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Report: Cullen Could be Headed Back to Carolina
2007-07-12 16:05:00
According to a report by John Dellapina in the New York Daily News, Rangers' Center Matt Cullen could be heading back to the city to which he helped bring Lord Stanley's Cup in 2006. Dellapina writes:Sather is shopping center Matt Cullen, with a trade back to the Carolina Hurricanes very much on the front burner. Should the Rangers shed Cullen's contract (three years left at $2.8million per), they'd trim nearly $3million from this season's cap hit.That could simply provide flexibility for potential in-season moves. But it just as easily could be the first step in a plan to clear enough cap space to sign free-agent defenseman Sheldon Souray, whom the Devils and Islanders have pursued. Unloading defenseman Paul Mara's $3million salary undoubtedly would be another requirement.As we have discussed here all week, the Rangers moving Cullen is not a surprise. Cullen is a terrific third-line center, with great speed. He does all the little things well, and he is certainly the kind of ...
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Svatos' Sophmore Slump (say that three times fast!!)
2007-07-12 05:17:00
The only recent meaninful news out of Denver is of the re-signing of Marek Svatos. Many of you may remember that Svatos was the third man to the rookie scoring bonanza in 05-06, trailing phenoms Crosby and Ovechkin. During his first full season in the show, he tied Joe Sakic for the team lead in goals (32), tied a club record shared by pretty much the entire Statsny family for rookie goals, and tied the NHL record for rookie game-winning goals. Not bad for the 227th (7th round) pick of the 2001 draft. Last year he had what can only be described as a textbook case of the dreaded sophmore slump. His points total dipped from 50 pts in 05-06 (in 61 games) to 30 in 06-07 (in 66 games), with the major hit coming in his goals total which dropped from 32 to 15. Well, the first question you ask when you see this kind of thing is why the drop? The short answer is he didn't produce, and two younger players did (Paul Stastny and Wojtek Wolski). Interestingly, Wolski would have been this year'...
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Sabres-Penguins January 1, 2008 at Ralph Wilson Stadium
2007-07-12 03:45:00
ESPN and WGR550 are reporting that the Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguin s will play an outdoor game in Ralph Wilson Stadium , home of the NFL Buffalo Bills. There has been no official announcement yet from the league but the teams are scheduled for a 1:00 P.M. game on that day. It is being reported that the league has held off the announcement pending the working out of details between the league, Sabres and Bills. According to the Bill's current lease, they are entitled to all revenues generated by the stadium. It is believed negotiations are underway and close to being completed to allow the Sabres and Bills to split revenues on the venture. I will report any more information on this event as they become available. It sounds like a fine time for the first ever Bleu, Blanc et Rouge blogger convention though!
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2007-2008 Schedules are here!
2007-07-11 22:00:00
NHL released the schedules for this season today.The big news is that the Ducks and the Kings will be playing a two-game series against eachother in London as the opener. Hopefully we will have some way of having those games covered here in the States and in Canada.The Canes basically have a two-night opener on Wed. October 3 and then on Fri. the 5th. The first game is against the Canadiens! The Friday game will be against the Penguins, who we played 10 years ago nearly to the day.It definitely proves to be an excited year for the Hurricanes and us fans as our 10th year anniversary!
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Lundqvist, Rangers Agree to One-Year Deal
2007-07-11 17:33:00
Updated:Various media outlets are reporting the deal is actually worth $4.25 million, not the $2.5-3 million that had been speculated. This undoubtedly complicates matters for the Range rs , and almost certainly guarantees that one or two players will have to be moved to clear out cap space. This also ends any, albeit remote, chance there was of the Rangers landing Souray.From newyorkrangers.com:New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms with restricted free agent goaltender Henrik Lund qvist.Lundqvist, 25, appeared in 70 games with the Rangers this past season, posting a 37-22-8 record, along with a 2.34 goals against average and a .917 save percentage. Among league leaders, he ranked fourth in minutes played (4,108), tied for sixth in shutouts (five), ranked eighth in goals against average (2.34), tied for eighth in wins (37), and tied for ninth in save percentage (.917). His 37 wins marked the second-most victories in...
More About: Deal , Year

Report: Lundqvist Deal Could Come Today
2007-07-11 15:49:00
John Dellapina of the New York Daily News reports that with the Rangers finalizing the deal to keep Brendan Shanahan in New York for one more season, the Blueshirts immediate focus is on inking Franchise Goaltender Henrik Lund qvist to a one-year deal to avoid salary arbitration. Dellapina reports that, much like Shanny, King Henrik is being flexible in negotiations with the Rangers to help the team navigate the salary cap. Thanks to that flexibility, the report states:an announcement could come as early as this morning that Lundqvist has agreed to a one-year contract worth approximately $2.5 million. The deal is essentially a bridge to next season and beyond that will enable Lundqvist and the club to avoid their scheduled July 24 salary arbitration case while keeping the Rangers from having to unload players to get under this season's $50.3 million salary cap.The 25-year-old goaltender will get his big-money, long-term deal soon enough. After Jan. 1, 2008, the Rangers can sign Lund...
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Habs 07-08 Payroll
2007-07-11 07:47:00
From what I gathered on the NHLPA website, The payroll will be of 37.975M for the players Montreal currently has under contract:Defense (16.975M) :Markov - 5.75MHamrlik - 5.5MBouillon - 1.875MDandenault - 1.750MKomisarek - 1.5MStreit - 0.6MOffense (17.75M):Koivu - 4.75MKovalev - 4.5MSmolinski - 2MHiggins - 1.5MPlekanec - 1.4MBegin - 1.225MKostopoulos - 0.9MLatendresse - 0.85MMurray - 0.625MGoalies (3.25M) :Huet - 2.75MHalak - 0.5MGorges and Ryder who are still unsigned are according to BBeR going to receive around 4M combined. This leads to a total of 41.975MCorrect me if I'm wrong (by replying to this post), but buying out Cullimore will cost around 1M towards our payroll. If this information is correct, our total is now of 42.975MThis still leaves Gainey with an estimated 7M!The current payroll numbers provided from the NHLPA however does not take for account the fact that a team generally keeps 23 players.If Gainey is done signing, expect three more players to be added to the te...
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Carbonneau comments on Brière and on losing Souray
2007-07-11 02:00:00
According to RDS, Guy Carb onneau claimed not understanding Brière's motivation to sign with Philadelphia rather than with the Canadiens. He rejected Brière's argument stating that the Flyers have a better team by saying that, "From what I [Carbonneau] know, they finished last in the standings last year." Coach Guy also claims there is more stability in Montreal.I have to say I agree with Carbonneau! Although Brière will never admit this, I believe he simply did not want to face the pressure of becoming the star player for the Canadiens organisation. Can one blame him? That is a question that can be analysed in various ways. We all know that his life and Gainey's would have been on the line had he signed with Montreal, and played a terrible first season!On a second note, Carbonneau is reported to be satisfied by the signings Gainey has made. On losing Souray, he said that other players will have to step up and fill in the void. Carbonneau plans on revamping the power play syste...
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I'm the new girl
2007-07-11 00:49:00
Hello to everyone out there! Katy here and I am a student in Raleigh studying music, so that takes up my time when I am not at a game. I will be keeping up with the news coming out of the Caniac Nation. Yes, redneck hockey news for all! I attend many practices during the season, attend as many games as I can, and watch the rest of them on TV, so I stay up to date with all of the happenings with the Hurricanes.I was very impressed with BBeR during the Free Agent "frenzy." I was very excited when I was asked to join on as a blogger for the Canes and I think I have a lot to offer.You probably won't see me discuss the financial side of hockey too much, because it is quite confusing to me but I am pretty well rounded in all other areas of hockey.Feel free to email me at kyanacek@peace.edu if you want to share some news or want to talk hockey. I am always up for hearing from hockey fans, no matter what team you cheer for!-Katy
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Rathje won't quit!
2007-07-10 23:24:00
Just when Philadelphia fans thought the blueline for next season was complete, depth and all, the 33 year old Mike Rathje, along with his massive $3.5 million contract, seems to be headed back towards the NHL. Nothing is definite yet, but Rathje has had surgery to correct a nagging sports hernia injury and is trying his best to make a comeback in the NHL after being limited to only 3 full games last year. Paul Holmgren has made it clear that he would welcome back Rathje if his physical status was up to the task.Here's where it gets shakey for the Philly-phaithful. If Rathje is taken off the long term IR, his $3.5 million salary will make the Flyers go over the $50.3 million cap (they are currently $1.3 under and have been seeking an enforcer to replace Todd Fedoruk). That being said, if Rathje returns, there will have to be some form of a salary dump to make room for him.But salary issues are not the only thing that's bogus about this situation. The Flyers have, currently, th...
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Shanny signs with Rangers
2007-07-10 22:46:00
According to www.newyorkrangers.com, Brendan Shanahan has agreed to a deal with the New York Range rs that will keep him on the roster until the end of the 07-08 season.
More About: Signs , Ranger

New Senators logo leaked by official website
2007-07-10 21:33:00
Don't fret Sens fans, it's not a bad change or even a big change at all for that matter.The Senators' official website leaked the team's new alternate road logo for next season through an advertisement banner.Observe the difference between the current Senators logo and their newly tweaked one:CURRENT ROAD LOGO:NEWLY TWEAKED LOGO:But hey, in my mind, I bet you Ottawa's team of designers should target their current primary logo, which looks ridiculously like the Trojan brand of condoms, I guess they want to distance themselves from it as much as they can, and this new logo of theirs does just that.I personally like it, but forget about what I think, what do you all think about it?--BBR
More About: Website , Logo , Leak , Official , Leaked

Report: Shanahan, Rangers Close in on Deal
2007-07-10 19:37:00
According to Larry Brooks of the NY Post, Brendan Shanahan and the Range rs are on the verge of completing a deal to keep Shanny on Broadway next season. Brooks reports that the two sides have agreed to a one-year deal "for a base of approximately $2.5M with an additional $1.5-2.5M in readily attainable bonuses." The report states that the Rangers are just waiting for the league to approve the structure of the bonuses before making it official.The way this deal is set up, it will allow the Rangers to only take the cap hit of $2.5 million when the deal is signed, but, by season's end, Shanny's cap figure will still be in the $4-5 million range. With either arbitration or long-term deals still pending with Henrik Lundqvist and Sean Avery, the Rangers are going to have to clear some cap room.Newsday's Steve Zipay reported on his Rangers' blog today that he believes the Rangers will make a trade soon. He added "at least one player has told friends he wouldn't mind being moved."M...
More About: Report , Deal , Close

The REAL Crosby...
2007-07-10 19:23:00
I couldn't resist, Martin Biron says it best, Sidney Crosby is a LIAR and a WHINER.You rock Marty, man, Sabres fans must really miss you!--BBR
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Another Newbie
2007-07-10 18:03:00
As a hockey fan living in America, it is nearly impossible to get any kind of hockey news or analysis in the mainstream media. How does ESPN have time to discuss the opening of NHL free agency, when they have to spend 15 minutes a night debating a fictional "tournament" that will shockingly conclude with Tiger Woods being named the most "Now" athlete? I don't even know what being the most "now" means, and I know that Tiger is going to win. But, clearly, this pointless exercise better serves sports fans than talking about actual sports news. And, as usual in the current American sports landscape, hockey fans are the ones who get squeezed. So, in the barren desert of mainstream hockey news, I stumbled upon this oasis of puck passion. So taken was I by the information and enthusiasm of the bloggers and readers of this site, during the opening week of free agency, that I decided to join in.I will be weighing in with news and opinion on the NHL in general, but my specific interest is th...
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Crosby signs 5-year contract extension
2007-07-10 15:59:00
UPDATED 10:49 AM:This is now official, as reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.-- The Penguins have signed center Sidney Crosby to a five-year contract extension. The deal is worth $43 million, an annual salary-cap hit of $8.7 million. It will take effect in the 2008-09 season. "Sidney has proven himself to be a dynamic player and team leader at a very young age, and it is exciting news for our franchise and our fans to have him under contract for the next six seasons, through 2013," said Fred Shero, the Penguins executive vice president and general manager. "When you've got a guy who leads the league in scoring and wins the MVP award at the age of 19, you know have someone very special. But Sid also is a tremendous asset for this organization as a leader in the dressing room, and as the face of our franchise in the community. And the fact that he wants to be here long-term is a great statement about the city of Pittsburgh and our organization," Shero said.---According to the ev...
More About: Signs , Contract , Extension , Year , Trac

Free Agency Grades: 10 Days Later
2007-07-10 14:28:00
THE TOP OF THE CLASS:N.Y. Rangers: The Rangers finally get it right. They add two dynamic players to their roster who are a) not over the hill and B) Leaders. Chris Drury and Gomez together could put the Blue Shirts on the verge of being a legitimate threat in the East. Gomez with Jagr could be something special.Calgary Flames: The team took care of its own in Iginla and Regehr and totally retooled their blueline by adding Sarich and Erikkson at good prices. Darcy Regier and Larry Quinn should take notes on how to treat your leaders. These moves make the Flames legitimate contenders for the Cup.GOOD:Philadelphia Flyers: They overpaid in every case, but adding Briere, Hartnall and Timmonen significantly upgrades this team. Paul Holmgren has done a tremendous job in retooling thre Flyers in his short tenure.Montreal Canadiens: Simply moving out Samsanov and Bonk makes it a great off season. I loved the addition of Smolinski. Probably should have gone the extra mile for Briere.Washinto...
More About: Agency , Free , Grades , Days , Free agency

Yet ANOTHER New Guy!
2007-07-10 00:33:00
Hey all -New guy JD here. I'm here to represent the Philadelphia side of things. I'm a student at The College of New Jersey and would bleed orange if I had the choice. After taking advantage of the crazy go nuts first week of free agency here at BBeR, I couldn't help but wish I was contributing info to all you hockey fanatics out there. It gives me great pleasure to join this group of bloggers and hockey lovers alike. I can tell that these are the kind of people that wish hockey was a fall, winter, spring, and summer sport - just my crowd!I'll be giving you all as much inside information as I can muster up. I live about 10 min away from both the Flyers' practice facility (I play hockey there too) and the actual stadium (Wachovia Center). That being said, I tend to breath hockey.Thanks again to the BBeR vets for signing me on, and let's get talkin!!My email is dutton3@tcnj.edu if you wish to send me updates or would like to just talk hockey!JD

NEW Flyers jersey information leak!
2007-07-10 00:04:00
Reader John D. sends in the following (who will as well become a contributor for the Flyers on this blog, you interested? Shoot me an email over at bbrblog@gmail.com, now back to the topic!)Thanks John for sending this in, really appreciated.Thought I'd let the hockey world know some inside information about theFlyers new jerseys that will be out next year. I was at the Flyers mainpractice facility today (in Vorhees, NJ) and will be for the rest of theweek. On my way out, I was talking to the staff, and we were discussingthe new jerseys coming out in the fall.Apparently, there will be a complete overhaul of the Flyers jerseys andit will be released on September 14th. No one, even the staff, evenknows what it will exactly look like except for this clue (thanks to theskate shop staff): "You know what the Buffalo Sabres wore lastyear...Yeah, it's like that."Next year, the Flyers will be sporting 2 new jerseys - a black and awhite model. There will be NO THIRD JERSEY next year. When t...
More About: Information , Jersey , Format , Leak

Just When It Couldn't Get Any Worse for Sabres' fans...this!
2007-07-08 20:07:00
Still reeling from the loss of their two captains and the massive contract received by Thomas Vanek Sabres ' fans got some news that was even worse. They found out that it appears that Darcy Regier and Larry Quinn are acting like nothing more than two bit con men.Fans woke up to the Sunday morning Buffalo News to find:"This isn’t meant to ruin your Sunday breakfast, but the Buffalo Sabres keep digging their hole deeper and deeper. They can no longer blame the media or the Edmonton Oilers or the collective bargaining agreement for their dizzying week of mismanagement loaded with halftruths and spin control.Now, an agent, Pat Brisson, is stepping forward with enough gumption to say publicly what people suspected all along, that managing partner Larry Quinn wasn’t telling the whole truth last week. Quinn claimed General Manager Darcy Regier called Brisson, who represents Daniel Briere, and never received a return phone call.“For the record, Darcy Regier did call Pat Brisson in Ja...

Another New Guy!
2007-07-08 17:09:00
After seeing this blog in action during the free agent frenzy, I was very impressed! Impressed to the point where I figured it would be fun for me to contribute to this blog, and share my passion for hockey, more specifically for the Habs! When you see a post coming from my end, expect it to be Habs related. I plan on attending at least 3 to 4 games this year during the regular season. If I find any interesting news in our Montreal newspapers, or RDS sportscasts, I'll jump on the blog to keep you all updated!Also, for all you fans out there that are more in touch with the rest of the league, I have a little piece of information for you that might be fun later on in the year. I went to school with Blackhawks forward Jonathan Toews when I was living in Winnipeg! I will during the year try to touch base with Jonathan and see if I can pull out comments from him as the season progresses, as it seems almost certain that he will be on the roster. I last saw him about a week before the 200...

Sacrebleu! Lindsay Lohan gives her couties to the Cup...
2007-07-08 15:27:00
What in Gretzky's name is this no-good Hollywood drugged and overpartied little princess doing in the sacred vicinity of our Holy Grail?!"OK Lindsay , smile for the cameras.""Uggh, how soon till I can get a manicure? I just touched this *eew* shiny lump of metal."I bet you can now tell I'm not so high on little Ms. Lohan .Haha, good morning.--BBR
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I Go to Disney World for 1 Week....
2007-07-08 05:36:00
and all hell breaks loose in Buffalo! It must have been the mouse! I think it is fair to say this is one of the worst weeks in Sabres' history. About the only two things that even compare are Tim Horton's car accident and the entire Rigas/Bankruptcy saga. I am still digesting everything but my first impression is:Darcy Regier is looking like an idiot.More to follow..
More About: World , Disney , Disney World , Week

The New Guy
2007-07-06 20:58:00
Hello Everyone,After reaping the benefits during the Free Agent Frenzy here at BBR I have decided to enlist and help the team! First a little bit about myself, most importantly I am a habs fan, I still remember the Cup run in '93, the RoyGate, and the litany of players, coaches and changes since then. I am 24 years old, and there are two things I said i'd never do: 1. Continue schooling 2. Work in the Food Service Industry. I am currently entering my 5th year in college (fast tracking it baby!) and working at the cafeteria. Never say never I guess. While my favorite team is in fact Montreal, I will dispensing my thoughts a little, and my opinion the most on the NHL as a whole. Well, that's all for now, I will enjoy hearing from you all in the future.

Lowe makes HUGE splash, VANEK an Oiler for a whole 19 minutes
2007-07-06 20:13:00
The Edmonton Oilers were up to something two days ago, something that the casual fan would write off as being a depth trade or, in some people's books, not important at all.The fan with a keen eye would've noticed this the second he read it."Oilers acquire D Allan Rourke and a 2008 3rd round pick from the Islanders for a 2008 2nd round pick."Casual fan's view: "Blech, who the heck is Allan Rourke and why did Lowe give up a second rounder to get him?"Keen-eyed fan's view: "Wow, Lowe is gearing up for something big. Now that he has his first four round picks back (which you need to submit and offer sheet to an RFA), he could probably sign a restricted free-agent by giving him an offer sheet...mmmm, Thomas Vanek."Who do you think made the fairer and more accurate point?The keen-eyed fan did.Today the Edmonton Oilers did something so big that just a few teams have done in the past...and that was sending an offer sheet to a prized restricted-free agent and signing him.That restricted...
More About: Splash , Huge , Minutes , Minute , Lash

Hello all!
2007-07-06 15:58:00
Since we over here at Bleu, Blanc et Rouge enjoyed doing the Free Agent Frenzy Liveblog the past 5 days we decided we would kind of keep something going. If you do have any questions or want to talk hockey feel free to e-mail me BethanyM85@gmail.com and I will respond to your e-mails tonight (after work)...so get going and send me an e-mail!!!12:45 The Sabres will be matching the Edmonton Oilers offer for Vanek. Check It
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2007 Free-Agent Frenzy Live Blogging Event Part 5 (cont.)
2007-07-05 22:26:00
WE'RE BACK FOR THE FINAL INSTALLEMENT OF THIS WONDERFULLY SUCCESSFUL FREE-AGENT FRENZY LIVE-BLOGGING EVENT, PART 5!Thanks to the lovely Bethany, Sherry and the cool Dave for filling in for me today!DID I MISS SOMETHING?If I did or if you just want to talk hockey, email me at bbrblog@gmail.com ------------------------------------Alrig ht everyone, open up your emails and send me your team's lineup as you would put it right now, I'm very interested to see how teams will look next year, especially the ones that lost big.All and any submissions will be posted. Once again, my email: bbrblog@gmail.comWe do need something to on this red-dead day!Keeps those emails coming!---------------------------------- ---SIGNING OFF10:20 PM My thanks to EVERYBODY, everyone who came in here for the past 5 days, 70 000 people who came in and out of here, I hope you all enjoyed BBeR's coverage of the NHL Free -Agent Frenzy! Special thanks to my co-bloggers Sherry, Bethany and Waffledave for truly helpin...
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Canadiens sign Tomas Plekanec for 2 years
2007-07-05 21:58:00
TSN.CA is reporting that the Canadiens have re-signed centre Tomas Plekanec for 2 more years.Not surprising in the least, as Plekanec is a huge part of the team and an incredibly versatile and useful forward. Glad to see him locked up for a few years but I would have preferred a longer deal.
More About: Sign , Years , Year , Ears

2007 Free-Agent Frenzy Live-Blogging Event Part 5.5
2007-07-05 20:27:00
Hey guys, I thought I would toss this up since Sherry is at work and BBR seems to still be gone. I am really busy at work and don't have much time to update but if there is anything I am missing or you do want to chat e-mail me BethanyM85@gmail.com I am at work and won't be able to check it often...but I promise I will get back to you.3:59 ~ I still don't know where BBR is...but here's the latest...The Avs signed Marek Svatos and The Montreal Canadiens re-signed Tomas Plekanec.The Islanders have acquired Edmonton’s second round pick in the 2008 NHLdraft by trading depth defenseman Allan Rourke and a 2008 third round pick tothe Oilers. The Islanders now have two second round picks in what is expected tobe a deep draft in June, 2008. “Although it may seem a relatively small dealfrom a players’ standpoint, this is very good news for us,” said Islandersassistant GM/Director of Amateur Scouting Ryan Jankowski. “Next year is expectedto be a stronger and deeper draft than th...
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2007 Free-Agent Frenzy Live-Blogging Event Part 5.3
2007-07-05 17:08:00
WE'RE BACK FOR THE FINAL INSTALLEMENT OF THIS WONDERFULLY SUCCESSFUL FREE-AGENT FRENZY LIVE-BLOGGING EVENT, PART 5!All righty, so BBR had to run out for a bit for an appointment and you're stuck with Sherry once again. Feel free to keep the e-mails rolling in! We'll have to make our own news with the signings slowing down a bit.Also live-blogging:We Want it Bad DID I MISS SOMETHING?If I did or if you just want to talk hockey, email me at saj.gunner@gmail.com2:06 pm - All righty, so unfortunately I have to bid all of you goodbye as I have to get back to my actual paying day-job. Hopefully BBR will be back in time to take you through the rest of the signings! Thanks for hanging out with me1:57 pm - Half an hour later, we only have a re-signing to report. According to Sportsnet Erik Christensen has re-signed with the Pens on a two-year deal.1:27 pm - The Weekes signing has been confirmed by TSN and it is reportedly a deal for: $1.375-million over two years1:10 pm - We have news! We...
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