1963 Re-Sign Stage

1963 Re-Sign Stage

Gold Stars Reload for Another Shot at Cup Run
Over the last few seasons, the Gold Stars have slowly added many veteran pieces in an attempt to take one last shot with the core that they've had. However, after a costly fumble led to the team falling just short of the final this season, GM Allen Hutchinson has been able to convince many of those veterans to stay for one last shot. He offered out 7 1-year deals with no-trade clauses to keep some of these veterans with the team. LB Rusty McVee, DL Calias McDonough, S Shawn Jensen, RB Marcus Devonshire, TE Micheal Bowman III, QB Christian Stewart, and OL Wilfred Gibson all accepted and would return to the team this season. The only key piece Hutchinson was unable to bring back, was LB Elijah Goldwater, who after arriving in Providence via a trade deadline deal, wanted to take a shot at the open market for the first time in his 9-year career. Providence looks like a threat again, but they still will need to add a few more pieces if they want to truly get over the top.

Buffalo Pays Up for Young Stars
Both QB Charles Lemieux and RB Jimmy Golden were due for paydays this off-season which meant Buffalo would be losing a bit of their salary cap advantage this season. The price for the franchise players would be a 6-year deal for Lemieux with a starting salary of $35,000 that will rise to $38,900 by the end of the contract. As for Golden, he would get 4-years at $28,000-$30,000. Both players will have no-trade clauses in the 3rd year of their contracts. Buffalo is looking strong for the future with these two headlining the team.

Tough Decisions for London and Montreal
Both teams had a dilemma on defence. The Tigers had a lot of LBs after dealing with injuries and bringing in some other LBs to fill in last season. Unfortunately, that means they had to make a difficult decision to decide who to keep. In the end, they made the surprise move to not keep LB Wilson Rockwood-Barnes, who had been a solid piece over the last few years. However, they opted for the younger LB Red Clarkson and LB Gideon Jura as they are starting to focus on the future. As for Montreal, they had a lot of talent in the secondary. With DB Jayson Klyde rising up to likely take a starting job next season, there was going to have to be a veteran casualty. They would sign DB Quentin Xavier, but they would make the decision to keep DB Jared Francis, who they had acquired at the deadline, over DB Carson Scott. Scott had only signed with the Rouge last season, so it is a bit of shock to see him return right back to free agency. Hopefully, both of the decisions pay off for the teams. 

Top Signings
OL Reynold Gilbertson BOS - 3Y, $14,000
WR Ellis Lindholm BOS - 1Y, $28,500 - NTC
OL Jean Mathieu-Baptiste BUF - 1Y, $17,000
WR Daniel Irons BUF - 2Y, $18,500
WR Joshua Lafleur HFX - 3Y, $18,500
DB Joe Robinson HFX - 3Y, $24,500-$25,500
WR Ed Edwards IND - 5Y, $20,000-$24,000
QB Mike Key IND - 2Y, $18,000
RB Clifford Russell LDN - 2Y, $28,000 - NTC
OL Magnus Gunnersson LDN - 2Y, 20,500
LB Deon Wiggins LI - 3Y, $19,000
OL Elliot Winterbottom LI - 3Y, $20,000
RB Rodney Clark LOU - 3Y, $27,000
LB Calvin Hardy LOU - 3Y, $19,000
LB Sam Fitzroy MTL - 3Y, $22,000
TE Eli Grant MTL - 2Y, $17,000
WR Mackenzie Jones OTT - 2Y, $26,000 - NTC
DB Mingan Oliver OTT - 1Y, $23,000 - NTC
DL Craig White PRO - 5Y, $19,000-$25,000
OL Nicholas Waller PRO - 3Y, $15,500

Free Agency Preview
There are certainly some strong pieces that will be available for teams to bring in this offseason. The top of the list features LB Elijah Goldwater who, at 31, will likely be looking for a strong contending team to slot into. Top suitors could be Montreal and a return to Providence, but Buffalo and Indiana have an outside shot as teams on the rise. DL Timmy Kerr has been overlooked by the league over the last few seasons, but the 28-year-old is a strong piece on the line that teams like Boston and Providence will be interested in investing in. OL Ulysses Fairgrove made the decision to test free agency after spending his entire career with the Tigers. He has not ruled out returning but wants to give some teams a shot to offer him an enticing deal. QB Stanley Troyer, QB Stanislav Ovechkin, and QB Oscar Rigano will likely be strong targets for teams with the increasing desire for teams to have a solid #2 option at the QB position. There are many other names that will make for an exciting couple of weeks as we approach the draft. 

Top 25 Free Agents
1 - LB Elijah Goldwater PRO
2 - DL Timmy Kerr LI
3 - OL Ulysses Fairgrove LDN
4 - QB Stanley Troyer IND
5 - LB Wilson Rockwood-Barnes LDN
6 - QB Stanislav Ovechkin LOU
7 - RB Eddie Thompson BOS
8 - DB Carson Scott MTL
9 - QB Oscar Rigano LI
10 - WR Trig Jegman HFX
11 - DB Dennis Kirchner PRO
12 - DL William Collins LDN
13 - LB Patrick Terry MTL
14 - LB Alister Henry OTT
15 - DB Larry Pickett BUF
16 - WR Angus Stevenson OTT
17 - WR Ronald Vernon PRO
18 - WR Fredrick St.Pierre BOS
19 - RB Tommy Kerr PRO
20 - RB Leo Ravelli BUF
21 - DB Petr Westerburg BOS
22 - RB Wally Morton OTT
23 - WR Nick Nacker LI
24 - OL Jack Workman OTT
25 - LB Felix Bender IND