Post by Declan on Aug 12, 2009 8:24:43 GMT -5
Not sure if they want to spend the type of money that Zherdev is asking for. I think he's destined for the KHL
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The closer we get to training camp, the more it looks like a buyer’s market for NHL teams still interested in signing a skilled forward.
Of course, it’s not like there’s a bumper crop of talented players still available. Some of the more notable names still without a contract are Maxim Afinogenov, Vinny Prospal, Petr Sykora, Alex Tanguay and Nikolai Zherdev. But there are enough other potential targets out there – and maybe more importantly, enough teams that have no money left to spend -- that the remaining squads don’t feel at all obliged to throw silly money around anymore.
``At this point, there seem to be lots of guys unsigned -- actually more than there are necessarily positions for (around the league),’’ Preds general manager David Poile said on Monday.
Poile isn’t the only one sizing up the situation like that.
Rollie Hedges, the agent for Zherdev, is feeling the pinch for his client as well. Zherdev finds himself in a tough situation after becoming an unrestricted free agent in early August, when the New York Rangers walked away from his arbitration award.
``Most of the teams are at the cap or at their budget,’’ Hedges said Monday. ``It’s not necessarily a matter of the cap. Most teams have budgets now. You don’t want to be in our situation in August. It takes a lot of teams out of play.’’
Poile has made it pretty clear that he isn’t interested in handing out any long-term, big-money deals to UFAs this summer – in part because he’s excited about players that are currently coming through the system, and in part because he has concerns about the potential of the salary cap dropping after next season.
``We believe we have a good core of young players coming up, either there or very close to being able to fill the positions and holes we have,’’ Poile said. ``Some of these (UFAs) that aren’t signed right now aren’t signed for reasons. Either their play has fallen off, they might be coming off injuries … there’s something that doesn’t support signing them to long-term contracts.’’
Poile said if the Preds do make any moves – and there’s no guarantee they will -- it probably won’t happen before the end of next week, when Poile is set to meet with his coaches.
Might that mean the Preds would miss out on some players who would sign in the meantime?
At the rate these guys are moving off the market currently, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be a problem.
Of course, it’s not like there’s a bumper crop of talented players still available. Some of the more notable names still without a contract are Maxim Afinogenov, Vinny Prospal, Petr Sykora, Alex Tanguay and Nikolai Zherdev. But there are enough other potential targets out there – and maybe more importantly, enough teams that have no money left to spend -- that the remaining squads don’t feel at all obliged to throw silly money around anymore.
``At this point, there seem to be lots of guys unsigned -- actually more than there are necessarily positions for (around the league),’’ Preds general manager David Poile said on Monday.
Poile isn’t the only one sizing up the situation like that.
Rollie Hedges, the agent for Zherdev, is feeling the pinch for his client as well. Zherdev finds himself in a tough situation after becoming an unrestricted free agent in early August, when the New York Rangers walked away from his arbitration award.
``Most of the teams are at the cap or at their budget,’’ Hedges said Monday. ``It’s not necessarily a matter of the cap. Most teams have budgets now. You don’t want to be in our situation in August. It takes a lot of teams out of play.’’
Poile has made it pretty clear that he isn’t interested in handing out any long-term, big-money deals to UFAs this summer – in part because he’s excited about players that are currently coming through the system, and in part because he has concerns about the potential of the salary cap dropping after next season.
``We believe we have a good core of young players coming up, either there or very close to being able to fill the positions and holes we have,’’ Poile said. ``Some of these (UFAs) that aren’t signed right now aren’t signed for reasons. Either their play has fallen off, they might be coming off injuries … there’s something that doesn’t support signing them to long-term contracts.’’
Poile said if the Preds do make any moves – and there’s no guarantee they will -- it probably won’t happen before the end of next week, when Poile is set to meet with his coaches.
Might that mean the Preds would miss out on some players who would sign in the meantime?
At the rate these guys are moving off the market currently, it doesn’t look like it’s going to be a problem.
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