UFA Flurry

Wow...one day and there are a ton of signings, so let's get to them. Briere to Philly - from a Fantasy perspective this is awesome. Briere is a PP machine and 5 on 5 he's pretty deadly as well. With the young guys the Flyers have amassed there, this team stands to be a marked improvement over last years'.... Scott Gomez and Chris Drury to the Rangers are two very good signings for the Rangers as well. Both Gomez and Drury are very responsible defensively, which should be a marked improvement for the Rangers down the middle. Gomez is even a better play-maker than Nylander, so expect Jagr to really enjoy the soft passes. Drury's signing likely means that Brendan Shanahan will will have to take less to stay - but I think he does to get a chance to play with either of those two guys at center. Still no defence help, which is a concern....With Drury and Gomez in New York, reports had Michael Nylander originally signing with the Oilers. But that appears to be premature as he has now confirmed signing with the Washington Capitals. Poolies can only dream about the results from a Ovechkin-Nylander combo. If they can come close to the Jagr-Nylander combo that would be most impressive. An opportunity to play with Ales Hemsky is tantalizing, but the Oilers still need a sniper to play with those two guys and right now, there's not one on the team....Ryan Smyth to the Avalanche is a solid signing for the Avs. Captain Canada will get the chance to play with either Joe Sakic of super-sophomore Paul Stastny, which will mean a solid return to 30+ goals for Smyth....Mathieu Schneider's signing in Anaheim is further evidence that the Ducks expect that Scott Niedermayer will announce his retirement before the beginning of next season. As is, the Ducks may have one of the best top 4 defence corp ever assembled with Pronger, Schneider, Beauchemein and potentially Niedermayer. Schneider won't replace Niedermayer if he does retire, but he's a nice substitute nonetheless....with Schneider in Anaheim, the Red Wings wasted little time in landing Deerborn, MI native Brian Rafalski for a long-term deal. Rafalski gives the Red Wings an excellent tandem of Lidstrom and Rafalski to man the PP points. Poolies should see a rise in his point totals from playing with the offensively challnged Devils....the Blues signed Keith Tkachuk, just prior to UFA opening, and then landed Paul Kariya. Kariya's becoming less of an offensive impact, but perhaps this move to the Blues and the chance to play potentially with Doug Weight may rekindle more offense. Kariya was deadly on the PP last year, and the Blues will welcome that. Just don't over-pay for his services though....