Mikael Samuelsson was talking about his own situation, but he could have just as easily been referring to everything about this week's NHL free-agent market opening.
"Obviously [the money] was the key," the former Detroit Red Wings right wing said not long after he signed a three-year deal for $7.5 million with the Vancouver Canucks.
• Canucks sign Samuelsson | Offseason Movement
Yes it was. In some cases, it was the kinds of contracts signed by players. In others, it was teams trying to be practical in tough economic times knowing the salary cap could head south. But money was the story of this market opening, and ultimately the basis on which it will be judged.
In that context, a look at who has and hasn't done well in the early stages of free agency.
Winners
Marian Hossa: Say what you want about Hossa's decision to leave Pittsburgh for the Red Wings last summer, it didn't cost him in the end. Hossa rejected some long-term deals worth about $8 million a year for what was an ill-fated shot at winning the Stanley Cup with Detroit. But even in this year's tougher economic climate, he managed to recoup most of the money that was on the table. The 12-year deal for nearly $63 million Hossa got from Chicago will pay out almost everything in the first seven years, so by age 37, Hossa will essentially be in the same financial position he would have been. And he's still with a team with a lot of really good talent, much of it young, so winning a Stanley Cup in Hossa's time frame could happen.
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| After getting his name on the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh, Rob Scuderi now goes for greener pastures in L.A. (Getty Images) |
New York Rangers: First they got out from under Scott Gomez's salary, and then they used the savings to snag Marian Gaborik, who was arguably the best pure talent available on the market. The nice thing is that he will cost New York about the same for the term of his five-year deal as Gomez would have had the Rangers not peddled him off to Montreal. Gaborik is a risk because of his injury history, but assuming he's healthy, New York has added a game breaker to its anemic offense and done so without disrupting the roster. The Rangers got some good pieces back in the Gomez deal as well with 20-goal scorer Chris Higgins and Ryan McDonough, a University of Wisconsin defenseman who was a first-round pick last year, and they found a new peacekeeper in veteran enforcer Donald Brashear.
Minnesota Wild: Understand Gaborik was not going back to Minnesota under any circumstances, even if the new GM had offered him the moon. His predecessor tried that last summer with lifetime-type contract offers, but Gaborik had his mind set on leaving Minnesota and testing the market. So Chuck Fletcher was ready when Gaborik bolted, and the GM responded within a few hours by signing Martin Havlat to a six-year deal. Havlat might be a poor man's version of Gaborik, but he is a high-end offensive player who will not hurt the system new coach Todd Richards is expected to employ. Minnesota saved a lot of money in the process and will use some of it to chase former Montreal captain Saku Koivu, whose brother Mikko is the Wild captain. In the meantime, Fletcher signed Greg Zanon, the league's third-best shot blocker and a 20-minute-per-game defenseman to upgrade the blue line.
Losers
Ottawa Senators: Or is it Dany Heatley? He wants out, the Senators want to get rid of him, but it's a complicated process, and until something is worked out, neither side can start focusing on next season. Ottawa had a deal for the disgruntled forward, who has asked to be traded a year after signing a $45 million contract extension, but Heatley refused to waive his no-trade clause if it meant landing in Edmonton. Doing so meant Ottawa had to pay him his $4 million bonus due July 1. The stalemate has kept the Senators on the sidelines through the start of free agency, while the likelihood is increasing that Heatley will not get everything he wants for a change.
Pittsburgh Penguins: As good as the Stanley Cup champs are, they are going to feel the absence of Scuderi and Hal Gill from their blue line. It's not going to kill a team that has a core with names like Malkin, Crosby, Staal and Fleury, but the Penguins are losing two very good unassuming defensemen. Neither Scuderi nor Gill put up the kind of offensive numbers that catch attention, but the jobs they did in their own end, particularly in the playoffs as the No. 1 shutdown unit, were critical to the Penguins coming home with the Cup. It earned them nice raises, but ones that Pittsburgh couldn't fit into the budget. Call it the price of success.
Phil Kessel: Kessel is one of the new generation of budding young American-born superstars, and he's coming off a breakout season with the Boston Bruins. But he's looking for the kind of money that players in his situation were getting in recent years, and the Bruins aren't willing to pay it. Kessel is a restricted free agent who would like to get an offer sheet, one the Bruins say they would match. But with most teams pushing up against the cap, Kessel might not find one out there, and that won't help his bargaining position later.
