Much-traveled forward Dean McAmmond joined his tenth NHL team on November 6, signing a one-year, two-way contract (believed worth the league minimum of $500k at the NHL level) with the New Jersey Devils. 

McAmmond, 36, had been playing for the Devils AHL affiliate on a minor league tryout contract. He's being added as a short-term replacement for checking line center Rob Niedermayer, who is currently on injured reserve with an "upper body injury". 

In his previous stops over his 16 year NHL career McAmmond played for the Chicago Blackhawks (twice), Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Calgary Flames (twice), Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, Ottawa Senators and NY Islanders. 

His best season came in 2001-02 with the Flames, scoring 21 goals and 51 points in 71 games with Calgary. Devils fans shouldn't expect those kind of numbers from him this season as he's solely a checking line forward these days. 

The Atlanta Thrashers contract talks with superstar Ilya Kovalchuk continue to dominate coverage of the club but they've also wasted little time re-inking one of their offensive stars. 

On Tuesday the Thrashers announced the re-signing of versatile forward Rich Peverley to a two-year, $2.6 million contract extension, breaking down as an affordable $1.3 million per season against their cap. 

Non-Thrashers fans probably wonder what's so important about this move, until they take a look at Peverley's stats. 

An undrafted player who signed with the Nashville Predators in January 2007, his tenure with the Predators was undistinguished, scoring only 7 goals and 20 points in 73 games spread over parts of the previous two seasons, as he was used on Nashville's checking lines. 

His career however took a sharp turn for the better late last season, when the Thrashers claimed him off waivers in January 2009 from the Predators. 

In 39 games with the Thrashers last season Peverley exploded for 13 goals, 22 assists and 35 points. This season he's currently second in scoring behind Kovalchuk, with four goals and seven points, with three of those goals coming on the PP. 

This move has also led to speculation it could have a positive impact upon the club's talks with Kovalchuk although that remains to be seen. In the meantime the Thrashers deserve credit for retaining a key players for an affordable price. 

Bet the goal-starved Predators management wish they could've had Peverley back now. 

The Boston Bruins locked up one of their rising young forwards to a new contract extension but it could also put them in a tight squeeze for next season's payroll. 

Rugged power forward Milan Lucic, who was eligible for restricted free agency next summer, re-signed a three-year, $12.25 million contract extension with the Bruins, which counts as $4.083 million per season against their cap starting in 2010-11. 

It's a worthwhile signing by the Bruins as the 21-year-old Lucic is a growing force as a power forward and could become one of the best in the league over the next three-five seasons, and it was best for management to get him under contract now rather than risk a potential contract hassle similar to that they had with winger Phil Kessel, whom they wound up shipping to the Toronto Maple Leafs last month. 

Unfortunately it also pushes their payroll for next season to over $41 million committed to 11 players, and if the salary cap remains stagnant or declines. The Bruins have several key players eligible for UFA status next season (Marc Savard, Shawn Thornton and Derek Morris) plus Blake Wheeler, Mark Stuart and Tuukka Rask are eligible for restricted free agent status. 

If the Bruins hope to retain most or all of them it could mean shipping out some other players to free up the necessary roster space. 

Don't expect Lucic however to be among the trade bait. 

- The Montreal Canadiens dipped into a limited unrestricted free agent pool to find a short-term replacement for injured star defenseman Andrei Markov, inking former Minnesota Wild blueliner Marc-Andre Bergeron to a one-year, $750K contract. 

Bergeron will report to their farm club in Hamilton for conditioning and is expected to join the Habs later this month. 

The 29-year-old has good offensive skills, including a wicked point shot, which should come in handy in power-play situations for the Canadiens. Bergeron had 14 goals and 32 points in 72 games with the Wild. 

He has however faced criticism for his defensive play, which explains why he's now on his fifth NHL team since 2006-07. 

As a short-term replacement however his experience in offensive situations should prove beneficial for the Canadiens until Markov returns early next year. 

- Dallas Stars new general manager Joe Nieuwendyk has been wasting little time in re-signing his key players to long-term contract extensions. 

Days after re-upping defenseman Stephane Robidas to a long-term deal Niewendyk re-signed winger Loui Erikssen to a four-year contract worth $4.25 million per season. 

Niewendyk is following the trend of his peers in handing out big bucks for potential. The 24-year-old Eriksson had a breakout performance in 2008-09 with 36 goals and 63 points and was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise forgettable season for the Stars. 

If the young Swede continues on that offensive pace he'll be well worth that new salary, which starts in 2010-11. 

- Scratch yet another defenseman off next summer's list of unrestricted free agents, as the Columbus Blue Jackets re-sign Rostislav Klesla to a new long-term deal. 

Klesla, 27, is the only remaining player from the Jackets inaugural season and was their first ever first round draft pick, going fourth overall in the 2000 entry draft. 

In a career where he's suffered through growing pains and injuries Klesla nevertheless emerged as a reliable second-pairing defenseman and was recently rewarded with a four-year deal at $2.95 million per season starting in 2010-11.

- Unrestricted free agent forward Dominic Moore is finally off the market.

The Florida Panthers announced Monday Moore had agreed to a one-year, $1.1 million contract with them.

Moore, 29, potted career highs in goals (13), assists (32) and points (45) last season split between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres.

This deal is considerably less than what the Moore camp hoped to find via this summer's UFA market. It was believed he was traded by the Maple Leafs because he was seeking around $2.5 million per season.

If however Moore can prove with the Panthers this season that last year's numbers weren't a fluke he might find a more lucrative contract next summer either with the Panthers or another team.  

As the start of the NHL's 2009-10 season fast approaches several teams have made some late pre-season additions. 

-The most significant is the Atlanta Thrashers signing former Buffalo Sabres winger Maxim Afinogenov to a one-year, $800K contract. 

Afinogenov, 30, made the Thrashers after receiving a tryout offer from the club earlier in September. 

Not a bad move by the Thrashers to take a chance on Afinogenov, who was former 73 point performer in 2005-06 with the Buffalo Sabres and had 61 points in 56 games in 2006-07. 

Afinogenov however was hampered by injuries and was never really the same following a season-shortening wrist injury in 2007. His point production fell dramatically over the past two seasons with the Sabres as did his ice time. 

If Afinogenov can regain his scoring touch with the Thrashers it'll not only be beneficial to his NHL career but would provide an additional boost to their offensive game. If not it's only an affordable one-year contract which can be removed from their cap by demotion if he's unable to play up to expectations. 

This is Afinogenov's best chance to salvage his once-promising NHL career for he appeared destined to play in Russia this season until the Thrashers came calling.

-Veteran center Robert Lang could have a new NHL home this season with the beleaguered Phoenix Coyotes.

The Arizona Republic reported the Coyotes have a tentative one-year deal in place with Lang pending his successful completion of a team physical.

Lang, 38, played over half of last season with the Montreal Canadiens, potting 18 goals and 39 points in 50 games until a sliced Achille's tendon finished his season and appeared to end his career.

If Lang has fully recovered he could be a welcome addition to a rebuilding Coyotes team which could benefit from the veteran skills and leadership of the 6-2, 217 lb center, who has scored 20 or more goals seven times in his career and cracked the 50 point mark 8 times.

The Coyotes also added some muscle to their lineup, signing former Maple Leafs and Rangers enforcer Ryan Hollweg to a one-year contract. 

-Defenseman Martin Skoula has a new NHL team, signing a one-year contract with the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Financial terms weren't disclosed. 

The former Minnesota Wild blueliner had been released from a training camp tryout by the Columbus Blue Jackets yesterday after they acquired defenseman Anton Stralman from the Calgary Flames. 

In 81 games last season with the Wild Skoula had 4 goals and 12 assists and is likely to become the Penguins seventh defenseman heading into this season. 

He also has previous Stanley Cup championship experience having played for the Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in 2001.

Skoula isn't the only player the Penguins signed this week. On Monday they inked former Carolina Hurricanes forward Ryan Bayda to a one-year contract. Financial terms weren't disclosed. 

Bayda, 28, played 70 games with the Hurricanes last season going 5-7-12 with a plus-minus of +12 and had a solid playoff performance with four points in 15 games as a checking line left wing, a role he's likely to fill with the Penguins this season.

-Long time Edmonton Oilers prospect Rob Schremp could finally be getting his shot at starting his NHL career, only it won't be with the Oilers.

The New York Islanders claimed the 23-year-old Schremp, who has played in only 7 NHL games since he was selected 25th overall by the Oilers in the 2004 entry draft, off waivers today as the Oilers attempted to demote him to their farm team. 

Schremp is a gifted forward but is considered to be a one-dimensional player who pays little attention to the defensive side of the game. 

The Islanders are once again rebuilding and in need of depth at all positions except in goal, so taking a chance on Schremp certainly is worth the effort. If he succeeds and becomes an NHL regular, perhaps a scoring star, it'll only benefit the Isles. If not, they'll simply ship him to their minor league affiliate and have done with it. 

This could be Schremp's last best attempt to crack the NHL and prove himself so he'd better make it a good one.