NHL Free Agency

[Joseph]

I love my Blackhawks, but 12 years for Hossa?

Really?

Thrilled to get him, but c'mon.

Also can't believe Khabibulin got a 4 year deal, but goalies never really die I suppose.

[westofyou]

Wow.. chasing a ring he is eh?

12 years... Franzen got 11, it's a funneled FA contract, in 8 years he'll be cheap, probably should be too, Franzen... probably will be the same player he is now.

[Patrick Bateman]

I think these guys are presumed to retire around 8 years... where the cap hit comes off and the player still gets their money.

Considering the hit, Hossa looks like the sign of the day IMO. Guys like Gionta will have similar cap hits which is just silly.

Rangers take the big gamble on Gaborik, who as much as I love, 7.5M is a lot of dough for a guy who does get injured a lot. It's not like Gomez was anything great, so from that end, I like the sum, but I'd like to hear M2's thoughts on it.

[reds1869]

And by "leaving to win" Marian Hossa has just insured a Detroit Stanley Cup in 2010, just as he did for Pittsburgh in 2009.

[Buckeye33]

The Blue Jackets have signed captain Rick Nash to an eight-year, $62.4 million contract extension, The Dispatch has learned. That's an annual cap hit of $7.8 million.

The deal will keep Nash under contract with the Blue Jackets through the 2017-18 season.

More later.

-- Aaron Portzline
aportzline@dispatch.com
twitter: @aportzline

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by Buckeye33

The Blue Jackets have signed captain Rick Nash to an eight-year, $62.4 million contract extension, The Dispatch has learned. That's an annual cap hit of $7.8 million.

The deal will keep Nash under contract with the Blue Jackets through the 2017-18 season.

More later.

-- Aaron Portzline
aportzline@dispatch.com
twitter: @aportzline

Nash is a nice player, he's a Brendan Shannahan type of player with more goals than assists on average lost of shots and jostling in the scrum in front of the net, and he's big and tough. He obviously is the centerpiece, and they must love his leadership ability if they ink teh currernt captain to a contract tat long.

Now they need to get some bodies that other teams will key on as much as they key on Nash now.

[Buckeye33]

Originally Posted by westofyou

Nash is a nice player, he's a Brendan Shannahan type of player with more goals than assists on average lost of shots and jostling in the scrum in front of the net, and he's big and tough. He obviously is the centerpiece, and they must love his leadership ability if they ink teh currernt captain to a contract tat long.

Now they need to get some bodies that other teams will key on as much as they key on Nash now.

They have a lot of young talent coming up through the system and on the roster currently. Brassard would have challenged Mason for ROY last year if he hadn't decided to try to impress his teammates and fight someone. They have Vermette, Voracek, Filatov, and Umberger as well.

There D still needs improved but they have talent for sure.

[Joseph]

Originally Posted by Buckeye33

They have a lot of young talent coming up through the system and on the roster currently. Brassard would have challenged Mason for ROY last year if he hadn't decided to try to impress his teammates and fight someone. They have Vermette, Voracek, Filatov, and Umberger as well.

There D still needs improved but they have talent for sure.

I hope for the Jackets sake this statement isn't a repeat of the Reds over the last decade and all of our talent coming along.

Over the last year or so I've really become more of a hockey fan than ever before. I'm not sure why. Maybe its steroids in baseball, maybes its a decade of losing, maybe its just that I've developed a bigger appreciation for the sport of Hockey. i'm really looking forward to the coming season though, and am keeping up with the offseason more than even.