News
Email
Print
Campbell cashes in on NHL free agency
Brian Campbell
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: July 2, 2008
The spending on NHL free agents started yesterday morning and hadn't stopped well into the night.
And the surprising part was, marquee players such as Marian Hossa, Jaromir Jagr and Mats Sundin still hadn't decided which team would shower them with riches.
Sundin was reported to have been offered a two-year contract from the Vancouver Canucks worth $20 million, a deal that would make Sundin, the Toronto Maple Leafs' captain, the league's highest-paid player.
"Shocked. I think that word says enough," said General Manager Lou Lamoriello of the Devils of the free-flowing cash around the NHL.
The biggest moves were made by the Chicago Blackhawks, who landed top defenseman Brian Campbell with an eight-year, $57.12 million deal, and goalie Cristobal Huet with a four-year, $22.5 million contract.
Campbell proved to be just a rental player for the San Jose Sharks, who got him from Buffalo at the NHL trade deadline but couldn't get out of the second round.
He and Huet are joining a team that already has rookie of the year Patrick Kane and fellow forward Jonathan Toews, who was a runner-up for the award.
With the salary cap rising to $56.7 million for next season and the minimum jumping to $40.7 million, teams had lots of money to spend. They didn't waste any time in dishing it out.
"I wish I was a player," said General Manager Dale Tallon of the Blackhawks. "On July 1, you always overpay.
"We had to make a statement. We have created a buzz here in this market. We're starting to sell more and more tickets, more and more sponsorships. We decided that we'd try and make an impact today to continue that."
The Blackhawks haven't made the playoffs since 2002, but got close last s eason with 88 points (40-34-8), three behind Nashville and the final playoff spot in the Western Conference last season.
The other big defensemen to reach deals yesterday were Michal Rozsival and Wade Redden, who both signed with the New York Rangers.
Rozsival returned to the Rangers, where he spent the past three seasons, for a four-year, $20 million deal. Redden left the Ottawa Senators by signing a six-year contract worth $6.5 million per season.
Defenseman Mike Commodore said goodbye to the Senators, too, and signed a five-year, $18.75 million deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Cory Stillman, who went with him to Ottawa from Carolina at the trade deadline also found a new home with the Florida Panthers. The veteran forward agreed to a three-year contract worth $10.6 million.
Another defenseman, Colorado's Jeff Finger, signed a four-year, $14 million deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
While the Rangers waited for Jagr and Sundin to make up their minds, they were active in other areas, too. New York agreed to terms with free agent forwards Aaron Voros, formerly of the Minnesota Wild, San Jose's Patrick Rissmiller, and Andreas Jamtin from the Swedish league.
The Rangers also re-signed backup goalie Steve Valiquette.
In other moves yesterday:
❑ Pittsburgh re-signed forward trade-deadline acquisition Pascal Dupuis to a three-year, $4.2-million contract; signed enforcer Eric Godard to a three-year contract, and agreed to terms with defenseman Mark Eaton on a two-year deal.
❑ Noted agitator Darcy Tucker signed a two-year, $4.5-million contract with Colorado.
❑ The Phoenix Coyotes signed defenseman Kurt Sauer to a four-year, $7-million deal, and landed rugged forward Todd Fedoruk with a three-year contract worth $3.13-million.
❑ The New York Islanders made some noise by signing Montreal defenseman Mark Streit to a five-year, $20.5 million deal.
❑Philadelphia made several moves, luring forward Glen Metropolit from Boston with a two-year contract and signing defenseman Ossi Vaananen.
The Flyers also traded defenseman Denis Gauthier and a second-round draft pick in 2010 to Los Angeles for minor league players Patrik Hersley and Ned Lukacevic.
❑ Toronto agreed to terms on a four-year contract with former Dallas Stars forward Niklas Hagman.
❑ Forward Andrew Brunette left Colorado to return to the Minnesota Wild, for whom he played from 2001-04. He signed a three-year, $7 million deal.
❑ Tampa Bay followed up on deals with forwards Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts, and Vaclav Prospal, by signing wingers Radim Vrbata and Adam Hall. Vrbata received a three-year, $9-million deal, and Hall signed for three years and $1.8 million.
Email
Print
ADVERTISEMENT
N.C. Politics
Federal Politics
Advertisement
