The Ottawa Senators traded defenseman Andrej Meszaros to Tampa Bayon Friday for defensemen Filip Kuba and Alexandre Picard and a first-round pick in 2009. Meszaros had nine goals, 27 assists and 50 penalty minutes in 82 regular-season games for the Senators last season, his third in the NHL. The 22-year-old Slovak was a first-round pick in 2004. Read Original Post Here
Colten Teubert, the 13th pick in this year’s draft, agreed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. Terms were not disclosed. The 18-year-old defenseman had seven goals and 16 assists in 66 regular-season games for Regina of the Western Hockey League last season and one goal and four assists in six playoff games. Read Original Post Here
Patience paid off for the Colorado Avalanche, who signed Joe Sakic to a one-year, US$6-million contract Wednesday after he decided to play a 20th NHL season rather than call it a career.
"Ultimately it came down to the fact that I still enjoy playing and competing," the 39-year-old captain said in a statement released by the team. "I’m comfortable with my conditioning and my overall health. I’m ready for the start of camp and am looking forward to the upcoming season."
Because the Democratic National Convention is taking place this week at the Pepsi Center, the Avs’ home, the team said it wouldn’t hold a news conference until next week.
Sakic’s teammates had started to fear he wasn’t coming back, and the announcement was a relief.
"Everybody was starting to worry what Joe was going to do," forward Ian Laperriere said. "It’s great news for more than one reason.
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The Dallas Stars are expected to announce today that Stu Barnes will retire as a player and become an assistant coach with the team. He’ll get a two-year deal, and the team also will announce two-year contract extensions for associate coach Rick Wilson and assistant coach Mark Lamb.
Barnes will take Ulf Dahlen’s place in the mix, but he will definitely have a less prominent role — which might, in a strange way, be a good thing for the Stars. Dahlen (who this season will be the head coach for Frolunda in Sweden) very much wanted to play a big role on the Stars, and would often leave the press box during a game to come down to the bench in the third period. That probably put too many voices on the bench for the players. Barnes will stay in the press box and learn the role of assistant.
He is expected to go to Traverse City for the prospects tournament Sept. 13-17 and hang out with the front office and the scouts and learn how to "see a game” from the stands. That’s tougher than it sounds for a player, because it takes some getting used to when you’ve been on the ice your entire career.
Barnes says he is clear of conussion symptoms that ended his season, but that he really hasn’t pushed himself to get his heart rate where it needed to be for him to play again. He said he will probably push harder during the season just to see if the symptoms come back. But right now, he’s feeling good and ready to take the next step.
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Dallas Stars center Stu Barnes is retiring after 16 years in the NHL. The Stars said Thursday that the 37-year-old Barnes has agreed to a two-year contract to join Dave Tippett’s coaching staff as an assistant. The Stars also announced two-year contract extensions for associate coach Rick Wilson and assistant coach Mark Lamb to take them through the 2010-11 season. Read Original Post Here
Joe Sakic has decided to play in 2008-09, signing a one-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche after spending months pondering retirement. Sakic took longer than normal to decide whether to return for a 20th season with the only franchise he has played for. He came to the conclusion that “I still enjoy playing and competing,” he said in a statement released by the team Wednesday. Read Original Post Here
Bryan Berard, the No. 1 overall pick in the 1995 NHL draft, gallantly battled back from a 2000 injury that nearly blinded his right eye. On Sept. 20, he will be among the defensemen competing for a job when the Flyers open training camp, general manager Paul Holmgren said yesterday.
"He’s been a good player in the league for years, and the fact that he’s willing to come here on a tryout is good for us," Holmgren said. "It gives us another experienced guy."
An offensive-minded defenseman known for his work on the power play, Berard, now 31, missed a full season because he was inadvertently hit in the right eye by the stick of Ottawa’s Marian Hossa in 2000. Berard was with Toronto that season.
About 11/2 years and seven eye operations later, he returned a $6.5 million insurance settlement and returned to the NHL.
"Training camps are nothing new for me," said Berard, who has played for six NHL teams. "I like to come in and compete at a high level. I want to show them that I can play and, hopefully, make the team and be able to contribute and help out in any way I can."
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The Chicago Blackhawks signed 19-year-old right wing Akim Aliu, the 56th overall pick in the 2007 draft, to a three-year contract on Monday. Financial terms were not disclosed. The native of Nigeria played for the Ontario Hockey League’s London Knights last year, scoring 28 goals with 33 assists and 133 penalty minutes in 60 games. Read Original Post Here
Veteran NHL defenseman Bryan Berard will attempt to make an NHL club on a tryout contract, after being invited to training camp with the Philadelphia Flyers. “Bryan has been around a number of years now (and) he has been a good defenseman for quite some time,” said Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren. Read Original Post Here
The New York Islanders promoted Chris Dey to team president on Wednesday. Dey, who had been the Islanders’ vice president of sales, marketing and event operations, will also oversee all business operations for the team as well as the Islanders Children’s Foundation, the club’s office in China, and the Charles B. Read Original Post Here
