NHL Offseason Explodes with Signings

Hossa, Bouwmeester Highlight Free Agent Craze

Jay Bouwmeester will be departing sunny South Florida for the wacky weather of Calgary Alberta. Marian Hossa won't require a plane ticket to Chicago, but both men might as well be continents away from their former clubs.

Hossa, age 30, turned down a contract offer from Detroit Red Wings manager Ken Holland for 10 years at 40 million dollars in total, averaging $4 million per season. He also willingly leaves behind one of the deepest and most talented secure and mature teams in all of hockey for the young guns of the 'Hawks.

Chicago, who advanced to the Western Conference final before bowing out to the Wings in 5 games, sports some of the best young talent of the day in Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith & Brent Seakbrook. Hossa's contract is valued at $5.23 million per season, totaling $62.8 million over 12 seasons.

Bouwmeester, 25, who spent his entire career with the underachieving Florida Panthers, signed with the Calgary Flames at an average of $6.6 million a season. The most sought-after defenseman of this season's free agency period, Bouwmeester settles down with a long term contract close to his birthplace of Edmonton.

The superstar blueliner's change in scenery from Florida to Alberta can be best described as a culture shock of sporting enthusiasm. Florida, a primarily football oriented state, has shown little interest in the game of hockey since their run to the Stanley Cup finals over a decade ago.

Calgary, however, is a hockey hot bed, best known for the Sea of Red, the 17th Ave "Red Mile" and one of the loudest and most intense fan bases in the league. One of the most complete defenders in hockey, Bouwmeester will almost certainly take his place on the first line of the Flames defensive corp. Bouwmeester's deal averages out to $33.4 million over 5 years.

Other Notable Signings, Trades and Acquisitions

• The New York Rangers signed Marian Gaborik to a 5 year $37.5 million contract worth $7.5 million per season. Gaborik, 27, has been an exceptional talent throughout his career, though often plagued by injuries.
• The Wild replace Gaborik with a similar forward in Martin Havlat, 28, who has been an electric scorer over his career, which has also been marred by injury. Havlat will be expected to replace the valuable scoring lost with the departure of Gaborik on a team anticipated to continue relying on a gameplan of disciplined defense to deliver victories.
• The Vancouver Canucks resigned veteran forwards and twin superstar scorers Henrik and Daniel Sedin, both 28, to equally identical contracts worth $6.1 million each over 5 years. There had been talk of the brothers wishing to test the free agent waters, however both promptly signed their deals with the team they'd both spent their entire careers with.
• Mike Cammalleri, 27, signed a $6 million 5 year deal with the Montreal Canadiens. A point per game scorer for the Calgary Flames last season who became a local hero overnight, was one of the best snipers outside of Marian Hossa to test the market on opening day.
• Nikolai Khabibulin, 36, joined the Edmonton Oilers at a cap hit of $15 million over 4 seasons. A significant paycut from his previous seasons, Khabibulin replaces recently departed Dwayne Roloson(NYI Islanders) and is expected to end his career with the Oilers.

For all other free agency signings, the TSN Free Agent Tracker delivers up to the minute news of every acquisition of the 2009 offseason.