Salary cap in the East

[X. Benedict]

I quote Jason Botchford of Canwest: - doesn't include peca deal

 

CAROLINA HURRICANES

 

$38,150,800

 

They accomplished a lot by locking up Rod Brind'amour and Justin Williams to almost identical five-year deals. They also re-signed Erik Cole to a three-year deal to ensure the core remains. They will feel the loss of D-man Aaron Ward, and to a lesser extent forward Matt Cullen. Both went to the Rangers.

 

WASHINGTON CAPITALS

 

$19,334,200

 

Don't expect them to become contenders any time soon even with Alex Ovechkin. They lost centre Jeff Halpern and winger Brian Willsie. They did sign capable D-man Brian Pothier who showed promise in Ottawa. They brought back Richard Zednik in a trade with Montreal. They still owe Jaromir Jagr $3.8 million a year for the next two.

 

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

 

$16,392,218

 

The Penguins are miles under the salary cap but they still aren't eager to spend, partly because Russian Evgeni Malkin is considered a star in the making. They ventured into free agency to grab a couple of role players, agitator Jarkko Ruutu and defenceman Mark Eaton. They need to re-sign Marc-Andre Fleury. The Pens biggest offseason move may be bringing back Mark Recchi who they traded on March 9.

 

MONTREAL CANADIENS

 

$38,622,900

 

They locked up Cristobal Huet early then landed Mike Johnson in a trade and signed Sergei Samsonov. Both give the team a major speed injection. The Habs traded away Richard Zednik and resigned David Aebischer to a $1.9-million, one-year contract.

 

OTTAWA SENATORS

 

$36,471,150

 

They did their best to replace Zdeno Chara by bringing in good D-men in Joe Corvo and Tom Preissing. Their biggest free-agent acquisition is also their biggest question mark. Martin Gerber lost his job in the playoffs to Cam Ward and how he responds is hugely important for Ottawa. They did well to re-sign Wade Redden and Jason Spezza. They're still interested in Mike Peca.

 

BOSTON BRUINS

 

$34,727,833

 

The Bruins stole the show when free agency opened, nabbing six-foot-nine D-man Zdeno Chara with a $37.5-million, five-year contract and Marc Savard with a $20-million, four-year deal. The Bruins also traded away goalie Andrew Raycroft, who had lost favour, for top goalie prospect Tuukka Rask.

 

ATLANTA THRASHERS

 

$34,647,600

 

The Thrashers were a little hamstrung by ownership court issues this offseason. There was no way they had the cap room to sign Marc Savard. They dipped into the free-agent market to grab a replacement -- Steve Rucchin, who signed a $2.12-million-per-year deal. The Thrashers also landed former Stars backup goalie Johan Hedberg. He's sure to battle netminder Kari Lehtonen for playing time.

 

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

 

$36,950,378

 

A salary-cap crunch for the former champs cost the Lightning key defencemen Pavel Kubina and Darryl Sydor. The team replaced them with Filip Kuba for $3 million per year for three years. They gave up significant scoring in Fredrik Modin to land a No. 1 goalie in Marc Denis. He should solidify their weakest position.

 

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

 

$34,750,400

 

The Flyers lost their best puck-moving defenceman Kim Johnsson, who missed most of last season with a concussion. The replacement? Former Canuck Nolan Baumgartner who was shocked by the $1.2-million-per-year offer. The team still has to sign restricted free-agent Simon Gagne and has only shown a faint interest in Anson Carter and none in Jason Allison.

 

N.Y. RANGERS

 

$34,652,500

 

Oh, the Rangers wanted Patrik Elias but restrained themselves. Instead they got valuable vet Brendan Shanahan for $4 million per year, ensuring they won't bring back Petr Sykora or Martin Straka. They plucked two former Hurricanes off the free-agent market -- Matt Cullen and Aaron Ward.

 

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

 

$39,013,240

 

You name the remaining free-agent forwards and most of them have been linked with the Leafs. Toronto is taking a hard look at signing Mike Peca while at the same time flirting with Anson Carter, Eric Lindros and Jason Allison. The team has already had a huge offseason. The Leafs locked up D-men Bryan McCabe and Tomas Kaberle. Joining them will be free-agent pick-ups Hal Gill and Pavel Kubina. That's a slick front four to play in front of new goalie Andrew Raycroft. The Leafs need to find scoring and they think they have $2 million - $3 million left to get that done.

 

BUFFALO SABRES

 

$15,475,733

 

The Sabres couldn't match the $4-million-a-year deal the Blues offered Jay McKee -- their most dependable D-man all year. They signed Jaroslav Spacek to a $3.33 million-a-year contract as his replacement. The Sabres are likely one-and-done for major free-agency moves. They lost Mike Grier but re-signed Teppo Numminen. They will try and find a replacement by dealing No.2 goalie Martin Biron.

 

FLORIDA PANTHERS

 

$30,637,200

 

Sure they got Todd Bertuzzi but they lost out on prized defenceman Ed Jovanovski and then refused to pony up for Chris Pronger. The Panthers are convinced they need another top-flight goaltender to complement Alex Auld. They have their eyes set on Martin Biron from Buffalo. But if free-agent goalie Ed Belfour can't reach an agreement with Detroit expect the Panthers to take a shot at the veteran.

 

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

 

$29,342,200

 

Here comes the defence. The Islanders got themselves a pair of aggressive, responsible defencemen in Tom Poti and Brendan Witt. That should give plenty of blueline tools to new coach Ted Nolan. The Islanders also scooped up Mike Sillinger and are one of the teams in hot pursuit of Eric Lindros. The Islanders might make a late bid for former Ranger Petr Sykora.

 

NEW JERSEY DEVILS

 

$42,437,000

 

The Devils did a wonderful job this offseason in re-signing Patrik Elias, Jamie Langenbrunner and Colin White despite being under the salary cap gun. The Devils now seem close to reaching a long-term deal with Brian Gionta, coming off a breakout season. That move would seemingly make it impossible to bring back restricted free-agent Scott Gomez, who has filed for salary arbitration.