Happy Returns

Up until Randy Moss signed last night, many people had chalked up this off-season as a big loss for the Patriots. I am inclined to disagree. People mention that the loss of Stallworth, Gay, and Samuel is some awful news. Though it is not what we were hoping for in our fondest dreams of keeping one of the greatest teams in NFL history together, it was inevitable.

Stallworth and Samuel were gone the minute that the season ended. Though the Pats may have attempted to throw money at them, no one really thought that these two guys were coming back. Samuel was bitter from the get-go over what happened in free agency last year and there was no way that he was going to resign. Stallworth had dropped to 4th on the depth chart at wide receiver and the amount of money that he was going to ask for is too much to spend on your 4th receiver. With Moss & Welker, the Pats still have their most potent weapons and Kelley Washington has been resigned as well. Don't forget that the Pats are still looking to resign Gaffney. A corps of Moss, Welker, Gaffney, Washington, and maybe even Chad Jackson (remember him) is more than adequate to be Brady's Bunch.

The loss of Gay is perhaps the biggest one the team has to face. They are now without arguably their two best corners from a year ago. They will either need draft help or maybe a draft-day trade as the free agent corner market is not the most robust this year. Outside of that, the Pats have not had the worst off-season. I have no doubt that the higher-ups in the organization recognized that Samuel & Stallworth were gone and have been planning for that for some time. It's the nature of the business, players come and go and the teams that can foresee these moves and plan strategically in advance are the ones that maintain success as the Pats have done since 2001.

Few observations on the weekend while I was in the Valley:

- Hockey East is wide open. The teams from 2 through 7 can end up in so many different combinations that its not even worth trying to sort them out. And this is with only two regular season games left. Some would say it is parity but I think that the quality in the conference has dipped considerably. Everyone is not raising themselves up but rather all the teams (with the exception of UNH) seem to be moving toward the middle. Which is why they only have 2 teams in the tourney while the WCHA has 8.

- Scariest team in NCAA hockey right now - North Dakota. They are a juggernaut that looks like they may not lose again. The last team I saw go on a run like this was the 1998 BC team that lost in the first round of the Beanpot and then did not lose again until Michigan in double OT.

- Just when you thought the Bruins were out to prove something they hit the wall and got smoked by Washington. Looks like Cristobal Huet brought a little of that Montreal luck with him to Washington. Montreal has owned the Bruins this year and has pounded them a few times. The game last night reminded me of those poundings. Or maybe its just playing Huet on Versus (6-1 loss, 8-2 loss, 10-2 loss). Scary.