions right now - 1. NY Rangers; 2. New Jersey; 3. Philadelphia; 4. NY Islanders; 5. Pittsburgh.
