Lots to talk about today. Sarich, Regehr and Nolan, oh my!Let's start at the beginning. Sutter obviously knows more about Sarich than I do. Not only did he target him on the first day of free agency but immediately offered him a 5 year deal to boot.
I haven't seen much of Sarich over the last couple of years, so all I really know about him comes from the stats: He led all Tampa Bay defenders in terms of SH ice-time and, according to Desjardins, he faced the toughest competition of any regular Lightning skater as well. And while his -6 rating might look unimpressive, keep in mind he played in front of some pretty shoddy goaltending all season. The fact that the Lightning were a -18 in terms of ES goal differential means his -6 is less of an indictment than it would initially seem. For comparison purposes, Cory Sarich faced stiff competition all season, scored a mere 15 points and was 6 points underwater. Converesly, Dan Boyle scored 20 goals and 63 points, faced softer competition, and was a -5.
I find the stats encouraging. Sarich will likely be paired with Regehr in a shut-down role. The Flames will be a stronger ES team than the Lightning were, mostly due to their vastly superior goaltending. Expect him to get 20+ minutes a night and his +/- rating to be very different (that is, much higher) by the end of next season. The length and amount of his contract don't bother me (though the Flames certainly aren't getting a bargain, to be sure), but his age and potential to compliment Regehr for years to come renders this a pretty decent pick-up in my estimation.
Probably the best bit of news to come out of the Flames camp is the (yet to be officially confirmed) Robyn Regehr and Jarome Iginla extensions. If true, both are at discounts relative to what each player could get on the open market and both are therefore valuable assets to the organization going forward. Heck I was high-five, kiss-the-girlfriend ecstatic upon hearing about the purported Reggie signing yesterday. I thought the big guy struggled a bit last season, partially due to the carousel of partners he had to endure, and even then he managed an eye-bulging +27 mark while facing the stiffest competition on the team. And he's just entering his prime. $4M/year? Regher is easily a 5M defender right now despite his mediocre offensive numbers, and probably one of the premier "defensive defensemen" in the league. I consider the rumored "no movement clause" included in the deal to be a boon to the Flames rather than a potential hinderance. Make no mistake...this is no Bryan McCabe albatross we're talking about: barring an improbable drop-off in his play, this contract will just look better and better moving forward.
Iginla re-upping for $7M/year is so obviously advantageous that little else needs to be said. He's a pay-to-max type superstar who could likely command $9M-10M on the open market. I can't imagine how galling it must be for Edmonton fans to watch Sutter getting business done with the Flames core pieces.
The Owen Nolan acquisition is more ambiguous, unfortunately. He was second on a terrible Coyotes team last year in terms of points with 46 (ouch) and he did play 76 games, which is somewhat encouraging.
It's hard to tell if Nolan, at 35, will be another Selanne or Amonte. The former returned from a debilitating knee-injury as an older player and re-discovered his game. The latter experienced a plummet in his skills that was so steep, he'll likely be forced to retire this summer at the age of 36, thanks to a lack of interest in his services.
It's probable that Nolan will land somewhere in the middle, which is fine with me. His contract length (1 year) and height (2M max) aren't debilitating, so the risk is a minor one. If he plays 70+ games and improves on Amonte's 30 odd points, I'll be happy. The UFA winger crop wasn't terribly impressive this year, so I think the Nolan "stop-gap" measure is a better move than committing big, long-term dollars to a guy who likely won't be worth it far beyond this season. While signing someone like Ryan Smyth would have been sexier, the resultant contract would have proven troublesome to the organization's budget after this year.
Overall thus far, good stuff. We're 3 days into July and Sutter is basically finished. The last bit of business remaining would be a Kiprusoff extension. As a result, I have a sinking feeling this is going to be a pretty boring summer from a Flames perspective. Hopefully Lowe's desperate antics up in Edmonton will afford me a belly-laugh now and then.
