Mark Spector

Mark Spector is a columnist for sportsnet.ca

Fans of every team except for one - sorry, Calgary - were left happy and hopeful on July 1.

Happy Canada Day? Are you kidding?

We’re not sure if there is a better way to make a Canadian’s long weekend than to tell him his hockey team just added an important piece or two. Fans of every team except for one — sorry, Calgary — were left happy and hopeful on the day National Hockey League free agents went on the market.

Let’s take a trip across the country and assess the improvements/damage. Again, sorry Calgary, this isn’t going to be pretty.

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Biggest winner here is Vancouver, because the Canucks win on two fronts.

The Canucks, since losing out to Chicago for the second straight year, upgraded with two defencemen in Dan Hamhuis and Keith Ballard in recent days, and improved at third-line centre with Manny Malhotra. At the same time the Blackhawks, who have KO’ed the Canucks for two springs running, are being torn apart.

Hamhuis was the guy Vancouver wanted all along, and give GM Mike Gillis credit. We’re not backing off our belief that he had a lousy trade deadline, when all he did was add Andrew Alberts to his lineup. But Gillis’ work ever since has been fantastic, and today his team is bigger, tougher to play against, and blocks more shots than it did before.

The Canucks took a huge step in recent days. If Rollie Melanson can put Roberto Luongo’s playoff game together, look out.

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Brian Burke said it best when he assessed his own project in Toronto:

“I think in a cap system you can rebuild quicker, without doing it the old fashioned way,” he said. “We’ll find out if that’s true.”

Indeed we will. He picked up a third-liner in Colby Armstrong, perhaps paying too much at $3 million per year, and traded nicely for a Top 6 guy in Kris Versteeg from Chicago.

“Are we done?” Burke said at 5 et Thursday afternoon. “I would not say that. We’re looking at adding some depth guys, but nothing that makes sense tonight.”

In the end, the league’s 29th place team improved itself at the deadline, and Tomas Kaberle is still in Burke’s possession. That’s what a rebuild is all about.

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So, what about Calgary?

Is it Mad Cow Disease? Was it a contest to find two players who were the most un-Sutter-like?

Were they trying to create G-20 riots on the streets of Calgary?

Look, regardless of both players’ past in Calgary, here are the straight facts: Tanguay’s points totals, over the past four seasons, have gone 81, 58, 41, 37. His game has plummeted.

Jokinen was abysmal in Calgary his first time around. (Oh yes, we said we weren’t going to go there.) His production has also sewered: 91, 71, 57, 50.

Both are soft players. Jokinen has never produced in the playoffs, Tanguay not for nearly a decade. Vancouver got tougher and better, Edmonton is building something, and Calgary goes back to these two guys?

Hey — Tanguay asked for a trade out of Calgary last time around.

“A couple of years ago, I was... making a lot of money at the time, and I thought the role (Mike) Keenan wanted me to pay didn’t justify the money I was making,” Tanguay said. “I asked Darryl Sutter if he would be kind enough to trade me at the time.”

Even if Daymond Langkow’s neck is in worse shape than we know, how does that justify Olli Jokinen’s return? Calgary’s best signing on Thursday was easily Raitis Ivanans, and he’ll play four minutes a game.

From a guy who picked the Flames to win a Cup a couple of years ago, we’re selling this stock. This team has jumped the shark.

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In the crowded east, Ottawa surprised with Sergei Gonchar, a top-tier pro who will make every forward on the roster a better player. Anyone can win in that Conference, and a player like Gonchar gives you another player for free — that’s Alex Kovalev, who wasn’t very good last season.

Gonchar makes them all better — Kovalev, Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, and anyone else who plays on the Senators powerplay. Give Bryan Murray credit. His stars continually want to leave town, and he keeps his head down and builds a pretty good team.

Don’t the Sens still need better goaltending though?

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Edmonton GM Steve Tambellini is the anti-Burke. He IS building the old fashioned way, and it will be fascinating to see which, if either, gets to the Promised Land first.

Kurtis Foster’s 42 points last season were the second highest among UFA defencemen. He is, if nothing else, a Top 4 guy who gives the Oilers a decent top four of Ryan Whitney, Tom Gilbert, Foster and Ladislav Smid or Jim Vandermeer. Not great, but decent. It’s early in the rebuild, remember.

Vandermeer leaves Edmonton tougher and more able to protect the kids coming into the lineup, and they clean out two small, ineffective players in Patrick O’Sulllivan and Robert Nilsson.

Ethan Moreau had to go, as does Sheldon Souray, the final piece of what has been some step-by-step, but excellent work by Tambellini.

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And Montreal? Alex Auld is fine as your backup. GM Pierre Gauthier needs to get Carey price signed now.