News & views: KHL a step closer to goal by nabbing Nabokov
There must be a lot of disappointed team owners out there now that LeBron has decided to come to South Beach. Maybe none, though, more than the guys who bought the Florida Panthers a few months ago.
Since then the organization has been doing a lot of good things in an attempt to get on the local sports radar again and it seems headed in the right direction with the recent hiring of Dale Tallon as the general manager. Tallon, the architect of the Chicago Blackhawks' Stanley Cup lineup, has already put his mark on the Panthers, and could very well produce Florida's first playoff team in a decade.
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| Evgeni Nabokov is probably the most significant signing for the KHL. (AP) |
News: Evgeni Nabokov signs long-term contract with the KHL.
Views: The dollars being offered to the former San Jose goalie -- $24 million over four years -- were too great to pass up, especially since no NHL team was going to come close to matching the tax-free bounty Nabokov will get back in Russia. But this isn't only a jackpot for a 34-year-old goaltender. It is arguably the most significant signing ever for the KHL, making the Russian league a far more viable alternative when it comes to repatriating players. Unlike many of the aging players who have joined the upstart league, Nabokov is still among the NHL's elite goaltenders and coming off a great season. But much like the Sharks, Nabokov disappointed in the playoffs, hurting his value on the open market as much as the glut of goaltenders who were available. The veteran would have found a starting job in the NHL had he set his financial sights lower, but it wasn't necessary with the KHL ready to show him the money. That's something Ilya Kovalchuk realizes as well.
News: Shea Weber named captain of the Nashville Predators.
Views: Now it's official for the 24-year-old defensemen. And a very good choice as well since Weber is in effect the franchise player. Besides, Weber dealt with the captain's duties at times over the last couple of seasons when Jason Arnott was hurt. He is among the NHL's best defensemen and starred at the Olympics for Team Canada, so he commands respect in the dressing room and is the natural successor to the veteran Arnott, who left for New Jersey as a free agent. Weber is an organization lifer too, drafted by the Predators. He's been in Nashville since he was a teenager and has seen and dealt with the all the off-ice distractions caused by that franchise's financial challenges. That's another experience that will help him well as the leader of a young team.
News: St. Louis gets long-term deal done quickly with Jaroslav Halak.
Views: Considering there was $15 million involved, this seemed to be a relatively easy deal to get done. Of course both Halak, who came to the Blues in a stunning trade a few weeks ago after starring in the playoffs for Montreal, and St. Louis wanted to get this out of the way quickly. Halak even waived his arbitration rights to speed up the process. And he got a nice raise, essentially quadrupling the salary he made last year with the Canadiens for each of the next four years. And Halak probably helped a couple of young goalies in the process. Chicago's Antti Niemi is headed for arbitration and has a Stanley Cup under his belt and former teammate Carey Price was the guy Montreal chose to keep over Halak and now has to re-sign him.
News: Calgary Flames bring in Jay Feaster as assistant GM.
Views: Don't be surprised if this develops into a situation similar to Atlanta's. Rick Dudley was hired as an assistant by Thrashers GM Don Waddell last year, and took over when Waddell moved upstairs as president. And Calgary's current GM Darryl Sutter has been under constant fire for the last couple of years for the moves he's made, including his most recent free-agent signings. Feaster, meanwhile, replaced Dudley in Tampa Bay and directed a Stanley Cup winner while navigating the often testy relationship between coach John Tortorella and star Vincent Lecavalier. Feaster was pushed out of Tampa by an ownership change, but he's a sharp talent judge and he'll bring a fresh perspective to an organization that needs one. And ultimately he could make it easier for the organization to transition away from Sutter.
News: Jarome Iginla endorses signings of Jokinen and Tanguay.
Views: Given his status in Calgary, that means something and will probably help turn down the heat on Sutter. The Flames captain spoke out this week about the controversial free-agent signings referenced in the previous item and by doing so, gave some cover to his general manager. Sutter has been taking a beating since he added Alex Tanguay and Olli Jokinen to an aging lineup that missed the playoffs and still has salary cap issues. But Iginla told the Canadian Press that bringing back the former Flames makes sense on several levels, mostly because Calgary is getting two players capable of putting up big numbers at a discount price. Sutter actually said essentially the same thing after he made the signings last week, but Iginla's words carry more weight. "We're getting two guys that are very hungry. A lot of us have that in common," he said.
