One of the greatest careers in NHL history has come to an end.

Jaromir Jagr, former captain of the New York Rangers, has announced he’s decided to accept a two-year contract from Avangard Omsk of Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League.

He’d hoped to re-sign with the Rangers but apparently no real contract talks took place between himself and Rangers management.

Jagr has at times been a considered a moody, petulant self-centered prima donna by his critics, but there is no denying he ranks among the greatest forwards in NHL history.

He won the Hart Trophy as league MVP in 1999, the Art Ross as the leading point scorer five times, won the Pearson award three times, was a seven time first team all star, played on two Stanley Cup championships with the Pittsburgh Penguins and won an Olympic gold medal as part of the 1998 Czech Republic Men’s hockey team.

Jagr also holds 12 NHL records, including most assists by a rookie in the Stanley Cup finals (5), most regular season assists (87) and points (149) by a right wing, and 8 Rangers team records, all set in 2005-06, including most regular season goals (54), points (123), power play goals (24), shots (368) and tied with Mark Messier and Don Murdoch for most game winning goals with 9.

He finishes his NHL career with 646 goals, 953 assists and 1599 points in the regular season, and 77 goal and 181 points in 169 playoff games.

His was a Hall of Fame career and he should be a first ballot selection.

Some might feel cheated that Jagr will finish his playing career in Russia rather than the NHL, but NHL fans got to see him at his very best for most of his 17 NHL seasons, and that’s what he should be remembered for.  

The Montreal Canadiens have signed an impact forward, albeit one who provides a different kind of impact, inking noted enforcer Georges Laraque to a three-year contract believed worth $1.5 million per season, a modest raise over the $1.3 million per season he earned last season.

Laraque, a native of Montreal, has spent most of his career with the Edmonton Oilers and after spending the last two season split between Phoenix and Pittsburgh was believed considering heading back to Edmonton.

Considering Laraque’s comments earlier in his career against playing in Montreal due to the intense pressure French-Canadiens face with the Habs it’s a little surprising that he’s changed his mind, although the length of the deal likely had something to do with it.

Laraque’s presence will be a welcome one for a Canadiens team deep in talent but thin on grit, and will take much of the load off shut-down defenseman Mike Komisarek who’s had to do more than his fair share of the Habs enforcement duties.  

It’s been a busy week for Penguins GM Ray Shero.

Having filled the gaps at wing via free agency and re-signed young superstar Evegni Malkin Shero today locked up young goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to a seven-year, $35 million contract.

Fleury will now be making $5 million per season over that period, a considerable raise from the $1.6 million he earned last season.

His tremendous performance in the Penguins run to the Stanley Cup finals this spring was undoubtedly the contributing factor in his new contract, and if he continues to play as well over the next five years as he did in this spring’s playoffs this will be money well-spent for the Pens.

Shero’s will likely next turn his focus upon center Jordan Staal, who’ll be eligible for RFA status next July. It’s been speculated Staal could be a tougher nut to crack as it’s believed he’s not happy centering the third line and would prefer more offensive roles.

The Pittsburgh Penguins took action to fill the gaps on the wing left by the departures of Ryan Malone and Marian Hossa on Thursday, signing right winger Miroslav Satan and winger Ruslan Fedotenko to one year contracts.

Satan, who had 41 points in 80 games with the NY Islanders last season, will earn $3.5 million, while Fedotenko, another ex-Islander, had 33 points in 67 games and will make $2.5 million.

Neither will fully replace what Malone and Hossa contributed to the Penguins last season and will be seen as stopgap replacements, but at least GM Ray Shero has addressed the lack of depth on the wing in the wake of Hossa and Malone’s departures with a pair or decent free agents

This probably means we can scratch those speculations of Jaromir Jagr and Markus Naslund signing with the Penguins.

The Ottawa Senators continue to make affordable signings in this summer’s UFA market to bolster their roster, signing former Penguins agitator Jarkko Ruutu to a three-year, $3.9 million contract.

Ruutu’s new salary will be $1.3 million per season against the Senators cap, which is only a slight boost over the $1.15 million he earned with the Penguins last season.

His addition will provide addition grit to the Sens forward lines.

After watching notables like Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts and Jarkko Ruutu signing elsewhere this week, the Pittsburgh Penguins managed to retain a key unrestricted free agent.

The Penguins re-signed defenseman Brooks Orpik to a six year, $22.5 million contract, paying him an average of $3.75 million per season.

Orpik was often rumored on his way out of Pittsburgh amid speculation he and head coach Michel Therrien didn’t get along. He denied those rumors and this signing will bury them.

A physical defenseman, Orpik came into his own this season, particularly in the 2008 Stanley Cup playoffs, where he played big minutes and proved himself a capable “shut-down” defenseman.

Had he hit the open market Orpik probably would’ve received offers around $5 million per season but he obviously wished to remain in Pittsburgh, accepting less than market value to do so.

As expected the Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed Evgeni Malkin to a five-year contract extension, which will commence for the 2009-10 season following the completion of the final year of his current entry level contract.

No official word yet on the financial terms but it’s believed to be in the neighborhood of $8.5 million per season .

So much for the baseless speculation in recent weeks that Malkin didn’t want to play second fiddle to Sidney Crosby or wanted as much money as Alexander Ovechkin.

I realize some folks believe the Penguins should’ve focused on re-signing wingers Marian Hossa and Ryan Malone and shopped Malkin but let’s face it, when you’ve got two of the top young centers in the game and have the opportunity to re-sign them, you do it.

The Penguins are expected to open contract extension talks with another young center, Jordan Staal, later this month.

A lack of scoring wingers is still a problem for Penguins management but that’s something that can be potentially resolved in the coming days or weeks, albeit with more affordable acquisitions.

This move potentially ties up over $17 million in cap space for the Penguins starting in 2009-10, but given the ownership’s new willingness to keep pace with the cap and absorb losses over the next two seasons whilst awaiting the construction of their new arena, that might not be as problematic as it appears.  

After months of speculation over where Marian Hossa could end up, he finally made his choice today and it was a surprising one.

The fact Hossa signed with the Detroit Red Wings wasn’t surprising, it’s the deal he signed with them, spurning more lucrative offers from other teams to sign a one-year, $7.4 million contract.

Hossa was fielding multi-year offers worth over $9 million per season to opt for a one-year opportunity for less than market value to win a Stanley Cup.

Signing with a Cup contender was Hossa’s long-stated intent and with the defending Stanley Cup champions he stands a great chance of doing so.

Among the teams vying for Hossa’s services was the Pittsburgh Penguins, who reportedly offered him a multi-year contract believed to be between $7.5 -$8 million per season.

Draw your own conclusions.

It certainly says a lot about the respect Hossa has for the Red Wings organization that he’d agree to just a one-year deal for less money to play for them when he could’ve earned a king’s ransom elsewhere. When you’re the class of the league like the Red Wings, you can pretty much name your price and most players will jump for it.

This move also gives Hossa some flexibility for if he wins a championship next season with the Red Wings he can then jump into next summer’s UFA pool where he’ll again likely attract big money offers.

It may be an opportunistic move by Hossa but obviously he and the Red Wings have no problem with it.

The Ottawa Senators have found a replacement for the recently bought out Ray Emery, signing former Bruins goalie Alex Auld to a two-year contract worth $1 million. $2 million. 

That ‘ll make him a more affordable cap hit to the Senators cap, and Auld will be hoping to stick with the Senators for a while and perhaps re-establish himself as a potential starter he was once envisioned to be with the Vancouver Canucks earlier in the decade.

Adam Hall’s solid performance this season for the Pittsburgh Penguins, especially during the playoffs, landed him a three –year contract extension worth $1.8 million.

Sorry about that, folks, the feed I received had Hall re-signed with the Penguins. He in fact signed a three-year, $1.8 million contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. My apologies for the confusion.

The Pens also signed former Calgary Flames forward Eric Godard to a three year contract.

Thus far the Penguins have retained two of their UFA forwards but of course they were the most affordable to re-sign. It remains to be seen if they can retain Marian Hossa and defenseman Brooks Orpik.

Having spent this season as a backup goalie for the Pittsburgh Penguins, goalie Ty Conklin will now experience what it’s like to be a backup for the defending Stanley Cup champions.

The Detroit Red Wings today signed Conklin to a one-year, $750K contract, which in turn suggests Jimmy Howard, who was expected to be Chris Osgood’s backup, could be headed back to the farm for another season, and don’t be surprised if his name pops up in trade rumors in the coming weeks and months.

Conklin’s career was believed dead in the water at the start of last season, as he began last season with the Penguins minor league affiliate but when Marc-Andre Fleury was sidelined with an ankle injury Conklin stepped into the breach and played very well, keeping the Penguins near the top of the Eastern Conference standings.  

The Carolina Hurricanes remain one of the busiest teams on the opening day of the 2008 NHL UFA market, this time re-signing three players.

Defenseman Tim Conboy received a two-year entry level deal worth $975K per season, while forwards Ryan Bayda and Wade Brookbank received one-year contracts worth $475K each.

The Penguins have been busy re-signing their own players thus far, inking defenseman Mark Eaton to a two-year, $2 million contract.

The Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed one of their unrestricted free agents today, inking forward Pascal Dupuis to a three-year contract worth an average of $1.4 million per season.

Dupuis joined the Penguins at the trade deadline as part of the deal that sent Marian Hossa from Atlanta to Pittsburgh and quickly established himself as a valuable energetic forward capable of playing on the scoring lines as well as the checking lines.

The Calgary Flames added some affordable depth at forward by acquiring Rene Bourque from the Chicago Blackhawks for a draft pick.

Bourque was once considering among the Blackhawks most promising players but injuries hampered his development and with the emergence of other young ‘Hawks prospects he no longer fit into their roster.

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 NHL recently released their All-Star and All-Rookie Teams for the past season:

ALL-STARS:

First team:

Goaltender: Evgeny Nabokov, San Jose Sharks.

Defensemen: Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Red Wings. Dion Phaneuf, Calgary Flames.

Center: Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins.

Right Wing: Jarome Iginla, Calgary Flames.

Left Wing: Alexander Ovechkin.

Second Team:

Goaltender: Martin Brodeur, New Jersey Devils.

Defensemen: Brian Campbell, San Jose Sharks. Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins.

Center: Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks.

Right Wing: Alex Kovalev, Montreal Canadiens.

Left Wing: Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings.


ALL ROOKIE TEAM.

Goaltender: Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens.

Defensemen: Tobias Enstrom, Atlanta Thrashers. Tom Gilbert, Edmonton Oilers.

Forwards: Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks.