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The Washington Capitals have traded Stefan Della Rovere for veteran tough guy D.J. King. Della Rovere is a young Capitals forward who has yet to play in the NHL.

Della Rovere was the Capitals' 7th round pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He has spent the large majority of his career in the Ontario Hockey League, scoring 65 goals. He was called up by the Hershey Bears and played two playoff games.

The Los Angeles Kings wasted no time after they lost out on the Alexander Frolov sweepstakes. They have signed Alexei Ponikarovsky to a one-year $3.2 million contract. Ponikarovsky has spent 9 of his 10 NHL seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was dealt at this year's trade deadline to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Ponikarovsky has averaged roughly 20 goals for the last six seasons with around 20-30 assists and a plus five rating.

According to sources in Minnesota, the Blackhawks will soon announce that they have agreed to an entry-level deal with defenseman Nick Leddy.

Leddy was one of the most impressive players at the prospect camp earlier this summer, and will reportedly begin the year in Rockford, leaving the University of Minnesota.

The New York Rangers officially signed Alexander Frolov to a one year $3 million contract.

It is a good contract as Frolov was seeking upwards of $5 million per year for a multi-year contract. He definitely got at least that much from the KHL but he decided to stay in the NHL.

Frolov was a somewhat inconsistent goal scorer, scoring 20 something goals one year and 30 goals the next. He is supposed to be a two-way player, but is as inconsistent on the defensive end as he is in scoring goals. He is quite tall but is underweight and so has a hard time using his body.

It's been a busy week in the NHL, with the re-signings of Cody Parent, David Perron, Ondrej Pavelec and Mason Raymond, Spezza setting the record straight and Gange getting traded to Tampa Bay.

Unfortunately, all of that was over shadowed by Ilya Kovalchuk.

For those unwilling to wait for the regular season puck to drop, the young prospects will be headed to Toronto for a rookie-only tournament.

The tournament will include the host, Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Chicago Blackhawks.

Players officially announced on the Blackhawks' roster are Kyle Beach, Shawn LaLonde, Jeremy Morin, Chris DiDomenico, and Phillipe Paradis.

All players announced will be possibly competing for a spot on the Blackhawks' opening day roster.

It was announced today that the Canucks have re-signed forward Mason Raymond to a two-year deal thus avoiding arbitration. In keeping with club policy, terms were not disclosed.

However NHL.com stated that several media reports (including local radio station TEAM 1040) that Raymond will make $2.5 million this season and $2.6 million in 2011-12.

That seems like a reasonable amount when you compare Alex Burrows $2 million and Mikael Samuelsson’s $2.5 million contracts.

The mess that is Ilya Kovalchuk's contract situation has gone a step further. The NHL Players Association has filed a grievance on behalf Kovalchuk.

"The NHLPA has filed a grievance disputing the NHL's rejection of the Standard Player Contract between the New Jersey Devils and Ilya Kovalchuk . Under the terms of the CBA, the NHLPA and Mr. Kovalchuk are entitled to an expedited resolution of this matter. The NHLPA will have no further comment until this matter has been resolved by an Arbitrator."

According to radio show host Jeff Marek from Hockey Night in Canada , Toronto Maple Leafs oft-injured defenseman Mike Van Ryn has decided to retire from pro hockey.

Van Ryn, having undergone multiple surgeries on his knee, was expected to be out of the lineup for the foreseeable future and it was unlikely he would ever return.

He decided to join the Niagara Ice Dogs of the Ontario Hockey League as an assistant coach.

In 2003 the Washington Capitals used the 155th pick in the NHL entry draft on Josh Robertson. The 18-year-old Robertson was coming off a season where he scored 37 goals in 34 games for Proctor Academy in Andover, NH.  

Robertson attended Northeastern University in Boston on a scholarship. His plan was to play hockey for the school, while pursuing a degree in business administration. A concussion derailed his second season with the Huskies. In the end, he played two years for the team, scoring five goals in 43 games.