(Can you take us through the last couple days, getting things done today after yesterday's frustration?)

``I'm pretty happy with the guys we were able to sign and the prices we were able to get. It kind of all fit with where we're trying to go. Yesterday there was so much focus on just a few players. There weren't really a lot of players in play yesterday. We were prepared no matter what, and once everything fell yesterday, then the next group goes. Fortunately we were ready to execute. I'm pretty happy with where we are now, and most importantly we're set up, salary-cap wise, going into the future.''

(It's fairly obvious how Preissing fits in, but how do you see the forwards fitting into the roster?)

``The key guy was the center. Obviously we know Michal very well from Philadelphia. He's a really good, underrated player. This is one of those where you have an advantage. When you see a player every day, like we did with him in Philadelphia... he's a real pro, and this is exactly the type of guy that you want kids to emulate. Handzus did everything. He played hurt.''

``When you look at our first year there, when Philly went to the conference finals, we had a real deep middle. He could fill any role the coach asked him to, and he did it without complaining. He was behind Primeau and Zhamnov and Roenick and he was able to play everywhere. What was really attractive was, when you're there you really get to know a player's character. That was a pretty tough team. There were good players on that team and some old-fashioned players. I remember that he was playing through an injury and the trainer said, `This is by far the toughest Flyer.' And that's a statement. He's a real dependable player. Then last year, he goes to Chicago and he plays on the top line and he's putting up numbers, and then obviously he had his injury.''

``But he's a real versatile player and he gives us size down the middle too. When you've got Kopitar and Handzus, that's a pretty big middle with two pretty good hockey players. That allows us some flexibility on the wing, and one thing too is that a lot of our young players coming through the system are wingers, and I think it's easier to break them in when you have two quality guys like him and Kopitar. Now it drops (Derek Armstrong) into another slot. It's good. Michal might not be the sexy name, so to speak, but people who know hockey really appreciate this guy. He's a pro's pro. He's similar to Visnovsky. They always come focused and prepared. ''

``With Nagy, we put him on a one-year deal. It kind of made sense to do this. Handzus and Nagy were really good in St. Louis when they were first breaking in. We played them in the playoffs when I was with San Jose and they were really good. A lot of times when players know each other and can push each other, it's a pretty good gamble. Nagy's a good hockey player. With what's happened in the last couple years, he's got to rebound, but when you have a guy like Handzus to push him, and since they have played together so well, it kind of made sense. Particularly since Nagy was willing to come in on a one-year deal. It gives you two-thirds of a line there, so you feel pretty good about that. Nagy knows he has to rebound here and I think with Vish and Handzus here, they'll be able to push him.''

``We've got, right now, the makings of two scoring lines and a third line that actually can put up some numbers also. You've got size down the middle and you've got Fro and Brownie with some jam down the wings. Calder plays that Mike Ricci-type game that I love so much. He's another one that needs to rebound, but given the price and the terms, it was worth it. This guy is a good hockey player too and he needs to rebound. These guys all come under that second layer today and we moved quickly. I think we were ready, once the big boys went, so to speak, and I'm glad we did. I got a few calls saying that other people were in on these guys, so I'm glad we moved quickly.''

(How is Handzus' knee?)

``There's something on a Web site that shows him working out. Obviously we had all the doctors exchanging information. I've had both of my ACLs done and they come back 110 percent. There's going to be a little time but Michal was never the (fastest) skater with his size. He's a guy who, if you're around the rink, you're going to appreciate as a pro's pro. But there will probably be a little adjustment period at the beginning.''

(How close did you get with Briere, Gomez and Drury?)

``When Briere went, it was very clear that he wanted to go back East. Quite honestly I'm not prepared -- and it's just my opinion right now -- to put eight-year contracts out there. I think it's risky. It's one of those decisions that you have to make. When you see what happened to a lot of NBA teams that went that route, it's dangerous. That was easy, and like I said I think it was clear that he wanted to go to Philadelphia. We were certainly involved in the other two. I think in Drury's case, you're talking about a kid going back to his hometown. That's tough to overcome. I know he had a house here and everything, but we had enough sources in the Boston area and we knew there was a good chance that he was going to go to his childhood team. And obviously he was paid very well for that, so we would have even had an issue there, whether or not we would have gone that far, to be honest with you.''

``It has nothing to do with the player and nothing to do with the owner's willingness to spend money. You try to put a value on the player, and I think we all like him but at some point you have to say, `Woah.' We were hanging in there, don't get me wrong. It was a long day, but you get feelers as soon as the bell rings. I think a lot of people were fooled by the Manhattan Beach house. His heart was with the Yankees, as we found out. The kid's got one chance in his life to go to his hometown team. I know the feeling. Before I came here, I had the idea of maybe working for the Bruins. It's not an easy thing to overcome.''

``Then on Gomez, again we were in on it. We were probably more involved with the price there. Again, once a player is in the East and all other things are equal... He has his house there in Jersey and he just goes across the river. There's a premium that would have had to have been paid, on top of what the Rangers paid, to give up the travel in the East and his house. So you just have to go to Plan B and stay on the course. We all get excited and you get emotionally involved. It looks good, but every time we ran it, it was on a minimum of a three-year look on where we want to go. I think today we're a better team. The thing I like about what we were able to do today too is that you stabilize. We're going to have probably one of the youngest teams in the minors this year. Last year's team in the minors wasn't very young, just like the team up here. We've got some good hockey players. They're still in that middle group, '79-born, '78-born. We're actually younger via free agency, which is usually odd. It usually doesn't happen that way, but we've positioned ourselves now in terms of bringing the young players in.''

``I'm glad we didn't have to fall to Plan C. Obviously yesterday you looked at the big guys but I'm glad that today we didn't go, `Whoa, Plan B fell apart.' I'm sitting here and I'm looking at cap space in years two and three (2008 and 2009). We'll see how this plays out. Our young players get a chance to grow in the minors. Kopitar and Johnson can grow and then next year we're sitting here, and I'm staring at the numers in years two and three. That's what I'm keeping my eye on. We've got to fill some more (spots) before he get real, real aggressive and strike. We've got to be in position for it.''

(Do you anticipate being done with free agency?)

``I think we're OK. One thing we're looking at is that if these contracts continue to go up, at some point people are going to get boxed in. Actually, you're already hearing the rumors about the Rangers. OK, you did really good, you got those two guys with those contracts, but you're hearing the rumblings out there that now they're vulnerable to an offer sheet on Lundqvist. I'm not saying that it's going to happen or that I'm going to do anything like that. The point is, this whole idea of keeping cap space doesn't really hit home yet. I think that's why you're seeing some of these contracts.''

``When I talk about cap space, I don't think you only want to look at this year. When I'm running these numbers, don't forget that I've got Cammalleri at a number that hopefully is too high. Same with Kopi in year three. It makes no sense to go out and add all these guys, then Kopitar is up in 2009 and we can't sign him. Then we're just spinning our wheels and then we're vulnerable to an offer sheet. That stuff is going to start happening at some point. Again, we've got our work to do here, to build, and we have to stay smart. If you're a really good team, you only have to go to the (free-agent) market for one or two guys. The pickings got dry in a hurry. When you're seeing a player go for $7 million, part of that is that there just aren't a lot of good players. Now you're seeing everybody's Plan B being executed today.''

``I think we're OK right now. I might look at one other thing, and then we certainly have the flexibility going forward after this year.''

(Can you talk a little bit about Preissing?)

``What he brings is something I think we're lacking. He makes plays. He's a right(-handed) shot that I think will help us with our puck movement. With the forwards we've added, one thing about them is that they're all capable of making plays and playing in traffic. Our foot speed maybe isn't ideal. In the back end, we'll have Johnson for the whole year. We're working on getting Visnovsky signed long term and you add Preissing. Those are three pretty good puck movers and I think that will improve us over last year in terms of making plays. And I'd even mention Blake, who I still think is going to be a good player. With Preissing, the right shot is hard to find and he's a good first passer.''

(Have you started the contract process with Cammalleri and Visnovsky?)

``With Cammalleri, no, we haven't started. Here's another thing that complicates things. When you get tempted to throw the $7-million contracts out there, what has happened in this system is something I don't think we anticipated. That is, young players getting a lot more money than under the old system. Under the old system, you were able to keep your kids down, at least in the first five years of their career unless they held out, and that was another issue.''

``What's happened, because of free agency at (age) 27, you're starting to see more and more contracts like the Nathan Horton contract. It started with the Rick Nash contract, more and more of this thing. I'm not a big fan of this. Guys who haven't won anything are now commanding big dollars. It doesn't make sense for us to be looking to add players if we can't keep the young players that have come through the system and turned into good players. I've got some numbers penciled in for him, and for Kopitar in 2009 and 2010, and they seem to be changing daily. This is my biggest problem with the system, and I think it's not good for the game, with the kids getting all this money. Under the old system, seniority seemed to matter a little more, and now it's kind of going the other way. But this is something we have to deal with. The one thing you at least have is the arbitration process, which nobody is a big fan of. Obviously that's unpredictable.''

``In Visnovsky's case, I think the Timonen contract threw everybody for a little loop. It's hard to figure out, because over eight years there's a cap number and there's a cash number. You're talking about a guy who makes plays and puts up numbers. That impacted the market. I think the market has stabilized a little now, with Rafalski in. We're going to continue to work on Vish, and I think with Handzus and Nagy here, I think it's going to make it more attractive to him. I know we had Jeff (Solomon) talking to him today. It's been on-again, off-again. Once this is done here, it becomes the priority, to get him signed long term. He's a good player that I would like to keep.''

(With you bringing in two quality wingers, what does it mean for some of the younger guys, like perhaps O'Sullivan, who might have filled those roles?)

``This is the way it should be. When you talk about stabilizing a roster, when I look at our minor-league team next year, it will be radically different from last year. It's one thing to have success in the minors on the scoreboard, but to have a team -- and I've said this before and got in trouble -- I'm much more excited to see that our lineup down there is going to be filled with young players. I look at a different scorecard there. For years in Cleveland, we were lucky to make the playoffs, but we were playing young players consistently. That's how they eventually come through your system.''

``We got quality veterans. These guys aren't old; they're in their primes. If a kid comes in, he's got to earn the job. It's not like the job is yours. And that's the way it should be. And that's how you end up making your roster better. A kid comes in, he proves he can do the job and he's paid his dues, and that allows you to trade the player he's replacing and fill another hole. That's how you make your roster better through trades. It's not out-foxing the other GM. It's making a deal to fill a hole and not create a hole. In order to do that, you have to have a setup like this. If there's a job open, you're going to have to earn it. That's a little different than last year. When I talk about stabilizing a roster, that's one thing that's not always evident, but that's always what I'm looking at. You look at the ages on that team in the minors, and it's going to be very different than it was last year.''

(Can you talk about why you did the Modry deal? And did you consider going after Bertuzzi?)

``I think the way the game has gone, and with the ability to make some plays, it's a good filler. We'll see how it works out. Bertuzzi, no. That's an interesting one. On one hand, it got a little rocky with him and Marc (Crawford) in Vancouver but on the other hand, Bertuzzi said he's the best coach he's ever had. I'm not sure where to go with that. But no, we weren't in on the Bertuzzi thing.''