Pronger Flying for life
The Philadelphia Flyers made sure their shakeup of the Eastern Conference landscape would not be for the short term.
Just a few weeks removed from their acquisition of defenceman Chris Pronger from the Anaheim Ducks, the Flyers locked up the monster blueliner for what will most likely be the remainder of his career. Pronger and the Flyers agreed to a 7 year contract worth $35 million, which includes a no-movement clause (so Pronger is not allowed to poop for the better part of decade... i know it was cheap but I had to take that one!).
The Flyers are going to be a formidable club with Pronger in the rear, as well as on the powerplay. Pronger recorded 11 goals and 37 assists last season.
Quick Shave:
The Toronto Maple Leafs makeover under new GM Brian Burke continued this week as they acquired defenceman Francois Beauchamin for the next three seasons at $3.8 million per. The Leafs also acquired Swedish free agent goaltender Jonas Gustavsson.
Gustavsson has been called the best goaltender not playing in the NHL, and was being aggressively courted by several NHL clubs including Colorado, San Jose, and Dallas. He will get the best opportunity to compete for the number one goaltender position in Toronto (although he probably would have had a decent shot in Colorado as well), and should he win the spot, I would expect the Leafs to move Vesa Toskala sometime during the upcoming season, if not sooner.
Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh
Colorado Avalanche forward Joe Sakic will apparently announce his retirement on Thursday.
Forward Rick Nash and the only club he's ever known, the Columbus Blue Jackets agreed to terms on a new long-term contract.
The Colorado Avalanche dealt winger Ryan Smyth to the Los Angeles Kings today for defencemen Kyle Quincey, Tom Preissing, and 5th round pick.
July 1st... Christmas time for most NHL players and fans as teams around the league retool and reload for next season.
The New York Rangers, blessed with cap room after moving Scott Gomez yesterday, gave Glen Sather the green-light to start spending money wildly again. The Rangers picked up enforcer Donald Brashear (2 years $2.8 million... way too much money in my opinion) and forward Marion Gaborik (5 years $37.5 million). The Gaborik signing could either be a gem or the move that finally runs Sather out of New York depending on whether or not he can stay healthy... which has been a big problem for him the past few seasons. The Brashear signing most likely means the end of Blair Betts' days in New York since the last time the two saw one another, the former was wiping the latter's orbital bone off of his elbow. 
The Vancouver Canucks re-signed the Sedin twins just prior to the noon free agency period this morning to identical 5 year deals worth $30.5 million. The Canucks are rumored to be working on long-term extension for their captain and goaltender Roberto Luongo as well.
The Chicago Blackhawks made another free agent splash picking up free agent forward Marian Hossa for 12 years, $62.8 million. Hossa opted to cash in this year rather than bet the farm on a one year deal with a contender like he did with Detroit last year... however, the Chicago Blackhawks are not far from being a contender themselves after making it to the Western Conference Finals last year.
The Edmonton Oilers who lost goaltender Dwayne Roloson to the New York Islanders (2 years $5 million) acted quickly and signed backstop Nikolai Khabibulin to a 4 year, $15 million deal. The Oilers are also currently working on trying to convince Ottawa Senators winger Dany Heatley to waive his no-trade clause and join their club. The Oilers have agreed with the Senators on a trade to move Andrew Cogliano, Dustin Penner, and Ladislav Smid to Ottawa for Heatley, but the deal fell through when he refused to accept. Heatley is now faced with the very real possibility that the Oilers may be he last chance to get out of Ottawa as the pool of suitors has all but dried up.
