Sportsology: NHL free agency start

By Rick Morris

Courtesy of our good friends at Sportsology, fellow members of The 21st Century Media Alliance, here's a look at the beginning of the NHL free agency period.

2009 NHL Free Agency News
Byline: Hockeyology

The moves will be in the tidbits section and the commentary will appear below.

For info on the Scott Gomez trade go to www.rangergreats.com.

1) Vancouver retained the Sedins $6.1 million for five years each. This wasn't a surprise.

2) Calgary signed Jay Bouwmeester (5-yr, around $6.7 mil a year), good for them, Florida didn't sign Jordan Leopold. They did a horrible job of losing as asset!

3) Tampa signs defenseman Mattias Ohlund (a seven-year deal?? with a $3.75 million dollar cap hit, says Bob McKenzie). He is there to provide some experience and he will surely help Victor Hedman as well.

4) The Leafs have signed enforcer Colton Orr ($4-yr, $4-mil). He can fight and do little else. Why did the Leafs target him first?

5) Devils re-sign D Andy Greene. Johnny Oduya as well to shore up the blueline.

6) Florida has re-signed F David Booth to a 6-yr, $25.5 million dollar deal. Booth is a hard worker who is now a second-line talent!

7) Colorado signs G Craig Anderson to a 2-yr, $3.6 million dollar deal. Anderson carried Florida late last season and will be the #1 goalie.

8) CBC is reporting Marian Hossa has signed with the Hawks (12-years, $5.2 million per season)! Their power play will be amazing and he would join Kane on the top line which should help his 5-on-5 play.

9) Matt Walker has signed a four-year deal for $1.47 million per year with Tampa to further bolster their defense.

10) Goaltender Ty Conklin has signed a $2-yr, $2.6 million dollar deal. He will miss the Winter Classic this year having played in every outdoor game, even the Heritage Classic.

11) Islanders sign netminder Dwayne Roloson to a 2-yr deal worth $5 million dollars. Who is the #1 goaltender for 2009?

12) Tomas Kopecky signs with Chicago. Depth. 13) Sabres sign D Steve Montador. This is a depth move.

14) Mike Knuble in Washington for 2-yr, $2.8 million per season. He gives the Caps a presence in front of the net and on the power play.

15) Rangers sign Donald Brashear. He has more ability than Colton Orr.

16) Scott Niedermayer re-signs, 1-yr, $6 mil plus bonuses in Anaheim.

17) Brian Boucher is on his way back to the Flyers. He will make a terrific backup/mentor to Ray Emery.

18) Defenseman Jaroslav Spacek to Montreal. He will help revive the Habs power play.

19) Nikolai Khabibulin to Edmonton. They have a Stanley Cup-contending goaltender to go along with an up-and-coming team.

20) Erik Cole re-signs with Carolina. He has always been a good fit there.

21) Scott Clemmensen has gone to Florida. He will be a good tandem goaltender along with Tomas Vokoun.

22) Hal Gill signs with Montreal. They now have a big guy who can clear the crease and block shots. Mike Komisarek is better but...

23) Michael Rupp signs with Pittsburgh. He can fill a role.

24) Ian Laperriere goes to Philadelphia. He gives the Flyers a player who create chances with his toughness.

25) Mike Cammalleri signs with the Habs for 5-yr, $30 million dollars.

26) Mike Komisarek signed with the Leafs. He will be the perfect compliment to Luke Schenn or vice versa.

27) Rangers sign Marian Gaborik to a 5-yr deal. He will make $7.5 million a deal. Maybe they should have paid him by the game.

28) Brian Gionta is heading to Montreal. He will team up again with Scott Gomez no doubt.

29) Freddie Sjostrom signs with Calgary. He is a terrific penalty killer.

30) John Madden goes to the Hawks. He's a gifted penalty-killer and a solid defensive player when it's 5-on-5.

31) Nik Antropov has signed with Atlanta, 4-yr, $16 million. Antropov will add to their power play and give them a nice second-line presence.

32) Devils sign Ilkka Pikkarainen. Who? A winger who never had more than 24 points in the "A" with Albany. A project for sure. He has toughness.

33) Florida signs D Jordan Leopold. Leopold has some offensive talent that can now be utilized in Florida.

34) Carolina re-signs Chad LaRose. LaRose has shown that he has second-line offensive talent.

35) The Kings have signed D Rob Scuderi. He will be able to lead many of the young blueliners that the Kings have on the roster.

36) The Canucks sign Mikael Samuelsson. He will help their power play and give them a winning attitude in the locker room.

37) The Rangers sign Tyler Arnason to a two-way contract. He should add to the Wolfpack roster.

38) Martin Havlat has signed with Minnesota. He will give them some of the offense that was lost when Marian Gaborik left.

39) Ruslan Fedotenko has re-signed with Pittsburgh for one season. The Penguins need as much secondary scoring as they can get.

40) Columbus has re-signed F Rick Nash to an 8-yr, $62.4 million dollar extension. This will ensure Columbus maintains a competitive team in the future.

41) The Kings acquired F Ryan Smyth from the Avs for D Kyle Quincey and D Tom Preissing. This move helps both teams. Smyth gives LA leadership and a captain and the Avs get some much-needed defense to help out their new goaltender.