If the Lockout ends....

nordiques100 writes "If the Lockout ends, where would each team stand?
Here is a look at each team for the upcoming 2005-06 season if there is one. Included is team payroll, number of players signed for next season and team owner(s).

Anaheim Mighty Ducks
Payroll - 26.9 million
Number of players signed - 10
Owner – Dr. Henry Samueli

About 80% of their payroll is tied to Fedorov, Giguere, Sykora. Will likely build around many young players like Getzlaf, Perry, Lupul, Chistov, Smid, Bryzgalov rather than add many veterans. Defence will need rebuilding with only Carney and Vishnevski signed. Has lots of speed/skill up front but lacking in grit. New ownership will likely keep payroll very low.

Atlanta Thrashers
Payroll - 19.4 million
number of players signed – 16
Owner – Steve Belkin (one of 6 owners)

Most of team is signed but excludes Heatley and Kovalchuk, their two franchise players. Lehtonen will be their next franchise guy added to the team. Defence is weak but Coburn and perhaps the next Chara in Valabik will make the team and add needed size, speed, grit. bottom end of roster filled with fringe talent. But team is young and will be fun to watch for the next few years. Unfortunately despite the young stars, fan support has waned.

Boston Bruins
Payroll - 4.6 million
Number of players signed – 5
Owner –Jeremy Jacobs

Thornton, Samsonov and Raycroft, the heart of the team needs to be signed. Gonchar could be a UFA this summer so costing the team futures is going to hurt for someone who played one playoff round for them. they need to retool their defence. Stuart, Jurcina, Jonsson could step in if the B's go with youth. Toivonen may be ready to challenge Raycroft in goal. will likely have youth movement as Jacobs won't spend a penny more. Look for Boyes, Samuelsson, Hilbert to play big roles. Likely to replace Lapointe, Murray, Nylander from within.

Buffalo Sabres
Payroll - 11.5 million
Number of players signed – 10
Owner – Tom Golisano

Team still waiting for either Biron, Noronen or Miller to emerge as no 1 goalie. Will likely replace Satan from within. Has tons of fine young talent like Jillson, Roy, Paille, Vanek ready to step in. Needs to find identity as have tons of skilled players but play disciplined tight checking game which doesn't suit their personnel. Having to resign all of Briere, Kotalik, Afinogenov, Dumont, Tallinder will be a tough task for small market Buffalo.

Carolina Hurricanes
Payroll - 15.6 million
Number of players signed – 7
Owner – Peter Karmanos

over 10 million committed to Ward, Hedican, Brind Amour. Defence needs major overhaul as been stuck using patchwork defence for the last few years. Richmond, St Jacques will help add youth. Nice core of young forwards like Staal, Laad, Williams, Vasicek, Cole to build around and nice goalie prospect in Ward. Karmanos is one of the more hawkish owners who will demand a low hard cap. So what will that mean for Jeff O'Neill?

Columbus Blue Jackets
Payroll - 25.3 million
Number of players signed - 20
Owner – John McConnell

Whole team under contract pretty much, except their franchise player Nash. like their mix of young forwards Fritsche, Svitov, Nash, Zherdev with solid vets Marchant, Cassells, Vyborny. Leclaire should challenge Denis for No. 1 goalie. Defence is horrid, Old, Slow, lacks speed or skill. Will Klesla ever develop? team has lots of fringe vets who may be replaced by younger cheaper prospects. Lockout meant halt in new and up-and-coming franchise. Will have to again lure fans back.

Calgary Flames
Payroll - 17.1 million
Number of players signed – 12
Owner – Harley Hotchkiss

Need to sign Iginla. May be the biggest priority for any team in the offseason. Oh yeah Kiprusoff, Leopold, Langkow need to be signed too. signing them will not leave much funds for anyone else. Should be a tough team to beat for years with a top coach, core players in their prime and solid young players like Lombardi, Kobasew. lets not forget top prospect Phaneuf. Hardline owner may not allow this talent to hit the ice anytime soon.

Chicago BlackHawks
Payroll - 14.6 million
Number of players signed – 16
Owner –Bill Wirtz

strong core of young talent to build around like Calder, Bell, Arnason, Ruuttu, and up and coming defence like Babchuk, Seabrook, Barker. likely to go with all this youth from here on in but still need talent and experience on defence, star power up front and perhaps a goalie as Thibault may be a UFA. Wirtz is one of the cheapest and biggest hardliners among owners. the lockout makes no difference as he has denied hawks fans of hockey for years with TV blackouts and icing poor teams.

Colorado Avalanche
Payroll - 29.9 million
Number of players signed - 12
Owner – Stanley Kroenke

will have tons of trouble trying to resign Forsberg, Foote who may be UFAs and Hedjuk, Tanguay, Aebischer. Team already has two $8 million dollar players in Sakic and Blake. Not a team rich in prospects after gutting their system for annual Stanley Cup runs. Losing Drury, Reinprecht, Aulin, Regher, Morris, and some first rounders in past moves really hurt their organization not to mention making bad draft picks. For a team that is a money maker, sells out and can spend freely without much losses will be hurt badly by payroll restrictions.

Dallas Stars
Payroll - 30 million
Number of players signed – 9
Owner – Tom Hicks

team stuck still with two of the biggest overpaid contracts in league history with Geurin, Turgeon. those two take up half the payroll already. still need to resign Modano, Zubov, Arnott all whom could be UFAs and address their defence that needs to be rebuilt after losing Sydor, Hatcher, Matvichuk. Team could have major overhaul and go with youth and rebuild from scratch. has some decent prospects like Daley, Belle, Fransson, Tjarnqvist, Miettinen, Eriksson but no real franchise players among them. Hicks caused much damage to game's finances today and now rumored to be one of the biggest hardliners.

Detroit Red Wings
Payroll - 50.1 million
Number of players signed – 18
Owner – Mike Illitch

Lost Hull, will likely lose Yzerman, Chelios, Schneider and will still have to make payroll cuts. Prospects like Kronvall, Grigorenko, Hudler will be regulars next year. no longer can be in business of buying players for cup run. will have to start building within like they did in early 90s. core of team aging quickly but still have Datsyuk, Zetterberg to carry the torch. not many holes on team but not as deep as past years. moving prospects and draft picks for stopgap veterans may hurt them the next few years as organization lacks depth and they get use to having mid range payroll.

Edmonton Oilers
Payroll - 17 million
Number of players signed - 14
Owner – Cal Nichols (among others)

History of trading top players rather than resigning them so who knows if Smyth, York, Brewer, Moreau will be Oilers still. Has plenty of young players to fill in all positions. Woywitka, Stoll, Torres, Rita, Dubnyk, Schremp, Pouliot will be Oilers soon. No matter what, still need to have lack of offence addressed. Said will fold if no hard cap/linkage. doubtful as team with moderate payroll that fits in salary range talked about is still profitable.

Florida Panthers
Payroll - 8.7 million
Number of players signed – 11
Owner – Alan Cohen (among others)

Need to resign their two core players Jokinen and Luongo. team is fully stacked with young prospects. whether they all turn out or not remains to be seen. Horton, Bouwmeester, Stewart, Olesz will be solid NHLers eventually. also have Weiss, Krajicek, Berglund, Mezei, Biron, Shvidki, Novak who have been up and down for them. Biggest need is to add veterans who can shoulder load to lessen pressure on youngsters. Keenan/Martin may be able to bring a winner here but pressure is on to win and win fans back in this non-hockey market.

Los Angeles Kings
Payroll - 20.7 million
Number of players signed - 14
Owner – Philip Anschutz

Deep defence signed and all set with good mix of vets Miller Norstrom Vishnovsky, youth Gleason, Grebeshkov. Goal set with Garon signed and ready to be No. 1. but need to resign Frolov and add quality forwards to play with him. next few years will add quality young fowards to team with Tukonen, Tambellini, Brown, Cammellari, Boyle but need more proven talent to win. Will have hard time to bring fans back as lots of other things to do in LA. Team more than fine in accepting cap.

Minnesota Wild
Payroll - 17.8 million
Number of players signed - 14
Owner – Naegele Sports LLC

Team with firm budget will relish having a cap. Has enough fan support and money to thrive again when hockey returns. team will be filled with quality youngsters Bouchard, Gaborik, Koivu, Wallin, O'Sullivan, Burns, Schultz, Thelen, solid vets Rolston, Walz, Roloson, Mitchell, Kuba and have great coach with Lemaire. Team is near top in terms of being in best shape when hockey resumes on ice and off the ice.

Montreal Canadiens
Payroll - 19.7 million
Number of players signed – 11
Owner - George Gillett

Good thing has lots of young players as may lose Kovalev and Koivu to UFA. Crop of young forwards is good with Ryder, Ribiero, Kostitsyn but Higgins, Hossa, Perezhogin have had setbacks. Defence is all signed and pretty much set but could use improvements. Will need to resign Theodore but will have Danis grooming behind him. 12 million is tied to 4 useless players in Bonk, Brisebois, Rivet, Sundstrom. That hurts them if they want to bring in talent outside. Owner likely prefers cap but shown willingness to spend (or waste money) if need be.

New Jersey Devils
Payroll - 19.7 million
Number of players signed – 14
Owner – Ken Vanderbeek

Can Stevens come back? and can they resign Rafalski, Niedermayer, Langenbrunner who may be UFAs and RFAs Elias, White, Friesen? Core of team may be gone but still have Brodeur. Some good young players and good role players but will need to bring in some more talent to stay contenders. Lou is the league's best GM and a top executive. if anyone can find a way to resign all those players, work under a cap and still be competitive it's him.

Nashville Predators
Payroll - 14.5 million
Number of players signed - 14
Owner – Craig Leipold

Team always with low payroll but still suffering losses. Dont think things will get better here and team will have very hard time bringing back fans. Quality vets like Vokoun, Walker, Timonen, Zidlicky carrying team for now but have many youngsters like Finley, Hamhuis, Weber, Suter, Radulov, Erat, Legwand, Hartnell to build team around. Could use more scoring and experience but cant afford it. Too bad these players play here because this is a solid young team on the rise. but no one will notice.

New York Islanders
Payroll - 21.1 million
Number of players signed - 5
Owner – Charles Wang

Yashin and Peca make a combined 15 million. Yash has the worst contract ever signed in history and it wont end any time soon. With an aging arena, a part owner going to jail for fraud and in need of bringing in enough players to form a team, things are grim for this former dynasty. Their top 3 defencemen may be UFAs and really they have nothing much in the system. They have some talent up front and their franchise goalie Dipietro but not much money to work with. Nilsson, Colliton, Nokelainen, Bergenheim, Hunter are a very good crop of forward to build around the next few years.

New York Rangers
Payroll - 29.1 million
Number of players signed - 11
Owner – Cablevision

Much of work done a year ago gutting team of all veterans. Problem though is 20 million committed to Holik and Jagr. Have full cupboard of youngsters at all positions. Blackburn, Montoya, Lundqvist in goal, Kondratiev, Tyutin, Rachunek on defence, Balej, Dawes, Korpikoski, Jessiman up front. All will get a chance soon to make the big club. But for now, team has holes everywhere and not sure where to begin to fill them up. 7 years of missed playoffs warranted the change in direction. this team has done most damage to game with their spending habits. Cap would be welcomed by all other teams who blame NY for the mess.

Ottawa Senators
Payroll - 31.2 million
Number of players signed - 12
Owner –Eugene Melnyk

Owner is billionaire but team in small market and will be subject to cap like everyone else. however will need to find room to pay Hossa, Havlat, Spezza, and replace Hasek if he retires....again. city loves team and players but sick of greediness as had to deal with Yashin for years. fan support fine but will they accept a lesser team from the ones that couldnt win? future looks good on ice as team is pipeline for young talent and current core is still young. hope is to not waste deep talent at forward and defence with subpar goalie. Emery not ready to be the man.

Philadelphia Flyers
Payroll - 45.6 million
Number of players signed - 16
Owner – Ed Snider (Comcast)

Current team is old and aging quickly and filled with many overpaid over-the-hill talent. Roenick, Amonte, Leclair could be bought out. They will have to make cuts to meet the possible cap level. Luckily core of Primeau, Gagne, Handzus, Kapanen, Knuble, Markov, Johnsson, Esche not that old and system filled with good young talent with Carter, Richards, Pitkanen likely being regulars next year. Snider not really out to get a hard low cap as that would hurt his team but out to beat Goodenow which mean he is willing to go hardline all the way.

Phoenix Coyotes
Payroll - 34.7 million
Number of players signed – 21
Owner – Steve Ellman and Wayne Gretzky

Roster pretty well set. team has decent prospects, brought in solid vets and has young core but momentum from big off season with hope of contending died with lockout. now team in desert will have hard time selling out brand new building and winning back fans in non hockey market. Still lacking in dependable goalie. Gretzky may coach but even he cant stop pucks. without him, no new building goes up in Pheonix. one of few struggling teams willing to take any offer even without hard low cap/linkage to get back on ice.

Pittsburgh Penguins
Payroll - 7.5 million
Number of players signed - 9
Owner – Mario Lemieux

Though the franchise No. 66 may retire for good, team has 2 franchise players to build around. Malkin and Fleury are that good. other prospects Malone, Koltsov, Orpik, Whitney not bad either. but team doesnt have depth. experience or talent to win now. team needs new building but if doesnt happen then team may fold or be moved. has no money to spend. if Mario returns he will need to pay himself too. despite troubles 66 tried to save season and game showing his dedication.

San Jose Sharks
Payroll - 16.7 million
Number of players signed – 10
Owner – Greg Jamison

Could lose Rathje to UFA and will have trouble resigning Stuart, Sturm, Marleau. But team is young and will contend for years. Goc and Michalek will be top line players eventually and Cheechoo is real good with more prospects on the way. Hannan is a horse and Nabokov is a top goalie solidifying the backend. Not many holes on this team and if all key players brought back, should be solid for years to come. This has been one of the better southern team but that is because they are consistently in the playoffs and exciting to watch. But could suffer with fan loss due to lockout.

St Louis Blues
Payroll - 31.5 million
Number of players signed - 16
Owner - Walmart

2/3 of payroll tied to Tkachuk and Weight. biggest problem is resigning Pronger who could leave via UFA. may not be possible to bring him back if cap restrictions as wont leave much funds to fill rest of roster. good thing defence has young Jackman and Backman. Schwartz will be their future No.1 goalie but problem is lack of depth up front. already slim last year, will be worse losing Demitra and no replacements coming. Not much in system cept future role players. though money is plentiful with Walmart, cap/linkage will hurt with too much money going to too few players excluding Pronger.

Tampa Bay Lightning
Payroll - 20.8 million
Number of players signed - 11
Owner - Palace Sports

Need to resign reigning MVP St. Louis who may be a UFA and Lecavalier needs a contract too. Boyle, Fedotenko, Khabibulin will need to be resigned as well. if all brought back, core of team still young enough to contend for few more years. But team lost momentum from cup win with lost season. will be hard to get that back, and win fans back in their southern warm weather based market.

Toronto Maple Leafs
Payroll - 36.3 million
Number of players signed - 13
Owner – Maple Leaf Sports

Team will lose Mogilny, Roberts, Leetch, Niewendyk but still have more than enough aging old talent like Sundin, Nolan, Belfour. Those 3 take up over $22 million. Defence has talent, and has some decent prospects but still lacking in the big horse they havent had since Salming. practically zero prospects on the way in goal and up front. Antropov, Ponikarovsky, Stajan, Steen may all be with big club next year playing big roles cause they are cheap. years of bad moves, trading prospects and picks and bad drafts make future not bright for Leafs especially since free spending may no longer be an option. but big payrolls or small payrolls, contending team or last place team, the Leafs profit, sell out and never lose their fan base.

Vancouver Canucks
Payroll - 16 million
Number of players signed - 12
Owners – Orca Bay and Aquilini Investments

12 million is tied to Bertuzzi and Jovanovski and they will need to resign Naslund (who could leave via UFA) Morrison, Ohlund, the twins, Cloutier and much of their other quality players on the team. lack of scoring depth will never be solved with all those key players needing contracts. prospects on the way projected to be role players more than scorers. if everyone can be brought back, time is now to win as window slowly closing. new ownership will mean deeper pockets but potential cap restrictions may hinder their ability to field decent team. team starting to regress a bit so up to new GM Nonis and coach Crawford to righten ship.

Washington Capitals
Payroll - 8.4 million
Number of players signed – 6
Owner – Ted Leonis

Team had the biggest roster overhaul than any team a year ago. gone are Konawolchuk, Gonchar, Bondra, Jagr, Lang among others. All that is left is Kolzig and a bunch of kids. Ovechkin will be the next big star for the league. team will be built around him and they have a rink full of prospects at all positions and tons of job openings for them. not sure how well they can develop without any veteran help shouldering the load. look at the problems in Florida. it is starting to show as some prospects havent turned out as well as thought. one thing is certain. Leonis wont be shelling out Jagr contracts anytime soon. but they will need to spend money though to at least field a team of 20 players.

So as you can see, some teams are in great shape for any type of CBA that is agreed upon but not in great shape in terms of having enough players to field a team. on the flip side, some other teams have plenty of players but will be crippled if there is severe financial restraints put in place (which is likely to happen). One thing is for sure, when the dust settles and there is a new CBA it will be really fun to watch all the teams scrambling to put their teams together with potentially a large free agent crop out there and 30 teams vying for some kid named Crosby. "