SB Nation - Martin Gerber

Outlook: Brian Burke's aim was to get bigger, meaner and better in goal, and its hard to argue he didn't accomplish all three over the off-season. And he even found a way to add a 36-goal scorer (albeit an injured one).

Coming in are three big blueliners in Francois Beauchemin, Mike Komisarek and Garnet Exelby, enforcer Colton Orr and netminder Jonas Gustavsson. Another key signing could be that of University of Denver standout Tyler Bozak, who has looked good in preseason and could make an impact up front as a rookie this fall.

Toronto may appear lean up front and they will have to make do without Nik Antropov and Dominic Moore but the Leafs biggest woes last season came in goal and on the blueline, and if either Vesa Toskala can have a rebound campaign or Gustavsson can surprise in his first season, that'll make a world of difference in their record this season.

Komisarek and Beauchemin, meanwhile, should also help improve what was a league worst penalty kill in 2008-09, something thats sure to be a target for coach Ron Wilson and Co. in the early going.

As for where the offence will come from, expect the likes of Mikhail Grabovski, Matt Stajan and Niklas Hagman to play plenty of minutes until Phil Kessel's ready for action. It's not out of the question that Toronto has eight players pot 20 goals this season, as while there's not a ton of high-end offence, there's quietly some depth emerging. (Viktor Stalberg, anyone?)

All the changes probably don't add up to a playoff appearance quite yet, but the bottom end of the Eastern Conference is fairly wide open and a climb up the standings isn't impossible. If nothing else, the Leafs should be far better in the goals against department, and that alone will keep them in the race longer than they were last season.

X-factor: Jonas Gustavsson

For a more in-depth Leafs preview, visit Pension Plan Puppets
For more NHL analysis, check out the McKeen's Hockey Yearbook

Poll

Where will the Leafs finish in the Eastern Conference this season?

1

17 votes

2

3 votes

3

5 votes

4

6 votes

5

18 votes

6

40 votes

7

85 votes

8

90 votes

9

48 votes

10

57 votes

11

20 votes

12

25 votes

13

12 votes

14

8 votes

15

35 votes

469 votes | Poll has closed

Ottawa Senators 2009-10 season preview

PeterR — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 11:00:14 -0000

by Troy Fleece - AP

Jason Spezza, centre, is one of the many Ottawa Senators players with something to prove in 2009-10, coming off his worst season offensively in four years.

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The theme for the Ottawa Senators in 2009-10 is the bounce-back, and they need some serious bouncing back if Senators fans are going to remain even a little bit interested in the team. Almost to a man, every player returning from last season has to prove they can do better, and the key players Ottawa brought in this year--Pascal Leclaire, Alex Kovalev, and Jonathan Cheechoo--all have plenty to prove themselves. Coach Cory Clouston has to show the league that GM Bryan Murray picked the right side in his dispute with now-traded winger Dany Heatley, and Murray's never been as criticized as he is these days--you can bet fans will have his head if Ottawa starts slowly. This team is rife to surprise a lot of people, but there's always the chance these variables could go southward in a hurry. If that happens, stand back, because owner Eugene Melnyk won't stand for another poor showing.

2008-09 Recap:

Whoo... well, this is tough. The most forgettable season in recent memory, 2008-09 was painful for Senators fans. Although the team seemed to repair some of their defensive problems from the season before--goals-against was somewhat improved from 2007-08--it came at the expense of offence--goals-for was far off the previous season. Martin Gerber, Alex Auld, and Brian Elliott played musical chairs in the net, Craig Hartsburg came in with high hopes but wasn't right for the team, and Ottawa's offensive stars, including Heatley, Jason Spezza, and Daniel Alfredsson, all struggled--but the secondary scorers struggled more. Then Clouston was brought in, installed a system based on responsibility henceforth known as Command Kloustonom, and Ottawa started winning games. It wasn't enough, and the Sens finished in 11th place, 10 points out of a playoff spot.

(Read more for who's in, who's out, strengths, weaknesses, depth chart, and predictions... )

Who's in:

G Pascal Leclaire - Not quite an off-season acquisition, but pretty close to, Leclaire has the chance to simultaneously recharge his career and be the Senators' saviour--or he could join so many other goaltenders on the Ottawa goaltending graveyard. Although Brian Elliott did well at times last year, this team's playoff hopes rest on the shoulders of Leclaire.
D Erik Karlsson - Karlsson comes in with high hopes for giving Ottawa some bite on the powerplay, but will definitely have a steep learning curve. The consensus is a spot on the Senators' is Karlsson's to lose, probably fittingly so, but it will be up to Clouston to make sure he's not overwhelmed by the North American game. Look for him to get limited even-strength time, but plenty of powerplay opportunities.
W Alex Kovalev - Signed to a two-year, $10M contract in the summer, Kovalev comes from Montréal with plenty to prove after an off-year last season. The big difference is that he won't be Ottawa's main go-to guy, but he'll get every opportunity on one of the top-two lines, and may play the point on the Sens' top powerplay unit. If he doesn't come out of the gate quickly, I'm afraid some of the finnicky Sens fans and media members could turn on him, and if that happens he might become disinterested--a positive feedback loop that will be tremendously negative for the team's playoff hopes.
W Milan Michalek - The key return in this summer's Heatley trade, Michalek comes in with expectations to provide scoring depth, defensive responsibility, and maybe some penalty-killing for Ottawa this year. He has been lined up with Alfredsson and Spezza on an impressive first line, but expectations are that he's a flexible player who can jump into any role assigned to him.
W Jonathan Cheechoo - Cheechoo's the other part of the Heatley trade, and another player looking for a bounce-back season. He's got every opportunity to play in the Sens' top-six forwards, maybe on a line with Kovalev, and people are expecting 20-plus goals--and hoping for 30-plus. He's a hard worker, and the kind of player that Sens fans could quickly become enamoured with.
C Peter Regin: Might have surprised a few people out of training camp, where he came from behind and earned himself a top-nine--and maybe top-six--forward spot on the Senators. If he keeps playing as he does, turning centre-cum-winger Mike Fisher into a scorer and gelling with one-time AHL linemate Nick Foligno, this team could potentially have three lines to provide offensive support for one another.

Who's out:

G Alex Auld - Traded to the Dallas Stars for a fifth-rounder, Auld played well last year--but Murray decided his chances were better with a Leclaire-Elliott tandem, and Elliott wasn't going to appreciate being sent back to Binghamton.
D Jason Smith - Retired, in a conspiracy-laden decision that will save Ottawa from salary cap hell and make room for younger defencemen to step up.
W Dany Heatley - Old news.
W Mike Comrie - Signed in Edmonton after his second stint in Ottawa didn't prove as successful as was hoped.
D Brendan Bell - No room left in Ottawa, so Bell went to the St. Louis Blues to try his luck.

Strengths:

Offensive depth: The Senators have far greater offensive depth than they've had in years, with potentially nine players with a good shot of playing on the top two forward lines: Alfredsson, Spezza, Kovalev, Michalek, Cheechoo, Regin, Fisher, Foligno, and Ryan Shannon. It means there will be plenty of competition in training camp, and there's a good chance Ottawa will have scoring from the first, second, and third lines.
Defensive depth: Although the Senators still lack a number one puck-moving defenceman, they've got plenty of decent-level players to pick from. Filip Kuba's the biggest minute-muncher, Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov will continue to be the shut-down tandem, and Karlsson will probably be given top-four minutes fairly early in his rookie season. After that, Clouston has five more defencemen to choose from to fill out the remaining two spots: Brian Lee, Alex Picard, Christoph Schubert, Chris Campoli, and Matt Carkner. There might be some movement before the season starts, but if there's not, Ottawa shouldn't have a problem icing a full complement of defencemen.
Powerplay: Ottawa's lost one of their best powerplay producers in Heatley, but they've brought in three pretty good powerplayers, and Karlsson could be a boon for the backend. If there's not a noticeable increase in powerplay potency, it will be a disappointment.
Team speed: Michalek is damn fast. Spezza looks like he's skating as well as he ever has, and playing with Michalek only makes him go even faster. Shannon might be a close second on the team to Michalek. Fisher can skate like the dickens in straight lines. Almost to a man, the Senators' forward group has good to great speed, and should be able to use that to counter attack opponents--in true Command Kloustonom style.

Weaknesses:

Defence: Ottawa may have plenty of defensive depth, but six fifth- and sixth-defencemen don't equal one first-defenceman. Ottawa will likely ice four smallish (in style, if not in stature) defencemen around Phillips and Volchenkov, so might be vulnerable when bigger teams are in town. Defence by committee will be the key, but it won't be easy.
Grit: It's an old story for the Senators, but this team won't likely be a physical challenge to play against. Sure, there's Chris Neil, Jesse Winchester, and Jarkko Ruutu, but there's a pretty good chance they'll all be on the same line. When the other three lines are on, and with the small-ish defence corps Ottawa has, other teams won't likely have a problem finding space on the ice. It could open up room for Carkner, Zack Smith, Cody Bass, or Jeremy Yablonski to play select games against tougher teams, but they won't make the squad based on playing ability alone.
Penalty Killing: Last year's penalty-killing corps included Antoine Vermette and Dean McAmmond, and both have moved on since then. Clouston hasn't been afraid to use Alfredsson on the PK, and the team still has Fisher, Winchester, Shean Donovan, Chris Kelly, and maybe even Spezza or Michalek to kill penalties, but there will be a learning period for these guys to get used to one another. And, after Phillips, Volchenkov, and Kuba, you've got to wonder who'll kill from the defensive side.

Depth chart:

Left Wing	Centre		Right Wing
Milan Michalek	Jason Spezza		Daniel Alfredsson
Jonathan Cheechoo	Ryan Shannon		Alex Kovalev
Nick Foligno	Peter Regin		Mike Fisher
Jarkko Ruutu	Chris Kelly		Chris Neil
Josh Hennessy	Jesse Winchester		Erik Condra
Kaspars Daugavins	Martin St. Pierre		Cody Bass
Shawn Weller	Ilya Zubov		Jeremy Yablonski
Denis Hamel	Zack Smith
	Jim O'Brien
Defencemen
Filip Kuba		Erik Karlsson
Chris Phillips		Anton Volchenkov
Alex Picard		Chris Campoli
Brian Lee		Matt Carkner
Derek Smith		Tomas Kudelka
Geoff Waugh

Goaltenders
Pascal Leclaire
Brian Elliott
Mike Brodeur
Andy Chiodo

Predictions:

TSN: Pre-season power ranking: 24
Sportsnet: "After going to the Stanley Cup final in 2006-07, the Senators have been on a steady slide and it's looking like a second straight season out of the playoffs is a distinct possibility."
The Hockey News: Fourth in the Northeast Division, ninth in the Eastern Conference.
Puck Daddy: "On paper, this is a playoff team: Balanced scoring, good goaltending and a crowded but dependable defense."
The Sporting News: Ranked 24 in NHL.
The Sports Network: "The days of contending for a Cup seem to be over, but that doesn't mean Ottawa won't be able to sneak into the Eastern Conference playoffs this year."

The TSN and Sporting News predictions were both made before the Heatley trade, so they're certainly out of date. But here are our predictions:

Peter: Ottawa didn't want to move Heatley, but the depth gained in the trade might prove to be beneficial to the team's stakes in the 2009-10 season--to say nothing of the salary cap flexibility for future seasons. With between two and three lines who should be expected to score (compared to one the past two years) and very strong forward and defensive depth, the team should be strong offensively. On defence, there are plenty of skaters, and less physicality, but that might be mitigated by a very quick transition game. In goal, there are two big question marks, and the team will likely live and die with Leclaire. It also seems unlikely the Senators will suffer too much from the Olympics fatiguing players, so that could work in the team's favour for the second half of the year. Ottawa should have the advantage in a dogfight with Montreal and Buffalo to finish second in the Northeast behind Boston, and no one will be happy--least of all owner Melnyk--if this team misses the playoffs. I'm calling it: Second in the Northeast, fifth in the Eastern Conference.

Darren: Just to get it right out there in the open -- no matter what a Las Vegas bookie tells you, I don't think that there is any way this team performs worse than the roster that was iced last season. The roster is better, the team will be playing under Cory Clouston for the entire season, and our starting goaltender's last named doesn't rhyme with Ferber. On paper, this should be a team that can generate a great amount of offense, just like the Senators we remember from the first half of this decade. Unfortunately, the game isn't played on paper, and the outcome is anything but predictable: one can only guess how many different line combinations Clouston will burn through in the first month or two of the season. But since this is about making predictions, I'll be bold - the team definitely has a shot at the playoffs, but I think it's still a few years away from making any sort of deep run. Still, after all of the drama this team has been through recently, it's nice to be able to start the season with some shred of optimism.

Penguins offered Martin Gerber backup role

Hooks Orpik — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 23:39:30 -0000

More photos » by H. Rumph, Jr. - AP

Just think, this picture could have been repeated in black and gold, Pens fans

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Reporting on translated material has gotten us into some trouble recently, but I heard this was talked about on XM radio and seems pretty credible. Martin Gerber was offered the job (report is in French) of being Marc-Andre Fleury's backup before the team signed Brent Johnson yesterday.

Gerber was a former teammate of Pens head coach Dan Bylsma back in Anaheim at the beginning part of this decade, so the Pens interest in the netminder could have stemmed from the word of the current bench boss.

Gerber decided to sign in the KHL and according to James Mirtle his new contracts comes with some pretty sweet perks that the NHL doesn't offer: a tax free salary, free housing, a travel stipend to get over there and even a cell phone. Gerber's salary is reportedly $700,000 and with the total compensation, that's obviously a lot more $$ than the $525,000 that the Penguins gave to Johnson to be the #2.

So what do you think, Gerber's not very well regarded in the NHL but if he plays well as a #1 goalie in Russia, perhaps a team would take another shot on him. If he signs in Pittsburgh and only sees about 20 games of action that's hard to distingush himself for another NHL contract next summer.

The fact remains though: play hockey in Russia and make more money or be the backup for the defending Stanley Cup champions? Interesting question, and we see how Gerber chose.

How KHL clubs woo NHL free agents: Gerber signs a tax-free, rent-free contract

James Mirtle — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 19:34:55 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

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Those that have been paying close attention to free agency this summer have noted the NHL goalie carousel that has become Atlant Mytischi, the KHL team that Martin Gerber signed with yesterday and which Antero Niittymaki was rumoured to be heading to two weeks ago.

Gerber will be taking over former teammate Ray Emery's role in Atlant, but according to a source, he received a far smaller contract of only $700,000 (U.S.) on a one -year deal — the same offer that was made to Niittymaki shortly after NHL free agency began July 1.

Niittymaki eventually took a one-year, $600,000 deal to play for the Lightning next season, but as we've heard in the past, there's more to these KHL contracts than the dollar figure.

One agent involved in signing players to KHL deals said that they are worth two and a half to three times their NHL equivalents because players do not have to pay tax on them and receive free housing, a car and most of their meals. Many are also given a cellphone and have their utilities paid for, as well as travel to and from their home country.

Niittymaki ultimately had the tax-free, incentive-laden deal from Atlant and multiple near league minimum offers from NHL teams, and opted for the paycut to play in Tampa, where he's hoping for more playing time than he would have received elsewhere. (Not a bad bet given Mike Smith continues to recover from his concussion issues.)

Some players make a different choice. One top scoring star in Europe had some interest from NHL teams but received far more lucrative deals in the KHL and ultimately signed for about $1-million. Others, such as Slovakia's Juraj Mikus, take less to try their luck in the NHL but have out clauses in their deals that allow them to return to Europe.

Meanwhile, the extreme lack of activity on the NHL's free agency market lately has had a big impact on European league players as teams hold out for the potential North American leftovers created by the salary cap crunch.

"There's approximately 100 unemployed players in Europe, and they started their on-ice sessions this week," said one agent. "If you add all the RFA/UFAs in North America, you can understand the panic among players."

He added that many GMs are waiting out the market, believing they'll get better deals as unclaimed players are more desperate for employment — on both sides of the ocean. And despite the tax-free offers in the KHL, the recession is having a major impact on hockey overseas.

"The NHL has escrow and a cap, so [the economics] will follow a somewhat predictable route when we see season-ticket renewals, but Europe is a mess. There are fewer rich owners to bail teams out when the going gets tough ... there could be bankruptcies but also 30- to 50-per-cent cuts on salaries.

"If you have a deal, you're okay because there's no collective bargaining, but guys without a long-term deal take the hit ... and most players in Europe have no financial cushion.

"It's going to be one friggin' ugly August-December. Alcoholism, divorces, etc., will follow."

Tough times all around, apparently, and it'll be interesting to see what that means for the 50 or so NHL-calibre free agents still looking for a home. You can see why the likes of Gerber and Niittymaki are accepting less to simply have regular employment, whether that's here, in Russia or elsewhere.

Gerber signs with KHL club

James Mirtle — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:38:55 -0000

More photos » by H. Rumph, Jr. - AP

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According to Russian publication Sovetsky Sport, netminder Martin Gerber has taken former teammate Ray Emery's old KHL job with Atlant Mytishchi on a one-year contract.

You know, I think Gerber got a bit of a bum rap last season in Ottawa when he was waived and then demoted to the minors, something that came as a result more of his team's struggles and his bloated salary than truly awful play. There were plenty of netminders who had worse seasons last year — look at what Vesa Toskala did in Toronto — and besides, Ottawa's biggest issue was scoring goals.

In any event, Gerber turns 35 in September and we may have seen the last of him in North America. He leaves with a 110-78-14 career record and a .910 career save percentage, as well as a lot of Senators owner Eugene Melnyk's loot.

It's a tough gig being a goalie in the NHL — one day you're worth $3-million plus in free agency, a few years later, you're off to the KHL without any similar offers to play in the best league in the world. (Tough being a relative term here.)

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2008-09 - Martin Gerber (TOR)	12	706	6	5	0	1	38	3.23	402	364	.905	0
2008-09 - Martin Gerber (OTT)	14	839	4	9	1	3	40	2.86	397	357	.899	1

Auld sent to Dallas for sixth-round pick

PeterR — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:15:33 -0000

More photos » by Michael Dwyer - AP

Alex Auld, seen here making a save against the Boston Bruins, was traded to the Dallas Stars for a sixth-round draft pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft.

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In the first what will likely be several minor moves surrounding the one major trade involving the Ottawa Senators, goaltender Alex Auld was traded to the Dallas Stars for a sixth-round draft choice (originally from San Jose) in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Auld had an up-and-down season for the Senators in 2008-09, although his numbers were more up than down. Expect restricted free agent goaltender Brian Elliott to be re-signed in the near future, paving the way for Elliott and newcomer Pascal Leclaire to compete for the starting position in nets.

Although Auld's winning percentage (0.372) was nowhere near that of Elliott (0.516) last season, both his goals-against average and save percentage were much better. He came in as the acknowledged backup to Martin Gerber, but quickly took over as the starter when Gerber faltered, giving the Senators their only strong goaltending of the first half of the season. Elliott eventually was recalled from Binghamton of the AHL, and gave Ottawa some very strong goaltending, until Auld once again took over as the starter and started five of six games in April, going 3-1-1 in that stretch.

(Read more...)

Alex Auld

Ottawa Senators

Height: 6-5

Weight: 221

Born: Jan 07, 1981

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2008 - Alex Auld	43	2449	16	18	7	7	101	2.47	1141	1040	.911	1

Auld didn't come into the season with lofty expectations, although many expected him to usurp Gerber quickly as the starting goaltender--and rather quickly, as happened. The expectation from Auld was that he would be a good contingency plan for short stretches, and he fulfilled that role to a tee. Considering his contract was about as close as one can get to no-risk in the NHL, at two years for $1M each, makes this signing an astute one at the hands of Bryan Murray. Although Auld will not likely be complimented by the fact that he was traded for a sixth-round draft pick, the decision was more one of numbers than a reflection of his play this past season.

Heading into Dallas, Auld won't have as strong an opportunity to take the reins as a starting goaltender because he'll be sitting behind Marty Turco. But Dallas fans, or at least Brandon Worley and the commenters over at Defending Big D, seem to be giving the move a thumbs up:

"Auld is a big, confident goaltender who has spent time as both a starter and a backup during stints with Vancouver, Florida, Phoenix, Boston and Ottawa. At the age of 28, he's appeared in 183 NHL games with a 2.76 GAA and .905 save percentage for his career. He's worked with both Andy Moog and Marc Crawford before and will be a good goaltender to push Marty Turco during the season. More importantly, he gives the Dallas Stars options for the future. Yesterday I wrote about how next season the goaltender position for the Stars is up in the air. Turco is scheduled to become a free agent and it's highly doubtful that the Stars goalie prospects would be near ready to make the jump the NHL next season."

It seemed unlikely the Senators were going to receive much in return for Auld, but this trade is still a positive one for the Senators. It clears up what was previously a traffic jam at the goaltending position, enables the signing of Elliott to possibly his first one-way NHL contract, and clears up (possibly) a bit of salary cap space.

What are your thoughts on the Auld trade, and on the big goaltender's short tenure in Ottawa?

Poll

What grade would you give Alex Auld for his short stint in Ottawa?

A

26 votes

B

152 votes

C

27 votes

D

3 votes

F

1 votes

209 votes | Poll has closed

With Jonas Gustavsson in Toronto, who's left for the Dallas Stars?

Brandon Worley — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:51:09 -0000

The short and long-term future of the Dallas Stars goaltender position is uncertain at best.

This is the exact position the Dallas Stars did not need to be in. Seven days after free agency began Jonas Gustavsson has finally made his choice and he's decided his future is best served in Toronto, at least for one year. I've had a feeling all along that was the decision he would make; after he's said several times he's always wanted to play for the Maple Leafs and it just seemed that Toronto was making the bigger push for him, both internally and publicly. I'm sure Dallas was a close behind and that's what made the choice to so tough. I'm sure part of the reason he took so long to decide was he was torn between going with his heart and going where he has a chance to develop with a successful franchise under one of the league's top goaltenders. Not to say Toronto is a bad decision, but Dallas was just as logical a choice as well.

While I don't fault Gustavsson in taking this much time to decide it's left the Stars in a very bad spot when it comes to not only the backup goalie, but the future of the goaltender position in Dallas.

Marty Turco is in the final year of his contract and last season was the worst of his career. He was overworked certainly and that played a bit part in his breaking down at the end of the year, but he also started the season in horrendous fashion. He was tentative, slow to react and just didn't seem like he was truly focused on playing the game. Mike Heika talked to Turco this weekend and it was encouraging to hear him admit he wasn't as prepared as he needed to be and focused on all the wrong things:

``I look at last season as a lot of things went wrong, a lot of things in addition to the goaltending, and I got caught up in that. I didn't handle my job well enough and that was a part of the problem. I realize that the best thing I can do for the team is be a good goalie, focus on my job, and that's what I'm going to do. Mooger and I had a good talk and we're on the same page.''

It's also interesting to hear how he and Andy Moog had some issues with each other, something that was pretty obvious when you look back at how things went.

``I just think we were both frustrated and both shut each other out a little,'' said Moog, who will return this season as goalie consultant under new coach Marc Crawford. ``So we had a really good, honest talk and I think cut through a lot of the problems.''

Turco knows that to be his best he needs a backup that can give him enough games off. Last season he played in 74 games, the most of his career, and you could see him wear down in late February and March. Yet Turco also had a stretch in December and January where he played as good as he's ever played and was rock solid day in and day out. His play during that time led the Stars in a charge up the standings and he was as good as any goalie in the league during those months. Unfortunately he couldn't sustain that pace and everything fell apart.

For him to be at his best Turco should play between 50 and 60 games a season, something he agrees with. That's why it was so important for the Stars to land a capable backup and why they were coveted Gustavsson as much as they did. Not only would Gustavsson be more than capaple of handling 20-25 games next season, but there was a chance he could earn his spot as the starter in 2010 if Turco departs via free agency. Now the Stars are back to the drawing board and are looking for not only a backup, but trying to decide who will be between the pipes for Dallas a year from now.

Turco will be 34 this fall and playing in a contract year. Turco has been a horse for this team and has consistently been one of the top ten goalies in the NHL. He's proven that last two seasons (06-07, 07-08) that he is able to be dominant in the playoffs. While the Stars won't be adverse to re-signing him next summer, the chances are good that Turco feels he is worth more than the team is willing to spend. Faced with the departure of a franchise goaltender, what direction can the team go?

Dallas put all of their eggs in the Jonas Gustavsson basket and watched several young and talented netminders get signed for affordable contracts around the league. Now the Stars are left with a number of aging veterans, several unproven young goaltenders and hardly any free agent prospects that could sign this season and step into the role of starter next year.

If Turco leaves next summer, chances are that Dallas signs a veteran to a one or two year contract and one of the team's young prospects becomes the backup with the hopes of becoming the starter sooner than later. The hope is that Richard Bachman and Matt Climie show enough improvement this year in the AHL to warrant this decision. The general thought is that Bachman is still two years away from making the jump to NHL, and Climie is very talented but still extremely raw.

In the short term Dallas will now sign one of the remaining free agents, most likely an experienced veteran. The Stars have kept their eye on Martin Gerber in case Gustavsson chose elsewhere but Martin Biron, Antero Niittymaki, Curtis Sanford and Kevin Weekes are all possibilities as well.

Dallas took a huge gamble in waiting for Jonas Gustavsson and it didn't work out. How they respond and plan this out will be both interesting and stressful and could have a major impact on the future of this franchise.

Follow the jump for the stats

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2008 - Martin Gerber	12	706	6	5	0	1	38	3.23	402	364	.905	0

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2008 - Kevin Weekes	16	795	7	5	0	1	32	2.42	399	367	.920	0

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2008 - Martin Biron	55	3177	29	19	5	2	146	2.76	1718	1572	.915	2

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2008 - Antero Niittymaki	32	1805	15	8	6	1	83	2.76	947	864	.912	1

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2008 - Curtis Sanford	19	973	7	8	0	2	42	2.59	448	406	.906	1

2009 NHL Free Agency / Teams by Cap Space / Unsigned UFA's and RFA's

Robert L — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:19:41 -0000

This is a listing of NHL teams by order of remaining cap space as of July 4. The Islanders top the list with approximately $23M left to spend. The Sharks have just under $2M remaining. The list is helpful in determining which team are closest to filling out their 2009-10 lineup. As one can see, there is much work to be done at both ends of the spectrum. The numbers figures are based on totals given by NHL Numbers.com.

1 - New York Islanders: $23.265 (18)

UFA: Andy Hilbert C 28, Dean McAmmond C 36, Mike Sillinger C 38, Thomas Pock D 27, Yann Danis G 28, Joey MacDonald G 29.

RFA: Nate Thompson C 24, Jeremy Colliton C 24, Jamie Fraser D 23, Jack Hillen D 23.

2 - Phoenix Coyotes: $21.972 (18)

UFA: Brian McGrattan R 27, Dmitri Kalinin D 29, Ken Klee D 38.

RFA: Nigel Dawes L 24, Joakim Lindstrom C 25, Enver Lisin R 23, Scottie Upshall R 25, Daniel Winnik C 24, Keith Yandle D 22.

3 - Atlanta Thrashers: $19.599 (15)

RFA: Eric Perrin C 33.

UFA: Kari Lehtonen G 25, Colby Armstrong R 26, Jim Slater C 26, Boris Valabik D 23.

4 - Nashville Predators: $17.913 (16)

UFA: Radek Bonk C 33, Scott Nichol C 34, Greg de Vries D 36.

RFA: Ryan Jones R 25, Antti Pihlstrom L 24,.

5 - New York Rangers: $16.436 (13)

UFA: Blair Betts C 29, Mark Bell L 28, Patrick Rissmiller C 30, Paul Mara D 29, Derek Morris D 30.

RFA: Christopher Higgins R 26, Ryan Callahan R 24, Brandon Dubinsky C 23, Lauri Korpikoski L 22, Nikolai Zherdev L 24, Corey Potter D 25.

6 - Anaheim Ducks: $14.295 (17)

UFA: Rob Niedermayer F 34, Todd Marchant C 33, Francois Beauchemin D 29, Bret Hedican D 38.

RFA: James Wisniewski D 25.

7 - Tampa Bay Lightning: $14.295 (17)

UFA: Matt Pettinger L 28, Wade Brookbank L 31, Jason Ward R 30, Marek Malik D 34, Josef Melichar D 30, Cory Murphy D 31, Noah Welch D 26.

RFA: Martins Karsums R 23, Radek Smolenak L 22, Matt Lashoff D 22, Matt Smaby D 24, Mike Lundin D 24, Karri Ramo G 22, Mike McKenna G 26.

8 - Columbus Blue Jackets: $13.313 (20)

UFA: Chris Gratton C 33, Manny Malhotra C 29, Michael Peca C 35, Jason Williams C 28, Christian Backman D 29.

RFA: Jiri Novotny C 25, Marc Methot D 24, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen D 25.

9 - Dallas Stars: $13.193 (19)

UFA: Sergei Zubov D 38, Brendan Morrison C 33, Joel Lundqvist C 27, Mark Parrish R 32, Landon Wilson R 34, Tobias Stephan G 25, Darryl Sydor D 37.

RFA: Mark Fistric D 23.

10 - St. Louis Blues: $12.295 (22)

UFA: Trent Whitfield C 32, Dan Hinote R 32, Jay McKee D 31, Manny Legace G 36.

RFA: Brandon Crombeen R 23, Chris Porter C 25, Steve Regier L 24, Roman Polak D 23, Jeff Woywitka D 25, Marek Schwarz G 23.

11 - New Jersey Devils: $12.129

UFA: Brendan Shanahan L 40, Kevin Weekes G 34, Niclas Havelid D NJ.

RFA: Travis Zajac C 24.

12 - Toronto Maple Leafs: $12.022 (20)

UFA: Brad May L 37, Bates Battaglia L 33, Andre Deveaux C 25, Boyd Devereaux C 31, Jeff Hamilton C 31, Kris Newbury C 27, Ben Ondrus R 27, Jay Harrison D 26, Jamie Heward D 38, Martin Gerber G 34, Olaf Kolzig G 39, Curtis Joseph G 42.

RFA: Jeremy Williams R 25, Justin Pogge G 23, Jaime Sifers D 26, Ryan Hollweg C 26.

13 - Chicago Blackhawks: $11.797

UFA: Aaron Johnson D 26.

RFA: Cam Barker D 23, Troy Brouwer R 23, Ben Eager L 25, Colin Fraser C 24, Kris Versteeg R 23.

14 - Colorado Avalanche: $11.654 (15)

UFA: Joe Sakic F 39, Ben Guite R 30, Brian Willsie R 31, Andrew Raycroft G 29.

RFA: Kyle Cumiskey D 22, David Jones R 24, Cody McCormick C 26.

15 - Montreal Canadiens: $10.454 (16)

UFA: Alexei Kovalev F 36, Saku Koivu C 34, Alex Tanguay L 29, Robert Lang C 38, Mathieu Schneider D 40, Tom Kostopoulos R 30, Mathieu Dandenault D 33, Patrice Brisebois D 38, Francis Bouillon D 33, Marc Denis G 31.

RFA: Tomas Plekanec C 26, Matt D'Agostini R 22, Guillaume Latendresse R 22, Kyle Chipchura C 23, Gregory Stewart L 23.

16 - Los Angeles Kings: $10.285 (21)

UFA: Derek Armstrong F 36, Denis Gauthier D 32, Kyle Calder L 30.

RFA: Jack Johnson D 22, Teddy Purcell R 23.

17 - Washington Capitals: $9.720 (15)

UFA: Viktor Kozlov C 34, Alexandre Giroux C 28, Bryan Helmer D 26, Brent Johnson G 32.

RFA: Jeff Schultz D 23, Shaone Morrisonn D 26, Milan Jurcina D 26, Eric Fehr R 23, Boyd Gordon R 25.

18 - Buffalo Sabres: $8.976 (16)

UFA: Matt Ellis L 24, Dominic Moore C 28, Andrew Peters L 29, Teppo Numminen D 40, Maxim Afinogeno F 29,

RFA: Andrej Sekera D 23, Drew Stafford R 23, Clarke MacArthur L 24, Patrick Kaleta R 23.

19 - Florida Panthers: $8.405 (18)

UFA: Ville Peltonen L 36, Richard Zednik L 33, Jassen Cullimore D 36, Nick Boynton D 30.

RFA: Anthony Stewart C 24, Steve Eminger D 25, Tanner Glass L 25.

20 - Carolina Hurricanes: $8.083 (18)

UFA: Ryan Bayda L 28, Dennis Seidenberg D 27.

RFA: Tuomo Ruutu C 26, Anton Babchuk D 25.

21 - Vancouver Canucks: $7.282 (18)

UFA: Mats Sundin C 38, Jason Krog C 33, Rob Davison D 29, Ossi Vaananen D 28, Curtis Sanford G 29, Michel Ouellet R 27.

RFA: Shane O' Brien D 25. Kyle Wellwood C 26, Jannik Hansen R 23.

22 - Minnesota Wild: $6.296 (20)

UFA: Stephane Veilleux L 27, Krys Kolanos C 27, Marc-Andre Bergeron D 28, Kurtis Foster D 27, Martin Skoula D 29.

RFA: Dan Fritsche C 23, Benoit Pouliot L 22, Kyle Brodziak C 25, Josh Harding G 25.

23 - Edmonton Oilers: $6.404 (20)

UFA: Ales Kotalik R 30, Dany Sabourin G 28.

RFA: Liam Reddox L 23, Gilbert Brule C 22, Ryan Potulny C 24, Rob Schremp C 22, Denis Grebeshkov D 25, Ladislav Smid D 23.

24 - Detroit Red Wings: $5.554 (16)

UFA: Darren McCarty R 37, Aaron Downey R 34, Chris Chelios D 47.

RFA: Jiri Hudler C 25, Ville Leino L 25.

25 - Boston Bruins: $5.340 (18)

UFA: Stephane Yelle F 35, P.J. Axelsson L 34, Manny Fernandez G 34.

RFA: Phil Kessel F 21, Matt Hunwick D 24.

26 - Ottawa Senators: $4.649 (22)

UFA: Mike Comrie C 28.

RFA: Brendan Bell D 26, Brian Elliott G 24.

27 - Pittsburgh Penguins: $3.137 (19)

UFA: Mike Zigomanis C 28, James Connor L 26, Miroslav Satan L 34, Petr Sykora R 32, Janne Pesonen L 27, Philippe Boucher D 36.

RFA: Paul Bissonnette R 24, Tim Wallace R 24, Ben Lovejoy D 25, John Curry G 25.

28 - Calgary Flames: $3.053 (19)

UFA: Todd Bertuzzi R 34, Andre Roy R 34, Rhett Warrener D 33.

RFA: Dustin Boyd C 22.

29 - Philadelphia Flyers: $2.125 (20)

UFA: Josh Gratton L 26, Boyd Kane L 31, Andrew Alberts D 28, Lasse Kukkonen D 27, Martin Biron G 31, Antero Niittymaki G 29.

RFA: Jared Ross C 26, Danny Syvret D 24.

30 - San Jose Sharks: $1.774 (16)

UFA: Claude Lemieux R 43, Jeremy Roenick C 39, Tom Cavanagh R 27, Alexei Semenov D 28, Mike Grier R 34, Marcel Goc C 25, Tomas Plihal L 26, Lukas Kaspar L 23.

RFA: Torrey Mitchell C 24, Thomas Greiss G 23, Brad Staubitz R 24.

2009 NHL Free Agency: What The Toronto Maple Leafs Might Do

PPP — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:45:08 -0000

More photos » by Jeff McIntosh - AP

Mike Cammalleri turns his back on the Flames for the last time. Will he walk all of the way to Toronto?

Browse more photos »

Someday I'll have to shake the hand of the guy that decided that it made sense to schedule the draft three days before the start of free agency. It's not like this day is so important that it's a national holiday in Canada. As a conversation starter because I still have a tonne of draft stuff to come I have a short cheat sheet to help us with a starting point.

Pending UFAs: Martin Gerber, Brad May, Bates Battaglia, Andre Deveaux, Boyd Devereaux, Jeff Hamilton, Kris Newbury, Ben Ondrus, Jay Harrison, Erik Reitz, Jamie Heward, Curtis Joseph, Olaf Kolzig, Jaime Sifers (Thanks Mirtle!)

Calling this a list of notable free agents would have been insulting to players like Eric Christensen. From that list I could see Boyd "SchennBlocker" Devereaux, Brad May, and one of Kris Newbury or Ben Ondrus getting re-signed. The first two would be great veteran influences on the younger players and the latter two could fill up roster space while kids learn on the farm.

Pending RFAs: Mikhail Grabovski, ~~Jaime Sifers~~ ~~(NHL Numbers has him as an RFA and Hockey Buzz as a UFA. I am looking into this)~~, Phil Oreskovic, Tim Stapleton, Jeremy Williams, Ryan Hollweg

Justin Poggegot qualified today so he's not on this list. I am actually pretty surprised that guys like Sifers and Oreskovic have not been qualified. Hollweg is gone and we'll never know what that fifth rounder could have brought. Other than knowing it wasn't going to be a European. Williams seems to not be a Wilson favourite, he's not good enough to play on the top two lines when the team is good again and he's past the stage where he should have established himself. We'll always have the 82 goals/season projections!

Based on my inability to find any news thus far I don't think any of the other guys have been qualified. Grabovski is likely going to arbitration which I think will mark the end of his time in Toronto. I get the sense that Burke will move him if he goes that route.

Salary cap space (courtesy NHL Numbers): $13-million

Now, if you look at NHL Numbers the Leafs have some ridiculous cap relief coming online after next season. They only have $18M committed. On the flip side, they only have five guys signed but one of them is Luke Schenn so I think that means that only need to sign a goalie. Either way, there are a couple of ways that Burke can approach this free agency period.

Scenario One

He can fill out the roster with the myriad of RFAs that are getting axed left and right or the lower end of the free agency pool. Burke would then keep any of the kids that cannot play in their proper role on the team with the Marlies. This would be akin to the Red Wings' policy of developing kids in Grand Rapids but with our NHL team stocked with scrubs and waiver-tied prospects instead of Hall of Famers. This one is tough because the idea would be to have UFAs on one year deals so that the cap space is still available next year.

Scenario Two

This is the one Burke has said that he wants to pursue but he also wanted to trade for more first rounders at the deadline and for Tavares and Schenn at the draft. So far he's 0-for-2 (and I'll have a post about why that's not entirely his fault) so even then there's no guarantee that this will work. This strategy can work long-term if he makes the right decisions. Mike Komisarek at $4m-$5M is a bad move. The Sedins at $5.25M is a great move. We'll see how much he has to overpay to get players to come to Toronto.

Projected budget: $56.8-million less $1. Whether he spends to it will be a function of the UFAs' receptiveness to his deal.

Key needs: Everything is the short answer. The longer one is that the Leafs' most pressing need is their goaltending situation. James Reimer and Justin Pogge will hold down the fort with the Marlies but Vesa Toskala is coming off of three major surgeries. If Burke really thinks that this team can make the playoffs he needs a competent backup.

In terms of defence, the Leafs have two years of Kaberle, one of Kubina and Van Ryn, and then 20 of Luke Schenn. After that, they'll need to look at how to replace Kubina and Kaberle. If they can do it this summer then they can cash in those assets. If all of the king's men and all of the king's horses put Van Ryn together again properly over the weekend even he might get something for the Leafs. Or he could be part of the team going forward. Burke, however, is really loathe to let Kaberle go. I am hoping that by the deadline Burke gets his doors blown off by a deal.

Looking at the forwards, there is obviously a dearth of skill forwards that are NHL-calibre. There are guys that have the potential to fill that role at some point but no one is a sure bet. I hear that there are a couple of interesting ginger twins available...

Potential targets: It might be easier to list who isn't a target. Take one part cap space, add a dollop (actually, more like a cup) of Burkian hubris, a pound of media speculation, mix well, and you get every big-ticket player being linked to the Leafs. Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin are getting their retirement plan from the Leafs. Francois Beauchemin, Travis Meon, and Samuel Pahlssonare being re-united with their former GM. Jonas Gustavsson is coming over to be the next Henrink Lundqvist while Mike Cammalleri is going to live up to the expectations that come with a 40% raise. I look forward to watching him score 60 goals a year for five years.

As I noted above, there are two scenarios and it sure looks like Burke is going through door number two. I think that the Sedins are going to be his main target. I've heard The Monster is ready to be unveiled July 1 and I would imagine that Burke looks at Beauchemin. The rumours of Komisarek and Chris Neil sicken me so I will pretend that I've never heard of them.

What our rivals want:

Colorado Avalanche: A real starting goalie and defence that can keep the puck out of the net. Also, a new medical staff to keep their players in one piece.
LA Kings: A sniper to play with their young forwards and a defensive defenceman.
Atlanta Thrashers: Defence and goaltending. The only year they made the playoffs was the one year that they weren't in the bottom 4 or 5 of the league in goals against.
NY Islanders: I'll tell you what they don't need: a franchise scorer (sigh). Other than that, they could use a goalie on a 15 year contract that actually plays hockey, and defencemen.
Phoenix Coyotes: A new owner. Zing! Actually, as Godd Till noted in a private e-mail, they need to get a new coach in order to escape from the mad clutches of the Friends of Gretzky. Did you know that the best man from his wedding, Eddie Mio, is the Director of Player Development and his brother Keith is the Head Scout. Failing that they could use some veteran leadership since the average age of that team is about 12.

SBN has once again put together a massive hub to coordinate the writing from 30ish blogs. You can find it by clicking on this button.

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