NHL Free Agent frenzy officially begins today but it’s hard to imagine any signing or deal that will rival the magnitude of what transpired in less than 30 minutes Wednesday afternoon.
I was sitting at my desk in the 94.3 Goat (Vista Radio) news-room about 12:35 when word broke that the Edmonton Oilers traded Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils for Swedish defenceman Adam Larsson.
At that point my reaction was, what else are the Oilers getting in the deal?
A few minutes later there was confirmation it was simply a one-for-one swap. Huh! You’ve got to be kidding!
I realize the Oilers needed to improve their blue-line but giving up a 24-year-old in his prime seemed outrageous.
Hold the phone, before digesting that move, just 20 minutes later at 12:55, there was twitter lighting up again as the Montreal Canadiens (the team I root for) unloading P.K. Subban to the Nashville Predators for another front line defenceman Shea Weber.
Really? This must be a prank. All of a sudden the Hall deal seemed like old news and practically an after-thought.
With one o’clock approaching I am thinking I need to take a short walk and get some fresh air outside to digest the deals, but wait there’s more.
The hat trick is completed in under ½ an hour as more social media buzz has Steven Stamkos making up his mind.
Stamkos decides to leave big bucks on the table by re-signing with Tampa Bay for eight years and $68 million.
I never really thought that $8.5 million a year is a bargain, but in this case Stamkos chose a proven credible team that he knows, in a city he loves, over other bidders like Toronto and Buffalo.
Who can blame him?
After these three blockbuster announcements, I’m starting to get greedy and put that walk on hold just in case there’s more.
Well, that was it for that particular day but here we are again waiting to see where Dan Hamhuis lands, if Milan Lucic really does become an Oiler, and what are the destinations for Kyle Okposo, Loui
Eriksson, David Backes, Frans Nielsen, Andrew Ladd and Eric Staal?
We know most of these unrestricted free agents will find a new home but what we don’t know is how many other earth-shattering trades are on the horizon?
Everything is on the table for underachieving Canadian teams that are looking for an overhaul.
In a nutshell, Hall is a more an elite forward than Larsson is an elite defenceman.
One can argue that the 24-year-old Hall (65 points in 82 games this past season) is a scapegoat for the Oilers constant losing since they drafted him first overall in 2010.
The 23-year-old Larsson, the 4th overall pick in the 2011 Draft, is no “dud” but he has yet to earn the reputation as a “stud” on the back end.
The Devils got the more talented player.
Many Habs fans are outraged at the Subban deal. I am not one of them.
Granted P.K. is a personality who has done plenty for his city and charity.
The one negative from a Montreal viewpoint that sticks out is that Weber is four years older (turns 31 in August while Subban just turned 27).
Both players had 51 points in 2015-16, although the dynamic P.K. is more polished offensively, however, Shea, the ex-Kelowna Rocket, is much better in his own end with a bullet of a shot.
In my mind, Weber is a more complete defenceman and the Team Canada personnel agree.
Weber will wear Canadian colors in September’s World Cup of Hockey and Subban won’t.
It’s ironic that Habs General Manager Marc Bergevin is an assistant GM on Team Canada which may
indicate he’s always believed that Weber has a better all-around skill set than Subban.
This is a much closer value trade than the Hall-Larsson deal.
I give the slight edge to Montreal in the short term and to Nashville in the long term.
One has to admire Stamkos for going with his gut and staying put.
Other teams may indicate the grass is greener on the other side but often the devil you know is a better option than the one you don’t.
Yes, today is Canada Day, but for many NHL followers, with Wednesday’s bombshells, the fireworks have already gone off.
From the Quote Rack:
In the wake of her two year suspension, Maria Sharapova is going to attend Harvard Business School. The anti-doping panel in London calls it ‘Illegally Blonde.’
Contributor Bill Littlejohn of South Lake Tahoe, California
San Diego came in 2nd (to Buffalo) in a list of the 40 most depressing cities for sports fans. Most San Diego residents didn’t notice though, as they were outside on yet another 72 degree sunny day.
Comedy writer Janice Hough of Palo Alto, California www.leftcoastsportsbabe.com
Iceland reports that 99.8% of the country’s TVs were tuned into their teams upset of England in the Euro Cup. To put that in perspective, the amount of viewers in Canada tuning into to watch the opening CFL games (other than Saskatchewan and Alberta) last week were 0.2%
Comedy writer TC Chong of Vancouver http://alwaysfunny.com/
And in case you missed it:
Swedish soccer player Adam Lindin Ljungkvist was given a red card for passing gas on the pitch. If it is “the beautiful game,” what was that? A work of fart?
Comedy writer RJ Currie www.Sportsdeke.com
Hartley Miller is the sports director and morning news anchor for 94.3 the Goat. He also is the 94.3
radio color commentator for P.G. Cougars home games. His column appears Fridays on
myprincegeorgenow.com. Send along a quote, note, or anecdote to [email protected]
Follow him on twitter: @Hartley_Miller