Empty Netter Assists - 07-02-12
Penguins
-Forward Zach Parise (above) and defenseman Ryan Suter. Still free agents.
-Sidney Crosby's new contract extension was officially signed and approved by the NHL yesterday. (PG+) Broken down, here's how he's paid by season:
2013-14 — $12 million
2014-15 — $12 million
2015-16 — $12 million
2016-17 — $10.9 million
2017-18 — $10.9 million
2018-19 — $10 million
2019-20 — $9 million
2020-21 — $9.6 million
2021-22 — $9 million
2022-23 — $3 million
2023-24 — $3 million
2024-25 — $3 million
-New Penguins forward Tanner Glass (right) wanted a chance to win.
-Welcome back Steve MacIntyre. (PG+)
-Jonathan Bombulie of the Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice takes a look at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins' new additions.
-Happy 36th birthday to Penguins goaltender Tomas Vokoun. Acquired in a trade last month, Vokoun has appeared in 680 NHL games with the Canadiens, Predators, Panthers and Capitals. He has a career record of 287-284-78, a 2.55 goals against average, a .917 save percentage and 48 shutouts.
Atlantic Division
-The Devils re-signed unrestricted free agent goaltender Martin Brodeur to a two-year contract worth a total of $9 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $4.5 million. In 59 games last season, Brodeur, 40, went 31-21-4, had a 2.41 goals against average, a .908 save percentage and three shutouts.
-EN Says: There are things which should be certain in life. A blue sky. A roaring ocean. And Brodeur (right) being a Devil. This is a move which bring some stability to a reeling franchise.
-“I said all season, and I wasn’t lying, that my priority was to get something done with New Jersey.” - Unrestricted free agent Devils captain Zach Parise.
-Petr Svoboda, agent for Flyers forward and former Penguins captain Jaromir Jagr, claims his client received 21 offers as an unrestricted free agent yesterday.
-EN Says: Is that in dog contracts?
-“Pittsburgh’s a first-class organization, I absolutely loved it here, the kids loved the schooling, we have a lot of friends around here now, it was a great city, they treat the players really way. It was just time to part ways.” - Rangers forward Arron Asham on leaving the Penguins.
-The Rangers re-signed unrestricted free agent defenseman Stu Bickel to a two-year contract worth a total of $1.5 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $750,000. Bickel, 25, appeared in 51 games last season, recorded nine assists and racked up 109 penalty minutes.
-EN Says: Bickel is a fighter. Nothing more, nothing less.
-The Rangers signed former Islanders forward Micheal Haley to a two-year two-way contract.
-The Islanders signed former Devils forward/enforcer Eric Boulton to a one-year contract. Financial terms were not reported.
Northeast Division
-The Sabres signed former Rangers defenseman/enforcer John Scott to a one-year contract worth $600,000. A mountain of a man at 6-foot-8 and 200 pounds, Scott, 29, appeared in 35 games last season, recorded one assist and racked up 53 penalty minutes.
-EN Says: The Sabres just put Milan Lucic, the Bruins and the rest of the Northeast Division on notice. You can't mess with the Sabres' stars any longer.
-''It's good to have a little more team toughness. Other teams coming into our building will know they're in for a long night.'' - New Canadiens forward Brandon Prust.
-"I had a blast playing in Columbus. I met a lot of fun people, really cool people there. So it's bittersweet. I hate leaving that place. I mean this, truly. I grew up there in that city and with those fans. They mean so much to me. This is bittersweet for me, it really is. Because as much as I never wanted to leave Columbus, I'm relieved that it's Ottawa where I got traded. Everybody in this league dreams about being able to play at home, in front of your friends and family." - Senators defenseman Marc Methot on being traded to from the Blue Jackets yesterday.
-The Senators signed former Wild defenseman Mike Lundin to a one-year contract worth $1.15 million. In 17 NHL games last season, Lundin, 27, recorded two assists.
-EN Says: This is a depth signing. Lundin is nothing more than a No. 5 or 6 defenseman. He can skate and move the puck but doesn't offer much else.
-The Maple Leafs signed former Avalanche forward Jay McClement (right) to a two-year contract worth $3 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $1.5 million. McClement, 29, appeared in 80 games last season and scored 17 points (10 goals, seven assists).
-EN Says: McClement is a No. 3 or 4 center who will bring a strong forecheck to Toronto. He is also strong in the faceoff circle.
-Toronto re-signed forward Matt Frattin to a two-year contract and forward Ryan Hamilton as well as goaltender Jussi Rynnas to one-year contracts. Financial terms were not reported.
Southeast Division
-“In the hockey world ... the perception has totally changed about the Hurricanes since we acquired Jordan Staal (right). This is really a game-changer for us in the fact you get a young elite player who can do so many things in the game.”- Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford.
-The Hurricanes re-signed goaltender Justin Peters to a two-year two-way contract.
-The Lightning re-signed defenseman Evan Oberg to a one-year two-way contract.
-The Capitals signed former Maple Leafs forward Joey Crabb to a one-year contract worth $950,000. In 67 games last season, Crabb scored 26 points (11 goals, 15 assists).
-EN Says: Crabb is a third- or fourth-line energy type who has a little scoring touch. He adds some much-needed grit to the Capitals.
-“It’s just prejudice and there is no place for that in the National Hockey League.” - Mark Gandler, agent for free agent Capitals forward Alexander Semin on criticism of his client by analysts on TSN. The segment in which Semin was ripped:
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-EN Says: Nothing in the above video is false. But it's a classic case of a bunch of Canadian broacasters ganging up on a European. If Semin's name was Alan Smith and he was from Ontario, their tune would be different.
Central Division
-According to Neil Sheehy, agent for unrestricted free agent Predators defenseman Ryan Suter, Nashville made "a very substantial offer" to re-sign his client.
-The Predators re-signed forward/enforcer Brian McGrattan to a one-year contract worth $600,000. In 30 games last season, he recorded two assists and racked up 61 penalty minutes.
-EN Says: McGrattan is an enforcer. He won't make or break the team.
-The Red Wings signed star Swiss forward Damian Brunner to a one-year contract worth $900,000.
-"It definitely was a surprise. I wanted to stay in the Western Conference. This is a great fit for me. It's a fresh start and I'm definitely overwhelmed about it." - Red Wings forward Jordin Tootoo (right) on signing with Detroit.
-The Blackhawks signed former Ducks defenseman Sheldon Brookbank to a two-year contract worth a total of $2.5 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $1.25 million. Brookbank, 31, appeared in 80 games last season and scored 14 points (three goals, 11 assists).
-EN Says: This adds toughness to the Blackhawks. Brookbank will mix it up with anyone. Beyond that, he's nothing more than a third-pairing defenseman.
-The Blue Jackets re-signed minor league goaltender goaltender Curtis McElhinney to a one-year two-way contract.
-The Blues signed former Lightning/Devils goaltender Mike McKenna and re-signed defenseman Taylor Chorney to one-year two-way contracts.
Northwest Division
-“I still have one thing missing and that’s a Stanley Cup, and there’d be no better place to do that than in Edmonton.” - Forward Ryan Smyth (right) on re-signing with the Oilers.
-The Oilers re-signed forward/enforcer Darcy Hordichuk to a one-year contract worth $850,000. In 43 games last season, Hordichuk, 31, scored three points (one goal, two assists) and recorded 64 penalty minutes.
"(Mikko) Koivu is a superstar that maybe doesn't get enough respect around the league, and he should. Heatley is a world-class player, and we have to make sure those guys are taken care of and they feel very comfortable and nice. If they want to sit down at center ice and read the paper, they should be able to do that without anyone touching them." - New Wild forward/enforcer Zenon Konopka on his role protecting the team's stars.
-"I'm so excited. They showed the most interest in me from the get-go, and I didn't take long deciding on Colorado." - New Avalanche forward P.A. Parenteau (right).
-Former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins forward Bryan Lerg signed a one-year two-way contract with the Avalanche.
-Former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins forward Ben Street signed a one-year two-way contract with the Flames.
Pacific Division
-Coyotes captain Shane Doan is delaying his decision to re-sign with the Coyotes until July 9 when the city of Glendale will act on a possible referendum on the purchase of the franchise.
-The Coyotes signed former Rangers goaltender and former Penguins prospect Chad Johnson to a one-year two-way contract.
-The Stars signed former Canucks defenseman Aaron Rome to a three-year contract worth a total of $4.5 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $1.5 million. Rome, 28, appeared in 43 games last season and scored 10 points (four goals, six assists).
-EN Says: This is a depth signing. Rome is a competent third-pairing defenseman who can offer some physical play. He probably shouldn't be expected to play more than 18-19 minutes a game.
-Anaheim signed former Canadiens forward Brad Staubitz (right) to a two-year contract worth a total of $1.275 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $637,500. In 62 games last season, Staubitz, 27, scored one goal and recorded 121 penalty minutes.
-The Ducks signed former Blackhawks defenseman Jordan Henrdy to a one-year two-way contract.
-Ducks general manager Bob Murray is plenty bitter over how defenseman Justin Schultz jilted his team and joined the Oilers.
Adams Division
-Former Predators forward Alexander Radulov has joined CSKA Moscow of Russia's KHL.
(Photo: Parise and Parenteau-Jim McIsaac/Getty Images; Glass, Staal and Tootoo-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Brodeur-Paul Bereswill/Getty Images; Boulton-Al Bello/Getty Images; McClement-Doug Pensinger/Getty Images; Smyth-Dale MacMillan/Getty Images; Staubitz-Rich Lam/Getty Images)