The Dallas Stars made their second significant free agent re-signing of this spring by signing forward Toby Petersen to a two year, $1.1 million contract.

Petersen’s new salary will count as $550K per season against the Stars salary cap.

The well-travelled Petersen has spent the last eight seasons split between the Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars and all their respective farm teams, never seeming to stick with an NHL team for long as a marginal checking line forward.

Indeed, this past season the 29-year-old Petersen played only 8 regular season games with the Stars and appeared headed to this summer’s UFA market

His energetic play however during the Stars surprising run to the Western Conference final not only earned him playing time in all but two of Dallas’ 18 playoff games this spring but also kudos for his speed and hard work, and a new two-year contract with the Stars.

Former Star Niko Kapanen has decided to sign with Russian team AK Bars Kazan for next season.

Kapanen, 30, played last season with the Phoenix Coyotes. He began his NHL career with the Dallas Stars in 2001-02, playing four seasons with the Stars and one with the Atlanta Thrashers until he was dealt to the Coyotes in February 2007, all in checking line roles.

With the Coyotes pushing their youth movement it was unlikely Kapanen would’ve been re-signed and he’ll likely earn more money in Russia than he would’ve received in this summer’s UFA market, if there were any interest in his services.

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.

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).