Hockeybuzz for Latest NHL Free Agent Signings

Rather than post every signing that goes down over the next little while, here's a site that will give you all of that latest news.

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/

Great site for all the news, trades, signings and rumors.

Buster

Sharks, Bruins and Coyotes Lock up Key Components

The San Jose Sharks took care of some much needed business today, locking up forward Patrick Marleau and playoff hero Joe Pavelski to long term deals.

The 6' 2" and 220 lbs Marleau has spent his whole career with the Sharks and recently helped Team Canada claim the gold at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Last season the 30-year-old was very successful, playing in all 82 games and recording 44 goals to accompany 39 assists, for an impressive total of 83 points. His 83 points marks his best total since the 2005-06 season, and his 44 goals were a career high in that respect. The 3-time NHL All-Star and franchise points leader lead his team to the Conference Finals this past season. His deal will see him earn $6.9 million per year for the next 4 seasons. He was set to become a free agent on July 1st.

Meanwhile, 25-year-old Pavelski also signed a 4-year deal, his sees him make $4 million per season. Pavelski had another solid season as a member of the Sharks, he netted 25 goals and added 26 assists for 51 points in just 67 games. "Little Joe", as he may be called, was anything but "little" in the playoffs, where he managed 9 goals and 17 points in just 15 games. He was a crucial piece to San Jose in the playoffs, and also to Team U.S.A.'s silver medal effort in Vancouver. The 5' 11" and 194 lbs Pavelski has also spent his entire career as a member of the Sharks.

Also inking up key players recently were the Boston Bruins and Phoenix Coyotes.

The Bruins reached a deal with playoff workhorse Johnny Boychuk for 2 more seasons, the contract totals $3.75 million. The 26-year-old defenseman had a great season with the Bruins and an even better playoffs. He was key to the Bruins upsetting 3rd seed Buffalo in the first round of the playoffs. Boychuk scored a total of 5 goals and 15 points in just 51 regular season games and added 6 more points in a mere 13 playoff contests. However, the 6' 2" and 225 lbs Boychuk was more noted for his defensive attributes and hard hitting style. He also logged a lot of minutes alongside Captain Zdeno Chara during the playoffs.

The Coyotes were the last to get in on the spending, resigning Polish forward Wojtek Wolski. Wolski was late season acquisition by the Coyotes, who acquired the 24-year-old from the Avalanche. His 2009-10 season totals included 23 goals and 42 assists for 65 points in 80 games, split between the two clubs. The 6' 3" and 210 lbs Wolski will $7.6 million over the next 2 seasons.

As both the Entry Draft and NHL Free Agency dates near, there will certainly be more teams looking to lock up players for next season. Teams will also be looking to free up cap space in the coming days, likely via trades. Stay tuned and enjoy the Draft!

Buster

Music City Movements

Just a quick note on the barrage of moves made by the Nashville Predators recently.

The first of which involved the resigning of D Francis Bouillon. The deal covers the next two seasons, in the first year he will make $1.2 million and in the following the 34-year-old will earn $1.5 million. Despite being undersized at just 5ft 8in and 198lbs, Bouillon never shies away from the physical side of the game. The solid, hard hitting defenseman is the type of player every team needs, especially considering he only spent 50 minutes in the box last season. Quite disciplined for a player of his style. He averaged over 19 minutes per game last season and rattled off 162 hits.

Later, the Preds dealt the rights to defenseman Dan Hamhuis to the Eastern Conference Champion Flyers. The Predators also gave up a conditional pick in the 2011 draft. In return, Nashville will receive the rights to D Ryan Parent, who will soon become a restricted free agent. Parent is listed at 6ft 2in and 210lbs and made $0.9 million last season. The 23-year-old Parent was originally drafted by Nashville in 2005, but was later traded to the Flyers. He collected just 1 goal and 2 assists in a mere 48 games with the Flyers this season. The 2-time World Junior Champion is considered to be more of a defensive specialist. As for Hamhuis, he earned $2 million last season and will be getting a raise from the Flyers. He is however, still set to become an unrestricted free agent July 1. Hamhuis scored 5 goals and added 19 assists for 24 points last season and has never played less than 78 games in one season, over his 6-year NHL career. The 27-year-old is 6ft 1in and 203lbs.

The busy Preds weren't done there though, they also traded Captain Jason Arnott to the Devils for forward Matt Halischuk and a 2nd round pick in 2011. The former NHL All Star and Stanley Cup Champion Arnott, previously played with New Jersey from 1997 to 2002. Last season the 35-year-old potted 19 goals and assisted on 27 others for a total of 46 points in 63 games. The powerful 6ft 5in and 220 pound Arnott will cost the Devils $4.5 million in the 2010-11 season. Arnott is also noted for having scored the Stanley Cup winning goal in double OT of Game 6 in 2000, as a member of those Devils! Going the other way is Matt Halischuk, a 22-year-old who played 20 games with the Devils this year, recording 1 goal and adding an assist. He spent most of the season playing for the Devils' minor league team in Lowell, where he played 32 games and notched 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points. Halischuk is just 5ft 11in and 177lbs but makes up for his lacking size with his skating and hard work. He is also known to spend time on the penalty kill. Many may remember Halischuk when he scored the gold medal clinching goal in overtime for Canada at the 2008 World Juniors!

Predators GM David Poile cleared up some cap space with these moves and also brought in some younger players. No doubt with the cap space they now have they may be looking to make a bigger splash come July 1st. But for now, all eyes are on the draft where the Preds also have the 18th pick.

Buster

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Boston Bruins: Who's in and who's out

With Dennis Seidenberg and Shawn Thornton recently locked up for the next couple years, it's time to step back and look at who else should be back in Black and Gold next year. With 18 players already signed and just over 4.3 million left in cap space, there is not much room to fill holes. The likes of Rechhi, Begin, Satan and Boychuk headline the most notable unrestricted free agents as of July 1. Restricted free agents Wheeler, Stuart, Paille, Sobotka, McQuaid and Bodnarchuk are also big players moving forward.

But who stays and who goes?

As Mark Recchi continues to age, he continues to produce solid numbers and brings hard work to the line-up every night. His experience is a strong trait to a team that consists of many inexperienced players. His strong playoff performance (10 points in 13 games) also is a great reason to bring back the former cup winner.

Steve Begin was no doubt a top tier penalty killer and added some solid sandpaper to the line-up. Another great worker that wasn't afraid to drop the gloves either. He proved to be a great enforcer that knew his role well within the team.

Miro Satan was another solid performer in the Bruins playoff run, gathering 10 points as well. His chemistry with David Krejci was very noticeable and after Krejci went down to injury, so did Satan's productivity. Less than half a season isn't enough to prove what he can really bring to the table. His track record in Pittsburgh won't support him either. Although he seemed to be a great fit for the stretch run, is he really part of this team moving forward?

Johnny Boychuk really came through at the end of the season and proved to be a very important piece to the defence. His 15 points in just 56 regular season games and 6 playoff points also can't go unnoticed. He logged minutes in the high 20s often in the playoffs and really came through with solid defensive play. His hitting ability wasn't too shabby either. No doubt he would be great to have back, but he will certainly be looking for a raise from his 0.5 million he earned last season.

The collection of restricted free agents will be of concern as well. Wheeler has great size and speed, but should really have produced more last season. Mark Stuart proved he was solid when in the line-up, however keeping him off the injured list seemed a bit of a challenge. Paille had great speed and penalty killing abilities but bringing him back good prove difficult and Sobotka is still waiting for a breakout season. McQuaid and Bodnarchuk should really soon be able to make that next step up as well.

Who do you think Chiarelli should bring back?

With limited cap space, only some of these Bruins will be able to remain Bruins. GM Chiarelli will have work to do and spaces to fill. Trades may also be looked at to free up room to sign as many as the above as possible. However, it is likely that Bruins Nation may be more focused on the Draft than anything. Holding two first round picks can really stir up a lot of options. It will be very interesting to see what he decides to do with those two picks, if he opts to hold them both. However, with the Bruins depth down the middle, it seems like they would prefer Taylor over Tyler. Either way, all there is to do is sit back as the deadlines near and see who's in and who's out for next year.

Buster