Tim Thomas and the Florida Panthers Agree to One Year Contract

The Florida Panthers and 39-year-old goaltender, Tim Thomas have agreed to a one year contract.

The deal has a cap hit of $3.75 million for the 2013-14 season with $2.5 million being the base salary and $1.25 million in player bonuses, according to capgeek.com.

 Thomas signed a pro tryout contract with the Panthers in the beginning of training camp.  He has yet to play in a preseason game, but is in net for tonight's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Thomas has been out of hockey for a year after deciding to sit out the final year of his contract with the Boston Bruins in the 2012-13 season.

The goaltender has played in 378 career games and they have all been played with the Bruins, where he compiled 196 wins, 121 loses, a .921 save percentage and a 2.48 goals against average.  He also has played in 50 playoff games and won a Stanley Cup in 2011 with the Bruins. 

The 39-year-old has been selected to the All-Star game four times in his career (2008, 2009, 2011, and 2012).  He has won the Veniza Trophy in both the 2008-09 and 2010-11 seasons as the best goaltender in the NHL.  Thomas also won the William M. Jennings Trophy with Manny Fernandez as the top goaltending duo for the 2008-09 season.  He also won the Conn Smythe Trophy for being the playoff MVP in 2011.

Thomas is currently the third goaltender on the roster for the Panthers behind 23-year-old Jacob Markstrom and Scott Clemmenson, who is currently out with a knee injury.  It should be interesting to see who the Panthers keep between the pipes for the upcoming season, which starts on Thursday, October 3^rd on the road in Dallas. 

Thomas is                  

Philadelphia Flyers and Matt Read Agree to Contract Extension

The Philadelphia Flyers and forward Matt Read have agreed to a four year, $14.5 million contract that has a cap hit of $3.625 million per season.

The new deal won't start until the 2014-15 season, since Read is in his last year of a three year, $2.7 million contract.  The cap hit for this season remains at $900,000.

The Flyers signed the undrafted right winger, out of Bemidji State University, in 2011.  He played 11 games for the Adirondack Phantoms, the Flyers AHL affiliate, that same season.  

In his rookie season, Read played in 79 games tallying 24 goals, 23 assists and 47 points.  He also played in 11 playoff games scoring three goals and setting up two others for five total points.

Read has proved to be a versatile player in his first two seasons with the Flyers.  He usually plays the point on one of the power play units, gets significant time on the penalty kill, and is trusted to be out on the ice during the last minute of a one goal game.

The right winger can both score and setup his teammates.  He works hard every night and can play on any line, whether it be the top line or the third line.

Bruins Agree to Eight Year Contract with Patrice Bergeron

The Boston Bruins and forward Patrice Bergeron have agreed to a new eight year contract worth $52 million with a cap hit of $6.5 million per season.

The new contract doesn't start until the start of the 2014-15 season since his previous contract was until the end of next season.  Bergeron was drafted by the Bruins in the second round of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.  He was part of the team that won the Stanley Cup in 2011.

Bergeron had 10 goals, 22 assists, 32 total points, and was a plus 24 in 42 games played last season.  He came up big in the playoffs by scoring the game winning goal in game seven of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals versus the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Bergeron played in 22 games, had nine goals and six assists for 15 points in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The center played with a broken rib, torn cartilage, and a separated shoulder during game six of the Stanley Cup Finals.  He was also treated for a punctured lung after the game.

Bergeron has played in 579 games with 153 goals, 280 assists, 433 points and is a plus 70 in his career.  He won the Frank J. Selke Trophy for being the best defensive forward during the 2011-12 season.  The center was a plus 36 that year and was a plus 24 last year, which was sixth best in the league.

He missed a majority of the 2007-08 season due to a head injury.  Bergeron is one of the Bruins leaders both on and off the ice and is one of the best defensive forwards in the league.  He is also versatile because he can be trusted in any situation on the ice including the power play or penalty kill.

Bergeron has only had one minus season in his career and that was back in the 2006-07 when he was a minus 28. 

The center was the 2012-13 winner of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy winner for his leadership and humanitarian contribution. 

Sources: capgeek.com/player/221
http://www.hockey-reference.com/players/b/bergepa01.html
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=677835&navid=nhl:topheads

Flyers Use Final Buyout on Ilya Bryzgalov

The Philadelphia Flyers have announced that the team will buyout goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.

The organization signed him to a nine year deal worth $51 million on June 26, 2011, after acquiring his right from the Phoenix Coyotes.  He only played two seasons in Philadelphia.

The Flyers will have to pay him two-thirds of his remaining salary owed or $23 million.  It will be paid over the course of 14 years and won't count against the Flyers cap.  Teams can't officially buyout players until 48 hours after the Stanley Cup Finals, which would be Wednesday around 11 p.m. eastern time. ( http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=675174&navid=DL|NHL|home).

In two seasons with the Flyers, Bryzgalov went 52-33-10 with a 2.61 GAA and .909 save percentage in 99 games played.  In 11 playoff games, he was 5-6 with a 3.46 GAA and a .887 save percentage. 

He didn't play too bad last season sporting a 19-17-3 record with a 2.76 GAA and a .900 save percentage. 

The Flyers used its other compliance buyout on forward Danny Briere.  The two buyouts will free up about $12.1 million in cap space over the next two seasons. 

The projected starter now for the Flyers is Steve Mason.  He was acquired last season from the Columbus Blue Jackets for backup goaltender Michael Leighton and a draft pick.

Minnesota Wild Agree to Terms with Niklas Backstrom

The Minnesota Wild have agreed, in principle, to re-sign their starting goaltender Niklas Backstrom.  Backstrom was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

The deal is reportedly three years worth $10.25 million and the cap hit is $3.42 million per season, which is a reasonable price for the Wild. 

Since Backstrom is 35-years-old his contract would fall under the 35+ rule of the collective bargaining agreement.  If a player is 35 or older when they sign their contract then their salary counts towards the cap, no matter if they are playing with the team or not.  If Backstrom were to retire before the length of the contract was up then the Wild would be stuck with his $3.42 million still counting towards the cap. 

Backstrom played in 42 games last season for the Wild.  He started in 41 of those games.  The goalie posted a 24-15-3 record with a .909 save percentage and a 2.48 GAA.  He also had two shutouts.

The Wild made the playoffs but backup goalie, Josh Harding, had to start because Backstrom was injured in a pre-game skate before game one of their first round series with the Chicago Blackhawks. 

The 35-year-old is 184-124-45 in 369 career games played with a .917 save percentage, 2.43 GAA, and 28 shutouts.  He was signed by the team in 2006 as a free agent. 

The Wild only have about $3.3 million in cap space this season and could use one or both of their compliance buyouts to free up some cap space.  One choice would be Dany Heatley, who has one year left on his contract at $7.5 million.  The other choice could be defenseman Tom Gilbert, who has a cap hit of $4 million for next season.

Among the restricted free agents that the Wild will have to try and re-sign are forward Cal Clutterbuck, and defensemen Justin Falk and Jared Spurgeon.  They are all under contracts but can sign an offer sheet from other teams that the Wild would have to match in order to keep them. 

Jonathan Bernier to Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired goaltender Jonathan Bernier from the Los Angeles Kings.

In return the Kings got goaltender Ben Scrivens, forward Matt Frattin and Toronto's second round pick in either the 2014 or 2015 draft.

Bernier is 24-years-old and has been the backup for Jonathan Quick for the past couple of seasons.  He was taken in the first round of the 2006 draft by the Los Angeles Kings.  He was 9-3-1 last season with a 1.88 GAA and a .922 save percentage. 

Bernier has never played more than 25 games in a season so no one knows if he could handle an 82 game schedule.  He will most likely be splitting time between the pipes with James Reimer, who is the starting goalie for Toronto.   Bernier's  best season came in the 2010-11 season, when he played in 25 games, had an 11-8-3 record, a 2.36 GAA and a .912 save percentage.

Bernier was set to become a restricted free agent but the Maple Leafs signed him to a two year, $5.8 million contract with a $2.9 million salary cap hit per season. 

Ben Scrivens, who was the backup goalie for James Reimer in Toronto, is 26-years-old.  He also doesn't have much NHL experience, but will be backing up Quick in Los Angeles. 

He went 7-9-0 last season with a 2.69 GAA and a .915 save percentage.  He has only played in 32 games in his career and is 11-14-2 with a 2.86 GAA and a .910 save percentage.

Matt Frattin is a 25-year-old winger, who was taken in the fourth round by the Maple Leafs in the 2007 draft.  He played 25 games last season with seven goals, six assists, 13 points, and was a +6.  In the playoffs, he only had two points and was a +1. 

Teams Starting to Fill Coaching Vacancies Before Draft

Alain Vigneault is headed for the bright lights of New York to coach the Rangers.  Vigneault was fired by the Canucks after his team was swept right out of the first round of the playoffs by the San Jose Sharks.  He made the playoffs six of the seven years he coached the team reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in 2011, where the Canucks lost to the Bruins.

Vigneault is taking over for John Tortorella, who was fired by the Rangers after the team lost their second round playoffs series in five games to the Boston Bruins.  Tortorella is thought to be more of a defensive-minded coach while Vigneault is more of an offensive coach.  The Rangers only gave up 2.25 goals per game, which was fourth best in the regular season.  The only scored 2.62 goals per game in the regular season and that put them in the middle of the pack. (NHL.com story on Vigneault heading to New York)

The Dallas Stars have found their next coach in Lindy Ruff.  Ruff was fired by the Buffalo Sabres on March 20 after a disappointing year by his team.  He coached for 15 seasons in Buffalo.  He had eight appearances in the playoffs including three to the Eastern Conference Finals.  Ruff took the team to the Stanley Cup Finals where they lost, ironically, to the Dallas Stars. 

The Stars fired their coach, Glen Gulutzan, after another disappointing year.  The team has high hopes coming into the season with the emergence of Jamie Benn, and the free agent signing of Jaromir Jagr.  The team eventually traded Jagr to the Boston Bruins after it realized it wouldn't be making the playoffs.  The Stars haven't been to the playoffs since 2008. (NHL.com story on Ruff hiring)

The Phoenix Coyotes have re-signed their coach, Dave Tippett, to a long-term contract.  His contract was set to expire on July 1st.  He took over in 2009 after the Coyotes fired Wayne Gretzky.  In 2011, the Coyotes won the Pacific Division for the first time and made a run deep into the playoffs before losing to the Los Angeles Kings, the defending champions.  The Coyotes have been to the playoffs three of the four years that Tippett has been the coach. (NHL.com story on Tippett staying in Phoenix)