I don't believe this! Kariya took an 8.8 million dollar paycut!!! He signed a 1 year 1.2 million dollar deal! Vancouver could have signed him!!! I'm sooo pissed right now.
Here's the full story:
http://canada.com/vancouver/story.asp?id=9278CBC0-8E25-44BE-8EF9-65AEC479BB5D
Avalanche sign Kariya, Selanne while Red Wings sign Hatcher
PIERRE LEBRUN
Canadian Press
Thursday, July 03, 2003
(CP) - The floodgates opened on the NHL's free-agent market Thursday. The Colorado Avalanche struck a major deal by signing unrestricted free agents Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne, reuniting the two former Anaheim Mighty Ducks linemates.
And it didn't cost them much. A source said Kariya agreed to a one-year, $1.2-million US contract, a gigantic pay cut from the $10 million he earned last season and even under the $1.79 million league average salary.
The reasoning behind that is probaly because Kariya, 28, would then qualify for Group 5 unrestricted free agency next summer because he would be a 10-year NHL veteran making less than the league average salary.
Selanne, meanwhile, agreed to a one-year, $5.8-million deal, a $700,000 pay cut from last season.
The Detroit Red Wings also got in on the act Thursday, signing superstar defenceman Derian Hatcher, also an unrestricted free agent, according to a source.
The Avs called a 4 p.m. EDT news conference in Denver while the Wings scheduled a 3 p.m. EDT announcement in Detroit.
The Avs came from seemingly nowhere to reel in the speedy Kariya and Selanne. The Ducks made the difficult choice of not tendering Kariya a qualifying offer Monday night, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Selanne, 33, became an unrestricted free agent after declining to pick up his player option with the San Jose Sharks for next season worth $6.5 million US.
There had been speculation in recent weeks the the Ducks would try to lure Selanne to Anaheim to appease Kariya but he never gave them a chance after not getting a qualifying offer.
Kariya had 25 goals and 56 assists in 82 regular-season games and six goals and six assists in 21 post-season games for the Mighty Ducks.
Selanne had 28 goals and 36 assists in 82 games for the Sharks, who did not make the post-season this year.
The two players were teammates and occasionally linemates with the Ducks for parts of six seasons from 1995-96 to 2000-01.
The Avs can now boast a who's who among their forwards with Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Milan Hejduk and Alex Tanguay. Sakic and Kariya played together on Canada's 2002 Olympic champion team.
Now Colorado must figure out their goaltending picture after the retirement of Patrick Roy.
Rookie Phil Sauve and career backup David Aebischer are the only present goalies the Avs have for next season, not a great compliment to the rest of Colorado's star-studded roster which also includes defencemen Adam Foote, Rob Blake and Derek Morris.
It's shaping up to be another Colorado-Detroit battle in the Western Conference after the Wings also added a major piece Thursday.
Hatcher, 31, is a Michigan native who had expressed a desire to return home. It's believed he has agreed to a five-year contract worth around $6 million a season.
The Dallas Stars are believed to have offered a four-year deal to retain his services.
The Wings had money to spend after breaking ties with unrestricted free agent centre Sergei Fedorov on Wednesday.
Hatcher was a Norris Trophy nominee last season after putting up eight goals and 22 assists, 106 penalty minutes and a stellar plus-37 rating in 82 games with the Stars, the only team he's ever played for in his 12-year NHL career.
The six-foot-five, 235-pound blue-liner plays over 25 minutes a game and has the ability to single-handedly shut down the opposition's top offensive weapon.
The Wings now have a blue-line that also includes Norris Trophy winner Nicklas Lidstrom as well as Mathieu Schneider, Mathieu Dandenault, Chris Chelios and Jiri Fischer.