Colorado Avalanche: Forward Alex Tanguay signed his qualifying offer, sealing his return to Colorado for the
upcoming season.
The Avalanche offer was for $3.23 million. Tanguay, who had 67 points and a plus-34 rating in 2003-04, will be a key piece to Colorado's team -- even more now that the Avalanche have lost Peter Forsberg to free agency.
"Alex has played well for us since his first day in the NHL and we expect him to continue to be one of the top players in the game," general manager Pierre Lacroix said.
Lacroix said the thought of trading young players like Tanguay or Milan Hejduk to free up money for Forsberg weren't realistic in
his mind.
Hejduk also received a qualifying offer and is expected to sign soon.
Also signing was defenseman Kurt Sauer.
Both will be restricted free agents at the end of the 2005-06 season.
Buffalo Sabres: Teppo Numminen agreed to a one-year contract Thursday as the Sabres started to address their defensive needs.
A proven point producer, Numminen is a 16-year NHL veteran who spent his previous season with Dallas. He's capable of quarterbacking the power play and is a five-time 10-goal scorer.
The Finn's best season came in 1995-96, when he had 11 goals and 43 assists with the Winnipeg Jets.
The Sabres have been eager to bolster their defense after losing workhorse Alexei Zhitnik, who signed with the New York Islanders this week. Numminen is projected to join Dmitri Kalinin and Jay McKee as the Sabres' top three defensemen.
Buffalo has not had a blueliner produce 40 points in a season since Jason Woolley had 43 in 1998-99.
A three-time All-Star, Numminen broke into the NHL with Winnipeg in 1988 and followed the franchise when it moved to Phoenix in 1996. He eventually served as captain and holds the franchise record for goals, assists and points by a defenseman.
He had three goals and 14 assists, while averaging 21 minutes of ice time, with Dallas in 2003-04.
In 1,160 career games, the 37-year-old Numminen has 111 goals and 440 assists for 551 points.
New York Rangers: Ville Nieminen, a rugged left wing who was suspended for two Game 5s during Calgary's run to the 2004 Stanley Cup finals signed with the Rangers.
"Ville is a hard-working player who competes every shift," Rangers general manager Glen Sather said. "He is difficult to play against and relentless when it comes to pressuring the puck and frustrating the opposition. We're excited to add his grit and determination to our lineup."
It's that kind of edge and intensity that sometimes gets the
28-year-old Finnish forward in trouble.
Nieminen was suspended for Game 5 of the finals last year
because of his check from behind that drove Lightning
forward Vincent Lecavalier into the boards and glass.
He was also barred for Game 5 of the Flames' second-round series with Detroit after he ran over Red Wings goalie Curtis Joseph with 4 seconds left in another Calgary
loss.
During the NHL lockout, Nieminen played in 26 games with Tappara Tempere in a Finnish league, tallying 14 goals and 27 points -- both third highest on the team. He also played for Finland in last year's World Cup of Hockey.
In five NHL seasons with Colorado, Pittsburgh, Chicago and
Calgary, Nieminen has played 271 games, posting 39 goals, 52
assists and 227 penalty minutes.
Terms of his deal were not immediately announced.
The Rangers also signed 26-year-old forward Jason Ward to a two-year deal worth $1.275 million.
Ward played 77 games with Hamilton of the American Hockey League last season, netting 20 goals and 54 points.
He has played 110 NHL games, all with the Canadiens. Ward was in a career-high 53 contests during the 2003-04 season and
scored five of his 10 goals.
Carolina Hurricanes: The team signed veteran defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky to a three-year deal, bringing him back to the NHL after he spent two seasons playing in his native Russia.
The 29-year-old Tverdovsky debuted in the NHL after he was selected second overall in the 1994 draft by Anaheim. In his nine seasons, he has also played for Winnipeg, Phoenix and New Jersey. He played in the 1997 All-Star Game and reached at least 50 points three times.
"Oleg is a highly skilled defenseman who entered the NHL at a very young age and is just reaching his prime," Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said. "His speed and ability to run a power play will put him in an important role for our defense."
The Hurricanes also signed prospects Keith Aucoin and David Gove to one-year contracts.
Both forwards played with Providence of the American Hockey League last season. Jason Karmanos, vice president and assistant general manager, said Aucoin and Gove would help the Hurricanes' AHL affiliate in Lowell and "could even possibly contribute on the NHL level eventually."
Aucoin, 26, had 21 goals and a team-best 45 assists in 72 games last season. He was Providence's second-leading scorer during the Calder Cup playoffs with four goals in 14 assists in 17 games.
Gove, 27, had 13 goals and 18 assists last season.
Boston Bruins: The team agreed with center Alexei Zhamnov on a three-year contract one day after signing defenseman Brian Leetch.
Zhamnov has 248 goals, 461 assists and 638 penalty minutes in 12 NHL seasons. He has scored 20 or more goals in nine seasons and a season-high 30 goals with Winnipeg in just 48 games in 1994-95.
He was an All-Star in 2002 and has won three Olympic medals -- one of each kind -- for Russia.
Zhamnov, 34, played four seasons of hockey in Russia before joining the NHL. He played four years with the Jets before he was traded to Chicago in a multiplayer deal for Jeremy Roenick.
Zhamnov played more than seven seasons with the Blackhawks, scoring 20 or more goals five times, before finishing the 2003-04 season with Philadelphia. He returned to Russia last year during the lockout.
Pittsburgh Penguins: The team made its first move designed to provide some protection for No. 1 draft pick Sidney Crosby, signing free-agent forward Andre Roy to a $3 million, three-year contract.
The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Roy, a fourth-line left winger for the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning in 2003-04, adds a physical presence that the Penguins have largely lacked for three seasons.
Roy became a free agent because he was a 10-year veteran making less than the NHL minimum salary of $450,000.
Roy has played 310 NHL games with Boston, Ottawa and Tampa Bay and has shown an ability to finish plays as well as being a physical force. He scored 10 goals in 2002-03 with Tampa Bay and had a playoff goal during the Lightning's Stanley Cup run.
Roy joins former Blackhawks forward Ryan VandenBussche in adding some muscle to what has been a smallish Penguins lineup since they last reached the playoffs in 2000-01. The 205-pound VandenBussche signed with Pittsburgh last summer and will make the league minimum of $450,000.
Calgary Flames: For the second time in as many summers, the Flames have re-signed defenseman Jordan Leopold. This time, he'll get to play for them.
The Flames re-signed Leopold, who was the team's leading scorer among defensemen in 2003-04. Terms were not disclosed, but he made $900,000 in 2003-04 when he was one of five Flames to play in all 82 games.
Calgary also re-signed Leopold last August, but the 2004-05 season was wiped out because of a lockout.
The Flames regained the services of Leopold one day after re-signing their best player, right winger Jarome Iginla, to a three-year deal.
Leopold, who turned 25 on Wednesday, produced nine goals and 24 assists in 2003-04 and was second on the team in average ice time (22:13).
In the 2004 playoffs, Leopold played in all 26 games and led all defensemen with 10 assists as Calgary lost in seven games to the Lightning in the Stanley Cup finals.
A product of the University of Minnesota, Leopold was a 1999 second-round pick of Anaheim, which traded him to Calgary prior to the 2000 season for left winger Andrei Nazarov and a second-round pick in 2001.
In 140 games with Calgary, Leopold has 13 goals, 34 assists and 36 penalty minutes. He also has represented the United States four times in international competition.
Calgary Flames -- Washington Capitals: The Capitals acquired right wing Chris Clark from the Flames for a conditional pick in the 2006 NHL draft.
Clark helped the Flames reach the 2004 Stanley Cup finals with 10 goals and a career-high 25 points.
The 6-foot, 200-pound Clark has 35 goals, 36 assists in five NHL seasons, all with the Flames.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Goaltender Martin Prusek, 28-9-4 in his three seasons with the Ottawa Senators, signed a one-year contract with the Blue Jackets.
The team was seeking a quality goalie who could be a backup player while pushing starter Marc Denis.
The 29-year-old Prusek has a 2.23 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage in 48 career NHL games, all with the Senators. Prusek was 16-6-3 with three shutouts in the 2003-04 season before playing in his native Czech Republic during the lockout.
Prusek is the third defensive free agent signed by the Blue Jackets this week. Defensemen Adam Foote (Colorado) and Bryan Berard (Chicago) agreed to multiyear contracts.
Minnesota Wild: The Wild signed free agent defensemen Scott Ferguson and Kurtis Foster.
The 32-year-old Ferguson played in 52 games with Edmonton in 2003-04, getting one goal and five assists and 80 penalty minutes.
"Scott's career has been typified by his competitive drive and
feisty play," Wild general manager Doug Risebrough said. "We were looking for
that element to strengthen our team, especially in this new era of
additional games with divisional rivals."
Foster spent the 2004-05 season with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks
of the AHL, scoring 42 points on 17 goals and 25 assists.
Drafted by Calgary in 2000, Foster has appeared in five NHL
games.
Terms of the deals were not disclosed.
Nashville Predators: The Predators agreed to terms with defenseman Mark Eaton.
In 2003-2004, Eaton posted career highs in games played (75), goals (4), assists (9) and points (13).
Eaton has 41 points with the Predators over four seasons.
Information from The Associated Press and SportsTicker was used in this report.