July is the most boring part of the year, as far as sports go. Hockey is in a deep hibernation, Football is just as eventful, and baseball just doesn’t do it for me. All a real Hawks fan can really have to do is count the days until hockey season, because the Bears are going to suck again this year. So, let’s see where we are, with the Hawks situation.
Last week they matched the offer sheet for Hjalmarsson, which is a very good thing. He’s a solid defenseman and will be for years to come, but they really got screwed by San Jose, because the Hawks should have been able to get him for about $1 million less a year. If they are going to overpay for someone, I’d rather see it be a guy that has proven to be a solid NHL player for almost two full seasons, rather than a goalie that has a total of 61 NHL games played, but I’ll get to that conundrum in a few moments. The deal the hawks matched is for 4-years and is worth $14 million. That’s an annual cap hit of $3.5 million for a 23 year old defenseman that has show that he is nothing, but solid. Overpriced, but not exactly “Brian Campbell” or “Cristobal Huet” overpriced. I’d be willing to think that by year 4, we’ll be getting him at a pretty good price. This is really an “open and shut” signing. They simply could not let him go with the cretins left on the free agent market. The closest person on the market is Denis Grebeshkov, who is 3 years older, and not as accomplished of a player. There are a few good players that are on the RFA list, but you don’t really see many teams poaching other team’s restricted free agents because they have to compensate for the signing with draft picks (take note San Jose, you jerkoffs).
After that, the only real subject at hand is in the net. Antti Niemi, to be more specific. His arbitration is set for 7/30, and the Hawks are probably going to get screwed in that deal, as well. They extended a qualifying offer to him, which means they have the right to match any deal he signs with another team. Now his value is up to an arbitrator. Realistically, the Hawks should have been able to get him for about $1.5 million a year, but that’s highly doubtful, now. We’re probably looking at the $2.5 million to $2.8 Million range. This is really a problem, because at this moment, the Hawk’s are about $1 million over the cap. We’re talking about a goalie that has a TOTAL of 61 NHL games. He wasn’t the rookie of the year, and he wasn’t the Conn Smythe winner. He’s Antti Niemi, who didn’t win the starting job until late February and really had to beat out a big dope that didn’t want the job in the first place. It was Huet’s to lose, and that is exactly what he did. Here is your Stanley Cup ring, and your iPass to Rockford. We have to keep in mind that Cristobal Huet’s ridiculous $5.625 million contract is still counted in all of that. Making him sleep with the fishes, or sending him to Siberia will clear up room, but not a lot. There are only two choices with Froggy. Send him to Rockford, where his salary doesn’t count against the team, or hope someone will trade for him, which is laughable. Releasing him will mean the Hawks are still on the hook for his salary.
I borrowed this, but it's just so good
Back to the conundrum I spoke of earlier. Try and follow along, because this gets complicated. Now, Huet’s mysterious disappearance gets the team to about $4.6 million under the cap, BEFORE any Niemi contract. If we estimate high and say he gets awarded $2.8 million. We’re at $1.8 million under the cap, which doesn’t sound all that bad, right? Oh, but it gets better. This is a total of 11 Forwards, 5 Defensemen, and one goalie. For those who aren’t all that swift, that’s one forward, one defenseman and one goalie short of a STARTING LINEUP. No injuries; no healthy scratches; none of that. Four forward lines, three defensive lines, and two goalies. Now, $3.8 million ($1.8 plus the $2 million we’re going to overpay) would be real nice to sign 3 players, now wouldn’t it? Bring up Corey Crawford for his $800,000, which knocks you down to $3 million. Add a couple more rookies, to knock it down to, maybe, $1.2 million. Like a prom date, tight but workable. This is why it’s not all that surprising to think that Niemi’s rights could get traded if he doesn’t work on a reasonable salary. With the way the goalie market looks right now, Marty Turco could probably be signed for somewhere between $1.5 to $2 million to play for a very talented team. That’s a million dollars the team needs, and they really don’t lose anything in the talent category. They just lose about 8 years, because Turco is 34 and Niemi is 26. Personally, I’d rather see that, than unloading Campbell’s $7.2 million salary, although we could see that, as well. As you can see, this is enough to make your head explode. Let’s see how this all shakes out. Happy Stanley Cup Summer...
