The deadline for
Club-Elected Salary Arbitration notification is July 6, 2008 at 5 p.m.
ET. Hearings will be held in Toronto from
July 20 to August 4, 2008."
More significant is the fact that these players are now ineligible to receive offer sheets from rival teams.
The Columbus Blue Jackets wasted little time in replacing
winger Nikolai Zherdev, whom they deal t to the NY Rangers earlier today.
It was reported Wednesday evening the Jackets had signed
former Calgary Flames winger Kristian Huselius to a four-year contract worth
$4.75 million per season.
Jackets GM Scott Howson needed to bring in a more
experienced winger for his first line and Huselius certainly has that, posting
up 77 and 66 points respectively in the last two seasons.
While Huselius has scored more than the departed Zherdev
over the last two years he no less an enigma who seems to score more in the first
half of the season than in the second, disappears in the playoffs, doesn’t like
the rough going nor being leaned on by a demanding coach.
Huselius twice wilted under Mike Keenan’s iron hand in
Florida and Calgary and he won’t face any less pressure in the demanding Ken
Hitchcock.
Howson is also taking a heck of a risk committing $4.75
million per season to Huselius, considering he only made $1.4 million last
season, but in this summer’s wild spending on free agents that’s what it took
to get him to Columbus.
Columbus Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson continues to overhaul
his roster, today swapping two forwards for two defensemen.
Howson dealt Nikolai Zherdev and Dan Fritsche to the NY
Rangers for blueliners Christian Backman and Fedor Tyutin.
The deal ends the Blue Jackets long saga with the enigmatic
Zherdev, the fourth overall pick in the 2003 entry draft, as he was as
maddening with his inconsistency as he was dazzling with his skills.
This move certainly bolsters the depth of the Jackets
defense corps but still doesn’t address their need for a top-two blueliner.
Backman, whom the Rangers acquired from St. Louis at the trade deadline,
was disappointing in his short tenure in New York and the Blueshirts signing of
Wade Redden meant his days were numbered there. Tyutin had been re-signed to a
four-year contract extension by the Rangers last season and was thought to have
a career in New York.
The Rangers had been linked to Zherdev and Fritsche in trade
speculation mid-way through last season and at one point it was thought a deal
between the two sides was imminent before it apparently fell through.
Zherdev is a good offensive winger when he’s motivated to
play and Fritsche will provide depth to the Rangers checking lines.
With Zherdev now on the Rangers roster one wonders how long
winger Petr Prucha will remain a Blueshirt, as he was unable to land a
permanent spot on the Blueshirts top two lines this past season and was once named
as a potential return to the Jackets in those trade rumors last season.
The Atlanta Thrashers lost out in the bidding war for Brian
Campbell but managed to find a good puckmoving defenseman on the second day of
the NHL’s UFA market, signing Ron Hainsey to a five-year, $22.5 million
contract.
Hainsey will earn $4.5 million per season over the next five
years against the Thrashers cap, a considerable raise over the $900K he earned
last season with the Columbus Blue Jackets and about $1 million more than he
was anticipated to make in this year’s UFA market.
It was a move GM Don Waddell desperately needed to make
after having deal away promising Braydon Coburn in February 2007 for a fading
Alexei Zhitnik whom in turn Waddell recently bought out of the remainder of his
contrat.
The Thrashers have lacked a blueliner to anchor their
powerplay and jump-start their offensive game for some time and Hainsey should
be capable of filling that role and play big minutes on the Atlanta blueline.
He really thrived over the past two seasons in Columbus for
head coach Ken Hitchcock and the skills he learned there should make him a
worthwhile addition in Atlanta.
The Columbus Blue Jackets were looking to bolster their
defense this summer and feel they’ve addressed that need by signing Mike
Commodore to a five-year, $18.75 million contract.
That’s $3.75 million against the Blue Jackets cap hit, but
one wonders if the Jackets might’ve been better off re-signing Ron Hainsey to
that kind of money. Perhaps there were some issues there.
Commodore doesn’t have the same offensive skills as Hainsey
but is a better all-round blueliner, capable of playing a strong physical game
in his own zone and able to chip in offensively.
He had his best seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes,
including helping them win the 2006 Stanley Cup, but after being dealt to the
Ottawa Senators last February looked lost in too many games, although that
might’ve also had something to do with how the Sens were struggling down the
stretch last season.
Considering some of the signings made today Commodore’s
could turn out to be a good one if he regains his form in Columbus playing for
Ken Hitchcock.
The Edmonton Oilers have made their second trade this week.
Barely two days after trading Jarret Stoll and Matt Greene
to the LA Kings for defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky the Oilers today dealt forward
Raffi Torres to the Columbus Blue Jackets for forward Gilbert Brule.
It’s a move that’ll free up considerable cap space for the
Oilers. TSN reports Torres had two years and $5.15 million left on his current
contract while Brule has only one season at $765K left on his.
Oilers GM Kevin Lowe could be planning a major acquisition
either today or later in the week , as he’s hoping to land a top line forward,
leading to speculation Joni Pitkanen could be used as trade bait if Lowe fails
to land what he’s seeking in the UFA market.
This move could also benefit the Oilers down the road if
Brule should finally achieve the breakthrough season expected of him when the
Jackets selected him 6th overall in the 2005 entry draft.
Torres seemed poised for a breakthrough in 2005-06, scoring
27 goals and 46 points and 11 points in
22 playoff games for the Oilers during their magical run to the 2006 Stanley
Cup Finals, but his production declined the following season and last year
injury limited him to only 11 points in 32 games.
Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson was assistant GM with the
Oilers in 2006 and knows what potential the 26-year-old Torres could still have.
The Jackets desperately need experienced depth at forward and Torres could be a
strong addition to their third line.
Torres will be expected by demanding Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock to bring a more consistently serious effort to his game so it'll be interesting to see how he responds.
The Columbus Blue Jackets made no secret heading into the
2008 NHL Entry Draft they were in the market for depth at center and were
willing to peddle one of their two first round picks to land a scoring center.
During the first round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft they
managed to land one, shipping the 19th overall pick and the 67th
overall pick to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for center R.J. Umberger
and the 119th pick overall.
The Flyers would’ve preferred to re-sign Umberger, who in
his third NHL season had a breakout performance with 50 points in the regular
season and 10 goals in 17 playoff games, but with the club either re-signing,
or on the verge of re-signing, center Jeff Carter to a multi-year deal and
needing to bolster their blueline they had no choice but to cut him loose.
Umberger should be a strong acquisition for the Blue
Jackets, who desperately needed a scoring center for Rick Nash’s line. It's possible the Jackets could try to bring in a better center than the
26-year-old Umberger but if so he could at the very least provide depth to their second
line scoring.
He’s also a restricted free agent but given the Blue Jackets
$20 million in cap space it shouldn’t take too long to get him under contract.
With the Jackets also selecting Russian winger Nikita
Filatov sixth overall in the draft the Blue Jackets have made significant strides
in bolstering their scoring depth both now and in the future.
The respective management of the Columbus Blue Jackets and Anaheim Ducks have begun re-signing their free agent players.
On Tuesday the Blue Jackets announced the re-signing of defenseman Jan Hejda to a three year, $6 million contract, while the Ducks re-signed forward Ryan Carter to a three-year contract.
Hejda’s new contract breaks down as $2 million per season against the Jackets salary cap, while financial terms for Carter’s new deal have yet to be disclosed.
The 29-year-old Hejda was coming off his second NHL season and his first with Columbus but under the terms of the NHL’s CBA he was eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer.
Given his statistics from last season, however, it’s not surprising that Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson was loath to lose him to the UFA market. In 81 games this season Hejda registered 13 points and an impressive plus-minus rating of +20, best on the Jackets and tied for tenth amongst NHL defensemen.
Hejda was a true workhorse on the Blue Jackets defense, regularly logging over 22 minutes of ice time per game. Had he hit this summer’s unrestricted free agent market he would’ve attracted considerable interest from clubs seeking defensive depth, so it’s a good move by Howson to retain Hejda and at a reasonable price.
Carter, 24, saw limited action with the Ducks this season as he bounced between the big club and their farm team in Portland earlier in the season. Recalled in mid-December he stuck with the Ducks until sidelined in late-February with a broken wrist, although he returned in time to play in all six of their playoff games this spring.
He was only under contract for $560K this season so it’s unlikely he got much more than that, however, Carter is to be commended for his hard work in making and sticking with the defending Stanley Cup champions this season.
The Hockey News’ 2007-08 Yearbook ranked him tenth among their top ten prospects, noting he “combines skill with a physical presence”, which were notable in his limited action this season with the Ducks. He’s also a versatile forward, capable of playing both center and left wing.
Last summer’s exodus of fading NHL players heading to Europe to continue their playing careers didn’t really start until July, but this year four players aren’t wasting any time signing with or planning to sign with European clubs for next season.
The most notable is long-time Columbus Blue Jackets forward David Vyborny, who reportedly has signed a three-year contract starting next season with HC Sparta Prague of the Czech Extraliga, and will apparently also have a management role with the club.
Vyborny, an unrestricted free agent, is the Blue Jackets franchise leader in games played, assists and points, and until this season was considered among their top forwards, coming off back-to-back 60+ point seasons, but managed on 26 points in 66 games in 2007-08, and wasn’t expected to be re-signed.
He was the last of the original Blue Jackets, and his departure along with the recent death of team owner John H. McConnell truly marks the end of an era of growing pains for this young franchise.
Another Blue Jacket – by way of the Edmonton Oilers – believed heading back to Europe next season is defenseman #### Tarnstrom, who reportedly will play next season for his hometown team AIK Stockholm, which has been trying to advance into the Swedish Elite League.
Tarnstrom’s NHL career began with the NY Islanders in 2001-02, but it was his two seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2002 to 2004 where he had his biggest NHL success, with seasons of 41 and 52 points respectively.
Acquired from the Penguins by the Edmonton Oilers mid-way through the 2005-06 season, Tarnstrom would play a key role as a depth defenseman for the Oilers during their run to the Stanley Cup finals in 2006.
He went unsigned as a UFA in the summer of 2006 and played the 2006-07 season in the Swiss Elite League and returned with the Oilers this past season but was unable to recapture his once-notable offensive form and finished the season with Columbus. It’s unlikely he’ll be returning to the NHL again.
Tarnstrom isn’t the only defenseman heading back to Europe, as New Jersey Devils d-man Karel Rachunek will reportedly play for Moscow Dynamo next season.
Rachunek was signed as a UFA last summer by the Devils but saw limited action in only 44 games this season, due in part to injuries, the improvement of younger Devils blueliners, and as recently suggested in the New York media, his apparent contract talks with Moscow Dynamo during the course of this season.
He denied the latter although he admitted he and his agent had had dinner with representatives of Dynamo but regardless it’s likely the reason he saw so little ice time with the Devils was that he was unable to meet the demanding standards of head coach Brent Sutter.
Rachunek was a low draft pick of the Ottawa Senators in 1997 (229th overall) who exceeded expectations to play most of four seasons with the Sens until he was deal to the Rangers in 2003-04. Unhappy over being dealt he remained in the Russian Super League for another season following the lockout before returning with the Rangers last season prior to signing with the Devils.
Like Tarnstrom, Rachunek probably won’t be returning to an NHL career.
Another blueliner expected to head back overseas is Minnesota Wild defenseman Petteri Nummelin, who reportedly is expected to sign with Lugano of the Swiss Elite League, where he spent five seasons prior to joining the Wild this season.
Nummelin’s NHL career was a short one. Prior to his limited 51-game season with the Wild he’d played 61 games with the Blue Jackets back in 2000-01.
He’s spent 8 years of his pro career in the Swiss Elite League and that’s likely where he’ll finish his playing days.
- The Detroit Red Wings are bringing back one of their own.
Reports out of Detroit indicate the club on Friday called up former Wing Darren McCarty from their AHL farm team in Grand Rapids. It’s uncertain when he’ll debut in the lineup but it could be as early as Sunday against the Nashville Predators.
It’s been a long road back to the NHL for McCarty. After spending 11 seasons with the Red Wings, helping them win three Stanley Cups (including a memorable goal against the Philadelphia Flyers in Game Four of the 1997Cup Finals) and becoming one of the team’s most popular players, he went unsigned by the Wings following the 2004-05 lockout.
Signed by the Calgary Flames to a two-year contract, McCarty was but a shadow of his once physically dominant self, as off-ice personal problems (bankruptcy, divorce, alcohol and substance abuse) conspired to hamper his effectiveness and conditioning.
Fortunately, with the help of his ex-wife and friends, including former Wings teammate Kris Draper, McCarty has overcome his problems and worked hard to get himself back into game shape, first with Draper’s IHL team the Flint Generals, then on a tryout contract with the Grand Rapids Griffins.
His performance and work ethic so impressed Wings management that they recently signed McCarty to a pro-rated one-year NHL contract.
If he returns on Sunday, he can likely expect a standing ovation from Red Wings fans. Here’s hoping he makes the most of this opportunity as it could lead to perhaps another contract with the Wings next season.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets announced the re-signing of forward Andrew Murray to a three-year, $1.8 million contract extension.
Murray’s situation is also a “feel-good” story, having spent the last two seasons with the Blue Jackets farm team. He was called up back in December and has become a valuable checking forward for the club.
"I never dreamed I'd be getting an extension," he told the Columbus Dispatch.
With the NHL trade deadline now past the next notable round of player movement won’t occur until June, 2008, and most of it will be free agents signing with new teams.
While the focus as always will be on unrestricted free agents, this summer the threat of offer sheets is now a very real one, thus hockey fans will be nervously watching the contract talks of their favorite restricted free agent players as July 1st approaches.
Many teams haven’t wasted time this season, locking up their best RFA players to lengthy, long-term contracts now rather than risk another club either setting the price or plucking them away.
As a result, the list of the top RFA players has shrunk considerably since the start of the season, but there still remains some quality talent who, if unsigned by July 1st, could be tempting targets for offer sheets. It’ll be interesting to see how many of the following are re-upped by the end of June:
Anaheim: Corey Perry.
Columbus: Pascal LeClaire.
Detroit: Valtteri Filppula
Edmonton: Tom Gilbert and Joni Pitkanen.
Florida: Jay Bouwmeester.
Minnesota: Pierre-Marc Bouchard.
Montreal: Andrei Kostitsyn.
Nashville: Martin Erat, Shea Weber and Ryan Suter.
The Blue Jackets shipped out another potential UFA veteran, trading forward Sergei Fedorov to the Washington Capitals in exchange for prospect Ted Ruth.
Federov’s stock – particularly his offensive production - has been in significant decline since he signed with Anaheim as a UFA back in 2003, something a trade to Columbus in 2005 was unable to fix.
Still, Fedorov proved himself valuable in a defensive role over the last two years with the Blue Jackets, able to play every forward position as well as defense when called upon.
His versatility could make him useful in a defensive role for the Capitals and some might expect him to center fellow Russian Alexander Ovechkin's line, but it’s expected he’ll be plugged into Washington’s second line.
Fedorov might also be able to fill a leadership role for the relatively young Capitals as they battle down the stretch for a playoff berth.
If there’s a theme for the Colorado Avalanche at this year’s deadline, it’s "Blasts From The Past".
Having brought back Peter Forsberg, the Avs today re-acquired defenseman Adam Foote from the Columbus Blue Jackets for a conditional first round pick in either 2008 or 2009, depending on if the Avs make the playoffs this season. If they make it, it's this year's pick, if not, next year's. Also, the Jackets get another pick if Foote re-signs with Colorado.
The Blue Jackets had hoped to re-sign Foote, who’s an unrestricted free agent this summer, and Foote was keen to re-sign, but it’s believed the two side couldn’t overcome a $1 million gap in the per season salary on a two-year contract.
This move could signal the Jackets are in "sell" mode, as they’re also believed shopping Sergei Fedorov and Michael Peca. Expect them to turn their focus on re-signing defenseman Ron Hainsey to keep him off this summer’s UFA market.
Foote is no longer the dominant physical force he once was during his first go-around with the Avalanche during their glory years of the late 1990s and earlier in this decade, but his experience, skills and leadership should make him a good addition on a Avs teams battling for one of the last playoff berths in the West.
The Columbus Blue Jackets today announced the re-signing of winger Jason Chimera to a four-year contract extension worth $7.5 million.
Chimera began his NHL career with the Edmonton Oilers, where his speed and aggressive forechecking and penalty killing quickly garnered him notice.
In June 2004 he was dealt to the Phoenix Coyotes but wouldn't play a regular season game for the Coyotes, being dealt following the lockout in October 2004 to the Blue Jackets in a five-player deal, the type of trade almost never seen nowadays under the salary cap.
His speed and checking skills have made him a vital part of the Blue Jackets, particularly this season as the team attempts to battle its way into its first playoff berth in franchise history.
It was rumored earlier in the season that other teams might have interest in acquiring Chimera by the trade deadline but this signing indicates Blue Jackets management have no intention of parting with him anytime soon.
Defenseman #### Tarnstrom has been a fixture in the NHL rumor mill for several weeks this season, and on Friday he was finally dealt, although not to a team he’d been linked to in rumors.
Tarnstrom was shipped to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for winger Curtis Glencross in a move that has to be a bit of a surprise. The Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes have been seeking an experienced puck-moving blueliner for some time and were believed to have had some interest in him.
Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson is well aware of Tarnstom’s abilities, as he was assistant general manager with the Edmonton Oilers when Tarnstrom was part of the 2005-06 Oilers club that came to within one game of winning the Stanley Cup that season.
Tarnstrom’s best seasons however were his two with the Pittsburgh Penguins prior to the lockout, where he posted 41 and 52 points respectively. This season his totals were 5 points in 29 games with a plus-minus of –6, and he was often a healthy scratch.
His veteran experience however could provide invaluable depth to a Blue Jackets team that is battling to make the playoffs for the first time in team history.
Glencross is a physical checking forward who seemed to have found his niche this season with the Blue Jackets, notching 12 points in 36 games with a +3 rating. He could prove a good depth acquisition for the Oilers checking lines.
He’s also a restricted free agent after this season but having earned $522K this season with the Jackets should be an affordable re-signing if he adjusts well with the Oilers.
Oh, and here's a tip, folks, so that Tarnstrom actual name isn't bleeped out, adjust your settings...unless you get a kick out of seeing him referred to here as "BLEEP Tarnstrom".
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.
