Early Moves

The Flyers and Red Wings were quick out of the gate, taking advantage of the “buyout” option available to them this year. This was a way for the deep pocket teams to get out from underneath some of the heavier contracts they have tendered. Think of it as a Get Out of Jail for Free card … if by “free” we mean millions and millions of dollars.

The CBA must have been ratified about one minute before Bob “Don’t Call me Bobby” Clarke bought out the once-great John LeClair and Tony Amonte. Both players are shadows of their former selves, and Philly cleared out over $11 million in cap space by buying out these two players.

And boy oh boy did they ever need to clear up space. As it stood, their salary cap was sitting at $33.8 million, leaving them only $5.2 million in cap space. That’s not a lot of room when you consider they had to sign two goalies (or bring one up; they have some depth in this area in the organization) as well as some notable restricted free agents like Simon Gagne, Kim Johnsson, and Dennis Seidenberg.

Without buying out LeClair and Amonte, that would have left them no room under the cap. Kinda like me in college on a Wednesday before pay day. But did that stop me from going out and having a couple of pops? Heck, no!

But Bob is apparently a bit more conscientious than I was in college. At midnight. On a Wednesday. So I guess this is a good thing. With this move, the Flyers can easily sign the needs cited above, as well as go after … let’s see, we’re talking about Bobby Clarke … how about another forward, Bob?

I swear, every year the Flyers need a d-man, and Bob goes out and gets himself another forward or two. Doi!

The Flyers have depth at forward, but I suspect they’ll still sign another forward or three, along with the aforementioned goalies. If Bob’s smart, and that’s a big if (remember, he’s the guy who stuck with Garth Snow … guh!), he’ll sign another defenseman or two, and they better be of the burly variety.

The Red Wings also bought out three players: Ray Whitney, Derian Hatcher, and Darren McCarty. This move cleared up a tad over $9 million in cap space.

Ray Whitney’s buyout was a given; he was a classic pick up for the Wings and their yearly playoff push. Back in the day, money wasn’t a huge issue with the Wings. Now that there’s a cap, well … for a team with their backs against the cap, every dollar counts.

Derian Hatcher … he was an unmitigated disaster for the Wings. The Wings signed Hatcher to a huge contract, and only three games into the season he tore up his knee, leaving him to play only 15 regular season games and 12 playoff games as a Red Wing. All of this for the cool, cool price of around $8.3 million dollars. That’s only $307,407.40 per game. Sweet!

McCarty’s buyout was a bit more of a surprise. He was due $1.71 million this year – not a ridiculous amount by any stretch - and he is a local hero. Heck, anyone who pummeled Claude Lemieux back in the day was given the keys to their respective cities.

But his style has taken its toll on his body, and he may be breaking down. But I think the year off may serve him well, letting his body recoup from all of those playoff appearances and shortened off-seasons.

And really, are you telling me Ottawa wouldn’t kill to have a guy like this on their squad? Darren will have no problem signing with whichever team he chooses; he’s a hard worker who brings many facets to his game, including decent hands.

This leaves the Wings with about $22 million or so left under the cap. They’ll resign Stevie Y, probably for a very reasonable price (assuming he wants to play). They really, really need to resign Datsyuk and Zetterberg, and they won’t be cheap.

They’ll need to acquire a defenseman or two, even though Niklas Kronwall looks to make the roster this year. As always, the Wings will probably find a way. The bastages.