News and Views: Ducks draft weekend's big winners

The NHL Draft weekend provided more sizzle than steak when it came to the expected moving of high-profile players, but it may have stoked the fires for the July 1 start of free agency.

Much will depend on how the market shakes out. Several general managers were looking to get out of high-priced and often ill-advised contracts they locked themselves into the last couple of seasons. But with more teams concerned with salary cap issues now than at any time since the lockout, no one was in any great rush to do anything.

Joffrey Lupul is part of the Ducks' outstanding return from Philly in the Chris Pronger deal. (Getty Images)

Truth is everyone is waiting to see what standard free agency will set. If the offers to the top players pale in comparison to those of recent seasons then the process of moving overpriced contracts will become more difficult. But if some teams get caught up in a wild spending hysteria, those left on the sidelines might be inclined to take a second look at the higher-priced stars who were dangled at the draft. At least that's our view. Here are a few others:

News: Anaheim scores big during draft weekend

Views: It's impossible to truly determine the winners and losers of any NHL Draft for several seasons, but it's hard to argue any team had a better time in Montreal than the Anaheim Ducks. Not only did they reap a windfall and clear significant salary cap space by trading Chris Pronger to Philadelphia for the equivalent of four first-round draft picks, the Ducks came out of the weekend knowing that key veterans Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne will be back next season and in time for the start of it. That precipitated Anaheim moving Pronger, who has one year left on his contract and could very well be the missing piece that changes the dynamics in the Eastern Conference for the Flyers. But by getting former first-rounders Joffrey Lupul and Luca Sbisa and Philadelphia's top picks in this draft and 2010, the Ducks pulled off the remarkable trifecta of becoming younger, better offensively and gaining a lot more budgetary flexibility in the process. Look for them to make a lot of noise next season.

News: Senators fail to move Dany Heatley

Views: This saga has several potential endings for the Senators and none of them are particularly appealing. The high scoring Dany Heatley signed a six-year, $45 million extension in October 2007, but now wants out of Ottawa -- for reasons best known to himself. Problem is Heatley's annual cap hit, not to mention a questionable attitude and Ottawa's asking price, kept teams from breaking down the doors to get him at the draft. Go figure. Meanwhile, there is pressure on the Senators to move him by July 1 when Heatley is due a lump sum upfront payment of $4 million against next season's salary. Ottawa GM Bryan Murray has made it clear he won't give away a valuable asset, but his options for moving him are limited because Heatley has a no-trade clause he has not relinquished. Murray has given Heatley's agents a chance to find a trading partner, but says if they can't find the right fit, he'll expect the player to be in training camp and live up to his contractual obligations. Regardless of how disgruntled he is.

News: Bruins continue to let Phil Kessel dangle

Views: He is a budding superstar, the fifth overall pick only three years ago and is coming off a breakout 36-goal season despite missing a dozen games. Still the Bruins don't think Phil Kessel is worth or will get the kind of money he is looking for. At least not with the forward depth the team has and particularly in the current economic environment. The 21-year-old speedster from Madison, Wis., is looking to cash in for about $5.5 million annually, almost $2 million more than Boston is looking to pay. The Bruins could lose the restricted free agent to an offer sheet, which is why there were several rumors at the draft that he would be traded to cash-rich Toronto for Tomas Kaberle. Boston, of course, would have a right to match any offer sheet, but if the organization really felt threatened about losing him, a deal would have been made by now. Ideally, the Bruins would bring Kessel back for about the $3.75 million average they recently gave David Krejci. For now they appear willing to let the open market set his price and to let him go if necessary.

News: Players invoke escalator clause to keep salary cap around $56 million

Views: Don't feel sorry for NHL owners, who are generally facing declining revenues, because the escrow provisions in the collective bargaining agreement will ensure the cumulative salaries they pay out will remain consistent with their projections. But the 5 percent escalator clause the union has at its disposal still has advantages for the players, even if they end up again losing nearly 16 percent of their salaries, as they did last season. That was the overall escrow charge last season against a cap of about $56 million, because the CBA ensures players can't make more than a fixed percentage of all hockey related revenues. The players theoretically could have reduced the escrow withholding had they not invoked the escalator, but by doing so, they have gained other advantages. Those include making more available money for free agents and reducing the chance of more expensive players being waived by teams up against the cap.

News: Tampa Bay gets its act together

Views: Well maybe. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman had to act like a marriage counselor between feuding owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie last week, calling them both to a sit-down in which he told them to work things out or have one buy out the other. In the meantime, GM Brian Lawton was moved to inform all his counterparts and agents that he was the only person authorized to deal with player transactions. Still, what seemed like the latest misadventure in an often comical first season for this ownership group had a decent ending when the Lightning managed to get 6-6 Swedish phenom defenseman Victor Hedman with the second overall pick. Hedman could have gone easily gone first overall to the Islanders, leaving Tampa Bay to grab the draft's other star, scoring sensation John Tavares. That would not have been a bad thing, but the Lightning are already pretty deep up front and they drafted a big scorer in Steven Stamkos with the first overall pick last year. Now they need to rebuild the blue line and getting a potential franchise defenseman like Hedman is a good way to start. And Tampa Bay managed to add power forward Carter Ashton later in the first round by trading for Detroit's pick, so all in all the Lightning did nicely at the draft.