Sweep of NHL free agency for 31 July 2015

The Montreal Canadiens and Alex Galchenyuk agreed on a two-year contract Thursday.  The financial terms were not released but reports have placed the value at $5.6 million.

“Alex is a young forward constantly improving and who has contributed to the success of the club since joining the NHL three seasons ago,” Montreal general manager Marc Bergevin said in a team statement. “Despite his young age, he has gained valuable experience through 193 regular-season games and 22 playoff contests. He shows maturity and fits in well within our young players development philosophy. Alex is an integral part of our core of forwards and we are confident in his ability to continue to improve his game.”

The Pittsburgh Penguins were busy earlier in the week by signing Eric Fehr to a three-year deal at $2 million annually.

The Pens also picked up Nick Bonino from the Vancouver Canucks along with defenseman Adam Clendening.

“The two deals went hand-in-hand so we can add more depth,” Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said. “We have enough good players now that guys are going to have to compete for those spots [in training camp] and compete for them all year. If a guy falls off, there’s a guy waiting to jump right in there.

“I like the fact that we have enough guys that each guy can push each other.”

Meanwhile, the Canucks re-signed Sven Baertschi to a one-year, one-way contract.

The 22-year old Baertschi appeared in two games for the Canucks but was a hit in the Utica Comets regular season with eight goals and 15 points in 15 games.  He had the same numbers in 21 playoff games.  The eight goals were a team high for the playoffs.