Empty Netter Assists - 07-27-12

Penguins

-Remembering Jordan Staal.

-The Wheeling Nailers re-signed forward Ben Farrer.

-Happy 21st birthday to current Penguins defenseman Simon Despres (right). A first-round pick in 2009, Despres made his NHL debut last season by playing in 18 games and scoring four points. He participated in three postseason games and did not score a point.

-Happy 63rd birthday to former Penguins forward Rick Kessell. A second-round pick in 1969, Kessell spent parts of four seasons with the Penguins. From 1969-70 through 1971-72, Kessell appeared in a total of 17 games and scored six points. In 1972-72, Kessell found a way to play in 67 games and scored 14 points. During the 1973 offseason, Kessell was claimed by the California Golden Seals in a reverse draft. In 84 games with the Penguins, Kessell scored 20 points.

-Happy 44th birthday to former Penguins forward Dave Capuano. A second-round pick in 1986, Capuano's Penguins' career amounted to six games in 1989-90. Midway through the season, he was traded to the Canucks along with Andrew McBain and Dan Quinn in exchange for Rod Buskas, Barry Pederson and Tony Tanti.

-Happy 43rd birthday to former Penguins defenseman Jason Woolley (right). Acquired along with Stu Barnes early in the 1996-97 season in a deal which sent Chris Wells to the Panthers, Woolley's Penguins career amounted to 57 games and 36 points that season. In the 1997 offseason, he was traded to the Sabres in exchange for draft picks. Woolley is currently a player agent.

Atlantic Division

-The Flyers re-signed restricted free agent forward Jakub Voracek to a four-year contract worth a total of $17 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $4.25 million. In 78 games last season, Voracek, 22, scored 49 points (18 goals, 31 assists).

-EN Says: This might seem like a high price tag for a player with relatively little on his resume. But Voracek is expected to take on a greater role this season and replace Jaromir Jagr on the first line. Additionally, Voracek is a pretty big part of Philadelphia's power play. Considering some of the other salaries being offered on this lean market, Voracek doesn't seem all that expensive in comparison.

-The Flyers are expected to offer head coach Peter Laviolette a contract extension.

-The Rangers re-signed restricted free agent defenseman Anton Stralman (right) to a two-year contract worth a total of $3.4 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $1.8 million. Stralman, 25, appeared in 52 games last season and scored 18 points (two goals, 16 assists).

-EN Says: Stralman found a fit in New York last season as a  No. 4 or 5 defensemen. He has offensive skills and can move the puck, but he found out how to play defense under head coach John Tortorella.

Northeast Division

-Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas found time to weigh in on the Chick-fil-A/gay marriage controversy.

-The Senators placed forward Bobby Butler on waivers with the intentions of buying him out.

Southeast Division

-The Hurricanes signed unrestricted free agent forward Alexander Semin to a one-year contract worth $7 million. Semin, 28, appeared in 77 games last season with the Capitals and scored 54 points (21 goals, 33 assists).

-EN Says: On first sight, this seems like a gross overpayment. Semin (right) is a player whose game has trended downward for the past two seasons. While he's a tremendous offensive talent, he has the reputation for simply being lazy when it comes to the defensive aspect of the game. But it's a one-year contract so there's limited resk beyond next season. And the Hurricanes were roughly $4 million under the salary cap floor before the signing.  As far as how Semin might fit in with the Hurricanes, he should have more success with the aggressive style of head coach Kirk Muller. Under Dale Hunter in Washington, Semin was a bad fit for a defensive approach.

-"He's capable of scoring 40-plus goals," Rutherford said. "Given the proper opportunity, and playing on a line with Eric (Staal), we believe he can do it again." - Hurricanes general manager and former Penguins goaltender Jim Rutherford on Semin.

-The Panthers signed restricted free agent forward Casey Wellman to a one-year two-way contract. His signing rights were acquired from the Rangers last month.

Central Division

-Former Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman (right) and Pat Quinn will take part in the Winter Classic alumni games.

Northwest Division

-The Oilers re-signed restricted free agent defenseman Alex Plante and forward Chris VandeVelde to one-year contracts believed to be two-way deals.

Pacific Division

-The Kings are expected to hire former Blues head coach Davis Payne as an assistant coach.

Norris Division

-Will the sanctions levied against Penn State's football team impact its men's hockey team?

(Photos: Despres-Paul Bereswill/Getty Images; Woolley-Penguins Hockey Cards; Stralman-Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images; Semin-Patrick McDermott/Getty Images; Bowman-Jeff Vinnick/Getty Images)