Monthly Archives: July 2011
Updated – 10:15 PM: The Florida Panthers were the most active team on the first day of free agency. In the early afternoon, they added forward Scottie Upshall and defenseman Ed Jovanovski with four-year contracts to go along with goalie Jose Theodore, who agreed to a two-year pact. The re-tooling team in South Beach then locked up forwards Sean Bergenheim and Tomas Fleischmann to four-year contracts in the late afternoon. The Panthers also added forward Kris Versteeg in a trade with Philadelphia for a pair of daft picks.
Here are some of the other noteworthy deals of the day: Center Eric Belanger goes to Edmonton on a three-year deal… Sheldon Souray, who spent the last season in the AHL due to a hefty contract, has signed a one-year deal with Dallas… Left Wing Ville Leino has been grabbed up by the Buffalo Sabres on a six-year contract… The Dallas Stars have landed winger Michael Ryder with a two-year contract… Recently cut defenseman Cam Barker lands with Edmonton with a one-year contract… Forward Mike Rupp lands with the Rangers on a three-year deal… Winger Joel Ward signs with Washington on a four-year deal… Defenseman Roman Hamrlik to Washington on a two-year deal… Winger Erik Cole to Montreal on a four-year pact… Jaromir Jagr is back in the NHL agreeing to a one-year deal with Philadelphia and Max Talbot bolts across state to join him on a five-year pact… Andy Greene is staying on New Jersey’s blueline for the next four years… Raffi Torres is moving from Vancouver to Phoenix on a two-year deal and Radim Vrbata stays with the Coyotes on a three-year deal… Columbus locked up defenseman James Wisniewski for six years… The Colorado Avalanche signed defenseman Jan Hejda for four years.
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3:24 PM: The Islanders have signed center Marty Reasoner to a two-year contract. The 34-year old scored 14 goals with 18 assists for 32 points while playing in all 82 games for the Florida Panthers last season. The deal is reportedly worth a total of $2.7 million.
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12:08 PM: The Islanders have signed prospect Kirill Kabanov to a three-year entry-level contract. The Russian forward was selected by the team in the third round (65th overall) in the 2010 draft. Kabanov spent the last two seasons in the QMJHL splitting time between the Moncton Wildcats and the Lewiston MAINEiacs. In the 2011 playoffs with Lewiston, Kabanov turned heads by averaging more then a point per game scoring 20 points (8 goals, 12 assists) in 15 games. He was also a finalist for the QMJHL’s Humanitarian Player of the Year for his contributions to the local community.
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9:40 AM: Islanders RFA forward Jesse Joensuu has signed a contract with HV71 of the Swedish Elite League. The Islanders extended a Qualifying Offer to Joensuu last week and will retain his rights. Over the last three seasons, Joensuu bounced between the Islanders and Bridgeport (AHL) and played in a total of 60 games with the big club. In his time with the Islanders, Joensuu totaled eight goals with five assists for 13 points.
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The NHL’s calendar officially turns to the 2011-12 season as the start of free agency begins today at 12:00 PM EST. Some big names have been taken off the board before the market even opens, but there is still plenty of talented players available – many of whom the Islanders wouldn’t mind getting their hands on.
Original Post: While we all wait for the festivities to begin, take a look at Point Blank’s take on the top forwards and defensemen that the Islanders could be targeting.
