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 a two-year contract.
• New York Islanders sign defenceman Brendan Witt to a two-year, $6 million contract extension.
• St. Louis Blues sign RFA forward Steve Bernier to a one-year, $2.5 million offer sheet, matched by Vancouver Canucks.
• Tampa Bay Lightning sign UFA forward Brandon Bochenski to a two-year contract.
• Ottawa Senators sign UFA defenceman Jason Smith to a two-year contract.
• Montreal Canadiens sign RFA goaltender Jarolslav Halak to a two-year, $1.55 million contract.
• New York Rangers sign UFA defenceman Paul Mara to a one-year, $1.95 million contract.
• Tampa Bay Lightning sign forward Evgeny Artyukhin to a two-year, $1.9 million contract.

More after the jump!

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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 Devils sign forward Bobby Holik (1 yr, $2.5 million)
• Chicago Blackhawks sign defenceman Brian Campbell (8 yr, $56.8-million)
• Corey Perry has re-signed with the Anaheim Ducks (5 yr, $26.625 million)
• Jose Theodore (G) signed by Washington Capitals
• Minnesota Wild acquire defenseman Marek Zidlicky from Nashville Predators
• Edmonton sends Raffi Torres to Columbus for Gilbert Brule
• Tampa Bay acquires forward Radim Vrbata from Phoenix (3yr, $9 million)
• Mike Green (D) is staying with the Washington Capitals (4 yr, $21 million)
• Detroit Red Wings re-sign Brad Stuart (4 yr, $15 million)
• Raffi Torres has been traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets by Edmonton
• Pittsburgh Penguins sign forward Pascal Dupuis (3 yr. $4.2 million)
• Calgary Flames have acquired Rene Bourque from the Chicago Blackhawks
• Pittsburgh Penguins re-sign UFA D Mark Eaton (2 yr, $2-million)
• Minnesota Wild sign UFA forward Andrew Brunette (undisclosed).
• Vancouver signs RFA forward Kyle Wellwood (1 yr, $997,500)
• Boston signs UFA forward Blake Wheeler to an entry-level contract.
• New Jersey signs defenceman Bryce Salvador (4 yr, $11.6 million)
• Detroit Red Wings re-sign defenceman Andreas Lilja to a two-year contract.
• Paul Gaustad re-signed by Buffalo Sabres (4yr, $9.2 million).
• San Jose Sharks re-sign forward Jody Shelley to a two-year contract.
• Vaclav Prospal signs multi-year contract with Tampa Bay Lightning
• Tampa Bay Lightning sign forward Gary Roberts to a one-year contract.

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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. 

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 HC Davos, Adler Mannheim of Germany, HC Moeller Pardubice (Czech Republic) and Salavat Yulaev Ufa (Russia).

Is anyone following this tournament?  I’ve been so wrapped up in holiday shopping that I nearly forgot but since Canada’s first game is on December 26th (against HC Moeller Pardubice), maybe I’ll curl up on the couch with some egg nog and leftovers to watch it.  After I do my online Boxing Day shopping first, of course

source

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 given the losses of Drury and Briere, the Sabres will likely remain within the top tier as they have a top-flight goaltender, Ryan Miller, and a solid group of young players such as Vanek, Roy, Maxim Afinogenov and Brian Campbell.

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 Philadelphia on July 1. “After that, you see a little decline. Things slow down a little. Some GMs may wait a little on some needs, see if the price comes down. On the flip side as a player, you have to be patient.

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 four or five-year deal worth $10-million to $13-million a year with the last two or three years of the contract a bonus if he’s still able to perform at a high level.

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 into salary arbitration after a sold year in 2006/2007.

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 for the next five years.

3. The contract gives the Penguins franchise some much-needed security. Given the ownership troubles in recent years, Pittsburgh needed a high profile way to show their fans the team is serious about competing and that the on-ice product will likely remain first-rate.

4. While $9-million a year is a huge amount of money, it’s a relative bargain given players such as Chris Drury, Ryan Smith, Scott Gomez and Daniel Briere are now making $6-million to $7-million. While they are good players, Crosby is head and shoulders above them in talent.

5. Crosby deserves it. He’s the Bobby Orr/Wayne Gretzky/Mario Lemieux of his generation. He’s the NHL’s marquee star who can be used to sell the game and attract fans at a time when the talent pool has been diluted by expansion and it’s hard to tell the players without a program.