The Buffalo Sabres announced the signing of goaltender Jocelyn Thibault to a one-year contract.
A former starter, Thibault spent the last two seasons backing up Marc-Andre Fleury in Pittsburgh, and last season proved himself quite capable spelling off Fleury when the young netminder would occasionally falter.
Sabres GM Darcy Regier obviously wasn't comfortable with Ty Conklin backing up Ryan Miller for another season. The last thing the Sabres need is for the wiry Miller to be overworked before the playoffs. Bringing in Thibault gives them a quality backup with plenty of experience who can spell off miller for 25-30 games next season.
The New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers have pillaged each other’s roster via unrestricted free agency this summer.
Having signed former Rangers defenseman Karel Rachunek earlier this week the Devils on Thursday signed former Ranger backup goalie Kevin Weekes to a two-year, $1.375 million contract.
It’s obvious Devils GM Lou Lamoriello is concerned that too much playing time may be wearing down franchise player Martin Brodeur, who played in 78 games last season which may have contributed to his uneven performance in this year’s playoffs.
Brodeur will probably still see considerable playing time but Weekes, an experienced, reliable backup, should allow Brodeur the opportunity for more rest during the season, perhaps cutting him back from 70-plus games to a more reasonable 60-65.
The Calgary Flames signed veteran blueliner Anders Eriksson to a two-year contract. This’ll be the sixth NHL team for the much-traveled Eriksson and could be considered a replacement for Andrei Zyuzin, whom the Flames dealt to Chicago last month for Adrian Aucoin.
The Columbus Blue Jackets signed former Edmonton Oilers blueliner Jan Hejda to a two-year contract.
Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson obviously like what he saw of Hejda last season when Howson was assistant GM of the Oilers.
The Anaheim Ducks signed UFA defenseman Shane Hnidy to a two-year contract.
Weekes wasn't really in the Rangers plans after being hurt and playing inconsistently throughout is time there. With their abundance of young goalies, does anyone see them making a move, packaging one of those goalies for a more physical defensemen or prospects at wing for when Straka, Jagr and Shanahan are no longer with the team?
Kevin Weekes is a good pick at $687,500 per season (2-years). He is a proven backup goalie and can also win in the playoffs. There was some talk that the Devils tried to get Curtis Joseph but he may have turn out to be too expensive for Lou.
Next on Lou's agenda is to re-sign RFA's Zach Parise and Paul Martin to long term contracts. Sheldon Souray is also being looked at for offensive help on the blue line.
I wouldn't mind if the Rangers brought back Jussi Markennan from Edmonton - he was a back up with the Rangers a couple of years ago and might provide a little more stability than would a Valliquette.
Also, on another chat board I saw that there was some speculation due to the size of the contract Petr Prucha signed - that the Rangers might be planning to move the winger for a top 4 defender and just wanted the salaries to match up. This particular rumor listed Brett Seabrook as the target - I remember this being a hot rumor towards the trade deadline.
Seabrook seems to be involved in every trade ever made if you believe what you read. I realize that things are bad in the Windy City, but I think trading him is even too asinine for that ownership group. And that's saying something. Doesn't it seem like someone is always theoretically supposed to take some more of the playing time from the overworked Brodeur? And yet he's in the running for the Vezina every year. If he keeps the Devils in the mix this season, they ought to just give it to him without a whole process. He's going to need all the help he can get, and I don't mean Souray.
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
