Rolston is a nice player. But really what has he ever accomplished. The only team that ever had any playoff success with him was N.J and he was mostly a heathly scratch in those days. He has no physical presence. Someone will overpay for a “nice” player. I would pass on this guy unless he was a “bargain”.

Posted by kevin from boston on 06/27/08 at 10:39 AM ET

Yeah, I mean, who wants a guy who is a leader, a great penalty killer, and who’s had three straight 30+ goal seasons and has scored less than 27 only once in the last 6 seasons.....consistency is overrated anyway.
(sarcasm, in case you didn’t catch that)

Posted by NHLJeff from Boston, MA on 06/27/08 at 10:48 AM ET

All that “leadership” got Boston and Minnesota first round exits for as long as he was around. He’s a nice guy but he’s a “soft” player. He does score the short handed goal on occasion but that isn’t what I’m looking for in a free agent. On the right team I’d grab him at $3M but at $5-6M no way. He’s the American Marco Sturm.......

Posted by kevin from boston on 06/27/08 at 11:29 AM ET

No, he’s much better than Marco Sturm.

He certainly took time to settle into the league after big expectations when he came in with the Devils. But he’s settled in real nicely. And I’m sorry, but those Bruins teams were all garbage, you couldn’t have expected vintage Gordie Howe to have saved that club single-handedly.

Rolston could go to one of six or eight different teams and not just upgrade them, but upgrade them to a different level.

Think about how good he could be for a young team with a lot of talent like Washington. Do you think Boudreau would like to have a guy like that that he can throw on the ice in ANY situation and get effective play from him? A guy like Rolston would allow Boudreau to continue to let his young guys run-and-gun, and have a veteran guy that can teach them a lot not just about playing defense, but about shooting the puck.

Rolston with the Pens? Awesome fit, especially in the absence of Roberts, and the likely loss of Hossa.

Rolston with the Habs? Could allow Kovalev to open his game up a bit more.

Rolston with the Wings? His all-around game fits the philosophy the teams has thrived on for 15 years, and his rocket shot gives them something they really haven’t had from a forward since Sergei was in his late 20’s.

Posted by Nathan on 06/27/08 at 01:00 PM ET

...and his rocket shot gives them something they really haven’t had from a forward since Sergei was in his late 20’s.

But what about Sammy? Oh, you meant someone who could actually hit the net with his shot. Nevermind.

Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 06/27/08 at 01:16 PM ET