Famous Last Words

Just when I thought things would quiet down New Jersey goes crazy and throws a six year contract at Dainus Zubrus.

Here is a classic case of a team looking to do something to avoid being seen as standing still. Sometimes however, a team can stand still in the personnel department and still move forward. At least the Devils took care of a long standing problem and finally found a backup goaltender.

In all fairness to the resident genius Lou Lamoriello, the lack of having a backup goaltender has been mostly a function of being stuck in cap jail. While the length of the Zubrus deal is absurd, at least he got Zubrus for a good price. If the Devils can give Martin Brodeur more rest, it won't matter how long Zubrus is on their team.

As for the Nylander saga, J.P. links to this article in the Edmonton Journal where Kevin Lowe comes clean. It turns out that Nylander's wife was the one who nixed the idea of going to Edmonton and that's all you really need to know. Now if the NHL's CBA means what it says and says what it means, there isn't much the Oilers can do but pitch a fit. There's no signed Standard Player Contract floating around other than the one that Nylander signed with the Caps. That makes this a pretty open and shut case. I will say however that Nylander and his agent should have given Edmonton the courtesy of telling them that they were going to back out. That's only the professional thing to do.

However, this is the NHL and the Caps are involved. The Caps learned the hard way a few years ago with Petr Sykora that you don't have a contract until you have a contract signed. Heaven only knows how the NHL will seek to resolve this situation.