Blue Jackets Sign Alexandre Giroux and Aaron Johnson

The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced that they have signed left wing Alexandre Giroux and defenseman Aaron Johnson to one-year, two-way contracts. Giroux's deal will pay him $825,000 at the NHL level and $625,000 at the AHL level, while the financial terms of Johnson's contract were not disclosed. In eight games last season with the Edmonton Oilers, Giroux had one goal and one assist. He also appeared in 70 games with Oklahoma City of the AHL, scoring 32 goals and 46 assists for 78 points. In 72 games last season with Milwaukee of the AHL, Johnson had nine goals and 26 assists for 35 points and 70 penalty minutes. This will be his second stint with Columbus, where he played from 2003 to 2007. These aren't bad depth signings for the Blue Jackets. Giroux is a very talented scorer at the minor-league level and will bring lots of offensive and goal-scoring skill to the team's AHL affiliate in Springfield. If he sees any time at the NHL level next season, it will likely be on the fourth line. As for Johnson, he brings some offensive talent and plenty of toughness to the Blue Jackets' defense. More than likely, he will play as a seventh defenseman if he makes the team next season.

Predators Sign Defenseman Aaron Johnson

The Nashville Predators have announced that they have signed defenseman Aaron Johnson to a one-year, two-way contract. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. In 41 games last season with the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers, he had four goals and six assists for 10 points and 35 penalty minutes. Not a bad depth signing for the Predators, as Johnson will bring some toughness and offensive skill to the blueline. If he makes the team next season, he will likely be the seventh defenseman.

Flames Acquire Defenseman Staios from Oilers for Johnson

The Calgary Flames announced today that they have acquired defenseman Steve Staios from the rival Edmonton Oilers in exchange for defenseman Aaron Johnson and a third round draft pick. In 39 games with the Oilers this season, Staios has seven assists and 57 penalty minutes. In 878 career NHL games with the Boston Bruins, Vancouver Canucks, Atlanta Thrashers, and Edmonton Oilers, he has 52 goals and 147 assists for 199 points and 1227 penalty minutes. He still has one more year left on his current contract. In 22 games this season with the Flames, Johnson has one goal and two assists for three points and 19 penalty minutes. The world must be coming to an end, the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers have made a trade with each other! In all seriousness, this is not a bad move for the Flames, as Staios will bring lots of grit, leadership, and defensive depth to the team. Johnson will bring plenty of toughness to the Oilers’ roster, though he will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and likely won’t be retained by the team.

Blackhawks Re-Sign Six Players, Including Cam Barker

The Chicago Blackhawks responded quickly to a grievance filed by the NHLPA on Monday over their improper qualifications of their restricted free agents by signing right wing Troy Brouwer and goaltender Corey Crawford to two-year contracts, left wing Ben Eager, center Colin Fraser, and defenseman Aaron Johnson to one-year contracts worth $965,000, $700,000, and $550,000, respectively, and defenseman Cam Barker to a three year contract worth $9.25 million. Barker’s deal averages out to $3.083 million per season, while Brouwer’s contract was worth $2 million, averaging out to $1 million per season. The financial terms of Crawford’s deal were not announced. The NHL launched an investigation into the Blackhawks late last week over whether their restricted free agents received proper notification of their qualifying offers. The offers, which were mailed on June 29, weren’t received by some of the players until after July 1. The NHLPA has filed a grievance with the league stating that the qualifying offers should be invalid because they didn’t reach the players in time, thus making them unrestricted free agents. The Blackhawks have remedied this by quickly signing their restricted free agents to new contracts. In 68 games last season with the Blackhawks, Barker scored six goals and 34 assists for 40 points. Brouwer appeared in 69 games last season with the team, scoring 10 goals and 16 assists for 26 points. Eager played in 75 games last season with the team, scoring 11 goals and four assists for 15 points and 161 penalty minutes. Fraser appeared in 81 games with the Blackhawks last season, scoring six goals and 11 assists for 17 points and 55 penalty minutes. In 38 games in 2008-09 with the Blackhawks, Johnson scored three goals and five assists for eight points and 33 penalty minutes. Crawford did not play in any regular season games last season for the team.

Wise signings for Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon, as it’s obvious he did not want to take a chance at losing his young players to unrestricted free agency if the league sides with the players’ association. Barker is quickly developing into a very skilled offensive defenseman and will likely anchor the team’s blueline for years to come. Brouwer is quickly developing into a decent third line forward with his toughness and offensive abilities. Eager is a very physical forward who plays with lots of grit, making him a valuable asset to the Blackhawks’ checking lines. Fraser is another tough, physical forward for the team who will likely play next season on either the third or fourth line. Johnson is a very tough defenseman who plays very physical. He will likely be the Blackhawks’ sixth or seventh defenseman next season. Crawford is a very skilled goaltender who has the potential to become a starter one day for the Blackhawks. He will likely be the back-up for Cristobal Huet next season.