Travis

Came back to say this. Great post.

Yeah I'll take Alex Semin before Kostitsyn.

Good price, but it's not like Kenny missed out on a gem. This guy has been on 4 teams in 2 years, not including AHL stints. Clearly, there's a reason for that.

And the Griffs find themselves without a captain.

Identity theft is real, Stev! Millions of families are affected every year!

He's just upping his free agent value before re-signs with the Yankees.

Like Ram said, the unveiling of the jerseys will be an event onto itself. I'd imagine it'll be nearly Fall before we see them.

I didn't even end up watching the game, but JV took a licking, huh? No worries. It's the All Star Game! At least Cabrera won the MV... wait, what's that? Oh, it wasn't. Oh. Well then, carry on.

Chris Berman (who is an idiot) kept saying that the HR Derby win could perhaps heat Prince's bat up - as if he isn't hitting - heading into the second half. It would be nice, though, if the Tigers could use this good All Star experience in conjunction with their strong first half finish to start making some real noise.

Today was his self-imposed deadline to see how the ownership situation in Phoenix looked going forward. I believe he and his agent will begin fielding offers tomorrow.

Fake account. That's fine. Don't want Subban at the expense of Filp, anyhow.

Haven't seen this. Are you sure you're following the verified Darren Dreger account? http://www.twitter.com/darrendreger

Not to say that news of the sort won't be announced tomorrow, but that profile says it is in "NO WAY" associated with TSN. It's also retweeting a profile called NHL Gossip Report.

I would like to sign Doan. Have always hated him as a competitor because he's so tough to play against. He'd be a great addition, but I would be surprised if he left Phoenix. I'd love to be wrong, though. Also, tomorrow is the earliest we'll find out about whether he will choose to become a free agent, so I'm not so sure we'll hear anything tomorrow.

While you maybe right about needing more firepower to get Yandle, I can't imagine the Coyotes - with all their uncertainty - wanting a guy in a contract year.

I would personally be pretty happy with signing Semin and would love for Doan to become available. I think trading for Yandle is something that should be held in strong consideration and would like to see an opening night roster that looked something like this: Semin / Datsyuk / Bertuzzi Doan / Zetterberg / Filppula Samuelsson / Helm / Cleary Eaves / Abdelkader / Tootoo Nyquist / Miller Kronwall / White Yandle / Quincey Ericsson / Smith ? The implication here being that Franzen, Kindl, Tatar and a pick go for Yandle; though I still think that bottom pairing isnt quite sufficient. That said, I'm not wild about any of the FA options at defense and wouldn't want to trade more than mid-level prospects for any other available defenseman.

@DarrenDreger: Working on details. Matt Carle is closing in on a deal with Tampa Bay Lightning. Edit: The Fourth Period reporting its a done deal.

This.

I think the most interesting part of this whole signing is the fact that the Avalanche announced they signed him on July 1 only to have his camp say that he hadn't signed with Colorado and to be an Islander an hour later.

Prince Fielder, Robinson Cano, Jose Bautista, Mark Trumbo to represent the AL in Home Run Derby.

Signing Samuelsson has no bearing on whether or not we make a 'big splash', he's merely an addition to this roster; another piece to the puzzle. With Hudler expected to get $4-5 million dollars a year, this is essentially a lateral move to take Happy's place. Personally, I'm okay with this move. We gain another right handed shot and won't have to hope Eaves can round out a PP unit. Plus, as others have mentioned, the guy has a knack for timely goal scoring. In all, I think he'll make a nice 2nd / 3rd line addition as Kenny crafts the 2012-13 roster. Holland is far from done, though, so it's crazy to me that people look at this on having any bearing on our bigger signings. Then again, I may have different ideas of what I'd like to see out of this off-season.

I was never a fan of the guy as a Predator (obviously), but I think a lot of the "crappy dude" stuff just comes from our disdain for him on the ice. I'd like to imagine that the cheap shots will be come less a part of his game as the Wings don't really fly that route. However, I am excited for the grit and annoyance that he'll provide the team. It's something they haven't had since that one Maltby a-hole we all liked so much.

I'd rather have Matt Carle than Garrison, myself. Quite a payday for a breakout year.

Works as a depth signing for me. Homers likely replacement?

Off to a good start!