Around the links

the UFA link is a little weak:
Murray is having ankle surgery as reported by a St Louis reporter, likely done for his career.
No Brendan Shanahan or Mats Sundin? And by the way, either one of those guys could certainly help the B's. And i realize there is a cap, just saying they could help.
Forsberg could hep the B's too, but again the cap and he probably doesn't want to play here.
And at this point and for my money, Perrault over yelle... yelle has been atrocious in the faceoff circle and hasnt brought much else to the table except for blocking some shots... a bit of an overrated stat in my mind

Forsberg will not be making a return to the NHL unless it is with the Avs from what I read.

Sundin is way to expensive, Shanahan could be an option IF Fernandez is moved but I doubt he'd sign that cheap, that'd definitely be huge veteran leadership that would have a huge impact in the locker room.

I disagree on the shot blocking, I think its an important skill and one which the forwards on this team were severely lacking. I think Yelle's willingness to block shots has rubbed off on the rest of the team too ... hell we've even seen Phil hit the ice to take one for the team this year.

just saying its overrated, not unimportant... a few reasons: many goalies (brodeur comes to mind) prefer that players let shots through, because of deflections and change of direction. also, how many times do you see a player hit the ice only to have a shot faked and now that player is out of position? that ties into what the goalies prefer too because clearing out the crease, or a rebound, or picking up an open guy on the doorstep might be more important than laying on the ice. And injuries; goalies are well protected and are actually paid to stop pucks. players are less protected, especially in the feet, gut, and face, places that are prone to catching a puck. even a shin pad is not as protective as a goalie's leg pad. yes, there's something to be said for paying the price, but being in the lineup is often times more important

hockey,
If shotblocking truly is SO undesirable in the NHL, why is it that multiple players for every franchise do so? Also, why is it that coaches and other players consistently laud players for going down to block shots? If it were such a bad thing, would those thing be happening on all thirty teams?

can you read? or is it just your comprehension? i said over rated, not "so undesirable in the nhl." i didn't say it was a "bad thing," just simply overrated.
first of all, not all 30 teams want their players to block shots, new jersey is an example that i gave already. other teams with top goaltenders (dipietro is a goalie who comes to mind) also prefer their players dont block shots, it causes deflections and obstructs a goalie's view of the puck. does shot blocking still happen on those teams? of course, but its not the preferred way of playing the game on those teams. and actually brodeur gets on his players for doing it. and his coaches and gm actually back him up for it. actually that's one reason why julien was run out of NJ, he implemented systems and it was reported that brodeur said, "no we don't do it that way here." and lamorello backed him up on that. later in the season after more battles like that, julien was gone despite their great record.
i also gave specific reasons as to why shot blocking is not always the best course of action, then i also said there is something to be said for paying the price. of course coaches praise players for making sacrifices and working hard. that doesnt mean the stat isnt overrated. over rated means to rate too highly. is blocking shots the most important stat you want your players to have? no. its not even in the top 10, that's why you pay a goalie to stop the puck. the league doesnt even officially keep track of the stat. goals, assists, points, hits, PIM's, time on ice, scoring chances, shots on goal are examples of stats that are more important when rating a hockey player. does shot blocking help prevent goals, yes most of the time, but it also allows other things to happen which might not work.
there is a weakness to any strategy in sports. coaches, players, and scouts are all paid big bucks to find and exploit the weaknesses. you can say that base stealing in baseball is a great way to try to generate runs, but what about pick-offs, getting caught stealing, not being able to tag up on a fly out, and pitch outs? is base stealing a stat that can help you determine the value of a ball player? yes. is it the best way or the only way? no. do all teams have someone who can steal bases from time to time? yes. do all teams want their players to steal bases and be overly aggressive on the base path? no, in fact some teams only play the basestealer in crucial situations. some managers even tell base stealers who play regualrly not to steal, ever.
am i saying base stealing is over rated or not important in baseball? no. am i even saying that base stealing compares to shot blocking? no... but it helps to prove my point that what is obviously a good idea, strategy, or measurement of a player such as shot blocking can be valued differently on certain teams... and in my case by certain fans. i simply think its overrated, is it always a bad thing to do? absolutely not.
sorry for the long post, but i got fired up about it