Atlanta Thrashers correspondent Laura Astorian looks at the recent Fredik Modin signing, which will possibly have more repercussions that intended.

The Thrashers recently signed free agent left winger Fredrik Modin to a one year, $800,000 contract.  Bargain basement prices – right around Maxim Afinogenov’s deal last year, as a matter of fact.  Like Max, Modin is a former 30 goal scorer.  Also like Max, he is known for being injury prone and a liability.

Apparently General Manager Rick Dudley is flashing back to the Modin he worked with in Tampa Bay, because he’s hoping the winger can replace Afinogenov’s 24 goals and 61 points.  Dudley was pegged as saying that he wanted to get a top scorer to replace the goals lost with the departure of Afinogenov and Kovalchuk – and he was also quoted as saying the kids will play this year.  The Modin signing makes both increasingly unlikely.  Modin is not a top tier scorer.  No word leaked regarding the Thrashers looking at signing a player of Lee Stempniak or Alex Ponikarovsky, but a player of that mold – as streaky as they are – would have been a better fix than someone who last scored 30 goals four years ago.

Bringing in Modin also will more than likely take playing time away from one of the up and comers – either Alex Burmistrov up at forward or Artus Kulda at defense.  Burmistrov, who had an encouraging prospect camp and who is said to be bulking up for the rookie camp that starts on September 13th, has been expected to make a run for a roster position.  Kulda played several games last season and looked ready to go as well – but if Modin fills in at forward it will more than likely bump Dustin Byfuglien back to defense – which will leave the position of 7th defenseman to be between Kulda and Boris Valabik.

It looks like more spaces than usual will be up for grabs at camp this year.

Laura Astorian
NHLHS Atlanta Thrashers Correspondent
lastorian@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @hildymac

To the average hockey fan, the 2010 off-season has been one of confusion, discomfort and overall disgust. Many teams attempted to make their clubs better but failed.

For some teams failing is putting it a bit overboard as if you look around the league there are still a few clubs in transition – rebuilding from within.

One team that does not fall into this mess are the Southeast Divison Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Bolts, one of the biggest winners this off-season, started at the top – the NHL level – and continued through the ranks.  Player movement, organizational brass changes and a positive vibe from the new look team has helped create quite the stir from sunny Florida.

It started with Steve Yzerman getting the call to be the clubs new general manager.  From there, Yzerman brought in a new head coach, a few new faces and has helped build an excitement among the fanbase as well as the roster for the Bolts.

Guy Boucher, the one time AHL head coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs was brought in due to his style to create a more aggressive play from the team.

The first order of business after appointing a new head coach was securing a one-two punch, if you will, between the pipes in the sunshine state. Yzerman, even with the man on radar to man the posts having his rights owned by another team until July 1st, had his target.

Dan Ellis was brought in to compete along with Mike Smith for the starting goaltender position after it was known that Antero Niittymaki would no longer be a part of the plan. If Ellis plays anything this season like Craig Anderson performed for Colorado last season, the Bolts are in a very solid position in net.

If all else fails, down the line, the trade that sent Kari Ramo to the Canadiens for Cedric Desjardens will prove to be one of Yzerman’s smartest moves as this team moves forward.  But for now, we will not talk about that what if’s and the potential of the youngsters. Just note that this was a very solid move for the organization.

From there we witnessed the signing of Pavel Kubina, the sending off of both Andrej Meszaros and Matt Walker and the acquisition of Simon Gagne.

Two big names to jump on board with an already solid cast of players in Tampa.

Gagne brings a veteran presence who plays an aggressive two way style. He has proven to be a 30 goal scorer when healthy on a constant basis.

Kubina comes back “home” and will provide an upgrade over both players from the blue line that Tampa shipped out.  Not only will Kubina help patrol the blue line and chip in offensively, but he will be ideal in further development of young, promising d-man Victor Hedman.

Brett Clark, another solid defensive signing by the organization, adds yet another veteran presence to the defensive group in Tampa. Something they have lacked for a few years now – solid players, not just depth players.

Dominic Moore, signed as a free agent out of Montreal, will provide solid two way play as either the third or fourth line center for the club. He has been a solid player throughout most of his career, chipping in the occasional goal offensively while being a presence in both the faceoff circle and in his own end of the ice.

To think all of these are simple additions to an already star studded lineup with Steven Stamkos, Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Ryan Malone as well as other rising stars for the club.

Other minor signings to help out on the depth chart have taken place through the course of the summer as well as the Bolts inked Mike Vernace, Mathieu Roy, Sean Bergenheim, Vladimir Mihalik, Chris Durno, Marc-Antoine Pouliot and just yesterday they also added Randy Jones who spent last season with the Los Angeles Kings.

The Lightning have come to terms with all their restricted free agents that they kept in their plans and the season is ready to begin from a roster standpoint.

Will Yzermans new product help create fireworks from one of the most proactive divisions in all of the NHL in 2010-11?  Only time will tell but this writer feels that the improvements made by the club will absolutely help they compete for a playoff spot as April comes rolling around in the 2011 calendar year.

Anthony Curatolo
NHLHS writer
acuratolo@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @HockeyGuy_AC

The Thrashers have almost completed their locking in of their RFAs with the signing of winger Bryan Little to a three year contract extension.  CapGeek.com lists the extension, which runs through the conclusion of the 2010-2013 season.  Little, who drew a $850,000 salary in his first three seasons in the NHL, will be on the books for a $2,383,333 annual cap hit.  His salary begins at a modest $1,650,000 for this season, with a raise to $2,500,000 for next year, and $3,000,000 the final year.  The perk of this contract is that it allows Little to continue to rebound from his down season last year while giving the Thrashers plenty of time to evaluate his performance to see if he’s worth re-signing as a RFA yet again.  The Thrashers will retain exclusive negotiation rights with Little upon the end of the contract, so the team won’t have to worry about the pressures of re-signing an UFA.

It would not be surprising to see Little on the top line next season with Antropov and Bergfors.  Little still has speed and hands – his issue last season was playing on lines with players who were also non productive.  He should get closer to his 31 goal season of two years ago than his 13 goal season from last year.

With news emerging yesterday that the agent for forward Scott Walker has been in contact with the Canes’ front office, and Jim Rutherford summarily dismissing the likelihood of Walker re-signing with the team, it’s time for anyone who wants to see a youth movement take hold in west Raleigh to thank their lucky stars that Peter Karmanos is interested in selling a share of the team.

And yes, those two seemingly unrelated issues are actually connected in a fundamental way.

Twice in the past ten years, circumstances beyond Rutherford’s control have forced him to make decisions that he otherwise would have been hesitant to make.  The first time was in 2004, when the lockout wiped out the season and, as a result, a decent-sized group of players who otherwise would have been in Raleigh (Eric Staal chief among them, as well as Cam Ward, Chad LaRose, and probably Mike Zigomanis) instead spent a year in the American Hockey League sharpening their skills.

In a classic case of good things emerging from a bad situation, all of those players came back up to the NHL the following year, and were all instrumental in one way or another in delivering a Stanley Cup to the Hurricanes.  Zigomanis was traded in the Doug Weight deal, so while he was an indirect part of the puzzle he was nonetheless a necessary component of the championship team.

To prolong the success of that 2006 championship team, Rutherford loaded up on veteran players in the ’06-07 season.

And again in ’07-08.

And again, with some success, in ’08-09.

And again in ’09-10.

The roster reads like a who’s who of cautionary tales against signing veteran players to low-dollar contracts: Trevor Letowski, John Grahame, David Tanabe, Jeff Hamilton, Josef Melichar, Stephane Yelle.  Every one of those players took a roster spot from a younger player who, especially in ’07-08, could have benefitted from a slot on an NHL roster.

Finally, Rutherford’s hand was forced this offseason.  With Karmanos interested in selling a portion of the team, the Canes’ self-imposed salary cap is significantly lower than it has been in the recent past.  Unlike the past two seasons, where the Canes spent in the low- to mid-$50 million range on payroll, this year the Canes will be in the mid-$40s.  And on top of that, Cam Ward’s new contract extension kicks in this season, so the Canes will have $21 million – nearly half of their current $42.5 million payroll – tied up in four players: Staal, Ward, Tuomo Ruutu and Joni Pitkanen.

So with only $20 million or so left to fill out the rest of the roster, and with the Canes requiring flexibility to keep payroll as low as possible, the youth movement has begun in earnest.  Look no further than the battle for the centers of the bottom two lines.  Instead of names like Yelle and Hamilton being batted around, you’re hearing the likes of Zac Dalpe, Riley Nash and Jiri Tlusty being mentioned.  And with Erik Cole and Sergei Samsonov both unrestricted free agents after this season, that’s two more slots that will open up for a Zach Boychuk or a Drayson Bowman to grab after spending this season on the Charlotte-to-Raleigh shuttle.

Last time Rutherford’s hand was forced and he had to get out of his comfort zone, it resulted in a championship season.  The same thing has happened this year, and we can only hope that it leads to good things down the road yet again.

It might be one of the rare times that a fanbase actually looks forward to a reduced payroll and ownership uncertainty.  Who knew?

Brian LeBlanc
NHLHS Hurricanes Writer
bleblanc@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @puckdrops

While the core of the Canucks roster remains intact, there have been some significant changes to the lineup this summer.

GM Mike Gillis didn’t waste anytime making changes to a Vancouver team that has bowed out in the 2^nd round of the playoffs 2 yeas in a row. His first move was to send the Canucks 2^nd round pick, Steve Bernier, and Michael Grabner to the Florida Panthers for Keith Ballard and Victor Oreskivich. Injuries to key defensemen in the playoffs were a big reason the Canucks were unable to get themselves out of the 2^nd round. Getting Ballard, an experienced defenseman with a bit of an edge, was a great first step. Bernier never really blossomed in Vancouver and it was probably time for a change of scenery.

His next big move on defense was to sign Dan Hamhuis, one of the most sought after free agent defenseman available. Hamhuis wanted to play in Vancouver and left money on the table to come home to BC. Even though Hamhuis played behind the big guns in Nashville, Shea Weber and Ryan Suter, he faced the oppositions top lines night in and night out and is a solid d-man.

Signing Shane O’Brien, who’s created his share of trouble in Vancouver, was the final move and gave the Canucks 9 NHL defensemen. A few days later word came out of Finland that Sami Salo had torn his Achilles tendon and would be out until December or so. While Salo being injured is nothing new to Canucks fans, it’s usually during the season. Salo’s injury will actually bring some temporary cap relief and while he won’t be in game shape immediately, he should be ready to go for the second half of the season and playoffs.

Kevin Bieksa has been a top name in the trade rumor mill all summer long (the latest to bring Tomas Fleischmann to Vancouver in a deal with the Washington Capitals), especially once the Canucks landed Ballard and Hamhuis, but the team could also choose to hold onto him until they find out how Salo’s rehab goes. There has also been discussion amongst Canucks fans on Twitter about the possibility of playing Bieksa at a forward position to bring more grit.

The defense will be anchored by Hamhuis, Ballard, Christian Erhoff, and Alexander Edler, but the other 2 spots are up for grabs (until Salo returns) between Bieksa, O’Brien, Andrew Alberts, and Aaron Rome. This should make for some interesting lineup decisions and hopefully it will lead to some great competition for the final spots. The defense is looking the best it has since we’ve been following the Canucks (2001-02) and should be one of the best in the West (if not the entire league) if they can stay healthy.

The core of the forward unit remains intact from last season. Led by reigning NHL MVP Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin, Alexandre Burrows (who will start the season on IR), Ryan Kesler, Mason Raymond, and Mikael Samuelsson the Canucks top 6 forwards look to be in great shape. Jannik Hansen, Tanner Glass, Rick Rypien, and Darcy Hordichuk return to compete for time on the 3^rd and 4^th lines.

Gillis didn’t just make moves in the defense department.  Gone from last season are Kyle Wellwood, Ryan Johnson, Bernier, and Grabner.  In what we believe to be a great move on Gillis’ part the Canucks signed free agent center Manny Malhotra on July 1^st to a 3-year deal.

Malhotra, is a significant upgrade from Wellwood. He brings more size, speed, and skill in the face-off circle to the bottom half of the Canucks lineup. He’s also been around the league for awhile and would be a great mentor to Cody Hodgson, who should have a good chance of cracking the lineup this season.

Of course, other players such as Sergei Shirokov, Jordan Schroeder, Mario Bliznak, Alexandre Bolduc, Oreskovich, and Joel Perrault all have an outside shot at making the team out of camp as well, but they must have an excellent camp. Considering Burrows will miss the beginning of the season, one or more of these players may get a chance to show what they can do.

Cory Schneider will start the season as the backup to Robert Luongo. Schneider replaces Andrew Raycroft, who did a great job backing up Lunogo last season and signed with the Dallas Stars as a free agent. Much of the speculation is Schneider will get a chance to play 20 games or so to be showcased for a possible trade down the road. Until Luongo’s contract is on solid ground (the NHL is still looking into a handful of front loaded deals) it would be wise to hang onto the young netminder and give him a chance to play and learn in his first full NHL season.

It will also be interesting to see how Luongo rebounds from last seasons disappointing playoff loss. Hopefully with a full-time goalie coach (the Canucks hired Roland Melanson to replace Ian Clark who was only with the team on a part-time basis), no Olympics to focus on, a much deeper defensive corps, and an attacking offense, he’ll be able to shine like never before and help bring the Stanley Cup to Vancouver.

So, who do you think has the best chance of cracking the lineup out of camp for the Canucks?

I-5 Canucks – Will & Valerie Wittstruck
NHLHS Vancouver Canucks Correspondents
I-5Canucks@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @Hipcheck44 and @WCE71944

Related “Canucks season preview” posts:

• Line combinations

According to reports, Eric Belanger will be back in red for one more season.

Belanger brings with him the 2009-2010 9^th best face-off win percentage in the NHL. As any hockey fan knows, face-off wins can determine the outcome of a game. Returning Belanger to the line-up certainly does not hurt the Capitals, and I am glad to see him returning.

It’s not just about the face-off percentage. Belanger is another experienced player in the locker room which could prove beneficial with the expected influx of Hershey Bears into the lineup. His Stanley Cup playoff experience is also something  I welcome back into the  lineup.  To me, having some grounding forces, such as Knuble and Belanger, will prove invaluable this season. Playing two younger goalies, and bringing some Bears forward will be met with some grounded, experienced players creating a balanced team both on the ice and in the locker room.

Besides all of his credentials, he’s ingrained in the minds of the Caps fans after  taking  a stick to the face and losing eight teeth. I’m a huge fan of grit and he sure did show it to the cameras that night as he pulled a tooth out while sitting on the bench.  Do any of you think that will rub off on the younger players? It doesn’t matter if it does or it doesn’t. Such displays rally teams. How could you not fight just a little bit harder after watching your team mate do that?

So welcome back to the Capitals, Eric Belanger……

Jodie Smola
NHLHS Washington Capitals Correspondent
jsmola@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @phillysunshine

The Thrashers pulled of something yesterday that most people thought impossible - they traded Todd White.

A buyout was not an option, because White was on the IR at the end of the season with a separated shoulder (he would undergo surgery in the off-season). If a player is injured, his contract cannot be bought out without his consent. White was not going to fit into the new Rick Dudley model of the Thrashers, and so something had to be done with him, but what? Send him to the AHL and risk losing him for free – and pay him more than $2.5 million to play there if he did clear waivers? That clearly wasn’t an option, so with that and a buyout off the table, people assumed he would just be the team’s 13th forward.  The Thrashers couldn’t find a place for him, and Thrashers fans didn’t want him – who else would?

The man who signed Derek Boogaard to a four year, $6,500,000 contract, of course.  Glen Sather and former Minnesota Wild GM (and current Rangers assistant general manager) Jim Schoenfeld must have glanced quickly at White’s stat sheet and misread his 2008-2009 numbers (22-51-73) for last season’s (7-19-26).  Poking fun at White’s stats aside, he is a good face-off guy and should be able to anchor the Rangers 3rd or 4th lines if necessary – which is what he would be doing in Atlanta had Dudley possibly not decided that he would rather see prospect Patrice Cormier in that role.  Cormier fits the team’s new rock’em, sock’em M.O. significantly better than White.

The Rangers got a chance to dump a little salary in sending Donald Brashear and Patrick Rissmiller.  Rissmiller played a role part on the Sharks for two seasons before being traded to the Rangers and getting himself buried in the AHL.  He will be, presumably, a replacement for a prospect who makes the Thrashers out of camp – this could be seen as a sign that Cormier will be given every shot of working his way up.  Brashear was promptly placed on waivers, and as Ben Wright of the Blueland Blog explained:

He has one year left on his contract which will be bought out immediately (assuming he clears the requisite waivers). That means he’ll have a cap hit of roughly $467,000 for the next two seasons as the Thrashers pay him two thirds of his remaining contract ($1.4 million according to Capgeek.com) over twice the length of the remaining term on his deal).

The Thrashers freed up room, and the Rangers got a decent-ish centerman for a year. Both clubs seem content though not excited, which sums up Todd White’s career fairly perfectly.

Laura Astorian
NHLHS Atlanta Thrashers Correspondent
lastorian@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @hildymac

The Southeast had only one team qualify for the play-offs in 2010.  Strange, because the division owns two Stanley Cups with the Lighting in 2004 and the Hurricanes in 2006.

This season the division had the Washington Capitals win the President’s Trophy, and then the other four teams finish 10th  or lower in the Eastern conference.

The division boasts some superstar players in Alex Ovechkin, Eric Stall, Martin St Louis, and Nicklas Backstrom – to name a few – and up and coming stars like Evander Kane, Steven Stamkos and Semyon Varlamov.  Good times may be ahead as some of the other teams in the East start coming back to the pack, and some of the younger players will get a chance to show there stuff.  This coming season the Southeast should get 2 teams in the post season.

Atlanta Thrashers -Total picks: 9; Highest round: 1st (8th overall); Breakdown: 1G, 4D, 2C, 1RW, 1LW.

New Thrashers General Manager Rick Dudley arrived at Staples Center after just completing a trade for play-off hero Dustin Byfuglien from the Chicago Blackhawks, and also moving the extra first-round pick acquired in the Kovalchuk deal in that same trade.  The Thrashers are in total rebuild mode.  They used the 8th overall selection on Russian center Alexander Burmistrov who is a gifted scorer and played in North America this season.  He is very creative, and is a gifted skater.  He even plays well in his own zone.  Alexander will not be big enough to be a top-line center, but one of the best #2’s in the league. With the selection of Julian Melchiori, the Thrashers are getting the best skater in the entire draft.  He will head to the University of Massachusetts-Lowell this fall, and will need to improve play in his own zone and put on much needed weight to play on the blue line in the NHL.  My sleeper pick for the Thrashers is Kendall McFaul, a big blue liner from Moose Jaw in the WHL.  He will not burn up the scoring sheet, but is the type of 3rd pairing, shut-down player all NHL teams need.  GRADE B

Carolina Hurricanes -Total picks: 8; Highest round: 1st (7th overall); Breakdown: 1G, 5D, 1C, 1LW.

The Hurricanes are coming off a season where even the peanut guy and the locker room attendant somehow got hurt. (Not really, but it gives you perspective.)  The second half of the season the team played very well as players were getting healthy, but the Canes had already dug a hole to great to climb out of.  Several deadline moves were made, and the team dumped a lot of salary and some Soon to be UFA’s.  The team looked at the 2010 draft to restock a pretty bare system with some much needed younger talent.   The Canes first pick, Jeff Skinner, will never live down the fact he was a figure skater, but he is a very talented hockey player and was second in the OHL with 50 goals.  He will line up in the NHL as a winger due to lack of playmaking skills, and Carolina will take their time in his development.  The selection of Justin Faulk started a run of 5 blue liners this season.  Carolina rarely takes defensemen in the first round.  Bringing Faulk on board will give the Canes a solid 2nd pairing, two-way player who will eat up minutes.  Faulk will play this fall at the University of Minnesota.  The Hurricanes will wait at least 3 years before they sign him.  Keep an eye on Taylor Hall’s teammate Justin Shugg; the only other forward the Canes drafted this year.  He put up 39 goals, and has that natural goal scoring ability that can not be taught.  GRADE C

Florida Panthers – Total picks: 13; highest round: 1st (3rd overall); Breakdown: 1G, 4D, 4C, 2RW, 2LW.

Dale Tallon built the Chicago Blackhawks from nothing to Stanley Cup Winners, but due to a paperwork mistake that cost him his job, he was unable to see it all the way to the end.  Now in Florida, Tallon put a for sale sign on his roster and was able to acquire a second 1st round pick by sending Nathan Horton to the Boston Bruins.  The Panthers are in full rebuild mode, so trades were all over the place.  The Panthers made an amazing 13 picks in the 2010 NHL Draft.  Erik Gudbranson played second fiddle all season to Cam Fowler as the #1 rated blue liner.  At draft time, Erik was the first blue liner taken.  Gudbranson will bring a simple, steady game to work every night.  He really has no super skills; he just does everything well.  He is large, and will someday be Florida’s captain.  Minnesota’s Mr. Hockey this year, Nick Bjugstad, was the second pick in the first round.  He will take his time in development and will play at the University of Minnesota in the fall.  He is a skilled player who can play all 3 forward spots and has a knack for scoring.  Quinton Howden was The Panthers 3rd first round pick.  He was a plus 9 in the WJC with Canada and is a very fast skater.  He will be a solid two-way player in the NHL, but will need to bulk up.  Taken 33rd over all, John McFarland is a talented goal-scoring winger who can play a little center.  He needs to improve his play away from the puck, but that could be taught.  He could be the best forward of Florida’s crop this year. GRADE A

Tampa Bay Lighting – Total picks: 8; Highest round 1st (6th Overall); Breakdown: 5D, 2C, 1RW.

The Lighting is a team in transition.   Martin St. Louis and Vinny Lacavlerie are the old guard, and have several NHL trophies between them including a Stanley Cup Ring.  Steven Stamkos and Victor Hedman are the new guard, and should win many NHL awards.  The rest of the roster is the problem.  The team has had 3 owners in 5 years and now, a new coach, a rookie gm, and a new attitude.  There is talent on the roster.  For example, they just added Simon Gange.  The franchise problem has been goaltending. It has been a revolving door since Khabibulin left via free agency.  The Lighting has a new direction under Steve Yserman.  This year will mark his first draft as an N.H.L. G.M.  His first decision; draft Brett Connolly.  Brett was just as stunned as everyone in the arena that he went 6th overall.  The big winger has been hampered by injuries in both his seasons with Prince George.  There is no denying his talent as a pure goal scorer.  He will bring his nasty play to Tampa in 2 seasons, bad hip and all.  He will need to prove that he is healthy and can handle a grind of a NHL season, and will need to improve his play in his own end.  One GM told me this pick is “either a home run or a strike out.  There is no middle ground”.  Time will tell.  Brock Beukeboom has a name that some hockey fans might remember.  His dad, Jeff, was a NHL player.  Even though Brock did not get dad’s size, he is gifted with better skating and offense, and has a better shot then his father ever did.  A player to watch is 3rd round pick Radko Gudas, a very talented blue liner from Everett.  He led the Silvertips in blue line scoring and penalty minutes, and is a rock solid hitter.  One NHL scout told me if he was 6’2 he would be a top 15 pick, but fell to the 3rd round because of his height of 5’11.  GRADE C

Washington Capitals – Total picks: 5; Highest round: 1st (26th overall); Breakdown: 1G, 1D, 2C, 1RW.

The Capitals are coming off a season where they finished with the NHL’s best record, but flamed out in the first round of the play-offs.  The draft was very important to the club earlier in the decade. With that in mind, the Capitals have developed a very deep farm system, and could take a risk or two this season.  Evgeny Kuznetsov was the 4th leading scorer at the WJC.  He can play all 3 forward spots and has great hands.  He is not the biggest guy, but you can’t teach natural goal scoring.   He is under contract to the KHL for 2 more years, and the Caps are in no hurry to bring him the North America.  Keeping with the Russian theme, Washington took Stanislav Galiev with there 3rd round pick.  He played last season with Saint John, and put up 60 points as a rookie in the league.  He will need to get stronger to play in the NHL, but is great with his stick and will be a solid second line winger.  The Capitals took goaltender Phillip Grubauer from Germany.  He was Germany’s best player at the WJC 1st division, and has won a Memorial Cup as a starter.  GRADE B

Mike Murangi
NHLHS Los Angeles Kings Correspondent
mmurangi@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @Draft_Mike

The New York Rangers have announced they have acquired center Todd White, 35 from the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for LW Donald Brashear and LW Patrick Rissmiller.

White has 1 year remaining on his deal for 2.375 million and Brashear had 1 year remaining at 1.4 million, but due to his +35 contract he would’ve counted towards the Rangers cap regardless of where he played. White is coming off an injury plagued season where he only put up 9 goals and 17 assists for 26 points in 65 games.

At first glance this is a great trade for the Rangers as it freed up Brashear’s hit, so if the Rangers decide to waive White and bury him in the minors the Rangers will free up 2.375 mil in cap space. However, I believe this is a prelude to a bigger trade in the near future as well as the re-signing of RFA defenseman Marc Staal as well as the signing of another veteran defenseman.

More as it happens!

Is it just me or did the southeast division get a little tougher? I do believe they did. I get to see the southeast division a lot here in Washington and as I noted earlier in the year, the Capitals were pretty dominant last season but I’d say change is blowing  in the wind.

While the Tampa Bay Lightning have had Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier, you have to admit that the arrival of Steven Stamkos and the evolution of Steve Downie added some extra flare to their goalscoring. But this upcoming season they get a seasoned veteran who knows how to deposit 30 goals a year into the back of the net. Hello, Simon Gagne.  If that doesn’t prove to you that TBL is emerging as stronger, I get it. Gagne has one year left on his contract and you are thinking disposable. Don’t dismiss them so fast.

Two words: Steve Yzerman. Those two words when strung together with the term GM means long-term emerging threat to me and I think it should to you too. Look for TBL to build and look for them to be a hard working team on a mission.

Still not convinced that the Southeast division got tougher? The Atlanta Thrashers. I don’t know that they’re going to be the second coming of Chicago (and I don’t believe that they will) but I believe they did an outstanding job bringing in some well needed goalscoring and presence.  Take a look at who they’ve acquired and tell me they didn’t improve. I dare you to.

What am I doing bringing all this up? After all these points don’t you think the Capitals now have a bit of a different focus going into the new season? I think they do. Something tells me they may have to work a little harder this year earning the division title. Now before anyone jumps down my throat I didn’t say they won’t. I’m merely saying it will be a little harder trying to get there this upcoming season.

Jodie Smola
NHLHS Washington Capitals Correspondent
jsmola@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @phillysunshine