The Check Is In The Mail...

...along with the RFA Qualifying Offers.

In case you missed it over the not so eventful July 4th weekend, the Chicago Blackhawks front office spent most of the holiday wiping a significant amount of egg off their collective faces, as well as praying to the hockey gods that their snafu did not cost them about 1/3 of their roster.

After making quite a splash in the free agent market - signing the likes of Marion Hossa, John Madden, and Tomas Kopecky - the Blackhawks added to a young and incredibly talented core to emerge as an early favorite from the West for a Stanley Cup run (this after making it all the way to the Western Conference Finals this past season).

Well the glow was diminished a little bit when TSN reported on Friday that it seemed that there had been some sort of mix up in the mail room that resulted in the Hawks 6 RFAs not receiving their qualifying offers from the team by the July 1st deadline. It seems that the NHL offices and NHLPA received the relevant paperwork on time, but neither the players nor their agents had yet to receive anything.

The players involved were: Kris Versteeg, Cam Barker, Ben Eager, Colin Fraser, Aaron Johnson and Troy Brouwer. Versteeg and Barker are probably the most valuable assets on this list, but all 6 are contributers to the Blackhawks.

The Blackhawks countered that the offer had been "postmarked" (I suppose we've all used that one a time or two) by June 29th, and that perhaps the Canada Day holiday (July 1st) had interfered with the players/agents receiving their offers.

An innocent blunder? Perhaps. But the trick is, that the CBA states that if RFAs do not receive qualifying offers by the July 1st deadline, they in effect become UFAs and are free to negotiate/sign with any team on the open market. It also states (as common sense would seem to support) that U.S. and/or Canadian Mail should not be relied upon for the delivery of said paperwork, preferring that teams use express courier or fax, wherein delivery and receipt can be verified. Duh.

For the record, such an event is not without precedent as the NJ Devils committed just such an error in 1999/2000 in regards to the RFA offer sheets for John Madden (irony, anyone?) and Brain Rafalski. Both were declared free agents and ended up resigning with the Devils, but at a price significantly higher than they would have gotten under their original offer sheets. And this was pre-salary cap, so the Devils could spend freely to resign them (to the tune of $18 million).

The NHL launched an official investigation on Saturday, and then announced on Sunday that, as far as they are concerned, all is well and there will be no punishment or reprimand from the league. The ball is now in the court of the NHLPA. Few in the hockey world expect the Hawks to get hammered on this, but obviously it is not without precedent.

Earlier today their were reports that Eager, Brouwer and Fraser had already signed their offer sheets and would be back with the Hawks next season. Still no word on Versteeg or Barker, who by the way would probably be most likely to benefit from the open market. Nor from the NHLPA as to whether they will file any grievances on behalf of any of the players.

Sure, it's probably all mountains being made out of mole-hills, but it sure made for some interesting blog fodder on an otherwise slow news weekend.

Check out some of the schadenfreude here (the comments sections are particularly entertaining):

From The Rink

Second City Hockey

Hawk Talk

Tom Benjamin


-m

Hossa To Chicago

Lots of action already today in the first few hours of free agency, and I'm sure I'll post a recap later tonight, but perhaps the biggest signing so far, at least in my opinion, is Marian Hossa to the Chicago Blackhawks. I'm envisioning a line of Hossa, Kane and Toews and I'm glad the Blackhawks are in the West. Hossa was considered one of, if not the, most sought after forwards in free agency.

Hossa emerged from this past season as a bit of a goat as he left Pittsburgh to sign with the Red Wings for less money and what he viewed as a better chance at a Cup. Of course that turned to egg on his face when the Pens came back to beat the Red Wings in 7, and Hossa was left to watch from the sidelines again as his former teammates lifted the Cup. To add insult to injury Hossa virtually disappeared in the finals, after scoring only 6 goals in the entire playoffs. Now he is off to Chicago and one of the best up and coming young teams in the league.

TSN is reporting that it is a 12 year deal averaging out at $5.2 per season. The deal is incredibly front loaded, with Hossa taking in about $52.3 over the first 8 years and only $3.5 million over the final 4. Which I guess make sense as Hossa will be 38 yrs old as he heads into the last 4 years of the deal. Not sure where this leaves Chicago in regards to the cap, but they've definitely been spending freely over the last two years after over a decade as being percieved as one of the cheapest teams in the league.

The Blackhawks also signed one of Hossa's Detroit teammates today, inking defenseman Tomas K0pecky to a 2 year deal at $1.2 million per.

-m

WINTER CLASSIC 2009

With today's unveiling of the complete 2008/2009 league schedules, the NHL made official what had been reported unofficially for a few weeks now - the 2009 NHL Winter Classic will take place at Wrigley Field in Chicago on January 1st. Two original 6 teams, Chicago and Detroit, will take part.

Coming off one of their better seasons in years, with a talented young nucleus of players and some eye opening free agent signings - Brian Campbell and Cristobal Huet, for example - fortunes are looking up for the Blackhawk faithful. Many of the early prognosticators look for the Hawks to contend in the Central Division this year. The awarding of the Winter Classic seems to be the icing on the cake in an eventful offseason for Blackhawks fans.

Long time rivals, the Blackhawks and the Red Wings have played 701 times in their storied histories, more than any other two teams in the NHL.

2008's inaugural Winter Classic was met with some skepticism when it was first announced, but turned out to be a ratings and PR bonanza. The Buffalo Sabres (natch, Banana Slugs) and Pittsburgh Penguins (natch, Chosen Ones) played to a shootout in the snow in front of a record crowd of over 71,000 fans at Buffalo's Ralph Wilson Stadium, with the NHL's golden boy Sidney Crosby scoring the game winner for Pittsburgh. Afterwards, the reviews were raves as skeptical media members who attended or (more likely) watched the game on TV, suddenly forgot their complaints about the folly of the NHL trying to stage such an event on the Hallowed Day of big college football bowl games (seemingly these same folks forgot that the silly BCS bowl system has led to most "big" college bowl games - with the exception of the Rose Bowl, which by law has to be referred to as "the grandaddy of them all - being moved away from New Year's Day). The NHL had seemingly scored a coup, despite itself. And besides, those snowflakes looked pretty on TV.

Anytime you commit to playing a hockey game outdoors south of the U.S./Canadian border, your biggest concern is the weather and how well the ice will hold up (don't look for this game to be held at Carter Findley Stadium or in Phoenix anytime soon). In Buffalo, the ice held up relatively well, but the snow became a bit of a problem. But all in all things went well. Chicago in January promises average temperatures between 18 and 32 degrees (fahrenheit), which if it holds true, should be just about perfect for the ice. Of course, there's always the chance of snow, but the more likely to have a possible adverse effect on the conditions in Chicago are the winds howling off of Lake Michigan. But that's part of what makes these sort of things fun - for the fans at least.

Wrigley Field is a bit more intimate ("the friendly confines") at around 40,000 seats, than Ralph Wilson Stadium, but obviously has a bit more character and history than most NFL stadiums. Overall I think this is a good choice. I know I will be watching.

Most of all, I'm very glad that this tradition is continuing as I think it's a fun thing to do for the fans, both those who attend the game and those watching from the warmth of their homes while nursing a hangover. If this Winter Classic concept was originally Gary Bettman's idea (which I somehow doubt), it has to be the best one he has had in his reign as commissioner - not that there's a lot of competition. Let's just hope they don't try to cash in on a good thing and start scheduling a whole slate of these games every season. Sometimes novelty is a good thing.

NOTES:

- Bettman, ever the (slimy?) politician, tried to make nice with the folks in NYC who had also been bidding to host the game at either Yankee Stadium or The Meadowlands. He was quick to "acknowledge the interest and efforts of the New York Yankees and the City of New York throughout the NHL Winter Classic 2009 site selection process. We look forward to continuing discussions regarding the possibility of a future Winter Classic game at the new Yankee Stadium." Thanks Gary. Now what about that All Star Game you promised to the Hurricanes? Gary? Hello. Gary? You still there?

- Brian Campbell of the Blackhawks will be playing in his second straight Winter Classic having taken the ice for Buffalo on New Years Day 2008. Maybe if the Rangers want to host the 2010 Classic they should look at a trade deadline deal. Campbell gave a thumbs up to NHL.com in regards to taking part in last January's festivities:

"The city was all wrapped up in it. It was, 'How do you get tickets?' 'What are you doing to get prepared?' 'What's your tailgate going to be like?' It was mayhem, a lot of fun, and something you take a lot of pride in."

"I was on the ice for a goal against (21 seconds into the game) because my defensive partner tried to pass it and there was too much snow on the ice and it wasn't going anywhere. I personally did not like the game at that point. Then I scored and the game was the best thing ever."



-m