The Anaheim Ducks signed veteran forward Mason Raymond to a one-year contract worth $675,000, according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports.
After a disappointing second season with the Calgary Flames, the 30-year-old had the final year of his contract bought out by the club last week, making him a free agent.
Raymond recorded just five points in 29 games with the Flames last season, eventually being sent down to the AHL's Stockton Heat, where he scored at a point-per-game pace in 15 appearances.
He originally signed a three-year contract worth $9.45 million with the Flames following a surprising 45-point campaign in 2013-14 with the Toronto Maple Leafs - where he played under current Ducks bench boss Randy Carlyle.
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Despite being offered a top-six role on a playoff team, Hobey Baker Award winner Jimmy Vesey decided not to sign with the Nashville Predators after his college career ended in order to become a free agent in August, which is an option available to college players after their senior season.
The Predators have since traded the former Harvard forward's rights to the Buffalo Sabres, and general manager David Poile acknowledged the rule makes dealing with prospects in the NCAA more complicated.
"It's not a perfect situation," Poile said, according to Adam Vingan of The Tennessean. "I guess if you're on our side, that's a loophole that the college players can run the gamut on four years and then be a free agent like Jimmy Vesey. I think it's a bad rule.
"I hope we can change it because now you see a lot of teams, because of the Vesey thing and a couple of other players, you see teams taking their players out of college maybe a year early to try to entice them with a contract, and so they don't have to face that situation."
Vesey was a 2012 draft selection of the Predators. Under the current CBA, a team holds exclusive rights to a drafted college prospect for four years, as long as the player stays a student the entire time.
The situation with Vesey hasn't deterred Poile from drafting college-bound players, though, as the Predators selected defenseman Dante Fabbro in the first round of this year's draft. Fabbro will play at Boston University this coming season.
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The Vancouver Canucks added Loui Eriksson in free agency, but they want more.
In dire need of goals, Eriksson's going to help. He scored 30 times last season, and will form what should be a formidable all-Swedish first line with the Sedin twins. But Jim Benning knows the Canucks - the only team to score fewer than 200 goals in the Western Conference - need more offense.
While the Sedins are around, Vancouver is going to chase a playoff spot. That much is clear early in an offseason in which the club has tried to get better for the immediate future.
"If I had a crystal ball, I would say we'd try to add a winger who had some grit and size to him, who can score," Benning told The Province's Jason Botchford.
Those players aren't available on the free-agent market, which means Benning is going to have to get what he wants via trade. And that won't be easy. Gone already is forward prospect and 2014 first-round pick Jared McCann, traded to Florida for defenseman Erik Gudbranson.
Here's a look at the Canucks' depth chart up front:
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel Sedin | Henrik Sedin | Loui Eriksson |
| Sven Baertschi | Brandon Sutter | Jannik Hansen |
| Alex Burrows | Bo Horvat | Jake Virtanen |
| Ronalds Kenins | Markus Granlund | Derek Dorsett |
| Emerson Etem | Brendan Gaunce |
There isn't much to trade from that group. Prospects and/or draft picks could be used to pluck one of the pending 2017 unrestricted free-agent forwards, who are up there in age and who could help in the short term: Patrick Marleau, Patrick Sharp, and Jarome Iginla. None of those players fit the description Benning is looking for, though, with Iginla coming the closest. He scored 22 goals as a 38-year-old last season, so there's still game left on his stick.
While Eriksson's bringing 30 goals to Vancouver, the Canucks are losing Radim Vrbata's 13 goals, and 44 over the last two seasons. Any way you look at it, there's still work to be done, which means the summer may still hold intrigue out west.
- With h/t to Pro Hockey Talk
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With the free-agent frenzy over, and the NHL slowly but surely shifting to offseason mode, we'd thought we'd have a little fun and put together a team of those players still looking for work next season.
Let's get right into it.
| LW | C | RW |
|---|---|---|
| Jiri Hudler | Brandon Pirri | Radim Vrbata |
| Kris Versteeg | Sam Gagner | Shane Doan |
| Alex Tanguay | Cody Hodgson | Josh Jooris |
| Mason Raymond | Dominic Moore | Linden Vey |
| Chris Higgins | Paul Gaustad | David Jones |
Notes:
| LD | RD |
|---|---|
| Kris Russell | Justin Schultz |
| Dennis Seidenberg | Luke Schenn |
| Kyle Quincey | James Wisniewski |
| Matt Carle | Dan Boyle |
Notes:
| Goalie |
|---|
| Jhonas Enroth |
| Karri Ramo |
| Ben Scrivens |
Notes:
In conclusion, buyer beware.
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Peter Chiarelli expected Edmonton Oilers fans to be upset when he traded Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils for Adam Larsson.
"I knew I was going to get hammered (for it)," the Oilers general manager told SiriusXM NHL Network Radio on Monday. "The Edmonton fans don't know (Larsson). They don't know what he projects to be, and they know Taylor."
It wasn't just Oilers fans who were shocked by the deal, which was announced during a flurry of major activity around the league last week. Several media members chimed in with critical responses.
Related: Twitter reacts to 1-for-1 Hall, Larsson trade
"You kind of knew there was going to be some backlash, and to a certain degree, it's justifiable because of the stature Taylor had in Edmonton and ... (his) time in the league and what he's done," Chiarelli said Monday.
Hall racked up 132 goals and 328 points in 381 games for the Oilers after being selected first overall by Edmonton in 2010. Larsson - a right-shot defenseman Chiarelli has repeatedly insisted the Oilers needed - was chosen fourth overall in 2011.
"It's a tough business. You make these decisions, (and) whatever you do, social media is going to criticize you ... It's a really public forum, and you just don't look at it, basically."
Chiarelli's social media strategy aligns with Connor McDavid's advice to Canadian players during the World Junior Hockey Championship. McDavid told players to "make your world as small as possible," and to turn off social media apps while in the figurative bubble of the international tournament.
For the Oilers, less is apparently more.
- With h/t to Chris Nichols
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In honor of Independence Day stateside, it's time to acknowledge the growth of hockey in the United States.
The game has spread significantly south of the border in the 20 years since the U.S. defeated Canada to win the World Cup of Hockey, inspiring a whole new generation just as the game grew following the 'Miracle on Ice' in 1980.
Here are five reasons American hockey is blossoming and should only continue to grow.
The Chicago Blackhawks star is a lightning rod of controversy off the ice, but his impact on it is undeniable. Kane became the first American-born player to win the Hart Trophy last month after a season in which he claimed the Art Ross Trophy with a career-high 106 points.
He also set the record for the longest point streak by an American-born player, tallying at least a point in 26 consecutive games between Oct. 17 and Dec. 13.
His off-ice legal troubles ensure he won't be the singular face of the league any time soon, but the Buffalo native is arguably the NHL's most dynamic player.
The present is promising, but the future looks even brighter for USA Hockey.
A record 12 American-born players were chosen in the first round of the NHL draft last month, including five players who played their youth hockey in St. Louis.
For some perspective, compare that to the 11 Canadians taken in the opening round. Three Americans went in the first seven picks for the first time in 10 years, and 55 U.S.-born players were drafted in all.
At least a handful of them should make major contributions in the NHL for years to come.
The first-overall pick won't be playing close to home with the Arizona Coyotes, but the Toronto Maple Leafs' top prospect will be a huge boon for the U.S. program if he excels in the biggest hockey market in the world and continues representing his country on the international stage.
Matthews was the first American chosen with the top pick since Kane in 2007, and no one's doubting he'll have a similar impact.
The centerpiece of the Leafs' youth movement should contribute fairly quickly after spending a season playing professionally in Switzerland.
A glance at USA Hockey membership provides further evidence that interest is rising.
There are now more than 542,000 players in the system, a 47 percent increase since the Americans won the World Cup in 1996. The total number of participants in the program (622,833) has gone up 45 percent in that span.
The number of players, coaches and officials is steadily increasing nationwide, and that's a positive sign for the growth of the game in the United States.
The Golden State has seen a surge of interest in hockey in the years since the trade that sent Wayne Gretzky to the Los Angeles Kings in 1988.
The number of collegiate players from the state has nearly tripled since 2003. The Kings' Stanley Cup championship in 2012 and 2014 helped to generate even more interest on the west coast, while the success of the San Jose Sharks and competitiveness of the Anaheim Ducks have strengthened the market.
Hockey hasn't caught on in every southern locale, but California is becoming a major hotbed for hockey, and that could very well have been a factor in the awarding of an NHL franchise to nearby Las Vegas for the 2017-18 season.
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Now that the initial free-agent frenzy has died down, teams are beginning to turn their attention to the secondary market.
Related: Top 5 NHL free agents still available after Day 1
Teams are circling around defenseman Kris Russell, while multiple teams are believed to be interested in forward Kris Versteeg, according to Darren Dreger of TSN.
The Toronto Maple Leafs were reportedly interested in Russell, while his agent has denied the defenseman turned down a significant offer from the club.
The shot-blocking specialist was dealt by Calgary to Dallas prior to the 2016 trade deadline, while Versteeg scored 15 goals in 77 games split between Carolina and Los Angeles last season.
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