The Free Agent period opened up Friday, and the fact that it was the day after the country just spend 24 hours blowing itself up was appropriate. Due to the new compliance buyouts, the day was interesting, to say the least. Some big names moved their place of residence and some teams raised some eyebrows. Lets get right to the Hawks "moves":
He's back. The Blackhawks decided that Handzus provided enough veteran leadership and did a good enough job in his time here, that another year couldn't hurt. The job he is more likely brought back for was to help new Blackhawks faceoff consultant Yanic Perreault help develop the talents of the young Hawks prospects that all seem to have an issue in said category. Based on the assumption that AHL leading scorer Brandon Pirri will be given every opportunity to win the ever revolving job of the Blackhawks second line center, and that he is atrocious at faceoffs, it would be safe to assume that Handzus is being brought back as more of a mentor and veteran leader, than a difference maker. He'd make a great fill-in if Shaw struggles to center the 3rd line, and he'd also be a perfect veteran 4th line center. For a 1 year $1 Million deal, this nothing to worry about. I doubt he could ever stay healthy enough for a full 82 game season, plus the playoffs, but his experience and veteran presence can be helpful.
He's back, too, and this was the theme of the day for the Hawks. Most people, including me, figured that the Hawks would look to go a little younger for a #6/#7 defenseman, but they had other plans. Bowman gave Rozsival a 2 year deal, which I don't really understand. With a few young d-men waiting in the system, like Adam Clendening, Ryan Stanton, Shawn LaLonde, Klas Dahlbeck, and Dylan Olsen, I'm not really sure why Roszival was needed for two more years. Brookbank comes off the books next summer, so maybe then Rozy slides into the #7 slot with one of the kids coming up. Like Handzus, I can't see him staying healthy for 82 games, but the veteran presence should be great for the kids like Nick Leddy. I personally felt someone like Jeff Schultz or even Mike Komisarek would have been a cheaper, and younger option, but Bowman didn't agree. He played so well in the cup run, and with the shortened regular season, that I'll keep an open mind. If Rozsival can't keep up, I'll be the first to be up his ass.
Now, on to their prize free agent signing. Ok, maybe he's not a prize, but he certainly is functional. I've made no secret that I was a huge Khabby fan, his first time around. The problem is that he's now 40 years old, and well past his prime. The good news is that Khabby should only get about 20 games of action, if everything goes as planned. If things go to hell, we could see Antti Raanta and/or Mac Carruth making their rookie debuts. When looking at his stats from this last seasons, there are some very promising points. Although his record was only 4-6, he faced an average of 33 shots a game, which is nothing close to what he'll see with the Hawks. Khabby also had a .923 save percentage, which is almost identical to what Crawford and Emery had. With all of this, I'm pretty sure it's safe to say he'll be just fine. I would have liked to see them sign him for a little cheaper contract than $1.7 million, plus a potential $300k performance bonus, but it's better than having a goalie shortage. It gives me a chance to pull my Khabibulin AkBars jersey out of the closet.
Now on to the rest of the league. There are a few notable signings throughout the league. Here we go:
Ray Emery - Emery gave up what would have been a relatively similar deal to stay in Chicago, for a shot at a starting job in the the goalie graveyard known as Philly. He's taking a huge risk by jumping ship because he is not going to have nearly the defense he had here in Chicago. No matter what horseshit Philly fans will feed you, they are in salary cap hell, and they have people like Bruno Gervais, Kent Huskins, and Kurtis Foster on the back end. I guess time is running out for him, so good luck to him.
Viktor Stalberg - The infinite laugher of the day was Viktor Stalberg and his apparent enormous ego, going to Nashville for $3 million a year. This is a guy that pissed his coach off so much that, with all of his speed, ended up a healthy scratch for two finals games and three other playoff games. If they were upset with the ego and shenanigans of Alex Radulov, I'm just dying to see what they do with a guy that has the same ego, but half the talent.
Carter Hutton - Former Rockford fan favorite signed with Smashville, as well, to compete with Chris Mason for the spot to back up Pekka Rinne. This is a job that would probably entail 10-15 NHL games. In all honestly, he just didn't have the chops for the show, so enjoy Milwaukee, Carter. They should be be wetting themselves in Milwaukee because, according to Chris Block, Hutton dominated Milwaukee.
Rostislav Olesz - The poor guy was stuck under the black cloud of the Blackhawks for the last few seasons, and it was unfortunate, because he can play. I have no idea what the Hawks organization hated about him, but they did their best to waste 2 years of his career. I wish him all the best in New Jersey, and I hope he does well. It wasn't fair to him, so I hope he makes up for lost time.
Jeff Schultz - I felt the behemoth former Capitals defenseman would have made a great replacement for Michal Rozsival as a #6 dman, as he is younger, bigger and much cheaper, but he ended up going to LA. So much for that.
Stephen Weiss - Weiss is an impressive former Florida Panther center that was always held back by the fact that he was buried in that market, like David Booth and Nathan Horton before him. He ended up in Detroit with Daniel Alfredsson for $4.9 million a year, where he'll break out of his shell and show why he's one of the more talented centers in the league.
Daniel Alfredsson - Alfie broke the hearts of all Ottawa fans by first telling them he was coming back for another season, and then defecting to the burns out hell hole known as Detoilet. He'll do well there, like all Swedish born players usually do, but c'mon, man. Don't taint you legacy. Detoilet is no closer to the cup than Ottawa is.
Nathan Horton - SEVEN years for in Lumbus. SEVEN! IN COLUMBUS!
Mike Komisarek - The other player that I had in mind to replace Rozsival, but he quickly signed a one year tender in Carolina for peanuts. Guy has leadership qualities, and would have been a nice veteran addition.