TSN is reporting that Sutter has nabbed Adrian Aucoin from the Blackhawks for another one of my punching bags, Andrei Zyuzin (I've losing a lot of those guys recently: Ference, Friesen, Amonte. Only Warrener remains).
Obviously Im happy the Flames were able to rid themselves of Zyuzin's contract (and presence). He was, without a doubt, the worst blueliner on the club last year and his 1.45M contract was a complete waste of dollars and cap space. His inclusion in the deal also takes some of the sting out of the 4M/year contract coming back the other way.
Aucoin is another calculated gamble. He looked to be emerging as a premier blueliner the year he was signed by Chicago and then he promptly went in the toilet. Plagued by inconsistency and numerous injuries during his Windy City tenure (notably shoulder and groin problems), Aucoin never amounted to much as a Blackhawk and I can see why they want to rid themselves of his cumbersome cap number. He's no spring chicken at 34 and his position as a #1 rearguard had been usurped by Chicago's up and comers (Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook).
Does this make sense from a Calgary Flames perspective? Assuming Aucoin can stay healthy, then yes. Unfortunately, that's a big assumption. Aucoin did have his best offensive season, goals-wise, under Mike Keenan back in '98, so there's some hope he can recapture some of the sparkle under Iron Mike again. Aucoin also has all of the tools to be a top 4 defenseman - big, relatively mobile, mean, cannon shot from the point - so the Flames could certainly have a decent asset on their hands (again assuming he plays more than 30 games a season).
Besides the Keenan connection, the off-season action regarding defensemen renders this move sensible. Already much of the cream of the UFA crop has been removed from the open market: Timonen, Markov and Rivet have all been locked down with pretty big contracts. The resultant dearth of quality free agents on the back-end come July 1st ensures relatively high ticket prices for all those concerned. The risk for a team like the Flames, who need to fill out their back-end with the pending loss of Hamrlik and Stuart, was paying a relatively mediocre player too much for too long out of desperation. Aucoin has the ability to be a top 4 defender and while his 4.0M/year contract is hardly cheap, it's only a 2 season commitment.
I think I like this deal, though it's hard to get excited while looking at Aucoin's numbers over the past couple of years. He's minus a lot (most were in Chicago, however) and hasn't played more than 60 games since 03/04. If his injuries are past him, Aucoin might be a steal. If not, the Flames will be left flailing around looking for someone to fill in while he nurses his sore groin in the press-box.
Course, on the other hand, we got rid of that useless tit, Andrei Zyuzin. That's nothing but good.
EDIT - Reactions:
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