Crazy money back in NHL free agency

It's tempting to call the $57.12 million for defenseman Brian Campbell or the $23 million for goaltender Cristobal Huet crazy money, but really, what constitutes crazy money any more in today's National Hockey League?In a year in which the salary cap went up to a record $56.7 million -- setting off another enormous spending spree on the opening day of the 2008 free-agent season -- was the combined $79.8-million the Chicago Blackhawks committed to two players, Campbell and Huet, any crazier than the $87 million the New York Rangers spent last year to land unrestricted free agents Chris Drury and Scott Gomez? Or the $89.8 million the Philadelphia Flyers gave to Daniel Briere and Kimmo Timonen?Crazy money is clearly in the eye of the beholder -- and the Blackhawks, after seeing some tangible improvements in their on-ice product and in their gate receipts for the first time in years, determined that no dollar amount was going to be too much to land the puck-moving defenseman they needed and the steady goaltending that Nikolai Khabibulin (who got crazy money coming out of the lockout, $27 million over four years) couldn't provide.Blackhawks general manager Dale Tallon, who doled out all that cash, may have said it best: "I wish I was still a player," he said, freely acknowledging the Blackhawks overpaid to get the players they targeted."On July 1, you always overpay -- and then it trickles down, and into August, you get the bargains. But we had to make a statement. We have created a buzz here in this market."We're starting to sell more and more tickets, more and more sponsorships. We decided that we'd try to make an impact today to continue that momentum ... and giving our fans something to get excited about. So when you do that, you're going to overpay."As Tallon implied, the lesson of the first day of free agency was the same as it always was -- before or after the NHL lockout. Any player with the patience to go to unrestricted free agency and a willingness to move on to a new team can reap significant financial rewards for his trouble.Teams are forced to pay a premium because of the supply-and-demand dynamic -- and again this year, the demand for high-end players clearly outstripped the supply.Campbell's deal averages $7.1-million a season. When high-scoring free-agent winger Marian Hossa signs, his contract will exceed that. And if former Toronto Maple Leafs star Mats Sundin decides he wants to play again and if the Vancouver Canucks happen to be his destination of choice, he can earn $10-million a year for two years from the Canucks.Oddly enough, one of the key tenets of the last collective agreement -- granting players unrestricted free agency at a younger age -- was supposed to cool the free-agent market, by making more players available. Instead, it had just the opposite effect.Nowadays, the crazy money is going to ever-younger players.Tuesday, the Washington Capitals started the day off by giving 22-year-old defenseman Mike Green almost $1 million for every year he's been on the planet. Green, who signed a four-year, $21-million contract, had a nice year, anchoring the point of the Capitals power play and putting up 56 points on a team that also included the NHL scoring leader Alexander Ovechkin.Still, up until this year, Green had 15 career points in 92 career games. If that's worth $5.25-million a season, then maybe it's understandable why the Anaheim Ducks gave 23-year-old Corey Perry $5.35-million a season over five years. At least, Perry's had three relatively productive NHL seasons under his belt.Nothing that happened in the past two days could be deemed crazier than the Florida Panthers giving Rostislav Olesz a six-year contract extension worth $18.75 million. Olesz scored 14 goals last year, his third in the NHL.More and more, teams are paying for potential, not for production, because they fear losing their young talents as restricted free agents. (The Canucks tried to poach David Backes from the St. Louis Blues Tuesday by signing him to an offer sheet.)As a result, teams sign their youngsters for longer and longer terms as a pre-emptive strike, meaning fewer and fewer ever hit the open market -- and the cycle (low supply, big demand) continues unabated.It's hard to do any real building on July 1 because the real building blocks never hit the open market.Jarome Iginla, Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley -- all would have been unrestricted free agents Tuesday if they hadn't opted to sign contract extensions with the Calgary Flames, San Jose Sharks and Ottawa Senators, respectively, in the past 12 months.Even Hossa -- as attractive and productive as he is -- is more of a complementary player, someone who can support other talent, but not provide the sort of go-to leadership that makes a difference between winning and losing.Campbell is in that category, too - helpful, but so far not able to help either of his last two teams, the Buffalo Sabres or Sharks, venture deep down the playoff path.Every hour, the dollars spent continued to rise. By suppertime Tuesday night, it was around $300-million -- and that was with Hossa, Sundin and others still out there, available to bump the number even higher. Only one thing you can say to that: just crazy.(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)