The morning line

Bob would never go overboard. He wouldn't offer hossa 8 million because he could do other intentions with that money. The situation with Sundin is most likely that he signs with the rangers but, we still have hope. A source from TSN said that Jagr will test the free the open market,look for pittsburgh to snatch him. Their are 2 teams going after streit a source from RIS told me. Boston and The Flyers are the teams. Habs should get Rolston.

Lmao

Yeah the Habs are "blowing it" by actually trying to sign free agents.

Where do they find these guys?

I'm pretty sure that we will be shut out of our plan a, b, and c guys today, like usual. A lot of the players available are going to be massively overpaid anyhow, so it shouldn't be percieved as a huge loss in any event.
I say that we should pursue a guy like Cory Stillman. He has won two Cups recently, with TBL and the artists formerly known as the Whalers. Additionally, he would likely come much cheaper than a lot of other guys, for, despite his consistent point outputs, he seems to fly pretty much under everyone's radar. Unlikely though.
Forget Sundin.
The rumor in Toronto, courtesy of the Toronto Sun's Lance Hornby, is that we would have given up a player AND a draft pick if we'd signed Sundin in our massive 10 day exclusive window. Too much at the deadline, and too much in the last ten days to pay for a player who doesn't seem to care about winning the Cup.
Still, I hope we sign someone in the next few days that will help our team without being subjected to some ludicrous 7 year or higher term that screams "buyout" from the moment it is signed...

Habs rule, Leafs drool...

Santa is here!!! Thats how excited I am

If Boston is really offering Hossa a deal like that I don't think Bob will try to compete; he's not one for overpaying, but even more so he's not one to agree on long-long-term contracts. What is the longest contract for a Hab at the moment? Must be Marky or Hammer at 4 or 5 years.

I'm thinking if we do make a UFA signing today that a good deal would be to get Rolston at around 4 mil for 3 years; not sure if that would get it done though. But I'm liking him and he's consistent.

The way the salary cap is going, it's obvious to some agents that the gold rush is on one more time. Most teams have already signed their "must keep" young players except the Habs. Whose signature is more important to the casual Hab fan; AK46 or Sundin ? I say AK while agreeing with you all that he'll stay here, SK74 being partly the reason. Only a fool (Kevin Lowe comes to mind) would cough up 5 draft picks but you never know, do you ?

If Sundin really (I personally doubt it) wants to play here, he'll sign today, tomorrow, next week, but he'll sign.

Rafalsky, Shanahan, Brière, Brett Hull, now Sundin.Training camp will not come soon enough for me.

Excellent blog on decisions around "offer sheets" for RFAs by Chip McCleary on Hockeybuzz:

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=15961

After reading that, I can't see any team -- unless a GM finds themselves in a desperate situation like KLowe last year -- giving AK46 an offer sheet. He'll be a Hab next year I think.

If not, lots of picks coming our way, and hopefully we can go out and sign somebody who can produce now with the money saved.

I found this in a journal on federal institutions. I think we're going to have trouble attracting any UFAs:

Sean Avery has refused to play in Canada due to its first past the post electoral system. He maintains that until proportional representation is established there's no way he's playing in that "democratically challenged" wasteland. Mats Sundin, on the other hand has expressed grave concerns regarding Canada's bicameral legislature, believing the upper chamber to be "redundant" and an anachronism which a mature system of government would never retain. Marcel Hossa has ruled out the playing in Montreal due to the the underrepresentation of Alberta at the federal level. Until the issue of western alienation is addressed Hossa has vowed to "never carry a hockey stick north of the 49th parallel."

Oh well, and on Canada Day too, I would never have thought these guys were paying such close attention.

Hockey Buzz says Rolston turned down the lightning.

I would bet Bob will be giving him a call... let's hope he's heard about our poutine and has a love of one way streets, summer festivals, long winters, and arrogance.

~Listen to the smart dog!

Buckle up Hab fans,today is the day that give us insight as to the success of the new season.I really hope the last two years of free agency success don't haunt us .

Amid all this panic and paranoia regarding A Kostitsyn, you people are making some mighty big assumptions. First of all, submitting an offer sheet to an RFA is rarely done these days. Second, to do so would cost you severely in future draft picks. And Third, how do you know AK is regarded as such a hot commodity throughout the NHL that he is worth the aforementioned risks? Add to that the fact that Montreal still gets the right to match any offer, and I really don't think AK would be offered anything so outrageous that Gainey cannot or would not match....Time to relax a little, people.