Briere To Critics: STFU

photo courtesy of Gerry Broome/AP
When he signed an eight-year, $52 million free agent contract with the Flyers over the summer, hockey talking heads were apprehensive. That much money for a guy who's only 5-9, 175-pounds? That much for a guy who'd only had a couple of really good years in Buffalo? Briere instead of Chris Drury?

Well, the Flyers didn't sweat it, and now they look like friggin' geniuses.

Briere scored a hat trick and an assist in the Flyers' 6-3 crushing of a very, very good Carolina Hurricanes team last night. Danny Boy now has 10 goals and 24 points in 20 games, and his team is second in the Atlantic Division with 25 points and a 12-7-1 record.

Former teammate Chris "Avalanche Ex-Girlfriend" Drury, on the other hand, has just 13 points (three goals) in 21 games. Though the Rangers are playing very well and lead the Flyers in the standings by two points, Briere is looking like the better free agent deal, by far.

Briere says his critics can suck it. They'll probably have to kneel down pretty low.

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Briere To Flyers, Rafalski To Wings, Jesus Himself Still Considering Options

At least, it seems like everybody---even Baby Jesus---is in the free agent running today. The signing orgy continues, with Daniel Briere agreeing to a whopper 8-year deal including a "no move" clause with the Flyers (for $52 million). To fill the hole left by Mathieu Schneider, the Dead Wings have signed Brian Rafalski, a Michigan native. Too bad, I kind of liked him.

There was some talk about Yanic Perreault being pursued by the Avs to improve their face off percentages, but that didn't pan out because he just signed with the Blackhawks.

Oh, and speaking of 'Hawks, former Avalanche forward Brett McLean (who started his career with Chicago) has signed with the Florida Panthers along with Richard Zednick.

No word yet on Ryan Smyth, Scott Gomez or Chris Drury, the three big boys yet to go.

UPDATE: Smyth is rumored to be on the cusp of a multi-year deal with the Avalanche.

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The Predators Put On Their Running Shoes, Begin Race To The Bottom

The Predators, in the first of many moves (and non-moves) to jettison player salaries, have traded talented free agents Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell to the Flyers for a first round draft pick. That's right, two good players for a single draft pick. And, to make matters worse, it was the draft pick the Predators originally gave to the Flyers as part of the trade for Peter Forsberg, who will not play for Nashville next season. The Flyers are clearly the winner in this series of exchanges.

Obviously, the Predators are simply dumping salaries and racing for the bottom (cap-wise). Why? Because current owner Craig Leipold wants the hell out, NOW. No better way to speed the process of a sale than to quickly deflate the team's operating costs through salary elimination. Secure a draft pick for the future but dump the stars and veterans and get primed for a rebuilding process that will likely take place north of the border.

It's not a stretch of the imagination to think that Nashville's quick dumping of players like Timmonen and Hartnell will be followed soon by the departure of Paul Kariya and others. And it's also not a stretch to assume that Nashville's front office is simply following the direct orders of Leipold through all of this.

So the Predators spend next season as the NHL's Tampa Bay Devil Rays and then slip quietly in the night to Hamilton, Ontario, and into the open arms of more than 10,000 season ticket holders and new owner Jim Balsillie. The writing, as they say, is on the ice.

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