Free agent signings

My guess is they are simply kicking the tires on this one. In view of the cap and the minor ($100K) escalation I doubt they would make an early offer. Kessel will not command big money. He is the Bruins' Rondo. No team in view of the cap will pay this guy more the Kreci (sp) AND give up compensation to boot. If they do, I almost think the Bruins would be happy..... essentially ridding themselves of salary that they don't really want to spend even though they know he is a proven goal scorer. If Kessel should get an offer....they can look to the Hossa's of the world to replace him. I don't expect an offer to Hossa. Not at all.

12 year contract? Jesus...

If Hossa gets $5m....then Kessel is between $4-$4.5M max....no problem matching that

Does the Hossa deal send the $s for Kessel spiraling down... into the 3Ms?

I don't understand this at all. I could see a huge 1 year deal, but 12 years. Must mean that Toews, Kane, and more lifely Bufgilyn will be moved at the deadline next year.

I love the Hawks, picking up Hossa is hurting my Hawks pride. Especially now because Havlat is better than Hossa. This blows my mind.

12 years!?!? Garth Snow is now working for the Hawks front office too?

OMG!!! Come one PC!! Sign Hunwick already!!! I would not get over it if we lose him..

http://twitter.com/HackswithHaggs

I want Gaborik..everyone would forget about Kessel if we got this guy. It would also allow us to trade Kessel for a young D and a good pick perhaps.

Hey Joe,

Seidenberg from Carolina is available, Chara could really take his countryman under his wing, would be a good cheap second D pair-man.

When did the Hawks hire Milbury?
Given all the bodies they have to sign next year this is going to set them back years. But i don't expect Toews or Kane to leave...

Wonder if we can get Seabrook, Keith, Byfuglien at a reasonable price?

Brian Cashman must be in the Hawks front office...12 years? Roloson deal is puzzling, if he's a backup that's a lot of money to pay him to play 20-25 games. Maybe DiPietro is not trusted to stay healthy. Montador is gone!!!! Woohoo!

I didn't know Chara was German....the best news of the day: Montador signs with Buffalo.......What an early Xmas present!!!!!!!!!

Hossa's stats from last season, 40 goals 31 assists 71 points in 74 games with a +27 rating. Phil Kessel had 36 goals 24 assists 60 points in 71 games with a +23 rating. Looks like the market is somewhat set and Kessel is worth roughly 4 million a year with incentives. Kessel would be smart to sign a 2-3 year deal to get past the reduction in salary cap years and play for the big pay day in 2011. Maybe the Bruins will build an escalating deal the pays him 3.75 this year, 4.25 next season and 5 million based on games, goals and total points. If he turns into the 40+ goal scorer everone wins.

Colton Orr is 5'11...hardly a heavyweight

Phew, no Montador in Boston next season. And how in the world did he pull down more than $1M per season. Has Buffao's GM's brain not thawed yet?

Montador was a disappointment but I did admire that he never backed down from anyone.

Yes! Montador to Buff. One of the rare times when you like seeing one of your guys sign within your division.

Ehh, my bad, I was thinking of Valabik, one of those big Southeast Division D-men

Now Lucic doesn't have to feel bad about kicking Monty's a$$ anymore.

i agree gaborik would be great here - hes a bit of a concern with injuries, but his impact is immediate. speed and finish - and used to being the only goal scorer on his team. here in beantown, on a team with plenty of goal-scoring talent, we could run oppoents out of the building and take some of the grind off our D. thier GM swears by him thoguh so not sure its possible to land him.

hossa deal is mind-boggling. here is a guy who went to war with a team and lost in the cup finals, then jumped ship, went ot the other side and lost to his former team. imagine how those handshakes were. hes on the decline. good player, but i never felt he was great. look at the lines hes played on!

i thnk the Roloson deal to the isle was a great move, a bit pricey, but it may keep them in the hunt for longer than 3 weeks this year if dipietro goes down. again. or at least lighten the load - and hes got playoff expereince. will be a good voice in the lcoker room.

the gomez trade to the habs all but seals the deal in my mind that Heatly is going to the rangers.

im surprised the boumeister move to calgary hasnt made that much noise. greatr pickup for them. thier forwards are getting older and thier goalie too - this may be thier best changce if all are healthy.

smart move by tampa on ohlund, although he dissapeared in vancouvers last playoff series.

does anyone else get the feeling that this past season was our best chance to win? our slaries are killing us. Bergy had better post some sexy numbers this year - i know hes great as a D-forward and the injury wasnt his fault - but we need to look at this like other GMs. hes gotta pull his weight. we're all rooting for him.

So the oilers get the Bulin wall for
$15M total 4 years @ $3.75M

Tim Thomas gets 4 years @ 5 million for 20 million.

They are both around the same age.
But Habby does have a stanley cup.

Is it me or did the Bruins mis-judge the free-agent market for goalies and over pay for timmy? This contract could come back to hurt the bruins over the next couple of years.

12 years for Hossa is nice, this might be the trend going forward

it's really like a 4 year deal for 3x the money only stretched out...

You guys can't use Hossa's contract as a base for Kessel....for the same reason Kessel's agent is going to use. Hossa signed a deal for 5mil a season, yes....but for 12 years. A player get's a long term contract like that, especially in todays salary cap/bad economy times, the annual worth is going to be less. In other words, a 12 year deal for 5mil a season would roughly net 7mil a season if it was a 3 or 4 year deal. Players are going to be more flexible on yearly salary the longer the contract is....basically because it's guaranteed money. He might only play 8 more years, but get paid for 12....thus his annual salary for years played actually goes up. It's like a prorated contract. You play 8 years, but instead of paying you 7.5mil a season for those 8 years...I'll pay you 5mil a season for 12.

So if Kessel were to sign a 4 year deal and want similar money, the Bruins would have to cough up 6mil a season....at least. I suspect Kessel will get an offer in the 6 mil a season range...and the Bruins won't match it. So the Bs will end up with compensation picks.

Colton Orr shrunk 4 inches??? I don't think so. He's 6'3" & around 220lbs ... anyone who's seen him fight knows he's a heavyweight.

Colton Orr is a punk. He'll fit in well in Toronto.
That is all.

So...the Hawks have Hossa signed till...2021?

How much is that in dog years?