Several teams are said to be interested in signing former NHL MVP Jaromir Jagr.
Imago/ZUMA Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Penguins on Friday withdrew their one-year contract offer to forward Jaromir Jagr.
The team made the announcement moments before the free-agency signing period began at noon. The offer was for $2 million.
"We made what we thought was a very fair contract offer to Jaromir on Tuesday, based on his stated interest of returning to the Penguins," general manager Ray Shero said. "We made our best offer from the start, given our salary-cap structure, in an attempt to facilitate a deal. But now, after several days, with an extended time frame for making a decision, and additional teams getting involved, we have decided to move in a different direction."
Jagr, 39, was a Pittsburgh draft pick in 1990, and helped lead the Penguins to two Stanley Cup championships. The franchise's hope was that he accept the offer, play at least one season in Pittsburgh, and then retire with the team he started with.
"Jaromir is one of the greatest players in Penguins history," Shero said, "and we wish him all the best."
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Red Wings sign pair
DETROIT (AP) -- The Detroit Red Wings have agreed to terms with defenseman Jonathan Ericsson and right wing Patrick Eaves on three-year contracts.
The team confirmed the deals Friday but did not release financial details.
Ericsson has played four seasons in the NHL, all with Detroit. He set career highs in 2010-11 in games (74), points (15) and penalty minutes (87).
The 27-year-old Eaves is coming off a season in which he had 13 goals and seven assists in 63 games for the Red Wings.
Detroit lost in the second round of the playoffs to San Jose, but got good news recently when Nicklas Lidstrom decided to return.
Canucks extend Salo
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- Sami Salo has signed a $2-million, one-year extension to stay with the Vancouver Canucks.
The veteran defenseman has spent the last eight seasons with the Canucks, and agreed to the deal before becoming a restricted free agent.
He was sidelined with an Achilles tendon tear last season and finished with 10 points in 27 regular-season games. Salo appeared in 21 playoff games during Vancouver's run to the Stanley Cup final, scoring three goals and adding two assists.
In 692 career NHL games for Ottawa and Vancouver, Salo has 84 goals and 280 points.
The Canucks also signed forward Chris Higgins to a $3.8-million, two-year deal. During the playoffs, he added four goals and eight points.
Sabres cut Connolly loose
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- The Buffalo Sabres re-signed forward Cody McCormick on Friday morning, shortly before he was eligible to become a free agent.
Agent Patrick Morris confirmed the signing prior to the noon start of the NHL's free-agency period.
McCormick has six-plus years of NHL experience and earned a regular role in the Sabres lineup last season. That's when he had eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points in 81 games -- all career bests.
The Sabres initially signed him as a free agent in August 2009. McCormick spent the next season in the minors before appearing in three playoff games with Buffalo in 2010. He previously spent parts of five seasons with Colorado.
Overall, he has 50 points (17 goals, 33 assists) in 271 NHL games.
While McCormick returns, center Tim Connolly's days in Buffalo appear to be over after he failed to reach a deal to re-sign with the Sabres.
Connolly's agent, J.P. Barry, confirmed his client's intentions to test free agency on Friday.
Connolly had been the Sabres' longest active serving player after being acquired in a trade that sent former captain Michael Peca to the Islanders in the summer of 2001. The 11-year veteran is a play-making center who had just completed a two-year, $9 million contract.
Injuries have hampered Connolly's playing time, as he missed the entire 2003-04 season due to post-concussion symptoms. He's not played an entire NHL season since his first year in Buffalo, and had been limited to playing 98 of a potential 246 games over a three-season stretch spanning 2006-09.
Connolly had 13 goals and 29 assists for 42 points in 68 games last season.
Halpern returns to Capitals
ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) --The Washington Capitals have opened free agency by bringing back a familiar face, signing former captain Jeff Halpern to a one-year deal worth $825,000.
Halpern was signed Friday in a move that adds needed depth to the center position.
The 35-year-old forward is a native of nearby Potomac, Md., who made the Capitals as an undrafted free agent out of Princeton in 1999. He played six seasons in Washington and was captain during the 2005-06 season. He has since played for Dallas, Tampa Bay, Los Angeles and Montreal.
Halpern has 142 goals and 200 assists in his NHL career. He had 11 goals and 15 assists in 72 games with the Canadiens last season.
He has also represented the United States at five world championships.
Jackets ink Wisniewski
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The Blue Jackets, after failing to make the postseason for the 10th time in 11 seasons, had every intention of being a serious player this offseason.
After all, as long as they were in the ultra-competitive Western Conference, they knew they needed some major changes to contend in 2011-12.
Well, so far, so good.
Columbus on Friday signed defenseman James Wisniewski to a six-year contract. The deal was announced an hour before Wisniewski, 27, whose rights were acquired from Montreal on Wednesday, would have become an unrestricted free agent.
The agreement comes a week after Columbus sent a message to the league by acquiring high-scoring forward Jeff Carter, 26, from Philadelphia.
"James is a player we identified very early on and we are thrilled to have him as a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets," general manager Scott Howson said. "He brings offensive skill and grit to our blue line, character to our dressing room and will be a key contributor to our hockey club."
Columbus shipped a 2012 seventh-round draft choice to the Canadiens for Wisniewski, one of the biggest names on the defensemen free-agency list this season.
He has 27 goals and 121 assists with 302 penalty minutes in 329 career NHL games with the Canadiens, Islanders, Ducks and Blackhawks. Last year, he had 10 goals and 51 points with Montreal and New York.
Wisniewski has a plus-5 rating for his career, and in helping Montreal to the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs last season, he tied for fifth among defensemen in points, and was seventh in assists.
"My family and I are really excited to be a part of the Blue Jackets organization and I'm looking forward to getting to Columbus to help this team win games," Wisniewski said. "I think this is a team that is ready to take the next step and I'm excited to help us become a winning team and a Stanley Cup contender."
Wisniewski is a Canton, Mich., native, who was the 156th overall pick in the 2002 NHL draft by Chicago. After several stops, he now joins a club that could truly use a boost on the blue line.
In 2008-09, Columbus had 41 wins and 92 points, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time. They have not been back since, finishing below .500 in each of the last two seasons, registering 79 and 81 points, respectively.
It's that lack of success -- and playing in the Eastern time zone as a Western Conference team -- that has helped lead to a bout with anonymity in league circles.
But that's why players like Carter and Wisniewski are on board now.
"A lot of people don't know much about us," Carter said in a conference call with the Ohio media on Monday. "We're still a work in progress. And if we can add a few more pieces to the puzzle, I don't see any reason why we can't contend for the playoffs this year."
Consider Wisniewski another piece.
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