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So, as it stands, in the Pacific conference next year:
Anaheim: is a worse team without Bobby Ryan. The trade is actually a pretty great one for the Ducks, don't get me wrong - Silfverberg and Noesen are excellent prospects, and what this does is makes them a better team in 3 years, and it suggests to me that management realizes last year's 2nd place finish was a mirage. But they're clearly going to be worse immediately.
Calgary: Were terrible last year WITH Bouwmeester, Iginla, Kiprusoff and Tanguay. Now have none of them. Sean Monahan shouldn't really play in the show, and if he does he won't be an impact guy. Basically, Calgary should be in contention for the #1 overall pick. That roster looks awful.
LA Kings: Are still going to be a good team and probably the favourite for first in the conference, but they're weaker on defense than they were without Scuderi and Mitchell coming back and contributing is an iffy proposition. They're going to rely heavily on Voynov and Muzzin on the back end. They also lose Richardson and probably Penner so the depth is going to take a hit.
Phoenix: The Ribeiro signing is a good one and they'll still be competitive with Smith between the pipes. OEL could have a Norris season sometime soon. Yet you just can't really feel like this is a team that scares you. Might make the postseason, might not, and should look basically the same as ever to play against.
San Jose: I hate most everything the Sharks have done in the offseason from a long-term view, particularly at the draft. Tyler Kennedy is an ok third line player, so that's nice. They lose Galiardi, though, and it's not clear who is playing in the top 6. They shouldn't be much better or worse than last year, all told.
Vancouver: Also basically the same team as last year, minus Schneider (which won't matter for on-ice product for about 3 years). However, I guess they'll have their second line actually playing some games this time around rather than walking around on crutches. Richardson for Lapierre is a wash. Mason Raymond will not return, which costs a bit of scoring punch on the third line. There are a lot of young players who could step up and contribute, but that can't be predicted.
Edmonton: Overpaid for Boyd Gordon but it's still an upgrade on Horcoff, who is gone. Ference is an unremarkable but steady #4D. Basically, they add two "stability" pieces that were very much needed to a lineup with lots of talent but no coherence. There's actually some balance to this lineup now. Every year we think, "hey maybe this is the year the Oil become half-decent at least", and this one's no different.
Basically, the only team that improved in any noticeable way was the Oilers. Everyone else is treading water or getting worse. The only thing you can reasonably predict is that the Flames should be the worst team in the conference, and the Kings, Canucks and Sharks should make the playoffs, in some basically impossible-to-predict order.
Um, no, for several reasons.
First, no you didn't - the contract is totally different. Alfredsson's contract is bonused - he makes 3.5 in salary and 2 in bonuses. Consequently, he's a 3.5 cap hit player - if he doesn't earn the bonuses he doesn't get the money or the cap hit. If he does (which he will - the bonus is for playing 10 games), then the extra $2M counts against the cap, but if that puts Detroit over the cap, it just gets transferred to next year (when the cap will be higher). So it's more flexible than Filpulla's.
Second, Flip's contract is for 5 seasons. Alfredsson's is for one. 5 seasons equals much, much higher risk. There's also no buyout risk to the player - there aren't any signing bonuses on the deal. Compare it to David Clarkson's new contract, which is almost ENTIRELY signing bonus (though who knows if it's guaranteed). They're stuck with Filpulla for 5 seasons, pretty much no matter what happens.
Third, Filpulla is a centre, and Alfredsson is a winger. Centres are instantly far more valuable, particularly in the current NHL.
Fourth, it's pretty universally recognized that the Filpulla deal isn't very good, so bragging that you got another guy for cheaper isn't very meaningful. Kind of like bragging that you're not paying Bouwmeester 6.8 million this year.
Fifth, the comparison isn't Filpulla vs. Alfredsson, it's Filpulla vs. Weiss. What's the difference there? Well, Weiss has more hockey talent and comes in a bit cheaper under the cap for the same term, which makes the signing look like a better deal. And it will be, unless Weiss fails to recover from his injury last season and is less effective as a result. But on the whole I think he's a pretty good bet for 50+ points, so good job Ken Holland.
Lastly, don't kid yourself, Filpulla is currently a better hockey player than Alfredsson, which is why his contract is worse.
