Free Agent Frenzy

Despite the salary cap the spending was almost unprecedented as the NHL's unrestricted free agent season opened at noon on July 1st.
The Leafs were the only Canadian team to make a big splash on day one as they signed New York Islanders forward Jason Blake to a multi-year deal. The 40 goal scorer will be a welcome addition to the Leafs Nation.

However, both the Canadiens and Leafs both missed out on one of the biggest names available yesterday. The two Canadian clubs were in the running for Islanders forward Ryan Smyth but "Captain Canada" elected to sign a hefty 31.25 million dollar deal with the Colorado Avalanche.

The Canadiens also were mentioned as a possible suitor for Paul Kariya, who accepted a three-year deal with the St. Louis Blues Sunday night.

Howard Berger of the Fan 590 in Toronto reported on www.hockeybuzz.com that Leafs G.M. John Ferguson Jr. has turned his attention towards veteran Slava Kozlov, who is coming off an excellent, 80-point season in Atlanta. Berger states Kozlov would presumably sign for two or three years maximum and would provide the Leafs with more punch up front.

The Leafs are also rumoured to be interested in unrestricted free agent Mike Comrie.

Here are some of the big names who are changing addresses after day one of the free agent season:

Daniel Briere - Philadelphia for 8 years, $52 million
Scott Gomez - New York Rangers for 7 years, $51.5 million
Chris Drury - New York Rangers for 5 years, $35.25 million
Ryan Smyth - Colorado for 5 years, $31.25 million
Paul Kariya - St. Louis for 3 years, $18 million
Brian Rafalski - Detroit for 5 years, $30 million
Mathieu Schneider - Anaheim for 2 years, $11.25 million
Jason Blake - Toronto for 5 years, $20 million
Scott Hannan - Colorado for 4 years, $18 million
Cory Sarich - Calgary for 5 years, $18 million

Hockeyville Impact

The New York Islanders will have an almost entirely different look this September when they play in the 2007 Kraft Hockeyville game at Memorial Gardens against the Atlanta Thrashers.

So far this off-season the Isles have bought out Alexei Yashin and allowed free agents Ryan Smyth, Tom Poti, Viktor Kozlov, and Jason Blake to sign elsewhere.

Some NHL rumour blogs suggest Isles rookie G.M. Garth Snow will attempt to re-stock the Isles shelves with the likes of Bill Guerin or Dainius Zubrus.

The Thrashers actually were the first team to dip into the free agent pool by signing former Wild and Senator forward Todd White to a four-year deal.

To keep up to date on the latest NHL hockey free agent and trade rumours check out www.spectorshockey.net or www.hockeybuzz.com