NHL: Free Agency, Trade, Injury, and Rookie News!

[Knightfall]

Transactions for Monday, August 15th

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim - Re-signed restricted free-agent defenceman Mark Popovic to a one-year contract.

Atlanta Thrashers - Agreed to terms with forward Jim Slater.

Boston Bruins - Agreed to terms with defenceman Jonathan Sigalet on a three-year contract; agreed to terms with centers Brad Boyes, Ben Guite and Nate Robinson, left wing Eric Healey, right wing Jason MacDonald and defenceman Kevin Dallman on one-year contracts.

Buffalo Sabres - Agreed to terms with restricted free agent forward Jochen Hecht on a three-year deal; Daniel Briere, J.P. Dumont, Maxim Afinogenov, Henrik Tallinder, Tim Connolly, Milan Bartovic, Ales Kotalik, Jason Pominville, Paul Gaustad and Michael Ryan accept qualifying offers.

Calgary Flames - Restricted free agent forwards Chuck Kobasew and Mathew Lombardi accept one-year qualifying offers; signed forwards Eric Nystrom and Brandon Prust and goaltender Curtis McElhinney.

Carolina Hurricanes - Restricted free agent forward Pavel Brendl and defenceman Bruno St. Jacques accept one-year qualifying offers.

Columbus Blue Jackets - Restricted free agent defenceman Rostislava Klesla, goaltender Pascal LeClaire and forward Tim Jackman accept qualifying offers; re-sign forward Brandon Sugden.

Dallas Stars - Signed forwards Jason Arnott, Antti Miettinen, Garrett Burnett and Mike Siklenka.

Edmonton Oilers - Signed forward Ales Hemsky to one-year contract and defenceman Matt Greene to a two-year contract.

Los Angeles Kings - Agreed to terms on one-year contracts with defencemen Brad Fast and Joe Corvo.

Minnesota Wild - Signed unrestricted free agent defenceman Daniel Tjarnqvist.

Montreal Canadiens - Re-signed centre Saku Koivu to a one-year contract and re-signed restricted free agent Marcel Hossa.

New York Rangers - Re-signed defenceman Tom Poti; signed defenceman Steven MacIntyre.

Ottawa Senators - Re-signed right wings Chris Kelly and Brian McGrattan to one-year contracts.

Phoenix Coyotes - Centres Krystofer Kolanos and Jeff Taffe have accepted qualifying offers.

Pittsburgh Penguins - Signed unrestricted free agent forward John LeClair; re-signed restricted free agent defenceman Josef Melichar; signed unrestricted free agent Steve Poapst; announced centre Matt Hussey and forward Guillaume Lefebvre accepted their qualifying offers.

San Jose Sharks - Re-signed forwards Patrick Marleau and Marco Sturm and defenceman Brad Stuart to multi-year contracts. Re-signed forwards Scott Parker and Josh Prudden, defencemen Matt Carkner, Garrett Stafford and Doug Murray and goaltender Nolan Schaefer to one-year deals.

St. Louis Blues - Defenceman Eric Brewer accepts qualifying offer; re-signed forward Jamal Mayers.

Vancouver Canucks - Agreed to terms with defenceman Sami Salo on a two-year contract and defenseman Bryan Allen and right wing Jason King to one-year deals.

Washington Capitals - Re-signed centers Jeff Halpern, Brian Sutherby and Graham Mink, right wings Stephen Peat and Brian Willsie, defensemen Brandon Witt, Steve Eminger, Shaone Morrisonn and Nolan Yonkman and goaltender Maxime Ouellet.

 

[Teflon Billy]

OK, witht he acquisition of LeClair, the Penguins have gone from the single worst team in the league to serious contenders for the cup.

 

[Teflon Billy]

Vancouver Canucks - Agreed to terms with defenceman Sami Salo on a two-year contract and defenseman Bryan Allen and right wing Jason King to one-year deals.

I want to see both King and Allen in the regular lineup. Allen is a no-brainer, but King is likley only going to be used if Richard Park doesn't live up to his potential.

 

[devilbat]

OK, with the acquisition of LeClair, the Penguins have gone from the single worst team in the league to serious contenders for the cup

I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one TB. The Penguins have made some amazing moves, and I think they will light up many teams, but they're not balanced. Even if Fleury is ready for fifty plus games (which I doubt he is, he wasn't THAT great in the AHL last year), He won't be able to stop the barrage of shots night in and night out. The forwards the team signed are not known for their back checking. I doubt Ziggy Pallfy even sees his own zone in a game. Gonchar is a strict offensive defenseman, and a bit of a liability defensively, Dick Tarnstrom is a third or fourth guy on a regular depth chart, but in Pit. He'll be the main man defensively.

I expect plenty of high scoring games with the Penguins this year.

I want to see both King and Allen in the regular lineup. Allen is a no-brainer, but King is likley only going to be used if Richard Park doesn't live up to his potential.

Agreed. I've had the privledge of watching Jason King play first hand over the last couple of years. He's a very talented kid, with good hands and wheels. The thing that may well keep him from the Cunucks is his size. Not a real big guy. I wouldn't be surprised to see Ryan Kesler make the team though. That guy has everything a pro needs.

 

[Teflon Billy]

I'm going to have to disagree with you on this one TB. The Penguins have made some amazing moves, and I think they will light up many teams, but they're not balanced. Even if Fleury is ready for fifty plus games (which I doubt he is, he wasn't THAT great in the AHL last year), He won't be able to stop the barrage of shots night in and night out. The forwards the team signed are not known for their back checking. I doubt Ziggy Pallfy even sees his own zone in a game. Gonchar is a strict offensive defenseman, and a bit of a liability defensively, Dick Tarnstrom is a third or fourth guy on a regular depth chart, but in Pit. He'll be the main man defensively.

I expect plenty of high scoring games with the Penguins this year.

I agree with most everything you say, but arrive at a different conclusion.

I think that the "New NHL" with the new goalie equipemnt, (hopefully) a crackdown on Clutch-and-Grab and no redline is going to allow a Team like Pittsburgh to consider "scoring their way out" to be a credible option.

We forget that teams used to do this back in the day. The "Goal ends the Power Play" rule was adopted because a single power play for the Montreal Canadiens could easily be a 3-4 goal game ender.

We are so used now--after all these years of Clutch-and-Grab-- to the idea of "Defensive Responsibility" that we forget that run-an-gun hockey can get the job done as well so long as lunchbucket guys aren't allowed to drape themselves all over the Star Players.

Agreed. I've had the privledge of watching Jason King play first hand over the last couple of years. He's a very talented kid, with good hands and wheels. The thing that may well keep him from the Cunucks is his size. Not a real big guy. I wouldn't be surprised to see Ryan Kesler make the team though. That guy has everything a pro needs.

They've pretty much said that Kesler is in. King's big claim to fame was his awe-inspiring half-season with the Sedins when, as a rookie, he logged soemthing like 23 goals.

I hope he comes back, he's got the stuff...and size might'nt be such a prblem anymore if the rule changes stick

 

[devilbat]

I agree with most everything you say, but arrive at a different conclusion.

Me too, see my next paragraph.

I think that the "New NHL" with the new goalie equipemnt, (hopefully) a crackdown on Clutch-and-Grab and no redline is going to allow a Team like Pittsburgh to consider "scoring their way out" to be a credible option.

We forget that teams used to do this back in the day. The "Goal ends the Power Play" rule was adopted because a single power play for the Montreal Canadiens could easily be a 3-4 goal game ender.

We are so used now--after all these years of Clutch-and-Grab-- to the idea of "Defensive Responsibility" that we forget that run-an-gun hockey can get the job done as well so long as lunchbucket guys aren't allowed to drape themselves all over the Star Players

.

You know you're stuff TB, but let's wander down memory lane to the mid eighties, where goal scoring was at an all time high. If you look at the dominate teams of those years, they had strong defensive players, as well as a defensive specialist forwards.

The Islanders - defense - Denis Potvin, Ken Morrow, Stefan Persson, Mike McEwen, Dave Langevin, Bob Lorimer and Gordie Lane. Billy Carroll or Garry Howatt would shadow the opposition's best forwards.

Oilers -Defense - Kevin Lowe, Charlie Huddy, Randy Gregg, Lee Fogolin, Don Jackson and Steve Smith. Once again Billy Carroll, Dave Hunter or Kevin McClleland would be doing the shadowing.

Defense will be important in the new run and gun NHL. It wont be the most important factor as it has been in the near past, but a team wioll still need to be represented at the blue line.

For that reason, I predict the Penguins will return to the play-offs, but I'll bet a second or third round exit at best.

 

[Knightfall]

Transactions for Tuesday, August 16th

Atlanta Thrashers - Re-signed restricted free agent forwards J.P. Vigier and Derek MacKenzie.

Carolina Hurricanes - Signed defencemen Glen Wesley and Chris Hajt to one-year deals.

Columbus Blue Jackets - Signed forward Andrew Murray to a rookie contract.

Colorado Avalanche - Signed goaltenders David Aebischer, Peter Budaj, Tom Lawson and Vitaly Kolesnik, and defenceman Brett Clark and forward Paul Healey.

Detroit Red Wings - Signed defenseman Andy Delmore, who had been with the Buffalo Sabres, to a one-year contract; re-signed right wing Darryl Bootland to a one-year contract; announced center Jason Williams accepted his one-year qualifying offer.

Edmonton Oilers - Re-signed restricted free agent forward Raffi Torres to a two-year contract.

Los Angeles Kings - Signed left wing Dany Roussin to a multi-year entry level contract.

Montreal Canadiens - Re-signed restricted free agent forward Tomas Plekanec and unrestricted free agent defenceman Jonathan Aitken.

Minnesota Wild - Re-signed right wing Kyle Wanvig to a one-year contract; signed right wing Joey Tetarenko.

Nashville Predators - Re-signed right wing Steve Sullivan to a four-year contract; re-signed defenseman Dan Hamhuis to a one-year contract.

New Jersey Devils - Signed free agent right wing Alexander Mogilny.

New York Islanders - Signed restricted free agent Brent Sopel to two-year contract; re-signed defenceman Radek Martinek to a one-year contract.

New York Rangers - Re-signed right wing Jozef Balej.

Pittsburgh Penguins - Re-signed restricted free agent forward Konstantin Koltsov.

Tampa Bay Lightning - Re-signed restricted free agent forward Vincent Lecavalier.

 

[Knightfall]

Transactions for Wednesday, August 17th

Boston Bruins - Re-signed unrestricted free agent forward Travis Green.

Colorado Avalanche - Signed restricted free agent goaltender Tom Lawson and unrestricted free agent defenseman Curtis Leschyshyn.

Florida Panthers - Signed unrestricted free agent forward Jozef Stumpel.

New York Islanders - Signed rookie forward Masi Marjamaki.

Pittsburgh Penguins - Re-signed restricted free agent defenseman David Koci.

Phoenix Coyotes - Signed unrestricted free agent goaltender Curtis Joseph.

Vancouver Canucks - Signed unrestricted free agent forward Anson Carter.

Washington Capitals - Signed unrestricted free agent defenceman Dwayne Zinger and rookie forward Chris Bourque.

 

[nick]

This hockey season should be very interesting. There's been more big names moving this year than in probably the last 8 years combined. I wonder how Vancouver's going to fare this year?

 

[Knightfall]

Transactions for Thursday, August 18th

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim - Re-signed forward Jonathan Hedstrom to a two-year contract.

Carolina Hurricanes - Re-signed restricted free agent forward Josef Vasicek.

Colorado Avalanche - Re-signed defenceman John-Michael Liles.

Florida Panthers - Signed 2004 first-round pick Rostislav Olesz to three-year deal.

New York Rangers - Re-signed restricted free agent forwards Jammie Lundmark, Garth Murray and Chad Wiseman.

Pittsburgh Penguins - Re-signed right wing Michel Ouellet to a multi-year contract.

Tampa Bay Lightning - Re-signed goaltender Brian Eklund and signed veteran right-wingers Jim Campbell and Norm Milley and centre Jason Jaspers.

Toronto Maple Leafs - Signed goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin, who had been with the Pittsburgh Penguins, to a one-year contract.

Vancouver Canucks - Re-signed restricted free agent goaltender Dan Cloutier to a two-year deal.

Washington Capitals - Re-signed center-right wing Dainius Zubrus to a two-year contract and defenseman Jean-Francois Fortin; signed right wing Matt Bradley, who had been with the Pittsburgh Penguins.