2011 NHL Free Agency Live Blog/Open Thread

Starting at 11 AM Central, NHL's unrestricted free agents are free to sign with any team. Restricted free agents will also be able to field offer sheets. And throughout the frenzy of speculations and announcements, I'll be live blogging the day's events in this post. I'll try to get some analysis up for each signing, more in cases that directly affect the Preds and their rivals. So lean into that function 5 key and get ready to discuss our inevitable annual disappointment! 

For a preview of what the Predators might be thinking, here's audio of David Poile on Thom Abraham Show yesterday. And if you're a little behind, here's where the Predators stand, heading into this afternoon:

• They bought out J.P. Dumont's contract, reducing his cap hit and making him an UFA.
• Joel Ward and Marcel Goc will hit UFA status this afternoon, with a return for the Preds possible for each.
• Steve Sullivan and Shane O'Brien will become UFAs, but will not receive offers from Nashville.

Here's Dirk's Preds-specific free agency preview, detailing the pros and cons of players in Nashville's price range. The live blog starts after the jump...

9:20: The Red Wings have reportedly resigned two players, pending UFA Jonathon Ericsson and Patrick Eaves. Ericsson, another late-round Scandinavian steal for Detroit, is a good second-pairing D-man and figures to have a bigger role with Rafalski gone. Eaves is a bottom-6 winger with some scoring punch, a la Ryan Jones. Nothing Earth-shattering here. 

9:27: The Canucks re-sign Sami Salo, apparently for 1-yr/$2M. This deal makes the Erhoff contract with Buffalo seem even more ridiculous. Salo is injury-prone, but 1/$2M vs. 10/$40M for arguably equally-valuable players...

9:42: Minnesota resigns goalie Josh Harding 1/$750K. Good deal. They get the injury discount on a capable 1A. 

9:57: Columbus has signed James Wisniewski for 6/$33M ($5.5M per year). He's a good first-line power play defenseman, but he's not worth that much money. For one, he's a bit of a one-year wonder. And the Blue Jackets are basically paying him to be a top-line defenseman, and his defensive game isn't good enough for that role. Columbus is spending a lot of money in questionable ways, but they clearly want to compete next year. 

10:25: Per Josh Cooper, Poile says he's looking for a top-6 guy in the UFA class. Cooper speculates on a few possible names: Upshall, Higgins, Gagne, D'Agonstini, and Leino. I wouldn't really call any of those guys top 6. But count me in on Upshall, Gagne, and D'Agonstini. 

10:29: Buffalo re-signs Cody McCormick for 3 years, $1.2M per. Decent depth center, too many penalties. 11 can't come soon enough. 

10:51: Penguins confirm they withdrew a 1-year $2M offer to Jaromir Jagr. #JagrWatch

11:02: We're underway! And there's two pieces of news to report. Tyler Kennedy re-ups with the Penguis for $2 years/$4M ($2M per). Kennedy is a great, versatile winger. Paying a 45-point player $2M is an absolute steal. Also to report, Chris Higgins gets nearly the same deal, 2 years, $1.9M per. That's a good sign for Vancouver, for similar reasons--very versatile, pushes the play, good secondary scorer. These two could be said to be comparables for Joel Ward, and I'd gladly take him back for the same money. 

11:38: The Red Wings sign depth forward Drew Miller to a 2-year/$1.6M contract. He provides 10 goals a year for his $800K, not a bad return. 

11:44: Goalie Mathieu Garon signs with Tampa Bay for 2-years/$2.6M. He's not very good, but that's not much money. He figures to get chances, backing up the aging Dwayne Roloson. 

11:52: 2 signings. Jamal Mayers goes to the Blackhawks for 1-year/$550K. He's bad, fights, and commits lots of penalties. I hope he makes the Hawks. Ben Eager has signed with the Oilers. He's also bad. But Edmonton just gave him 3 years/$3M, so the joke's on them.

11:58: Florida signs Jose Theodore for 2-years/$3M. The drop from Voukon to him is astounding (.917 career SV% to .909). The Panthers might lose a ton of games next year. 

12:10: Adam Pardy signs with Dallas for 2-years/$2M. Gotta wonder about a guy who plays the softest minutes in the league and averages 1 goal per year. It's hard to make a disaster $2M signing, but the Stars are trying. 

12:30: Lots to cover here. 

• Scottie Upshall signs with Florida for 3-years $3.25M per. I honestly thought Upshall was going to end up back on the Preds, but not for that money. I don't think that's a bad signing for a team like Florida who needs good players who can bring them to the cap floor. But I don't blame Poile for balking at that price. Check out Dirk's preview for more on Upshall, if you wish.
• Sean O'Donnell signs with the Blackhawks for $850K. That's a decent gamble for the money, though certainly a downgrade from Campbell (if that comparison is even apt here). Will he pair with Mantador? 
• Chris Butler signs a 2 year/$2.5M deal with the Flames. He's a fine 3rd pairing defender. 
• Phoenix gets Mike Smith for 2/$4M. That's a huge downgrade for Bryz and I can only assume they're paying for playoff performance here. 
• Matt D'Agostini signs with the Blues for 2-years/$3.3M. That's a very good deal for the Blues. D'Agostini put up very similar numbers to Tyler Kennedy this year and got even less. Hopefully the price on Wardo is dropping similarly...
• Raffi Torres gets 2 years/$3M from the Coyotes. That's a good deal for Phoenix. That Torres took as many D-zone draws as he did last year and scored 29 points is amazing. I still hate him, though. 
• Jeff Halpern signs with Washington for 1year/$825K. Last year's 11 goals was a S% fluke, but it won't matter much at that money. Still, I wonder if the Caps would be better giving his spot to a younger player.

12:35: 

• #JAGRWATCH: Jaromir Jagr to the Flyers for $3.3M/1-year. 51 points in Russa last year. Defies analysis.
• The Stars fill out their checking line with Vernon Fiddler and Radek Dvorak. Not sure about the money yet.