When the clock strikes 11 Sunday night, the National Hockey League’s version of the Gold Rush will begin.
Unrestricted free agents will become available to the highest bidders. Some of them–one of the most prominent being Blackhawks captain Tony Amonte–will strike it rich and receive significantly higher salaries from new teams.
One thing is certain: Hawks general manager Mike Smith has had a long time to think about how he intends to fill the skates of a five-time All-Star whose streak of 410 consecutive games is the longest of any active player.
Smith and Amonte’s agent, Mike Gillis, mutually agreed to cease negotiations in November so Amonte could concentrate on playing. Amonte was hoping the talks would resume after the season, but neither side picked up the phone.
“If they wanted me, they knew where to find me,” Amonte said. “They knew I played hard for the Hawks and that I wanted very much to stay in Chicago for the rest of my career. Now it’s over. It’s a great lesson for me–I’ve learned sports is a business; there’s no room for loyalty.
“I think I’d have had a better season if the team had taken care of the situation before the start of the season. It was always in the back of my mind. But I can’t use that as an excuse. I wasn’t satisfied with the season but I still felt I contributed to our success.
“Sure I feel hurt. In retrospect I think maybe I should have asked for a trade three or four years ago when things weren’t going well and we weren’t making the playoffs. Looking back, it all seems like such a waste. Now what I want most is to go to a team that’s 100 percent committed to winning the Stanley Cup.”
The Hawks aren’t expected to wage a bidding war to find a replacement for Amonte, whose unofficial asking price of $7 million went beyond the budget owner Bill Wirtz has given Smith.
While Dallas and the Islanders vie for Amonte’s services, Smith will be searching the free-agent market for a way to fill the appreciable void created by losing the 27 goals and 39 assists the 31-year-old Amonte contributed last season.
“We know we have to do something to replace Tony’s goals,” Smith said. “We want to be more of a four-line team. Part of replacing Tony’s goals can be addressed by getting more goals out of the third and fourth lines.”
Smith has other items on his priority list.
“We have a half-dozen things that we think are key things we need to upgrade,” he said. “If we can get two or three accomplished it would help. We have a couple of ideas [regarding free agents]. We want to address at least one of these situations through free agency.”
Theo Fleury, a right wing whom the Rangers traded to San Jose last weekend in a deal involving draft picks, is one player who interests the Hawks. The Rangers had no interest in re-signing Fleury, who has a recent history of personal and emotional problems but had a good relationship with Hawks coach Brian Sutter when both were in Calgary.
Housley back: The Hawks re-signed 38-year-old defenseman Phil Housley, who provided a much-needed scoring boost after coming from Calgary in the Sept. 28 waiver draft.
On the market
Top NHL unrestricted free agents:
Forwards & defensemen
PLAYER TEAM POS SALARY G A +/-
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Teemu Selanne San Jose RW $9.5 million 29 25 -11
Theo Fleury San Jose RW $6.5 million 24 29 even
Bill Guerin Boston RW $5.1 million 41 25 -1
Bobby Holik New Jersey C $3.5 million 25 29 +7
Tony Amonte Hawks RE $3.4 million 27 39 +11
Luke Richardson Philadelphia D $2.6 million 1 8 +18
Gary Suter San Jose D $1.8 million 6 27 +13
Darius Kasparitis Colorado D $1.15 million 2 12 even
Goalies
GOALIE TEAM SALARY W-L-T GAA SAVE %
Curtis Joseph Toronto $6.575 million 29-17-5 2.23 .906
Ed Belfour Dallas $6 million 21-29-11 2.65 even
Mike Richter NY Rangers $6 million 24-26-4 2.95 .906
Byron Dafoe Boston $3.4 million 35-26-3 2.21 .907
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