Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Free Agency & A Mixed Bag

NHL free agency fires up Friday, and several former Sioux find themselves in search of new contracts. Drew Stafford and Chris Porter have already signed new deals, and below is a list of the other former Sioux who played in the NHL last season and will be looking to sign new deals this summer:

PLAYER 2010-2011 TEAM  FA STATUS NEW TEAM SIGNING/CONTRACT DETAILS
Zach Parise New Jersey RFA

Drew Stafford Buffalo RFA Buffalo 4 Years, $16 Million
David Hale Ottawa UFA

Matt Smaby Tampa Bay RFA

Ryan Johnson Chicago UFA

Chris Porter St Louis UFA St Louis 1 Year, 2 Way Contract
T.J. Oshie St Louis RFA

Taylor Chorney Edmonton RFA


Oshie recently received a qualifying offer from St. Louis, which prevents him from becoming an UFA,
while the New Jersey Devils have filed for arbitration in their effort to get Parise signed long-term
without risking losing him to an offer sheet it might not be able to match. It will also be interesting to
see where Jason Gregoire signs, and if any other former Sioux are able to make there way into the NHL.


McKeen's Hockey published an interview with incoming recruit Rocco Grimaldi about a week before
the NHL Draft,  and when asked about next year's outlook at North Dakota Grimaldi replied:

"I expect to be a big part of it, to be a big contributor, and I expect to win. I really do expect to win.
That's just the mental attitude that I have. We're going to be a pretty young team, but we're going to
be a pretty dang good, solid, skilled team. I think we'll do really well. Obviously, I want to win in the
end. That's our goal and hopefully I'll be a big part of that and be able to help along the way." 

I love his positive outlook, the expectations he has of himself, and the expectations he has of the
team. Here's the full interview.


The USHL put together some short highlight reels of some it's NHL Draft prospects, including
Grimaldi and fellow incoming recruit Colten St. Clair:

Grimaldi:


St. Clair:

No comments:

Post a Comment