Here is What Will Happen Tomorrow

So tomorrow is free agency day in the NBA and the NHL, and we're about to witness two of the most disparate free agent frenzies in the history of the world.

First, the NHL free agent frenzy. Have you seen this bumper crop? I mean, Sheldon Brookbank! Wowie zowie! Yeah, that's sarcasm. The big names tomorrow are Anton Volchenkov and Dan Hamhuis, two defenseman who will probably make between four and five million dollars to be the headline guy on a second pairing. If you want to go big, there's also Ilya Kovalchuk, who has received 6 Hart trophy votes since the lockout, to Henrik Sedin's 894, and he's asking for about 7 million a season. Any team that signs him is foolish. Indications are that he will succeed in a vacuum wherein the rest of your team will not succeed for lack of discipline, cohesion, and cap space.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that, while there will be fireworks, they will be at your local park, because it's Canada Day. They will not be in the NHL.

The Canucks are supposed to be busy tomorrow. I hope so. Mike Gillis has promised that they are not done, and he'd better come through on that. The Canucks need at least one proven forward for their third line, be he a center or a winger. I suspect one of Cody Hodgson, Sergei Shirokov, or Jordan Schroeder are expected to make the team and have already been penciled in on the line. Maybe Oreskovich or Hansen could take another spot. Maybe. But there's no third line at all unless Gillis gets a guy that guarantees Tanner Glass spends 100% less of his time with the team playing there. I'd love to see a big-name forward with some size and grit join the team tomorrow. So would Mike Gillis. But, in two years with Gillis, we've seen that it's easier said than done. And Gillis has a tendency to scoop up guys in early July that nobody gives a rip about. Sometimes they pan out. Sometimes they don't. Sometimes they almost do. Expect more Ryan Johnsons than Ilya Kovalchuks tomorrow.

Basically, what I'm saying is that if you're counting on NHL free agency to blow your mind, you're looking at the wrong league that utilizes a three-letter acronym beginning with N. The NBA is where it's at.

Tomorrow is going to be insane. Have you seen their list of free agents? Here's Ball Don't Lie's top 25. Basically, everybody is. Lebron James. Chris Bosh. This afternoon alone, all the guys with option years opted out. Dirk Nowitki. Paul Pierce. Amar'e Stoudemire. It's going to be like when you edit rosters in NHL 2001, and you just move guys around to wank about. More guys switching teams than a class of freshman theater majors.

I'll be following both. I'm expecting the NHL to fizzle. I'm expecting the NBA to sizzle. Combined together, it's going to be an awesome day.