Metal Reviews

Good. This contract shit should be dealt with now, not in a lockout (please don't happen please don't happen).

Incidentally, New Jersey is really fucking themselves with this deal. Goodbye Elias, goodbye Rolston, goodbye getting a decent goaltender when Brodeur inevitably retires (unless they have a good one in the minors I'm unaware of). And 17 years is just stupid for any team to commit to.

I also don't like them either but the NHL has let a whole bunch of other huge contracts slide like Hossa's or Luongo's. They should let this one be and wait until the next CBA to figure it all out. What they're doing is right but the timing of it is wrong.

Rags sign Alex Frolov to a 1 year deal and the Kings signed Alex Ponikarovsky to a 1 year deal.

Pftt. If I were the Kings I'd rather just keep Frolov. But I guess they were focused on Kovalchuk for too long?

Yup.. Frolov felt neglected after the Kings went so long without offering him a contract so when they finally turned to him he was no longer interested. Can't say I blame him. Besides, he's likely to have a statistically better season on the Rangers to up the value of his next contract anyway.

Ponikarovsky is plan C for the Kings. Not thrilled about it but we were very weak on left wing and needed someone viable. Let's hope we get the Maple Leaf-Ponikarovsky and not the Penguin one.

Hey, 27 days into free agency and the Kings make their first roster addition of the summer (including the draft!). Can't complain now that something finally happens.

Poni is not a bad player, he's just inconsistent. He was also terrible for the Penguins. But he did get a nickname in TO, hands of stone, so b ready for that. You will scratch your head saying "how the hell did he miss that?". But when he's using his size he can be effective. Surprised he got 3 million though, thought he'd get 2 at the most.

sorry for the spelling/grammar, on my phone

Yup, a tad high money-wise... Luckily the Kings still have like 13 million in cap space so it doesn't really matter on a one-year deal.

isn't Doughty and Johnson due for a raise next summer?

count your cap room blessings, getting Kovalchuk could really fuck things over for the Kings.

Yeah they are and it certainly isn't gonna be cheap so in that regard the one year deal to Poni makes sense. Got some salary coming off the books next summer though so there will probably still be some room for another large contract.

But does Jack Johnson really deserve a big raise?

maybe not as big as Doughty, but he is deserving of more.

I'd love him in a Leafs jersey.

So a few things have gone down over the last few days/weeks

Ducks sign d-man Andy Sutton
Sharks re-sign Devin Setoguchi
Hawks walk away from Niemi and sign Marty Turco
and probably more stuff I am forgetting

Yeah, finally some movement.... I wonder where Niemi is gonna end up.

Good move by the Hawks. Niemi was not worth 2.75 million. Whether Turco can become more consistent is another question...

A huge question. He's lucky to be playing in front of such a good team.

I'd say 2.75 is in the ballpark for what I'd pay him. Played very well for basically half of a regular season and good enough in the playoffs to get the Cup (but like Fleury last year he was very good when he needed to be). So that's earned him a raise for sure but he doesn't have a proven track record like other elite goalies to warrant a bigger salary.

2.75 was a pretty fair deal but Chicago clearly needs to squeeze every penny right now so Turco at like 1.3 saves them a good sum. Turco comes off a pair of disappointing seasons but he was a feared goaltender not long ago. If (big if) Chicago can continue to be one of the best defensive teams in the league he should at the very least be adequate.

The arbitrators decision on Kovalchuk is suppose to be announced today.

I'm kinda torn on how I want this to go. As a hockey fan I want the contract to voided, but as a Leafs fan I want the contract to stand so it can finally be over and we can get back to the trades and other signings.

Kovalchuks contract is null and void. He is a free agent once again.

kovalchuk pls go