The deals are pretty frickin’ unbelievable.  Kane and Toews were given five-year deals worth US$31.5 million each while d-man, Keith, was handed a 13-year contract worth $72 million.  That’s even better than that crazy off-season 12-year, $62.8 million contract given to Marian Hossa.

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“We are a close group of guys and there’s no individual player who is bigger than the team,” Keith said. “I would certainly rather have these two guys up here at the same time, as well, and take a little of the spotlight off. I don’t mind that at all.”

I think Keith is great and I’m not surprised that they locked him up but those long contracts really make me nervous.  I think it’s too much pressure and security at the same time for a player and a lot of them end up choking.

When someone asked Kane about the deal he said: “You don’t think about that stuff when you are on the ice. You are trying to play for the love of the game and for your team. Obviously there is pressure, but with that comes responsibility. We know we have to pick it up.”

Well, these three are great players so I hope their play doesn’t change as a result.

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He’s been on the All-Star team twice, posted 88 points last season and, even though he’s just coming back from a broken foot, he’s already notched up four goals and six assists in 11 games.

More importantly, though, is the fact that he seems to genuinely love wearing a Bruins jersey and I truly believe that it makes all the difference.

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Ryan Hollweg has been added to the Coyotes’ lineup and I know that there are a lot of Toronto Maple Leafs fans who aren’t crying about him leaving.  After attending the club’s training camp tryouts, he was offered a one-year deal but I don’t know the financial details.

In 25 appearances with the Leafs last season, he collected a whopping two assists.  He was drafted in 2001 by the New York Rangers.

Clearly, Hollweg wasn’t signed to score so I hope he fits whatever void they think he’s going to fill…

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You might remember that Comrie was originally drafted by the Oilers in 1999 and he really had a golden career with the team from 2000-2003.  During the 2001-2002 season, he had a career-high of 60 points and then things went terribly wrong.

Comrie had been given a $10 million entry-level deal with the team (which included a signing bonus) and, for whatever reason, he held out in a contract dispute for 30 games during the 2003-2004 season and the fans really turned on him (with good reason, in my opinion).  I know he was doing well but he was still so new to the game that it was a bit surprising that he chose to go down this path. 

It looked like a solution had been found when the Anaheim Ducks were willing to acquire Comrie in exchange for Corey Perry and a first round draft pick but Comrie didn’t want to reimburse $2.5 million in bonus money so the deal fell through and he ended up getting traded to Phoenix.

"I had to make a decision on some of the options I had,"Comrie said. "This was the one that felt right. I got chills walking back into this rink. It’s been a while since I had a feeling like that."

Hopefully, the Oilers fans will be able to move past the bad blood and give him a second chance.  He’s an Edmontonian and, even though I’m a Calgary Flames fan, I’m happy for the Oilers.  I think this, along with the other deals they’ve made this summer, is the start of a better season for them.  I’m looking forward to seeing Comrie in the all of the upcoming games in the Battle of Alberta!

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Basically, he played 74 minor league games last year (3 goals, 18 assists and 82 penalty minutes) between the St. Louis and Pittsburgh organizations but I’m not really overly optimistic about what he’s going to add to Boston’s lineup.

This has just fueled rumors about Phil Kessel’s potential future on the Boston roster.  Some think this is a sign that the team is getting ready to deal away a d-man to make room in the cap for Kessel while others point out the fact that the club is spending money on everyone BUT Kessel.  Ultimately, we’ll just have to wait and see.

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Luongo was offered a pretty sweet deal, though, but if you’re like me, you think these long-term contracts are a jinx.  The netminder has signed on for 12 more years with the club for a whopping $64 million.  This means that he will be with the team until the 2021-22 season.  I swear that doesn’t even sound right!

GM Mike Gillis said of the deal: "Roberto Luongo is the leader of our hockey team; he is in the prime of his playing career and has a tremendous desire to make the Canucks a championship team.  His leadership, competitiveness and character are what this team will represent for many years to come."

Luongo seems happy about the whole thing as well:  "This is a great day for me and my family.  I love playing in a passionate hockey city like Vancouver, and along with my teammates I am committed to doing everything I can to help make this a championship team."

The 30-year-old, three time All-Star will also play for Team Canada at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics (at least he’ll be familiar with the venue…).

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It’s a two way deal that will pay him $500,000 (USD) if he stays in the NHL.  Of course, the numbers go down if he ends up being sent to the minors.  No pressure!

The 22-year-old dressed for 53 games with the Habs last season and had 12 goals and nine assists.  He was drafted in the sixth round by the club in 2005.

I am glad they are keeping him.  I know he needs to become more consistent but I think he’s got a lot of potential.  I’m hoping he finds his magic this year for his sake, as well as that of his team…

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I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m starting to think that Hossa is a bad luck charm after each of the last teams he played on fell just short of winning the Stanley Cup – twice in two years!

Anyway, the NHL is saying that the deal could circumvent the collective bargain agreement and the club could be fined as much as $5 million and might lose draft picks.  Pretty serious…  Apparently, the Blackhawks and Hossa had an understanding that the player would retire before his contract is up so that it could lessen the cap hit on the team.  This was possible because Hossa was set to receive the largest sums during the early part of the deal ($7.9 million for each of the first seven seasons, $4 million for the eighth year and then $3.5 million for the remainder).

Yes, Hossa is great and I know he’s been an All-Star four times but I’m growing really tired of him.  Part of me would like to see him just sign with the KHL and get it over with.  That’s what all the greedy guys are doing these days…

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First the NHL informed the IIHF about their investigation into the issue and despite all of this, the KHL has officially registered Hudler’s contract which is worth $10 million for two years.  He had been offered a five year deal worth $3 million with the Wings.  I realize that’s it’s pretty much a no-brainer to want to go with the bigger offer but you can’t just pick up and leave a team that you have a contract with.

With an offer like that, the Wings can’t value him too highly anyway so I don’t understand why they don’t just let him go.  I wouldn’t want to keep a player who didn’t want to be on the team.  I do think they could have given him a bigger contract, though.  He had his best season last year (23 goals and 34 assists) and he was part of the team when the Wings won the Stanley Cup in 2008.  I’m not saying he’s necessarily worth the $5 million per season that the KHL is offering but I think $3 million for five years is a little low.

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I’m not surprised by the signing and I’m pretty happy about it.  The 23-year-old Winnipeg native had a decent season last year finishing with 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points in 71 games.

He also managed to score a goal in the Flames pathetic post-season attempt.  He played in five games.

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