Stealing Vinny

With the signing of Vinny Prospal occurring while I’m pretty much isolated from the outside world (not a bad thing, surfing in San Diego is really fun), it takes me a little while to catch up on all the news. Hell, I didn’t even know about the Vinny Prospal signing until I checked my phone (which I’m not allowed to carry while I’m here) at around 9pm that night.

Anyway, Prospal officially signed for $1.1 million, which is an absolute steal, as Prospal is pretty much a lock for at least 40 points. It really makes you wonder what the hell Slats was thinking when he signed Ales Kotalik to that $9 million deal over three years to maybe put up 40 points (he’s only done it three times). But what’s done is done, and let’s focus on the positive here: Prospal is a minimal cap hit, a consistent contributor, plays two positions, isn’t committed to a long term deal, and is easily traded should the right deal arise.

This is also an insurance policy in case Brandon Dubinsky can’t handle the rigors of first line duty between Gaborik and Higgins/Avery/Prospal. In the best case scenario, you have Prospal-Dubinsky-Gaborik as the top line. It’s not exactly intimidating, but it will get the job done. Should Dubinsky be unable to perform on the ice, Prospal can switch to pivot, and you can move up any LW not named Donald Brashear.

It provides much needed cheap flexibility amongst the top two lines. As much as I hated the Ales Kotalik deal, is as much as I love this deal. This is one of those deals that will fly under the radar, but provide huge results.

And did I mention that he comes ridiculously cheap?