Fantasy Blues

Every July, various team owners and GM's, despite their better judgment, lustily rush out to sign whatever slab of UFA meat they can catch to the biggest, longest contract that they possibly can afford.

Salary inflation? Dimishing returns? Chemistry concerns? Cap issues? Those factors mean little when a fairly good player is on the free agent market, and a bevy of other teams are vying for the same player.

So, which of these unrestricted free agent players have actually been a good investment thus far?

Chris Drury - 2007 salary of $7.1 mil (28GP 6-13-19 -2)
Despite the fact that Drury has never proven himself to be more than a pretty good second liner, the Rangers decided to fork over superstar money without a second thought. I wouldn't say Drury's production has been disappointing, given that it's in line with previous totals of his, it's just that Drury is definitely overpaid for the type of player he is.

Scott Gomez - 2007 salary of $10mil (28GP 5-16-21)
Gomez is definitely one of the better playmakers in the league, but has always had consistency and coachability issues. Again, the Rangers forked over large amounts of money for somebody who is not a superstar (he had only 60 points last season), and they aren't getting rewarded for their investment. Gomez just doesn't have the same chemistry with Jagr that Michael Nylander had, and will probably never live up to his huge contract.

Of course, it's always easy to pick on the Ranger$, so let's look at some other squads.

It didn't take "Dirty" Dallas Drake long to find work after being bought out by the St. Louis Blues.

His new destination? Detroit Red Wings, the division rival with which he started out his long NHL career.

"He's a very physical player who will add grit to our lineup and make our team even more difficult to play against," Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said in a statement. "He's a veteran player, and you can never have enough experience and leadership on a team."

At this point in his career, Dallas Drake is an absolute zero on offence.

SEASON TEAM GP G A PTS
03-04 STL 79 13 22 35
05-06 STL 62 2 24 26
06-07 STL 60 6 6 12

The benefit? Dallas Drake can still kill penalties (he led Blues' forwards in PK time last season), get under the skin of opposing players, and generally be a pain in the ass.

Detroit has always been extremely good at bringing in tossed-away players (Larry Murphy, Joey Kocur, and Daniel Cleary, for example) and getting the most out of them in specific roles. Just don't expect more than 10-15 points.

The exodus from Nashville continued with Paul Kariya saying 'Sayonara' to the Country Music capital. His destination? The division 'rival' St. Louis Blues.

The Blues??? Big free agents want to sign with the Blues?

"We are excited to announce we have signed a world class hockey player as well as a first class person," said Davidson. "Paul gives us instant scoring up front as well as bringing an entertaining brand of hockey to the St. Louis Blues."

The terms of the deal are reported to be $6mil/season for three seasons. Given Kariya's productivity, and the insanity of the market, this isn't an awful price. Gomez, a player with similar production, is getting a million more per season with the Ranger$.

I'm just astonished that a big name free agent would actually want to sign with the Blues. The team is so far out of the playoff picture, and isn't nearly as much as a contender as a guy like Kariya would normally go to.

Yes, we saw guys like Weight and Tkachuk re-sign with the club, but they obviously had non-financial reasons for doing so.

Kariya? He saw nothing but money, and will have lots of time to golf every April.

Still, as a Blues fan myself, I like this signing. The club needs scoring in the worst way, especially when Tkachuk and Weight aren't on the ice. Kariya has great speed, and Andy Murray is the type that loves to utilize speed.

The St. Louis Blues made a shocking move as they put 38-year old captain Dallas Drake on waivers with the intention of buying him out and clearing a little bit of cap space if he goes unclaimed.

Given how hard Drake worked night in and night out for the Blues, and given their lack of leadership, it's somewhat strange that they would boot their captain out the door.

The Blues say the move wasn't about saving money. Rather, they need the roster spot heading into training camp. Several of the Blues' young players, such as D.J. King, will need to clear waivers this season to be sent to Peoria, and the Blues don't want to risk losing them.

"We tried to make deals during the draft to open up roster spots, and we couldn't make any deals," Blues President John Davidson said. "If we could have found ways to open up more spots with certain deals, then we wouldn't have to worry so much about our 23-man roster. If you look at our roster, there's only a couple of spots open for free agents and we need a couple of free agents, if we can."

Dallas Drake's offensive production slipped to a mere 12 points in 60 games last season, and it was clear that he was a one-dimensional defensive forward. Still, he led the Blues' forwards in PK ice time, and was still able to get under the skin of many opposing scoring stars. It's not as if he wasn't without SOME value.

Fine, the Blues want to clear a roster spot for a younger player with more upside. I understand that. But, DJ King? A goon that had just 9 points in 38 AHL games? What's the use?

Drake would make a good 4th liner on a team willing to give him a spot, but the old fart may want to retire, instead of making the league minimum and playing a greatly diminished role.

Erik Johnson, the first overall pick in the 2006 Entry Draft, had spurned the temptation to turn pro and earn some instant cash. Instead, Erik lived his dream to play with the University of Minnesota, and had given hints that he intended to stay there for a few years.

Well, the lure of the NHL must have finally got to the boy as he's signed on with the St. Louis Blues.

I talked to Erik today (Wednesday) and he told us he's not going back to the University of Minnesota and I got a big smile on my face," Blues President John Davidson told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

According to the Post-Dispatch, the contract will be for three years, with a base salary of $765,000 and an $85,000 signing bonus. The contract will also be loaded with incentives that could bring him anywhere from $2 to $3 million per season.

Widely considered the #1 prospect in the game today, Blues fans hope Johnson can bring them the same kind of 2-way defensive dominance that Chris Pronger or Al MacInnis brought to the club during the good old days.

While Johnson had offers to join the Blues right after being drafted, it was best for all involved that he went back to university. Why burn up a year of his contract to be overwhelmed at the NHL level, playing on a bad team? Now that Erik is one year older and more mature, he should be much more able to adapt to the NHL game.

The first step in Erik's development will be joining Team USA in the upcoming World Championships in Moscow. This will give fans their first chance to see how Erik does against some of the best in the world.

You can read more on Erik Johnson at Hockeysfuture.com