TAMPA, Fla – It appears there is more than lip service being made to improvements in Tampa Bay as TSN in Canada has reported the signing of Ryan Malone to a contract expected to be for seven-years and $31.5 or roughly $4.5 million per season. The website also reported the Bolts signed Gary Roberts to a one-year deal with no terms disclosed.
Apparently flush with their succes with Malone, the Lightning moved on to Minnesota and made a deal for Brian Rolston sending a conditional 2009 or 2010 draft choice to the Wild for the rights to negotiate with Rolston. (The Lightning’s website has confirmed the Rolston deal, but has not confirmed the Malone nor the Roberts signing).
Photo courtesy of the NHL
In other NHL news the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers made a big trade with Lubomir Visnovsky going to Canada in exchange for Jarrett Stoll and Matt Greene. The trade allowed Edmonton GM Kevin Lowe to parlay an excess of forwards for the type of strong power play defender all NHL clubs are looking to acquire. The deal also buys Edmonton time and certainty as Stoll is scheduled to be a UFA next year and Greene the following year while Visnovsky has a five-year deal already in place.
In Colorado the Avalanche took a step towards retaining their current team as they have inked Adam Foote and Jean-Michael Liles to multi-year pacts. According to reports Liles signed a four-year deal for an average of $4 million per season while Foote’s deal is a two-year one for an average of $3.
This season’s free agency period, while not as strong as others in the past, is expected to be active due to the salary cap advancing to over $56 million per year. The salary cap was around $39 million after the lockout was ended.
Stay tuned to PHN all day today as team’s manuever to lock up their players and to try to negotiate new deals.
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