“Around the NHL”: Tortorella vs. the Beat Writers, Off-Season Speculation, Devils & Kings Game One

Hello there again! It’s time to take a look at what’s going on in the wide world of hockey. From a coach at war with the writers who cover his team, to already ridiculous off-season speculation involving the New York Rangers, it’s all here, in Around the NHL! (Oh yeah, and there was a Stanley Cup Finals game played last night too.)

• It’s no secret that I cannot stand the New Jersey Devils; well, actually, it’s their fans more than the actual team. Anyway, I gave them the benefit of the doubt heading into these Stanley Cup Finals. All we heard from them during the series against the Rangers is how they, as a fan base, are growing more now than ever before, how they are finally solidifying themselves. If that’s the case, then how come Game One of the biggest series in this sport was not sold out? Not just empty seats appearing in view of the TV cameras, but a laughable amount of available seats. Example: my friend (who is a Rangers fan wanting to see some Finals action with a group of people) buying eight tickets just a few hours before puck drop, then other people posting screenshots of Ticketmaster a half hour before the game, with plenty of seats still empty. I guess this should not really be a surprise—they could not sell out against the Rangers just weeks ago, and that was with the Blueshirts buying up roughly 20% of the seats in the arena. It’s a shame for them that there aren’t more Los Angeles Kings fans living in the Garden State.

Around the NHL: Rangers Ink Girardi, Sharks Poach Hjalmarsson

Let’s start off with the Ranger-related news, and that is Glen Sather signing defenseman Dan Girardi to a four-year deal at roughly $3.3 million per season. At first glance it looks like an overpayment (personally I would have given him no more than $3.000, preferably around $2.500) but because they locked him up long-term, including his first chance at unrestricted free agency, that costs a bit more money.

Fans are now anxiously awaiting for Marc Staal to be signed, and the current figure that is being thrown about is a six-year deal at $4.5 million per. This would be a bargain for the Rangers in locking up their cornerstone defenseman long-term. If Girardi and Staal can be brought back for under $8 million, call it a successful summer.

On the western front, the San Jose Sharks today poached restricted free agent defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson from the Chicago Blackhawks, by signing him to an offer-sheet of four years at a total of $14 million. This is what is wrong with free agency, and it is almost reminiscent of Kevin Lowe’s signing of Dustin Penner three years ago.

To me, this is a puzzling move. Hjalmarsson was a steady defenseman for the Blackhawks last season, and won a Stanley Cup, but is he really worth $3.5 million a season? All that for a defenseman who scored only 17 points last season? That was also only his first full year in the NHL, and he has a mere 111 games of NHL experience.

This makes the Girardi signing look even more like a bargain, because he has at least had a 28 point season, and has actually scored 10 goals in a single season, as well as 280 games of experience. He also has not missed a game in the four years he has been with the Rangers.

Meanwhile, Ilya Kovalchuk is still on the prowl, after having broken and reignited talks with the Los Angeles Kings several times. Other than them, there really is no word of any team having a heavy interest in him. Will the Devils dismantle their team to afford him? Will the Rangers swoop in and grab the star? Or Does Kovalchuk end up fleeing to the KHL?

There are a lot of questions that we will hopefully find the answer to soon. Maybe he’ll even get his own special on Versus to announce his decision. Oh no, I shouldn’t give him any ideas!