Patrick Sharp was the second free agent to put pen to paper July 1, and for the former Blackhawk, it was a no-brainer to return to the Windy City.
"It was an easy decision, to be honest with you," he told Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times. "When you spend as much time in the city with the Hawks as I did, and you have the success as a team that we did in those years past, and you also remember the way you got treated as a Chicago Blackhawk - it's a special thing to put on that jersey."
Sharp was acquired by the Hawks in 2005, and played in Chicago until leaving for Dallas as a free agent after the 2014-15 season. Over 679 regular season games, he scored 239 goals and recorded 511 points.
It was during the playoffs that Sharp truly cemented his legacy with the Blackhawks. He was a part of all three of the their recent Stanley Cup-winning teams, scoring 42 goals and adding 38 assists in 117 playoff games.
The 35-year-old struggled this past season with the Stars, tallying just 18 points during an injury-riddled 48-game season. Despite the rough year, he was still a hot commodity in a weak free-agent class.
"I had plenty of options that I was humbled by during the free-agency week," he told Lazerus. "But at the end of the week, it was an easy decision to come home."
Sharp won't be the only Blackhawk returning home, as the team also re-acquired Brandon Saad this offseason. This isn't a new trend. Several Blackhawks, including Kris Versteeg, Johnny Oduya, Andrew Ladd, Brian Campbell, and Daniel Carcillo have won a cup with the team only to return for a second stint later on in their careers.
A veteran defenseman will play in Europe next season.
Tom Gilbert signed a contract with the Nuremberg Ice Tigers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga in Germany, the club announced Friday.
The 34-year-old played 18 games for the Los Angeles Kings and five more for the AHL's Ontario Reign before being traded to the Washington Capitals in February.
He didn't play a game for the Capitals, but he collected 13 points in 25 regular-season contests and a pair of points in nine playoff games with their AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears.
Gilbert joins an Ice Tigers squad featuring former NHLers Steven Reinprecht, Milan Jurcina, and Colten Teubert.
Ottawa Senators forward Clarke MacArthur was forced to sit out the first six months of the 2016-17 regular season after he suffered yet another concussion during the team's training camp.
The extended rest allowed MacArthur to return for the final four games of the season as well as the Senators' extended postseason, which culminated with an Eastern Conference Final Game 7 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. MacArthur scored three goals along the way, including a tally in a Game 4 loss to the Penguins.
With three years at an annual average value of $4.65 million remaining on his contract, the expectation is the four-month offseason rest will be enough to allow the 32-year-old to return for 2017-18, according to Senators' general manager Pierre Dorion.
We hope that Clarke MacArthur comes back; all indications are along the lines that he will be back but if he chooses to go another direction then we'll respect that.
MacArthur returned to his old form during the Senators' 19-game postseason run, scoring key goals and averaging 15:10 of ice time while playing mostly in a top-six role.
He last played most of a season in 2014-15, scoring 16 goals and adding 20 assists in 62 games for the Senators. He hasn't played an 82-game season since the 2010-11 campaign with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Calgary Flames' 2017 first-round pick is officially under contract.
Juuso Valimaki, the 16th overall selection in last month's draft, signed his entry-level deal Friday.
The 18-year-old Finnish defenseman scored 19 goals and racked up 61 points in 60 regular-season games with the WHL's Tri-City Americans this past season.
The Red Wings reportedly offered Tatar $4.1 million in annual payments earlier in the week, but they appear to have settled on the $5.3 million the player was seeking.
The move carries the Red Wings roughly $3 million above 2017-18's $78.021-million salary cap, according to Cap Friendly. They still have to come to terms with restricted free-agent forward Andreas Athanasiou.
Tatar scored 25 goals with 21 assists in his fourth full season in the NHL, averaging a career high in ice time (17:17). He has totaled 94 goals and 92 assists in 318 games over the past four seasons.
He most commonly played on the Red Wings' top line with forwards Henrik Zetterberg and Gustav Nyquist last season, finishing behind both peers among the team's points leaders. Just eight of Tatar's 46 points came via the power play.
The still-unsigned Athanasiou finished ninth on the team in points last season, recording 18 goals and 11 assists in his sophomore campaign.
Across 73 regular-season games last season split between the San Jose Sharks and the Ottawa Senators, Wingels tallied seven goals and five assists while logging nearly 11 minutes in ice time per game.
Dr. Terry: "We anticipate a full recovery in six to eight weeks and in time for training camp. We do not anticipate any long-term issues.”
New Jersey Devils winger Taylor Hall knows a thing or two about being a first overall NHL draft pick. He was, of course, selected No. 1 by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2010 entry draft.
So, it should come as no surprise that Hall is looking forward to playing alongside this year's top pick - newly minted Devils forward Nico Hischier.
"I watched a few clips from (Devils) development camp and (Hischier) looked great," Hall said Thursday in Toronto, according to Dave McCarthy of NHL.com. "I'm excited to get to camp and play with him. I've heard nothing but good things about him as a player and as a guy. He's a huge addition to our team."
Hall and Hischier could form a potentially dangerous top line in New Jersey, especially if recently acquired winger Marcus Johansson rounds out the trio.
"We've got some good pieces," Hall added. "I don't think the team is done by any means. I think there still might be a couple things they're looking to do.
"But when you see Nico come along, Brian Boyle come in. The Johansson trade was huge for us, I think he's a great player, so that really gets you excited for camp and excited for the year. You want to play with those guys and see what they're all about, and hopefully we can build on last year."
Hischier, Hall, Boyle, and Johansson will all be counted upon to revive a Devils franchise that's been toiling at the bottom of the standings for the past five seasons.
In 72 games in 2016-17, Hall tallied 20 goals and 33 assists.
The St. Louis Blues locked down a key piece of their blue line Thursday, inking rearguard Colton Parayko to a five-year, $27.5-million deal with an annual average value of $5.5 million.
Despite being underrated in most hockey circles, Parayko's now one of the highest-paid young defensemen in the league. Along with his big payday comes an increased role and heightened expectations about his performance for a Blues club looking to qualify for its first Stanley Cup Final since 1970.
Here's why he'll fulfill those expectations and earn his $27.5 million.
Offensive upside
In his first year in the league, Parayko tallied nine goals and 24 assists while finishing eighth in voting for the 2016 Calder Trophy. Perhaps more impressively, he also finished with a plus-28 rating, the fifth-best mark in the league.
Over 160 career regular-season games for the Blues, the former third-round pick has proven he can produce.
Parayko has registered 13 goals and 55 assists while throwing a whopping 353 pucks on net - last season, he finished tied for 11th-most shots in the NHL at 188. While his goal production dipped slightly in 2016-17, that didn't stop him from contributing, as he led Blues defensemen in primary assists with 13.
If the young blue-liner continues to chip in offensively, his term and price tag will seem like a complete steal for the Blues' front office and general manager Doug Armstrong.
Filling Shattenkirk's shoes
Replacing a guy who perennially scores 40 points and anchors a team's power play is never easy, but Parayko is already well on his way to posting Kevin Shattenkirk-like numbers, and has the game to back it up.
At 6-foot-6 and 226 pounds, the St. Albert, Alberta native is a force on the back end that the swift-skating Shattenkirk never was. He possesses a booming right-handed shot, the ability to run the power play, and a knack for scoring.
Sound familiar?
Parayko may not have the track record or flashy name that Shattenkirk does, and he may be a year or two away from being the blue-line leader St. Louis needs him to be. But that doesn't change the fact that he has the ability and potential to become elite, and make fans in the Gateway City forget all about No. 22.
Clutch performer
At only 24 years old, Parayko has already proven that he can perform on the biggest stages. NHL playoffs, World Cup, World Championship - you name it, he's crossed it off his pro-hockey bucket list.
The hulking defenseman took home a silver medal with Canada at the 2017 World Championship, registering an impressive three goals and four assists in six games while being named to the tournament All-Star team.
Parayko has also produced in the NHL playoffs, notching 12 points across 31 career postseason games while logging over 21 minutes per game in ice time.
If his size, offensive skill, and booming shot don't get Blues fans excited, then his propensity to perform in the clutch definitely should.
Joining the league out of a NCAA Division I school (University of Alaska-Fairbanks) doesn't always translate into NHL success, or get a player the attention he probably deserves.
But in the case of Parayko, only the latter is true.
Sure, giving a $27.5-million deal to a 24-year-old with only 160 career regular-season games under his belt is a risk. Considering the tangible offensive benefits Parayko brings to the table, though, it's one the Blues are wise to have taken.
The Senators and Dzingel had their arbitration hearing in Toronto on Friday at 9 a.m. ET, according to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, but settled before getting a ruling from the arbitrator.
With Dzingel under contract, the Senators have locked up all their pending free agents and have $5.8 million in cap space, according to Cap Friendly.
Dzingel is coming off his first full NHL season, in which he posted 14 goals and 32 points in 81 games.
The club locked up the 24-year-old defenseman Thursday, avoiding arbitration by coming to terms on a five-year, $27.5-million contract.
"We think that he's just starting to scratch the surface on what he's becoming in this league," general manager Doug Armstrong said, according to NHL.com. "He's got two years now of service where he understands the commitment necessary, he understands the league, he understands the players. We just think he has a really strong upside and we're excited to have him for the next five years."
Armstrong added, "There's a saying that an NHL defenseman doesn't really define himself until about 250 or 300 games. He's around 160, so there's still some growth there, some definition going into his game, but he's got all the tools to be a very good player over time, and we're excited to have him part of our group."
Parayko has amassed 33 and 35 points respectively in his first two seasons in the league while becoming a dominant force on the Blues' back end. If Armstrong is correct about what Parayko will become, that $5.5 million annual average could be a bargain.
