Panthers Sign Marcel Goc and Tomas Fleischmann

The Florida Panthers continued to add more talent to their team on the first day of free agency by signing center Marcel Goc to a three-year contract worth $5.1 million and left wing Tomas Fleischmann to a four-year contract worth $18 million. Goc's deal will pay him $1.7 million per season, while Fleischmann will get $4.5 million per year. In 51 games last season with the Nashville Predators, Goc had nine goals and 15 assists for 24 points. He missed the last 24 games of the 2010-11 regular season and all 12 of Nashville's playoff games with an upper body injury. Fleischmann had 12 goals and 19 assists for 31 points in 45 games with the Washington Capitals and Colorado Avalanche. He missed the last 36 games of the regular season with blood clots in his lungs. These are decent signings for the Panthers, as both players will bring plenty of offensive depth to the forward lines. Goc gives the team plenty of two-way ability up the middle, as well as some speed and skill on the faceoff. He should make a good checking line center for the Panthers. Fleischmann brings the team lots of skill on the wing and is now fully recovered from the blood clots found in his lungs this past January. He is a decent passer and stickhandler who is also versatile enough to play at center. Look for him to play on Florida's top line next season alongside Stephen Weiss.

Avalanche Acquire Tomas Fleischmann from Capitals for Scott Hannan

The Colorado Avalanche announced today that they have acquired left wing Tomas Fleischmann from the Washington Capitals in exchange for defenseman Scott Hannan. Fleischmann, who had been a healthy scratch recently, had been the subject of trade rumors in recent weeks. It was reported the Los Angeles Kings had been interested in the 26-year-old forward. Both players will be unrestricted free agents next summer. In 23 games so far this season, he has four goals and six assists for 10 points, while Hannan has six assists in 23 games. This is a decent trade for both teams, as it addresses needs for both of them. Fleischmann brings the Avalanche a skilled forward who is a decent passer and stickhandler who can play both center and on the wing. He also brings the team some much needed offensive depth after recently losing Chris Stewart for four to six weeks with a broken hand. Hannan brings some much-needed veteran depth to the Capitals' blueline, as well as some decent shutdown skills. He should be an excellent addition to their defense.

2010 NHL Arbitration

The following 32 NHL players have elected to file for salary arbitration this summer. July 5 was the deadline for players to elect salary arbitration. The hearings will be held from July 20 to August 4, with the specific dates to be determined by the NHL and NHLPA on Tuesday. If more players file for arbitration, I will add them to this list. Arbitrators are only allowed to hand out one to two year deals and their decisions must be made within 48 hours of the hearing. Teams then have 48 hours to accept or decline the arbitrator's decision. If a team has more than one player filing for arbitration, that team has 48 hours from their last player's hearing to decide if they want to accept or decline the arbitrator's decision. If a team declines an arbitrator's decision, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent. Players who have filed for arbitration cannot be given an offer sheet. The following players are still scheduled for arbitration:

Atlanta Thrashers
Clarke MacArthur - July 21, 2010 - Awarded one-year contract worth $2.4 million in arbitration (Thrashers walked away from the award, making him an unrestricted free agent)

Boston Bruins
Blake Wheeler - July 29, 2010 - Awarded one-year contract worth $2.2 million in arbitration (Bruins accepted the award)

Buffalo Sabres
Tim Kennedy - July 29, 2010 - Awarded one-year contract worth $1 million in arbitration (Sabres accepted the award, but later bought out his contract, making him an unrestricted free agent)

Chicago Blackhawks
Antti Niemi - July 31, 2010 - Awarded one-year contract worth $2.75 million in arbitration (Blackhawks walked away from the award, making him an unrestricted free agent)

Vancouver Canucks
Jannik Hansen - July 22, 2010 - Awarded one-year contract worth $825,000 in arbitration (Canucks accepted the award)


The following players have re-signed with their teams prior to their arbitration hearings:

Anaheim Ducks
James Wisniewski - 1 year, $3.25 million (7/30/10) (later traded to NY Islanders)

Atlanta Thrashers
Ben Eager - 1 year, $965,000 (7/28/10)
Andrew Ladd - 1 year, $2.35 million (7/29/10)

Boston Bruins
Greg Campbell - 2 years, undisclosed (7/15/10)

Buffalo Sabres
Patrick Kaleta - 2 years, $1.815 million (7/21/10)

Calgary Flames
Ian White - 1 year, $2,999,995 (7/30/10)

Columbus Blue Jackets
Jared Boll - 2 years, undisclosed (7/13/10)
Anton Stralman - 1 year, undisclosed (7/28/10)

Dallas Stars
Fabian Brunnstrom - 1 year, $675,000 (7/22/10)

Detroit Red Wings
Derek Meech - 1 year, undisclosed (7/15/10)

Edmonton Oilers
Gilbert Brule - 2 years, $3.7 million (7/27/10)
Jeff Deslauriers - 1 year, undisclosed (7/31/10)
Jean-Francois Jacques - 1 year, undisclosed (7/13/10)

Los Angeles Kings
Brad Richardson - 1 year, undisclosed (7/17/10)

New Jersey Devils
Mark Fraser - 1 year, $500,000 (7/28/10)

New York Islanders
Matt Moulson - 1 year, $2.45 million (7/27/10) (hat tip to TheMetalChick for mentioning this one)

New York Rangers
Dan Girardi - 4 years, $13.3 million (7/9/10)

Ottawa Senators
Chris Campoli - 1 year, $1.4 million (7/30/10)
Peter Regin - 2 years, $2 million (7/29/10)

Philadelphia Flyers
Daniel Carcillo - 1 year, undisclosed (7/13/10)

St. Louis Blues
Cam Janssen - 1 year, undisclosed (7/6/10)

Tampa Bay Lightning
Nate Thompson - 1 year, undisclosed (7/16/10)

Vancouver Canucks
Tanner Glass - 1 year, undisclosed (7/9/10)
Mason Raymond - 2 years, $5.1 million (7/26/10)

Washington Capitals
Eric Fehr - 2 years, $4.4 million (7/8/10)
Tomas Fleischmann - 1 year, $2.6 million (7/27/10)
Jeff Schultz - 4 years, $11 million (7/7/10)

Capitals Re-Sign Tomas Fleischmann to One-Year Deal

The Washington Capitals have announced that they have avoided salary arbitration with left wing Tomas Fleischmann and re-signed him to a one-year contract worth $2.6 million. In 69 games last season with the Capitals, he had 23 goals and 28 assists for 51 points. He also appeared in two games with Hershey of the AHL on a conditioning assignment after missing 10 NHL games with a blood clot in his leg. In those two games, he had one assist. Not a bad signing for Washington, as Fleischmann brings plenty of offensive depth to the wing. He's got some goal-scoring skill, is good on the power play, and can also play center, making him an effective top-six forward for the team.