Thirteen burning questions, answers and observations following a wild first week on the NHL free-agent front:

1. The Sundin saga

Mats Sundin, the erstwhile Leaf, received much criticism for his dithering, which in one way, mirrored Marian Hossa's decision not to chase every last dollar that's out there. The two-year, $20-million (all currency U.S.) offered by the Vancouver Canucks will likely disappear by early August, when Sundin finally determines he really, truly does want to play again, but it won't matter because there'll be a mini-Mats sweepstakes at that point anyway. Figure Vancouver, Toronto, the New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens and anyone else who came up short in the Hossa bidding war to kick the tires on Sundin. Signing Markus Naslund may have been a pre-emptive strike by New York to coax Sundin to Manhattan.

2. Exodus from Manhattan

Unable to land a young homegrown star, Russia's new Continental League did the next best thing and coaxed Jaromir Jagr into returning to Omsk, where he happily played during the NHL lockout. Jagr's negotiations with the Rangers got stuck on term and dollars, so the deep pockets of billionaire Roman Abramovich eventually prevailed. Unlike the other NHLers heading to Russia, most of who were on the fringes of the roster, Jagr is a five-time scoring champion and still a dynamic on-ice presence when he wants to be. He's gonna wow 'em in Minsk.

3. Shark attack

After years of following up big regular seasons with do-nothing playoffs, the Sharks finally got off their wallets and added two experienced former Stanley Cup champions to their blueline, Rob Blake and Dan Boyle. Remarkably, San Jose finished second overall last season with a $41.5-million payroll (Toronto spent $49-million), which left them in the bottom third of the league in terms of their salary commitment. The number jumps significantly now, but if the payoff is a championship, then that will prove to be money well spent.

4. The Penguin exodus

It looks worse than it actually is. Seven of the 21 players who dressed for at least one game in the Stanley Cup final left as free agents, Hossa, Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts, Adam Hall, Jarkko Ruutu, Georges Laraque and back-up goaltender Ty Conklin. Conklin's spot will go to Dany Sabourin, after signing a seven-year contract extension, Marc-Andre Fleury is firmly entrenched as the No. 1 goalie. Roberts, Hall, Ruutu and Laraque were all supplementary players and there won't be a dramatic falloff when Jeff Taffe, Alex Goligoski and newly signed enforcer Eric Godard take their places. Malone was leaving regardless, it was Hossa they really wanted back. Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko, signed to one-year deals, will get the same opportunity to resuscitate their careers as Petr Sykora did last year. If all else fails, they can always move Jordan Staal into a top-six slot or pursue another rent-a-player at the trading deadline.

5. The Gillis watch

Rushing to judgment on Mike Gillis, the new Vancouver general manager, after a few days and few failed overtures makes little sense. Gillis provocatively chased a player he wanted as a restricted free agent, David Backes of St. Louis, signing him to an offer sheet, and made an aggressive pitch to Sundin, so he could be the centre-piece of a second scoring line to supplement the Sedin twins. The Backes initiative failed, Sundin is still deciding about his future. Gillis, who looks as if he's prepared to tilt against windmills, gets high marks for initiative, if not for results. One thing every GM learns in time (and should know intuitively): With 30 teams competing for a limited talent pool, not even the second coming of Sam Pollock can just wave a magic wand and make all the piece of the puzzle fall immediately and seamlessly into place. It takes time.

6. Alberta bound

In the annual tug-of-war between Calgary and Edmonton, the Oilers made the most significant strides, even after the Flames signed away Curtis Glencross as a free agent. Up front, Erik Cole is an upgrade on Raffi Torres. On defence, Lubomir Visnovsky is an upgrade on Joni Pitkanen. And one day, assuming his development starts soon, 21-year-old Gil Brule might evolve into a Michael Peca type. The Oilers made a nice try on Hossa and that may be the only real red flag on an improving young team. Their best player, Ales Hemsky, is primarily a playmaker. They and the New York Islanders were the only teams in the league without a 25-goal scorer. A natural sniper would have filled out that line-up nicely. Calgary, by contrast, assuming Owen Nolan goes elsewhere, is now without three of last year's top-six forwards (Alex Tanguay, traded to Montreal, Kristian Huselius signed with Columbus). Michael Cammalleri will fill one of those spots — who will fill the others? Rene Bourque? Matthew Lombardi? It may well be David Moss, a four-goal man in 41 games, who plays as the team's second-line right winger. One thing's for sure: Jarome Iginla better get 50 again.

7. Senators in holding pattern

There is clearly work to be done in the nation's capital, rebuilding a defence corps that lost Wade Redden and Mike Commodore to astonishingly generous contracts (the Rangers and Blue Jackets must see something no one else does). The Sens still have one of the top lines in hockey, but secondary scoring remains an issue following Cory Stillman's departure. The defence needs at least one and maybe two new warm bodies and there will always be questions about Martin Gerber's state of mind as long as he plays in Ottawa. New coach Craig Hartsburg has his work cut out for him.

8. Wild and crazy times in Tampa

After turning over half their roster, is the Lightning any better? Or just different? An issue for the last two years was how dramatically the talent fell off after Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards (now in Dallas). Ryan Malone will help balance the top two lines, Gary Roberts will lead a herd of their kids to the weight room, and simply injecting Steven Stamkos and all his potential into the line-up will help overcome Richard's departure. But goaltending remains uncertain and with Dan Boyle's exit, they could have the worst six-man defence corps in the NHL.

9. Two goalies, $13-million, what gives?

Nikolai Khabibulin has been just so-so in three full seasons in Chicago. The Blackhawks determined they needed an upgrade in goal to get to the next level, which is why they paid so much ($5.6-million per season) for Cristobal Huet. Khabibulin is untradeable at $6.75-million, but as the dollars and games click off, he will become more attractive as the season progresses (and teams' needs for goaltending changes). Khabibulin has one foot out the door already, it's a question of when, not if, with him, and if it takes until his contract expires at the end of the season, that's one more year of minor-league apprenticeship for youngster Corey Crawford. Brian Campbell adds skill to a young, tough blueline. Assuming no sophomore slumps for Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane and a full season from Martin Havlat, Chicago stands to make the greatest year-over-year gains of anyone in the NHL.

10. Who's left?

Apart from players who will likely only re-sign with their current teams if they play at all (Joe Sakic, Teemu Selanne), it's thin and getting thinner every hour: Brendan Morrison, Sergei Fedorov, Pavol Demitra, Owen Nolan, Brendan Shanahan, Peter Forsberg, Jason Smith.

11. Smart buys

Rob Blake (to San Jose), Marian Hossa, Brad Stuart (to Detroit), Brian Rolston (to New Jersey).

12. What were they thinking?

Wade Redden (Rangers), Mike Commodore, Kristian Huselius (Columbus), Jeff Finger (Toronto).

13. Be-Leaf it or not

Let's see: $14-million for Jeff Finger. $12-million for Niklas Hagman. Sundin's likely departure. Uncertainty and hard feelings over Bryan McCabe. A second-round draft choice in 2010 for Mikhail Grabovski. Conclusion: The Leafs are overpaying for free agents and mortgaging the future ... again. Some things never change.