Northwest Division Free Agency Preview
In recent memory, the once legendary Northwest Division has been one of the plainest collections of teams in the National Hockey League. The division has produced a solitary Stanley Cup winning team, the 2001 Colorado Avalanche, in the last decade. Since that victory, the Northwest has only represented the Western Conference twice in the Stanley Cup Finals.
With free agency beginning tomorrow at noon, the teams in the division seek to change their fortunes. Here are some possible courses of action for the five franchises:
Calgary Flames: Last season, Calgary had a meagre 42-32-10 and record and was two spots short of qualifying for the playoffs.
General Manager Daryl Sutter is trying to revamp the Flames franchise.
It seems he is not attempting to re-sign most of the Flames players that are to hit free agency this summer, and the Flames will most likely try to put together a new roster by throwing their money at other teams’ unrestricted free agents.
Key players that the Flames seem to be content parting ways with and have not seriously attempted to re-sign include Jamal Mayers, Craig Conroy, Eric Nystrom and Christopher Higgins.
Colorado Avalanche: With a 43-30-9 record the Avalanche squeezed into the play-offs as the eighth seed in the West. They then showed their true potential by upsetting the top-ranked San Jose Sharks in their run to the conference quarter final.
Joe Sacco’s coaching is rock solid and if general manager Greg Sherman is able to lure some talented free agents Colorado’s way, they can be a much tougher team this upcoming season. Sherman has proven wise in free agent dealings, and last season secured goal tender Craig Anderson to a two-year contract worth $3.6 million. Anderson then put up franchise numbers by winning 38 of his 71 appearances.
To make sure Anderson continues his strong play, the Avalanche have to put serious effort to retain defence men Brett Clark and Ruslan Salei, both of whom are entering free agency. Veteran player Adam Foote is now 38, so the Avalanche could really use some younger blood on the blue-line. Their best bet would be to attempt to steal Zbynek Michalek from the Phoenix Coyotes.
Edmonton Oilers: The Oilers were the absolute worst team in the League last season, with a record of 27-47-8. They seek to reverse their fortunes with the drafting of top-pick Taylor Hall, a brilliant youngster who put up over 100 points for the Ontario Hockey League’s Windsor Spitfires last year.
After their horrendous season, the Oilers are most likely going to sacrifice success for a couple of years in order to entirely rebuild. This means that general manager Steve Tambellini may remain relatively mum when the free agent market opens.
Two of Edmonton’s best defenders, Jason Strudwick and Aaron Johnson, are going to become unrestricted free agents and it will be interesting to see what Tambellini does.
Minnesota Wild: Last season, the Wild dished out a six-year, $30 million deal to Martin Havlat in an attempt to become relevant in the West. Havlat had a slightly disappointing 18 goals and 36 assists, and with a record of 38-36-8, Minnesota did not make the play-offs.
The Wild are actually a solid team, and most likely do not need to really sign anyone, just improve chemistry. They have a great collection of top-four defence men in Marek Zidlicky, Brent Burns, Nick Schultz and Cam Barker. They also have a solid offence, with Guillaume Latendresse, Andrew Brunette, Mikko Koivu and Antti Miettinen all reaching the 20-goal margin last season.
Realistically, the Wild don’t need new players, just slight improvements to their current ones. Havlat needs to perform like he did for the Blackhawks, where he scored 29 goals the season before transferring to the Wild.
Vancouver Canucks: At 49-28-5, the Canucks were the best team in the Northwest. The Canucks are a strong team, and there is no true shame in their play-off defeat to eventual champions Chicago Blackhawks.
The only moves they really need to make are perhaps replacing Pavel Demitra and attempting to snatch up Predators free agent Dan Hamhuis. Demitra played only 28 games last season and did not contribute in the playoffs, and the Canucks need more from a top centre. Hamhuis is a good signing as he is a British Columbia native and his great defending could only help goalie Roberto Luongo.
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