- The Chicago Blackhawks today announced the re-signing of defenseman Brent Sopel to a three-year contract extension. Financial terms weren’t disclosed but when they are I’ll post them here.
Sopel was earning $1.5 million for this season having signed a one-year deal with the Blackhawks as an unrestricted free agent last October.
He’s been sidelined since December 30th with a broken finger but is expected back soon. In 33 games Sopel had 10 points and was +10, earning praise from Blackhawks coaching and management staff for his steady defensive play and experience.
Those traits have made him valuable to a Blackhawks teams whose best blueliners have been young and promising (Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, Dustin Byfuglien) but still developing their respective games.
Considering that last summer Sopel struggled to attract interest in his services as a UFA and even considered playing in Europe this season it shows just how important he’s been to the ‘Hawks this season.
- In other news, the Blackhawks also traded veteran defenseman Magnus Johansson to the Florida Panthers for a late round pick in 2009.
Johansson, 34, played his entire career in Europe up until this season when he was signed by the Blackhawks. In 18 games with Chicago he had 4 points and a plus-minus of –5.
- The Vancouver Canucks plucked centre Kris Beech off waivers from the Columbus Blue Jackets. Beech was once a highly touted draft pick (selected 7th overall in the 1999 entry draft) of the Washington Capitals who has never played up to lofty expectations.
The most notable thing about his career thus far is he was part of the package the Pittsburgh Penguins received from the Capitals in 2001 in exchange for Jaromir Jagr.
He’s bounced around the NHL, from Washington to Pittsburgh to Nashville, back to Washington and then signing with Columbus as an unrestricted free agent last summer. His best NHL season was 2006-07 with the Capitals, with 26 points in 68 games.
In 16 games this season with the Blue Jackets Beech had 9 points and a +3 rating.
It's somewhat unconfirmed at the moment but you can scratch Ovechkin off the RFA list. From onfrozenblog.com:
Earlier today, Alexander Ovechkin, accompanied by family and an attorney, walked into the Washington Capitals’ team offices in Arlington, Va., reviewed with counsel terms for a new contract with the club, and agreed to a six-year pact that will pay him $54 million.
I'm also looking around from other sources (other than RDS.com) to confirm this.
Something tells me Beech isn't the secondary scoring the Canucks were looking for.
It looks like Chicago's shaping up into a fine hockey club again. I'd love to see them back in the playoffs.
Spector, what's your take on Leipold buying into the Minnesota Wild now that he's washed his hands of the Predators? From a business standpoint, he'll probably recover some of the millions he lost on the Predators.
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.
