The Gustavsson Watch: July 2nd

I apologize for the late post, this is a bit of a recap.

Seems Burke’s accidental dedication that found him in Sweden talking to the monster didn’t quite pay off.  According to sources and Burke, the kid is still undecided despite the Toronto GM’s prodding.  His agents say it could still be a few days before he makes a decision, which doesn’t bode well for the Dallas Stars as they are the team who the situation is more volatile for, meanwhile Burke and the Maple Leafs seem to be ready and willing to do whatever it takes to put together a winning team in the Big T – whether it means begging and pleading to Jonas or picking the best of the litter if it falls through.  Meanwhile Dallas’ internal cap will likely limit them when selecting a back-up if Gustavsson does fall through.

You have to understand the inner-turmoil that comes with a decision for any new player coming from Europe who is suddenly put into the spotlight – add the recent death of his mother who wanted him to play in Canada supposedly and it becomes all the more hard.  But that doesn’t make this any less annoying for us fans – or at least not for me.  Ed Belfour is looking better and better – I kid, I kid.

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Following Free Agency: End of Day 2

Well the day will have officially come to an end by the time this is published.  To call it exciting would be a lie – it was pretty slow compared to yesterday’s flabbergasting state of affairs.

The day had three major points (though they were probably more minor in the scheme of things) –

1. Gustavsson still delays even though Burke meets him in Sweden to talk him into Toronto
2. Zubov is apparently getting quite a few offers from other teams, NYR and St. Louis two of the top contenders.\
3. Skrastins signed for 2 years.

While Dallas finally made a move on the Free Agent market, I wouldn’t necessarily classify it as anything that resembles exciting.  But it did ease my soul a bit and made for a nice “brain apocalypse” on the Stars defensive line.  I had time to read around about the new guy.  If you didn’t read earlier or haven’t explored him since the signing – here are a few key facts about Skrastins:

• Finished with a +9 last season with the Panthers playing 80 games
• Won an Iron Man award for his lack of injuries and holds the record for most consecutive games played by a defensemen.
• Averages 20 minutes ice time per game.  For a lot of the first half of the season he played the most time on the PK of anyone else on the team.
• Blocks a ton of shots.

That said he’s a 34 year old Defensive Defensemen who was drafted by Nashville then went to Colorado for a bit before heading to Atlanta.  In between those he played in Latvia – his native country (not in Mexico).  If nothing else it will be a nice change for us to snag someone who isn’t going to go out for half a season every season after the season we had last year and the problems we’ve had with our veterans lately.

It begs the question – what role is taking up and where does that leave the defense core as a whole?

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The Gustavsson Watch: 6/30/2009 (Pt. 2)

I can’t say I didn’t expect this somewhat.  The kid has decided to delay his decision according to his agent – who does an awful lot of talking for the young man, I must say.

According to sources, the agent says that it would be unlikely that we receive an answer before noon on July 1st.  Whether that means we’ll get one on July 1st AFTER noon or just simply a way of saying, “We’ll decide when we decide” – is up in the air.

A lot of readers are up in arms about it right now, which is understandable.  The kid has four premium clubs looking at picking him up, granted the “good ol’ days” of the Avs are long gone – the Stars have a great future save any fateful Joey N. fiascoes, the Sharks were supposed to win the cup last year and look to be a playoff contender again this year and Toronto is simply one of the Canadian seven.  So it’s not like he’s putting a Florida team on hold.  But, what can you really say?  He’s planning out his first season in not just the NHL but a new country as well – people tend to forget that America isn’t a surefire bet for a great life.  If you take the decision too lightly you might end up on a team that doesn’t fit you and have to travel across an ocean to get back to anything familiar.  Meanwhile, Dallas is the only real bet for even being on a team with a legitimate amount of fellow Swedes (that’s my shameless homer comment).  Here’s the quote acording to Sportnet.ca – thanks to Heika:

“It’s highly unlikely we’ll commit before 12 noon Wednesday. With so many teams potentially making major changes to their rosters, maybe it’s best to wait and watch it unfold first.”

While, I probably am giving him more slack than most of the fans out there that doesn’t mean I’m not a bit peeved about the whole thing.  July 1st isn’t a game.  People have to sign contracts and put money on the table.  Free Agents leave and unfortunately you probably won’t be able to get them back (e.g. Crombeen).   We don’t sign a goalie and all of a sudden we’re stuck picking up another unproven minor leaguer and just hope that Crawford manages him better than Tippett did with Stephan.  Next thing you know the kid chooses Avalanche just to go along with the rest of the unexpected decisions that have come this off-season already and I’m on my way to Colorado to burn a certain house down.

I don’t like committing arson Gustavsson – don’t you dare put blood on my hands big man.  DON’T YOU DARE.

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