The window for NHL teams to sign free agents is officially open as of 9:00 AM Pacific. It’s already been a very busy morning around the league, though, as a number of the league’s major free agents have already found homes and agreed to deals in advance of that official start.
The Los Angeles Kings, though, are quiet… and potentially, just waiting. Joe Thornton is still very much available for Los Angeles, and the only real Thornton-related whispers are actually about longtime teammate Patrick Marleau. Sportsnet hypothesized that Marleau would head to Anaheim or Los Angeles if Marleau wasn’t satisfied with the two-year, $9 million deal being offered by the San Jose Sharks. Any Marleau movement might improve LA’s chances of landing Thornton.
As for the rest of the league, you can keep track of the signings here. The big ones so far:
- Kevin Shattenkirk is still on the table, but the New York Rangers appear to be the leader in the chase for him.
- Karl Alzner, expected to be the most expensive defenseman on the market, looks to be going to Montreal.
- Patrick Sharp is heading back to Chicago.
- Nick Bonino, one of the better centermen available, is switching Stanley Cup Final contenders.
- Martin Hanzal is on his way to Dallas.
- Goalie shuffle: Ryan Miller will stay in the Pacific and is bound for Anaheim, Steve Mason will join the Winnipeg Jets, Ondrej Pavelec is a New York Ranger, Jonathan Bernier goes to Colorado, Brian Elliott is going to be a Philadelphia Flyer, and Chad Johnson is on his way to Buffalo, and Anders Nilsson has been signed by the Vancouver Canucks./
There have also been trades; Colin Wilson is reportedly headed to Colorado from Nashville, Marco Scandella and Jason Pominville went to Buffalo for Tyler Ennis and Marcus Foligno from Minnesota, and Eddie Lack was moved by the Hurricanes to Calgary.
Got it? Good. Stay tuned for updates, as we hopefully won’t be waiting too much longer for the Kings to make a move.