FREE-AGENT GOOFINESS: It was the lockout (non)season of 2004-05 and Darryl Sydor, then a defenceman with the Tampa Bay Lightning, was helping the Kamloops Blazers’ coaching staff. One day, Sydor and I were discussing the lockout, the collective bargaining agreement, the NHL Players’ Association stance, the direction of the game, etc. And I distinctly remember saying that it didn’t matter what was in the CBA when it eventually got done because, in the end, the players would have the owners begging for mercy. . . . Well, after another July 1 in which some of the owners went two strides north of crazy, I’ve got to think more than a few hockey people are shaking their heads and wondering (again) just what exactly is going on. . . . Hey, the salary cap’s floor now is higher than the ceiling was coming out of the lockout. The cap for 2005-06 was US$39.0 million; the floor for 2008-09 is $40.7 million. . . . Some teams are going to have to spend up just to get to the floor. And the ceiling ($56.7 million) is high enough to allow an $11-million player. But who would have thought the closest thing to that player would be Mats Sundin? . . . I was listening to XM Radio this afternoon while washing my car and someone (sorry, didn’t catch the name) from ESPN Radio was chatting with Ron Rimer and mentioned that he recently had chatted with Dave Checketts, the owner of the St. Louis Blues. The chap from ESPN pointed out that when Checketts purchased the Blues a couple of years ago this wasn’t the road the NHL was supposed to be heading down. In fact, the chap from ESPN said, he wondered if Checketts would have bought the Blues had he known what was waiting for him and the franchise. . . . I mean, Mats Sundin at $10 million a season when he doesn’t seem to know if he wants to continue playing? And how old is he? . . . An eight-year contract for defenceman Brian Campbell? Hey, he’s a good defenceman but is he headed for the hall of fame? . . . Defenceman Jeff Finger at almost $4 million a year? No disrespect, but is Finger worth twice as much per season as Kurt Sauer? . . . Has it dawned on you yet that the NHL is headed down the river of no return, which is the same river it was sailing on prior to the lockout? . . . And when exactly is the date of the next lockout?
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How about $100 million over 10 years for winger Marion Hossa? The rumour Tuesday night had the Edmonton Oilers making that offer. It’s also believed that the Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins and perhaps the Vancouver Canucks were in the hunt for Hossa.
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AS MOOSE JAW TURNS: You just had to know that things wouldn’t go swimmingly in Moose Jaw where it seems the citizens are headed for a full-scale donnybrook. They’ve already experienced a small dust-up at a recent city council meeting, where pushing led to shoving. Now, it seems, they may be headed to a bench-clearing melee or, at the very least, a line brawl. . . . Yes, it’s all over the $61.2-million question — to build, or not to build, a multiplex that would house the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors. . . . Opponents of the plan are ramping up their attack and now — egads! — the lawyers are involved, something that only can mean one thing: delay, delay, delay. . . . The Moose Jaw Times-Herald has a brief update here and promises there is more to come in Wednesday’s paper. . . . The comments that follow that story tell you all you need to know about how emotional this issue is in that community.
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THE MacBETH REPORT: Garth MacBeth reports on end-of-June signings from Europe and elsewhere. . . . D Josh Garbutt (Brandon/Kamloops/Prince George) signed with Manchester (UK Elite Hockey League). He was with Tulsa and Rio Grande Valley (Central Hockey League) last season. . . . F Rick Kozak (Prince George/Brandon/Kamloops) signed with Hull (UK Elite Hockey League). He was with Mississippi (Central Hockey League) last season. . . . F Maxim Bets (Spokane) signed with HK Gazprom-OSU Orenburg (Russia Vysshaya Liga, the second league). He had six goals and seven assists in 36 games with Mechel Chelyabinsk (Russia Vysshaya Liga) last season. Chelyabinsk is his hometown. . . . F Jay Henderson (Red Deer/Edmonton Ice) signed with Innsbruck (Austria Erste Bank Liga). He had 22 goals and 24 assists in 55 games with Frankfurt (Germany DEL) last season. He joins fellow WHLers F Dustin Johner (Seattle), F Martin Hohenberger (Victoria/Prince George/Lethbridge), D Gerhard Unterluggauer (Brandon), and head coach Ron Kennedy (Estevan/New Westminster as a player, Medicine Hat as a coach) in Innsbruck. . . . F Greg Watson (Prince Albert) signed with HC Pustertal Brunico (Italy Serie A). He had 20 goals and 17 assists in 32 games with Fassa (same league) last season. . . . F Adam Taylor (Kootenay) signed with the China Sharks (Asian Hockey League), based in Beijing. He split time between Rochester (AHL) and Florida (ECHL) last season.
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THE COACHING GAME: Former Saskatoon Blades head coach Brad McCrimmon won’t be back with the Atlanta Thrashers. He had been their associate coach. A source told me Tuesday that the Thrashers, who bypassed McCrimmon when they signed John Anderson as head coach, told the former Brandon Wheat Kings defenceman that they were going in a different direction. You can bet that McCrimmon, the older brother of Brandon Wheat Kings owner, GM and head coach Kelly McCrimmon, won’t be unemployed for long.
