NHL: Player News and Rumors (Thread finished)

Sharks sign Bell and Ehrhoff
Associated Press
7/25/2006 3:37:20 PM

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Forward Mark Bell and defenseman Christian Ehrhoff agreed to terms on contracts with the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.

Bell, who signed a three-year deal, was acquired from the Chicago Blackhawks two weeks ago in a three-team trade that sent defenceman Tom Preissing to Ottawa.

Bell, a prime candidate to play alongside Joe Thornton and Jonathan Cheechoo on the Sharks' top line, was eligible for arbitration.

Ehrhoff, who got a two-year deal, set career highs with five goals and 18 assists last season, his second full NHL campaign. The German Olympic team member was a restricted free agent.
 

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Panthers sign Belfour; Roberts staying
Canadian Press
7/25/2006 6:48:28 PM

SUNRISE, Fla. (CP) - The Eagle has landed in South Florida.

Goaltender Ed Belfour signed a $750,000 US, one-year contract with the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, extending his career after undergoing another back surgery.

"We've added depth and we've added some quality to the position," Panthers GM Mike Keenan said during a conference call. "I think it just strengthens the team and strengthens our position overall."

The 41-year-old goaltender became a free agent this summer when the Toronto Maple Leafs chose not to pick up an option on his contract. Belfour made $4.56 million last season.
He had back surgery in April and had been linked with the Detroit Red Wings earlier this off-season. In Florida, he'll likely split goaltending duties with Alex Auld.

"A healthy Eddie Belfour in our goaltending situation does nothing but increase the competitive value of that position," Keenan said. "It's up to the players to sort it out from there."

Questions remain about how effective the future Hall of Famer can be at this stage of his career.

Belfour is coming off a lacklustre season with the Maple Leafs, going 22-22-4 with a 3.29 goals-against average. He didn't play after March 10 because of his injured back, which has plagued him during his career.

The specifics weren't released but Belfour could almost double his base salary if he hits all of his incentives.

"I'm very comfortable, knowing Eddie as well as I do, that he will be able to meet the criteria in terms of rehab and have himself prepared come the fall," Keenan said.

Belfour has 457 career wins - trailing only Patrick Roy in NHL history - with Chicago, Dallas, San Jose and Toronto. While playing for the Blackhawks, he won the Vezina Trophy in 1991 and '93.

Belfour, who backstopped the Stars to the 1999 Stanley Cup, also has 88 playoff victories, good for fourth on the all-time list behind Roy, Grant Fuhr and New Jersey's Martin Brodeur.

Keenan also said that forward Gary Roberts will be back with the team next season. Roberts sought a trade to Toronto earlier this off-season to be closer to his daughter, who will attend school in the city.

"We certainly had some discussions about some private issues, some family issues, with him and now we're moving forward at this point," Keenan said. "Gary will be at training camp in Florida come September."

Roberts, 40, has one year and $2.25 million remaining on the contract he signed with Florida before the 2005-06 season.
 
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Wow!!!

Oilers sign Hemsky to six-year pact
TSN.ca Staff
7/25/2006 5:21:53 PM

The Edmonton Oilers have signed right wing Ales Hemsky to a six-year contract, avoiding an arbitration hearing scheduled for Friday, July 28th.

Hemsky is the third player that the Oilers have come to agreement with on a contract prior to the NHL's arbitration process. Centres Shawn Horcoff and Jarret Stoll signed with the Oilers earlier this month.

"Ales is an extremely important member of our hockey club," said Oilers Assistant General Manager Scott Howson in a release. "He is one of the NHL's emerging offensive players, and coming off of a breakout season that saw him lead the Oilers in scoring, we believe he will continue to get better. We are excited to have him under contract for the next six seasons."

One of the NHL's young offensive stars, the 6-foot, 192-pound native of Pardubice, Czech Republic led the Oilers in scoring during his third season with 77 points in 81 games. The 22-year-old forward established single-season career highs in most offensive categories as he led the Oilers in assists with 58.

His offensive contributions continued during the Oilers' Stanley Cup Playoff run, as he scored 17 points in 24 games.

The Oilers' first choice, 13th overall, in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, Hemsky has scored 141 points in 211 career games with Edmonton. He has added 17 points in 30 Stanley Cup playoff games.
 

Islanders accept award decision on York
TSN.ca Staff
7/25/2006 5:26:28 PM

The New York Islanders have accepted an arbitration award and have signed centre Mike York to a one-year contract.

An arbitrator awarded York $2.85 million for the 2006-07 season on Saturday. The team had 48 hours to accept or decline the deal. If the Islanders walked away, York would have become an unrestricted free agent.

"We respect the arbitrator's decision and appreciate the process that led to the one-year award for Mike, a player we think the world of," Islanders general manager Garth Snow said in a statement. "It was our intention prior to the hearing to sign him to a long-term deal, and it remains our hope to have Mike York in an Islanders uniform for years to come."

York, 28, earned $2.05-million and scored 13 goals and 52 points for the Islanders in 2005-2006. He has tallied 287 points in 449 career games with the Islanders, Oilers and Rangers.

"Letting Mike York go was never a consideration," said Snow.

"He is a very important player for us, a proud Islander. Mike wanted to stay on Long Island and we wanted him here. We're looking forward to an excellent season from Mike."
 

Senators re-sign Kelly to one-year deal
TSN.ca Staff
7/25/2006 5:26:56 PM

The Ottawa Senators have re-signed centre Chris Kelly to a one-year contract.

In his first full season with the Senators and in the NHL, Kelly played in all 82 regular-season games, scored 30 points and added a plus-21 rating and 76 penalty minutes.

Drafted 94th overall by the Senators in 1999, Kelly played most of his first three pro seasons with the club's American Hockey League affiliate in Binghamton.
 

Hemsky deal is an intresting move

The only shocker here, I think, is how long term the deal is. If Hemsky does not turn out to suck in a few years, it will be a great deal to have made.

The thing of it is, however, that Hemsky is at exactly the point in his career where signing such a deal would make the most sense. He is still young, and he is on the upswing of his career. If it turns out that he is still worth signing in 3, 4 and 5 years, then this deal will probably manage to save the Oilers a lot of money in the long term. Alternatively, a long term deal makes him worth more in a trade in the event it becomes necessary.

Sure, this deal could backfire, but if your going to take the risk of a 6 year contract, these are the circumstances under which to do it.

END COMMUNICATION
 

Stars News!

Stars' GM Armstrong gets 3-year extension
Sports Ticker
7/25/2006 6:42:45 PM

FRISCO, Texas (Ticker) - The Dallas Stars signed general manager Doug Armstrong to a three-year contract extension on Tuesday.

Armstrong had two years left on his deal and is now locked up through the 2010-11 season.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Armstrong, 41, served nine years as an assistant general manager under Bob Gainey before being promoted to GM in January 2002.

Over Armstrong's tenure as GM, Dallas has earned the third-most points (320) and the third-most wins (140) in the NHL. Only Detroit and Ottawa have more points and wins.

"We've won seven division titles in the last nine years and have made the playoffs in 10 of the 12 seasons that the Stars have been in Dallas," Stars owner Tom Hicks said. "A big reason for that success comes from the stability among top management of the organization, which started with Bob Gainey and has continued with Doug Armstrong."

Dallas won the Pacific Division title and finished second in the Western Conference with 112 points last season, but lost in the conference quarterfinals to the seventh-seeded Colorado Avalanche, four games to one.

In the offseason, Armstrong acquired center Patrik Stefan and defenseman Jaroslav Modry from Atlanta for center Niko Kapanen, obtained defenseman Darryl Sydor from Tampa Bay for a draft pick and signed centers Eric Lindros and Jeff Halpern and right wing Matthew Barnaby.

"Doug has done an outstanding job in maintaining a level of excellence and has built a competitive roster over the last two summers in the new salary cap era," Hicks said.

The Stars on Tuesday also signed assistant general manager Les Jackson to a four-year contract.
 

Lord Zardoz said:
The only shocker here, I think, is how long term the deal is. If Hemsky does not turn out to suck in a few years, it will be a great deal to have made.

The thing of it is, however, that Hemsky is at exactly the point in his career where signing such a deal would make the most sense. He is still young, and he is on the upswing of his career. If it turns out that he is still worth signing in 3, 4 and 5 years, then this deal will probably manage to save the Oilers a lot of money in the long term. Alternatively, a long term deal makes him worth more in a trade in the event it becomes necessary.

Sure, this deal could backfire, but if your going to take the risk of a 6 year contract, these are the circumstances under which to do it.

END COMMUNICATION
Click to expand...

Agreed on all points. It's a risk, but I think Hemsky is going to be a star for the Oilers. Add in Lupul and the Oilers are goingto have a lot of offence for years to come. Now, we just have to shore up the defence and this team will compete every year.

Lupul is next to sign and then Kevin Lowe will try to sign Danny Markov and re-sign Dick Tarnstrom.

Cheers!

KF72
 

Gomez awarded $5 million for 2006-07
TSN.ca Staff with CP files
7/25/2006 10:09:21 PM

An arbitrator has awarded New Jersey Devils forward Scott Gomez $5 million US for the 2006-07 season.

The Devils have 48 hours to decide whether to retain Gomez for next season or walk away from the deal and make him an unrestricted free agent immediately.

"He's been an integral part of our success, no question," Devils president and general manager Lou Lamoriello said Tuesday night. "He's an excellent hockey player, but we have a lot of excellent hockey players. So we'll do the best that we can."

Both parties went to arbitration on Friday with the Devils offering $4 million US, and Gomez reportedly asking for $7 million US next season. He made $2.204 million in 2005-06.

Gomez, 26, is coming off a career season, scoring 33 goals and 84 points in 82 regular season games. The six-year veteran has 103 goals and 390 points in 476 career games, all with New Jersey.

Gomez made a big splash in his first NHL campaign, scoring 70 points and winning the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year in 1999-2000. He also helped guide the Devils to a Stanley Cup victory that season, his first of two NHL championships.

The ruling, if accepted, would place the Devils well over the NHL's $44 million salary cap for 2006-07. General Manager Lou Lamoreillo already signed forward Patrik Elias to a $42 million, seven-year contract and defenceman Colin White to a $18 million, six-year contract.

The team also has to sign forward Brian Gionta and defencemen David Hale and Paul Martin for next season.

Teams can go as much as 10 per cent over the cap during the offseason, but must get back to it by the opening day of the regular season on Oct. 4.

"When the first day of the season comes, we will be where we need to be," Lamoriello said.
 


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