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Free agents of change
Before the free agent signing period began, Jeremy Roenick had already agreed to a contract with the Flyers. Then the floodgates opened. CNNSI.com spoke to Sports Illustrated senior writer Michael Farber about the high-profile signings and their impact on the balance of power -- among teams and in terms of the collective bargaining agreement. CNNSI.com: Quite a weekend in terms of NHL transactions. Why so many so soon? Farber: The weekend actually started early when the Philadelphia Flyers essentially jumped the gun by announcing they had a contract in principle with free-agent-to-be Jeremy Roenick. Bobby Clarke's movement did not sit well with some NHL general managers, including Washington's George McPhee. It will be interesting to see if the league addresses the issue. But Clarke's early move on Roenick was a signal that teams better move quickly or be left behind. CNNSI.com: Which moves, to this point, do you like the most? Farber: I like Colorado's, keeping those three free agents. You knew Patrick Roy wasn't going anywhere and GM Pierre Lacroix relented on the no-trade clause to wrap up Joe Sakic. Rob Blake saw these guys going back, he was happy there, and Lacroix completed the trifecta. What makes these contracts interesting, as most of the multi-year deals have been, they all nod to potential labor problems in 2004. Blake's and Sakic's salaries, for example, include bonuses of a little more then $2 million payable whether there's a labor stoppage or not. Most of the long-term deals have been structured that way. I'm not sure Gary Bettman is going to be thrilled, but he has to realize that this is reality and agents who didn't protect their clients against the eventuality or the possibility of a labor dispute would have been remiss. That's a cold, hard reality. CNNSI.com: Any time we talk about these signings, the dollars become a little more outrageous. What impact will contracts like those signed in Colorado have on the labor situation? Farber: I think there's another issue. The contracts that surprised me were the ones signed by Jon Klemm and Sean O'Donnell. O'Donnell had a terrible playoff season and he got $7.5 million for three years. The Bruins have either disconnected their cable or neglected to send scouts on the road. You can justify spending $10 million for Joe Sakic, because Joe Sakic puts people in the seats. No one comes to see third-pair defensemen. When the market is $2 million for these guys, this is where the game is in trouble. You're picking up third-pair defensemen and paying heavily. Now, I know there are very few free-agent defenseman out there this year as compared to forwards, but if you're looking at economic rot in the sport, these are the contracts to focus on. Not Blake or Roy or Sakic. CNNSI.com: Was trading Dominik Hasek a necessity for Buffalo? Farber: The Sabres are really not much different from the small-market Canadian teams. The budget is everything and they had to divest themselves of their two best players; trading Michael Peca to the Islanders and getting rid of Hasek. The latter was a $9 million contract that was simply too costly for an organization that has some nice goaltending depth. CNNSI.com: But did the Sabres get enough in return? Farber: Slava Kozlov is one more smallish forward in Buffalo and I don't expect that draft pick to be any higher than 25, because with Hasek the Red Wings are again a Stanley Cup contender. But clearly it was better than what St. Louis was offering. The Blues thought they had a deal done and were shocked when Detroit spirited away Hasek. Scotty Bowman had a meeting with Ken Holland during the second week of June. Bownan wanted certain changes made. He's never been enamored of Chris Osgood, and Bowman knew that he would have no shot at a Stanley Cup unless the Red Wings upgraded their goaltending situation. Certainly Bowman is taking it a year at a time, and so is Hasek. If they have the same kind of success Ray Bourque found, you could look for a Stanley Cup to be their swan song. CNNSI.com: After losing Pierre Turgeon, what kind of an upgrade did St. Louis get with Doug Weight? Farber: St. Louis was not an overwhelming winner in all this. Weight is probably the finest passer in the Western Conference, a great team man and a dynamic player, but Larry Pleau lost a legit No. 1 center in Turgeon. Pleau also had to give up a useful player, Jochen Hecht, and a player who took a step back this season but who still has some upside in Marty Reasoner. Then Pleau was surprisingly shut out of Hasek at the last minute, and hw now faces the prospect of a Fred Brathwaite/Brent Johnson goaltending combination, which doesn't look Stanley Cup ready to me. There are goalies out there who are available, including, of course, Osgood. CNNSI.com: What are the odds that Detroit would deal within its division? Farber: Detroit is going to worry about what it can get from the Blues. St. Louis certainly changed its club around, but how much better are the Blues? They're already good, but have they moved to Colorado's level? Or have they even kept up with Detroit? CNNSI.com: With Turgeon, are the Stars the best team up the middle in the NHL? Farber: Yes. We're going to have to see what happens, though, with those three centermen. Joe Nieuwendyk has started to slow a little in the past few years. Turgeon faced a similar situation in Montreal, when the Canadiens had Saku Koivu and Vincent Damphousse; essentially three No. 1 centers and they couldn't find enough ice time to keep all of them happy. Turgeon, who was the Canadiens' captain at the time, complained the loudest about picking up third-line minutes and he was subsequently traded for a package that included Shayne Corson. The Canadiens could have saved themselves a lot of problems by switching Damphousse back to left wing, but this was just another in the litany of their mistakes. CNNSI.com: The powers in the Western Conference seemed to have stolen the headlines prior to the signing period. Will there be any similar arms race in the East? Farber: The Rangers were beaten in the free agent sweepstakes, but they are still very much alive in the Jaromir Jagr situation. They were interested in almost everybody, but they don't look to be an immediate Stanley Cup threat. And with the dollars being similar in most cases, players will generally opt for a chance to win the Stanley Cup -- not that they're giving up money to do it. Why would you go to the Canadiens when you know you're going to get your brains beaten in every night? Montreal wanted Turgeon, but he wouldn't go back there. CNNSI.com: What updates can you give us on some of the unsigned free agents, or possible trades? Farber: I think the Canadians will end up with a Francophone free agent or two. Detroit will look at Alexander Mogilny. Dallas still wants Brett Hull, but at a lower number. The signing of Rob DiMaio in Dallas hurts, but doesn't preclude, Mike Keane's chances of coming back. The two teams that are the hottest on Jagr are the Rangers and Stars. And Eric Lindros is still in play. 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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