Empty Netter Assists - 7-23-09

Written by Seth Rorabaugh on Thursday, 23 July 2009 12:08 am.

Penguins

-After winning the NCAA Championship last season, Penguins prospect Brian Strait had nothing else to accomplish at Boston University.

-"But overall the pictures were good." - Evgeni Malkin (above) on photos of him and his girlfriend at a beach circulating around the Internet.

-KDKA has video of Jordan Staal's day with the Stanley Cup:

-Semi-Random YouTube Find of the Day: Sean Leahy of Yahoo! spotted this clip of Jaromir Jagr hawking Bubble Tape:

-We totally overlooked this by a month, but the Nailers revealed their 2009-10 schedule.

-Wheeling also signed forward Tomas Klempa.

Atlantic Division

-The Devils avoided arbitration with restricted free agent forward Travis Zajac and re-signed him to a four-year deal worth a total of $15.55 million.

Northeast Division

-The Maple Leafs re-signed restricted free agent forwards Darryl Boyce and Alex Foster.

Southeast Division

-Capitals prospect Joe Finley, a defenseman who was the club's first-round pick in 2005, got into some legal trouble for throwing a lawnmower and other items into a street.

-Alfalfa Ovechkin? (We shamelessly "borrowed" that from Japer's Rink.)

Central Division

-This Marian Hossa/bum shoulder things is getting more and more interesting. Red Wings general manager Ken Holland claims Hossa's shoulder was actually injured before he signed with Detroit last summer.

-The Blue Jackets avoided arbitration with restricted free agent defenseman Marc Methot and signed him to a two-year deal worth a total of $2.025 million.

-The Predators signed former Penguins draft pick Ben Eaves (right) to a one-year two-way deal. Eaves, a fourth-round pick in 2001, spent the past season in Finland. He is the brother of Carolina forward Patrick Eaves.

-The Red Wings re-signed restricted free agent forwards Evan McGrath and Ryan Oulahen.

Northwest Division

-Wild coach Todd Richards will have two of him former Wilkes-Barres/Scranton players in camp. Minnesota signed former Penguins defenseman Ryan Lannon and forward Nathan Smith.

-The Canucks signed former Sabres defenseman Mike Funk, former Panthers forward Tanner Glass and re-signed defenseman Guillaume Desbiens.

Pacific Division

-New/old Coyotes forward Radim Vrbata has something to prove after he washed out in his only season with the Lightning.

-The Kings signed former Canadiens forward prospect Juraj Mikus to a two-year entry-level contract.

(Photos: Malkin-Jamie Sabau/Getty Images; Eaves-Jatkoaika)