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Last-minute deals herald start of free agency Print
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Written by J.P. Hoornstra   
Thursday, July 01, 2010 01:15
Around the NHL, the time for team executives to shape their 2010-11 season budgets, refine their open-market wish lists, and address their in-house free agents has been reduced to one night.

Not every team got its wish. Marquee free agents such as Ilya Kovalchuk, Sergei Gonchar and Dan Hamhuis – whose teams would reportedly wish to retain their services beyond Thursday – were prepared to join the open market by noon.

With a flurry of last-minute activity, some GMs got the players they wanted.

The Philadelphia Flyers identified their goaltender of the future. Somewhat surprisingly, it's the same goalie who backstopped them within two games of a Stanley Cup championship. Michael Leighton agreed to a two-year, $3.1 million contract, giving the 29-year-old a second chance to be the team's full-time No. 1 goaltender.

"I wanted to get a deal done here, and it was kind of up to them whether they wanted to re-sign me," Leighton said during a conference call to announce the deal.

The Cup champions, meanwhile, continued their march in the opposite direction.

The Chicago Blackhawks traded forward Kris Versteeg to the Toronto Maple Leafs along with prospect Bill Sweatt for Viktor Stalberg, Phillippe Paradis and Christopher DiDomenico. Versteeg was owed slightly more than $3 million in each of the final two seasons of his contract.

The 24-year-old Versteeg had an up-and-down season for the Blackhawks, finishing with 20 goals and 44 points in the regular season. He added six goals and 14 points in 22 playoff games, played multiple forward positions, and is equally gifted on the forecheck.

Stalberg is the only other player involved in the trade to have reached the NHL, with nine goals and 14 points in a 40-game rookie season for the Leafs.

Since winning the Cup less than a month ago, cap-pressed Chicago has jettisoned Versteeg, Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager, Brent Sopel, Colin Fraser and Marty Reasoner off its NHL roster.

The Devils did not re-sign Kovlachuk, the big fish in the free-agent market, but they were able to re-sign power forward David Clarkson to a three-year contract worth a reported $8 million.

The Columbus Blue Jackets, meanwhile, acquired another team's captain for the second time in six months. Veteran forward Ethan Moreau was claimed off waivers from the Edmonton Oilers, Moreau's team since 1999 and the squad he had captained since 2007.

"We are very pleased and excited to add a player of Ethan's caliber and person of his character to the Blue Jackets organization," Columbus GM Scott Howson said in a statement. "He will bring valuable leadership, competitiveness and experience to our lineup."

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Last Updated on Thursday, July 01, 2010 03:14