Islanders re-sign Hunter, Leafs Steen

According to TSN, the New York Islanders have re-signed forward Trent Hunter to a 5-year, US$10 M contract and the Toronto Maple Leafs have done the same with forward Alex Steen, for a 2-year contract worth US$3.4 M.

Hunter was set to become a UFA on July 1st and therefore could have been dealt by the Islanders at the Trade Deadline, if no agreement had been reached and if the Islanders had chosen to go in that direction. He currently has 8 goals and 24 assists in 62 games, as well as a -10 plus-minus rating and 33 penalty minutes.

Steen's name has been mentioned in some trade rumors due to the Leafs' eventual fire sale, but this signing seems to also take him off the market. He has 26 points, 22 penalty minutes and a -2 plus-minus rating in 56 games.

What the sellers have to offer

With a big number of teams, currently, out of the Playoff Picture, a slew of players could be available by the Trade Deadline.

Amongst these teams are the Los Angeles Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Islanders and Chicago Blackhawks.

All these teams have interesting unrestricted free-agents come July 1st, except the Edmonton Oilers, but do not rule them out as sellers, as they have an important number of young defencemen and forwards that could be on the way out (except Gagner, Cogliano, Pitkanen...).

The teams with the most valuable assets to ship off is the Tampa Bay Lightning. Their UFAs include Dan Boyle, Vaclav Prospal and Chris Gratton. Boyle and Prospal would be welcome on any team, as for Gratton, his 55% faceoff success rate makes him somewhat of an intriguing option as a 3rd line center.

The Blackhawks along with the Oilers are the out-of-the-race teams that have the least to offer.
The Blackhawks seem to be willing to keep their young core of players together, and therefore only have UFAs Martin Lapointe and Andrei Zyuzin. Edmonton is in the same situation and their only ''notable'' UFA is Geoff Sanderson.

The Maple Leafs and Kings, respectively 29th and 30th in league standings, have some valuable UFAs to offer. Mats Sundin is most notably the top UFA forward in the market this year as the Trade Deadline approaches, and Toronto's only asset, if they decide to not trade Tomas Kaberle.
The Kings' notable UFAs include Rob Blake and Ladislav Nagy.

Finally, the Blues and Islanders also have some valuable assets to offer. St. Louis, unable to re-sign Barret Jackman up until this point in time, might be forced to trade him, and the Islanders surely want to get something in return for UFAs Miroslav Satan, Trent Hunter and Bryan Berard.

The Market this year seems quite bleek from a 100% sellers point of view, but wait until Trade Deadline day to see where Atlanta (UFAs: F Marian Hossa, F Bobby Holik, F Mark Recchi, D Steve McCarthy, G Johan Hedberg), Columbus (UFAs: F David Vyborny, F Sergei Fedorov, F Mike Peca, D Adam Foote) and Vancouver (UFAs: F Markus Naslund, F Brendan Morrison) stand, as their position could force them to add some valuable assets to the Trade Pool.

League Roundup: July 9th

- Detroit Red Wings signed F Dallas Drake to a 1-year contract.

- New York Islanders named F Bill Guerin captain.

- Phoenix Coyotes signed F Mike York to a 1-year, US$1 million contract.

- Vancouver Canucks re-signed D Kevin Bieksa to a 3-year contract, signed D Aaron Miller.

7/5/07 UFA SIGNINGS

11:50 PM- Red Wings sign G Dominik Hasek:
1 year at US$2 million (Without Bonuses)

9:00 PM- Nickle1371 sends in the following:

Do you think Patrick Kaleta will be in the sabres line-up next season? also do you think the sabres will go after comrie or souray. (sorry if we do take souray from u, cuz we want it bad too lol.)"

Dear Nickle,

I do think that Patrick Kaleta has a chance of making the Sabres out of training camp, especially with the losses of Daniel Briere, Chris Drury and Dainius Zubrus. He played 7 games for the Sabres, managing 2 assists and 21 penalty minutes. But nothing is certain.

I do also believe the Sabres went after New York Islander Mike Comrie, who could of filled their need of a speedy and gritty 2nd line center. Comrie signed with the Islanders a few moments ago.

As to going after Sheldon Souray, I am not so sure Darcy Regier was too kean on signing a defenceman for over US$5 million, with a lack of defensive ability. I also believe the Sabres lost a big part of their forwards this offseason, and did not need to sign defencemen, but needed to concentrate their money on forwards who could replace the ones who left via the UFA market.

I hope this helps,

I Want It!

8:34 PM- Islanders sign C Mike Comrie:
1 year

8:33 PM- Sabres sign G Jocelyn Thibault:
1 year

5:50 PM- Ducks sign D Shane Hnidy:
2 years

5:34 PM- Islanders sign F Bill Guerin:
2 year at US$9 million

4:20 PM- Canadiens sign D Jamie Rivers:
2 years

1:18 PM- Devils sign G Kevin Weekes:
2 years at US$1.375 million

11:33 AM- Columbus Blue Jackets sign D Jan Hejda:
1 year

7/4/07 UFA SIGNINGS

ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS ?
E-mail me at: afi.ville.49@gmail.com

5:30 PM- Sabres re-sign D Teppo Numminen:
1 year at US$2.6 million


1:45 PM- Islanders sign LW Ruslan Fedotenko:
1 year at US$2.9 million


1:35 PM- Thrashers re-sign LW Slava Kozlov:
3 years at US$11 million (US$3.66 annually)


11:35 AM- Canadiens sign W Tom Kostopoulos:
2 years at US$1.8 million (US$900,000 annually)


10:05 AM- Flames re-sign RW Jarome Iginla:
5 years


10:00 AM- Maple Leafs re-sign G Vesa Toskala:
2 years at US$8 million (US$4 annually)


8:55 AM- Rumor Central (Teams Interested):

RW Bill Guerin (VAN, CBJ)
D Sean Hill (MIN)
LW Slava Kozlov (DAL, ATL)
D Sheldon Souray (NJ, SJ, DAL, NYR)

8:50 AM- Top 5 Free Agents:

5) D Brent Sopel
4) LW Slava Kozlov
3) LW Brendan Shanahan
2) C Peter Forsberg
1) D Sheldon Souray

Message from the great Bossy

From NYI.com:

The Hall of Famer sent the following email this afternoon to forward to fans throughout Islanders Country

There comes a time in an organization when you have to stand up for what you believe. There comes a time also when fans have to believe in who is at the helm of that organization.

I don't think there is 1 fan who was not pleased to see the direction the Islanders took last year. There were ups and downs but I believe more ups than downs. Everyone was truly excited when Dubie performed his miracles toward the end of the season and helped us earn a playoff position. Everyone was truly excited when we really gave Buffalo a run for their money in the playoffs. Yes, we fell short but we all had the satisfaction that everything had been done to go as far as we could given the circumstances.

We believed that Garth made the right moves and that Ted got everything he could out of the players sitting in front of him on the bench and when he couldn't, well, those guys didn't play or received significantly less ice time. We believed that Garth and Ted had a plan for the future and weren't going to waiver from that plan.

Since July 1st the plan hasn't changed. We want players that want to play on Long Island and who will show what we all think Long Island deserves. A team that goes out every night with the right attitude, grit, character and dedication, to themselves, their teammates and fans. We tried to sign 2 of those players who fit exactly that mold. Unfortunately those 2 players chose to play out West instead of here. Whatever their reasons were, it does not matter anymore. What matters is that Garth and Ted are sticking to their guns and will not change their course of thinking.

There are others players who fit that mold. Garth asked us to be patient. Let's give Garth and Ted our support. Let's not succumb to panic or frustration. It's the easy thing to do. I truly believe that their thinking is the right long term approach to building a team that we will all be proud of. No one closed the books yesterday and no one has gone on vacation. Everyone is diligently working on doing the right thing for the organization and you, THE FANS.

It was Garth and Ted's first year last year. Let them continue their work and in the meantime let's continue to support everyone in the organization, from the hockey staff to my colleagues doing everything they can so the Islanders play in front of a full house every night.

Let's do this all together. If in the end I am wrong, you can tell me so – loud and clear. Let's all stick together.

We all want a Stanley Cup, right? And WE'RE ALL ISLANDERS, right?

Have a great 4th of July everyone.

Mike

Note: This message vividly defends the Islanders' front office. This is exactly what any team needs after losing some big pieces of its core to another one, a voice of the past and present sticking with the Team and its management. These words are much more efficient than Sabres' GM Darcy Regier's "One way..." speech, which basically blamed the Market for Drury and Briere's loss, which, weren't the only reasons for losing the pair. No GM can equal these words.

Day 1: Winners and Losers

Losers:

1)BUF: With the loss of Chris Drury and Daniel Briere, the Buffalo Sabres are definately the day's biggest loser. Overconfident they would re-sign their top 2 forwards for "hometown discounts", Sabres GM Darcy Regier overestimated both forwards' loyalty towards the club, by not offering them contracts until 2 days before they became unrestricted free-agents. Drury and Briere both signed with Eastern Conference teams, the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers.

2)NYI: Jason Blake and Ryan Smyth seemed like quite the pair of left wingers any team could want, but the New York Inslanders had them both for the end of the 2006/07 season. They made the playoffs, but fell to the Buffalo Sabres in the 1st round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Fast forward to yesterday, when two of their most prized possessions fell into ennemy hands, as Blake signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, a team "committed to winning", and Smyth signed with the Colorado Avalanche, leaving the 1st line left winger position on the Islanders' roster wide open. The Islanders lost much more than 2 players, but a great leader, ready to do anything to win, and a gritty and selfish, but in a good way, forward with a desire to do whatever it takes. They also lost 30-year old defenceman Tom Poti, one of the best offensive defencemen in the league last season, and big center Viktor Kozlov to the Washington Capitals. These losses leave their top 2 offensive lines heavily depleated.

Winners:

1)NYR: Adding Chris Drury and Scott Gomez was a fantastic job by Rangers' GM Glenn Sather. Nobody expected that a single team would add them both, but the Rangers did. These 2 major acquisitions turn the Rangers into an immediate cup contender, with one of the best offenses in the NHL.

2)COL: When Joe Sakic re-signed in April, who knew the Avalanche would be adding Ryan Smyth at the same time, as the 19-year NHL veteran played a major part in bringing the Banff, Alberta native to Colorado. Sakic must of also played a part in bringing Canadian defenceman Scott Hannan to the Avalache. With these additions, the Colorado Avalanche have a better defensive and offensive team, filled with plenty of grit and body presence. The Avalanche is officially back as one of the top power houses in the West.

Rumor Central

BUF- According to Buffalo TV station WGRZ, the Buffalo Sabres offered unrestricted free-agent Daniel Briere a contract late last night. No indications have been given on the length, or even salary associated with the contract.

NYI- Per Darren Dreger of TSN, the New York Islanders are ready to offer forward Ryan Smyth a 7-8 year contract, with an average salary of US$6 million per season. His salary's pattern over that span would be similar to Kimmo Timonen's, which would mean a hefty salary during the first 3-4 years, followed by decreasing amounts for the remaining seasons.

NYR- The Rangers are not at all close to re-signing forward Michael Nylander, reports the New York Post's Larry Brooks. He is said to be "playing it smart", as by waiting for big name UFAs Scott Gomez, Daniel Briere, Chris Drury... to be signed, he drives up his own value.

STL- According to Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the St. Louis Blues have submitted a contract offer to Keith Tkachuk, whom they acquired the rights of negotiation to on Tuesday. The contract is worth US$7 million over a span of 2 years (US$3.5 million per season).