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Rocky Mountain recruiting Avs trying to woo Roy, Sakic, Blake into staying
Updated: Friday June 29, 2001 1:50 PM
With the July 1 free-agency period looming, Colorado is still trying to recruit its own big free agents: Patrick Roy, Joe Sakic and Rob Blake . Roy, who is more interested in his place in the game than in money at this stage of his career, is expected to re-up. Sakic and Blake are more problematic. Sakic wants a no-trade clause. His wife, Debbie, told me her husband is loathe to uproot the family. General manager Pierre Lacroix has refused to give any player a no-trade clause other than a brief window once afforded Roy. Blake also has expressed an interest in staying in Colorado although he should attract interest from a handful of teams, including Philadelphia. Toronto has said Blake is too rich for its blood, but if the Maple Leafs reverse their position, it gives Blake, a southern Ontario native, a splendid alternative.
Hasek might shuffle out of BuffaloDominik Hasek could be on the move. If Buffalo doesn't pick up Hasek's $9 million option by July 1, he can walk away as an unrestricted free agent. If the goalie-rich Sabres do sign Hasek, they would still likely try to trade the Vezina Trophy winner at some point, although a deal might be difficult because Hasek has not committed to playing a specified number of years. Look for Hasek to eventually wind up in St. Louis, which currently has Fred Brathwaite and Brent Johnson in goal but certainly will not repeat the folly of entering the playoffs without a Stanley Cup-caliber goalie.
Despite big names, Habs haven't improved muchMontreal will make a play for high-end free agent Pierre Turgeon and two other marquee francophone players, Martin Lapointe and Donald Audette . Meanwhile, the team keeps stockpiling NHL bodies in an effort to rise from avert-your-eyes abysmal to merely mediocre. The Canadiens overpaid for Joe Juneau and acquired Stephane Quintal and Andreas Dackell for draft picks. Quintal fails to address the team's lack of a No. 1 or 2 defenseman and Dackell and Juneau are third or fourth liners at this stage of their careers. But general manager Andre Savard remembers Juneau and Dackell as an excellent penalty-killing pair in Ottawa, something he hopes they can reprise in Montreal.Sports Illustrated senior writer Michael Farber covers the NHL beat for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com.
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