Oilers Sign Ben Eager and Darcy Hordichuk

The Edmonton Oilers added some toughness to their lineup on the first day of free agency by signing left wing Ben Eager to a three-year contract worth $3.3 million and left wing Darcy Hordichuk to a one-year contract worth $800,000. Eager's deal will pay him $1.1 million per season. In 68 games last season with the Atlanta Thrashers and San Jose Sharks, he had seven goals and 10 assists for 17 points and 120 penalty minutes. Hordichuk appeared in 64 games last season with the Florida Panthers, scoring one goal and four assists for five points and 76 penalty minutes. These are decent depth signings for the Oilers, as they have added a couple physical bodies to their checking lines. Eager plays with lots of grit and toughness, is willing to drop the gloves to defend his teammates, and is great as an agitating winger. Hordichuk plays with plenty of energy, will drop the gloves to defend teammates, and plays with a physical edge. They should help make the Oilers a more physical team on offense next season.

Sharks Acquire Ben Eager from Thrashers

The San Jose Sharks announced today that they have acquired left wing Ben Eager from the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for a fifth round pick in the 2011 Entry Draft. Eager, who will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, has three goals and seven assists for 10 points and 77 penalty minutes in 34 games so far this season. He is currently serving a four-game suspension for sucker-punching Toronto's Colby Armstrong. Not a bad move for the Sharks, as Eager will add lots of grit and toughness to the team. He should be a decent addition to the checking lines as an agitator.

Thrashers Re-Sign Forwards Eager, Ladd, Goaltender Mannino

The Atlanta Thrashers have announced that they have avoided arbitration with left wing Ben Eager and re-signed him to a one-year contract worth $965,000. The team has also avoided arbitration with left wing Andrew Ladd and signed him to a one-year contract worth $2.35 million. The Thrashers also announced that they have re-signed goaltender Peter Mannino to a multi-year contract. The financial terms of his deal were not disclosed. Eager was acquired by the Thrashers from the Chicago Blackhawks on June 24 in the Dustin Byfuglien trade, while Ladd was acquired in a separate deal with the Blackhawks on July 1 for defenseman Ivan Vishnevskiy. These aren't bad signings for the Thrashers, as both players will bring plenty of veteran depth to the team. Eager will bring some much needed toughness and grit to the forward lines, while Ladd will also bring some toughness and offensive depth as well. Mannino is really just a depth signing for the team and will likely spend most of the next two seasons in the minors.

Blackhawks Trade Byfuglien, Sopel to Thrashers in Multi-Player Deal

The Atlanta Thrashers announced early Thursday that they have acquired left wing Dustin Byfuglien, defenseman Brent Sopel, left wing Ben Eager, and prospect right wing Akim Aliu from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for center Marty Reasoner, prospect left wing Jeremy Morin, right wing Joey Crabb, and the 24th and 54th overall picks in the 2010 Entry Draft. The two picks Chicago gets in the deal were acquired from New Jersey in the trade that sent Ilya Kovalchuk to the New Jersey Devils. In all 82 games last season with the Blackhawks, Byfuglien had 17 goals and 17 assists for 34 points and 94 penalty minutes. He also added 11 goals and five assists for 16 points in 22 playoff games. Sopel had one goal and seven assists for eight points in 73 games, while Eager had seven goals and nine assists for 16 points and 120 penalty minutes in 60 games. Aliu had 11 goals and six assists for 17 points in 48 games with Rockford of the AHL. He also appeared in 13 games with Toledo of the ECHL, scoring five goals and nine assists for 14 points.

Reasoner appeared in 80 games with the Thrashers last season, scoring four goals and 13 assists for 17 points. Morin played in 58 games with Kitchener of the OHL, scoring 47 goals and 36 assists for 83 points, while Crabb had 24 goals and 29 assists for 53 points in 79 games with Chicago of the AHL.

It's not a bad move for both teams. The Thrashers get a decent forward in Byfuglien, who can also play defense. He has plenty of offensive potential and can play a little physical. Sopel will give Atlanta some veteran depth on the blueline, while Eager brings some toughness to the team. They get a decent prospect in Aliu, who has some scoring potential and some toughness. For the Blackhawks, it is essentially a salary dumping trade, as they are currently operating at the salary cap ceiling and still have to re-sign Antti Niemi, Niklas Hjalmarsson, and Andrew Ladd, who has been the subject of trade rumors recently. Adding Marty Reasoner gives the team an experienced center, while Jeremy Morin gives the Blackhawks a talented prospect forward. Crabb is an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and it remains to be seen if the Blackhawks have any plans on signing him. The two draft picks will give the team an opportunity to add more future talent to the organization. This trade will free up about $4 million in cap space for the Blackhawks, which will give them some relief, but they may have to move some more salary to comfortably fit all their players under the salary cap.

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.