Zach Parise is going to… Oh, he still hasn’t made a decision. Bummer.
The Calgary Flames, however, are a topic of much conversation after the inked Jiri Hudler to a new four-year, $16 million contract. They now possess the league’s second highest (pending Zach Parise signing) payroll, despite you know, not having anything to show for it in recent years, and experts think they may try to shed some salary. It seems certain Olli Jokinen won’t be back at any rate.
Should the Dallas Stars go after Jokinen for their number-two center spot? Mike Heika said yesterday they’re not interested in signing the veteran. With basically nothing out there elsewhere on the FA market down the middle, should the Stars go the trade route to find their center? Are they even interested, or is Cody Eakin destined to try to take that spot on the roster whether he’s ready or not?
Brandon Dubinsky? (three years remaining, $4.2M cap hit), Derek Roy (one year remaining, $4.00M cap hit, $5.5M actual salary), or try to pry a lesser known prospect level center from a team in exchange for Steve Ott, Stephane Robidas or Brenden Morrow? The Stars would have to compete with teams like the Coyotes, who are also looking for offense and have better pieces to offer (reportedly Yandle).
The Flames offer intrigue on defense as well as Jay Bouwmeester’s salary could get moved, and by most accounts the Stars need a big body to eat tough minutes on the back end. Aaron Rome does not replace Sheldon Souray in that regard.
What say you? Is action picking back up for the Stars dependent on Parise? It appears as though teams are in for another overnight wait as we’ve hit 5:00pm on the East Coast already. Here’s our afternoon/evening FA live thread…