After dealing him to the San Jose Sharks at the trade deadline, the Toronto Maple Leafs are bringing back Roman Polak to the organization on a one-year contract, the team announced Saturday.
Terms of the contract were not disclosed.
The 30-year-old defenseman recorded 13 points in 55 games with the Maple Leafs before being dealt. Polak went without a point in 24 playoff games during the Sharks' run to the Stanley Cup Final.
During his time in Toronto last season, Polak spent the majority of his ice time paired with Martin Marincin.
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The Florida Panthers' busy offseason continues.
The club and forward Vincent Trocheck agreed to a six-year contract extension, the team announced on Sunday.
The deal was first reported Saturday by George Richards of the Miami Herald and carries an average annual value of $4.75 million, or $28.5 million over the life of the contract, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
The Panthers reportedly offered Trocheck the six-year deal last month.
Trocheck tied for third on the team with 25 goals and ranked fifth with 53 points in his third NHL season.
The 22-year-old was a pending restricted free agent before the Panthers reportedly extended him a qualifying offer last weekend.
Florida signed defenseman Jason Demers to a five-year contract earlier Saturday.
On Friday, the Panthers locked up franchise blue-liner Aaron Ekblad on an eight-year extension, inked goaltender James Reimer to a five-year deal, signed former Dallas Stars forward Colton Sceviour to a one-year pact, and added former Tampa Bay Lightning center Jonathan Marchessault on a two-year contract.
Florida also acquired Keith Yandle's negotating rights and signed him to a seven-year deal last week.
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During a wild first day of free agency Friday, where over 100 players signed new contracts, Paul Bissonnette - a.k.a. @BizNasty2point0 - stole the show by sharing his direct messages to Brendan Shanahan and Evgeni Malkin as he searched for a new deal.
Related: Bissonnette slides into Shanahan's, Malkin's DMs in search of contract
On Saturday, TSN's Bob McKenzie broke the news that Bissonnette had agreed to return to the Los Angeles Kings' AHL affiliate, the Ontario Reign, where he played last season.
It would take a very big signing to get me to come in off vacation on Day 1 of my holidays, but this one is definitely worth it:
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) July 2, 2016
Thanks @TSNBobMcKenzie. 👊🏼
— Paul Bissonnette (@BizNasty2point0) July 2, 2016
The Reign retweeted the announcement in confirmation of the deal.
In 35 games with the Reign last season, Bissonnette recorded three points and 51 penalty minutes. He has not played in the NHL since 2014, when he was a member of the Arizona Coyotes.
Very happy 2 be back with the @LAKings organization. My days are numbered as a player and I'm happy to be spending it with the @ontarioreign
— Paul Bissonnette (@BizNasty2point0) July 2, 2016
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The start of the 2016-17 season is still roughly three months away, but already there are several teams who are destined for greater success than last season.
Related: 3 teams that got worse on July 1
Friday's onslaught of signings saw several teams already add the pieces needed to make a jump up the standings. Amazing what a couple of hours can do.
Here are three teams that are significantly better today than they were prior to the noon hour on Friday:
The Calgary Flames made just two moves on Friday, but they were two moves that should pay off immediately.
The team inked forward Troy Brouwer to a four-year, $18-million contract and added much-needed depth between the pipes, locking up former Buffalo Sabres backup Chad Johnson.
Brouwer provides strength, size, and skill, averaging 20 goals a year for his career. The 30-year-old was dealt to the St. Louis Blues ahead of this past season in exchange for T.J. Oshie and in his lone season with the Blues added 18 goals and 39 points in 82 games.
He further proved his worth in the postseason when he finished just a goal behind Vladimir Tarasenko's nine for the team lead and added five assists.
While he was coined the team's backup thanks to multiple ankle injuries to Robin Lehner, Johnson spent a large part of the year as the team's No. 1. He played 45 games posting an impressive 2.36 goals-against average and a .920 save percentage on a team that finished third-last in the East, while giving up just under 31 shots per game.
He is sure to be a solid relief option for the newly acquired Brian Elliott.
Having made it to the Stanley Cup Final and coming within just two games of capturing hockey's ultimate prize, the San Jose Sharks were not desperate to make a splash on July 1, but they did anyways.
The club added one of the top unrestricted forwards in Mikkel Boedker and added skill to their defense core with the addition of David Schlemko.
P.s well done Doug, I love it! @SanJoseSharks
— Logan Couture (@Logancouture) July 1, 2016
Having been a victim to the Pittsburgh Penguins' speed in the Cup Final, it's clear that general manager Doug Wilson wanted to address the issue and he did just that in acquiring Boedker.
The speedy forward matched a career-high 51 points during the 2015-16 season split between the Arizona Coyotes and the Colorado Avalanche.
The deal has some speculating as to whether the Sharks will now look to trade Patrick Marleau, given their suddenly deep left side of the ice, while also taking into account that Marleau reportedly asked for a trade midway through last season.
That is not to say that is the case, and if it turns out it isn't, then the Sharks will certainly have the best kind of problem with an abundance of riches.
The Sharks still have just under $2.5 million in cap space with restricted free agents Matt Nieto and Dylan DeMelo to contend with, but should be able to get both done with that money.
Factor in Schlemko's solid 19 points in 67 games last season and it's clear the Sharks are hoping last season's Stanley Cup appearance will not be a one off.
They may not have made any of the flashiest moves on Friday, but rest assured the Avalanche are surely better than they were June 30.
The Avalanche added depth at both forward and defense by coming to terms with Joe Colborne on a two-year contract, while also adding Fedor Tyutin and Patrick Wiercioch on one-year deals.
Colborne is coming off a career-best season where he came just one goal shy of breaking the 20-goal plateau, while adding 25 assists in 73 games.
In total, the moves cost the Avalanche just $5.3 million, leaving them over $14 million in salary to come to terms with Nathan MacKinnon, Calvin Pickard, Tyson Barrie, and Mikhail Grigorenko who are all restricted free agents.
On the other hand, with rumours that Barrie could be on the trade block, the additions of Tyutin and Wiercioch give the club some insurance at defense in the event Barrie is indeed sent packing.
Edmonton Oilers - Additions: F Milan Lucic, G Jonas Gustavsson
Buffalo Sabres - Additions: F Kyle Okposo
Vancouver Canucks - Additions: F Loui Eriksson, D Philip Larsen, F Jayson Megna
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The future of the Tampa Bay Lightning was in question all season long. The idea of Steven Stamkos leaving town drew more speculation perhaps than any free agent ever. Jonathan Drouin, the team's best prospect, wanted out. Their impending salary-cap doom lurked in the distance. And yet, on the road to next season, the Lightning remain firmly intact, all because of Steve Yzerman.
Much like his Hall of Fame career as a player, Yzerman's stoic approach as a general manager has translated into booming success.
Yzerman has built a perennial contender in Tampa Bay, a group so tightly knit and driven for a Stanley Cup that the team's two most important players - Stamkos and Victor Hedman - chose to stay at incredible discounts, rather than raking in piles of money on the open market.
Drouin, who as a 21-year-old pushed and pushed for a midseason trade, flourished in the postseason. He revitalized his image and proved his worth to his teammates with 14 points in 17 games, because Yzerman wouldn't budge.
By retaining Stamkos for $8.5 million per year, the bar was set for his teammates, with Hedman following suit by agreeing to take $7.875 million starting in 2017.
Now, with two deep playoff runs behind them and surely another one in sight, Yzerman's kept the band together. There's still work to be done, like finding a contract for dynamic scorer Nikita Kucherov, who's a restricted free agent. The GM's confident a deal will get done soon and, based on his work this offseason, he should be.
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Here are the fantasy repercussions following Jason Demers signing with the Florida Panthers. Demers reached an agreement on a five-year contract worth $22.5-million.
On that note so stoked to start up with .@FlaPanthers can't wait to get going the year can't come quick enough! #floridapanthers
— jason demers (@jasondemers5) July 2, 2016
Even though it's not the most attractive free-agent signing on day two, it is one that added depth on the blueline and could do wonders for the Panthers come playoff time.
Demers was a hot commodity since the free-agent market opened July 1, being one of, if not the best right-handed shooting defenseman available. He listened to many offers from a variety of different teams, then decided to settle in the warm sunshine state of Florida.
Let's dive into Demers' value for this upcoming fantasy season. He doesn't bring much offensive upside to the table for fantasy purposes. He scored a career-high seven goals last season with Dallas and tallying 16 assists for just 23 points in 62 contests.
He has little value in standard leagues, unless he is receiving top-2 minutes, which is unlikely to happen with franchise defenseman Aaron Ekblad and recent acquisition Keith Yandle logging the lion's share of the minutes as the top blueline duo.
There was a need for another defenseman when the organization elected to ship Erik Gudbranson and a draft pick to the Canucks for Jared McCann and two of their draft picks. GM Dale Tallon and company added Demers to fill out the supporting cast. He is more of a threat offensively than Gudbransson ever was and figures to see power-play time on the second-unit.
In deeper leagues, he could be a sneaky pick in the later rounds, considering the potential production on the power-play, should either Ekblad or Yandle miss any time with injury. The Panthers finished fifth in total power play opportunities last season.
Throughout his eight-year NHL career, Demers has recorded 143 points in 423 games. If he stays healthy for the bulk of the season, five to 10 goals and 25 points is a reasonable projections. He finished 140th in blocked shots and 253rd in hits, so he's not going to help in leagues that score those categories, though he did finished 55th in penalty minutes.
Expect him to average anywhere between 18 to 20 minutes of ice time, considering he averaged 20:52 last season with the Stars. If you are in need of help on the back-end late in your draft, he's worth a flier pick.
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The Florida Panthers have signed free-agent defenseman Jason Demers to a five-year contract, the team announced Saturday.
The deal's worth a reported $22.5 million, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.
Demers is thrilled to get the season going.
I would like to thank .@DallasStars for everything they have done for me these past few years. I cherished my time with all the guys
— jason demers (@jasondemers5) July 2, 2016
On that note so stoked to start up with .@FlaPanthers can't wait to get going the year can't come quick enough! #floridapanthers
— jason demers (@jasondemers5) July 2, 2016
After not signing July 1, Demers was at the top of the list for available free agents, and joins a budding defensive corps that's added Keith Yandle and retained youngster Aaron Ekblad long term.
The 28-year-old spent last season with the Dallas Stars, notching a career-high 23 points in 62 contests, while posting strong possession numbers.
Demers is also a right-handed shot, and an increasingly valuable and sought-after asset for blue-liners around the league. He should slot in what's looking like a formidable top four in Florida.
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