Blues, Roy agree to one-year deal
Derek Roy has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the St. Louis Blues, pending a physical for the veteran forward.
The Blues have been looking for a top center since before the trade deadline, and they hope they found one in Roy. The pending deal was announced by the team Saturday.
The 30-year-old Roy split last season between the Dallas Stars and Vancouver Canucks and finished with seven goals and 21 assists. The 5-foot-9 playmaker spent the bulk of his NHL career with the Buffalo Sabres, with whom he had a career-high 81 points in the 2007-08 season. Full story ...
Oilers re-sign gritty forward Jones
The Edmonton Oilers have re-signed gritty forward Ryan Jones to a one-year contract.
The 29-year-old Jones has 52 goals, 42 assists and 141 penalty minutes in 282 regular-season games with Edmonton and the Nashville Predators.
Drafted in the fourth round of the 2004 draft by Minnesota, Jones' best season came in 2011-12 with Edmonton, when he had 17 goals and 16 assists in 79 games. Full story ...
Sabres sign D Sulzer to 1-year deal
The Buffalo Sabres have signed defenseman Alexander Sulzer to a one-year contract.
The 29-year-old German had three goals and one assist in 17 games with Buffalo before suffering a knee injury Feb. 23. He has seven goals and 20 points in 106 career NHL games for Buffalo, Vancouver, Florida and Nashville.
Buffalo acquired the 6-foot-1 Sulzer at the 2012 trade deadline, when they shipped right wing Zack Kassian and defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani to the Canucks for center Cody Hodgson and Sulzer. Full story ...
Jets sign defenseman Pardy
The Winnipeg Jets have signed defenseman Adam Pardy.
The 29-year-old Pardy, who reached a deal with the Jets on Saturday, played in 17 games last season with the Buffalo Sabres. He had four assists and 14 penalty minutes.
Pardy also played in 21 games with Rochester of the American Hockey League and had two goals, seven assists and 22 penalty minutes. Full story ...
Canadiens sign F Stefan Fournier to 3-year deal
The Montreal Canadiens have signed free-agent forward Stefan Fournier to a three-year contract.
Fournier had 35 goals and 72 points for Memorial Cup-champion Halifax of the QMJHL this past season. He added 16 goals and 13 assists in 17 playoff games, including three points in the tournament final in May.
The 6-foot-3, 212-pounder from Dorval, Que., also led Halifax with 100 penalty minutes in the regular season and maintained a plus-17 plus/minus differential.
Report: Lightning, Filppula reach 5-year deal
A person familiar with negotiations has confirmed that the Tampa Bay Lightning have agreed to sign free-agent forward Valtteri Filppula to a five-year, $25 million contract.
The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the Lightning had not announced the deal Friday, the first day of the NHL's free agency period. ESPN.com first reported the agreement.
The Lightning did announce that they've signed rookie first-round pick Jonathan Drouin to a three-year, entry-level contact. Drouin was the third pick in the draft last weekend.
Filppula has shown flashes of promise during his previous eight seasons with Detroit. After scoring 23 goals and finishing with 66 points in 81 games two years ago, he managed just nine goals and 17 points in 41 games last season.
Coyotes sign Ribeiro to 4-year deal
The Phoenix Coyotes added much-needed skill at the start of the free agency period on Friday, signing forward Mike Ribeiro to a four-year, $22 million contract.
Phoenix also signed free agent goalie Thomas Greiss to serve as a backup to Mike Smith and re-signed unrestricted free agent forward Kyle Chipchura to a multi-year deal. Forward Lauri Korpikoski and defenseman Michael Stone, both restricted free agents, signed multi-year deals as well.
The Coyotes had been unable to afford top-line talent the past four years, hamstrung by the financial restraints of being run by the NHL.
With a new owner all but in place, the Coyotes made a big splash to open free agency by landing Ribeiro, one of the most sought-after forwards on the market.
The 33-year-old Ribeiro has been a consistent scorer during his 14-year career, topping 50 points in a season eight times. He had 49 points, including 36 assists, in 48 games with Washington last season.
Ribeiro played three seasons under Coyotes coach Dave Tippett in Dallas and spent six seasons with Montreal after the Canadiens picked him in the second round of the 1998 NHL draft.
Maple Leafs agree to $21M, 5-year deal with Bozak
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Tyler Bozak have agreed to a $21 million, five-year contract to keep Tyler Bozak.
The agreement was reached Friday, the first day Toronto's first-line center could've signed with another team as an unrestricted free agent.
Bozak had 12 points and 28 points in the shortened season. He had career highs the previous year with 18 goals and 47 points. The 27-year-old Bozak has 53 goals and 134 assists in his four-year career.
Bozak, who is from Regina, Saskatchewan, helped the Original Six franchise reach the playoffs this year for the first time since 2004. He was scratched with an undisclosed injury in Game 7 of the first round against Boston when the Maple Leafs blew a three-goal, third-period lead and lost 5-4 in overtime.
Pens bring back free-agent D Scruderi
In the end, familiarity was the deciding factor for Rob Scuderi. For the Pittsburgh Penguins, too.
Less than an hour into NHL free agency, the Penguins were reunited with an old friend.
Four years after he signed with the Los Angeles Kings weeks after helping the Penguins to their third Stanley Cup, Scuderi signed a four-year, $13.5 million contract with Pittsburgh early Friday afternoon.
"When moving your family, the transition can be kind of odd and awkward," the 34-year-old defenseman said. "I thought going to Pittsburgh, the familiarity with the area would make for an easier transition.
"And most important, the team in a win-now mode."
Scuderi, who also won the 2012 Cup with Los Angeles, missed only nine games over his four seasons with the Kings. The Penguins advanced to the Stanley Cup Final during Scuderi's final two seasons with the Penguins; since, they have won three playoff series in four years. They were swept by the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference finals last month.
Scuderi's teams are 13-5 in playoff series with two Stanley Cups, three appearances in the final and four conference finals over the past seven years.
"Let's face it, I'm a plug," Scuderi said of his simple game. "I play good defense, I'm going to move the puck tape-to-tape when I can, and when I don't have an opportunity to, I'm going to put the puck in the safest areas. It's not the prettiest thing in the world, everyone knows that. But it can be effective.
Rangers sign Moore, Pouliot, Johnson to add depth
With limited salary cap space, the New York Rangers added two forwards and a defenseman to bolster their overall depth.
On a busy free agent Friday, the Rangers signed forwards Dominic Moore and Benoit Pouliot, and defenseman Aaron Johnson.
The 32-year-old Moore, now in his second stint with the Rangers, signed a one-year deal worth $1 million. He sat out last season following the death of his wife in January.
In 530 NHL games with the Rangers, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Toronto, Buffalo, Florida, Montreal, Tampa Bay, and San Jose, Moore has 67 goals and 118 assists.
While with the Rangers during the 2003-04 and 2005-06 seasons, Moore played in 87 games and scored nine goals and added 12 assists. He was chosen by the Rangers in the third round of the 2000 draft.
Pouliot, 26, left the Tampa Bay Lightning for a one-year, $1.3 million deal with New York. He had eight goals and 12 assists in 34 games last season with Tampa Bay, and led the club with a plus-8 rating.
Overall, in 291 games with Minnesota, Montreal, Boston and Tampa Bay, Pouliot has 61 goals and 63 assists with 201 penalty minutes. He was the No. 4 pick in the 2005 draft by Minnesota.
The 30-year-old Johnson, who got a one-year, $600,000 contract from the Rangers, split last season between the Eastern Conference-champion Boston Bruins and Providence of the AHL. He had 10 penalty minutes in 10 games with Boston.
Johnson has played in 291 NHL games, netting 17 goals and 45 assists, while racking up 222 penalty minutes.
Oilers sign D Ference away from Bruins
The Edmonton Oilers have signed former Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference to a four-year deal.
Ference's deal is reportedly worth $13 million, and he would count $3.25 million against the salary cap.
The 34-year-old Edmonton native was a key part of the Bruins' run to the Stanley Cup final, though there was no room for him to return to Boston because of salary-cap issues and plenty of young defensemen coming up through the ranks.
Ference joins a defense corps that includes Justin Schultz, Ladislav Smid and Nick Schultz.
In 760 career NHL games, Ference has 37 goals and 156 assists. He was a part of the Bruins' Stanley Cup championship team in 2011.
The Oilers also signed former Coyotes, center Boyd Gordon and goalie Jason Labarbera.
Gordon signed a three-year deal. He spent last two seasons in Phoenix. He has 122 points in 486 games with Washington and Phoenix.
Labarbera signed a one-year contract. The veteran backup spent the last four seasons with the Coyotes.
The Oilers later added former New York Islanders forward Jesse Joensuu to a two-year deal. The native of Finland has eight goals and seven assists in 67 career games.
'Canes reach deals with D Komisarek, G Khudobin
The Carolina Hurricanes opened free agency by giving one-year contracts to veteran defenseman Mike Komisarek and backup goalie Anton Khudobin.
The deals announced Friday will pay Komisarek $700,000 and Khudobin $800,000.
The moves address two of the Hurricanes' top priorities this offseason -- bolstering their defense, and finding an affordable backup for All-Star goalie Cam Ward.
Earlier this week, they picked up defenseman Andrej Sekera in a draft-day trade with Buffalo for defenseman Jamie McBain.
General manager Jim Rutherford says he feels "pretty good that the Hurricanes have improved their team" while expressing confidence that first-round draft pick Elias Lindholm, a forward, will make the team during preseason camp.
Islanders re-sign G Nabokov to 1-year contract
The New York Islanders have agreed to re-sign goalie Evgeni Nabokov, and have added two more players in the first hour of the NHL's free-agency period.
The team announced Friday that it had also agreed to sign forwards Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Peter Regin to one-year deals.
Nabokov was the key move for the Islanders. The 37-year-old had a 23-11-7 record and three shutouts in helping new York reach the playoffs for the first time since 2007. The Islanders were in need of goaltending help entering this offseason after buying out the contract of veteran Rick DiPietro.
Bouchard is a dependable left wing, who spent his first 10 seasons in Minnesota. He has 347 points (106 goals, 241 assists) in 565 career games.
Regin spent the past five seasons in Ottawa.
Sharks sign D Scott Hannan, F Tyler Kennedy
The San Jose Sharks have re-signed defenseman Scott Hannan to a one-year contract and signed forward Tyler Kennedy to a two-year contract.
General manager Doug Wilson announced the deals at the start of free agency Friday. The Sharks also announced that star center Logan Couture officially signed a five-year, $30 million contract that was agreed to last month but couldn't be signed until Friday.
Hannan was an unrestricted free agent while Kennedy was a restricted free agent after being acquired during the draft from Pittsburgh for a second-round pick.
The Sharks brought back Hannan for a second stint with the team at the trade deadline from Nashville for a sixth-round pick. He played four regular-season games with San Jose, but was in the lineup for all 11 playoff contests.
Predators add offense in 1st day of free agency
The Nashville Predators wasted no time attacking the free-agent market in an attempt to boost their anemic offense.
As the NHL free agency period opened Friday, Nashville added forwards Viktor Stalberg, Matt Cullen, Matt Hendricks and Eric Nystrom. The Predators also signed goaltender Carter Hutton to a one-year, two-way contract worth $550,000 at the NHL level and $100,000 at the AHL level.
Nashville scored just 2.27 goals per game last year to match the Florida Panthers for the lowest average in the NHL. The Predators have invested heavily to avoid a repeat performance.
Stalberg signed a four-year, $12 million deal, Nystrom earned a four-year, $10 million deal, Hendricks will receive $7.4 million over the next four years, and Cullen signed a two-year contract worth $7 million.
The 27-year-old Stalberg had nine goals and 14 assists in 47 games for the Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks this season. He appeared in 19 playoff games and had three assists.
Stalberg, a four-year veteran, had 22 goals and 43 assists for the Blackhawks in 2011-12. His contract will pay him $2.5 million each in 2013-14 and 2014-15 and $3.5 million each in 2015-16 and 2016-17.
Nystrom, 30, had seven goals and four assists for Dallas this season. He also had 61 penalty minutes in 48 games. Nystrom had 16 goals and five assists in 74 games in 2011-12. He will make $2 million each of the next two seasons and will receive $3 million each in 2015-16 and 2016-17.
The 36-year-old Cullen had seven goals and 20 assists in 42 games for Minnesota this season. He has totaled 202 career goals and 360 assists in 1,073 regular-season NHL games since 1997-98. His contract will pay him $3 million in 2013-14 and $4 million in 2014-15.
Hendricks, 32, had five goals and three assists in 48 games for Washington this season. He led the Capitals with 73 penalty minutes and ranked third on the team in face-off efficiency (56.8 percent). Hendricks has 27 goals and 31 assists in 263 career games. He will receive $1.85 million annually over the next four years.
Hutton, 27, played one game for the Blackhawks this season and 51 games for Rockford of the AHL. He had a 2.72 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage with the IceHogs.
'Hawks lose Emery to Flyers, retain Rozsival, Handzus
The Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks lost backup goalie Ray Emery and re-signed defenseman Michal Rozsival and forward Michal Handzus.
Emery accepted a $1.65 million, one-year offer with the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday. Rozsival got a two-deal with Chicago while Handzus agreed to a one-year contract.
Emery's making the move after teaming with Corey Crawford to win the William B. Jennings Trophy awarded to team with the lowest goals-against average.
Emery, who played for the Flyers in 2009-10, went 17-1 with a 1.94 goals-against average last season. He spent two years in Chicago and will now compete for the starting job with Steve Mason.
Antti Raanta could back up Crawford after signing a one-year deal last month.
Avalanche sign D Andre Benoit
The Colorado Avalanche signed defenseman Andre Benoit to a one-year deal on Friday.
Before the start of free agency, newly hired Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said the team wasn't going to be very active since the roster was already full. Colorado recently bought out the contract of defenseman Greg Zanon to open up space.
The 29-year-old Benoit played in 33 games for the Ottawa Senators last season, scoring three goals and dishing out seven assists.
Avalanche executive vice president of hockey operations Joe Sakic says Benoit has "good offensive skills and puck-moving ability and will be a good addition to our power play."
Stars bring back goalie Dan Ellis in free agency
Free agent goaltender Dan Ellis has signed a two-year, $1.8 million contract with Dallas, where he made his NHL debut nine years ago.
The deal announced Friday was the latest in a busy week for the Stars, who have made two trades to acquire three centers.
The 33-year-old Ellis was 6-8-2 in 19 appearances with Carolina last season. He has a 2.73 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage in 184 career games.
Ellis, a second-round pick by Dallas in 2000, was on the roster behind Marty Turco when he played his only game for the Stars, a 4-3 win at Los Angeles on Feb. 18, 2004. This time he's likely to be behind Kari Lehtonen.
He has also played for Nashville, Tampa Bay and Anaheim.
Wild shore up defense by signing Ballard, Spurgeon
The Minnesota Wild have used their limited space under the salary cap to sign defenseman Keith Ballard and re-sign defenseman Jared Spurgeon.
The contracts were completed Friday.
Ballard was let go by Vancouver earlier this week. He said he had interest from a half-dozen other teams but picked a two-year deal with the Wild because he believed he best fit with them on the ice. As a bonus, he's a native of Minnesota.
According to a person familiar with Spurgeon's contract, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team did not release the value of the deal, Spurgeon will get just under $8 million over three seasons. His annual average value is $2.66 million.
Canucks add Richardson, Weber
The Vancouver Canucks added some depth on the first day of free agency, signing defenseman Yannick Weber and forward Brad Richardson.
Richardson has 43 goals and 62 assists in 391 career games with Colorado and Los Angeles. He won a Stanley Cup with the Kings in the 2011-12 season.
He had a goal and five assists in 16 games for the Kings last season.
Weber spent the past five seasons with the Montreal Canadiens organization. The Swiss defenseman has five goals and 27 assists in 115 games with the Canadiens. He had two assists in six games last season.
Ducks re-sign Koivu to 1-year contract
Saku Koivu is returning to the Anaheim Ducks after signing a one-year contract.
The Ducks announced they had signed the 38-year-old forward on Friday, after the start of the NHL's free-agency period. Koivu is a 17-year NHL veteran, who returns for a fifth season in Anaheim.
Koivu had 27 points (eight goals, 19 assists) in 47 games last season, while also breaking the 800-point plateau for his career. Overall, he has 244 goals and 559 assists in 1,058 career games.
He spent his first 13 seasons with Montreal, after being selected in the first round (21st overall) in the 1993 draft.
The Ducks made a splash earlier in the day, trading forward Bobby Ryan to Ottawa in exchange for forwards Jakob Silfverbeg, Stefan Noesen and the Senators' first-round pick in next year's draft.
Flames sign goaltender Ramo
The Calgary Flames signed Finnish goaltender Karri Ramo on Friday.
Ramo joins Miikka Kiprusoff, Reto Berra and Joey MacDonald as goalies under contract with the Flames.
Calgary awaits a decision from Kiprusoff on whether the 36-year-old veteran will retire or return to the NHL for the final year of his contract.
But the Flames were already ushering in the post-Kiprusoff era by signing Ramo to a two-year contract worth $5.5 million.
"If I were to call Miikka today and said `I have to know today', Kipper has told us he's had a great career and appreciates it and he's ready to move on," Flames general manager Jay Feaster said.
"What we've said to Miikka is `we're going to give you the time and we'll talk again as the summer goes on.' But we've been preparing for this."
Calgary also picked up defenseman Kris Russell from the St. Louis Blues, finalized contract terms with center Corban Knight and re-signed center Greg Nemiscz to a one-year extension worth $725,000.
Blues sign Lapierre to 2-year deal
The St. Louis Blues signed free agent forward Maxim Lapierre to a two-year contract and gave forward Keith Aucoin a one-year deal.
The 28-year-old Lapierre had four goals and six assists in 48 games with Vancouver, and appeared in four playoff games. The 34-year-old Aucoin had six goals and six assists in 41 games with the Islanders.
St. Louis also signed forwards Mark Mancari and Alexandre Bolduc to one-year, two-way contracts coming off high-scoring seasons in the AHL. The Blues drafted Bolduc in the fourth round in 2003.
The 27-year-old Mancari had 61 points in 76 games at Rochester, while the 28-year-old Bolduc had 51 points in 56 games for Portland.
Kings sign D Jeff Schultz to deal
The Los Angeles Kings have signed unrestricted free agent defenseman Jeff Schultz to a deal.
He had no goals, three assists and 12 penalty minutes in 26 games with the Washington Capitals last season.
The Kings announced the deal Friday as the NHL's free agency period began.
Schultz has spent his entire NHL career with the Capitals, with 11 goals, 64 assists and 133 penalty minutes in 399 games. He was drafted by the team in the first round of the 2004 NHL entry draft. During the 2011 playoffs, Schultz set a league postseason record by being on the ice for 119 consecutive minutes without his team being scored upon.
Blackhawks sign Khabibulin to replace Emery
Veteran goalie Nikolai Khabibulin is returning to the Chicago Blackhawks on a one-year deal, part of a busy Friday for the Stanley Cup champions that also included new contracts for defenseman Michal Rozsival and forward Michal Handzus.
Khabibulin, who played for Chicago for four seasons from 2005-09, replaces backup Ray Emery, who left the Blackhawks for a $1.65 million, one-year deal with the Philadelphia Flyers. Viktor Stalberg also left, agreeing to a $12 million, four-year deal from the Nashville Predators.
Rozsival and Handzus each played a role in Chicago's second championship in four seasons. Rozsival agreed to a two-year contract, and Handzus got a one-year deal.
Emery returns to Philly after teaming with Corey Crawford to win the William B. Jennings Trophy awarded to the team with the lowest goals-against average.
Emery, who played for the Flyers in the 2009-10 season, went 17-1 with a 1.94 GAA last season. He spent two years in Chicago and will now compete for the Philadelphia starting job with Steve Mason.
Khabibulin spent the past four seasons with Edmonton. He went 4-6-1 this past season with a shutout and a .908 save percentage in 12 appearances.
"I think he is able to be the tandem with Corey that's worked so well over the past couple of years," Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman said. "It was very appealing for both sides. We have a lot of familiarity with Nik."
Bowman said the team had several conversations with Emery, but he thought the veteran wanted to go somewhere where he could be the No. 1 goalie.
The deal for the 40-year-old Khabibulin allows the Blackhawks to bring prospect Antti Raanta along slowly. Raanta agreed to a one-year contract last month.
"We had confidence in Ray this year and we'll have confidence in Nik next year," Bowman said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
