JULY 1ST FREE AGENT LIVE UPDATES

FREE AGENT LIVE UPDATES:
12:17: ....things are already happening. The Islanders have signed Kirill Kabanov to an ELC. I am a big fan of Kirill and I will write up a piece on this later. Bruins are interested in Jovo. Handzus was rumored to have signed with the Flyers, but I am hearing that is untrue at least not yet.

12:25:....Cam Barker has officially cleared waivers and is now an Unrestricted Free Agent. The Avalanche like I said last night, are very interested in Vokoun and have already begun negotiations with him

12:41:....Devils get Andy Greene signed to a big 4-Year Contract, I'm interested in seeing the money on that deal. Tampa has signed Brett Connolly to an ELC. It looks like Coburn has signed a 2-Year deal with the Flyers for about $4 Million per year. Handzus also is not close to signing with the Flyers as they haven't even heard from the Flyer brass as of now.

12:43:....Tampa signed Mathieu Garon to a two-year deal at $1.3 Million per year. He will be Roloson's back-up goalie. The Kings are currently "pitching" to Brad Richards, they are trying hard to get him in the fold. Also the Canucks are signed Andrew Ebbett to a one-year deal.

12:51:....Jamal Mayers signed with Chicago for one year at $550,000, and another former-Shark Ben Eager has signed with Edmonton. His deal is for three years with a cap-hit of $1.1 Million.

12:57:...Brett McLean signs with the Blackhawks to a 2 way deal at about $525K. Also the Panthers have signed Jose Theodore to a two-year deal worth about $1.5 million per year.

1:02:...Lots of teams going after Talbot, Darren Dreger has said about four teams are going hard for him.

1:06:....Stars sign Adam Pardy to a two year contract at $2 million per year

1:12:....Blackhawks make another signing and bring in Sean O'Donnell to a one-year deal worth $850K.  The Flames re-signed the recently acquired defenseman Chris Butler to a 2 year deal at about $1.25 million per year. The Devils are supposedly trying really hard to get Joel Ward. One of the better guys on the market, Scottie Upshall has been signed and is going to the Panthers on 4-year deal worth $3.5 million per year. Mike Smith is headed to Phoenix on a two-year deal. The Capitals have signed Jeff Halpern to a one-year deal worth $825K.

1:23:...Matt D'Agostini signs with Blues for two years at $1.7 million per year. The Flyers have signed Jaromir Jagr for $3.3 Million for one year. Raffi Torres signed with the Coyotes for 2 years at $1.75 million per year. Mark Mancari signed by the Canucks to a one-way contract for $525,000 per year. The Coyotes have made another signing, adding Boyd Gordon on a two year deal worth $1.33 million per year. Jovanovski may be heading to the Flyers. The Stars have signed Radek Dvorak to a one year deal worth $1.5 million. Jan Hejda has signed a big 4-year contract with the Avalanche.

1:40:.... Ed Jovanovski at 35 years old signs a 4 year (woah! haha) deal with the Florida Panthers. Dallas is closing in on signing Tim Connolly.

1:44:....Flyers re-sign Jakub Voracek for one-year at $2.25 million. Dallas signs Vernon Fiddler for three years at $1.8 million per year. The money on the Hejda 4-year contract is $3.25 million per year and the money on the Jovo contract is $4.125 million per year. Flyers signed Andreas Lilja and Blackhawks signed Andrew Brunette, both on one-year deals. Supposedly the Islanders were very interested in Jovanovski and Upshall. Upshall offer from the Isles was 3 years at $3.5 million per year.

1:54:...Brunette money on the one-year deal is about $2 million.

1:57:..... Blues sign Cody Beach to an entry-level contract. The Panthers have signed Marcel Goc to a big three year deal, which is yet another signing by the Panthers who have been THE most aggressive team on the Free Agent market. As goalies are flying off the board, the remaining ones are receiving a ton of interest. One of those remaining goalies is Ty Conklin, who has quite a few teams after him. A minor signing, but a signing never-the-less, the Calgary Flames have signed Joe Piskula. The Islanders are very interested in Ville Leino and Simon Gagne, I would watch Gagne as a likely player they will land. The Avalanche are interested in Michael Rupp, but he has a few different teams to mull over. The Capitals have traded Semyon Varlamov to the Colorado Avalanche for a 1st round pick in 2012, and a 2nd round pick in 2012 or 2013. This will add even more drama to this day, but what I find even more amazing is that Varlamov may go to the KHL and the Avs paid a pretty big price for him. I am hoping that the Avalanche convince him to stay in the NHL. Hedberg is close to signing an extension with the Devils. There are a lot of teams going after Sean Bergenheim as its been rumored that around 8-9 teams have contacted him.

2:08:...Hedberg has signed a one-year extension with the Devils. Supposedly some teams are presenting offers to Brad Richards that have the max money possible ($12.8 Million) in the first and second years of the proposed contracts. If thats what ends up happening it will be one of the most controversial signings in the post-lockout NHL.

2:28:....Lots of interest in Zenon Konopka, who might end up getting a very nice deal because of an ongoing bidding war. Kaberle's agent is looking for about $4 million per year, but the Bruins are hesitant to give him that much. Supposedly the Oilers are closing in on a big trade, it will be interesting to see if it ends up going down. I have heard it may be with an eastern conference team. The Islanders are pretty interested in Erik Cole, but its still not close to being done. Max Talbot signs a big 5 year contract with the Flyers who are paying him $1.8 Million per year. Pens fans are going to be upset about that one, so even more drama to watch unfold. Mark Dekanich has been receiving a surprising amount of interest, he is someone to watch. According to some reports, Semyon Varlamov has come to an agreement with the Avalanche, but it still bothers me how much they payed for him. It comes out to two years at $2.75 million per year.

2:48:.....Bryan McCabe MAY be coming very close to signing a contract with the NY Islanders. The other NY team, has been interested in Michael Rupp and Anton Babchuk. Another goalie off the board as the Hurricanes have signed Brian Boucher to a 2 year deal worth about $950K per year.

3:01:.....The Hurricanes have re-signed Jiri Tlusty to one year contract worth $525K. Another goalie gets signed as the Canadiens have signed Peter Budaj to a two-year contract, where he will earn $1.15 million per year. I don't like Budaj as a back-up goalie to Price as he hasn't really proved enough to have an NHL job. The Rangers have signed big 4th line center, Mike Rupp to a big 3 year contract worth $1.5 million per year.

3:10:......The Red Wings have been looking for some defensemen, and they have added Mike Commodore on a one year deal worth $1 million. It also looks as though the Montreal Canadiens are closing in on Erik Cole, which will probably be happening today.

3:45:.....The Penguins have signed Steve Sullivan to a one-year contract worth $1.5 million, which in my opinion is a pretty solid deal if he stays healthy. The Capitals just made a pair of pretty big signings, as they locked up Joel Ward for 4 years at about $3 million per year and Roman Hamrlik for two years at $3.5 million per year. The Islanders also have made there first signing of the day as they have added Marty Reasoner for the next two years. He will get around $1.35 million per year which in my opinion is a very solid deal. He is one of the better bottom six forwards in the NHL. I was very upset that the Isles decided not to sign Konopka, but this signing makes it a bit better. Owen Nolan has received some interest after playing in a Swiss league last year. Erik Cole has indeed signed with the Habs, on a long-term deal. His contract is a 4-year deal for $4.5 million per year which is almost exactly what I expected him to get, money wise. The Oilers have signed Cam Barker for one year at about $2.25 million per year which is a little more expensive than I would like, but it could be a high reward type signing. The Oilers have also signed Darcy Hordicuk to a one-year deal worth $825K. Supposedly the Leafs have significant interest in Tim Connolly and are currently coming up with an offer. The Senators have gotten there back-up goalie for Craig Anderson in Alex Auld which will be for one year at about one million. The Stars have signed Michael Ryder for two years with a cap-hit of $3.5 million which in my opinion is a very solid for them. The Oilers are still not done so look for some breaking news from them soon.

4:08:.....Jake Dowell has signed with the Stars for one year at $800K which is a nice, under the radar type deal. Kris Versteeg has been traded again as the Panthers have acquired him for either a 2nd round pick in 2012 or in 2013 and San Jose's 2012 third round pick. The Panthers continue to add quality players today, one after another and this move is very solid for them. Both teams get what they want as the Flyers wanted some more cap space and all the Panthers have is cap space so this match was made in heaven as they say. Another signing thats a bit surprising is Benoit Pouliot joining the Boston Bruins one a one year deal worth $1.1 million. Rumors are going around that Ville Leino may be heading back to Detroit.

4:15:....Panthers have signed Nolan Yonkman, who will probably slot in as a depth defenseman. There has been another trade, the Oilers have acquired Andy Sutton from the Ducks for Kurtis Foster. I love this deal from the Oilers perspective. I am an Isles fan so I had the pleasure of watching Sutton when he was with the Islanders and I'll tell you, he could be an absolute beast. If he played that way with the Oilers, the Edmonton fans will adore him. He should fit in well. The Buffalo Sabres have signed Ville Leino to a big multi-year deal. The contract is a big 6 year deal with a cap-hit of about $4.5 million per year which is a lot more than I expected he would get. Terry Pegula definitely is not afraid to open his wallet.

4:41:.....The Canucks have signed Marco Sturm to a one year deal worth $2.25 million. If he stays healthy that could be a solid deal, but its a major concern. Another interesting signing was Alexei Ponikarovsky's move to the Carolina Hurricanes. The deal is only for one year at $1.5 million which is a very solid deal for the Canes. The Avalanche apparently were unable to come to terms with Vokoun as they have signed J.S. Giguere to take their goaltending role. The Caps have added another player for depth in Ryan Potulny on a two-year, two-way deal. The Blues have considerable interest in Jaime Langenbrunner and they should be a team to watch if you're looking for his destination. Another minor signing that was just announced was the addition of Jim Vandermeer to the Sharks defense. Another very interesting signing was the addition of Sheldon Souray to the Dallas Stars, on a one year deal worth about $1.65 million.

5:00:.......The Florida Panthers sign Tomas Fleischmann to a big four year contract with a cap-hit of $4.5 million. Its amazing how many players the Panthers are signing, its like they are getting everyone on the market.

5:07:.......The Boston Bruins surprisingly re-signed Anton Khudobin. He signed to go to the KHL, but it looks as though the Bruins convinced him to stay. He ended up going back to the Bruins on a two year deal.

5:24:.......Eric Belanger signs with the Edmonton Oilers on a three-year deal which will pay him $1.75 million per year. I love that signing for the Oilers as Belanger will be a good veteran presence and will provide a nice dimension to the Oilers line-up. Like I said earlier, Mark Dekanich had a lot of interest and the team that ultimately was able to sign him to a deal was the Blue Jackets. The Jackets also signed Aaron Johnson as a depth defenseman. The St. Louis Blues have signed Brian Elliot to a one-year, two-way deal which will be pretty important for Elliot's career. The Avalanche have been extremely active today and they just signed another solid player, in Chuck Kobasew. His deal is for two years, and around $1.25 per year.