NHL

New Jersey Devils

The Devils finally signed Kovalchuk. Their number one priority is now out of the way. Now the Devils must shed some salary to fit Kovalchuk's contract. The Devils are $3 million over the cap. This means that the Devils will most likely need to move $4-6 million of salary before the season commences.

Free Agency is like another holiday for hockey fans. It’s the time in which general managers around the NHL sign big-name players to big-time deals.

Glen Sather has made a few big signings himself this summer, including Alexander Frolov, Derek Boogaard, Tim Kennedy, and others. But during this same offseason, he has acquired smaller players such as Jeremy Williams and Jyri Niemi.

Now that the New Jersey Devils officially own the rights to Ilya Kovalchuk, they are approximately $3 million over the cap. The Devils will now have to go the trade route to shed some salary.

The most likely trade candidates appear to be Bryce Salvador, Colin White, Brian Rolston, and Dainius Zubrus.

Every season there are a number of players who up their game. They produce beyond expectations and usually end up having very productive careers. 

Whether it's scoring 100 points, putting up 50 assists, or leading the league in save percentage, an NHL team usually has a least one player per season who ends up in the spotlight.

Last Season, the Avs' break-out player was Chris Stewart (pictured left, who put up 28 goals and 64 points).

After completing my series analyzing the Blackhawks new season, I have decided to put it all together in this slide show for easy viewing.  Please follow the links to the months covered and reviewed and find out who the Blackhawks play and how well they may end up doing for that particular month.

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35-year-old veteran Wayne Primeau wants to return to the National Hockey League for the 2010-2011 season, which would be his 16th in the league, according to TheFourthPeriod.com (via Toronto Sun).

“I still feel I can play and contribute to a team,” Primeau told the Sun. “Hopefully someone steps forward and gives me a chance.”

We are now a month away from the start of the 2010-'11 NHL regular season, and I think it's a great time to start publishing my fantasy preview articles for every single team.

The tunes played at most NHL arenas are getting old and uninspired. The same songs are blasted at every game. These songs tend to annoy the crowd more than inspire them. As a music director of an NHL team, your only focus is to get the crowd involved, not get them to say "oh, here is THAT song again." What follows is a list of ten songs I would play if I ever landed the gig as music director for an NHL team.

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In what was becoming a never ending story, it appears as if the NHL and NHLPA have finally come to an agreement on Ilya Kovalchuk’s contract.

Rumors were swirling this morning that the NHL and NHLPA were working on an amendment to the rules within the Collective Bargaining Agreement that would allow for the Kovalchuk deal to be accepted, which is exactly what has transpired.

For the second time this offseason, the Pittsburgh Penguins made a signing when signings seemed no longer imminent.

The first signing was former Philadelphia Flyer and Atlantic Division junkie Arron Asham who signed for one year and $700,000. The second signing that occurred late this morning was former Edmonton Oiler Mike Comrie.

That's right, Pens fans, Lizzie McGuire is coming to the city of Pittsburgh.