When NHL free agency launched on Wednesday, there was near-immediate speculation that the Montreal Canadiens had come to a two-year agreement with forward Alexei Kovalev. Nothing was ever announced, and it quickly became clear that Montreal had no such agreement.
The Canadiens moved quickly on Wednesday, signing forwards Mike Cammalleri and Brian Gionta, and making it clear through that action that Kovalev wasn't a lock to return.
Since free agency started on July 1, the 30 NHL teams have invested over $400 million, whether it be signing an incoming free agent, or locking up their own players to long-term contracts.
If history has shown us anything, it's that some of these deals will prove to be bargains, while others will quickly lead to buyers remorse.
The Montreal Canadiens entered the offseason with the always dangerous combination of salary cap space and open roster spots. It didn't take Bob Gainey long to start reconstructing his roster, making the head-scratching trade for Scott Gomez and his gigantic contract on Tuesday, a move that was panned by pretty much every analyst/blogger/and fan outside of New York City.
On Wednesday, when the free agent frenzy officially opened, Gainey continued his roster overhaul, and essentially cornered the market on small, undersized forwards, and reunited Gomez with one of his former teammates from his New Jersey glory days.
July 1 is a significant day in the National Hockey League. It's the day that unrestricted free agents are finally able to negotiate with any team they want. Even with a fading economy, it's a safe bet that money will be spent, and it will probably be spent freely by at least some teams. With this big day in mind, FanHouse offers up a position-by-position look at the top free agents, as well as some guys you may want your team to avoid.
Whether your team is looking to score goals, stop the other team from scoring goals, or find someone to set up its own top goal-scorers, there's a good chance that the right free agent can be found in this year's crop.
It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We continue our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Northwest Division.
It appears we are setting up for an offseason of significant change in the Northwest Division. Only the Vancouver Canucks will have the same coach as last year, and there could be some real upheaval in terms of personnel. Not only that, but two teams (Minnesota and Colorado) have changed general managers.
It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We continue our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Central Division.
The Chicago Blackhawks are trying to build off a magical season. Columbus got its first taste of playoff hockey, while St. Louis returned to the playoffs after a far-too-long absence. Meanwhile, Nashville is trying to rebound after just missing the cut for the Western Conference playoffs.
The NHL's new hard-line stance on message-sending and late-game fisticuffs seems to have lasted, oh, about two weeks. Late in the third period of Pittsburgh's 7-4 win on Thursday, Carolina's Ryan Bayda was involved in a line brawl of sorts that featured Bayda delivering what appeared to be a cross-check to the face of Kris Letang.
In the end, Miroslav Satan fought Patrick Eaves, Tim Gleason fought Letang, and Bayda was issued a match penalty for intent to injure. By rule, Bayda was immediately suspended from further competition pending a league review. That review has taken place, and Bayda walks away with a $2,500 fine and no suspension.
On Thursday, the NHL suspended Flyers forward Daniel Carcillo for his actions in the closing seconds of Pittsburgh's 4-1 win on Wednesday night. It was part of a somewhat embarrassing end to the game, as the Flyers racked up 23 penalty minutes in just 19 seconds.
Carcillo admitted that the official dropping the puck warned him not to try anything.
Exactly 1,230 regular season games have been played. We're down to the best eight teams in each conference. The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin Wednesday night with four series lid-lifters.
The Western Conference is home to the league's best team (San Jose), the defending champion (Detroit), and the two most intriguing Cinderella stories in the league (St. Louis and Columbus). Can Cinderella put off the stroke of midnight, or will an established power advance their way to the Finals?
Every season since 2000-2001, Jarome Iginla has led the Calgary Flames in goals. In many of those seasons, it hasn't really been close. While he's a wonderful player and all, this isn't necessarily a good thing. You could argue that Calgary's lack of balance has played a role in their inability to advance past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs more than once in Iginla's career.
With that in mind, general manager Darryl Sutter found Iginla some help last summer. He acquired Mike Cammalleri from the Los Angeles Kings, hoping he had found someone who could take all the heat off Iginla and Daymond Langkow.
When NHL free agency launched on Wednesday, there was near-immediate speculation that the Montreal Canadiens had come to a two-year agreement with forward Alexei Kovalev. Nothing was ever announced, and it quickly became clear that Montreal had no such agreement.
Since free agency started on July 1, the 30 NHL teams have invested over $400 million, whether it be signing an incoming free agent, or locking up their own players to long-term contracts.
The Montreal Canadiens entered the offseason with the always dangerous combination of salary cap space and open roster spots. It didn't take Bob Gainey long to start reconstructing his roster, making the head-scratching trade for Scott Gomez and his gigantic contract on Tuesday, a move that was panned by pretty much every analyst/blogger/and fan outside of New York City. 
It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We continue our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Northwest Division. 
It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We continue our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Central Division. 
The NHL's new hard-line stance on message-sending and late-game fisticuffs seems to have lasted, oh, about two weeks. Late in the third period of Pittsburgh's 7-4 win on Thursday, Carolina's Ryan Bayda was involved in a line brawl of sorts that featured Bayda delivering what appeared to be a cross-check to the face of Kris Letang. 
On Thursday, the NHL suspended Flyers forward Daniel Carcillo for his actions in the closing seconds of Pittsburgh's 4-1 win on Wednesday night. It was part of a somewhat embarrassing end to the game, as the Flyers racked up 23 penalty minutes in just 19 seconds. 
Every season since 2000-2001, Jarome Iginla has led the Calgary Flames in goals. In many of those seasons, it hasn't really been close. While he's a wonderful player and all, this isn't necessarily a good thing. You could argue that Calgary's lack of balance has played a role in their inability to advance past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs more than once in Iginla's career. 
