Byfuglien, Thrashers Extend For Five Years And $26 Million

When the Atlanta Thrashers acquired Dustin Byfuglien during the offseason from the cap-strapped Chicago Blackhawks, they fully anticipated he would emerge as one of their top assets. The big, versatile Minnesota-native who can play both forward and defense (where he was moved back to by Atlanta) brings a tremendous mix of physical play and offensive skill to his game. And the young 25-year old pending restricted free agent has since emerged as a key to the Thrashers' roster as well as their playoff hopes.

Fully realizing how important he has become to the team and how critical he can be to the success of the franchise over the long haul, general manager Rick Dudley was able to lock Byfuglien down with a five-year, $26 million extension Tuesday.

“Dustin has emerged into an elite player this season and been invaluable as a leader both on and off the ice," said Dudley. "It was a priority to sign him and we’re looking forward to witnessing his All-Star caliber play for many years to come.”

Byfuglien, who is earning $3 million this year, will see his salary rise to $4.25 million in each of the next two campaigns, $5.75 million in 2013-14 and 2014-15, and $6 million in 2015-16. His annual cap hit will be $5.2 million.

With 43 points in 58 games, Byfuglien is Atlanta's leading scorer and ranks fifth among defenseman across the entire league. His 17 goals and seven scores on the power play rank him atop all NHL defenseman, as well.

News From Around The Crease: Fedotenko Attending Rangers Camp, Thrashers Moving Byfuglien To D, Avs Re-Sign Mueller

~ A career-worst performance with the Pittsburgh Penguins last year brought his two-year tenure with the club to an end. At 31 years old and still an unrestricted free agent, Ruslan Fedotenko has decided to accept an invitation from the New York Rangers to attend their training camp on a tryout basis and potentially earn a contract to reunite with head coach John Tortorella from their Tampa Bay Lightning days.

Larry Brooks of The New York Post broke the news Tuesday that the Rangers invited Fedotenko to camp, and TSN confirmed on Friday evening that Fedotenko did accept the offer.

This is a case of the Rangers trying to catch a guy rebounding off a bad year in hopes that he can rekindle his success as a depth player capable of netting important goals in critical situations. He only posted 11 goals and 30 total points last season to go along with a horrendous minus-18 rating with the Penguins. But he typically is a 15- to 20-goal scorer with a pretty decent playoff history and two Stanley Cups to his name. He scored 12 goals in the 2004 postseason in which the Lightning won the Cup, including both goals in Game 7 of the Finals against the Calgary Flames.

Since this is strictly a tryout, it's really is a no-risk situation for the Rangers. If he plays hard and will agree to essentially a minimum salary contract, New York can definitely benefit from the the veteran playing a wing position on the third or fourth line. If he fails, they cut him loose and he'll probably end up in Russia. Either way, the Rangers get to see what he has to offer. And if anybody can push him to be his best, it's Tortorella.

Blackhawks Deal Another One: Ladd Moved To Atlanta

 

Apparently trading away Dustin Byfuglien, Brent Sopel, Ben Eager, Akim Aliu, Colin Fraser, Kris Versteeg and Bill Sweatt was not enough to get the Chicago Blackhawks into comfortable positioning underneath the salary cap. They needed to deal another guy. And that other guy is 24-year old left wing Andrew Ladd, who was dealt to the Atlanta Thrashers amidst all the free agency madness on July 1 for a second round draft pick in 2011 and 22-year defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy.

Ladd will now re-unite with Byfuglien, Sopel, Eager and Aliu in Atlanta after those four were dealt to the Thrashers for a package including Marty Reasoner, Jeremy Morin, Joey Crabb, and the 2010 first and second round draft picks acquired in the Ilya Kovalchuk trade with New Jersey. Ladd is a restricted free agent who was extended a qualifying offer valued at $1.65 million by the Blackhawks on Sunday afternoon. He had the ability to seek higher compensation by filing for arbitration.

How much he would receive via arbitration is unknown, though we could still find out if he elects to go down that road with Atlanta, which one would have to figure as unlikely given the fact that the Thrashers traded for him. But in all of these deals, General Manager Stan Bowman has successfully shed about $5,333,333 in actual salary and $5,594,999 in cap space without even factoring in the cost of re-signing the restricted free agents (of course, this math depends on who you factor in as likely to actually play for Chicago next season from the return deals - I went with Viktor Stalberg and Vishnevskiy actually making the roster.)

This type of wheeling and dealing is necessitated by the fact that performance bonuses to a few of the Blackhawks players as a result of their Stanley Cup Championship actually drops the team's cap number lower than other teams next season. And with Antti Niemi needing a new deal with no hometown discount anticipated, costs largely accumulated during Dale Tallon's reign as GM needed to be cut loose.

Ladd now moved back to the Southeast Division, where he started his career as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes and won a Stanley Cup with them back in 2006. He has top six forward ability, but inconsistency generally reduces him to a checking line forward role. He can score, though, and did so with a career-high 17 goals last season. He is also a presence on the defensive side of the puck, using his size and physicality to guard his own zone.

Dustin Byfuglien Dealt To Thrashers

 

UPDATE (x2): The trade to send Dustin Byfuglien to Atlanta is now official, according to TSN. And as Bob McKenzie mentioned, the holdup was simply a matter up Atlanta going over the 50-contract limit.

The trade is now a nine-player deal sending packaging Brent Sopel, Ben Eager and Akim Aliu with Byfuglien to the Thrashers in exchange for Marty Reasoner, Jeremy Morin, Joey Crabb and the first (24th overall) and second (54th overall) round picks acquired from the New Jersey Devils in the Ilya Kovalchuk trade.

In order to meet the NHL limit on maximum contracts, the Thrashers sent forward Brent Sterling, defenseman Michael Vernace and a 7th round pick in this weekend's draft to the San Jose Sharks for future considerations.

UPDATE: TSN's Bob McKenzie is reporting that a holdup in this pending trade might not be the fact that the NHL Awards Ceremony was tonight, but that the Thrashers will have too many contracts.

It is my understanding Chi-Atl trade hold up is indeed because Atl would have 51 contracts with trade. Atl has to move a contract first. - Bob McKenzie

McKenzie also mentions that they could just remove Aliu from the deal for now. Either way, he doesn't expect the trade to become official until Thursday or Friday.

ORIGINAL: The cost-cutting has begun for the Chicago Blackhawks. Just hours before the NHL Awards Ceremony, TSN announced that Chicago was sending playoff standout Dustin Byfuglien to the Atlanta Thrashers in a six-player deal that would, in part, net the 2010 Stanley Cup Champions the 24th overall selection in Friday's draft - originally acquired by the Thrashers from New Jersey in the Ilya Kovalchuk trade. The Blackhawks will also receive the 54th overall pick in the draft (also obtained in a swap of second rounders with New Jersey in the Kovalchuk trade), 33-year old center Marty Reasoner and 19-year old prospect Jeremy Morin, who scored 47 goals and 83 points last year with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League. In addition to Byfuglien, Atlanta gets defenseman Brent Sopel, depth forward Ben Eager and 21-year old right wing prospect Akim Aliu. According to TSN, the deal is not official just yet:

"The only hold-up on trade call appears to be tied to waiting for league personnel to land in Los Angeles. After that, the trade should be made official."

The big chip here is obviously Byfuglien, who established himself all of the last season and especially during the playoffs as a gritty big-sized forward proficient at getting to the front of the net for a screen or to put the puck in off his own stick. This move is, unfortunately, a salary dump for Chicago, who one would have to imagine would otherwise love to keep such a key piece to their championship drive if it wasn't for the fact that they were sitting right up against the salary cap. The 24th overall pick is decent compensation, but not nearly a replacement for the big guy.

For the Thrashers, this was a steal of trade. They acquire some salary here, but they can afford it much better than Chicago. And with the addition of Byfuglien, Atlanta keeps building up pieces to move past the Kovalchuk era of their franchise. He should pay immediate dividends as a much-needed big body to provide physical play. He's not a pure offensive threat, but will still be a leading scorer for the team as the roster stands now.

Kane's Sudden Score Clinches Blackhawks First Cup In 49 Years

Patrick Kane knew that 49 years had gone by since the last time the Chicago Blackhawks hoisted the Stanley Cup. He also might have been the only one that knew that streak was over. After taking a pass from Brian Campbell and moving the puck down the boards, Kane snapped a bad angle shot from the bottom of the faceoff circle and then skated around the net in celebration. There was no red light. No arena noise. No epic victory call from play-by-play voice Mike “Doc” Emrick. There was no reaction – except from the man responsible for bringing Mullet Mania to the Chicago. Kane’s shot went right through the legs of Philadelphia Flyers starter Michael Leighton and then disappeared underneath the bottom portion of the goal just four minutes and six seconds into the overtime session. A quick review by the officials and numerous replays for the fans made everybody realize what Kane knew right away – the Chicago Blackhawks were Stanley Cup Champions for the first time since 1961.

“I knew it went in right away,” Kane said. “What a feeling. I can’t believe it. We just won the Stanley Cup.”

Kane’s less-than-dramatic finish to the Stanley Cup Finals almost wasn’t necessary. For much of the third period, the Blackhawks carried a 3-2 lead acquired during the second stanza. But a late goal with 3:59 remaining in regulation by Scott Hartnell, who directed a deflection from Marian Hossa’s stick past Antti Niemi for his second score of the game, enabled to Flyers to prolong their improbable run into an overtime session.

But that’s where the resilience of these comeback Flyers ended. Kane made sure there would be no Game 7. He made sure there wouldn’t be another comeback. He made sure that Chicago would live up their hype and secure a championship the city and its fans sorely needed.

And it makes sense that Kane would be the guy to clinch the Stanley Cup for the Blackhawks. Sure, it could have been Hossa, who was just the third athlete in any of the four major American sports to appear in the finals in three consecutive years for three different teams. It also could have been Dustin Byfuglien, who was such a dominating force for most of the first three series and the final two games of the finals. But Kane, along with Conn Smythe Trophy recipient Jonathan Toews, were tasked with being the new blood of the organization.

Selected third (Toews) and first (Kane) overall in consecutive NHL Entry Drafts back in 2006 and 2007, respectively, these two young kids were the building blocks for a new generation in Chicago Blackhawks hockey. Long gone were the days of missing the playoffs and disappointing fans with high ticket prices and lacking home game broadcasts. This was a new era for Blackhawks hockey – one geared toward including the fans and making them proud to root for an organization poised for success. With Toews and Kane leading the way, this organization would be become a champion … eventually. Little did they know eventually would come this soon.

This was truly a team effort, though. Toews and Kane were integral pieces and there’s little doubt that Chicago would be heading toward 50 years without Lord Stanley had it not been for those two. But so many other players were key in this championship victory.

Niemi stepped into that unenviable role of rookie goalie in the NHL playoffs, and he shined. He wasn’t unbeatable, but he kept his team in games and made the big save when necessary. Byfuglien was a big, physical presence for the Blackhawks and netted a playoff-leading five game-winners. Hossa didn’t put up huge numbers, but he provided the invaluable experience of having played in the Stanley Cup Finals before. Patrick Sharp did contribute big in the stats department with 22 points, which ranks fifth among playoffs leaders. On defense, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook combined for a strong defensive pairing, while Niklas Hjalmarsson got himself noticed with a plus-9 rating and solid shot-blocking prowess.

Then there’s behind the bench, where Joel Quenneville guided his team efficiently through six-game series victories over Nashville and Vancouver, a four-game sweep past the No. 1 ranked San Jose Sharks, and then a six-game win over the Flyers. His decision to switch up lines in Game 5 by putting Kane, Toews and Byfuglien on separate units opened up the game and allowed Byfuglien specifically to get back on track and almost single-handedly pull his team within one win of the Cup.

For their efforts, the Flyers definitely deserve recognition here. They weren’t the Broad Street Bullies, but they had plenty of grit and spirit to their game. Entering the postseason as the No. 7 should have been a huge disadvantage. But they were not a typical seven seed and outplayed their ranking. The Flyers overpowered the New Jersey Devils, came back in miraculous fashion from a 3-0 deficit against the Boston Bruins and pretty much dismantled the No. 8 Montreal Canadiens without any problem. For a seventh seed to even get to the Stanley Cup Finals is impressive. To keep it as close as the Flyers did with the Blackhawks was even more so. But it all ended for them at home on one of the oddest Cup-clinching goals in league history.

I’m sure no Blackhawks fan will actually mind the anticlimactic way in which Game 6 ended. Nor will they mind that the championship soon to be paraded around their city in a few short days was actually captured by their beloved team on the road, in Philadelphia. After 49 years, you take it any way you can get it. And that abrupt goal might actually be a fitting conclusion to an entire postseason that provided plenty of surprises along the way.