One Fan's Perspective

Many Phoenix Coyotes fans wonder about the status of Keith Ballard, the remaining Restricted Free Agent that has yet to sign his qualifying offer.

Because of the lack of movement, and the solid player that Ballard is, fans of the franchise know how important it is to lock him up to a solid deal.

Without knowing specifics about why he hasn’t been signed, it could be a combination of money and length of contract. However, the nagging question that befell most of us, including yours truly, when do qualifying offers expire?

We know the beast of Unrestricted Free Agency, but the Restricted Free Agency has a different set of issues. So, without knowing the answer to Jordan’s question earlier this morning, I went to another blogger that would definitely know.

James Mirtle has the answer regarding Restricted Free Agents, expriring offers, Keith Ballard, and the comparables that the Ballard group may be using in determining the contract. He could sign without the particulars mentioned, but there is a player with the same age and experience of Ballard and that has signed a larger deal.

Tags: Hockey, Keith Ballard, NHL, Phoenix Coyotes, Restricted Free Agents by pbcoyotes
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“Test not a desperate man”

Romeo, Romeo and Juliet, Act V scene iii

The actions of Kevin Lowe, Edmonton Oilers General Manager, have caused a stir in the hockey world. Going after Restricted Free Agent Thomas Vanek with a huge offer that Buffalo Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier later matched, showed what kind of pressure Lowe is under to make his team better.

Unfortunately, the ramifications of the Vanek signing could cause unintended consequences and all because Lowe is upset that no one will play for him and his storied Oiler franchise.

The consequences are simple. Players who are now Restricted Free Agents can instruct their representation to look for outside deals that would force the negotiations to sky rocket. Players that were set in value for one level of payment, now can entertain the possibility of looking for a higher pay scale for the upcoming year. It seems that if Lowe is going to fall, he plans to take the rest of the GMs with him.

There are some players that will be worth the pay increase. Ray Emery plans to take the cash strapped Ottawa Senators to arbitration, but there may be others whose value have now become inflated.

Is Vanek worth the money? The third year player, first round draft pick of the Buffalo Sabres had these numbers last year: 84 points with 43 goals and 41 assists, so quite possibly he was. Lowe definitely thought Vanek would have made a significant impact for his club. However, should we expect the same scenario for other players in Vanek’s position?

Take for instance defenseman Keith Ballard. The third year Phoenix Coyote is currently a Restricted Free Agent and an offer was tended to him last week. There have been no reports of him accepting the offer or signing it.

Can other players and organizations suffer through the inflation that Kevin Lowe caused with the Vanek signing? Or was this just an isolated incident?

I would like to think that the Kevin Lowe situation was just limited to him and his desperate attempts to save his neck, but I would not be surprised to see far reaching effects with other Restricted Free Agents and with other GMs that might consider tyring the same thing that Lowe did.

Desperate people will make irrational decisions so that, in their minds, they can make their lives better. But these decisions come with disastrous consequences.

Just ask Romeo.

Tags: Buffalo Sabres, Edmonton Oilers, Hockey, NHL, Restricted Free Agents, Thomas Vanek by pbcoyotes
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As we get closer to Sunday (July 1st, UFA shopping bonanza), more teams will begin to extend qualifying offers to their players, restricted and unrestricted.

The Phoenix Coyotes have begun their process.

The list of names that are on the restricted free agent list are Keith Ballard, Matt Jones, Brendan Bell, Josh Gratton, Bill Thomas, Joel Perrault, and goaltender David LeNeveu.

Bell and Gratton have arbitration rights.

For me, the most valuable player on this list, without a doubt is Keith Ballard, and I’m sure the offer matches his current worth. Matt Jones closed out his season strong by becoming more physical on the blue line and Josh Gratton’s value should be self-explanatory.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfueTrvSgas]

Jeff Taffe will be unrestricted and I thought he came on strong with his second tour with the team, so that surprises me somewhat. Defenseman Matt Spiller who saw time with the Coyotes also did not receive a qualifying offer.

Players can’t sign the offers until Sunday, which there should be plenty of interesting developments with all of the NHL teams. It looks like the Coyotes are ready to lock in some of the players on their roster.

Tags: Hockey, NHL, Phoenix Coyotes, Restricted Free Agents by pbcoyotes
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