I was over on TSN.ca where I spotted a list of the signings over the past few days.  I’ve been away mostly, covering live events for another site, so I haven’t been updating the free agent dealings as much as I would like.  Here are the most up-to-date lists:
July 9

Nashville Predators sign UFA forward Josh Gratton to a one-year, two-way contract.
Washington Capitals sign RFA forward Brooks Laich to a three-year contract.
Washington Captials re-sign UFA forward Sergei Fedorov to a one-year contract.

July 8

Atlanta Thrashers sign UFA forward Eric Boulton to a two-year contract.
Edmonton Oilers sign RFA forward Marc-Antoine Pouliot to …read more

It’s Canada Day and Free Agency day!!!  There’s been a lot of great transactions.  Here’s a list (updated as I get news):

Boston Bruins sign forward Michael Ryder (3 yr, $12 million)
New York Rangers re-signed goaltender Steve Valiquette (undisclosed)
New York Islanders sign defenceman Mark Streit (5 yr, $20.5 million)
Minnesota sign forward Craig Weller (2 yr, $600,000 a season)
Tampa Bay Lightning sign forward David Koci (1 yr, two-way deal worth $525,000 in the NHL, $100,000 in the minors)
New York Rangers sign defenceman Wade Redden (6 yr, $39 million)
New Jersey …read more

The New Jersey Devils have offered Finnish defenceman Anssi Salmela a deal.  While the details are not yet known, it does sound like a good deal since the 23-year-old free-agent had 16 goals and 16 assists in 56 games with Tappara of the Finnish League last season.
Salmela could sound familiar if you watched the 2004 World Junior Hockey tournament and this year’s world championship event.  I have to admit that I don’t know much about him but I did find this video of his fighting with Team USA’s David Backes during the IIHL Championships earlier this month. 

Technorati Tags: …read more

Veteran NHL goaltender Curtis Joseph was among the 22 players named Monday to Canada’s roster for the Spengler Cup tournament in Davos, Switzerland. The unsigned, free agent, who had played in the NHL for over 17 seasons helped lead Team Canada to a gold medal during the 2002 Olympic games.
"We are extremely pleased to have Curtis back in a Canadian jersey for this year’s Spengler Cup," Hockey Canada official Johnny Misley said in a statement. "Curtis is really looking forward to this experience and playing for his country once again."

This year the Spengler Cup will include Team Canada, Swiss club …read more

So the going rate for a second-line centre in the NHL these days is apparently $4-million based on the six-year, $24-million deal that Buffalo recently gave Derek Roy.
The Sabres have now committed about $75-million to two players – Roy and Thomas Vanek – after losing Chris Drury and Daniel Briere to free-agency earlier this month. Of course, Buffalo had little choice but to become more aggressive if it wants to stay competitive and give the faithful a good enough team to keep buying season tickets.
While some people may be concerned about the Sabres’ ability to remain a top-calibre team …read more

If you’re the Ottawa Senators, what do you do with one of your young stars, Danny Heatley, who will be an unrestricted free-agent after this year?
Do you try to sign him now – knowing that you’ve also got another UFA, Wade Redden, as well as Jason Spezza becoming a restricted free-agent.
Tough choices for Senators GM Bryan Murray.
By the way, Heatley made $5.5-million last year while Redden made $6.5-million.

Now that all the big-name free agents have been snapped up for multi-year, mega-million deals, who’s still left out there?
CBS Sportsline offers some of the better-known names, including the oft-injured Eric Lindros, Teemu Selanne, who has not made it clear whether he’s coming for another season; Danny Markov, Alexei Yashin, who was just bought out of his contract with the NYI for $17-million, and Peter Forsberg (above left).
Canadian Press also has a story, including this quote:
“The first week of free agency is 100 miles per hour,” said agent Pat Brisson, who got Daniel Brière a big payday with …read more

With most of the major free-agents now finding new homes, the thing that sticks out other than the money being thrown around is the long-term deals many players received. A five-year deal used to be a rarity, now it’s pretty much the free-agent deafult given that six, seven and eight year deals are part of the hockey landscape.
You have to wonder how much value Philadelphia is going to be getting from Daniel Briere during the seventh and eighth years of his $52-million contract when the slick centreman will be 37 and 38-years-old. In some respects, Briere really signed a …read more

The New York Rangers, who are clearly doing a wonderful job managing the salary-cap, have signed Brendan Shanahan to a one-year contract.
The deal starts with a $2.5-million base – not bad for a 38-year-old who didn’t want to play anywhere else other than New York – with another $2.8-million on the table in performance-related bonuses, including $2-million if he plays 10 games next year.
With Shanahan, Chris Drury and Scott Gomez, the Rangers have tied up $15-million of their $50-million salary cap with three players. Then, you’ve got Jaromir Jagr, who makes $8.3-million a year, and Henrik Lindqvist, who is going …read more

If being the NHL’s highest scorer and most valuable player in 2006/2007 wasn’t enough, Sidney Crosby has become a very rich young man after signing a five-year, $45-million deal.
It’s an interesting, but necessary, move for a lot of different reasons.
1. By giving Crosby $9-million a year, the Penguins make their resident superstar happy by giving him financial security and status as the league’s highest-paid player.
2. At a time when it appears that restricted free-agents are vulnerable to offers (evidence: the Edmonont Oilers making a play for Thomas Vanek last week), the Penguins are assured that Crosby stays with them …read more