Sharks sign RFA Niklas Hjalmarsson

[Guest Heaten]

Yes, but things have changed since then.

Teams that have their starter and backup locked up:

Ana, Bos, Buf, Cgy, Car, Col, Cbs, Dal, Det, Edm, Fla, LA, Min, NJ, NYI, NYR, Ott, Phi, Phx, Pit, StL, SJ, TB, Tor, Van, Wsh

Teams with an RFA in negotiations for the starting position:

Chi, Mtl

Teams with an RFA in negotiations for the backup position:

Atl

Teams which need to sign a backup:

Nsh

When Turco rejected Philly's offer, there were many more goaltending options out there. But Tampa, San Jose, Philly, Atlanta, and others made signings that filled spots Turco might have been able to sign up for. Now he's left with playing backup to Pekka Rinne in Nashville, signing for a cheap deal with Atlanta to be Mason's backup, being "Plan B" if Niemi and Price cost too much, respectively, for Chicago and Montreal, or signing a cheap deal with another team to compete for the backup spot; perhaps Calgary, Carolina, Anaheim or Phoenix.

Or maybe he can still get that deal from Philly.

KHL are always looking for a few big name players. I'm sure he can get a nice payout over there. Turco isn't going to sign for under $2 million per. And I suspect he's looking for a somewhat long term contract. Doubt Hawks want to commit to a goalie for 3+ years... Especially after all their recent goalie woes.

[Guest Crymson]

KHL are always looking for a few big name players. I'm sure he can get a nice payout over there. Turco isn't going to sign for under $2 million per. And I suspect he's looking for a somewhat long term contract. Doubt Hawks want to commit to a goalie for 3+ years... Especially after all their recent goalie woes.

Turco isn't a very good goalie anymore. He was terrible against the Wings in the '08 playoffs, he was awful in '08-'09, and he wasn't good enough to keep the starting job last season.

He's old and past his prime, just like Nabokov.

[Gordon Bombay 2]

I love the talk about the Blackhawks potentially missing the playoffs. Talk about wishful thinking. They haven't yet lost a top 4 forward, a top 4 d-man, or their goalie.

If you want to talk about how the losses will effect them come playoff time, fine. That's reasonable. But now people are questioning their ability to get into the playoffs after they've lost what they've lost? Sorry, but that's just silly.

The Blackhawks finished the season with 113 points last season, and haven't lost anybody from their top 2 lines (forwards AND defense). If the Blackhawks second line last year was Versteeg/Bolland/Ladd or something like that, then it would be different. But no, Ladd/Byfuglien/Versteeg/Madden/Eager/Burish all played primarily on the 3rd and 4th lines. Like I said, talk about how the loss of those guys will kill them in the playoffs. FIne, you can argue that. But to say that losing your 3rd and 4th lines is going to take a 113 point team out of the playoffs is really silly to me.

Also it should be noted that last season the Blackhawks had serious injuries from guys like Marian Hossa and Dave Bolland.... not to mention the fact that they had Huet start 46 games with his atrocious .895 save percentage.

So yeah, sorry if I'm getting defensive, but I was open minded when people were saying they couldnt win another Cup next year because of the players/depth they're losing. But talking about them finishing out of the playoffs when they haven't lost anybody from their top 2 lines on either side? No, that's foolish. There is absolutely no reason to think they'll miss the playoffs other than pure bias.

Edited July 18, 2010 by Gordon Bombay

[eva unit zero 271]

Ok. I stand corrected. He is an RFA. They would have to sign him then trade him. That's what I meant and it would be to free up cap space. They'd sign him then trade him for some more of those prospects that the silly Hawks fans are gushing over.

The Hawks do not have to sign him to trade him. He is a RESTRICTED Free Agent, meaning that even without an active contract, they still retain his rights.

If you want a recent example, I have a few.

The Hawks traded RFA Colin Fraser to Edmonton for a pick.

The Hawks traded RFA Ben Eager to Atlanta as part of the Dustin Byfuglien deal.

The Hawks traded RFA Andrew Ladd to Atlanta.

Those players were a combined $2.855m on last year's cap, and likely will cost around $4m on this year's cap when combined. Eager ($965k last year) is yet to sign, Fraser is at $825k (up from $700k last year) and Ladd ($1.55m last year) is yet to sign. Chicago can replace Eager and Fraser with scrubs, and Ladd was a decent third liner but not worth any more than the Hawks offered to keep him, and realistically that was probably overpayment for his role.

Better to trade unsigned depth RFAs for prospects and picks than to overpay them and trade away key players. Niemi is a good goalie, but he's not worth more than $2m-$2.5m at the absolute most; if he gets that kind of award he should be dealt and a guy like Turco signed for a $1m-$1.5m, 2-year deal. It would be Turco/Crawford for two seasons, Turco as the mentor and Crawford as the budding young goaltender. In two years, revisit the situation. Hannu Toivonen is also in the mix, and might even usurp Crawford. Perhaps the Hawks even trade Niemi and start the year with a tandem of Crawford/Toivonen competing for the job. Two mid-20s goalies who have been touted as future All-Stars competing for a starting position behind a solid defense like Chicago's? $1.35m for the two of them or $3.5m for just Niemi?

[Guest Crymson]

I love the talk about the Blackhawks potentially missing the playoffs. Talk about wishful thinking. They haven't yet lost a top 4 forward, a top 4 d-man, or their goalie.

If you want to talk about how the losses will effect them come playoff time, fine. That's reasonable. But now people are questioning their ability to get into the playoffs after they've lost what they've lost? Sorry, but that's just silly.

The Blackhawks finished the season with 113 points last season, and haven't lost anybody from their top 2 lines (forwards AND defense). If the Blackhawks second line last year was Versteeg/Bolland/Ladd or something like that, then it would be different. But no, Ladd/Byfuglien/Versteeg/Madden/Eager/Burish all played primarily on the 3rd and 4th lines. Like I said, talk about how the loss of those guys will kill them in the playoffs. FIne, you can argue that. But to say that losing your 3rd and 4th lines is going to take a 113 point team out of the playoffs is really silly to me.

Also it should be noted that last season the Blackhawks had serious injuries from guys like Marian Hossa and Dave Bolland.... not to mention the fact that they had Huet start 46 games with his atrocious .895 save percentage.

So yeah, sorry if I'm getting defensive, but I was open minded when people were saying they couldnt win another Cup next year because of the players/depth they're losing. But talking about them finishing out of the playoffs when they haven't lost anybody from their top 2 lines on either side? No, that's foolish. There is absolutely no reason to think they'll miss the playoffs other than pure bias.

Why are you trying to convince a bunch of Red Wings fans of this?

[Guest Heaten]

Turco isn't a very good goalie anymore. He was terrible against the Wings in the '08 playoffs, he was awful in '08-'09, and he wasn't good enough to keep the starting job last season.

He's old and past his prime, just like Nabokov.

I don't think anyone here was debating that. The facts remain the same, KHL are always looking for a few BIG NAME players. Turco already turned down $6 million for a 3 year contract. I highly doubt he'll sign for under $2 million. His name has to be worth something.