R&R: Moving Day, Part III

Open season on the free agent market continued today. The player trafficking wasn't limited to minor players either. Some pretty big names were being moved around.

For one thing, the Flyers realized that signing Peter Forsberg and company doesn't leave a lot of room for anyone else on the payroll when considering the NHL's newly christened salary cap. That said, nine-time all-star Jeremy Roenick is heading back to the Western Conference. Philadelphia traded him to the Kings for a draft pick. That's gotta feel good.

On the other side of that, the Avalanche came to the realization that with the loss of Forsberg and Adam Foote they've been pretty well gutted. Last night they signed Patrice Brisebois of Montreal and Pierre Turgeon of Dallas.

Speaking of the Stars, the flip-flopping Mike Modano finally made a decision. There was a wink then a slap then a hug which ultimately brought him to signing a five-year deal with the team he's played for ever since they were North Stars in Minnesota.

Beyond that, there were lots of players who signed contracts with new clubs today. They are listed below.

• Scott Niedermayer made a bee-line for Anaheim to play alongside his brother Rob after many years with the Devils;


• Alexei Zhamnov signed on with Boston after realizing the Flyers can't afford to pay him or anyone else;


• Teppo Numminen beat a path out of The Big D to become a Sabre;


• Oleg Tverdovsky, an ex-Devil, will be moving to Carolina;


• Ville Nieminen of Calgary fame is now a Ranger;


• Ex-Lightning draftee Daymond Langkow left Phoenix to join the Flames;


• Columbus snatched up former Sens goalie Martin Prusek;


• and New Jersey agreed to terms with ex-Flyer Vladimir Malakhov and ex-Bruin Dan McGillis.

Among all the team changes going on, some players actually know what loyalty is. Like Modano (see above), Mathieu Schneider and Chris Chelios of Detroit, Alex Tanguay and Kurt Sauer of Colorado, Brian Rafalski of New Jersey, and Alexei Kovalev of Montreal are sticking with their respective teams.

A couple other contracted players also switched teams by way of trades. Joining Roenick (see above) is Flames forward Chris Clark who is headed to Washington.

Then there's the second member of the 2004 Stanley Cup champion Lightning who will be donning new colors come October. Following Cory Stillman's departure to Carolina, enforcer Andre Roy signed a deal with the Penguins today.

I feel he's fairly replaceable. Roy's just a tough guy who likes to fight. There are plenty of those around the league who'd be more then happy to hitch their wagon to a contender. Don't get me wrong though, I'm not discounting some of his big moments during the playoffs. But if he wants to move on, I won't really miss him.




Pre-Game Lights   I took this picture at one of the first games the Lightning played in the Ice Palace, which has since had its name changed to the St. Pete Times Forum. Yeah, that's roughly the same.