It’s my Parting Shot for some Thursday N-H-L Free Agency Thoughts…..

Good news for the national sports television networks on Day 1 Wednesday, they didn’t have to sit idle and twiddle their thumbs when one considers there were more than 100 signings, plus another couple of handfuls of trades. There’s nothing worse than the so-called experts and insiders discussing what should happen as opposed to reacting to what has happened!

I don’t have winners or losers because I find that so much of what is done in free agency and with trades comes down to dollars and the salary cap. The actual talent improvement in today’s player moves is a distant second behind affordability, unless your name is Connor McDavid!

Having said that, I like that my Winnipeg Jets addressed an area of need by acquiring a couple of big, bruising defencemen in Brenden Dillon and Nate Schmidt. As much as speed, skill and being able to skate is still a big deal, just look at the Tampa Bay Lightning’s combination of speed, skill, sie and toughness that has allowed them to win back-to-back Stanley Cup titles. And, they aren’t standing pat, either!

Best of luck to Braden Holtby in Dallas and Luke Schenn in Vancouver. Hopefully, the change of scenery sees your playing time increased and your success rise in connection to that increased ice time!

That’s my Parting Shot, I’m Les Lazaruk…..