Oilers re-sign free-agent goaltender Roloson to three-year contract

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This article was published 01/07/2006 (7244 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

(CP) – The Boston Bruins stole the show Saturday, landing a pair of star players as the NHL’s free-agent signing period opened with a flurry of activity.

A number of teams were off and spending, with the Bruins making the biggest splash – literally – by signing six-foot-nine defenceman Zdeno Chara to a $37.5-million, five-year contract. Chara, who spent the last four seasons with the Ottawa Senators, was considered the premium free-agent blue-liner with his combination of scoring prowess and bruising physical play.

The Bruins also snagged one of the marquee free-agent forwards, signing free-agent centre Marc Savard to a $20-million, four-year deal.

“Marc Savard and Zdeno Chara were two top players in free agency this summer and the Bruins are absolutely thrilled they will join our team for the 2006-07 season,” Bruins interim general manager Jeff Gorton said in a statement.

The Senators also said goodbye to Dominik Hasek after announcing they won’t be retaining the former Vezina winner’s services. The Senators replaced Hasek by signing former Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Martin Gerber to an $11.1-million, three-year contract.

Ottawa also tried to stem the bleeding on the blue-line by signing former Kings defenceman Joe Corvo to a $10.5-million, four-year contract.

Defencemen were Saturday’s specialty, with Phoenix adding highly coveted blue-liner Ed Jovanovski, Montreal retaining Francis Bouillon, Washington nabbing Brian Pothier, Philadelphia securing Nolan Baumgartner, Toronto signing Hal Gill and coming to terms with Pavel Kubina, Vancouver signing Willie Mitchell, Filip Kuba going to Tampa Bay, Minnesota signing Kim Johnsson, Calgary picking up Andrei Zyuzin and St. Louis inking Jay McKee.

Jamie Langenbrunner re-signed with the New Jersey Devils for five years, while restricted free agent Eric Staal accepted a three-year deal to remain with the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, who also re-signed defenceman Mike Commodore and added goaltender John Grahame from Tampa Bay.

The Edmonton Oilers were busy themselves, awarding long-term deals to veteran goaltender Dwayne Roloson and forward Fernando Pisani – both of whom played key roles in the Oilers’ improbable run to the Stanley Cup final.

A pair of third-line forwards found new homes – Tyler Arnason joined Colorado, while Scott Thornton signed on with Los Angeles. Scott Mellanby assured himself a 21st NHL season, re-signing for one year with the Atlanta Thrashers. And Chris Osgood inked a two-year deal to remain with the Detroit Red Wings.

Chara was clearly the catch of the day. The native of Slovakia had 16 goals, 27 assists and 135 penalty minutes in 71 games with the Senators last season, finishing fourth in the Norris Trophy voting. A source told the Canadian Press at least 15 teams were interested in Chara’s services.

“Zdeno is one of the premier defencemen in the National Hockey League and we are thrilled that he will be in a Boston uniform for the next five years,” Gorton said. “He is a big reason why Ottawa allowed the fewest goals in the Eastern Conference last season and that is one area that we were committed to improving on our team.

“We also feel that he will serve as a tremendous example to the number of young defencemen we have on our roster.”

In Savard, the Bruins get one of the league’s premier setup men. The 28-year-old set career highs in goals (28), assists (69) and points (97) with Atlanta last season, ranking ninth in league scoring. Savard also showed a gritty side, putting up a career-high 100 penalty minutes.

“Marc is one of the top playmaking centres in the game today,” said Gorton. “He will fit in well with the skill players we have on our team and the direction in which we are headed.”

The Coyotes bolstered their blue-line in a big way, locking up Jovanovski to a $32.5-million, five-year contract. The former first overall pick had eight goals and 25 assists for the Vancouver Canucks despite playing just 44 games due to foot, groin and abdominal injuries.

Jovanovski, 30, joins a revamped Coyotes defence corps that includes former Bruins veteran Nick Boynton, acquired by Phoenix in a trade last week.

“He was the player we wanted,” Coyotes managing partner and head coach Wayne Gretzky said in a statement. “This is huge for our franchise.”

Blake signed a two-year deal with the Kings, returning to the team where he started his career. The Simcoe, Ont., native spent almost 12 years in Los Angeles, winning a Norris Trophy in 1998, before being dealt to Colorado late in the 2001 season.

“Rob Blake is a special player and more importantly a special person,” Kings general manager Dean Lombardi said in a statement. “He belongs in a Kings uniform. He represents everything we want this franchise to stand for now and in the future.”

The Hurricanes wasted no time securing the services of Staal, signing him to a $13.5-million US, three-year contract roughly an hour before he was to become a restricted free agent. The 21-year-old sensation will be paid $4 million next season, $4.5 million in 2007-08 and $5 million in 2008-09.

Staal led the Hurricanes with 45 goals and 100 points last season, becoming the first Hurricanes player to post a 100-point season and the first player to earn at least 100 points in a season for the franchise since Ron Francis had 101 as a Hartford Whaler in 1989-90.

Staal also led all NHL players with 28 points in the post-season and helped Carolina win its first Stanley Cup. He said he had no intentions of leaving the Hurricanes.

“There was no thoughts of going anywhere else,” Staal said. “I won a championship there. It’s what you strive for every year and we’ve got a great group of players, and I want to be there.”

The Hurricanes retained Commodore with a $2.5 million, two-year deal. The six-foot-four, 225-pound blue-liner will make $1.2 million next season and $1.3 million in 2007-08 after posting three goals, 10 assists and 138 penalty minutes in 72 games last season.

Carolina signed Grahame to a two-year deal that will pay him $1.4 million a season as the backup to Ward. Grahame won 29 games with a 3.06 goals-against average in 57 games with Tampa Bay last season.

Gerber’s arrival in Ottawa, coupled with Ray Emery’s emergence as a solid goaltender, means the Senators have no need for Hasek, who was told Saturday he would not be retained by the team.

Senators general manager John Muckler said the 40-year-old netminder was upset about the decision.

“Sure, he’s disappointed,” Muckler said in a conference call. “He was looking forward to coming back. We thought about it a long time. It wouldn’t be fair to Gerber to bring him in as maybe the third goaltender.

Edmonton ended speculation about Roloson’s future destination early, signing him to an $11-million, three-year contract as a reward for helping the Oilers reach the Cup final. Roloson, 36, will make $4 million in each of his next two seasons and $3 million in 2008-09.

The veteran netminder led the Oilers on a spectacular playoff run after joining the team in a mid-season trade from the Minnesota Wild. He had a 12-5 record with a 2.32 goals-against average and .927 save percentage in the playoffs before suffering a season-ending knee injury late in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final against Carolina.

Roloson, who made $1.67 million last season, went 14-23-5 with a 2.73 GAA in 43 regular-season games with Minnesota and Edmonton.

Pisani signed a $10-million, four-year deal on the heels of a post-season breakout that saw him lead all players with 14 playoff goals. The 29-year-old left-winger had 18 goals and 19 assists – both career highs – in 80 regular-season games with Edmonton.

The Canadiens retained one of their key defensive pieces, signing Bouillon to a $5.63-million, three-year deal. Bouillon, who will make $1.875 million per season, had three goals and 19 assists in 67 games for the Canadiens last season.

“Francis Bouillon is a key element of our defensive squad,” Canadiens general manager Bob Gainey said in a statement. “(He is) very well respected by his teammates and admired by our fans, he is a player who showed a great deal of perseverance since his debut in the NHL. We are very happy that he has committed to remain with our organization for years to come.”

Toronto wasted little time wading into the free-agent market, agreeing to terms with Kubina on a $20-million, four-year deal. Kubina, a six-foot-five, 229-pound banger, had five goals and 33 assists with Tampa Bay last season and will make $5 million a year for the Leafs.

Toronto also signed bruising blue-liner Hal Gill to a three-year deal worth $2.1 million per season. Gill, a six-foot-seven, 240-pound behemoth, will add some muscle to the Leafs’ blue-line as a complement to skilled defencemen Bryan McCabe and Tomas Kaberle, both of whom recently signed long-term deals with the team.

Tampa Bay moved to fill the gap left by Kubina by signing six-foot-three defenceman Kuba to three-year, $9 million contract.

“(Kuba) is an experienced player with size who is capable of logging a lot of minutes, and who is coming from a system in which defensive responsibility is stressed,” said Lightning GM Jay Feaster. “While we were disappointed to lose Pavel Kubina, we are excited to fill that hole with such a high calibre player.”

Mitchell signed a $14 million, four-year deal with Vancouver and will be relied on to shore things up in the Canucks’ own end. Defensive lapses were a big reason Vancouver missed the playoffs for the first time in five seasons.

“We are excited to have agreed to a long-term deal with Willie,” Canucks general manager Dave Nonis said in a statement. “Willie is a fierce competitor and is one of the top defensive defenceman in the game.”

Calgary added some depth at defence by signing former Minnesota Wild defenceman Zyuzin. He played in 57 games with the Wild last season, seven goals, 11 assists and 50 penalty minutes.

Elsewhere, the Devils rewarded Langenbrunner with a $14-million, five-year deal that will keep the talented two-way player in New Jersey. Langenbrunner had 19 goals and 34 assists in 80 games last season, his fourth with the Devils after coming over in a trade with Dallas.

Langenbrunner believes staying with New Jersey will give him a great opportunity to win the Stanley Cup.

“That’s huge for me,” said Langenbrunner, who played on championship teams with Dallas in 1999 and the Devils in 2003. “I have been fortunate to play in this league, and for the last nine or 10 years to make the playoffs and to have a chance. That’s all you want.

“You don’t know what is going to happen next year, but staying with the Devils I think gives me a shot.”

Washington inked Pothier, who spent the past four seasons with Ottawa, to a $10-million, four-year deal and re-signed goalie Brent Johnson. Pothier, 29, had five goals and 30 assists for the Sens last season. Johnson went 9-12-1 last season as the backup to Olie Kolzig.

The Flyers rewarded Baumgartner for his breakout season in Vancouver with a $2.4-million, four-year pact. The 30-year-old, who made the league minimum of $450,000 last season, had five goals and 29 assists in 70 games for the Canucks.

“Baumgartner has a great shot, is a very good skater and two-way defenceman, kills penalties and plays the power play,” Flyers general manager Bob Clarke said in a statement. “We think that he is going to be a real strong addition to our defence.”

The Flyers also signed Swedish blue-liner Lars Jonsson to a one-year deal.

Colorado seized a low-risk opportunity by giving Arnason a one-year deal worth $950,000. The talented but inconsistent centre had 41 points in 60 games with Chicago last season, but managed just four assists in 19 games after being traded to the Senators.

“Tyler is a skilled player whose best years we feel are still ahead of him,” Avalanche GM Francois Giguere said in a statement.

The Red Wings locked up Osgood with a $1.7-million, two-year deal. The 33-year-old returned for a second tour of duty in Detroit last season and posted a 20-6-5 record with a 2.76 goals-against average as Manny Legace’s backup.

Atlanta was also in on the action, signing Mellanby to a one-year, $1-million deal. Mellanby, 40, had 12 goals and 22 assists last season, his 20th in the NHL.

“Scott is a tremendous leader who will continue to play an important role on our club next season,” Thrashers vice-president and GM Don Waddell said in a statement. “Scott is a tremendous leader who will continue to play an important role on our club next season.”

The St, Louis Blues looked to get some immediate help on defence by signing McKee to a $16-million, four-year contract. The former Buffalo defenceman was a key part of the Sabres’ lengthy playoff run, blocking shots and playing rugged defence.

St. Louis also re-signed forward Dallas Drake to a $2.2-million two-year deal.

The Kings also signed Scott Thornton to a $3-million, two-year deal. Thornton, 35, had 10 goals and 11 assists with San Jose last season.

In other moves Saturday:

-Minnesota signed right winger Mark Parrish and defencemen Keith Carney and Kim Johnsson to multi-year contracts. Johnsson had 25 points and 34 penalty minutes in 47 games with the Philadelphia Flyers last season, while Parrish recorded 49 points, including 16 power-play goals with the New York Islanders and Los Angeles Kings and Carney, 36, had 20 points in 79 games with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Vancouver Canucks.

-The Columbus Blue Jackets agreed to terms with defencemen Kris Russell and Anders Eriksson and forward Alexander Svitov. Russell had 47 points (14-33) in 55 games with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors. Eriksson split last season with the AHL’s Springfield Falcons and Magnitogorsk of the Russian League. Svitov, who will earn $800,000, returns to the NHL after posting three goals and seven assists in 33 games with Avangard Omsk last season.

-Tampa Bay agreed to a one-year deal with left-winger Nikita Alexeev, who hasn’t played in the NHL since 2003 and spent last season with Avangard Omsk of the Russian League. The Lightning also signed 30-year-old forward Andreas Karlsson, who led the Swedish Elite League with 55 points last season, and defenceman Andy Delmore, who spent last year with Syracuse of the AHL.

-The New York Rangers signed former Carolina forward Matt Cullen to a $11.2-million, four-year deal. Cullen had career-highs with 25 goals and 49 points in 78 games last season with the Hurricanes. The Rangers also signed defenceman Karel Rachunek to a $1.8-million, one-year deal. Rachunek had 11 goals and 20 assists in 45 games with Yaroslavl Lokomotiv of the Russian League.

-Nashville retained netminder Chris Mason with a $2.5-million, two-year contract. Mason spent the year as a backup to incumbent Tomas Vokoun.

-San Jose signed veteran centre Curtis Brown, who had 15 points (5-10) in 71 games with Chicago last season.

– Chicago signed goaltender Patrick Lalime to a one-year deal worth $700,000. Once a starter with the Senators, Lalime struggled with St. Louis last season and spent much of the year in the minors.