New Waivers

[JiriHrdina]

San Jose Sharks waives Hnidy, Shane (D)


Columbus Blue Jackets waives Asham, Arron (LW)


Columbus Blue Jackets waives Pardy, Adam (D)

[JiriHrdina]

Asham to Winnipeg
Pardy to NYR
no takers for Hnidy

[MJK]

Good job Winnipeg! Fill those hole with cheap pluggers and u will be fine!

[flambers]

Originally Posted by MJK

Good job Winnipeg! Fill those hole with cheap pluggers and u will be fine!

Every team requires a few "cheap" pluggers....


Rangers are pleased to add Adam Pardy to the organization.

[MJK]

Jets are in rough shape with a lack of players and limited cash available...

[JiriHrdina]

There's a few teams in that boat. Some old UFA deals are killing teams right now. I'm curious to see if GMs have learned their lesson and will be signing less grid rate players this time around.

I say this as someone who made such a mistake signing Marty Biron to a big smelly 3 year UFA contract.

[Hanna Sniper]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

There's a few teams in that boat. Some old UFA deals are killing teams right now. I'm curious to see if GMs have learned their lesson and will be signing less grid rate players this time around.

I say this as someone who made such a mistake signing Marty Biron to a big smelly 3 year UFA contract.

I doubt it. There's two philosophies that will always prevent this from happening

1. If I don't sign him I loose the asset for nothing
2. I'll just sign him and dump him on the next poor sap

There has been a change these last few years though, where GM's are willing to take a couple steps back to be able to move forward.

[Swayze11]

I have a rule that nobody gets a grid unless they are a top 3 forward, top 2 d, starting goalie on their respective teams.

[flambers]

For me the biggest risk with the UFA grid deals is the threat of retirement....

That is the first thing I think about (i.e. age of the player & NHL contract status).

[mbeauchamp76]

The question is what is that magic age? Is 33-36 yesterdays 29-32? So many players now playing into their late 30's and still being effective through their mid 30's and some even having some resurgences. I guess the key is timing their downturn. Who knew Dumont would be a bench player at 32? I agree with Pat that UFA grid's should only be considered on the top line players. I know I have made a few of these bad decisions on UFA signings like blowing everying else out of the water just to get the player. 6.5 MIL for Tom Poti rings a bell, I have certainly taken on some bad contracts however a GM will usually sweeten the pot for you to take on that bad deal, then you wake up after the dust settles and wonder why you are paying 7MIL for a 3rd line player. For me there is no doubt with Lundqvist (very little any way) however I have been having a tough time with McDonald, he had a very strong finish to the season with top 3 FW numbers having multiple point games frequently however he is 33 with injury problems in the past, but a decent C who can score points and is very good on the FO to boot. The grid would pay 8.5 MIL which is most definitely overpaid but I would hate to lose him for nothing or a measly draft pick/prospect. Although you never really lose a UFA player for nothing at this time a year. The money freed up to sign other players would be considered to be a return. Done with my ramble now. Any thoughts?

[BagoPucks]

I am new to the UFA grid signings, however from just crunching numbers and talking to some guys I have to come realise the grid extensions are a tricky subject. I have had a few decisions to make in the last year and I think the whole grid process was created to avoid guys just signings to extensions so they dont lose them. Now that does come at a cost because I think most grids are overpayments. The incentive in a cap world was to not have too many bad contracts and therefore making it so that there are some UFA Free agents available.

I think when considering wether to resign a UFA to a grid deal it comes down to how much will you have to pay to sign him on the open market and what sort of competition are you going to face while signing a guy, hence making the top line/key guys the only ones to recieve grid deals. It definitely isnt a magic number because it is a function depending on availability in UFA in the position, age, grid contract value, the probability of landing him back at UFA for a cheaper contract, competition (needs/cap situation...) to name a few.

That being said, The Toronto Maple Leafs are planning on resigning 29 year old David Legwand to a 7M grid deal. thoughts?

[JiriHrdina]

Legwand is a tough decision. He is what he is - which isn't much of an offensive force. But he's also unlikely to suffer any significant ratings decline because his game has been pretty consistent, if underwhelming.

But is he worth 7 million? Not sure.

[Knut]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

Legwand is a tough decision. He is what he is - which isn't much of an offensive force. But he's also unlikely to suffer any significant ratings decline because his game has been pretty consistent, if underwhelming.

But is he worth 7 million? Not sure.

It's possible though that he gets more than 7 million on the open market though as lots of teams with the space lack high 60 rated forwards.

I would likely deal him for as much as I can.