- After the frenzy of player trades during the opening round of the NHL 2008 Entry Draft only one of significance took place in the subsequent rounds, as the Colorado Avalanche dealt forward Brad Richardson to the Los Angeles Kings for the 61st overall pick in the draft.

Richardson, a 23-year-old checking forward, spent the past three seasons bouncing between the Avalanche and the AHL. He has 40 points in 136 NHL games.

- Speaking of the Kings, they might not be able to buy out goaltender Dan Cloutier if it is determined he’s not medically fit to play. Cloutier has been plagued by injuries in recent years and if he fails to pass a medical screening the Kings won’t be allowed to buy him out. They could however place him on long-term injury status next season if he’s still not fit to play.

- Kings defenseman Jon Klemm’s 15-year NHL career has apparently come to an end, as the 38-year-old has signed a one-year contract to play in Germany’s DEL league next season.

Klemm played for four NHL teams, most of those with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche as a “stay-at-home” blueliner, and was an integral part of the Avs two Stanley Cup championship teams.

-The Carolina Hurricanes have placed forward Jeff Hamilton and defenseman David Tanabe on waivers, and the Washington Capitals have done the same with defenseman Ben Clymer.

If these three should clear waivers by noon on June 24th they’ll be bought out of the final year of their respective contracts. Clymer and Hamilton each have one year and $1.1 million remaining on their respective deals, while Tanabe has $900K remaining on the final year of his contract.

Their buyouts will count as two thirds the remaining value spread over twice the remaining tenure of their contracts against the salary caps of the Hurricanes and Capitals.

With most NHL teams making their final training camp cuts in preparation for the full start of the 2007-08 season, here’s the latest free agent news. I’ll be updating this as further cuts and signings occur during the first week of October 2007.

- Defenseman Brent Sopel staged a bit of a surprise late last week, leaving the Detroit Red Wings training camp to sign a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks.

The Wings invited Sopel to training camp for a tryout where he found himself battling for a job. While the Wings coaching staff liked his offensive game they apparently weren’t impressed with his defensive play in pre-season.

Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon had been seeking a veteran blueliner for several weeks and obviously isn’t as concerned over Sopel’s defensive game as the Wings.

Tallon’s search for veteran depth also led him to claim defenseman Karel Pilar off waivers from the Atlanta Thrashers but in the aftermath of Sopel’s signing the ‘Hawks GM placed Pilar on waivers once again, where he was reclaimed by the Thrashers on October 2nd.

- Another training camp invitee defenseman who failed to stick with the Wings was Jassen Cullimore, who was cut by the club last week.

It’s still possible however that Cullimore could land a spot with an NHL team as injuries start to take its toll. One possibility could include his former club, the Tampa Bay Lightning, who lost Dan Boyle for six weeks to a freak off-ice injury and could use some extra depth.

Cullimore obviously won’t replace Boyle’s offence but given some of the concerns about the overall depth of the Lightning’s blueline he might be of interest to them.

The Red Wings have also demoted highly-touted forward Igor Grigorenko, demoted Mark Hartigan and offered enforcer Aaron Downey a two-way contract.

It was thought Grigorenko would earn a roster spot to start the season but given their other areas of concern it was easier to demote him as he doesn't have to pass through waivers. Don't be surprised if he returns to the big club later this season.

- The Montreal Canadiens demoted goaltender Jaroslov Halak and center Maxim Lapierre as part of their final three roster cuts.

Demoting Halak and Lapierre comes as a bit of a surprise, as it was expected the club would demote Carey Price rather than having him perhaps cooling his heels backing up starter Cristobal Huet. Lapierre meanwhile impressed down the stretch last season with his pesky style and was a key factor in the Hamilton Bulldogs (the Canadiens farm team) winning the AHL Calder Cup last spring.

Halak's demotion will undoubtedly give rise to speculation of the Canadiens shopping him or entertaining offers but I'm of the opinion the Habs might keep him in the system and possibly recall him at some point this season.

Huet's on the final year of his contract, and if Price outplays him or the Canadiens are out of playoff contention by the February trade deadline they could shop Huet instead and recall Halak to back up Price.

As for Lapierre, he may not be on the Habs farm club for long this season, especially if injuries take a toll on the forward lines as the season progresses.

- The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed training camp invitee forward Adam Hall to a one-year contract. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

Hall has struggled in recent seasons to stick with any one team, bouncing from Nashville to the NY Rangers to Minnesota since the summer of 2006 before becoming an unrestricted free agent this summer.

He'll likely see third or fourth line duty with the Penguins this season.

- A radio report out of Edmonton claims the Oilers have released winger Anson Carter, who was invited to training camp but saw little action due to a concussion suffered in a pre-season game.

- The St. Louis Blues have reportedly placed winger Petr Cajanek on waivers and are apparently waiting for him to clear (by 11 pm ET Tuesday) to decide on signing forward Mike Johnson.

The Blues have also released defenseman David Tanabe, who like Johnson was a training camp invitee.

- The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed goaltender Scott Clemmensen and forward Tony Salmelainen on waivers.

Both were signed as unrestricted free agents during the off-season but are destined to begin this season with the Leafs farm club.

The New York Rangers have place defenseman Andrew Hutchinson on waivers. If he clears he'll be demoted to their farm team.

Hutchinson was acquired by the Rangers this summer as part of the deal that sent forward Matt Cullen back to the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Washington Capitals reports defenseman Ben Clymer has cleared waivers and was demoted to the Capitals farm team.

- The Vancouver Canucks have released defenseman Dan McGillis, who was invited to their training camp nearly two weeks ago.

It was erroneously reported McGillis had signed with the Canucks but it's been since confirmed he was merely invited to camp on a tryout basis but was not signed.

- The Edmonton Oilers have demoted defenseman Ladislav Smid to their minor league affiliate.

Smid was acquired by the Oilers in July 2006 as part of the return in the Chris Pronger trade with the Anaheim Ducks. Smid played in 77 games with the Oilers last season.

- Several veterans NHL’ers who didn’t make the cut: Joel Bouchard (released by Columbus), Toby Petersen (demoted by Dallas), Jon Klemm(demoted by the LA Kings), Mike Weaver (demoted by Pittsburgh, must clear waivers first).

The Vancouver Canucks have re-signed perhaps the most popular player in its history today, signing Trevor Linden to a one-year contract.

Financial terms weren’t disclosed but reports out of Vancouver suggest Linden has agreed to the league minimum $475K, down from the $600K he earned last season, in order to give Canucks management a bit of cap flexibility for the upcoming season.

I have to be honest, folks, by the midpoint of last season I consider Linden a spent force and said as much, yet he proved he still had a bit left in the tank with a strong finish down the stretch and tying for the team’s playoff points lead.

There’s been some suggestion that the reason it took so long for the Canucks to re-sign Linden was perhaps the team’s unwillingness to have him on the roster when the results of the NHLPA’s internal investigation into the hiring of former executive director Ted Saskin are reported.

Linden was the NHLPA president during the lockout, worked closely with Saskin and was considered responsible for firing Bob Goodenow as executive director and replacing him with Saskin.

However, I believe the reason it took so long to sign Linden was perhaps more due to management’s desire to bolster it’s offensive depth and Linden’s potential role with the team than anything to do with his role in the Saskin affair.

Linden’s best days are behind him but he’s still a proven leader on and off the ice and valuable in a checking line role. This, however, is likely his swan song as an NHL player so Canucks fans should enjoy every game that Linden plays this season.

The Los Angeles Kings further bolstered their blueline depth recently by signing former Dallas Stars defenseman Jon Klemm to a one-year, two-way contract.

Klemm is obviously a replacement for Oleg Tverdovsky, who bolted for Russia rather than face the possibility of starting next season in the minors.

His experience and defensive skills should make him a valuable addition to the Kings defense corps, plus his two-way contract makes him an affordable pickup. It remains to be seen if he’ll start the season with the Kings but if not he should see ice time with them as a call up when injuries inevitably strike.

Scratch defenseman Daniel Tjarnqvist off the list of available unrestricted free agents.

Swedish sports paper Expressen reported Tjarnqvist has signed a contract with Ak Bars Kazan of the Russian Super League apparently worth $2 million for the upcoming season.

Understandable that Tjarnqvist would opt for the possibility of earning that much in Russia since he likely wasn’t going to earn that in the NHL.

No word if he’s got an “escape clause” that would allow him to return to the NHL.