Empty Netter Assists - 09-16-12
Penguins
-Welcome to the another lockout.
-Evgeni Malkin and Senators defenseman/former Penguin Sergei Gonchar (right) officially signed with Magnitogorsk Metallurg of Russia's KHL for the duration of this lockout.
-The NHL issued a statement regarding the work stoppage.
-The Penguins assigned forwards Brian Gibbons, Tom Kuhnhackl, Jayson Megna, Adam Payerl, Zach Sill, Paul Thompson, Dominik Uher, Keven Veilleux, Philippe Dupuis, Benn Ferriero, Riley Holzapfel, Warren Peters, Trevor Smith, defensemen Brian Dumoulin, Reid McNeill, Philip Samuelsson, Carl Sneep, Alex Grant, Dylan Reese and goaltender Patrick Killeen to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL. Defensemen Scott Harrington, Olli Maatta (London - OHL) and Derrick Pouliot (Portland - WHL) were assigned to their junior teams.
-How much does the NHL's lockout benefit the AHL?
-When will the lockout really kick in? (PG+)
Atlantic Division
-The Islanders re-signed restricted free agent forwards Matt Martin to a four-year contract worth a total of $4 million. Martin, 23, will have a salary cap hit of $1 million. In 80 games last season, Martin scored 14 points while setting a single-season record of 374 hits.
-EN Says: This is a slight bargain for a someone who has developed into one of the tougher players in the NHL. Martin will hit anyone and is more than willing to drop the gloves. $1 million a season for a third-line player like this is a good deal.
-Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk (right) is expected to sign a contract with SKA St. Petersburg of Russia's KHL for the duration of the lockout.
-The Devils assigned forwards Matt Anderson, Jean-Sebastien Berube, Bobby Butler, Adam Henrique, Mike Hoeffel, Jacob Josefson, Harri Pesonen, Tim Sestito, Mike Sislo, Mattias Tedenby, Chad Wiseman, David Wohlberg, Steve Zalewski, defensemen Brandon Burlon, Eric Gelinas, Dan Kelly, Adam Larsson, Jay Leach, Alexander Urbom, Harry Young goaltenders Maxime Clermont, Jeff Frazee, Keith Kinkaid and Scott Wedgewood to Albany of the AHL and defensemen Reece Scarlett (Swift Current - WHL), Damon Severson (Kelowna - WHL) and forward Stefan Matteau (Blainville - QMJHL) to their junior teams.
-The Flyers assigned goaltenders Cal Heeter, Niko Hovinen, defensemen Cullen Eddy Erik Gustafsson, Tyler Hostetter, Blake Kessel, Matthew Konan, Oliver Lauridsen, Brandon Manning, Danny Syvret, forwards Jason Akeson, Tyler Brown, Sean Couturier, Matt Ford, Shane Harper, Ben Holmstrom, Andrew Johnston, Matt Mangene, Tye McGinn, Marcel Noebels, Luke Pither, Zac Rinaldo, Brayden Schenn, Mike Testwuide, Eric Wellwood and Harry Zolnierczyk to Adirondack of the AHL and forwards Nick Cousin (Sault Ste. Marie - OHL), Scott Laughton (Oshawa - OHL) and Derrick Mathers (Peterborough - OHL) to their junior teams.
Northeast Division
-The Bruins signed forward Milan Lucic (right) to a three-year contract extension worth a total of $18 million. Entering the final season of a contract with a salary cap hit of $4,083,333, Lucic, 24, will have a salary cap hit of $6 million with his new deal. In 81 games last season, Lucic scored 61 points (26 goals, 35 assists).
-EN Says: Lucic is a pretty unique player in that he can score 30 points and the can destroy just about any defenseman on the forecheck. This might seem like a slight overpayment for him, but good luck finding another 30-goal scorer with a nasty streak like this.
-The Sabres' re-signed restricted free agent forward Tyler Ennis to a two-year contract worth a total of $5.625 million. Ennis, 22, will have a salary cap hit of $2,812,500. In 48 games last season, Ennis scored 34 points (15 goals, 19 assists).
-EN Says: Ennis is a nifty little waterbug of a player maker. He's good for 20 goals a season but at 5-foot-9 and 157 pounds , he's hardly a physical force. A 20-goal threat at just under $3 million is a fair deal.
-The Maple Leafs assigned forwards Spencer Abbott, Carter Ashton, Tyler Brenner, Sam Carrick, Joe Colborne, Andrew Crescenzi, Jerry D’Amigo, Nicolas Deschamps, Jamie Devane, Ryan Hamilton, Nazem Kadri, Leo Komarov, Greg McKegg, Brad Ross, Kenny Ryan, Greg Scott, defensemen Jesse Blacker, Jake Gardiner, Simon Gysbers, Korbinian Holzer, goaltenders Mark Owuya and Jussi Rynnas to Toronto of the AHL and forwards Tyler Biggs (Oshawa - OHL), David Broll (Sault Ste. Marie - OHL) and defenseman Stuart Percy (Mississauga - OHL) to their junior teams.
Southeast Division
-The Jets re-signed restricted free agent Evander Kane (right) to a six-year contract worth a total of $31.5 million. Kane, 21, will have a salary cap hit of $5.25 million. In 74 games last season, Kane scored 57 points (30 points, 27 assists).
-EN Says: Kane finally broke through last season as a legit top-line winger last season and he's still climbing towards his celing. If the Jets ever got a legit top-line playmaker at center, Kane could be a 40-goal threat. This seems like a slight overpayment for a player with only one 30-goal season under his belt, but Kane will be a big part of the Jets becoming a playoff contender.
-The Jets assigned forwards Alexander Burmistrov, Patrice Cormier, Jason Gregoire, Carl Klingberg, Eric O'Dell, Ivan Telegin, goaltenders Chris Carrozzi, Edward Pasquale, defensemen Ben Chiarot, Julian Melchiori, Will O'Neill, Zach Redmond, Cody Sol to St. John's of the AHL and forward Mark Scheifele to Barrie of the OHL.
-The Hurricanes assigned forwards Nicolas Blanchard, Zach Boychuk, Zac Dalpe, A.J. Jenks, Riley Nash, Victor Rask, Jerome Samson, F Justin Shugg, Jeff Skinner (right), Jared Staal, Brett Sutter, Brody Sutter, Chris Terry, Tim Wallace, Jeremy Welsh, defensemen Brett Bellemore, Justin Faulk, Marc-Andre Gragnani, Michal Jordan, Tommi Kivisto, Justin Krueger, Austin Levi, Rasmus Rissanen, Bobby Sanguinetti, Beau Schmitz, Joe Sova, goaltenders John Muse and Justin Peters to Charlotte of the AHL and Ryan Murphy to Kitchener of the OHL.
-The Lightning assigned forward J.T. Wyman to Syracuse of the AHL.
-How much will the lockout hurt the strides the Panthers made as a franchise on and off the ice last season?
Central Division
-Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk has joined Ak Bars Kazan of Russia's KHL for the duration of the lockout.
-The Predators signed defenseman Kevin Klein to a five-year contract extension worth a total of $14.5 million. Entering the final season of a contract with a salary cap hit of $1.35 million, Klein, 27, will have a salary cap hit of $2.9 million with his new contract. In 66 games last season, Klein scored 21 points (four goals, 17 assists).
-EN Says: Klein (right) has developed into a dependable top-four defenseman who you can rely on in a shutdown role. He can block shots or pest opposing scoring forwards. Additionally, he offers a little offensive pop. Getting him for just short of $3 million is a fair deal.
-The Predators signed forward Craig Smith to a two-year contract extension worth a total of $4 million. Entering the final season of a two-way contract, Smith, 23, will have a salary cap hit of $2 million with his new contract. In 72 games last season, Smith scored 36 points (14 goals, 22 assists).
-EN Says: Smith is a potential 20-goal threat in the NHL. This almost seems like a "prove-it" contract for him to reach his potential.
-The Blackhawks assigned forwards Kyle Beach, Brandon Bollig, Terry Broadhurst, Rob Flick, Byron Froese, David Gilbert, Jimmy Hayes, Marcus Kruger, Peter LeBlanc, Jeremy Morin, Philippe Paradis, Brandon Pirri, Brandon Saad, Andrew Shaw, Ben Smith, defensemen Adam Clendening, Klas Dahlbeck, Shawn Lalonde, Joe Lavin, Nick Leddy, Dylan Olsen, Ryan Stanton, goaltenders Mac Carruth, Carter Hutton, Alec Richards and Kent Simpson to Rockford of the AHL and forwards Joakim Nordstrom to AIK of Sweden's Elitserien. Saad is a Pittsburgh-area native.
-The Blue Jackets assigned forwards Cody Bass, Nick Drazenovic, Andrew Joudrey, Ryan Russell and defenseman Nick Holden to Springfield of the AHL.
Northwest Division
-The Oilers assigned forwards Cameron Abney, Mark Arcobello, Dane Byers, Philippe Cornet, Jordan Eberle (right), Curtis Hamilton, Teemu Hartikainen, Tanner House, Anton Lander, Ryan Martindale, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Magnus Paajarvi, Kristians Pelss, Tyler Pitlick, Toni Rajala, Antti Tyrvainen, Chris VandeVelde, goaltenders Tyler Bunz, Yann Danis, Olivier Roy, defensemen Brandon Davidson, Taylor Fedun, Martin Marincin, Alex Plante, Justin Schultz and Colten Teubert to Oklahoma City of the AHL. Forward Nail Yakupov, the top overall selection in this summer's draft, was assigned to Sarnia of the OHL but is expected to play with a team in Russia's KHL.
-The Flames assigned forwards Akim Aliu, Paul Byron, Krys Kolanos, Ben Walter, Sven Baertsch, Carter Bancks, Lance Bouma, Tyler Elson, Michael Ferland, Bryan Cameron, David Eddy, Ryan Howse, Greg Nemisz, Roman Horak, Gaelan Patterson, Max Reinhart, Ben Street, Mitch Wahl, defencemen Joe Piskula, Chris Breen, T.J. Brodie, James Martin and Brady Lamb to Abbotsford of the AHL and goaltender Joni Ortio to HIFK Helsinki of Finland's SM-ligga.
Pacific Division
-The Ducks signed defenseman Cam Fowler to a five-year contract extension worth a total of $20 million. Entering the final season of his entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $1.4 million, Fowler, 20, will have a salary cap hit of $4 million with his new deal. In 82 games last season, Fowler scored 29 points (five goals, 23 assists).
-EN Says: Fowler (right) is on his way to becoming a top-pairing defenseman. He already plays big minutes and racks up points. Getting a blueliner like this for $4 million will be a bargain.
-The Kings assigned defensemen Andrew Bodnarchuk, Slava Voynov, forwards Stefan Legein and David Meckler to Manchester of the AHL.
-The Coyotes assigned Scott forwards Arnold, Alexandre Bolduc, Chris Brown, Chris Conner, Brett Hextall, Rob Klinkhammer, Phil Lane, Jordan Martinook, Andy Miele, Joel Rechlicz, Brendan Shinnimin, Jordan Szwarz, Ethan Werek, defensemen Mathieu Brodeur, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Maxim Goncharov, Brandon Gormley, Mark Louis, David Rundblad, Michael Stone, Chris Summers, Justin Weller, goaltenders Louis Domingue, Chad Johnson, Mike Lee and Mark Visentin to Portland of the AHL and forward Lucas Lessio (Oshawa - OHL) and defenseman Connor Murphy (Sarnia - OHL) to their junior teams.
Patrick Division
-Stars forward/ex-Penguins captain Jaromir Jagr (right) and Canadiens forward Tomas Plekanec have joined HC Kladno of the Czech Extraliga for the duration of the lockout. Jagr owns the franchise.
-Flyers forward Ruslan Fedotenko and Jets forward Alexei Ponikarovsky, both former Penguins, have joined Donbass Donetsk of Russia's KHL for the duration of the lockout.
-Former Lightning/Maple Leafs/Thrashers/Flyers defenseman Pavel Kubina has joined HC Vitkovice of the Czech Extraliga.
-Happy 32nd birthday to the patron anti-saint of Empty Netters, Patrik Stefan. Why does the first overall pick in the 1999 draft have such a special place in our hearts you ask?
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(Photos: Gonchar/Malkin, Kovalchuk and Skinner-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Lucic-Paul Bereswill/Getty Images; Kane-Claus Andersen/Getty Images; Klein-Jeff Gross/Getty Images; Eberle-Dale MacMillan/Getty Images; Fowler-Harry How/Getty Images; Jagr-Post-Gazette archives)