Free Agency Countdown

As of this writing the Sedins have not decided on what to do with the Canuck offer and Heatley is sitting on the fence about the Oilers deal.

The Heatley saga really disgusts me since he is the one that signed the rich long term deal with the Sens which included the no trade clause that he demanded. It is bad enough that he turned on the Sens by demanding a trade, but now that the Sens have found a willing trading partner he’s threatening to blow that deal by trying to pressure them into a lesser deal with the Rangers. I hope he upsets Melnyk to the point where the Sens sit the lad in the minors for the duration of his contract. However it is likely that Heatley will get his way and I see a trade later in the day moving him to the Rangers.

I really think Gainey blew it big time in agreeing to take on Gomez’s contract. Sure the Canadiens have tons of cap space left, but in this day and age you just do not commit $7.3 million of cap space for the next five years to a player that has never led a team and is coming off a very disappointing season. At that cap figure, Gomez will be expected to lead the Habs and that’s just not who Gomez is. He is a great compliment player if he has a good winger on his side and a strong system to play in. I can’t see this working out for the Habs. I think this contract will hang over their heads, though I can see them being able to move him during the last couple of years to a financially strapped team that will need his cap figure (and lower actually salary) to reach the cap floor. Today should be interesting to see what Gainey can do about picking up that scoring winger for Gomez.

I love Calgary’s move to sign Bouwmeester last night. I think it works for both the team and the player. He will love playing in Calgary and the salary and term seem reasonable for a young workhorse defenseman. I do see Calgary trying to move Phaneuf now since they do need more firepower up front to help Iginla.

I think, and hope, that the Sedins decide to stay in Vancouver. If that falls through I can see Burke making the move to pick them up and sign them to a five or six year deal. Despite the fact that I like the Sedins, I think that is committing to much money and term to two players that can not be separated or moved. My preference would be for Burke to save some of that money and pick up Cammalleri who is a top six forward. I also like the idea of Burke going after Colton Orr (at about $1 million per season) and Beauchemin to add some toughness and grit to the roster.

Now that Bouwmeester and Pronger have found homes, the attention should turn to Kaberle. I can see something happening there quickly. I also hear that Jack Johnson is in play and he would be a great addition for the Leafs. Other Leafs that may be moved include Stajan, Mayers, Kubina and White but those deals will likely occur later in the summer.

I normally hate players dithering over decisions but I’m ready to cut Gustavsson some slack here. I he just lost his mother and I understand that he is quite alone in trying to make this decision, so lets give him a few days to see how the free agency dust settles before he decides on his future. I still think that a Giguere Toskala swap is a possibility if Gustavsson does not sign with the Leafs.

Just wondering and maybe dreaming, if Gainey can’t find scorers in the free agency market to take his money play with Gomez, would he be willing to take Blake’s contract off our hands?