Mark Witkin, the agent for highly coveted free agent Chris Drury, quickly accepted a phone call from a reporter Thursday – about 72 hours before the start of today’s NHL free-agent free-for-all.
“Really, there’s nothing going on here, theoretically, not until Sunday,” Witkin said. “It’s very quiet.”
At 10 a.m. today, Witkin’s phone should be ringing off the hook. At that hour, the NHL’s 29 other teams, besides Drury’s most recent employers, the Buffalo Sabres, are free to call the Boston-based Witkin and give him their best pitch for the former Avalanche forward, one of the top names on the market.
Up north, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, agent Don Baizley experienced a similarly quiet day Friday. But with clients such as Peter Forsberg and Paul Kariya available to the highest bidder, he, too, is bracing for the onslaught.
“We’ll see what happens. You never know with free agency what the interest is going to be like,” Baizley said. “But I expect there to be some interest out there, and a pretty active day.”
The hockey world, as other sports, has its share of rumor- based websites on which one might read that certain free agents are supposedly on the next plane to certain cities.
But as the former Hollywood screenplay writer William Goldman once said of the movie business, “Nobody knows anything.”
That sentiment applies to the period before the start of free agency, as teams are faced with severe penalties if they contact or talk publicly about any player not under contract with them. So it’s a big guessing game.
One thing appears certain. The Avalanche will be a “player” today. Former employees, such as Drury and Forsberg, could interest the team.
The Avs figure to have as much as $17 million to throw at free agents – including, perhaps, five of their own players who were unsigned as of Saturday. The team currently has 17 players signed to one-way contracts for 2007-08, one probable roster player (Jeff Finger) signed to a two-way deal and one restricted free agent (Marek Svatos) signed to a $1.05 million qualifying offer.
With those 19 players taken into account, the Avs stand with a combined payroll of $33,246,583.
Teams can have no more than 23 players on an active roster. That leaves some healthy room for free agents, especially since the NHL announced its new, top-end salary cap number Friday at $50.3 million.
Drury, Forsberg, Ryan Smyth, Daniel Briere, Brendan Shanahan, Scott Gomez, Michal Handzus, Bill Guerin, Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne are some of the biggest names available at forward.
Defensemen such as Scott Hannan, Andy Sutton, Brad Stuart, Sheldon Souray, Roman Hamrlik and Matthieu Schneider figure to draw significant interest.
It appears the Avs are going to let go of veteran free agent Brett McLean, a clue to a possible need at left wing. McLean played the last third of the season on the second line, with Paul Stastny and Milan Hej- duk, so his departure would warrant a replacement.
Smyth, the longtime Edmonton star who spent the final part of last season with the N.Y. Islanders, is an available left winger, as are Shanahan and Kariya, a former Av. It should be noted that Forsberg sometimes played at left wing with the Avalanche.
But don’t expect a Forsberg signing with the Avs, or any other team, today. He had surgery Thursday on his right ankle. He plans to see how well his foot feels next week by skating on it. If it feels better, he is expected to play in the NHL again. If not, retirement is a possibility.
Staff writer Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com.
