The Season 17 draft ended this morning and management types immediately scurried off to their offices to dive into the first free agent period. There are some big names looking for new homes.
But a caution to Website GMs: Rule 7 is in effect, meaning older (Type 3) players signed at this stage will receive no-movement clauses and they will have to stay plugged into your “Pro” or “Scratch” lineups for the entire season. You can’t send them down, buy out their contracts or trade them.
Here are some of the more intriguing names available:
Mike Zibanejad. Believe it or not, he might not be playing for the Bern franchise for the first time since before the EURO’s first game was ever played. He is the only player in history who played all 16 seasons with the team that drafted him in Season 1. Fans in the Swiss city are not going to love new GM Shalom Connell if their talisman is calling some other city home.
John Tavares. There aren’t too many signs the league’s all-time leading scorer is slowing down. With Berlin last season, he scored 97 points. He has played for Helsinki (briefly), Edinburgh, Lisbon, Paris and Berlin. Who gets the legend this season?
Maxim Chudnov. Like Zibanejad, Chudinov has had just one home in the EURO League. Minsk started playing the defenseman in Season 2 and they never stopped. He has played 1,179 games as a Hussar and everyone involved with the team (except perhaps him, we don’t know) wants him to end his career in Belarus.
The Berlin Boys. Aside from Tavares, Smurfs Staffan Kronwall, Calvin Pickard and playoff MVP Artturi Lehkonen are all accepting offers from other teams. That’s a top line winger, a top pair defenseman and THE goalie joining Tavares on the market.
The Minsk Boys. The other team that made it to the Cup Finals last season could also see some hard-to-fill holes in the lineup suddenly. In addition to Chudinov, forwards Par Arlbrandt, Mattias Sjogren and Jimmie Ericsson are free agents now.
Filip Forsberg. After a long career in Munich, the offensive talent played a year in Madrid and another in Athens and it appears he’s ready to move again. But his past performance hasn’t measured up to his perceived talent and that could keep suitors from coming to his door with their best offers. He has only eclipsed 70 points three times in his career, despite always getting top line minutes. His top goal count was 33.
