Hey Bartender, Put Some Ice in My Drink!

If it hasn’t already, the ice in NHL arenas around the country is bound to start melting as the NHL offseason heats up with the free agency period set to begin Friday. With the NBA seemingly heading towards a lockout, and the NFL mired in an already lengthy lockout of its own, the NHL is the only professional league with a free agency period as of now. And we here at the Creatures are always big fans of the hoopla that surrounds free agents. There may be no “Decision” scheduled, but the NHL offseason has plenty of interesting storylines to keep the casual fan interested. Barney is here to take you through a flurry of recent deals and keep you up to date on all things National Hockey League.

• In news close to Barney’s heart, the Rangers have bought out the contract of captain Chris Drury. It had been rumored that the Rangers were going to be unable to buy out Drury’s contract because of a degenerative condition in his left knee that would have made him “medically unable to play.” A player can’t be bought out under such a circumstance. But apparently those rumors were unfounded, and the Rangers have bought out Drury. The Rangers will take a $3.333 million cap hit on the buyout, giving them even more cap room to make a big run at free agent to be Brad Richards. As for Drury, many believe his playing career might as well be over, especially considering his injury problems and the declining numbers he’s put up the past few years. He is a consummate leader on the ice and in the locker room, but I’m not sure teams will be willing to give him the money he wants, especially with his knee problems. Some think that he could ink a short term deal, possibly with his former team, the Buffalo Sabres.
• Out on the island, the Islanders made a major move the other day by trading for the exclusive negotiating rights of Christian Ehrhoff. GM Garth Snow needs to make moves though, as Ehrhoff will hit the UFA market in less than 48 hours. Further complicating the matter is the fact that the former Canucks D-man has been noted as saying he would like to sign with a contender, and I can imagine this is due in a large part to the fact he came a game away from hoisting Lord Stanley’s mug this June. And while the Isles are getting better, they certainly cannot be considered a contender at this point. Ehrhoff registered 14 goals and 36 assists this season while patrolling the ‘Nucks blueline. The Islanders gave up a 4^th round pick to the Canucks.
• The Columbus Blue Jackets have been one of the busier teams to date, and made another major move today in acquiring defenseman James Wisniewski from the Montreal Canadians.  It is expected that Wisniewski will ink a deal with the Jackets in the coming days. Per Sirius XM Radio’s Josh Rimer: “Just spoke with James Wisniewski, he’s excited about Columbus trading for his rights! He said that he’s happy that team believes in him.” Last week, the Blue Jackets made a big splash when they shipped winger Jakub Voracek and their first and third round picks in this year’s NHL draft to Philly for star winger Jeff Carter. Carter tallied 36 goals and 30 assists last season for the Flyers, and is expected to be slotted on Columbus’ top line alongside Rick Nash, forming what could be a dynamic duo in the Buckeye state.
• Speaking of the Canadiens, it was reported today by the Montreal Gazette that the Canadiens have offered D-man Roman Hamrlik a one-year deal. But Hamrlik, who is 37 years young, wants a minimum two-year deal, which he should be able to get when he hits the open market on Friday. But now that Wisniewski is gone, will the Habs step up to the plate and give Hamrlik what he wants? More to play…
• And I’ll tack this one on here just for HAZ’s sake. It was reported by some Russian newspaper with an unpronounceable name that Semyon Varlamov will ship back over to Mother Russia and play for the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) next season. He will either play with SKA Saint Petersburg or Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, two teams you or I have never heard of nor never will hear of again. Varlamov, who was once thought to be the future in net for Washington, went 11-9-5 this past season, with a 2.23 GGA and .924 SV%.