Jagr leaves NHL… and more

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

After nearly 20 years in the NHL, Jaromir Jagr has decided to leave the NHL to play for team Avangard Omsk in Russia. The move comes just a day after splitting from the New York Rangers.

In his career in the NHL Jagr has put up phenominal numbers, collecting 646 Goals, 953 Assists for 1599 Points in 1273 Games, better than a point a game over his NHL career, which has seen him play for 3 teams; Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals and the New York Rangers.

“It was the toughest decision in my life, hockeywise. … No question about it. I hate making changes,” Jagr told The Canadian Press.
- Yahoo! Sports

Other action around the league saw a number of players change homes.

A day after the San Jose Sharks acquired Rob Blake on the blue line, they have acquired another top defenseman in a 4-player trade. The Sharks acquired Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for defenseman Matt Carle, prospect Ty Wishart, a 2009 first-round pick and a 2010 fourth-round pick. The Sharks also acquired 2nd round Draft picks in 2009 and 2010 from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Craig Rivet and a 2010 7th round pick.

The Vancouver Canucks acquired a replacement forward for Markus Naslund today by acquiring Steve Bernier from the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for a 3rd round pick in the 2009 draft and a 2nd round pick in 2010.

The Pittsburgh Penguins showed their faith in their goalie today by locking up M.A. Fleury to a 7 year, $35 Million dollar deal.

Source: NHL.com | TSN.ca | Yahoo! Sports

Technorati Tags: ice hockey, nhl, pittsburgh penguins, washington capitals, tampa bay lightning, san jose sharks, vancouver canucks, jaromir jagr, avangard omsk, buffalo sabres

Tags: avangard omsk, brad lukowich, buffalo sabres, canadian press, Dan Boyle, fleury, free agency, goal, hockey, hockey news, ice hockey, Jaromir Jagr, matt carle, new york rangers, NHL, pittsburgh penguins, rob blake, russia, san jose sharks, Steve Bernier, tampa bay lightning, TSN, ty wishart, vancouver canucks, washington capitals, yahoo sports, youtube

Richards to Dallas, Hossa to Montreal

According to an NHL Executive, a multi-player trade has been made between Tampa Bay Lightning and the Dallas Stars.

The trade is rumoured to have Center Brad Richards move to Dallas in exchange for Center Jeff Halpern, Goalie Mike Smith and rookie Defenseman Mark Fistric.

“The Stars have looked to make a splash since Les Jackson and Brett Hull took over in the co-general manager role for the fired Doug Armstrong earlier this season. The source said Dallas is expected to package veteran checking center Jeff Halpern, backup goalie Mike Smith and young defenseman Mark Fistric to the Lightning, who needed to move Richards after signing defenseman Dan Boyle to a six-year, $40 million contract extension late Monday.”

…

By landing the 6-foot, 198-pound Richards, the Stars are set to receive a player who can handle loads of ice time, has a Stanley Cup on his resumé and is a centerpiece to build around as Mike Modano and Zubov look to pass the torch.

Richards has 18 goals and 51 points in 62 games, 228 shots and has averaged 24:17 of ice time. He’s durable as well. Richards has appeared in 552 of a possible 554 games since breaking into the league in 2000-01. The pivot is signed for $7.8 million each of the next three seasons.
- NHL @ Yahoo

It was also announced that the Atlanta Thrashers would ship Marian Hossa to the Montreal Canadiens.  Details of the trade have not been released at this time.

Expect the Canadiens to send at least a forward (Michael Ryder?) to Atlanta, which insisted it would only trade the 29-year-old Hossa if it could get a current NHL player in return. Hossa is the Thrashers’ second-leading scorer with 56 points (26 goals, 30 assists and a team-high 229 shots). Hossa is a minus-14 averaging 21:55 of ice time in 60 games.
- NHL @ Yahoo

Details of these trades are yet to be confirmed by their respective teams.

Tags: Atlanta, backup, Brad Richards, Brett, canadiens, Center, centerpiece, checking, contract, Dallas, Dan Boyle, defenseman, doug armstrong, exchange, Executive, extension, foot, goal, Goalie, Hull, Ice, Jackson, Jeff Halpern, league, Les, lightning, manager, Marian Hossa, Mark Fistric, Michael Ryder, mike modano, Mike Smith, minus, Monday, Montreal, move, NHL, player, pound, resumé, return, role, Rookie, scorer, season, source, splash, Stanley Cup, Stars, Tampa Bay, thrashers, time, torch, trade, veteran, yahoo, zubov