Why do teams sign prospects before they re-new their own players?

Question

ok im talkin caps here (when do i not) They have some FAs that they need to lock up but instead they go out and sign Scott Barney (isnt bad they need somebody to call up from hersh to score) then they sign Alzner which also isnt bad he's a great D-man they need him and today they signed Oskar Osala who i really dont know jack about. I dont mind if they sign them i just wish they would focus on Huet, Green and Feds first.

Answer 1

Scotty has shown some of his old potential in the last couple of years. Gabby probably wanted to sign him before he got away again. He is a good pickup. When his heads on straight.

Answer 2

I think that its harder to sign fa because it is more negotiable, and negotiations can take a while, whereas rookies hae a limit(around 900,000) to how much they can be paid.  it sounds like scott barney is from hershey, so he would already hae a contract to the caps.

Answer 3

I think Boston does it to keep a low bottom line.Cheap,cheap cheap!

Answer 4

You have a deadline to sign drafted players or else you lose them.   These players only count against the cap when they are in the NHL, so signing them now to retain their rights is what they are doing.

The Capitals had to sign Osala before the draft starts tomorrow or his rights are lost.

Alzner they believe will make the team next year.

Barney was an unrestricted free agent who has failed to impress at the NHL level in the past, and nobody else was interested in him.  Boudreau likes him, and got him cheap.

As for Fedorov, he has no intention of signing any contract until after July 1st.