from Eric Duhatschek of The Athletic,

All those UFAs and RFAs – touring here, talking there – all hoping to cash a monster paycheck once the new season begins. You’ve got to know that not everyone is going to get paid, right? But if you’re an NHL GM with real salary-cap space – yes, we’re speaking of you, Jarmo Kekalainen; and you Joe Sakic; and you Pierre Dorion – how would you most effectively deploy all that spare cash in the bank?

By plunging into the market as soon as it opens?

Or by waiting – maybe for a long time, until the dust settles and you get to judiciously shop what could be an attractive crop of leftover players, who didn’t get the offers they wanted and are left without a signed contract as the summer glides along?

The second option makes the most sense to me.

read on ($$$)