TORONTO – Canadian teams were busy at the start of free agency, and not just with signings.
The Toronto Maple Leafs made the biggest splash by sending Phil Kessel to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a blockbuster trade.
Kessel, and the final seven seasons of his contract, go to Pittsburgh to play on right wing alongside Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin as the Leafs begin the process of dismantling their core.
The Leafs got prospects Kasperi Kapanen and Scott Harrington and winger Nick Spaling as part of the deal that reportedly also included two picks to Toronto and a second-round pick, Tim Erixon and Tyler Biggs to Pittsburgh.
Toronto also reportedly retains 15 per cent of Kessel’s salary – US$1.25 million of his $8 million cap hit – for the remainder of his deal.
READ MORE: Toronto Maple Leafs trade Phil Kessel to Pittsburgh Penguins
Earlier, the Calgary Flames added versatile forward Michael Frolik on a five-year deal worth US$4.3 million per season and brought back goaltender Karri Ramo on a $3.8-million, one-year deal.
Calgary was also in talks to extend the contract of captain and top defenceman Mark Giordano.
The Edmonton Oilers continued their roster makeover by signing defenceman Andrej Sekera for six years at $33 million and forward Mark Letestu for three years at a reported value of $1.8 million per season.
Sekera is the top talent new Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli wanted on the blue line, and Letestu replaces Boyd Gordon as the team’s fourth-line centre.
READ MORE: Oilers continue makeover, signing Sekera for six years, Letestu for three
Vancouver, which traded defenceman Kevin Bieksa to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night, re-signed Yannick Weber for next season at $1.5 million.
The Winnipeg Jets agreed to terms on one-year deals with defenceman Adam Pardy ($1 million) and forward Matt Halischuk (two-way worth $750,000 in NHL) and brought back Alexander Burmistrov on a two-year deal after he spent one season in the KHL.
There was also plenty of action before free agency began.
The Chicago Blackhawks stunned the league Tuesday by trading restricted-free-agent Brandon Saad to the Columbus Blue Jackets because they couldn’t sign the 22-year-old forward.
Negotiations to sign him were ongoing, and Saad brushed off the notion of an offer sheet from another team.
“I’m going to wait to hear from my agent on getting a deal done with the Blue Jackets,” Saad said.
On Wednesday morning, the Predators and Anaheim Ducks were busy locking up their players for next season and beyond.
Nashville re-signed centre Mike Ribeiro to a $7-million, two-year deal after his impressive 62-point performance.
The Ducks, who traded a second-round pick to the Canucks for Bieksa, agreed to terms with the defenceman on an extension worth $8 million for two more seasons.
Bieksa is under contract through 2017-18.
Comments