Frenzy Day Two and Three

So hectic that we needed to combine the two....well, not really, but you get the point. After the first day, how can you really justify posting about anything less than superstardom or recognizable names, right??

-Marian Hossa heading to Detroit proves there are some people out there willing to take less money to try and win a Cup. Granted, being on Detroit never guarantees a Cup Finals visit, but they do have the parts to get there. Also, there's a chance he didn't want to go to Edmonton at all-- which seems to be the case in many free agent instances-- but it happens. Edmonton has the young core, but is still a few years away from being a Finals contender again.

-After signing Wade Redden to a somewhat inflated deal, the Rangers went ahead and played sensible with the signing of Markus Naslund and Dmitri Kalinin. Naslund will provide another veteran voice to the room, especially if Jaromir Jagr doesn't come back. With Kalinin, a solid defender, though he has had some injury problem in the past.

-So the Lightning want Dan Boyle to waive his no-trade clause and ship him off. This really goes to show that the Bolts are focusing on scoring more than the other team rather than focus on defense and goaltending. Well, if offensive is the new thing...why the hell not, right?? Right??

-To fill the void Brian Campbell left behind, the Sharks picked up Rob Blake.....yeah. It's quite the contrast of styles, for sure with Campbell being a solid offensive defenseman, while Blake has become a veteran pile-on with his past two seasons in LA totaling a minus-45. Here's hoping for Sharks fans that Blake can reclaim his defensive glory with a better team in front of him.

-The Canadiens are heading back to gaining more francophones than one can imagine with the signings of Georges Laraque and Marc Denis. Now, Laraque will add toughness and in the last few years, he has gained some hands-- adding a new dimension to his game. The good thing about Denis' contract is that it's a two-way deal, that way they can ship him to Hamilton when they do want to deal with his sieveness and let Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak play.

-Mats Sundin and Jaromir Jagr still haven't decided on their playing futures yet. Translation: the right deal in the right place hasn't come along. Odds are both are going to favor staying in the Eastern Conference-- which was shown by Sundin not biting on the two-year, $20M contract offered by Vancouver. Plus, since both are ex-captains-- they will want to go to a place where their leadership will be appreciated and not pushed by the way side. Now, as much as they would want to stay in the East, I think Columbus may want to pick up the phone and throw some cash at them. You want fans to come out and your team to score some goals-- these are the guys. The Jackets have the cash and the spots-- why the hell not??

-Is it me, or is the Pacific Division going to be a war of attrition?? The Coyotes have picked up Brian McGrattan and Todd Fedoruk, the Stars added Sean Avery to their pest line-up of Steve Ott and Brendan Morrow, the Ducks still have George Parros, Chris Pronger, and Brad May, the Sharks re-upped with Jody Shelley, and the Kings have Raitis Ivanans and Denis Gauthier. Keep an eye out for this division for fight-nights all over.

So, we keep an eye out for other big names signing and other craziness to happen in the New York area...for sure.