dlbalr

I don't think the Habs were ever 'in'. Sure, they sent a representative to talk to him in person but their presentation was very short compared to others. I think they threw their hat in the ring, were politely told that Richards was going another direction, so they turned their focus to Cole.

Wide variety of players there, a proven vet who'll likely cost beyond what the Habs can afford, an RFA that went unqualified, and an aging d-man holding on to an NHL job by a thumbnail.

He was one of the better options out there actually, especially since the Habs have been going for high end AHL veterans which there aren't many of this time. Last July 1, Sanford did the same thing, tested the market before re-signing, I figured the same was going to happen this time.

Sanford to Columbus, thought he'd wind up back with Hamilton next year. Interesting development.

Fleischmann to Florida for the same deal Cole got. I'm starting to feel better about this Cole deal every minute now. I've lost track on how many guys have signed with/been traded to Florida today, they've been busy. Edit: Here's who they've signed/acquired: Forwards Fleischmann Versteeg Goc Upshall Defence Jovanovski Yonkman Goalie Theodore

The Habs just got around to announcing this via press release, nearly 2 hours after everyone else confirmed the signing. They don't have Cole's yet either...odd as usually their site is pretty quick with the pressers.

No signings in 10 minutes, took a while for a lull.

The Habs will probably want to keep a cushion in case of injury, while there has been no word on how much the Habs will be penalized for overspending on the cap last year (and they did, with Eller/Weber's bonuses, some of which were hit...though not many in all likelihood). I'd probably cut that number down to $3 M, allowing for a late Halpern-like signing in September if someone they wanted falls through the cracks. To be fair, Leino has been a full time NHL'er for all of 2 seasons, one of which he was a frequent scratch so it's tough to use his career goals as a barometer. That's why I think there's upside, though if he was a healthy scratch last year, it's even worse that he got what he did...

Makes the Cole deal look a little better though I'd suggest Leino, 27, has a bit of upside still whereas Cole probably isn't going to go have a career year at the age of 33 next season. Marco Sturm, waived last year (after being dealt for practically nothing), signs for $2.25 million months later. Yep, overpaying is alive and well today.

That's a good one too, especially given the Habs' difficulties 5-on-5.

I had the exact same thought here as I did when the Habs signed Hamrlik - 1 year too long, but necessary to get him.

A stat most here will like: 225 hits last year, good for 13th in the league.

My quick write-up on this deal: http://www.habsworld.net/article.php?id=2523 Hoping the Habs give me a few minutes to breathe now, busy hour for me for sure...

I think he's a bit of an upgrade for sure, nice to have a little stability too. He has been a #1 at times before so if Price goes down, at least he's used to playing regularly. My quick write-up on the signing: http://www.habsworld.net/article.php?id=2522

Reports of Jan Hejda to Colorado, one of the more underrated D on the market this year. $3.25 M, noteworthy as he'll be an interesting comparison for Gorges.

Another now ex-Hab signs early as Halpern re-joins Washington, 1 year, $825k. A nice raise for him and he earned it, glad to see he didn't have to wait long this year.

Detroit as well. Interesting.

If they sign a couple of $4 million dollar guys (some of the secondary guys out there like Cole will likely get that type of money), it could affect the offer. Perhaps they want to go after a big time blueliner (big name like Jovanovski) and then trade Gorges. They're all possibilities, straight speculation on my part.

I wouldn't count on it. I think they're keeping him unsigned for flexibility purposes, if they get the guy(s) they like, it may impact the type of deal they can do with him, be it short term or long term. Today? Under. Though RFA's have been free to negotiate since the 28th now, the priority today will be UFA's which will delay an offer sheet.

I think Garon will be too pricey, Theodore I think could be an option though. The one worry I have with signing a local goalie is that if Price has a couple of bad games, we'll see a public outcry to let the hometown hero play more, something we didn't see with Auld last year when Price had consecutive bad games (which he did at times).

6 years, $33 million for Wisniewski in Columbus. The Habs now get the Jackets' 5th rounder instead of their 7th. $5.5 for Wisniewski, didn't think he'd get that much and I'm sure glad it's not the Habs giving it to him. I like him, but not that much.

It might be nice this year to have a dedicated thread to the 'frenzy' that is unrestricted free agency. Not a whole lot Hab wise in the rumour mill aside from Bob McKenzie stating that Maxime Talbot is looking for a 4 year deal worth around $2 million. This pertains to the Habs as apparently yesterday, he went on a radio station in Montreal saying he wants to play at home. At $2 million long-term, he can keep looking. Sami Salo re-signs in Vancouver, 1 year, $2 million. (Wondering if there are bonuses in that one; if not, good deal) Josh Harding re-signs in Minnesota, 1 year, $750k. (Good move there) Patrick Eaves re-signs in Detroit, 3 years, $3.6 million.

Him and Holtby I would presume.

I knew I was missing someone. Been a while since I used CG's calculator and back when I was a beta tester for it, didn't quite look as it does now.

I didn't think it made economical sense long-term to sign Wisniewski. As Ehrhoff will cost even more, I'd have to disagree. I think it'll be a lesser d-man or status quo with efforts being made to shore up the forwards (and not necessarily just the top-6). On that note, perhaps I should finally submit a roster to this thread... For the sake of contributing something different, I'm going to focus on the Habs taking the money they have to shore up the bottom-6 with names that haven't been discussed a whole lot. Forwards Andrei Kostitsyn ($3.250m) - Tomas Plekanec ($5.000m) - Mike Cammalleri ($6.000m) Max Pacioretty ($1.625m) - Scott Gomez ($7.357m) - Brian Gionta ($5.000m) Antti Miettinen ($2.800m) - Lars Eller ($1.270m) - David Desharnais ($0.850m) Travis Moen ($1.500m) - Michael Rupp ($1.050m) - Ryan White ($0.600m) Mathieu Darche ($0.700m) Defence Andrei Markov ($5.750m) - Josh Gorges ($2.950m) Hal Gill ($2.250m) - P.K. Subban ($0.875m) Alexei Yemelin ($0.984m) - Yannick Weber ($0.850m) Jaroslav Spacek ($3.833m) Goalies Carey Price ($2.750m) Ty Conklin ($0.875m) Buyout: Georges Laraque ($0.500m) Payroll: $59,220,509 Bonuses: $400,000 Cap Space (23-man roster): $5,079,491 Rupp is the type of forward the Habs may want for the 4th line, some grit with some talent and not a lot of 'stupidness.' Rupp also has played C short-term in the past and has done okay on faceoffs; Desharnais could drop down if there are fears that he can't be a regular C while White has played there as well. Miettinen is someone the organization is familiar with as he played in Hamilton years ago. I picked Conklin as a goalie solely to be different, though I do think he has something left. This roster has flexibility to make a big signing should an opportunity present itself either in July or midseason...or when the inevitable injuries happen. I also created it thinking ahead that the cap will go down after the CBA and that having short-term flexibility here also means long-term flexibility, ideal to me for reasons I've explained before.