
First, let me apologize for the Electric Boogaloo joke. I know it has been done to death. Perhaps I should have gone with Secret of the Ooze? However, we aren't here to discuss comedy. There have been a few more free agent signings worth noting. None of them particularly exciting, but still worth noting.
Adrian Aucoin has signed with the Phoenix Coyotes. He's a solid player who can help keep them from being really bad. I still expect them to be bad, but maybe they can avoid being the worst team in the league. Not that you can fault them, what with all the financial issues.
Scott Clemmensen will replace Craig Anderson as Tomas Vokoun's backup in Florida for the next three seasons. Well, it's not a starting job, but he should get more playing time than he would have behind Brodeur. Anderson saw quite a few games last season, and Vokoun isn't getting any younger... or is he? No, he isn't.
Ryane Clowe has re-signed with the Sharks for four years and $14 million. My first thought was that seemed like a lot of money, but in retrospect I don't think it is. Clowe is a good player in his prime. Also, it would seem the rumors of the Sharks blowing things up have thus far been greatly exaggerated.
Ruslan Fedotenko is back in Pittsburgh. Who can blame him?
Mikhail Grabovski, who had an under the radar good rookie season for Toronto, has signed a three year, $8.7 million deal. For a team rebuilding and on the uptick, a good signing.
Chad LaRose is back with the Hurricanes. Is he really relevant enough to warrant mentioning you ask? i think so. He scored 19 goals last season and is only 27. Good secondary scoring.
Jordan Leopold has signed a one year deal with the Panthers. So I guess Florida did get something for Jay Bouwmeester. Not as much as they could have gotten, but at least they didn't go home empty handed. Perhaps the cosmos are simply parceling out justice for that inane rat throwing epidemic back in the day. That, or they have been run really poorly for quite some time. Probably the latter.
Mark Recchi will be back in Boston for one more season. With all that talent around him, he'll rack up some power play goals.
Mikael Samuelsson has joined the cavalcade of players leaving Detroit, signing a three year deal with the Vancouver Canucks. Samuelsson is a decent player, and if they put him on a line with the Sedins he might be able to score some goals. Plus, it's an all-Swede line, which is something.
Lastly, Rob Scuderi, who had a great postseason for the Penguins, cashed in on said postseason with a four year, $13.6 million deal with Los Angeles. Well, he's 30 and has three career goals, so that is certainly a reasonable deal. In all seriousness, the Kings didn't sign Scuderi for his offensive prowess. He's a very good defensive defenseman, but this is one of those cases of a team overpaying a player based on one good playoff run. It happens all the time, particularly in the NBA. Still, when you add Scuderi to that defensive corps, the Kings looks like a team that could contend for a playoff spot next season, even if they end up having to trade the disgruntled Jack Johnson. Maybe they can include him in a deal for Dany Heatley. The Kings have one thing going for them; they aren't Edmonton.
That's all for now, but there are still a few more names of note on the market. When more signings happen, you can rest assured they'll be mentioned here.