This week the Columbus Blue Jackets made news by signing players. Until this week, the Jackets had been off the free agent grid and have been standing pat for the 2016-17 season.
What they have had in their pocket is a strong American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate in the Lake Erie Monsters who won the Calder Cup this season in a waltz.
Alex Broadhurst, TJ Tynan and Scott Harrington were all signed to two-way deals between Columbus and Cleveland.
Centermen Broadhurst and Tynan both played for the Monsters this past season en route to the Calder Cup.
Defenseman Harrington came over to the Jackets’ organization from the Toronto Maple Leafs in a trade. 
The Blue Jackets are aging and salary-heavy club with few options as evidenced by the lack of any moves during free agency. The cap space is limited but they do have youth as these three players are either 23 or 24-years of age.
In a non-player signing, the Carolina Hurricanes extended the contract of head coach Bill Peters for two years.
“Bill is a talented, young coach in the National Hockey League,” Hurricanes general manager Ron Francis said on NHL.com. “We are happy that he has made a commitment to the Hurricanes and that he will be a major part of the team continuing to grow.”
The Canes finished the last season with a 35-31-16 record good for 86 points but 10 points back of the Philadelphia Flyers who picked up the final wild card spot for the post season.
The Canes showed marked improvement under Peters in his second year behind the bench.
They look to be a little tougher this coming season with the signings of Lee Stempniak, Viktor Stalberg and Victor Rask.
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