FanHouse Alex Tanguay

News broke Saturday that the Tampa Bay Lightning had agreed to a deal with free-agent forward Alex Tanguay. This means the Minnesota Wild have to look elsewhere if they still hope to add a forward to bolster their top-six depth.

As Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune pointed out, Tanguay wasn't a great fit for the Wild. He's more of a disher than a scorer, and the Wild are in desperate need of people to put the puck in the net. With that in mind, who can the Wild target?

Newsmakers in the NHL: During the regular season it's our daily look at the previous night's action. During the offseason, it's our link dump that looks at some of the storylines and moves taking place around the league three times per week. Have a tip or something you want linked? Send it in to nhlfanhouse@gmail.com.

Satan Interested In Return To Islanders

There's still a few intriguing options on the free agent market -- Alex Tanguay probably being the best -- including former Oilers, Sabres, Islanders and Penguins winger Miroslav Satan. After splitting the 2008-09 season between the NHL and AHL, the 34-year-old is still interested in a possible return to Long Island, and according Newsday's Katie Strang, he skated at the team's practice facility on Wednesday.

The summer can be a long, boring time filled with baseball, family trips and round the clock coverage of Brett Favre for the diehard hockey fan. Today is the first in a series that will help guide you through this hockey void.

There are probably no worse months of the year for the hockey fan than what we're in right now. Mid-July through mid-September are easily the slowest months on the calendar. Remember that we just made it through the high points in the summer -- the draft and the opening of free agency. Now, there are only a few solid players left (Alex Tanguay!) and all we've got to look forward to is arbitration and the fact that we're only eight weeks away from training camp!

While most of the big names went off the board in the opening days of free agency, there's still some quality players to be had on the open market. Here's a quick look at three of the better players still searching for a new team: Martin Biron, Alex Tanguay, and Dennis Seidenberg.

Various media outlets are reporting this afternoon that the Montreal Canadiens have been sold to the Molson family, pending league approval (which, according to TSN, could take until mid-summer). The price tag for the NHL's most storied franchise? Depending on which report you listen to, it's somewhere between $500 million and $550 million ... or more.

How are Canadiens fans reacting to the news?

It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We begin our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Northeast Division.

Brian Burke begins his rebuild of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dany Heatley wants out of Ottawa and just what is Boston going to do with Phil Kessel and a limited amount of salary cap space?

After serving as the Florida Panthers general manager for the past four seasons (and head coach for three of those seasons) Jacques Martin will be named the new head coach of the Montreal Canadiens on Monday. During his four-year stint in charge of the Panthers, the team failed to make the playoffs each season, while he brings 14 years of head coaching experience to the Canadiens.

After a brief two-year tenure with the St. Louis Blues in the late 1980s, Martin took over the Ottawa Senators in 1995, leading the team to the playoffs eight times in nine years, while also winning three division titles and the Jack Adams award as coach of the year in 1999.

Newsmakers in the NHL is a weekday morning attempt to clear yesterday's rebounds and look to the day ahead.

Hurricanes 4, Rangers 2: Carolina continued its winning ways with a 4-2 win over the Rangers on Thursday night, extending its current winning streak to seven games. Chad LaRose scored a pair of goals in the win, while Cam Ward stopped 36 shots, including 29 through the first two periods.

Newsmakers in the NHL is a weekday morning attempt to clear yesterday's rebounds and look to the day ahead.

Canadiens 6, Thrashers 3: For one night, all is well in Montreal as the Canadiens managed to put their epic collapse on hold, pulling out a convincing 6-3 win over the Atlanta Thrashers. Montreal received a five-point effort from Alex Tanguay and a two-goal performance from Alexei Kovalev, while Carey Price picked up the win in net.

With the win, Montreal claims sole possession of the No. 8 spot in the Eastern Conference, taking a two-point lead over idle Florida. Montreal bombarded Atlanta goalie Kari Lehtonen with a four-goal onslaught in the second period, while the Canadiens also went 3-for-6 on the power play.

On Saturday night, the Montreal Canadiens continued their season of disappointment by getting crushed by Toronto, 5-2, on home ice. The recent struggles have left more than a few fans, like the fine folks over at Four Habs Fans, slightly perturbed.

Entering Monday night's action, Montreal could wake up on Tuesday morning on the outside of the Eastern Conference playoff picture if Florida can knock off Carolina. So, where has it all gone wrong for the Canadiens in what was supposed to be a season of glorious centennial celebration?