A bad team that’s run properly should bear an uncanny resemblance to a Dickensian urchin at the July 1 free-agent auction. They should be standing off to the side, hands in the pockets of their tattered clothing, as they stare wide-eyed at good teams spending money on deals with term. (Whether the good teams should be doing what they’re doing is another question, but we’ll focus on the bad teams today.) Instead, due to a mix of delusion, requirement to spend some money and revenue sharing, you see a lot of bad teams bidding wildly on players who aren’t difference makers.



July 1 is littered with bad moves but two, in particular, caught my attention. The Vancouver Canucks signed Jay Beagle. Meanwhile, in Detroit, the Red Wings brought back Mike Green for two years on a deal with an AAV of $5.375-million.



Let’s start with Vancouver. Beagle just completed his age 32 season. His last two years have been his best at staying in the lineup, with...