Draft is over, the free agent madness has begun in the NHL, and so far MacLean and Co. have wowed us with the signings of Anders Ericksson, Tomas Kloucek, and Ty Conklin. Of course, there's that whole Denis for Modin thing, too...
First off, Modin makes the Jackets better instantly. This guy does it all...scores, plays good d, kills penalties, goes in the corners, goes to the net, and probably makes a mean Swedish meatball. He's going to bring an upgrade to both special teams and 5 on 5, so this is a good move.
Losing Denis seemed to be inevitable. But given the relative talent of Denis and Leclaire, Denis and his larger salary were the ones to get shipped off. (And for what Tampa signed him for...wow.) So the net is now Leclaire's, with I'd guess Conklin as his back up. Though it appears Norrena will get a shot at that spot, too, since Ty has a two-way deal signed. (For the conspiracy theorists out there: Norrena is listed on the Jackets roster with Leclaire, Conklin as "in the system.")
As for the other signings on D, not sure what to make of it at this point. Seems 5 of the 6 defense spots are pretty much locked in with Foote, Berard, Klesla, Westcott, and Hainsey. So, just need to fill that 6 slot, and we've got Johnson, Tollefsen, Ericksson, and Kloucek to slug it out for that spot. Personally, I figured it was about time for AJ to step up and take his place on the big club, we'll find out in September.
Lots of things to look forward to in September...yet again...
Sunday, July 09, 2006
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