Empty Netter Assists - 07-06-12
Penguins
-The Penguins stocked up in free agency... the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
-The Penguins prospect development camp roster was announced.
-Happy 68th birthday to former Penguins coach Pierre Creamer. Hired in the 1987 offseason, Creamer coached the Penguins for one season. In 1987-88, he led the club to a 36-35-9 record and 81 points, one short of qualifying for the postseason. In the 1988 offseason, he was replaced by Gene Ubriaco.
-Happy 38th birthday to former Penguins forward Steve Sullivan (right). A free agent signing last offseason, Sullivan appeared in 79 games for the Penguins this past season and scored 48 points (17 goals, 31 assists). Earlier this week, he signed with the Coyotes.
{youtube width="465" height="262"}npR6yTBnZlE{/youtube}-Happy 55th birthday to former Penguins forward Ron Duguay. An all-star with the Rangers, Duguay came to the Penguins at the 1986 trade deadline when he was acquired from the Red Wings in exchange for Doug Shedden. He finished the 1985-86 season by appearing in 13 games and scoring 13 points for the Penguins. In 1986-87, Duguay played in 40 games and scored 18 points for the Penguins before he was traded to the Rangers in exchange for Chris Kontos midway through the season. In 53 games with the Penguins, Duguay scored 31 points. He currently works as a broadcaster for MSG Network.
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-Happy 35th birthday to former Penguins forward Greg Crozier. A third-round pick in 1994, Crozier didn't make his NHL debut until he appeared in his only NHL game in the 2000-01 season. He signed with the Bruins in the 2001 offseason.
Atlantic Division
-The Flyers signed former Penguins forward Ruslan Fedotenko to a one-year contract worth $1.75 million and former Lightning defenseman Bruno Gervais to a two-year contract worth a total of $1.65 million. He will have a salary cap of $825,000. Fedotenko, 33, appeared in 73 games last season for the Rangers and scored 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists). Gervais, 27, appeared in 50 games last season and scored 13 points.
-EN Says: These are depth signings. Fedotenko (right) can fill a third-line defensive role in this point of his career. Gervais can be a No. 6 or 7 defenseman.
-The Devils signed former Panthers forward/enforcer Krys Barch to a two-year contract. Financial terms were not revealed. In 51 games last season, Barch, 32, scored five points (two goals, three assists) and recorded 114 penalty minutes.
-EN Says: Barch is simply replacing Eric Boulton as the Devils' tough guy.
-The Rangers signed undrafted free agent forward Kyle Jean to a one-year contract. Financial terms were not revealed.
Northeast Division
-The Bruins made push for unrestricted free agent forward Zach Parise.
-The Canadiens re-signed restricted free agent defenseman Frédéric St. Denis to a one-year, two way contract.
Southeast Division
-The Capitals re-signed restricted free agent forward Jay Beagle (right) to a three-year contract worth a total of $2.7 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $900,000. In 41 games last season, Beagle, 26, scored five points (one goal, four assists).
-EN Says: For a third- or fourth-line forward, Beagle fits the bill. He's a hard-working energy type who can bring something on the forecheck.
-Washington re-signed restricted free agent forward Mathieu Perreault to a two-year contract worth a total of $2.1 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $1.05 million. In 64 games last season, Perreault, 24, scored 30 points (16 goals, 14 assists).
-EN Says: Perreault is kind of a more talented version of Mark Letestu. He can play center on any line and has enough of a skill set to be competent in any role. He has a little scoring touch as well as a little grit to his game.
-The Hurricanes bowed out of the sweepstakes for Rick Nash when the Blue Jackets asked for forward Jeff Skinner in return.
-The Panthers signed former Ducks forward/enforcer Jean-Francois Jacques to a one-year two-way contract.
-Former Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins forward Ryan Schnell has joined the St. John's IceCaps, the Jets' AHL affiliate.
Central Division
-The Blues re-signed restricted free agent forward David Perron (right) to a four-year contract worth a total of $15.25 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $3,812,500. In 57 games last season, he had 42 points (21 goals, 21 assists).
-EN Says: Coming off a serious head injury, Perron had a good rebound season. He's a talented top-six winger who can score and create plays. For a cap hit just south of $4 million, he is a good value.
-The Blue Jackets signed restricted free agent forward Nick Foligno to a three-year contract worth a total of $9.15 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $3.05 million. His signing rights were acquire in a trade with Ottawa earlier this week. In 82 games last season, Foligno, 24, scored 47 points (15 goals, 32 assists).
-EN Says: This is a pretty healthy salary for a player who is probably nothing more than a second-line winger.
-Predators captain and restricted free agent Shea Weber (right) declined arbitration.
-The Red Wings hired former Rangers/Oilers head coach Tom Renney as an assistant coach.
-Former Penguins prospect Nathan Moon has joined the Springfield Falcons, the Blue Jackets' AHL affiliate.
Northwest Division
-The Oilers re-signed restricted free agent goaltender Devan Dubnyk and defenseman Jeff Petry. Dubnyk's contract was for two years and a total of $7 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $3.5 million. Dubnyk, 26, appeared in 47 games last season and had a record of 20-20-3, a 2.67 goals against average, a .917 save percentage and two shutouts. Petry signed a two-year contract worth a total of $3.5 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $1.75 million. In 73 games last season, Petry, 24, scrored 25 points (two goals, 23 assists).
-EN Says: Dubnyk has appeared at times ready to take over as the Oilers' full-time goaltender. But playing behind a shoddy defense has made it difficult for him to show consistency. This contract will et the Oilers see if he will bee t heir long-term franchise goaltender. Petry is one of the few consistent players the Oilers have on the blue line.
-The Oilers signed former Blue Jackets forward/enforcer Jeff Petry to a one-year two-way contract.
-The Flames re-signed restricted free agent forward Mikael Backlund (right) to a one-year contract worth $725,000. In 41 NHL games last season, Backlund, 23, had 11 points (four goals, seven assists).
-EN Says: This is kind of a "prove it" contract for Backlund. In other words, the Flames gave a small contract to Backlund to prove he can stick in the NHL. A former first-round pick in 2007, he has mostly been disappointing as an NHLer.
-The Canucks signed former Hurricanes defenseman Derek Joslin and former Kings defenseman Patrick Mullen to one-year two-way contracts. Mullen is the son of former Penguins forward Joe Mullen.
-Minnesota re-signed restricted free agent defenseman Justin Falk to a one-year contract worth $825,000. In 47 games last season, Falk scored nine points (four goals, five assists).
-EN Says: This is a depth signing. Falk can be a third-pairing defenseman.
-"We're not making money, and that's one reason we need to fix our system. We need to fix how much we're spending right now. [The Wild's] revenues are fine. We're down a little bit in attendance, but we're up in sponsorships, we're up in TV revenue. And so the revenue that we're generating is not the issue as much as our expenses. And [the Wild's] biggest expense by far is player salaries." - Wild owner Craig Leipold, April 11, 2012. Eighty-four days later, Leipold agreed to spend nearly $200 million on two players, forward Jordan Parise and defenseman Ryan Suter.
-The Wild has sold more than 1,000 season tickets since the signings of Parise and Suter.
Pacific Division
-“I was three years in Russia and I was playing in Omsk, and we were flying five and six hours to play teams, so I don’t think anything in Dallas will be much different." - New Stars forward and former Penguins captain Jaromir Jagr(right) addressing concerns about traveling in the Western Conference.
-Kings forward Anze Kopitar is doing his thing with the Stanley Cup in Slovenia.
Smythe Division
-Sixteen players filed for salary arbitration:
Nick Bonino, Anaheim Ducks
Jamie McGinn, Colorado Avalanche
Richard Bachman, Dallas Stars
Mark Fistric, Dallas Stars
Kyle Quincey, Detroit Red Wings
Sam Gagner (right), Edmonton Oilers
Kris Versteeg, Florida Panthers
Raphael Diaz, Montreal Canadiens
Sergei Kostitsyn, Nashville Predators
Mark Fayne, New Jersey Devils
Anton Stralman, New York Rangers
Kaspars Daugavins, Ottawa Senators
T.J. Oshie, St. Louis Blues
David Perron, St. Louis Blues (player has since signed a new contract)
T.J. Galiardi, San Jose Sharks
Dale Weise, Vancouver Canucks
(Photos: Sullivan-Jamie Sabau/Getty Images; Fedotenko-Paul Bereswill/Getty Images; Beagle-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Perron-Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images; Weber-Christian Petersen/Getty Images; Backlund-Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images; Jagr-Post-Gazette archives; Gagner-Harry How/Getty Images)