Lost in the mix today, the real reason for the MTL trade – signing of great room guy, solid two-way player Dustin Boyd. Just needs a chance.

Saku Koivu has signed with the Ducks for two years. Add in the Lydman signing and it looks like the Ducks are really pushing to get Selanne back.

Andrew Ladd has been traded to Atlanta. Chicago sure loves to bury their offensive depth out East! Ladd’s fantasy value skyrockets – he has 25 goal upside as a Thrasher. I wonder if Dobber will agree. I do agree.

Look for Kevin Bieksa to be traded now that the Canucks have brought in another defenseman. He has the ability to break the 40-point barrier again in the right situation (rumor already circulating that Columbus is interested in him).

Dan Hamhuis took a hometown discount to sign with the Canucks. $4.5 million per year. Deal is official.

The Canucks also signed Jeff Tambellini. I’ll have more on this in the ramblings tonight/tomorrow.

Edmonton has signed PP stud Kurtis Foster to a two-year contract. He and Gilbert should form a very nice duo on the top unit. Foster has a bomb of a shot and Gilbert moves the puck very well.

Tyler Myers’ partner from this past season, Henrik Tallinder, has signed with the Devils for four years. Tallinder is a steady top four defenseman but the Devils paid a premium for his services ($3.3 cap hit per season).

Thank heavens for Darryl Sutter and Glen Sather – what would today be like without them?!

The Flames, already having signed Alex Tanguay, are rumored to be close on a two-year contract with Olli Jokinen. They are also talking to Doug Gilmour about returning…

Manny Malhotra’s contract expires the same year that Hodgson/Schroeder’s entry level contracts do. Smart planning by Gillis.

Ray Whitney to the Coyotes – two years, $3 million per. How does this affect the likes of Boedker and MacLean? Find out shortly!

The Ducks have signed the steady Toni Lydman to a three year contract worth $3 million per season.

The Rangers have filled a huge need by signing Derek Boogaard to a four year contract, reuniting him with former linemate Marian Gaborik. Both of the things I just wrote are incorrect. Not sure what Sather is thinking here…

Pittsburgh has signed Paul Martin as well. Time to edit my Michalek article, as Goligoski and Letang now have some competition for top power play minutes! Martin’s contract is for five years and carries a cap hit of $5 million. Very fair price for a solid top pairing defenseman.

Toronto signs forward Joey Crabb to a two-year deal, two-way contract.

Flyers sign veteran rearguard Sean O’Donnell. It’s getting pretty crowded back there.  They also sign tough guy Jody Shelley.

Vancouver signs Joel Perrault to a ONE-way deal close to the league minimum. The only way he gets to the potential he showed a few years ago is if four or five Canuck forwards get hurt. In other words – slim to none.

Phoenix has brought back Derek Morris, signing him to a four-year contract worth $11 million total. This takes away a potential roster spot from Goncharov or Ekman-Larsson.

Manny Malhotra has signed a three-year deal worth $7.5 million with the Vancouver Canucks. Malhotra doesn’t have significant fantasy value but he fills a huge need on Vancouver’s third line.

I am not sure how this impacts Cody Hodgson. He may start off at the wing on the third line, as the Canucks aren’t paying Malhotra the big bucks to center the fourth line. The Canucks also made a depth signing with Joel Perreault, a PPG player at the AHL level who has a shot at earning a fourth line spot with the team. More realistically he will be in Manitoba’s top six.

The Leafs have signed Colby Amrstrong to a three-year deal worth $9 million. Analysis is coming up.

And huge signing – San Jose signs Antero Niitymaki. Angus will give you the lowdown there. Niity can certainly expect lots of W’s.

The Habs have signed Alex Auld to a one-year deal worth $1 million. I’ll post a full analysis and what this means to Carey Price.

Zbynek Michalek to a five-year deal worth $4 million per year. Excellent deal that shores them up defensively. Angus will post the analysis on this one.

The Blues have signed Vladimir Sobotka to a one-year deal.

Nashville has signed 29-year-old Jonas Andersson to a one-year deal. He has put up big numbers in the KHL and Finnish Leagues over the last two years. Consider him a third liner for now, with a cap of 45 points. But if you want to bet money – bet on fringe roster player.

Steve Stamkos owners can breathe a huge sigh of relief – the Lightning just locked up his wingman, Marty St. Louis, to a four-year contract extension. St. Louis had one year left on his current deal.

The Blues have re-signed one of last year’s biggest surprises, Alex Steen. Four years, no word on amount yet. He should see consistent top six minutes in 2010-11.

Per Kevin Allen (USA Today), both Cory Schneider and Josh Harding are in play today. The Canucks are asking for a lot in return for their prized prospect, though.

Philadelphia has locked up Braydon Coburn to a two year deal worth $6.4 million (total). The Flyers are planning on icing an entire team of defensemen this season, it seems!

Alex Tanguay has returned to Calgary on a one year deal. He will make $1.7 million this coming season.

Ottawa has signed Sergei Gonchar to a three year contract with a NTC. His cap hit will be $5.5 million. Analysis coming, as this move has significant ramifications.

The Rangers have re-signed Erik Christensen.

Rumor: Marc Savard to Calgary for Robyn Regehr

Meszaros has been traded to Philadelphia for a 2nd round draft pick.

The DobberHockey 2010 Free Agency Chat is up and running NOW. Already on – Dobber, Angus, Goldie, Rosso and Ma. LOTS of chat and fun speculation.

Dobber here, I will be writing in navy blue today and covering all the Eastern Conference signings (Angus has the West – and he’ll write in black here). I’ll also be on the chat for most of the day, giving you my knee-jerk reactions to everything that goes on. I’m also going into Paypal and fixing my tax to the HST. That means instead of 5% tax on my guides, it will be 13%. Sorry, my accountant says I need to treat it like I own a shop here in Ontario and you are walking into my shop. So if you hustle before say 9am ET, you can probably get the Fantasy Guide or Pack and save that 8%. Blame Dalton McGuinty

Patrick O’Sullivan to Pittsburgh almost makes too much sense, doesn’t it?

Per RDS – Minnesota has extended Guilliame Latendresse for two years (cap hit of $2.5 million per season).

Non-surprising rumor of the day: Denis Grebeshkov is considering an offer to play in the KHL next season.

Philippe Paradis has now been a member of three different NHL clubs. He was drafted a little over  a year ago.

Don’t expect Versteeg and Kessel to play together. Both shoot right and LOVE to bring the puck down the right side and toe drag into the middle of the ice.

With the craziness that is free agency, remember to check the boards before making a new topic to break a signing. Chances are someone has scooped you!

I am a big fan of the rumored trade involving Souray to the Blues. As a Souray owner in one of my keeper leagues, I'd love it if he went to a team with the kind of talent up front that the Blues possess. The Blues have Erik Johnson on the back end, but Souray's presence on the power play is unmatched league wide. Souray's inevitable departure from Edmonton opens the door for Tom Gilbert to become "the man" on Edmonton's blue line. Gilbert could be a sleeper for 50 points if Edmonton's young studs up front accelerate their development.

David Clarkson re-upped for three years with the Devils. He'll earn about $2.6 per season for the duration of the deal. Clarkson is one of the best agitators in the league, and he is starting to develop into one of the better guys around the net as well. He could score 25 if he continues to improve in that area.

Patrick O'Sullivan is now a free agent. Does he have any fantasy value at this point? I wonder if a team desperate for offensive talent on the wing (cough, Pittsburgh) would take a chance on him? He has yet to show any sort of compete level or willingness to battle in the tough areas – he was arguably one of the worst players in the entire league last season. Soft, perimeter hockey doesn't fly from one-dimensional offensive players if you don't have the production to back it up. I'll be keeping an eye on where he ends up, and you should to.

Joe Nieuwendyk has done a pretty miserable job of managing the Stars over the past year. I understand the need to part ways with Mike Modano, whose days as a legitimate NHL player are very close to being over. However, Nieuwendyk hired the wrong coach for his team (Marc Crawford), he gambled that Matt Niskanen would be ready to run the power play this past season (and he wasn't), and he has overpaid depth (Steve Ott, Krys Barch) while failing to lock up talent (James Neal). Dallas has some great pieces up front for the future, but they need an offensive defenseman about as bad as any team needs one. Oh, and he committed long term and money to a goalie who is about as reliable as Bruce Garrioch.

The Phoenix Coyotes will be a very different looking team in 2010-11. Impending free agents include: Zbynek Michalek, Derek Morris, Lee Stempniak, and Matthew Lombardi. The club re-signed Sami Lepisto today, and he should see more minutes next season in a bigger role on the back end. He had 11 points in 66 games in 2009-10 with minimal power play time.

Hunch of the day – the Blues will make a big splash or two.

Toronto’s hip-hop scene has a new MC arriving: