Quick takes - NHL free agent mayhem

- First and foremost, let me express my joy that my dislike for Todd Bertuzzi can come back to full strength now. I know the Wings have a long history of rental players, but what a waste.

- Robert Lang is no longer a Wing. His 14 goals and 19 assists will fit in nicely with the rest of that dynamic Blackhawks lineup.

- And completing the trifecta of Red Wings losses, Matthieu Schneider would like to be closer to his home, where he lived when he played for the Kings and actually performed like a top-3 defenseman.

- Jiri Hudler may go play in Russia. I would not approve of that; he has the potential to be a GREAT two-way forward.

Around the rest of the league, it turns out Paul Kariya is just greedy after all. Just a few seasons removed from his altruistic, Karl Malone-esque pay cut to try to win a Cup with Colorado, he goes to tha STL for a 2-year, $18m deal.

And were Ryan Smyth's tears fake? There's suddenly a lot of bitterness around this "good guy." He's made some bad moves. It wasn't all management. Have fun with your 7 seed in the West this year, guys.

The poor Sabres' dynasty is over before it started. I'm unclear as to why anyone would leave a team poised to be a force in the East for the next several years, but I never won a Little League World Series, either.

MR.BRIERE GOES TO PHILLY, a one-act play

Flyers management: Hi Daniel. Welcome to Philadelphia.
Daniel Briere: Hi, I'm excited to be here to try to turn around this once-proud franchise.
FM: Heh. That's great. There are a couple things we need to take care of right away...
DB: Sure! Whatever you need!
FM: These will be your skates. They're made of lead. We don't want anybody on our team outskating the opposition. That's not the Flyer way.
DB: Um, OK. I guess I can deal with that. I'm a sniper. I can get to the wing and hang out there.
FM: Yeah. About that. We don't really go for that kind of thing here. Too exciting. We don't want anyone falling out of their seat and dropping their $8 Miller Lite. The rink guys are busy grooving the ice in the slot right now so you can try it out. It's going to be tough for you to turn, but I think you can tough it out.
DB: (silence)
FM (whispers to other FM): He's built like Manute Bol. You're sure this is the right guy?

Good move, Daniel. I won't get into Chris Drury's stupidity any further than to say that the Rangers should provide another April flameout.

Follow the disloyalty here