Sedin twins headline first day of NHL free agency

Hockey Betting Lines

07/02/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wednesday marked the beginning of the NHL's free agency period, and two of the biggest players on the open market opted to stay put.

The Vancouver Canucks re-signed forwards Daniel and Henrik Sedin to new five-year contracts. The contracts are identical and worth a reported $30.5 million for each player.

Daniel and Henrik have played their entire NHL careers with the Canucks after being drafted by Vancouver second and third overall, respectively, in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.

The twin brothers led the Canucks in scoring last season with 82 points apiece. Daniel notched 31 goals and 51 assists, while Henrik posted 22 goals and 60 helpers. Henrik's goal and point totals represented career bests.

The other big free agent moved from the Motor City to the Windy City as forward Marian Hossa signed a 12-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the contract is reportedly worth an average of $5.2 million per season. Hossa made waves last summer when he turned down a multi-year offer from Pittsburgh to sign a one-year deal with the Red Wings. He inked the deal with Detroit just weeks after losing to the Red Wings as a member of the Penguins in the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals.

This year, Hossa once again found himself on the losing end of the Cup Finals as the Penguins exacted revenge for the snub by downing Detroit in seven games. Hossa has yet to win a Stanley Cup title during his 11-year NHL career.

Hossa led the Red Wings with 40 goals in 2008-09 and was third on the team with 71 points. He added 15 points (6 goals, 9 assists) in 23 playoff games. The Slovakian native has recorded 719 points (339g, 380a) in 775 career games with Ottawa, Atlanta, Pittsburgh and the Red Wings.

The New York Rangers made a big splash on the first day of free agency, inking free agent forward Marian Gaborik to a five-year contract.

TSN Canada is reporting the deal is worth $7.5 million yearly.

Gaborik has spent his entire seven-year career with the Wild, totaling 219 goals and 218 assists in 502 games. This past season, he played in only 17 games due to various injuries and posted 13 goals and 10 assists.

In his last full healthy season, 2007-08, Gaborik recorded 42 goals and 83 points through 77 games. He was originally the third overall pick of the 2000 NHL Draft.

After losing Gaborik, the Wild turned around and came to terms with right wing Martin Havlat on a six-year contract, signing him away from the Blackhawks. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports the deal is worth $30 million, which is the richest total contract in team history.

Last season, Havlat led Chicago with a career-high 77 points (29 goals, 48 assists), while skating in a career-best 81 games.

The Montreal Canadiens have signed forward Brian Gionta to a five-year contract and defenseman Hal Gill to a two-year deal. Financial terms of both deals were not released, though Canada's TSN reported Gionta's deal is worth $25 million and Gill will make $4.5 million over the span of his contract.

Gionta, 30, had spent his entire seven-year career with New Jersey after the Devils selected him in the third round of the 1998 draft.

In 473 career games, Gionta has posted 152 goals and 160 assists. Last season he had 20 goals and 40 assists in 81 contests.

Gill, 34, spent last season with the Pittsburgh Penguins and had two goals and eight assists in 62 regular season games. He also added two assists in the playoffs, helping the Penguins win the Stanley Cup.

In 851 games over 11 NHL seasons with Boston, Toronto and Pittsburgh, Gill has recorded 31 games and 120 assists, and accumulated 800 penalty minutes.

The Florida Panthers re-signed forward David Booth to a six-year contract reportedly worth a total of $25.5 million.

Booth, a 24-year-old winger, had a breakout season in 2008-09, setting career- highs in goals (31), assists (29), points (60) and penalty minutes (38) while playing in 72 games with the Panthers. He led Florida in goals and was second on the club in points.

Booth was originally selected by Florida with the 53rd overall pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft and has recorded 56 goals and 54 assists in 193 career games with the Panthers.

The Carolina Hurricanes agreed to terms with forward Erik Cole on a two-year contract that will pay him a total of $5.8 million. Cole, 30, will make $2.8 million in 2009-10 and $3 million in 2010-11.

Cole was traded last offseason from Carolina to Edmonton, but returned to the Hurricanes in a March 4 trade that also included Los Angeles. Last season, for the Oilers and 'Canes, Cole netted 18 goals and registered 24 assists in 80 games. For his career with Carolina and Edmonton, Cole has recorded 147 goals and 322 points in 498 games.

The Anaheim Ducks agreed to a one-year contract with veteran defenseman Scott Niedermayer. The team announced last week that Niedermayer would be coming back for the 2009-10 campaign.

Niedermayer posted 14 goals and 59 points while playing in all 82 games for the Ducks a season ago. A four-time Stanley Cup champion, the venerable backliner helped lead the Ducks to their only Stanley Cup championship in 2007, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player.

Since making his NHL debut in 1991-92, Niedermayer has scored 162 goals and accumulated 530 assists with New Jersey and Anaheim. He is also the only player in hockey history to have won a Stanley Cup, Olympic Gold Medal, World Championship, World Cup, Memorial Cup and World Junior title.

The Edmonton Oilers signed goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin to a four-year contract worth $15 million.

The 36-year-old netminder had a record of 25-8-7 with a 2.33 goals against average to go along with a .919 save percentage in 42 games with the Chicago Blackhawks last season. In 15 playoff games, he was 8-6 with a 2.93 goals against average and a .898 save percentage.

Other notable free agent signings on Wednesday saw goaltender Dwayne Roloson sign with the Islanders, goaltender Craig Anderson heading to Colorado, fighting forward Colton Orr sign with Toronto, Donald Brashear taking his fighting skills to the New York Rangers, defenseman Mattias Ohlund heading to Tampa Bay, forward Mike Knuble signing with Washington and defenseman Jaroslav Spacek and forward Mike Cammalleri heading to Montreal.