Will Shane Doan Leave the Desert?

The title of this post is a straight forward question. Unfortuntly the answer to this question is not as straight forward. There are many factors which are contributing to Doan's decision. Will the Coyotes stay in Pheonix? Can the Coyotes win a Cup? Does he want to play in a bigger hockey market? Will the team have a legitimate owner? These are all questions he is pondering while trying to make his decision.

Doan is the biggest free agent left on the market. Right from July 1, he made it clear his decision would not come quickly. He originall said he'd wait till the 15th, then he said he'd wait till July 27th for the Coyotes to make up their mind. He's now starting to meet with other teams such as the Rangers, Canucks, Flyers and Predators. In total 16 teams are in on the "Doan sweepstakes".

One of the reasons he is still on the market is his asking price. Doan has said if he were to leave Phoenix he wants a 4 year deal worth $30 million. While he may be a top notch players, he's not likely to get a deal like that from many teams. First of all Doan is 35 and will be 36 by the start of the 2012-2013 season. In another 4 years Doan will be 40. Will he still be playing at age 40? Will he still be a dominate player? Will he be able to help his team? What team would give a 35 year old a 4 year deal worth $30 million? Doan would have a better chance getting a 2 year deal.

The Phoenix Coyotes have roughly $7.5 million in cap space left. Interesting how Doan has asked for 4 years at $30 million which works out to just over $7 million a year. Adding to the question, does Doan really want to leave the desert?

"I've made no bones about the fact that I want to go back to Phoenix if the situation works out" ~ Shane Doan

Doans first objective is to return to the Coyotes, the team he has spent his entire 16 year career with. He's been the captain for the last seven seasons and is the franchise player. If you ask someone to name a player from the Coyotes 9 time out of 10 its Shane Doan. Losing Doan would be a major setback for the Coyotes and would leave many a fan with a broken heart.

Doan averages around 20 goals and 50 points a season. But it's more than his ability to put points up on the board that makes him so valuable. He's a great leader both on and off the ice. Each and every night he comes to play, battle and stick up for his teammates. He has respect from around the league and won the Mark Messier Leadership award in 2012. He's the type of player you want on your team, if you can get him for the right price!

After the Coyotes made it to the Western Conference finals and came just a couple wins shy of a Stanley Cup Finals appearence, why would he want to leave? If winning a Stanley Cup is his main objective for leaving (and many believe it is) then why freely leave a team that got you within two wins of making it to the big show?

Back to the original question: Will Shane Doan leave the desert? I think it's highly unlikely. Despite him starting to meet and take other offers from teams his heart, his home and his family are all in Phoenix. If I was a betting man I'd place my money on him staying in the desert.

So why hasn't he signed on the dotted lines yet? Like every other hockey player Doan is human. Greed and self pride get in the way. He's been a part of the Coyotes franchise for a long time, he's been the captain and has lead the team. He's convinced himself he's worth all the money and attention. He's letting the Coyotes know, if a deal is to get done it will be done by his terms. While Doan wants to stay loyal to his team, he wants to squeze every last penny he can out of them. But I'd be ready to see him back in a Coyotes sweater next season.
Does he deserve it? You be the Judge..

What You Need to Know July 6th

What You Need to Know is a segment or series I like to do during the summer when news isn't trickling in at such a fast pace. To sum it up it's a post I make on Fridays (when there is enough news) about whats happened over the past week regarding the NHL. I'll talk about trades, contract extensions, CBA, new rules, basically if it has to do with hockey it will be in one of these posts. It's the best way to get you the news you want to know during the summer. Here we go!

Free Agent Signings

We'll kick today off with some more talk about free agents, see what other names you can cross off your wish list.

Matt Carle signs a 6 year deal with the Lightning

Can't remember if this was in my last update or not but it's worth mentioning again. Arguably one of the most sought after defenceman on the market (after Suter). Carle signed a 6 year deal worth $36 million with the Lightning. This is a good signing for the Lightning and may inch them closer to a deep playoff-run. 

Al Montoya signs 1 year deal with Winnipeg

Montoya is heading North to play with the Jets. After the Jets let Jonas Gustavsson walk they needed to find another goalie and that goalie in Montoya. The two sides agreed to a 1 year deal worth $601 thousand. 

Philippe Dupuis signs 1 year deal with Pittsburgh

The Leafs are losing one of their centres. Dupuis and the Penguins agreed to a 1 year deal worth $600 thousand.

Kevin Porter signs a 1 year deal with Buffalo 

The Sabres have signed another free agent who will have little impact on the team. Expect Porter to begin the season in Rochester and be used as a call up for when the injury bug bites. Porter agree to a 1 year 2-way deal with the Sabres.

Nick Foligno signs 3 year deal with Columbus

After the Senators traded their restricted free agent to the Blue Jackets, he decided he'll stick around to play some hockey. Foligno signs a 3 year deal worth $9.25 million.

The Dallas Stars have signed their 13th overall pick from the draft Radek Faksa

Faksa was signed to the standard 3 year entry level contract.

CBA Talk:

The NHLPA and the NHL (Gary Bettman) had their second meeting on Thursday, and the talks are "Business like". Both sides remain confident they can get a new CBA worked out before the season kicks off. 

New Coach:

The Red Wings have hired former Edmonton Oilers head coach Tom Renney as an associate coach of the Wings. Renney will join Mike Babcoock's staff for next season. In two seasons as the head coach of the Oilers Renney had a record of 57-85-22 and failed to make the playoffs. Although the Oilers success or lack there of was not a direct result of his coaching. They had a very young team that needs time to develop.

Cardiac Emergency:

Brett MacLean had a major scare as he had a cardiac emergency while playing a pick up hockey game in Owen Sound. He was taken by air ambulance to a hospital in London were he was admitted into cardiac ICU. The second round pick of the Coyotes from 2007 is improving as he is conscious and talking. The doctors are still running tests to see what caused him to collapse. 

Team USA U-18 Roster:

The roster for the next the United States at the next U-18 tournament was announced earlier this week. Of the 22 players on the roster 12 of them were apart of the team that led the US to a U17 championship. 17 of the players named to the team are or will be draft eligible for 2013. For a complete look at the roster click here. 

Suspension reduced:

The NHL has reduced Phoenix Coyotes forward Raffi Torres' suspension from 25 games to 21. NHL league disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan had originally handed out the 25 games but League owner Gary Bettman decided to reduce it. Torres will now miss only 8 games during the regular season but will be ineligible to play in pre-season games. Torres was suspended initially for a late hit delivered to the head of Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa. 

Thats all that went down this week in the NHL (apart from free agency) be sure to check back here every Friday to stay up to date with news over the summer. 

The Crosby and Parise bromance is over

News broke Wednesday afternoon the Zach Parise had agreed to a 13 year deal with the Minnesota Wild. In the process of signing a deal with the Wild Parise broke a verbal agreement he had with the Pittsburgh Penguins and his good friend Sidney Crosby. Turns out Crosby isn't taking the news so well.

Source: "Crosby is RAGING right now. Said he'll never talk to Parise again. Lied to him and to organization and broke promise." #Pens
— Hockeyy Insiderr (@HockeyyInsiderr) July 4, 2012

 Everything that @HockeyyInsider says needs to be taken with a grain of salt, a lot of it is false. While his tweet may have blown things out of proportion, there has to be some truth to this. It was reported that Crosby called Parise 3 times to try and convince him to join the Penguins. Crosby also excepted less money on his contract extension, so they Penguins would have enough money to get him a solid winger like Parise. Unfotunetly for Crosby a "verbal agreement" in this day and age means nothing. Unless there is signed paperwork nothing is written in stone.

Parise chose to return home to finish out his hockey career where it began in Minnesota. His father played for the Minnesota North Stars and Parise lives in Minnesota during the offseason. Parise chose to be close to home instead and instead of playing with long time friend Crosby, he chose to join forces with another friend and fellow free agent Ryan Suter. Suter and Parise signed identical contracts with the Wild worth $98 million over 13 years. Parise said it was important to him that his friend Suter was treated fairly and offered a solid amount of money.

You have to hand it to Parise. It was a risky decision to turn down an opportunity to play with long time friend and arguably one of the best players in the world and join a Stanley Cup contending team to go and play on a team that will have a difficult time just making the playoffs!

But here's what really rubs me the wrong way about the 13 year $98 million deals that Parise and Suter signed:

Let me see if I get this, Crosby is the best player on the planet and is worth $104M, Parise/Suter are top 25-30 and get $98M #MakeSense
— Ryan Moynes (@ryanmoynes) July 4, 2012

While I may be in the majority of people who think this way but Parise and Suter are no where even close to being worth that much money! In my ranking Parise is not inside the top 5 forwards, heck he's not even inside my top 20 and don't even get me started about Suter. Unfortuently for the Wild and Penguins and other teams that were in the running, this is a very weak free agency class there aren't many markee players. Which makes the prices for players go through the roof because they see teams are throwing money at them, they think they deserve it.

If NHL teams keep throwing absolutely ridiculous amounts of money at players who don't deserve that type of money the league is going to be bankrupt. In order to make up for the money the Wild spent they now have to raise ticket prices. Eventually when ticket prices get extremely expensive people stop buying them! Here's a quote from non other than the Minnesota owner Craig Leipold:

“We’re not making money and that’s one reason we need to fix our system. We need to fix how much we are spending.” – Craig Leipold April 11, 2012

Maybe if you didn't spend $196 million on two players, you could make some money! Talk about hypocrisy.

To make matters worse for the Penguins, who lost Crosby's current wing Steve Sullivan to free agency just before news broke they lost Parise as well. The Penguins weren't even one of the final two teams he was looking at. The two teams he was debating between were his current team the New Jersey Devils and Minnesota Wild. I guess the only thing Crosby can sell is tickets.

While Parise may not be getting any more calls from Crosby he will be heading home to play in his hometown, a homecoming of sorts. Guess winning wasn't all that important to him.
The way the media treated Parise and Suter joining forces you would think all the news was about Crosby and Ovechkin joining forces. Maybe one day?

P.S- I don't have anything against Crosby, Suter or Parise. This was more of a humours article poking a little fun at the players. What good is hockey if it's all serious even in the off season?

Free Agency Update July 4th

It is with great pleasure that I announce the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter drama is now behind us. On July 4th also known as independance day, the two stars signed away their independance to the Minnesota Wild. NHL Free Agency may officially begin as the two guys holding everything up are now off the market.

Zach Parise and Ryan Suter sign 13 year deals with Minnesota
Yes you read that correctly Parise and Suter the two biggest names on the market this free agency have decided to join together and play on the same team. The Wild and the two superstars have agreed on 13 year identical contracts worth $98 million. The contracts will keep them in Minnesota until the 2024-2025 season. Parise the former Devil got the most attention during the free agency fenzy, having been reported to have a verbal negotiation with the Red Wings and being harrassed by Sidney Crosby to come and join the Penguins. Suter flew under the radar and stayed quite right up until signing with the Wild. Both players are 27 and joining just their 2nd NHL team in their careers. Despite these two massive signing the Wild will still be in a dogfight for the 8th and final playoff seed in the West next season. (yes the West is that good)

We view this as a rare opportunity for us to transform our franchise by adding two marquee players, who are both in the prime of their careers, at the same time.”

Now that these two are off the market expect talks to heat up around other free agents who are looking to offer their services to the 29 other teams that lost out of the Parise and Suter sweepstakes. Only time will tell if this turns out to be a solid deal.

Jaromir Jagr signs 1 year deal with Dallas
The Russian star is heading to the Stars for next season. The Stars believe the 40 year old still has gas left in the tank and can help their team take the next step. The two sides agreed to a 1 year deal worth $4.55 million.

Steve Sullivan signs 1 year deal with Pheonix
The Coyotes went after the veteran forward to help improve their power play. The two sides agreed to a 1 year $1.85 million contract

Taylor Pyatt signs 2 year deal with the New York Rangers
Pyatt is a player I have always been a fan of, don't ask me why i've just always liked to watch him play.   He spent last season in the desert with the coyotes. The two sides agreed to a 2 year $3.1 million contract.

Bryan Allen signs 3 year deal with Anaheim
One of the top defenceman on the market agreed to a 3 year deal worth $10 million with the Ducks.
He will be joining veteran Sheldon Souray who signed a 3 year deal worth $11 million. 


Top names still available


Matt Carle- Played last season with the Flyers and is one of the top defenceman available after Suter. Carle was waiting till the end of the Suter/Parise sweepstakes to go to a team that missed out on them.
Alexander Semin- Still no word on where Semin will go, but much like Carle he wanted to wait until after the two big dogs were out of the way. 

Free Agency Update July 3rd

It's officially been 2 days since Free Agency began on July 1, we've seen a dozens of players sign new deals with new teams and even some return to their old teams. While we are still waiting on the big fish Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Once these two decide where they want to spend the rest of their career Free Agency will really kick into a frenzy as teams who lost the bid on the big two will be looking for second best.

 P-A Parenteau signs 4 year deal with Colorado
One of the top free agents this offseason Parenteau went off the market on the first day. Signing a 4 year $16 million contract with the Colorado Avalanche.

Jonas Gustavsson signs 2 year deal with Detroit
It's been a crazy week for Gustavsson. The Toronto Maple Leafs traded his rights to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for a 7th round draft pick. Gustavsson then decided he didn't want to stay in Winnipeg and was signed to a 2 year $3 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings. A fantastic opportunity for the young goaltender. He gets out of dodge with the media, gets the backup role on a solid team and will get to face against his former team in the Winter Classic.

Paul Gaustad signs 4 year extension with Nashville
This one pains me to right a little bit. Sabres fans were hoping that their beloved Gaustad would return to Buffalo after the season, unfortunately he's staying in Nashville. Gaustad signed a 4 year $13 million contract extension to stay with the Predators. Smart signing by the Preds who will be losing many players through free agency.

Justin Schultz signs 2 year deal with Edmonton
Finally the drama surrounding a kid who has never played an NHL game is over. Schultz made his decision and decided to head to the Oiler to "grow old" with their star young players. The Oilers have young skilled players, that are going to be extremely talented when they hit their prime. Look out for the Oilers in the future.

Colby Armstrong signs 1 year deal with Montreal
Much like Gustavsson the Leafs were hard on Armstrong this week. The Leafs decided Armstrong just wasn't going to work out in Toronto after two injury plagued seasons, that limited him to just 78 games.
The Leafs bought out the rest of Armstrong's contract and placed him on waivers to become a free agent. Armstrong didn't wait long signing a deal with the Canadiens for $1 million.

Ray Whitney signs 2 year deal with Dallas
The ageless wonder is at it again. At 40 years of age many teams were hesitant to give Whitney the extra year he wanted. So when the Stars agreed to give him 2 years worth $9 million he signed on the dotted line.

Brad Boyes signs 1 year deal with the New York Islanders
As a Sabres fan I am perfectly fine with Boyes leaving town. He had one good year and has not been productive or helpful for the Sabres in the last couple of years. It was time for him to go. Boyes signed a 1 year deal worth $1 million.

Zenon Konopka signs 2 year deal with Minnesota
Was interesting to see Konopka leave Ottawa. Konopka signs a 2 year $1.85 Million contract with the Wild.

Dustin Penner resigns with the Los Angeles Kings
After winning his 2nd Stanley Cup ring, Penner has decided he will stay a King for the next year.
Penner and the Kings agreed to terms on a 1 year $3.25 million contract. Smart move for both parties.

Matt Carkner signs 3 year deal with the New York Islanders
The Islanders made quite a few moves on July 1st, one of whihc was landing tough guy Matt Carkner. The Islanders and Carkner agreed to a 3 year $4.5 million contract.

Brandon Prust signs 4 year deal with Montreal
The Canadiens felt they were too weak and needed to add some character players. In addition to the signing of Armstrong, they signed tough guy Brandon Prust to a 4 year deal worth $10 million. Prust is a solid addition to the Canadiens, although he'll be missed in New York.

Filip Kuba signs 2 year deal with Florida
Ottawa had a rough time during the start of free agency as they lost a lot of their "role" players. Kuba is another player they lost. Kuba signed a contract with the Panthers and cashed in on a deal worth $8 million.

Olli Jokinen signs 2 year deal with Winnipeg
It had to be tough for the Flames to lose Jokinen. The Jets needed a centre so they found their man in Jokinen. The two sides agreed to a 2 year $9 million contract.

Joey Crabb signs 1 year deal with Washington
Crabb has left Toronto and as a result is getting a nice pay day. The Capitals signed the defenceman to a 1 year $950 thousand contract.

Jack Hillen signs a 1 year deal with Washington
Considering the fact I have never heard of Jack Hillen I wouldn't normally post his name here. But big news from me, I will be on a conference call with him later this afternoon!

Martin Brodeur signs 2 year extension with New Jersey 
Raise your hand if you thought Brodeur would leave the only team he's ever known. Now kindly lower  your hand and get your head examined. The reason he hired an agent and said he wanted to "Test free agency" is because he wasn't getting enough attention. There is another Devils player by the name of Parise who is tying up all the contract talks, Brodeur wanted to make sure he got a fair shake. He agreed to a 2 year $9 million contract, so he may finish his career as a Devil.

John Scott signs 1 year deal with Buffalo
The Buffalo Sabres wanted to get tougher this offseason, so in order to that they needed to sign a 6 foot 8 defenceman. Scott joins Tyler Myers and Joe Finley as the trio of 6 foot 8 players on the Sabres roster. Scott and the Sabres agreed to a 1 year deal worth $600 thousand.

Jiri Hudler signs 4 year deal with Calgary
The long time Red Wing is on his way north of the boarder. The Flames wanted to shake the team up this offseason to try and make the playoffs. The signing of Hudler helps that for sure. The Flames agreed to a 4 year $16 million contract.

Jason Garrison signs 6 year deal with Vancouver
The last signing I'll talk about in this post, which just so happens to be the biggest (in terms of length). The Canucks and Garrison agreed to a 6 year deal worth $27.6 million.

Who knows maybe by day 4 we will have a decision on where Parise and Suter have decided to play out there careers and then Free Agency can really get kicked into a frenzy!

Top Free Agents

Free agency is just days away and rumours are starting to swirl around who's going where. So it's time to break down the free agency market and see who's available and where they may possibly land.

Forwards:


Zach Parise

Likely the biggest name on the market this season. Chances are Parise will not resign with the New Jersey Devils. While Parise wants to remain loyal to his team it's looking like the financial trouble the Devils may be facing could scare him away. Parise is a complete package any team that is able to afford his price tag will instantly be made better. He never takes a shift off and was a born leader, leading the Devils to within 2 wins of a Stanley Cup. He's a brilliant forward who can put the puck in the net, forecheck hard and never disappoints on defence either.

The three teams in the front running are: Pittsburgh, Detroit and Minnesota. With Sidney Crosby rumoured to have agreed to a 12 year contract with the Penguins there is rumour Parise will be joining him in Pittsburgh as the two are good friends.


Alexander Semin
Semin is a hit and miss player, sometimes he's on fire and other times it's like he's not even on the ice. The Capitals and Semin have virtually parted ways so he will not be returning to his old team. There was some talk he might head over to the KHL but if he can get a team to throw him a large contract he will likely stay. Semin plays a very good offensive game but not a good defensive game. When the Capitals were firing on all cylinders Semin fit in and became one of the top scorers in the league. When the Capitals turned to a more defensive style he struggled and found himself on the bench more often than not.

He would benefit most by going to a team that needs scoring, perhaps the Montreal Canadiens.


Dustin Penner

When the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup they had to give up certain players because they could no longer afford them. Just the same the Kings may have to start unloading some players one of them may be Penner. He's a curious case as he has the size, speed, skill and strength to be a successful NHL player but he scored just 7 goals all regular season. But despite his lack of success during the regular season Penner was a major contributor during the Kings Stanley Cup run much like he was for Anaheim in 2007.

After winning the cup in 2007 he signed by the Oilers but did not succeed in Edmonton. This time around he won't get signed for big money but might find a spot with the Calgary Flames. But if Penner doesn't mind taking a pay cut he could stay with the Kings.


Shane Doan
It would be shocking and painful for Coyotes fans not to see their captain back in the desert next season. He is the heart and soul of the team, the coyotes go as Doan goes and he was a major reason they made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals. But at 36 Doan is going to want to make a run at a Stanley Cup and may want to play in a market that is more hockey friendly.

He's a solid goal scorer (reaching the 30 goal mark twice) and a natural leader. If the Devils are unable to retain Parise look for them to take a hard run at Doan.


Brad Boyes
It wouldn't be a good post if it didn't have some sort of tie to the Sabres. Boyes is a player who puzzles me. He's got all the skill and scoring ability yet he is a 4th line player who rarely contributes to the success of the Sabres. Boyes would likely benefit from a change in scenery (and a new coach).

Right now he is dead weight for the Sabres and hopefully will not be resigned. He can still score some goals and would be a solid 20 goal scorer for a team that needs a little scoring boost for their back end. Look for him to meet with the Wild.

Defence


Ryan Suter
Like Parise, Suter is the biggest free agent defenceman available right now.
Suter showed great poise and was huge for the Predators all season including during their playoff run. Right now all eyes are on him so the ball is in his court he will likely head to a team that will utilize him as a number one defenceman.

Look for the Dallas Stars to pursue Suter and offer him a contract.


Bryan Allen
Allen is ranked or regarded as high as Suter but he is a solid defenceman that many teams could benefit from. He doesn't produce a lot of goals but he plays a steady defensive game.

If the Stars are unable to land Suter, look for them to pursue Allen.


Justin Shultz

If you have not heard of Justin Shultz stop reading this article and kindly stop calling yourself a hockey fan. Right now this kid is the hottest name around. Just about 29 teams are looking at. Shultz is playing the Brad Richards card having teams come to him instead of him going to them. The thing about him is he hasn't even played a game in the NHL as he is just coming out of the University of Wisconsin.

Whatever team does end up with the "highly ranked" prospect who skipped the draft will likely end up over paying due to how much interest there reportedly is. He will be a hit or miss prospect that will hopefully perform well for whatever team courts him.

The short list is down to 5 teams including: Toronto, Vancouver, New York Rangers, Edmonton and Ottawa.


Hal Gill
Hal Gill is a player I have always loved to watch play, right from his days in Toronto. Although he suffered an injury that cut his season short he still saw an improvement in his goals and point production this year with Nashville. He is expected to make a full recovery over the off season and be ready for training camp.

Look for the Predators to retain Gill, especially if they lose Suter. Note Hal Gill resigned a 2 year deal with the Predators worth $4 million.

Matt Carle
While Carle will test the free agency markets he will still keep a foot in the door with the Flyers. A very solid defenceman who will be sought after during free agency. But I wouldn't expect him to leave the Flyers.

Goalies:


Cory Schneider
Technically Cory Schneider is not a real free agent and the Canucks have to intention of letting him walk and he will be their starter next season. Schneider single out played world class goaltender Roberto Luongo for the starting job and as a result chased the veteran out of town.


With Scneider between the pipes the Canucks have a bright future and a clean slate, they can put all this Luongo drama behind them and run with the young goalie who has a bright future.

Note- Cory Schneider agreed to a 3 year deal worth $12 million with the Canucks. 


Martin Biron
Biron is one of the most valuable back up goalies in the league. If a teams starter goes down to injury Biron is more than able to step right in and carry the work load of the starter. He spent last season in New York backing up the king Henrik Lundqvist and while his stats are no where close to the starter he was still a very solid back up goalie.

The Rangers would like to maintain Biron's services next for next season, but if they don't offer him some decent money 29 other teams would be more than willing to give the 34 year old a shot.


Martin Brodeur
If Brodeur decides that he is able to come back and play another season in the NHL the New Jersey Devils would gladly welcome him back. His performance last season taking the Devils to within 2 games of a Stanley Cup didn't hurt his cause either. Although Brodeur is 40 now he has not slowed down much and can still outplay young goalies, just when you think he's getting old he makes an amazing save out of no where.

It is unlikely Brodeur will part ways with the Devils as he has played with them his hole career, so it's just a matter of time before he resigns with them to end off his career.


Scott Clemmensen
With such a dry goaltending market this off season Clemmensen may be able to find a team that wouldn't ordinarily need his services. He played in just 25 games last season and as a result his Goals Against Average was a little high, but it will likely come down with some more consistent playing time.

Clemmensen would be a solid cheap back up for any team especially a team who has a starter who is shaky or goes down to injury.

More interesting free agents to keep an eye out for: Ryan Smyth, Teemu Selanne, Jaromir Jagr, Ray Whitney and Paul Gaustad.

Also be on the lookout for deals the involve Rick Nash and Bobby Ryan.

Tune in July 1st to see where some of the big name free agents are heading.