In recent days we’ve seen several trades (see my most recent posts since August 29th) and now we’re starting to see some movement in the free agent market.

The big news today comes out of Los Angeles, where the Kings announced the signing of forward Jarret Stoll to a four-year, $14 million contract.

Stoll was acquired by the Kings from the Edmonton Oilers earlier this summer in exchange for defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky.

His new contract breaks down as $3.5 million per season against the Kings salary cap, a significant raise over the $2.2 million per season he earned over the last two years with the Oilers.

Stoll got that contract thanks to a 22-goal, 68-point performance in 2005-06, but a concussion the following season and the lingering after-effects hampered his performance since then, with 39 points (in 51 games) in 2006-07 and 36 points in 81 games last year.

The Kings may be taking a chance on Stoll regaining that 68-point form as it appears he hasn’t been the same since the concussion, but if he can round back into form he’ll be worth that kind of coin.

At least cap-wise the Kings are now a little closer (now less than $10 million closer) to the NHL’s minimum cap of $40.7 million.

In Detroit meanwhile comes a signing that surprises no one, that of Chris Chelios returning for another season at a very affordable $850K.

The ageless Chelios is obviously not the great defenseman he once was but is still capable of playing 14-16 solid minutes per game and has proven to be a valuable member of Detroit’s defense corps.

However, that move will likely come at the expense of another Red Wings d-man, as GM Ken Holland recently suggested he’ll likely need to pare down between $100K-$300K from his payroll and could look at shipping out a defenseman to do it.

It certainly won’t be the 46-year-old Chelios.

And finally, after some speculation that Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray was perhaps interested in bringing in a veteran free agent winger, comes the announcement the Sens have signed Brad Isbister to a one-year, two-way contract.

For those Senators fans hoping that Murray was looking at Brendan Shanahan, Glen Murray or Mark Parrish, please try to contain your disappointment.

Fact is, Murray doesn’t have a lot of cap space to play with, and with this signing combined with his recent acquisition of winger Ryan Shannon from Vancouver, it’s clear at this point he’s going for affordable depth rather than squandering precious cap signing an aging veteran to a one-way contract.  

The Edmonton Oilers have signed goaltender Mathieu Garon to a two-year contract. He'll replaced the recently departed Jussi Markkanen as Dwayne Roloson's backup.

Garon was once considered starting-goalie material but his stock declined during his two-year, injury-filled tenure with the LA Kings. Now he'll be relegated to riding the pine with the Oilers.

The Columbus Blue Jackets signed forward Jiri Novotny to a two-year contract.

Novotny was believed a blue-chip foward with the Buffalo Sabres heading into last season but failed to crack the roster and wound up dealt to the Washington Capitals. He should have ample opportunity to rejevunate his stalled career with the Jackets.

The Minnesota Wild signed center Eric Belanger to a three-year, $5.2 million contract.

He'll replace Todd White, who signed with Atlanta as a free agent, coincidentally the same team that Belanger played with last season. Belanger's been a reliable checking forward, albeit a much-travelled one over the past season, bouncing from LA to Carolina to Atlanta before landing with the Wild.

The Vancouver Canucks signed forwards Brad Isbister and Byron Ritchie.

Both are depth signings for the cap-strapped Canucks, although Isbister could possibly be seen as a reclamation project. Once touted as a promising power forward, Isbister has bounced around several NHL teams but never sticking for long. At this point in his career, however, he's considered fourth-line material.

Dany Sabourin won't have to worry about battling Nolan Schaefer for the backup goaltender spot with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Minnesota Wild signed Schaefer today to a multi-year contract.

Schaefer was buried in the San Jose Sharks system prior to his trade to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and isn't likely to see much playing time with the Wild this season, as their tandem will be Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding.

Sabourin's former club, the Vancouver Canucks, quickly found a replacement to back up Roberto Luongo by signing former St. Louis Blues netminder Curtis Sanford to a one-year, $600 K contract.

Wow, $600K to open and close the door for his teammates for more than 70 games next season. Sorry, I know that's catty. Sanford's a good guy but isn't likely to see much playing time next season with the Canucks. Luongo will play 65-70 games next season for sure.

The Tampa Bay Lightning's bargain shopping in the UFA market continued with their signing of defenseman Brad Lukowich to a three-year contract.

Lukowich was part of the Lightning's 2004 Stanley Cup championship team. He's a defensive blueliner who at 31 still has some good hockey left to give, and shouldn't find it difficult to re-acquaint himself with his former team.  

The Anaheim Ducks re-signed Brad May to a two-year contract.