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Busy day yesterday. The Preds added Kayria, Chicago added The Bhoulin Wall, and The Caps signed highly touted first overall pick Alexander Oveckin. Along with Toronto signing Tie Domi, and former Bruin, Capital, and LA King Jason Allison, yesterday was busy. The one signing that won’t exactly wind up on the front page of any papers, is Mitch Fritz being inked by Tampa Bay.

Fritz is a hulking mass of humanity. He looks scary as hell, he’s got the wingspan of an Eagle, and judging by his PIMS, he is no stranger to the Penalty Box. There is only one problem. Mitch Fritz can not skate. Back when he was with Lowell, I was worried he was going to break both his ankles from leaning on them so badly. He was one step away from the AHL allowing him to skate his lane while pushing a chair. Over the last couple of years, he has improved, but he is still nowhere near where he needs to be to see any ice at the NHL level.

Now, I know what you are thinking. He doesn’t need to skate, he’s an enforcer. He was signed to play in Springfield anyway. What is that smell in my freezer? I have heard them all before. My point is this, with the NHL cap being what it is, are teams going to be able to afford to have a true enforcer on the roster, or are they going to have to dress guys that can play, and also happen to be tough? Nashville has Hordy, and Yabo signed and ready to protect newly acquired Paul Kayria. Domi, as mentioned, has re inked in Toronto, but are these guys going to be the exception? As mentioned before, I feel the role of enforcer is dying out in the NHL, and I think the new CBA is going to shrink the role even more. I see enforcers being kept on ice, no pun intended, down in the AHL, and only getting the call when a team is expecting a real grudge match type victory. I really hope I am wrong on this. The NHL needs all the excitement it can to win back fans. What they need is some old time hockey!