First of Many

Changes come quickly in the world of hockey.  The playoffs are still underway and the first NHL player movements are already taking place.  Teams are looking ahead to the draft and free agency.  Players are looking at their options for next season and in order to secure a roster spot in Europe many players make the move quickly in order to begin training and become accustom to new surroundings.

The San Jose Sharks first round elimination put them high on the list of teams needing a change.  It seems every season in recent memory finds the Sharks with one of the best regular season point totals only to be ousted in the playoffs before reaching the finals.  Today began the start of some spring cleaning.

Dan Boyle played his final game with San Jose.  Boyle was a key member of the Sharks defense and most notably known for his offense with three straight 50 points seasons to begin his San Jose career.  Before that he played a big part of the success of Tampa Bay and their cup winning season of 2003-04.  Boyle will become a free agent this summer and turn 38.  I can't see him retiring without at least playing one more season as long as the right team is interested.  This is where you could insert a Flyers joke.  Not now with Ronald Hextall at the helm.  I think he gets a deal around 4.5 for one season on a team with a serious chance of winning the cup.

Martin Havlat is the next to go.  The big difference is he still has a contract worth way more than he is worth.  It's hard to believe Havlat can return to his former self.  Since being acquired Havlat has had little success with San Jose.  Not only has he missed significant time but his scoring has practically disappeared.  Buying out his 5 million dollar deal is the only way out for San Jose.  There is no way a team will give him substantial money even at 33 years old.  It's going to come down to what Havlat wants to do.  He could probably fit in on certain teams at a deep discount like Los Angeles.  Otherwise I peg him to look into finding work in Europe.

That will segue us into the next move.  We now have our first NHL player moving to Europe.  There will be plenty more especially from the minor leagues.  Erik Gustafsson has left Philadelphia for the KHL.  Think this move comes down to playing time.  Gustafsson was a restricted free agent, one that I'd believe Philadelphia wanted to bring back.  The problem from the player standpoint is in three seasons he was more often a healthy scratch than in the lineup.  That's not a great spot to be in when you want to play.  If he does well in Europe there is always the chance an NHL team signs him as a regular in the future.

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Hadn't planned on it but since we are talking change, the Pittsburgh Penguins are set to announce in about an hour that head coach Dan Bylsma and GM Ray Shero will be fired.  When you have a guy like Crosby and Malkin on a team there are no excuses for not winning.  Maybe blame can be placed on both but the team as a whole needs to improve.  That's the job of a GM.  The coach can only work with what he had, and Bylsma got 51 wins out of a team with a lot of injuries and a shaky goalie. 


NOON UPDATES VIA TWITTER:

Bob McKenzie was the guy to report Bylsma being fired this morning.  He is very reputable.  He was also not correct this time.  Shero was fired.  Bylsma was not.  Yet

Always takes a little time for North America to catch up to European news.  I'm not surprised if he didn't tell the Flyers.  He didn't have to but contractually it would have made sense to potentially create a bidding scenario.