Free Agency thoughts

Ellis NOT to Montreal but to Tampa

• I liked Dan Ellis to Montreal in terms of what his presence would do for Carey Price, but  I like Dan Ellis to Tampa Bay even more as a comfortable fit for Ellis himself. I think in MTL, he'd be saddled to some extent with "babysitting" Price and I can understand not wanting to do that. 
• In Tampa, he's reunited with Mike Smith, who is another former Dallas prospect. I very much like that tandem. Reminds me a lot of Schaef and Brusty back in the day. Smitty's a little edgier, Ellis is easy going. Both are probably fairly similar in terms of getting wins, so they'll push each other to earn ice time without being threatened by each other in a destructive way. Great job by Mr. Y down there.

Auld to Montreal

• On the other hand, Alex Auld to Montreal is a move I'm skeptical about, but the more I think about it, maybe it's not so bad. Auld has become a fairly serviceable goalie in the last couple of years and is probably good enough to push Price a little. We saw with Halak that Price didn't necessarily play better being pushed a LOT. 
• My initial reaction was, "Awful!" but now... I dunno. You have to hope the team has an understanding of what makes Price tick at this point and is doing what they can to get him ticking like the elite goalie they want him to be. Bottom line though, I wish he'd go somewhere else. He needs out of the fishbowl.

Boogaard to Rangers

• Glen Sather is just an awful GM.
• Boogie is great as a "figure" that fans like. He's freakishly huge and scary, he could pummel a grizzly bear to death, but that's just stupid money for that guy. It's not HIS fault he got that big a contract, but I hope his skin is thick because Rangers fans aren't going to give a shit whose fault it is. 

Scott to Chicago

• Really happy for Big John Scott. He was my original "soft spot" on the Aeros. For a guy who some more vocal Aeros fans were ready to hand-deliver to the ECHL a couple of season ago, and for a guy who, even as a college player, didn't really expect to turn pro, this contract strikes me as a pretty special one.

Cullen and Nystrom to Minnesota

• I was having Risebrough flash backs yesterday. Nothing but crickets from the Wild camp all day yesterday, and then in the early evening, Matt Cullen signs and then Erik Nystrom signs. I honestly don't know much about Cullen, but he sounds like a solid player.
• Nystrom, on the other hand, I'm pretty jacked about. I understand he's just a gritty, 4th line type of guy, but those guys are my favorites. My impression is that he's got some personality. I have no idea where I get that idea:

Hedberg to New Jersey

• So, I really like the Moose and I hope they're serious about managing Marty's playing time so he doesn't go back to being one of "those" back-ups who never plays. 
• Also, Twitter good guy and perennial dues-payer Mike McKenna was angling to challenge for the #2 spot in Jersey. His tweet on hearing the news, "Bummer." Aughhhh, I hate a sad goalie. Poor guy. I'm not sure I have it in me to wish for an injury to Brodeur or Moose, so Mike's on his own here, but we'll see. 

Climie to Phoenix

• Sounds like Matt Climie had his pick of 2-way contracts and chose the place with the most "break-in-able" NHL situation. I'm glad he's sticking it out in North America, even though I'm sure he could have gone to the KHL this year and made some coin.
• Plus, I think he's the first player to play for 3 Texas-based AHL teams in a 3 year span in the history of ever. So he's got that going for him. But I really hope he finds a way to stick in Phoenix because San Antonio doesn't strike me as a place where goalies get to showcase their stuff very well. 

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Several people have asked me about Brusty and where he's going. I don't know anything, honestly. There are still several quality free agent AHL goalies and Brusty's been under the radar for a while, so it might take some time.

I think his agent should hire me to sell him to teams. There aren't many things in life that I'm 100% aces at, but talking up Brusty is one of them.

I'll sit 'em down in my office by the big Brusty poster and the Brusty bobble head and explain what a rock star and beast he is on the ice, what a great guy he is in the room, how much fans love him, how he's good with the media, how many savegasms he'll induce, etc etc. They'll be ready to have his babies, much less make him their goalie, by the time I done with 'em. Bring it!