Koivu to the Ducks... Auld to the Stars... Hudler to Russia? Get fantasy reaction to each signing or trade as the free agent frenzy rolls on. Scroll down to see everything that has happened over the past week or so.
Posted at 6:34pm ET, July 10 What happened: Brendan Morrison signs a one-year, $1.5M deal with Washington. Fantasy impact: This can only help his poolie worth, which has been bordering on pathetic as he's fought through injuries and inconsistencies. He's theoretically this team's second line centre now with Sergei Fedorov leaving for the KHL, although Michael Nylander (not very effective) and Brooks Laich (maybe better on L3) may be in the mix. Assuming Mike Knuble is skating RW on the Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom line, that leaves Alexander Semin to help boost Morrison's totals and that doesn't exactly hurt. Don't hold your breath for a standout season from Morrison, but if he can go from the 31 points he had last season to the 45-55 range that could fill a depth hole down the middle in deeper leagues. Maybe a healthy Morrison can actually regain some of the form he showed in Vancouver during the glory years since Semin is a legit star winger. Regardless, he won't be anything but a later round pick in any draft that has some potential upside given his situation.
Posted at 6:27pm ET, July 10 What happened: Travis Moen signs with Montreal for three years. Fantasy impact: Not a whole lot. He's a guy that makes the team better on the ice, but contributes very little statistically.
Posted at 12:50pm ET, July 10 What happened: Montreal signs defenceman Paul Mara to a one-year deal. Fantasy impact: With Andrei Markov and Jaroslav Spacek likely manning the points on PP1, Mara is probably on fairly equal offensive footing with Roman Hamrlik on this new-look Habs team and could see some second unit time. Mara's a guy that can do a bit of everything, but likely won't become a useful fantasy tool until the Habs sustain an injury.
Posted at 11:20am ET, July 10 What happened: Antero Niittymaki signs with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Fantasy impact: It's not a bad opportunity for Niittymaki, actually. Mike Smith is the number one guy for this team, but he's still in the infancy of being a top goalie for a franchise so if he should struggle or run into concussion problems again, then Niittymaki is a guy capable of going on a good run. It might not be a bad idea to add him if you end up with Smith at your draft in the fall, depending on how big your bench is for '09-10.
Posted at 7:23pm ET, July 9 What happened: Forward Rickard Wallin is leaving the SEL for the Leafs for a one-year contract. Fantasy impact: He was 10th in league points with 45 (18G, 27A, 56 PIM and 143 SOG with an ATOI of 19:49 per game) in 55 GP and was the captain on new signee Jonas Gustavsson's squad. GM Brian Burke said recently he thinks Wallin, a good two-way player, could take the place of Dominic Moore. There may be more offensive upside there, but Wallin's role will determine any potential fantasy value. At this point it doesn't sound like it'll be worthy of anything but a possible in-season pick-up in deeper leagues.
Posted at 4:34pm ET, July 9 What happened: Nick Boynton signs a one-year, $1.5M contract with Anaheim. Fantasy impact: He won't likely get enough points to warrant a spot on anyone's fantasy roster, but his PIM contributions can be helpful in standard leagues and playing for Anaheim won't hurt that category either. For the most part this is just another good move by the Ducks to remake a team that has lost a few key contributors, but still looks to be as strong or stronger headed into '09-10.
Posted at 4:01pm ET, July 9 What happened: Ales Kotalik signs a three-year deal with the Rangers for $3M per. Fantasy impact: Kotalik is a really versatile forward that can fit in on any line in any role, including using his shot on the point of the power play if needed. Considering this team's recent history with struggles on the blueline with the man advantage, that could be a notch in Kotalik's belt. He's generally just a depth player in fantasy terms, although he might get a good shot at creating offensive production on this Rangers team. He could find himself anywhere from the first line opposite Marian Gaborik to the third line in a filler role, but chances seem fairly good he'll be given a shot inside of the top six to begin with and there John Tortorella will go from there.
Posted at 4:21pm ET, July 8 What happened: Ottawa trades Alex Auld to Dallas for a sixth round pick in 2010. Fantasy impact: This is the definitive win-win for both sides of the deal. Ottawa saves $1M in cap space, which will come in handy should Dany Heatley back off his trade request and with the team already having signed Alexei Kovalev at $5M per. Regardless, mo' money is good in any cap situation. Brian Elliott has now been cemented as the back-up to Pascal Leclaire, which steadies the youngster's fantasy value headed into '09-10. Should Leclaire get injured, as he has tended to do in the past, Elliott's worth rises even more if Cory Clouston can get his team playing like it did down the stretch last season. On the Dallas side of the coin, this is "Plan B" with Jonas Gustavsson choosing the Leafs as his NHL home. Auld is now in line to potentially start 25-30 games if the Stars and Marty Turco are serious about giving the established vet plenty of rest in the regular season. Auld can provide the stability in that back-up role that will allow Dallas to do exactly that, instead of having to lean too heavily on Turco and wear him out. Plus, if Turco goes through any struggles like he did last year then the Stars have a quality guy to throw between the pipes while Turco works it out in practice. There wasn't an option like that last season. This trade today should, theoretically, help the fantasy value of Turco even if he's earning a few less wins with this plan. Auld played in 48 GP last season and carried a decent 2.47/ .911 split with one shutout. Matching or beating those peripherals with a Dallas team that'll be healthy and hungry is a reasonable expectation. Much like Ty Conklin emerged as one of the best fantasy back-ups to own last season, the same may be true for Auld if Dallas truly has a rebound campaign.
Posted at 1:52pm ET, July 8 What happened: UFA Saku Koivu signs a one-year deal with Anaheim worth just over $3M. Fantasy impact: If you're invested in Ducks forwards in a keeper league or had planned on drafting any in the fall, you should be quite happy today. Koivu gives the Ducks a legitimate star second line centre now, which means wingers now don't need to land on L1 to get that extra boost in their value playing alongside Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. Bobby Ryan may well take that LW slot again, but now Joffrey Lupul and Teemu Selanne will have an excellent pivot with which to play on the second line. Andrew Ebbett's value (he did a pretty decent job last season, but he ain't Koivu) takes a hit here, but otherwise it's all aces for the top six in Anaheim. This is a really strong signing for the Ducks, who are taking Koivu away from the only NHL team for which he has played. He had a decent 50 points in 65 GP last season after posting 56 in 77 the year prior, so that general point range seems pretty reasonable again with quality wingers in Anaheim. Remember that Koivu is a quiet source of PIM too, which should only be enhanced playing with a team like the Ducks.
Posted at 12:05pm ET, July 8 What happened: Michigan Live notes that Detroit forward Jiri Hudler has allegedly signed a two-year deal to play in the KHL for Moscow Dynamo, according to reports out of the Czech Republic. It's uncertain at this time if this is a Plan B in case salary arbitration doesn't go his way, but GM Ken Holland notes of the Russian offer that "he'd be taking a lot less money to stay in the NHL." Fantasy impact: Very interesting. We'll know more soon one way or the other on this subject, but if Hudler does bolt for Russia then that'll be a shame for poolies who were set to enjoy what could have been his best season to date. He broke out for a 57-point campaign in '08-9 and with a larger opportunity presenting itself next season with several departures on the wing for the Wings, the Czech was seemingly in line to continue trending his career offensive stats upward. Now? Only Hudler knows. Stay tuned.
Posted at 11:16am ET, July 8 What happened: Kris Versteeg signs a three-year deal with Chicago for around $3M per. Fantasy impact: The Lethbridge, AB-born forward busted out for a strong 53-point rookie campaign that saw him used all throughout the line-up and at both the wing and centre. He also earned a Calder Trophy nomination, although in all honesty that third spot (winner Steve Mason and Bobby Ryan had the other two positions) should have gone to Pekka Rinne despite Versteeg's strong performance. It hasn't been the easiest road to the NHL for Versteeg, but this 23-year old made the most of it and turned his hard work into a pretty sweet payday. With the re-signing of Dave Bolland and the addition of two-way gem John Madden, Versteeg should play the wing next season unless there's an injury. Can he repeat 53 points? It's far from an automatic, but it's possible and it'll depend on how the lines shake out. Should he end up on the coveted LW slot with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa (assuming L1 looks like that), then you can do the math. Just keep in mind there are also wingers Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Dustin Byfuglien and Andrew Ladd that will all be jockeying for position inside of the top nine... not even counting any potential prospects like Kyle Beach. Kane will obviously be used in a prime scoring position and Sharp is the best non-stud forward on this team, so it'll be an interesting and competitive camp in the fall. Versteeg, as you likely heard, was the other high-profile RFA offer sheet problem involved in this whole Hawks mess that's being investigated. Cam Barker, who has also since signed a new deal, was the other.
Posted at 4:23pm ET, July 7 What happened: The Denver Post reports that Joe Sakic will announce a decision about his future on Thursday. Fantasy impact: It's seems pretty likely this is going to be a retirement announcement, but we'll know for sure when the words come from the future Hall of Famer's mouth. The team dealing Ryan Smyth away to Los Angeles likely didn't add any incentive to come back and the fact that the team wants to shed salary is aided without Sakic's money ($6M last year) against the cap. Paul Stastny's value to this club was already high, but now he's officially the go-to guy down the middle. Interestingly, top prospect Matt Duchene is going to hit the ice for the Avs' rookie developmental camp on Thursday... the same day Sakic is likely to call it quits. He may or may not make the team out of training camp, but he and Stastny are going to eventually provide this team with a pretty sweet one-two punch down the middle. Wojtek Wolski was tried at centre last year with varying success and he'll likely get a shot at that again, which at least keeps him inside of the top six. 23-year old T.J. Hensick has 92 games of NHL experience under his belt now and don't write off his chances of working his way into the L2 C slot either.
Posted at 3:52pm ET, July 7 What happened: Chris Pronger signs a seven-year extension with Philadelphia worth $5M per. He was slated to become a UFA next summer. Fantasy impact: The rugged defenceman is going to turn 35 early next season, but he is going to play a crucial part in Philly's chances of taking its game to that vaunted next level. His fantasy value is strong in any format, but especially so in standard leagues where his PIM/ SOG totals come into play. As mentioned when the trade with Anaheim first went down, Pronger's presence should actually help Kimmo Timonen for the time being, while potentialy hurting Braydon Coburn in the short-term. In the long run though, having a guy like Pronger around will only be a benefit to Coburn and the Flyers' younger players in general.
Posted at 12:33pm ET, July 7 What happened: Calgary signs Jamie Lundmark. Fantasy impact: It's true that Lundmark has been a disappointment in his NHL career, but that's all the more reason why last year's brief taste of success was such a pleasant surprise. Given the money Calgary has tied up in its defence thanks to the excellent Jay Bouwmeester signing, a guy like Lundmark will actually have a fairly decent chance to be a depth fantasy contributor for the Flames. He's not likely someone that'll get drafted in anything but the deepest of leagues, but he could turn out to be a good add when one of your wingers gets hurt. He had 16 points in 27 GP at the NHL level last year and 52 in 54 with Quad City of the AHL.
Posted at 12:12pm ET, July 7 What happened: RFA Corey Crawford re-signs with Chicago. Fantasy impact: Crawford and Antti Niemi will duke it out for the back-up job behind Cristobal Huet, with Nikolai Khabibulin having signed with the Oilers. Given how good the Hawks are looking these days, Chicago's back-up could become a useful depth tool in fantasy leagues.
Posted at 12:10pm ET, July 7 What happened: RFA Ville Leino re-signs with Detroit for two years at $1.6M total. Fantasy impact: We got a glimpse of just how talented this kid is last season and headed into '09-10 he'll have a much better opportunity to establish himself with Marian Hossa and Mikael Samuelsson gone. Where exactly Leino will fit into the line-up remains to be seen; at worst he'll be a third line guy and in the best case scenario (more likely) he'll be on one of the top two scoring lines. He should also see regular PP2 duty and he'll be a name to remember in the later rounds of your draft as you're filling out your team's wing slots.
Posted at 11:35am ET, July 7 What happened: Swedish free agent goalie Jonas Gustavsson has picked the Toronto Maple Leafs to begin his NHL career. After the one-year contract is over, he'll be an RFA. Fantasy impact: As has been the case throughout this whole Gustavsson's Choice drama, poolies need to temper their expectations for '09-10 because allowing a year to get used to North American rinks is key for European goalies. That said, Gustavsson also didn't do himself any short-term favours by choosing Toronto over the stronger teams of San Jose or Dallas. Burkie must be a really convincing guy. It's true that the additions of Mike Komisarek and Francois Beauchemin make the Leafs much better on D than they were at the end of last season, but they've still got a ways to go before becoming a goaltender's friend. They're on the right track as a team, to be sure, but there's still some distance to travel. Gustavsson will enter next season as the back-up to Vesa Toskala and then we'll just go from there. Pencil him in for 20-25 games and then get ready to use that eraser and add to the total if Tosk slumps or Gustavsson goes on a hot streak. How will Toskala's health bounce back? Can Gustavsson make a quicker-than-expected adjustment to the NHL? Toskala's contract runs out at the end of next season, so you may be looking at Toronto's soon-to-be number one goalie in Gustavsson.
Posted at 8:51pm ET, July 6 What happened: Cam Barker re-signs with the Hawks for three years at just over $3M per. Fantasy impact: The 23-year defenceman had 40 points in only 68 GP last season. A nice bet for '09-10 poolies, he's got especially good keeper value given the state of affairs on this up and coming Chicago team. The real twist to this story has to do with Barker's RFA status and the grievance filed by the NHLPA over the alleged mishandling of the qualifying offers from the team to several of his teammates and him, including Calder nominee Kris Versteeg. Barker theoretically could have become a UFA instead of an RFA had he not signed this deal and had the grievance gone through all the way. Regardless, his offensive prowess on the back end is going to continue to make him a solid fantasy asset for years to come.
Posted at 4:10pm ET, July 6 What happened: UFA winger Alexei Kovalev signs with Ottawa for two years at $5M per. Fantasy impact: Kovalev's fantasy value has less to do with where he plays and more to do with which Kovalev hits the ice. He's got big talent, but the results have been inconsistent. In Ottawa, there are now two legit star RWs with Kovalev and Daniel Alfredsson. Who'll skate with deluxe playmaker Jason Spezza? Or, if Dany Heatley ever gets traded, will one of the two switch to LW and we'll see another loaded first line? The Sens always want to have two balanced lines, but it never seems to work out that way. We're not likely going to get a really good idea of how Kovalev fits in until the Heatley situation - and potential talent coming Ottawa's way in a trade - works itself out. One way or the other Kovalev will still be in a position to produce, although if he's not on Spezza's line and there isn't an L2 centre upgrade before October then Kovalev's value (he only had 65 points last season anyway, although his 74 PIM and 209 SOG helped out standard league owners a lot) might be dinged at least somewhat. Time will tell. Good signing for Ottawa either way, since the team needed more scoring with or without Heatley. Assuming both Kovalev and Alfredsson stick to the RW slot, this could help someone like Mike Fisher down the middle.
Posted at 3:40pm ET, July 6 What happened: Vancouver re-signs RFA D Shane O'Brien to a one-year, $1.8M contract. Fantasy impact: O'Brien was a sin bin regular with 196 PIM in all and in standard leagues he turned out to be a really good final defenceman to round out any roster. There are more than enough rivalries for the Canucks to go around and as long as he's seeing a steady flow of PIM, he'll continue to have pretty decent value in those formats. It's generally much better to have a "goon" blueliner than at forward, since you can almost always get more points from a free agent forward and that's thus a much better use of your F slot.
Posted at 3:30pm ET, July 6 What happened: Toronto signs UFA D Francois Beauchemin to a three-year deal worth $3.8M per. Fantasy impact: Another piece of the puzzle is now in place. The 29-year old rearguard is a really good two-way defenceman that can eat up huge minutes, play in all key situations and can contribute offensively. Expecting a 30+ point campaign from him next season (he had 21 last year and 28 the season prior) seems entirely reasonable and more is not out of the question, depending on what's done with Tomas Kaberle and who else is brought in to help on the offensive side of the coin. Beauchemin's value goes up in Toronto over Anaheim because the Ducks may be minus Chris Pronger, but they still have Scott Niedermayer, Ryan Whitney, James Wisniewski and now Luca Sbisa in the mix. The Ducks are clearly weaker sans Pronger/ Beauchemin, but that's still a pretty good group. Added to the signing of Mike Komisarek, this FB contract may be another piece of bait for Swedish goalie Jonas Gustavsson.
Posted at 3:20pm ET, July 6 What happened: Vancouver signs UFA Andrew Raycroft. No terms disclosed as of this writing. Fantasy impact: Raycroft will have more protection in front of him in Vancouver than with Colorado, but Roberto Luongo is obviously going to start the lion's share of the games and Raycroft's fantasy value is extremely limited at this point. What does this mean for star prospect Cory Schneider though? With two AHL campaigns under his belt, he's likely ready to begin his NHL apprecticeship as a back-up and he seems to have solid starting potential down the line. Are the Canucks getting ready to announce Luongo's next contract with the Sedins already nailed down and then cue a potential Schneider trade? Or is Raycroft merely veteran insurance?
Posted at 1:51pm ET, July 4 What happened: Ryan Smyth has been traded to the Los Angeles Kings for Kyle Quincey, Tom Preissing and a fifth-round draft pick in 2010. Fantasy impact: Smyth will have a cap hit of $6.25M for another three seasons and he's the gritty, goal-scoring LW this team needed. He'll likely slot in alongside Anze Kopitar on L1 and you know exactly where Smyth is going to be parked on PP1. His fantasy value really doesn't go up or down with this move because he's a key guy in the same situation wherever he plays. Justin Williams and Dustin Brown are the two top options on the right side and Alexander Frolov has a little less pressure on the left flank now. Smyth and Rob Scuderi are two big money additions to the roster, but they should also be key contributors at their respective positions.
With Colorado, the Avs are getting more puck-moving help on the blueline and that's also a good thing. Smyth is a huge loss, but also a big salary off the books for a team having made more than a few changes through the ranks headed into next season. Quincey was a revelation last season, having been claimed on waivers from an overcrowded Detroit back end. He may well be Colorado's biggest offensive threat on D now, since John-Michael Liles is pretty inconsistent. Quincey's offensive future in Los Angeles was unclear since they have so many stars in the making with its youth, but now he'll have some room to breathe in Denver. Good acquisition. Quincey has one more year at chump change before hitting RFA status, while Preissing has two years remaining at $2.75M and he'll provide more mobility back there as well. He'll no doubt see some PP time and his value doesn't change too much either way.
Posted at 7:36pm ET, July 3 What happened: Rick Nash has signed an eight year contract extension worth $7.8M per. Fantasy impact: This is easily GM Scott Howson's most important signing to date, since Nash is clearly the franchise in Columbus. The 25-year old power forward, who stands 6-4 and weighs in around 220 pounds, just set a career high in points (79), assists (39) and was one goal shy of his career-best 41 goals. He tied for the Rocket Richard Trophy that year. He is one of the best young forwards in fantasy's standard leagues because not only can he score, but he brings plenty of PIM and SOG to the table as well. The PPP are a given as the team's best offensive player. His overall game has really evolved under coach Ken Hitchcock, making Nash not only a gem in pools but also an invaluable winger on the ice that can be a lethal threat on the PK... if only he could improve his breakaway percentage, eh? He'll be entering his fifth NHL campaign in '09-10, after which he would have been one the most coveted UFAs in recent history. Columbus is really headed in the right direction as a franchise and locking up this stud goes a long way toward securing that golden future.
Posted at 4:24pm ET, July 3 What happened: RFA Ryane Clowe re-signs with the Sharks for four years at around $3.5M per season. Fantasy impact: Clowe had a pretty decent 52 points last season with 51 PIM, so he was a viable option in most standard leagues. He's really just beginning to realize his full offensive potential and as long as he can keep the physical game coming, he can keep developing into a useful power forward for poolies. He should spend most of his time inside of the top six again next season, although we'll get a better idea of specific line combos once we know what sort of makeover the Sharks get after another early playoff disappointment.
Posted at 2:54pm ET, July 3 What happened: Pittsburgh re-signs Ruslan Fedotenko to a one-year deal for $1.8M. Fantasy impact: Solid dollar value for the Pens. Fedotenko will likely spend much of next season alongside Evgeni Malkin again, but don't get sucked into thinking you should draft Fedotenko anywhere but the later rounds. He'll go through some hot streaks that'll be attractive for poolies with an injured winger, but otherwise his production is too inconsistent to warrant anything other than depth consideration. The real question now, assuming it's Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin skating with Sidney Crosby again, is who'll end up filling the open wing slot with Malkin? Petr Sykora and Miroslav Satan are UFAs. Will it be someone from within the system, or can Pittsburgh get a Sykora-like deal from a decent UFA winger looking to play with a stud centre?
Posted at 12:25pm ET, July 3 What happened: Mikael Samuelsson signs with Vancouver for three years at $7.5M total. Fantasy impact: Good salary boost for the winger, who couldn't have gotten that amount with Detroit given the cap situation. Samuelsson will be a good two-way forward for the Canucks who has middle-of-the-road fantasy league value. He likes to shoot the puck a lot, which is why he gets snapped up over players with similar point totals, but he just doesn't collect enough points to generally make it worthwhile to have him unless your league is really deep. That said, he will likely line up as an L2 winger in Vancouver alongside Ryan Kesler and that'll give Samuelsson a bit of a boost in point potential. In Detroit he was most often used on L3, which was still a pretty decent spot given the richness of talent, but he could be in line for slightly more minutes (15:22 in '08-9) on the coast. He's also a good PP guy with his big shot and will likely see at least second unit duty in Vancouver. With both Samuelsson and Hossa gone from Detroit, the path has officially been cleared for Ville Leino's potential breakout rookie campaign. He had nine points in 13 GP in limited duty this past season. Without Samuelsson on the point of PP2 in Detroit that should also mean a slot is opening up for young blueliner Jonathan Ericsson, who'll play alongside Niklas Kronwall.
Posted at 7:57pm ET, July 2 What happened: Jordan Leopold re-signs with Florida for one year after being dealt in the Jay Bouwmeester rights deal. Fantasy impact: Leopold hasn't really had a fantasy-worthy season since before the lockout and while there's always a shot at improvement because of his offensive ability, he's likely only going to be a potential free agent add in virtually any format next season. Bryan McCabe, Keith Ballard and Bryan Allen (who missed almost all of last season with a knee injury) are among the competition in Florida sans Bouwmeester, but we'll see how it plays out.
Posted at 7:15pm ET, July 2 What happened: Chad LaRose re-signs with Carolina for two years at $1.7M. Fantasy impact: The winger made a strong showing in the playoffs and he might be able to step up his production a bit next season, but keep in mind he only had 31 points during the regular season. He's still a depth winger at best in most fantasy formats at this point.
Posted at 4:32pm ET, July 2 What happened: Defensive defenceman Rob Scuderi signs with Los Angeles for four years at $3.4M per. Fantasy impact: Now you know why he opted for free agency instead of re-signing with the Cup champs. That's huge money for the 30-year old defender, but he will help bolster the back end of the Kings and help the goaltending of the team as well. Scuderi himself has no actual fantasy value, aside from improving team D that already allowed a surprisingly low amount of shots last season.
Posted at 2:50pm ET, July 2 What happened: RFA Mikhail Grabovski re-ups with Toronto for three years at $2.9M per. Fantasy impact: Not too bad of a signing for the money, all things considered. The 25-year old really showed his offensive skills down the stretch last season for the Leafs and he became a good add in most formats at the time because of it. He ended up with 48 points last season (good for fourth on the team) in what was his first full NHL campaign and 17 of them came in his final 15 starts. It's really kind of premature to project him for '09-10 because the Leafs aren't done remaking the offensive side of the coin, but they'll be counting on him to be one of the key offensive contributors down the middle. Grabovski, incoming Tyler Bozak and Matt Stajan are the best options for this team at centre at the moment (there are others that can be centres or wingers too). His late season success in '08-9 often came with Alexei Ponikarovsky and either Nikolai Kulemin or Niklas Hagman, so that line may be given another shot at working some magic.
Posted at 12:25pm ET, July 2 What happened: Adrian Aucoin signs with Phoenix for one year. Fantasy impact: Aucoin was forced out of Calgary with the signing of Jay Bouwmeester, but the 35-year old vet still has a few fantasy miles left on him. He may work his way onto the point alongside Ed Jovanovski on the first PP unit, but at worst would be a second unit guy. He has put up 34 and 35 points in his past two campaigns and a 30-point estimation is probably relatively safe headed into '09-10. That'll leave him as a free agent pick-up in most averaged-sized leagues, but a guy that might be a good option if one of your starters goes down with an injury.
Posted at 12:22pm ET, July 2 What happened: Mark Recchi re-signs with Boston for one year at $1M. Fantasy impact: Recchi is already 41 and his best fantasy days may be behind him, but this is still a guy who managed 16 points in 18 GP after being traded to the Bruins from TB (where he had 45 in 62) and can still be a useful fantasy winger in any format. He tends to see a lot of power play time because of his high-end passing skills and general ability to pick the right spots to move that puck to, so if your format awards extra points for PPP then he's a good guy to have to round out the roster. He'll most likely settle on the second or third line again and with both Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci down the middle behind Marc Savard, it really doesn't matter which unit Recchi lands on when all is said and done.
Posted at 12:22pm ET, July 2 What happened: Nik Antropov signs with Atlanta for four years at $4M per. Fantasy impact: The 29-year old Russian scored a career-high 59 points last season, including 13 in 18 GP with the Rangers after the trade deadline. Can he reach that general point plateau next season, where he'll be a big presence in front of the net on a power play featuring Ilya Kovalchuk? Potentially, yes. We'll see what the Thrashers have in mind, but it also wouldn't be bad to have Antropov doing that same thing as a winger on Kovalchuk's line at even strength, although we know Antropov can also be a pivot when needed too. Time will tell on that one. One way or the other, this signing doesn't really change Antropov's value at all. It all comes down to how hard he's willing to work because the offensive opportunities were going to be there in New York or wherever else he inked a deal. He's more valuable in standard leagues than anything though, since he can shoot the puck a healthy amount and he also chips in PIM at varying rates.
Posted at 11:03pm ET, July 1 What happened: Martin Havlat goes to the Wild for six years at $5M per. Fantasy impact: Perfect! Minnesota fans won't even know Marian Gaborik has gone because one injury-prone star has been replaced by another. Seriously though, not a bad signing at all for the Wild at that money. Havlat is a dynamic offensive player who will become the main scoring threat on a team trying to change its style to a more up-tempo, puck-chasing game. He'll be a first line player on the Wild, whereas he was a second/ third liner for most of last season when he posted 77 points. The most important part of his year was that he stayed healthy for 81 GP. Keep in mind his GP totals for the three prior years had been 35, 56 and 18. Great player when he's healthy though, no doubt.
Posted at 10:06pm ET, July 1 What happened: Jason LaBarbera signs a two-year deal with Phoenix. Fantasy impact: Interesting. LaBarbera can back-up Ilya Bryzgalov, but what about Al Montoya? He looked good in that brief run at the end of last season, so will he not get a chance at the back-up role in camp?
Posted at 9:05pm ET, July 1 What happened: John Madden signs with Chicago for one year at $2.75M. Fantasy impact: This won't really change his value too much, unless he ends up with higher-quality wingers than Dave Bolland. Bolland spent most of last season with Martin Havlat and Andrew Ladd in what evolved into Chicago's second line, but Madden is a fairly similar two-way centre and can also slot into either the second or third line role. Samuel Pahlsson left for Columbus today, you'll remember. Having Jonathan Toews with Bolland and Madden gives the Hawks a really strong middle (definitely a help in any deep playoff run), which also means that both Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg seem likely to stick on the wing instead of being a pivot - which they each played at times this past season.
Posted at 8:46pm ET, July 1 What happened: Chris Neil re-signs with Ottawa for four years at $2M per. Fantasy impact: Same as always. When you're looking for PIM help in standard leagues, Neil is generally one of the better options because he plays enough to chip in points as well. Assuming he's healthy all of next season, he could theoretically approach the 25-30 point mark again. Even 20 is a helpful total though.
Posted at 8:45pm ET, July 1 What happened: Brian Gionta signs with Montreal for five years at $5M per. Fantasy impact: Horrible dollar value for the Habs to get Gionta, but good for him for cashing in on his UFA status. $5M per for a guy who has produced 60, 53 and 45 points looking back at his past three seasons? His 48-goal campaign was coming out of the lockout and he has fired in only 67 in the three seasons since then. He can absolutely be a good fit in Montreal's top six (which has Scott Gomez and Michael Cammalleri added via free agency), but that's too much money. His fantasy value doesn't really change in Montreal to this point, although let's see where all of the Habs' chips fall in the coming days/ weeks.
Posted at 8:22pm ET, July 1 What happened: Marian Gaborik signs with the Rangers for five years at $7.5M per. Fantasy impact: Huge signing for New York. The injury issues will clearly be a big topic and they should be, but keep in mind that only two of his past three seasons have been horrible in terms of GP totals. Otherwise, the games he has missed haven't been that bad. The 27-year old Czech is one of the most dominant offensive players in the game when healthy and he's the difference-maker the Rangers needed up front. John Tortorella preaches going after the puck in a high-tempo game, so Gaborik should be better-utilized in New York than Minnesota's former system. Who'll Gaborik play with on the first line? Is Chris Drury this team's number one centre now, or is something else in the works? Glen Sather still has some work to do, so that'll remain to be seen. Regardless, Gabby is the go-go guy and as long as he's healthy, he'll produce no matter what. The Rangers are better with a finisher like Gaborik on the roster and he'll likely help deliver more than a few wins to Henrik Lundqvist in tight contests.
Posted at 7:34pm ET, July 1 What happened: Mathieu Garon signs with Columbus for two years at $1.2M per. Fantasy impact: Now the Jackets have a veteran back-up who can eat up 20-25 games so that Steve Mason doesn't get overworked.
Posted at 6:24pm ET, July 1 What happened: Samuel Pahlsson signs with Columbus for three years at $2.65M per. Fantasy impact: None, aside from helping the defensive game of the Jackets even more. Steve Mason is really the only guy to get any sort of fantasy boost from Pahlsson's signing.
Posted at 6:19pm ET, July 1 What happened: Steve Sullivan re-ups with Nashville for two years at $3.75M per. Fantasy impact: Where Sullivan landed wasn't really the issue here... he's primed for a big season now that he's finally healthy and will have a full training camp. The 34-year old had missed a big chunk of time thanks to major back problems, but he he tallied 32 points in 41 starts and should return to point-per-game form for '09-10.
Posted at 6:10pm ET, July 1 What happened: Vernon Fiddler signs with Phoenix for two years at $1.1M per. Fantasy impact: Not a whole lot happening here. He had 17 points last season and had averaged 28 the prior two, so it's a depth signing with little poolie potential at this point.
Posted at 5:58pm ET, July 1 What happened: Defenceman Mike Komisarek signs with Toronto for five years at $4.5M per. Fantasy impact: The 27-year old adds more both defence and toughness to the back end for the Leafs, which will make it harder for opposing forwards to crash the crease. He'll chip in some points and a pretty decent PIM total, but overall his worth in standard leagues is fairly limited. He's more of a help to his goalie and his fantasy stats, which could help Burkie convince Mr. Gustavsson to sign. We'll see. Regardless, Komisarek was a good get for the Leafs.
Posted at 5:36pm ET, July 1 What happened: Pavel Kubina and Tim Stapleton's rights go to Atlanta in a deal for Garnet Exelby and Colin Stuart. Fantasy impact: Kubina adds another offensive option on the blueline for the Thrashers and he should play big minutes in general too. That definitely helps Atlanta. How he'll fit in with the powerplay remains to be seen with Tobias Enstrom, Zach Bogosian and Ron Hainsey already in place, but the potential is there for points. Exelby adds more toughness to Toronto, which will hopefully help Vesa Toskala and option #2 (Jonas Gustavsson or whomever) in net. Stuart is a depth winger that works hard, but has little fantasy value.
Posted at 5:23pm ET, July 1 What happened: Michael Cammalleri signs with Montreal for five years at $6M per. Fantasy impact: It's too much money for the 27-year old forward, but such is the price of doing business on the UFA market. The upside is that he's a talented offensive player who has been a point-per-game guy for two different teams, so doing the same with Montreal shouldn't be too much of an issue. Will he line up on the LW alongside Scott Gomez? Perhaps. That seems pretty reasonable (we'll see if Alex Tanguay re-signs) and it can only boost Gomez's value, especially if Alexei Kovalev is on the right side. Cammalleri can also play centre, although he was almost always a winger with the Flames.
Posted at 4:47pm ET, July 1 What happened: Canadiens sign Hal Gill for two years at $4.5M total. Fantasy impact: Pretty much nil, aside from being a big body to help out Carey Price.
Posted at 4:46pm ET, July 1 What happened: Scott Clemmensen signs with Florida for three years, $3.6M total. Fantasy impact: Clemmensen takes the spot of back-up Craig Anderson, who left for potentially greener (number one) pastures in Denver. Clemmensen has minimal value in pools, but if Tomas Vokoun goes through another slump then Clemmensen proved last year that he can ably step up.
Posted at 4:42pm ET, July 1 What happened: Ian Laperriere signs with the Flyers for three years at $3.5M per. Fantasy impact: Not too much, aside from adding more grit and energy to the Flyers. He'll chip in a few points and he has decent PIM totals, but normally there are better options for sin bin time out there.
Posted at 4:20pm ET, July 1 What happened: Erik Cole re-signs with Carolina for two years at a cap hit of $2.9M per. Fantasy impact: That's actually a pretty reasonable price, so this should work out well for the Canes and the player. The 30-year old winger disappeared in the playoffs with no goals and five helpers, but next season he should be able to hit the 50-60 point range skating alongside Eric Staal. He had 42 points last year with Edmonton and Carolina. Cole has more value in standard leagues, where you can take advantage of the potential PIM-per-game total.
Posted at 4:06pm ET, July 1 What happened: Nikolai Khabibulin signs with the Oilers for four years at $15M total. Fantasy impact: Edmonton has a real youth movement in net now... Roloson was 39 and Khabi is 36. Pretty decent value for the money ($3.75M per) actually, all things considered. Khabibulin is a veteran that'll provide stability between the pipes, much like Roloson did. As a Khabi owner you'd have rather seen him with the Hawks, but their hands were sort of tied with Cristobal Huet's contract (three more years) and now Huet is the clear-cut number one man for Chicago... which helps his value. Corey Crawford and Antti Niemi will battle for the back-up job in camp. As far as Khabi, he hasn't started more than 60 games since before the lockout so this should be a good chance for Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers to prove his worth as an NHL back-up. It'll be crucial for the Quinn/ Renney combo to make sure less rubber is fired at Edmonton's number one guy than was the case last season... it got ridiculous some nights. Does the addition of Khabi help convince Dany Heatley to say yes to Edmonton?
Posted at 3:50pm ET, July 1 What happened: Jaroslav Spacek has signed a three-year, $11.5M contract with the Habs. Fantasy impact: A bit too much money for the 35-year old blueliner, who managed 45 points with the Sabres last season and he may well be teamed on the first unit PP with Andrei Markov now. If that's the case, he stands a decent chance of repeating a good offensive season but he's still only going to be a late round pick in most leagues. Still, you could do a lot worse than Spacek as a filler defenceman.
Posted at 3:27pm ET, July 1 What happened: Brian Boucher signs with Philly for two years at $1.8M total. Fantasy impact: The Flyers needed some sort of veteran back-up to play behind Ray Emery and with Ty Conklin gone to St. Louis, Boucher fits the bill nicely. If you plan on drafting Emery this fall, which could pay off if you get him in the middle rounds, you'd best be served by stashing Boucher on your bench... just in case. Having Chris Pronger on the blueline eases the concerns for any Philly goalie though.
Posted at 3:18pm ET, July 1 What happened: Preds re-sign Joel Ward for two years at $1.5M per. Fantasy impact: Not much. He's a good depth winger on a team that needs more scoring punch, but his fantasy value in all but the deepest of leagues is fairly minimal.
Posted at 3:00pm ET, July 1 What happened: Scott Niedermayer agrees to a one-year, $6M deal to stay with the Ducks. Fantasy impact: Chris Pronger is gone and every other offensively-talented blueliner remaining on this team (of which there are a number) gets in line behind Nieds. He's still an excellent fantasy asset on the back end and he's out there for at least one more season in pools. He had 59 points last season on the strength of a strong second half and he should certainly be able to hit that general plateau again in '09-10. Keeping him obviously also helps whichever of Jonas Hiller or Jean-Sebastien Giguere ends up in net too.
Posted at 2:53pm ET, July 1 What happened: Washington signs Mike Knuble for two years at $2.8M per. Fantasy impact: The 36-year old only had 47 points last season, so he should be able to do the same or better this coming season. He's a big body that can be in front of the net on the first unit power play with Viktor Kozlov gone. Will Knuble slot in alongside Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom on the first line when they're not front-loading with Alexander Semin up there? It sure seems like a perfect fit sans Kozlov, which only helps Knuble's worth. Don't go crazy with offensive expectations for him, but this move only helps his value overall because he should be a key player on his new team.
Posted at 2:45pm ET, July 1 What happened: Donald Brashear signs with the Rangers for two years at $1.4M per. Fantasy impact: Not much. Same role, different team. Brashear takes the place of Colton Orr, who left for the Leafs.
Posted at 2:30pm ET, July 1 What happened: Steve Montador signs with the Sabres for two years at a total of $3.1M. Fantasy impact: Montador is a depth PIM guy that can take up the last spot on someone's D in standard leagues. The 29-year old has some offensive skills and while he won't likely be chipping in huge totals, every little bit helps when he's there for mainly PIM anyway. Ryan Miller gets some toughness in front of him.
Posted at 2:23pm ET, July 1 What happened: Dwayne Roloson signs with the Islanders for two-years at around $5M total. Fantasy impact: With Rick DiPietro's health a huge question mark, this is a really intelligent signing for the Isles. Roloson was nothing short of heroic for the Oilers last season and should have a few good years left. How much he'll play depends on what happens with DiPietro's body. Edmonton, of course, is now forced to find itself another starting goaltender. Considering Roloson's age, that's not necessarily a bad thing in the long run depending on who the Oilers can land.
Posted at 2:11pm ET, July 1 What happened: Goalie Ty Conklin signs with the Blues for two years at $1.3M per. Fantasy impact: Smart deal for St. Louis. Conklin moves in as the back-up for Chris Mason, who was dynamic for this team down the stretch this past season. Should Mason not be able to put together back-to-back strong seasons, Conklin gives the Blues peace of mind because he's also capable of playing a high number of games.
Posted at 2:10pm ET, July 1 What happened: Defenceman Matt Walker signs with TB for four years at a total of $6.8M. Fantasy impact: Little, aside from helping Mike Smith in net by providing a bit more stability on the blueline.
Posted at 2:00pm ET, July 1 What happened: Marian Hossa signs with Chicago in a 12-year deal worth $5.2M per. Fantasy impact: Nice move for the Hawks! He's a better player than Martin Havlat and less injury-prone too, so this is a great swap for Chicago. Hossa's value isn't increased because he's a big dog wherever he goes, but the 30-year old was likely due for a jump on the 71 points he posted in 74 GP last season anyway. The Hawks have a lot of options for line combos. Last year we saw Havlat with Dave Bolland and Andrew Ladd a lot, although having Hossa there seems like a waste. Will he play with Jonathan Toews? Will the Hawks use Kris Versteeg at centre or on the wing? What about Patrick Sharp, who they've always liked more on the wing but have also used down the middle? Questions remain, but this deal helps the Hawks and obviously boosts the poolie value of anyone playing alongside Hossa... including those on the PP.
Posted at 1:48pm ET, July 1 What happened: Panthers sign David Booth to a six-year, $25.5M deal. Fantasy impact: Booth is a speedster with some offensive talent that has become a fan fave in Florida. He had 40 points two seasons ago and 60 (31 goals) this past year and he'll certainly be in a position to hit that same range in the coming year as one of the better offensive players on this team. He's 24 and re-signing him was a good move, although he's not worth that much money right now. Factoring in some of the UFA years the contract buys and maybe it all works out financially though.
Posted at 1:46pm ET, July 1 What happened: Avs sign goalie Craig Anderson for two years at $1.8M per. Fantasy impact: Colorado has seemingly taken itself out of the Jonas Gustavsson sweepstakes and that may be a smart move, rather than be left standing with only Peter Budaj and a question mark hole in net. Anderson should have a real chance to emerge as a number one goalie now, although how Colorado can fare defensively in front of him is the real question. Anderson will still be far down on the list of goalies to take in the fall, but the chance definitely is there for him to improve his value. Good move for him and for the Avs.
Posted at 1:14pm ET, July 1 What happened: Leafs sign Colton Orr for four years at $1M per. Fantasy impact: Same PIM, different team. If anything, Orr seems likely to fight more often with Toronto than he did with the Rangers. Still, even producing 193 PIM last season made him a nice add when you knew a good fighting opponent was coming and that'll remain the same with his new team. Burkie wants toughness... he got some toughness here.
Posted at 12:45pm ET, July 1 What happened: Radek Dvorak re-signs for two years at $1.7M per. Fantasy impact: Not too much. He's a fringe player at best, only needed by poolies in deep leagues or when he finds himself on a hot line. He's 32 and hasn't produced a fantasy-worthy season since before the lockout, when he had 50 points with the Oilers.
Posted at 12:20pm ET, July 1 What happened: Mattias Ohlund signs with Tampa Bay for seven years at $3.75M per. Fantasy impact: The 32-year old Swede will be a veteran voice to help out with Victor Hedman, although Ohlund's fantasy value is still somewhat up in the air. Will Cory Murphy re-sign with the team? Andrej Meszaros never really did too much offensively last season, but young Matt Lashoff has some upside there. Will it be Ohlund and Hedman as a Swedish duo on the PP? If so, Ohlund gets a boost from his normal poolie worth because he was often a second unit commodity for the Canucks. With the PIM he can chip in, he could really hike his value if he can approach the 40-point mark for the first time in his career. He had 25 and 24 over the past two seasons, with 31, 33 and 34 before that stretch. He's still a mid-level defenceman at best in most fantasy formats, but chances seem fairly good that he'll improve offensively now. This signing is good news for Mike Smith owners too, by the way. D was a touchy subject last season.
Posted at 11:17am ET, July 1 What happened: Vancouver re-signs Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin to five-year contracts worth $6.1M per season. Fantasy impact: You already know what you get with the Sedins... a self-sustaining, point-per-game tandem that will produce great results for poolies. The only real fantasy news here is that Alex Burrows, who found great late-season success with the twins, will have a solid shot at continuing that production in '09-10 and beyond since the Sedins are staying. If you own Burrows in a keeper league, that would have been a concern had the Sedins signed elsewhere.
Posted at 11:04am ET, July 1 What happened: It's the calm before the proverbial free agency storm... no word on Dany Heatley's decision as of now, either. Fantasy impact: Plenty of names are going to change teams one way or the other, so stick around and we'll go over the poolie ramifications as each deal rolls in.
Posted at 10:54pm ET, June 30 What happened: (Update at 1:00am ET, July 1: This deal is apparently on hold for the time being, but I'll leave the fantasy impact up for now in case this deal gets revisited.) Dany Heatley is headed to the Edmonton Oilers for Andrew Cogliano, Dustin Penner and Ladislav Smid. Fantasy impact: Ahem. Steve Tambellini... I love you, man. Heatley may have his problems stemming from this seemingly ridiculous trade request, but the guy is a pure goal scorer and Edmonton BADLY needed one. The winger is only 28 years old and is locked up for another five years at, albeit, a super-high $7.5M salary. But he can score. And Ales Hemsky is as adept at passing the puck as Jason Spezza, although the wing-to-wing dynamic is different than centre-to-wing. Is Heatley's value helped or hurt by this deal? It may be a wash, although keep in mind that Edmonton has much higher-end offensive defencemen than did Ottawa and that can only help on the rush and the power play. P.S. I'll bet that Pat Quinn and Tom Renney have Heatley on PP1. Shawn Horcoff will have a definite jump in value, assuming he's still around in the fall, with a legit sniper like Heatley on one wing and Hemsky (who can only get a jumpstart from this deal too) on the other.
On the flip side of this coin, losing Andrew Cogliano hurts for the Oilers. A lot. But you've got to give to get and the Sens got a good one here in Cogliano, who can be the second line centre they've needed behind Spezza since Mike Fisher is so-so in that role. Cogs could play the wing as well, although I guess we'll see what else the Sens do this summer. His value was only going to rise on his own developmental arc anyway, so now that'll come wearing a different uniform. Dustin Penner may end up playing on the same line and maybe a change of scenery will bring out the best in him too. His value was so low anyway that it can only go up and the Oilers did well to get rid of his contract. Should he end up alongside Spezza, maybe Penner will actually get some positive momentum going. Ladislav Smid is only 23 and he'll be a great add for this Ottawa squad on D, although his fantasy value is fairly low at this point. He'll be more of a boost to Pascal Leclaire and the Sens' goalies though.
Posted at 8:37pm ET, June 30 What happened: Jay Bouwmeester has agreed to a five-year deal with the Flames for a cap hit of $6.6M per season. Fantasy impact: We'll see. Does this mean the Dion Phaneuf ($6.5M for another five seasons) trade rumours heat up? Hopefully not, since that'd be a great blueline with those two and Robyn Reghr. Cory Sarich has a few years left on his deal too. Adrian Aucoin will no doubt be waving goodbye via free agency, while a JB contract + Phaneuf staying also means there's definitely no way Michael Cammalleri will be back. Anyway, JB should begin to see a rise in his +/- away from the zero mark and he and Phaneuf, assuming they're both there in the fall, should make for a pretty deadly power play combo. That won't hurt guys like Jarome Iginla and Olli Jokinen, clearly, as well as Phaneuf himself. Miikka Kiprusoff, who already got a boost with the addition of Brent Sutter, is also going to LOVE the addition of a minute-eater like JB playing in front of him. Count on JB for 45 or so points and it wouldn't be a surprise for the 25-year old to finally hit 50 points in his career. Remember that Brent Sutter loves to play D by attacking, not sitting back.
Posted at 5:52pm ET, June 30 What happened: Habs acquire Scott Gomez, Tom Pyatt and Mike Busto from the Rangers for Christopher Higgins, Doug Janik, Ryan McDonagh and Pavel Valentenko. Fantasy impact: Gomez is 29 and has five more years left on his current contract, which is a gargantuan $7.4M cap hit. He had 70 points in 81 GP in his first season with the Rangers and then 58 in 77 GP last year. We'll have to see how the rest of this makeover goes for the Habs, but he'll likely have Alexei Kovalev (assuming he's re-signed) on his right side to open the '09-10 campaign. 70 points should be a reasonable target for Gomez with more certainly being a possibility, depending on how things shake out. Gomez would have been a good rebound candidate under John Tortorella anyway, so there's really not much movement in his fantasy value at this moment regardless. Within the next few weeks we should have a much better idea how the Habs' forward lines could develop since they have so many free agents.
For the Rangers, this is clearly a huge salary dump to make up for one of several bad contracts they've inked over the past few years. Higgins is an RFA and had a $1.7M cap hit on his last contract. He turned 26 at the start of June and had a disappointing 23 points in 57 starts last year after missing time with a hand injury. He should be a good candidate to bounce back to the 20+ goal mark again, but it's premature to guess where he'll be in the line-up until we see who else the Rangers move out in the coming days and weeks. The Gomez salary space should clear the way for another big name acquisition... potentially Dany Heatley.
Posted at 1:25pm ET, June 30 What happened: RFA goalie Peter Budaj has re-upped with Colorado for one year at $1.25M. UFA Andrew Raycroft is not getting a contract offer. Fantasy impact: Budaj is not, to this point, a steady number one goalie at the NHL level. He tends to have some really great hot streaks, but the lows cancel out the good he does statistically during those hot periods. The Avs will most certainly be bringing in another goalie via free agency that'll either challenge for the top slot or have it outright coming into camp.
Posted at 1:05pm ET, June 30 What happened: ESPN.com reports that 44-year Ed Belfour is having his agent gauge interest from NHL teams in a possible comeback. Seriously. Fantasy impact: Belfour didn't play hockey professionally last season, but was in Sweden the year before that and he's always one of those guys that's in excellent shape. There's no reason to think about jumping on this from a poolie standpoint right now, but how hilarious would it be to have the feisty Belfour backing up Ray Emery in Philly? Priceless...
Posted at 1:00pm ET, June 30 What happened: Rob Blake signs a one-year deal to remain with the Sharks worth around $3.5M. Fantasy impact: He's 39, but he was still a pretty solid defenceman for poolies in standard leagues last season that was likely acquired either via the free agent pile or as a late round pick. He netted 45 points with a +15 rating, 110 PIM and 198 SOG. Say all you want about San Jose choking in the playoffs, but he should be another fairly valuable asset in standard leagues for the regular season again because the Sharks will have another strong team and Blake will play a significant enough role to warrant a spot on anyone's poolie blueline in a PIM/ SOG format.
Posted at 12:41pm ET, June 30 What happened: Jonas Gustavsson, the free agent goalie from Sweden, is going to wait until after July 1 to announce his decision. Gustavsson's agent Joe Resnick told Hockeycentral "It's highly unlikely we'll commit before 12 noon Wednesday. With so many teams potentially making major changes to their rosters, maybe it's best to wait and watch it unfold first." Fantasy impact: Interesting. That move actually makes sense from Gustavsson's standpoint, but did his camp not consider this before telling everyone that they'd announce by July 1st so the four teams in the running (Toronto, San Jose, Dallas and Colorado) could plan accordingly once free agency begins? Reading the tea leaves, this really sounds like the goalie is leaning toward Toronto but wants to see if Brian Burke can actually make some of the positive changes of which he has spoken. Just speculation on my part, but that hypothesis seems pretty reasonable based on what we've heard about his love for Toronto growing up. Remember that he isn't just signing a one-year deal here, even though he technically is doing exactly that - he's a UFA now that is committing his services to this team for the next year, at which point he'll only be an RFA that's still under the control of that team.
Posted at 12:55am ET, June 30 What happened: Bill Guerin re-signs with the Pens for one year at $2M. He would have become a UFA. Fantasy impact: The 38-year old winger had 12 points in 17 GP with the Pens after being traded from the Isles, where he had accumulated 36 points in 61 GP. He then added 15 points in 24 GP during that Cup run. He'll have a huge head start on what it's like to play with Sidney Crosby (and Chris Kunitz again, likely) for a full campaign, having already spent a number of months alongside the young superstar. Target Guerin for a conservative 45-55 points, although the upside is theoretically there to approach 60 or so with the Crosby factor. Guerin still averaged a PIM-per-game this past season too, which is why standard league owners will find him a lot more useful than those in points-only formats.
Posted at 12:45am ET, June 30 What happened: Carolina inks Jussi Jokinen to a two-year, $3.4M contract extension. Fantasy impact: The Finn enjoyed some success for the Canes in the spring (he was the one who notched that last-second goal against Martin Brodeur with a tick of the clock left), but generally speaking he's only been an asset in deep leagues to this point. He'll likely carry W-C eligibility for you because his coaches generally find him to be incredibly versatile. He's kind of like Ales Kotalik in terms of being able to fit anywhere in a line-up; from a scoring unit down to a checking role. He likely won't be drafted in average-sized leagues, but you may find him useful from time to time if his line gets hot.