Free Agency Update July 3rd

It's officially been 2 days since Free Agency began on July 1, we've seen a dozens of players sign new deals with new teams and even some return to their old teams. While we are still waiting on the big fish Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Once these two decide where they want to spend the rest of their career Free Agency will really kick into a frenzy as teams who lost the bid on the big two will be looking for second best.

 P-A Parenteau signs 4 year deal with Colorado
One of the top free agents this offseason Parenteau went off the market on the first day. Signing a 4 year $16 million contract with the Colorado Avalanche.

Jonas Gustavsson signs 2 year deal with Detroit
It's been a crazy week for Gustavsson. The Toronto Maple Leafs traded his rights to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for a 7th round draft pick. Gustavsson then decided he didn't want to stay in Winnipeg and was signed to a 2 year $3 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings. A fantastic opportunity for the young goaltender. He gets out of dodge with the media, gets the backup role on a solid team and will get to face against his former team in the Winter Classic.

Paul Gaustad signs 4 year extension with Nashville
This one pains me to right a little bit. Sabres fans were hoping that their beloved Gaustad would return to Buffalo after the season, unfortunately he's staying in Nashville. Gaustad signed a 4 year $13 million contract extension to stay with the Predators. Smart signing by the Preds who will be losing many players through free agency.

Justin Schultz signs 2 year deal with Edmonton
Finally the drama surrounding a kid who has never played an NHL game is over. Schultz made his decision and decided to head to the Oiler to "grow old" with their star young players. The Oilers have young skilled players, that are going to be extremely talented when they hit their prime. Look out for the Oilers in the future.

Colby Armstrong signs 1 year deal with Montreal
Much like Gustavsson the Leafs were hard on Armstrong this week. The Leafs decided Armstrong just wasn't going to work out in Toronto after two injury plagued seasons, that limited him to just 78 games.
The Leafs bought out the rest of Armstrong's contract and placed him on waivers to become a free agent. Armstrong didn't wait long signing a deal with the Canadiens for $1 million.

Ray Whitney signs 2 year deal with Dallas
The ageless wonder is at it again. At 40 years of age many teams were hesitant to give Whitney the extra year he wanted. So when the Stars agreed to give him 2 years worth $9 million he signed on the dotted line.

Brad Boyes signs 1 year deal with the New York Islanders
As a Sabres fan I am perfectly fine with Boyes leaving town. He had one good year and has not been productive or helpful for the Sabres in the last couple of years. It was time for him to go. Boyes signed a 1 year deal worth $1 million.

Zenon Konopka signs 2 year deal with Minnesota
Was interesting to see Konopka leave Ottawa. Konopka signs a 2 year $1.85 Million contract with the Wild.

Dustin Penner resigns with the Los Angeles Kings
After winning his 2nd Stanley Cup ring, Penner has decided he will stay a King for the next year.
Penner and the Kings agreed to terms on a 1 year $3.25 million contract. Smart move for both parties.

Matt Carkner signs 3 year deal with the New York Islanders
The Islanders made quite a few moves on July 1st, one of whihc was landing tough guy Matt Carkner. The Islanders and Carkner agreed to a 3 year $4.5 million contract.

Brandon Prust signs 4 year deal with Montreal
The Canadiens felt they were too weak and needed to add some character players. In addition to the signing of Armstrong, they signed tough guy Brandon Prust to a 4 year deal worth $10 million. Prust is a solid addition to the Canadiens, although he'll be missed in New York.

Filip Kuba signs 2 year deal with Florida
Ottawa had a rough time during the start of free agency as they lost a lot of their "role" players. Kuba is another player they lost. Kuba signed a contract with the Panthers and cashed in on a deal worth $8 million.

Olli Jokinen signs 2 year deal with Winnipeg
It had to be tough for the Flames to lose Jokinen. The Jets needed a centre so they found their man in Jokinen. The two sides agreed to a 2 year $9 million contract.

Joey Crabb signs 1 year deal with Washington
Crabb has left Toronto and as a result is getting a nice pay day. The Capitals signed the defenceman to a 1 year $950 thousand contract.

Jack Hillen signs a 1 year deal with Washington
Considering the fact I have never heard of Jack Hillen I wouldn't normally post his name here. But big news from me, I will be on a conference call with him later this afternoon!

Martin Brodeur signs 2 year extension with New Jersey 
Raise your hand if you thought Brodeur would leave the only team he's ever known. Now kindly lower  your hand and get your head examined. The reason he hired an agent and said he wanted to "Test free agency" is because he wasn't getting enough attention. There is another Devils player by the name of Parise who is tying up all the contract talks, Brodeur wanted to make sure he got a fair shake. He agreed to a 2 year $9 million contract, so he may finish his career as a Devil.

John Scott signs 1 year deal with Buffalo
The Buffalo Sabres wanted to get tougher this offseason, so in order to that they needed to sign a 6 foot 8 defenceman. Scott joins Tyler Myers and Joe Finley as the trio of 6 foot 8 players on the Sabres roster. Scott and the Sabres agreed to a 1 year deal worth $600 thousand.

Jiri Hudler signs 4 year deal with Calgary
The long time Red Wing is on his way north of the boarder. The Flames wanted to shake the team up this offseason to try and make the playoffs. The signing of Hudler helps that for sure. The Flames agreed to a 4 year $16 million contract.

Jason Garrison signs 6 year deal with Vancouver
The last signing I'll talk about in this post, which just so happens to be the biggest (in terms of length). The Canucks and Garrison agreed to a 6 year deal worth $27.6 million.

Who knows maybe by day 4 we will have a decision on where Parise and Suter have decided to play out there careers and then Free Agency can really get kicked into a frenzy!