Early fallout

As we wait for free agency to open at noon I wanted to make a few comments about a couple of the deals that have gone down and get your thoughts as well.

First this Jay Bouwmeester to Calgary deal.... and what a deal it was. To give up a 3rd round pick and sign this guy to a very respectable 5 year deal with a 6.6 million dollar cap hit is absolute highway robbery.

That said something has got to give to on that roster... and perhaps the Jackets could benefit.

Iginla: 7 mil
Kiprusoff: 7 mil
Bouwmeester: 6.6 mil
Phaneuf: 6.5 mil
Jokinen: 5.5 mil
Langkow: 4.25 mil
Sarich: 3.7
Regehr: 3.5

Total: 44.05

So 44 million tied up 8 players. That leaves roughly 12 million to fill out the remaining 12 players on a roster......and remember teams can carry up to 23 players.

This is a prime example of what Scott Howson was referring to when he said they will be "patient". I.E. teams will spend themselves right to the cap and then will need relief -- that is where Howson and the Jackets pounce looking to fill their holes, mainly a d-man. By trading for that asset the Jackets will in return essentially be trading them back that cap space relief.

Phaneuf would solve a huge problem here but he'll be too rich for Howson's blood. Other than that I don't see any names that would really interest the Jackets. Regehr and Sarich would be redundant on the Jackets roster unless other pieces are moved.

For the life of me I cannot figure out why Bob Gainey gave up so much to get Scott Gomez?

I know he was desperate for a center but the Rangers were in cap hell and just taking that albatross Gomez contract off their hands should been plenty enough..... but on top of that Gainey not only threw in a proven winger in Chris Higgins but his first round pick and #1 rated prospect from the 2007 draft Ryan McDonagh.

...and he did all of this before free agency even kicked off today at noon when he could have gotten a slew of players for just money. Why not wait to make such a big deal until after you see what you can reel in? I can't imagine free agents hinging their decision on whether or not Gomez is a part of the team.

This is the kind of deal that could get a GM fired.

Now look for the Rangers to make yet another splashy headline grabber that probably won't work out. I'm tellin ya, if I'm a UFA I steer clear of that town... Why? Look at Gomez... He signed a splashy deal two years ago and has already been dealt.

Thank god for the cap right? Without it the Wings would have signed Hossa by now. Who knows how many free agents the Rangers and Philly would be signing. The Flames would be stacked....on and on and on.

It may not be perfect but it has definitely leveled the playing field for markets like Columbus.

BIG BIG BIG day for Scott Howson and Rick Nash. My bet is the first offer has already been faxed over to Nash and the two sides are workin hard to hammer something out as we speak.

Again I don't expect a whole lot of activity from the Jackets today on the open market. Perhaps a backup goalie gets signed but my guess is that is about it. I still think they wait, let the big fish fall and then go bargain shoppin.

I'll be live bloggin starting around noon (or whenever I get back from prospect camp). Stop on by!

-LTL