The Blackhawks have named Jonathan Toews their team captain.

The Penguins have locked coach Michel Therrien in for three more years, ripping up the contract that had one more year left on it.

The Sabres have signed Mark Mancari and Clarke MacArthur to their qualifying offers.

Funny story in the Star Tribune. Stephane Veillieux, representing himself in negotiations, was being unreasonable with this demands on a new contract. To prove to him that he was being unreasonable, the Wild placed him on waivers so a team could pick him up for the simple $15,000 waiver fee. No team took him. Point taken.

The Thrashers have signed Angelo Esposito to a three-year entry-level contract. He will not make the team this season and needs to make his mark in the AHL if he's to salvage his promising career. The problem is, the Thrashers are one of the few teams that have little control over their AHL affiliate (Chicago Wolves) so he may not get the ice time.

The Oilers have signed goalie Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers to a contract (two years). One of the conditions of the agreement is that he is to shave at least six letters off of his last name, so they can save money on the stitching of his jersey. Kidding.

Alexander Radulov practiced with Salavat Yulaev Ufa yesterday. He is not allowed to play in any games, though.

The Flyers have signed Joffrey Lupul to a four-year contract extension.

The Coyotes have signed Garth Murray to a one-year deal, although with McGrattan, Carcillo and Fedoruk I am not really sure why they did this. Maybe he can fill the water bottles.

Those of you who were hoping that Pavel Vorobiev would return to the Blackhawks – no dice. He signed to play with Severstal Cherepovets of the KHL.

The Isles have signed Frans Nielsen to a four-year deal worth just over the NHL minimum. 

I have had several emails/comments about how some of my articles are a little older (as in several weeks). I clearly note in the article at the top that I am just archiving the articles I write for The Hockey News and I clearly bold the date that they were originally written – so pay attention! Anyway, I usually post them here a couple of days after I post them at thehockeynews.com, but fell behind this summer. I'll be caught up soon. If you haven't read them already, they are still a good read. At the very least you can see the fantasy grade that I give teams each summer.