Patrollin' Some Rumors

For the last week or so the rumors have been heating up in the NHL. I am going to address three rumors in this post:

• Ryan Smyth to Calgary- If anyone knows the type of player Ryan Smyth is they know that if he signed with Calgary, Edmonton's most hated rival, hell may very well freeze over. Smitty is as loyal a player in sports as you will ever find. I will be SHOCKED if this comes true.


• Jason Blake to Toronto- This is a feasible rumor. Blake wants to test the market, and you can't blame him. This is his most likely only shot at making big time money in this league because he is coming off two big years in a row. Somebody will overpay for him in both dollars and years and it will not be Garth.


• Miroslav Satan to Dallas for Miettinen- If this baseless rumor came true, I would be delighted. However Satan is a UFA after next season so he is worth hanging on to until at least mid-season next year.

Randy Robitaille has signed a deal to play for a Russian team, he may be using this as a bargaining chip as he is still allowed to sign with an NHL team.

FREE AGENCY PREVIEW PART 1.

Earlier today I drew up a Free Agency Preview. I will post it in parts. part 1 is first. Please do not I REPEAT DO NOT, compare me to Eklund with this. He has his "Chart" that has the free agents and where he believes they will wind up. Eklund is wrong about 98% of the time and I predict I won't be much better, I am simply putting the players in the place where they make the most sense.
I am doing the first 15 of the prominent free agents today. These are the top 15 UFA's in my mind. Here goes nothing..
It will go like this Name(06-07 team)-projected salary-projected 07-08 team.

1. C. Drury (Buffalo)-5-6 Million Next Year-Resigns.
2. D. Briere (Buffalo)-6 Million-Verdict-Flyers
3. S. Souray (Habs)-7 Million-Sharks
4. R. Smyth (Isles)-5.5 Million-Resigns
5. P. Forsberg (Predators)-5 Million-Red Wings
6. S. Gomez (Devils)-5 Million-Rangers
7. J. Blake (Isles)-4.5 Million-Canucks
8. K. Timonen(Preds)-4.5 Million-Resigns
9. B. Rafalski (Devils)-4.5 Million-Resigns
10. T. Bertuzzi (Wings)-3 Million-Stars
11. S. Hartnell (Preds)-2.5 Million-Edmonton
12. M. Schneider (Wings)-3 Million-Penguins
13. D. Zubrus (Sabres)-4 Million-Flames
14. M. Comrie (Senators)-3 Million-Resigns
15. B. Stuart (Flames)-2.5 Million-Toronto

Offseason Post 3. Defense

The defense this year was about 78,000 times better than it was in 05-06. That being said it still needs some improvement. Marc=Andre Bergeron was a good start at the deadline but, I think we need one more defensive-defensemen to really round out this group. Andy Sutton would be a perfect fit. Here are my grades on the defense of 06-07.

Brendan Witt- Witter was a perfect fit for this team. Neil Smith did a good job when he signed him to a 3 year deal. He is a leader and will always stand up for his teammates. He also cut down on silly penalties this year. He is a rugged veteran who will help us again next year.
Grade- A-

Bruno Gervais- Bruno is a fan favorite on the Island already. His happy-go-lucky attitude makes everyone smile when they hear him talk. He is also great with the fans before and after games. He had an impact on the ice this year too. He was one of the best defensemen in the playoffs for us and really picked it up with the big club this year.
Grade- B

Radek Martinek- I feel bad for the guy, he was having a tremendous season for us and looked great until he got hurt in Montreal. Hopefully next season he will be healthy for the whole year and really show us what he is made of. He is fast and has good instincts and a nice shot as well.
Grade- B-

Marc-Andre Bergeron- MAB was just what our depleted power play needed when he came over from Edmonton in February. His laser shot seems to either, break his stick, break someone else's stick, or go in. He did have some blunders in his own end with turnovers and bad passes but you gotta live with that
Grade- B

Chris Campoli & Freddy Meyer- I think both these players need to learn Ted Nolan's system a little bit better. Campoli came into the year thinking he was a sure thing and was sent to the 'A' quickly. He showed signs of improvement and had a pretty good post season. Meyer did a lot of good things but never really made a statement with the Islanders. He had some big hits and nice plays but no goals since coming over for Zhitnik. I think one of these two could be dealt in the offseason.
Grade- C

Tom Poti- Poti was neevr comfortable with the Rangers and it did not take long for him to fit in here. He played on the PP and the PK and made some great plays with his reach. He had more of an edge this year then I've ever seen him have and really played well. I'd like to see him back next year.
Grade- B+

Sean Hill- No excuses.
Grade- F-

My Dream Defense for next year:

Witt-Martinek
Sutton-Gervais
Bergeron-Poti

Campoli dealt for a high draft pick or a prospect.

Meyer 7th defensemen.