The Two-Line Pass

Watching the New Jersey/Tampa game last night, I couldn’t help but notice that Ryan Malone was almost unnoticable. That got me thinking: The Bolts just paid him $31.5 million for the next SEVEN years, and so far they’ve gotten two goals and a -2 in 11 games in just 15:31 of ice time a night. Barry Melrose, in what may be his only good move of the year so far, seems to have plopped Malone on the third line on a permanent basis. Still, It’s an embarrassing purchase for the Lightning’s new ownership, especially when you factor in the cost of the third-round pick they gave up to negotiate with him before free agency actually started.

But was it the worst signing in the NHL this offseason?

• One has to look at Alex Ovechkin’s cap hit of $9.5 million as being just a wee bit high right now. He’s got 2-3-5 in nine games and has been largely unOvie-like in many of those contests. But it’s tough to judge that one too harshly. He’s Alex freaking Ovechkin and he scored 65 goals last year, so while the contract looks absurd in a vacuum, it’s hardly a bad thing to keep the best offensive player alive in town through 2021/22.
• How about Mathieu Schneider’s $5.625 million? Granted he may have been worth it almost in Anaheim, but on that Thrashers blue line, he’s getting a boatload of money for that 1-3-4 and a team-worst -11 in just 12 games. At least he’s eating 23 minute for them per night.
• I’m on the fence as to whether or not Lubomir Visnovsky’s $5.6 million cap hit for the next four years is really worth Edmonton’s while. He’s been perfectly alright so far for the Oil, but they have a very similar player in Sheldon Souray who is a) making a lot more, and b) doing just as well. I think the money could have been better spent on a more physical shutdown defenseman, but whatever.
• It’s been said a trillion times by just about everyone that knows anything about the Chicago Blackhawks, but they didn’t need to sign Cristobal Huet for four years $5.625 million per. The stats, so far, have borne that out. A 2.73/.910 line isn’t bad, but when Nikolai Khabibulin is playing much better and deservedly getting more ice time, Huet’s basically a $22.5 million door opener. Completely not worth it.
• Which Rangers defenseman has a worse contract, Wade Redden at $6.5 million per for five years or Michal Roszival at $5 million per for four years? They’re both obscenely bad, but given where the New York media’ head is at, I guess you have to go with Roszival. He’s been putrid.
• Brian Rolston’s making about $5 million a year for the next four, but oh wait he’s hurt again. And he’s 35. Terrible.
• David Legwand is Nashville’s highest-paid forward at $4.5 million a year for the next SIX. I couldn’t believe it either. That’s just unfathomable. He’s not bad or anything, but he doesn’t deserve to be the best-paid forward on the Predators and he doesn’t deserve six years.
• Jose Theodore’s making $4.5 million for the next two years. When do people stop giving him these ridiculous contracts? I would like an actual date on this, too.
• Michael Ryder’s another guy that hasn’t been pulling the weight of a deal that pays him $4 million a year for the next four. I like the contract in theory and he’s tied for second on the team in points with three other guys, but the guy is supposed to score goals, and he has two so far. Not good for a triggerman.
• Speaking of guys not earning their $4 million/year contracts, Pavol Demitra looks like a complete waste of $8 million in Vancouver. Who saw that coming?
• I love what Sean Avery brings to a team, but it’s not worth $3.875 million a year. It just isn’t. Someone was going to pay him that because of his perceived value, but the actual value of an agitator like him isn’t much higher than the rest of the market. I’ll take Jarkko Ruutu at $1.3 million every day over the Avery contract.
• Pascal Leclaire might SEEM worth the cap hit of $3.8 million he’ll get for the next three years, but he’s injured too much and a line of 3.41/.885 stinks on ice.
• That Jochen Hecht contract in Buffalo that gives him $3.5 million a year for the next four is pretty bad too. Not that Hecht has had a chance to earn it, since he’s been day-to-day with a leg injury and has a goal in just two games, but Hecht has a long history of various injuries. He’s on the wrong side of 30 to be paying that kind of money for that kind of term to a guy like that.
• Jeff Finger: $3.5/year for four years. ‘Nuff said there, obviously.
• Dainius Zubrus getting $3.4 million for the next five years seems a little silly, doesn’t it? What’s he had? Two good seasons ever? How does Lamoriello reward a 13-goal, 38-point season with $17 million? Real iffy contract, that.
• Chris Mason for $6 million this year and next and a stat line of 3.59/.878. Yeah, great signing by Nashville and trade by St. Louis.
• I can’t believe Bryce Salvador’s getting $2.9 million a year out of New Jersey. I really really can’t.
• Owen Nolan was a terrible purchase at $2.75 million over the next two years. But Minnesota loves its crafty veteran reclamation projects.
• Darren McCarty, at just $575,000, is still a waste of a roster spot and always will be, but that’s a personal pet peeve and it’s not hurting Detroit toooooooo badly.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 6th, 2008 at 3:03 pm and is filed under Opinions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.