Sorry for the absence, folks, I took a day off on Friday and my wife and I are spending some time with my son before he heads out for basic training with the Naval Reserve on Sunday.

Lots of activity leading up to July 1st as teams scramble to lock up their RFA players and cut loose some cap space via waivers and buyouts. Here’s the most significant as of today (June 28):

The Tampa Bay Lightning acquired the rights of forwards Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a fourth round pick in 2009. Should the Bolts re-sign Malone prior to July 1st the pick is upgraded to a third rounder.  

It’s a bold move by the new Lightning ownership to gain an inside track on signing one or both, but if it doesn’t work out all it costs them is a mid-round pick next season, one that could be easily replaced by trade between now and next year’s draft if required.

If it does pan out and they manage to sign one or both it’s a small price to pay.

The Philadelphia Flyers as expected re-signed forward Jeff Carter to a three-year, $15 million contract extension, and no, this isn’t a “sign and trade” on their part.

This signing pushes the Flyers payroll to over $51 million next season so if they’re still looking at landing a quality puckmoving blueliner via free agency they’ll still have to find a way to free up more cap space.

The Anaheim Ducks bought out the remaining season of Todd Bertuzzi’s contract in a move designed to free up cap space to re-sign key free agents like Corey Perry but they might still need to move another player, possibly Mathieu Schneider, now that Scott Niedermayer has decided to return with the Ducks to play out the final season of his contract.

As expected the Calgary Flames announced the re-signing of impending UFA center Daymond Langkow to a four-year, $20 million contract, but also re-upped Craig Conroy to a two-year, $2.1 million contract and retained forward Eric Nystrom and goaltender Curtis McElhinney to one-way contracts, suggesting the latter two have locked up roster spots for next season.

A solid playoff performance by Loui Eriksson likely cemented a new two-year contract extension worth $3.2 million ($1.5 million for next season and $1.7 million for 2009-10), who also had 31 points in 69 NHL  games last season.

A Campbell was re-signed but it wasn’t the Sharks’ Brian, but rather Gregory Campbell of the Florida Panthers to a two-year contract believed worth more than the $525K per season he earned in his previous contract.

The Panthers also bought out the final season of forward Jozef Stumpel’s contract while the NY Islanders have bought out the remaining season of Shawn Bates’ contract and the Columbus Blue Jackets did the same with Duvie Westcott.

Nothing like a $6 million jump in the salary cap to spur some teams into using the buyout option. Last season only one player of note, the Islanders Alexei Yashin, was bought out; this season, nearly a dozen, although two, David Tanabe and Dan Cloutier, intend to fight the buyout by insisting they’re not medically cleared yet to play next season.  

Craig Conroy is returning to the team where he had his best NHL seasons.

The Los Angeles Kings today dealt Conroy back to the Calgary Flames in exchange for forward Jamie Lundmark, a fourth round pick in the 2007 draft and a second round pick in 2008.

Conroy, long the subject of trade speculation this season, signed with the Kings as an unrestricted free agent in July 2004, scant weeks after helping the Flames to within one game of winning the 2004 Stanley Cup.

His first season with the Kings went well, potting 22 goals and 66 points with a +13 rating in 78 games, although his play couldn’t elevate the club into the post-season.

This season, however, has been a different story, as Conroy has struggled to a 5 goal, 16 point and –13 rating in 52 games.

The Flames are obviously counting on Conroy to regain his form, gambling that his problems in LA may have been playing for new Kings head coach Marc Crawford.

Calgary presently sits second in the Northwest Division and seventh overall in the Conference. The club has won 6 of its last ten game, despite the absence of leading scorer Jarome Iginla to injury over that time.

However, the Flames have the worst road record of all NHL teams, and there’s been concern over their scoring depth. Whether Conroy can help improve both categories for the Flames remains to be seen. Conroy had great chemistry with Iginla during his previous tenure with the Flames, but it’s doubtful that he’ll supplant Daymond Langkow from the first line.

This move might also signal that Kings GM Dean Lombardi intends to get started on rebuilding for next season, dumping the remainder of Conroy’s contract, which has another season at $2.394 million left on it.

Lundmark was once a highly touted prospect of the NY Rangers in the late 1990s but he’s since settled into the role of checking forward. With less than $300K remaining on his $600K contract for this season, he’s an affordable depth acquisition who shouldn’t cost the Kings much to re-sign as a restricted free agent this summer.

The key here for the Kings are the draft picks, which Lombardi can either use himself to restock his prospect depth or perhaps peddle as part of another deal.

It now remains to be seen which other veteran Kings could find themselves on the move in the coming weeks. Conroy’s trade could be the start of a veteran fire sale by Lombardi.