There Is a Market for Sheldon Souray

by Jonathan Willis on Jul 2, 2008 8:10 AM MDT

Don't believe me? The evidence is all around us. NHL General Managers, a group that on an individual level can be very smart, can be very, very stupid when free agency roles around and there is a position of need. This year, the position of need for a lot of teams was defense. Here are a few samples:

*Mark Streit - 5 years, 20.5 million
*Wade Redden - 6 years, 39 million
*Brian Campbell - 8 years, 56.8 million
*Jeff Finger - 4 years, 14 million

and by way of comparison

*Sheldon Souray - 4 years (remaining), 21.6 million (cap hit)

The funny thing about these contracts is that the only one the national punditry (as a whole) are lampooning is the Finger contract.

Compared especially to the Redden contract (in my opinion, they're rather comparable as players- Redden is slightly more successful against certain competition, while Souray adds toughness and leadership) Souray's deal really doesn't look that bad, and could be moved (if he agrees to waive his NMC) to a team that missed out on the offensive defenseman it wanted so badly.

It really could happen.

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Comments

Maybe you're proving that keeping him isn't a abd option, which is my opinion. If Hossa signs, losing Rolis three mill off the payroll along with one other player, [hopefully not Nilson] the Oil would be right under the cap. I'd like to see 70 games of Souray personally.

by budorduke on Jul 2, 2008 8:34 AM MDT reply actions

along with one other player

Who? Penner? Pisani?

Souray's offensive role, especially on the powerplay, can be covered by Visnovsky, and we can sign a cheaper and better defensive presence to fill his roster spot. It would save money and arguably improve the team to boot.

And I'm not arguing that the Souray contract is reasonable. I'm arguing it's more reasonable than, say, the Redden contract, which was just an asinine signing by a guy who should know better.

by Jonathan Willis on Jul 2, 2008 8:53 AM MDT reply actions

Good points. Just not sure who a cheaper and better d presence would be for that much less cash in this market.. We shall see.

by budorduke on Jul 2, 2008 9:00 AM MDT reply actions

Heh. I came to the same conclusion about Adrian Aucoin yesterday. Course, he has one of those cursed NTC's.

by Kent W. on Jul 2, 2008 10:53 AM MDT reply actions

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(updated 2.11.2012 at 6:02 AM MST)

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