If there's been one story that everyone has beaten to death this summer, it's been Mats Sundin. No one is actually beating Mats to death, but talk of 'will he' or 'won't he' play this season and, if so, for whom has been all over the blogosphere. I don't think you can visit a hockey blog anymore without seeing his name mentioned. For those of you out there looking for something to quell your summer boredom, I've got a fun little game for you today. Sort of like Mad Libs, you can create your own Mats Sundin story by filling in the blanks below.
Don't be shy, give it a try! My shot at it is after the jump for your reading pleasure.
Today, Mats Sundin made a big decision regarding his future. His agent, (person), announced that Mats has signed a contract with (company/non-hockey team) to play professional (activity). The length of the deal is (number) years for (number) million dollars. In a statement released through his agent (agent's name from above), Mats did not comment on whether or not he would return to the NHL, but he did have the following to say about his newest endeavor.
"I'd like to thank the good people at (company from above)," Sundin said. "They have been very good to me and their (product/service) is clearly the best in their industry. I'm looking forward to using (product/service) a lot to (activity)."
It is still not clear at this time if Mats will return to the NHL this (length of time). He has reportedly set a deadline for (date) but even Mats admits that is not a hard deadline. To try and clear his head and think things through Mats has gone to (place) with (person) for (length of time). There he is (activity) and (another activity). The latter really helps Mats to (benefit of activity).
So there you have it, folks. Still no decision from Mats Sundin, but he is now a professional (activity from above). That crazy, Mats! You never know what he'll do next.
If you're looking for one post that catches you up on everything you missed while you were at work today, then this one is for you. Lots of random signings today, the day before Christmas in July. Except it's not Christmas. It's actually not religious in any way. I think Hockey Jesus would still approve, though.
Without any further ado, here's the rundown of the pre-July 1st signings from the past 24 hours.
The Panthers aren't letting the Lightning steal all the thunder in Florida these days. They inked Rostislav Olesz for six years at about $18.75. Panthers hockey ... Feel the excitement! But seriously he is a pretty good young player.
Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts and Vaclav Prospal signed on with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Have you heard about it? It hasn't really been covered that much.
John-Michael Liles and Adam Foote both re-upped with the Avalanche only a day before they were to hit the open market. Liles' deal is estimated to be four years and a bit over $4 million per. Foote is rumored to have gotten two years at $3 million per. I'm still looking for someone to pay me half that.
Sean Leahy is still looking for a team. He's got loads of potential but teams are still questioning his photoshopping ability. Pensblog is rumored to be in the hunt.
Three seasons ago, the Steelers lined up everything to make three runs at the Super Bowl. It worked out outstandingly well in year one, which really makes it hard to complain when year two (2006) didn't turn out as well as hoped. But as the Steelers get ready for the 2007 season, get ready to see this current team for the last time. Joey Porter's departure is just the beginning, as free agency will be much more of a factor next offseason than it has been in any recent year.
Six current starters are slated to become unrestricted free agents, and a pair of long-time backups will also hit free agency unless the Steelers re-sign them this fall.
But as bad as that sounds, the Steelers could use this upcoming free agent class as a chance to prune away from dead weight, while also getting younger and hopefully more athletic. If you assume that Alan Faneca will live up to his promise to head elsewhere after the season, that leaves only Troy Polamalu as a must sign before the season begins.
With Nene's contract extension, the Nuggets go well over the luxury-tax threshold and the rumor is the team will look to move Marcus Camby this summer for financial reasons despite his defensive play.
Well, that sucks. The Tribune then notes that Nene has really picked it up as of late, looking more and more like a legit big man. This despite his concerns about being too light. While Camby is a beast this season, it's not like we've forgotten all the Mr. Glass jokes. And it's not like carrying the contracts of Melo and Iverson is condusive to cap flexibility. Still, as with Marion, it's always sobering that a competitive team would take that major a gamble. I guess it's hard, as fans, to remember that franchises are businesses after all. If it's your millions invested, "luxury tax" is just as, if not more, arresting than Camby or Marion's statistics.
The Vikings, fresh off their coup of signing Bobby Wade, are aiming at signing another backup receiver. Aaron Moorehead, the Colts No. 4 receiver last season, will be in town on Tuesday to talk about a potential deal.
The optimistic view is that Moorehead would blossom with more playing time. The pessimistic view is that if Moorehead can only catch 23 passes in four years in the pass-happy Colts offense, how much production can he be expected to have in the Vikings offense.
It's true that Moorehead was never going to start on a team with Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne on the roster, but he was never better than the No. 5 receiver until this season, when he moved up to No. 3 after Brandon Stokley was injured. But even then, the Colts decided to go to more two tight end sets instead of using Moorehead, which explains why Moorehead had only eight catches all last season (three different Colts tight ends had more catches).
The Titans apparently have jumped into the running for Chargers backup running back Michael Turner.
According to the Tennessean, the Titans are among the teams interested in Turner, who rushed for 502 yards on 80 carries last year (6.3 yards per carry). There's only one problem: Turner has been tendered at the highest level, which means that the Titans would have to sign him to a deal and if the Chargers don't match it, Tennessee would send its first and third-round picks to Chargers for Turner.
As good as Turner was last year, a first and a third-round pick is a very, very steep price. The Chargers could trade Turner for less, but apparently the Chargers are holding out for a first and third-round pick, although they are willing to push the third-round pick to next year. I can't imagine the Titans giving up two picks, but Turner does seem to be a fair use of their first-round pick.
With the Jets, Cowboys and Bills also involved in talks for Turner, the Titans are also looking at alternate plans--Chris Brown could still come back, while 49ers restricted free agent Maurice Hicks is another possibility. Hicks is best as a backup tailback, but he showed decent value in that role with the 49ers in 2005.
Carlos Zambrano will most certainly be one of the most biggest prizes in the 2008 free agent market. Although that's a long way off, Mets fans will be happy to know that if Zambrano were to make his living in the city of New York, that his preference would be Queens over Manhattan.
"I like the Yankees, but I don't see myself pitching at Yankee Stadium. Too many rules," he said with a laugh. "If I play in New York, it's going to be with the Mets. First of all, because I get to hit. And I love hitting.
"I can't say ... that I would never play for the Yankees. Hopefully no, but you never know. This is a business."
Now I'm not going to take all that much stock in a quote from March, nor will I take much stock into a guy saying he prefers the Mets over the Yankees because he prefers to hit. But two points here:
Carlos Zambrano and the rotation starved Mets would be a match made in heaven.
For anyone to come out and say that they prefer the Mets over the Yankees, especially a stud like Carlos Zambrano (no matter that it's only because he prefers to hit) shows you that the gulf between the Yankees and the Mets that was present when Omar Minaya first took the job as Mets GM has shrunk significantly.
In many ways, the Mets will always be the "little brother" in New York, but for the Mets to even be close to the Yankees like this is a seismic shift. No matter where Zambrano ends up (as long as it's not the Yankees) it's already a victory and a vindication for the Mets and for the Minaya era.
Besides, the potential for a classic commercial featuring Zambrano as a Met would be huge!
If everything goes as expected, Tyrone Carter will never start another game as a Steeler. But it's still very good to see the Steelers re-sign the backup safety to a three-year deal.
Carter fits perfectly as a backup safety to play in the dime. Although undersized, he hits well enough to even fill in adequately as a short-term starter, and he knows Dick LeBeau's system inside and out. As a long-term starter, he would be exposed for his lack of size and speed, but re-signing him makes Troy Polamalu better, as Carter will once again play as a deep safety in the Steelers dime package, allowing Polamalu to move up to play essentially a linebacker role on third downs.
Re-signing Carter also means that the Steelers have no need to draft a safety--they now have four solid vets under contract in Polamalu, Carter, Ryan Clark and Anthony Smith.
It's probably a little premature to be talking free agency, but there's some interesting news on the Darko front. A starter for much of March, the punchline of the 2003 Draft has shown some serious flashes. Orlando wants to keep him, and yet you can count on several other teams vying for his services.
So what do the Magic do with their enigmatic big man? They send him to the bench. From Florida Today:
Darko Milicic lost his job in the starting lineup because of injury, but the Orlando Magic power forward said he doesn't fear the demotion will hurt him this summer when he becomes a free agent...
"It just happens that I couldn't play the same night that Tony was coming back because of my back injury," Milicic said. "I'm starting to get my minutes back now coming off the bench. I'm not worried about (the demotion). I just want to help this team get into the playoffs. That's all I'm thinking about now."
Darko is supposedly okay with it, but also "hopes losing his starting job won't affect his free-agent appeal." Which brings up the obvious question: do you keep a young player around by benching him? This move by the Orlando staff isn't going to tell other teams anything they didn't already know; it's not like they're concealing him from would-be suitors. They just don't seem to get the (restricted) free in "free agency."
Depending on how you look at it, the Titans are either really smart, or simply stingy.
While the 49ers, Browns, Patriots and other teams with mounds of free cap room made a big splash at the start of free agency, the Titans sat back and let the top names sign elsewhere for $6-$8 million per year. The Titans have bottom fed instead, signing cornerback Nick Harper and wide receiver Justin Gage when few other teams were nibbling at them.
The Titans continued that trend on Wednesday by signing Saints safety Bryan Scott. Scott wasn't the top safety in this year's free agent class, he might not have made the top 10, but he does still have some upside, just like Justin Gage and Nick Harper. It seems that the Titans are trying to pick up players who arguably still have their best football ahead of them. In Scott's case, he was a big deal coming out of college, where his size/speed combination enticed the Falcons to take him with an early second-round pick.
If you're looking for one post that catches you up on everything you missed while you were at work today, then this one is for you. Lots of random signings today, the day before Christmas in July. Except it's not Christmas. It's actually not religious in any way. I think 
Three seasons ago, the Steelers lined up everything to make three runs at the Super Bowl. It worked out outstandingly well in year one, which really makes it hard to complain when year two (2006) didn't turn out as well as hoped. But as the Steelers get ready for the 2007 season, get ready to see this current team for the last time. Joey Porter's departure is just the beginning, as free agency will be much more of a factor next offseason than it has been in any recent year.
The salary cap is probably a good thing, and teams running afoul of it is usually their own fault. Still, it can lead to some hair-pulling scenarios. One example of this is the 
The Vikings, fresh off their coup of signing Bobby Wade, are aiming at signing another backup receiver. Aaron Moorehead, the Colts No. 4 receiver last season, 
The Titans apparently have jumped into the running for Chargers backup running back Michael Turner.
Carlos Zambrano will most certainly be one of the most biggest prizes in the 2008 free agent market. Although that's a long way off, Mets fans will be happy to know that if Zambrano were to make his living in the city of New York, that his preference would be 
If everything goes as expected, Tyrone Carter will never start another game as a Steeler. But it's still very good to see the Steelers re-sign 
It's probably a little premature to be talking free agency, but there's some interesting news on the Darko front. A starter for much of March, the 
Depending on how you look at it, the Titans are either really smart, or simply stingy.
