In the weeks leading up to free agency I made it clear that there were a few people I didn’t want on this team: Raffi Torres, Colby Armstrong and Dan Hamhuis.  Torres is just a mess of a human and a player, Armstrong is an unneeded right-winger, and Hamhuis is an unneeded defenseman.

Which is why I’m very happy to announce the status on all three players in regards to the Toronto Maple Leafs: Vancouver outbid Toronto for Dan Hamhuis, and…are you ready?  Colby Armstrong signed with the Leafs!

Yep, that’s right, the so-called gritty right-winger previously of the Atlanta Thrashers and Pittsburgh Penguins has signed with the blue and white for three years, making three million dollars in each of those three seasons.  Armstrong put up just 29 points last season, and in his final season with Pittsburgh he had just 24 points in 54 games playing along the league’s top centers in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.  Yeah, serious questions have to be asked when it comes to this kids offensive abilities.

On the other hand, Armstrong’s a pretty gritty kid, and a character kid at that.  His countless interviews on Hockey Central over the last year were hilarious, and he seems like a real loveable kid.  He can play at both ends of the ice and, according to some analysts should make a pretty good net presence.

But along the likes of Kessel, Versteeg, Kulemin, Sjostrom, Brown and Orr, Armstrong becomes the seventh right-winger on this team, and he appears to be an overpaid one at that.  This might not end badly, but I’m really not sure I like this one.

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