Bleeps And Bloops: Free Agents Still Available

Looking at some of the still available unrestricted free agents that could help a team this year.

Alex Kovalev (PHOTO: Getty Images)

FORWARD:

Brendan Morrison, Center (UPDATE:  Re-Signed with Calgary 7/15/11)

Cory Stillman, Left Wing: 39 points split between Florida and Carolina last year, would be a good addition to anyone looking for powerplay help (12 of 39 points came on the man advantage).

Sergei Samsonov, Left Wing: 40 points last year, still capable of producing offensively. But he’s only for a team that could put him on a line with a decent centerman.  If the team can provide that, he could be a nice addition.

John Madden, Center: If you need a depth center who’s willing to grind it out, he’s your man.  25 points with Minnesota last year despite a -9 +/- rating.

Vinny Prospal, Center: Despite a knee injury last year, still managed 29 points with The Rangers. Another option for those seeking powerplay help (10/29 pts came on the man advantage) and/or a veteran presence in the locker room who can contribute on and off the ice.

Alex Kovalev, Right Wing: Not quite what he used to be, but still worth a sign if  and only if the price is right. Managed 34 points between Ottawa and Pittsburgh last year.

Brent Sopel (PHOTO: Getty Images)

DEFENSE:

Steve Staios: A veteran who can still block a shot and contribute offensively every once in a while (10 pts in 39 games w/ Calgary last year), far from a top pairing guy, but could prove valuable depth wise.

Craig Rivet: Despite a knee injury and sitting out most of last year, well worth a pickup for the right price as a depth defenseman and nothing more.  A decent shot blocker.

Ruslan Salei: Very limited offensive abilities, but another good depth move for a final pairing.  3rd on the team in shot blocks last year with Detroit.

Brent Sopel: This defensive defenseman would be a good addition to any team.

Bryan Mccabe: He’s still got some gas left in the tank, 28 points split between Florida and New York last year. Would be a decent addition to a good powerplay, but he isn’t too shabby at even strength either.

Ray Emery (PHOTO: CBC)

GOALTENDER:

Ray Emery: Coming back from a potentially career ending medical condition, Emery shined in Anaheim going 7-2-0 with a .926 save percentage and a 2.28 goals against average. Could be a valuable backup or 1B goalie.

Marty Turco: While last season didn’t go as well as he would have liked, he would still be a decent backup on any team, he’s  past being a #1 goalie.

Pascal Leclaire: A risky sign ( as he’s been known to injure himself picking up a pen to sign a contract) but Pascal still has the ability to be a goaltender in the NHL, just not sure if it is as a #1.

Looking at the NHL Awards

After the regular season, we took it upon ourselves to vote for five major NHL awards (Hart, Vezina, Norris, Calder and Adams).  With the awards show tomorrow night, let’s take a quick look back on how we did voting wise and who the frontrunner for those awards are.

Hart Memorial Trophy
This year, the three finalists are: Anaheim’s Corey Perry, Vancouver’s Daniel Sedin and Tampa Bay’s Martin St. Louis. Our voting had Perry, Sedin and Tim Thomas. With no disrespect to St. Louis, this is a two horse race. Corey Perry had 50 goals and dominated down the stretch. Sedin scored a career-high 41 goals, and 104 points, winning the Art Ross. Both guys are deserving but there can only be one winner. This season Perry’s been the most valuable to his team and should pick up the Hart. However, Sedin should win the Ted Lindsay (Most Outstanding Player) award.

Vezina Trophy
The Canucks’ Roberto Luongo, Predators’ Pekka Rinne and Bruins’ Tim Thomas are the finalists for the Vezina trophy. All three made were our finalists also. Thomas should dominate the voting and easily pick up the hardware this year, which would be his second Vezina (2009).

James Norris Trophy
Zdeno Chara, Nicklas Lidstrom and Shea Weber are the 2010-11 finalists. Our voting was close, with those three defenseman along with Lubomir Visnovsky finishing as our top vote getters. (Yes, I know that is four, but we had a 3-way tie for 2nd). Even though he’s not as well known as his co-finalists, Weber had a fantastic season and should win his first NHL trophy.

Calder Memorial Trophy
This year, the Sharks’ Logan Couture, Islanders’ Michael Grabner and Hurricanes’ Jeff Skinner are the NHL’s finalists. Once again, our top 3 voted finalists match the NHL’s. All three topped 30 goals and 50 points. Couture and Skinner will likely go 1-2 (in some order) but Couture is the pick here.

Jack Adams Award
The NHL’s finalist for the Adams Award are: Pittsburgh’s Dan Bylsma, Nashville’s Barry Trotz and Vancouver’s Alain Vigneault. Unfortunately, of those three only Bylsma made our finalists. The other two were Tampa’s Guy Boucher and New Jersey’s Jacques Lemaire. The frontrunner should be Bylsma, who almost won the Atlantic Division, despite his two best players (Crosby and Malkin) being injured.

Our voting produced 12 of the 15 NHL’s finalists. So who will win some of the other awards?

Ryan Kesler seems like the heavy favorite to unseat 3-time defending winner Pavel Datsyuk (a co-finalist) for the Selke Trophy. Datsyuk isn’t even going to Las Vegas for the awards show, and could be a sign of a new winner. The Blackhawks’ Jonathan Toews is the other candidate.

The Lady Byng was another Datsyuk specialty, winning four times since the lockout. However, he was in a fight this season which prompted the internet to joke that he “blew his Byng chances.” Last year’s winner Martin St. Louis is in the running once again, along with Lidstrom and Dallas’ Loui Eriksson. St. Louis will probably win the award again this year.

The Masterton trophy is given to a player that shows perseverance and this year’s field has gone through a lot. Ray Emery (degenerative hip condition), Daymond Langkow (neck injury) and Ian Laperriere (brain injury) all are deserving, but this year’s winner has to be Emery. Thought to possibly have trouble walking in the future (let alone playing hockey), Emery rehabbed most of this season, and signed with the Ducks in February, playing in 16 games (including playoffs) for Anaheim.

One other award up for grabs is the Messier Leadership award. Chara, Lidstrom and Phoenix’s Shane Doan are this year’s finalists. The Coyotes battled relocation rumors all season and still managed to finish fifth. Doan’s been Phoenix’s captain since 2003. He was also Canada’s captain in the 2007 World Championships. He should be recognized for his leadership.

Adieu, Nik Zherdev

Blue Jackets and Rangers fans tried to warn me.  I wouldn’t listen.  I thought the Flyers picking up Nikolay Zherdev could be a solid signing; giving depth to their scoring, without tying too much into the future if it didn’t work out (1 year, $2 million deal).  They kept telling me that I was going to get aggravated with his one-dimensional play, and trying only when he felt like it.  I thought his stint in the KHL could have set him straight (as it did for former Flyer Ray Emery).  I thought he’d be motivated by playing on a Cup contender.

He started off pretty good, too. By Christmas he had 13 goals and Paul Holmgren looked like a genius.

Then he started playing like the Nikolay Zherdev that NHL fans knew. He wound up scratched for most February.  Flyers fans started to sour on him and realized a tiger never changes his stripes.  He only had three points in 13 games after the All-Star break.

In game in Carolina, Mike Richards fell ill after a ceremony for Rod Brind’Amour.  The team needed a replacement for Richards, and looked for Zherdev.  But he was nowhere to be found.  Jody Shelley eventually filled in for the Flyers’ captain in that game. Four days later, he was placed on waivers, but nobody picked him up.  It was rumored that the Flyers might try to dump him at the trade deadline.  Nobody bit and the Flyers were stuck with him for the remainder of the year.  He played a couple games before being scratched most of March.  When Jody Shelley got hurt, Zherdev got back into the lineup for the final five regular season games, and played seven out of the team’s nine playoff games.

He actually played decent in the playoffs, even though he only picked up three points.  The team as a whole failed, losing in the second round to the Bruins.  This led some fans to believe Holmgren might give him a second chance, but most felt he wouldn’t return.

The team seemed to play better when he was not in the lineup.  Without him in the lineup, the team went 18-4-2 (including playoffs).  When he played, the Flyers went 33-25-7, a winning percentage of .561.  To put that in perspective, the Rangers (who finished 8th in the East) had a winning percentage of .567.  The team scored a bit more goals (3.11 to 3.07) when he was dressed, but their defense suffered.  The Flyers had a goals against of 2.34 when he wasn’t in the lineup, as compared to a 3.02 GAA when he was.  His time on ice also seemed correlated to the team’s win-loss record.  When he played more than his average of ~13 minutes, the team was 12-11-3.  The Flyers record was 21-12-2 when he played less than his average.  However, his stats were about the same (14 points when playing 13+ minutes; 11 points when playing less).

Zherdev wasn’t likely to come back with the club next year, but new developments may have pushed those chances to zero.  Reports are surfacing that Zherdev attempted to beat his wife after an argument at a restaurant. The early reports are conflicting, but who will offer him a contract with his past attitude problems and any pending legal issues?

Philadelphia bids you adieu, Nik Zherdev.