The Los Angeles Kings last night dealt defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for center Jarret Stoll and defenseman Matt Greene.

As per the LA Times this move clears over $10 million in cap space for the Kings although it’s uncertain if they’ll be making any significant moves in the UFA market. It’s been rumored they might re-sign Brad Stuart, whom they deal to the Detroit Red Wings at the February trade deadline.

For the Oilers it’s a more intriguing move, setting up the possibility that Joni Pitkanen may have played his final season in Edmonton and could either be dealt or signed away via offer sheet. Visnovsky is a puck-moving defenseman but the Oilers were also believed in the market for a scoring forward, which Pitkanen might land them in a deal.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have gotten a jump on the UFA market in a big way over the weekend, acquiring the rights of forwards Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts from the Pittsburgh Penguins and forward Brian Rolston from the Minnesota Wild.

Malone re-signed a seven year, $31.5 million contract with the Lightning on Sunday, which breaks down as $4.5 million per season against their cap but is front-loaded to pay him between $7-$8 million per season in the first two seasons, while Roberts is believed close to signing  has signed a one-year, incentive-laden contract with the Bolts paying him a base of $1.25 million that could rise to $2.07 million if he achieves his bonuses.

It remains to be seen if they’ll get Rolston signed as it could cost them around $5 million per season but evidently the Lightning’s new ownership aren’t concerned about it otherwise they wouldn’t have wasted their time.

If the Bolts should get all three under contract it’ll have only cost them a third round pick in 2009 to the Penguins and a conditional pick in 2009 or 2010 to the Wild.

While these moves should excite the Lightning fanbase it is troubling to see them loading up at forward whilst doing nothing so far to address their weaknesses in goal and on the blueline.

This summer’s UFA market is now short two defensemen as the Colorado Avalanche announced Sunday the re-signing of Adam Foote and John-Michael Liles.

Foote’s contract is for two-years, $6 million, which will count as $3 million per season against the Avalanche’s cap, while Liles’ new deal is reportedly four years at over $4 million per season.

It wasn’t unexpected to hear of Foote’s re-signing but Liles was long rumored to be on his way out of Colorado, and he might’ve received over $5 million on the UFA market. His agent however last week expressed a hope that his client would be retained. Retaining both should provide stability to the Avs defense corps.

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.  

The Pittsburgh Penguins locked up two key veteran players on Friday, re-signing forwards Gary Roberts and Mark Recchi to one-year contracts.

Roberts is believed worth $2.5 million while Recchi’s is said to be incentive-laden upwards to $2 million.

There seemed little doubt that Recchi would remain with the Penguins, since he makes his home in the Pittsburgh area and at this stage of his career likely has little desire to play elsewhere.

Roberts however was a bit of a wild card as it was speculated both the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs (Roberts former team) might try to sign him if he hit the open market.

The incentive for both to remain in the Penguins is the obvious improvement the young team made last season, led by the talented kiddie corps of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Marc-Andre Fleury.

This Penguins team is stocked with so much talented youth that it’s been favorably compared to the Edmonton Oilers of the early-1980s, so it’s not surprising Roberts and Recchi wish to stick around another season.

Roberts and Recchi may be long in the tooth, their best years long behind them, but  they've got enough left in the tank for one more good season. Their experience and leadership will be invaluable in the development of the Penguins into a Cup contender.

After nearly a day of anticipation, it’s now official: the Florida Panthers have dealt forward Gary Roberts to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for young defenseman Noah Welch.

The deal was in place Monday morning but was contingent on Roberts waiving his no-trade clause, which didn’t occur until late Monday night.

This deal is a surprise, as many believed Roberts would only agree to move to either the Ottawa Senators or Toronto Maple Leafs. Indeed, last night there was talk of the Leafs offering a second and fourth round picks plus a prospect for Roberts but evidently that wasn’t enough to change things.

What also makes this surprising is that it doesn’t address the Penguins need for defensive depth and perhaps an enforcer to ride shotgun on Sidney Crosby’s line.

Roberts is an experienced veteran with years of post-season experience, who always brings his “A” game come playoff time, and that should prove invaluable for a rising young Penguins team.

 Still, with Mark Recchi already on the roster, one would think the Pens have enough experienced leadership, and Roberts won’t improve their overall defensive game.  

Welch is a promising return for the Panthers. A former NCAA all-star, he’s projected to become a top-four defenseman. He saw action in 22 NHL games this season and could see more next season with the Panthers.

TSN reported earlier today that the Florida Panthers have a deal in place to move Gary Roberts, but it would depend on his waiving his no-trade clause.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette subsequently confirmed the offer came from the Penguins. This is an unexpected turn of events, as it's been widely believed the Pens were seeking defensive depth and perhaps an enforcer to ride shotgun on Sidney Crosby's line.

A report out of Phoenix last Friday had the Pens talking with the Coyotes about Georges Laraque but it appears now that those talks have cooled.

Roberts was informed of the Penguins offer this morning and given time to think about it, since it was well known he'd only consider waiving the NTC to go to Toronto or Ottawa.

It's now been several hours with no word yet from Roberts or the Panthers, which has me wondering if perhaps the Senators, who are believed very interested in him, are trying to put together a counter-offer to match or beat the Pens offer.

**UPDATE**. TSN's Bob McKenzie reported Monday night that Roberts had agreed to waive the clause, setting up a trade to the Penguins for prospect Noah Welch, which is expected to be officially announced on deadline day.

There is some speculation, however, that Roberts' destination may have changed. A late report on TSN during Monday night's Montreal Canadiens-Toronto Maple Leafs game claimed the Leafs had offered a second and fourth rounder along with a prospect for Roberts.  

Stay tuned, folks, hopefully we'll find out later today how this plays out.