Flyers sign Lecavalier, Rangers bring back Samuelsson & other NHL News

NY Islanders - The New York Islanders announced Wednesday that they have used one of their two available compliance buyouts on goalie Rick DiPietro. DiPietro had eight years remaining on his 15-year, $67.5 million contract. The Islanders will have to pay DiPietro $1.5 million annually for the next 16 years. DiPietro had to clear unconditional waivers before he was bought out. He will become an unrestricted free agent at noon ET on Friday.

"It was an extremely tough decision to use the compliance buyout on Rick's contract," Islanders general manager Garth Snow said. "His drive to win games and compete at the highest level for the New York Islanders was never questioned. With Rick back at 100-percent health, we wish him nothing but the best as he continues to pursue his career."

DiPietro, 31, played three games for the Islanders in 2012-13, going 0-3-0 with 4.09 goals-against average and .855 save percentage. He spent most of the season with the team's American Hockey League affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. DiPietro, 31, had an injury-riddled career with the Islanders after they selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2000 NHL Draft. He leaves the organization second behind Billy Smith on its list for most games played by a goalie at 318. He went 130-136-28, with eight ties, in 12 seasons. However, injuries and poor play limited him to 50 games the past five seasons.

Toronto - The Maple Leafs have used one of their compliance buyouts on defenseman Mike Komisarek, making him an unrestricted free agent. "It was a privilege playing for a first-class organization like the Leafs even though things did not turn out as I would have liked," Komisarek said on his Twitter account after media reports of the buyout emerged.

The buyout will save the Maple Leafs $4.5 million by removing the final season of his five-year deal from their salary cap. Komisarek, 31, signed the five-year deal in 2009, but not much has gone as intended since then. He was limited to 34 games in 2009-10 due to injuries and missed a substantial amount of playing time in 2011-12. He was unable to break into the lineup for most of the 2012-13 season, playing in four NHL games. Toronto exposed him to waivers in March and he ended up playing for the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.

 

Philadelphia - Center Vincent Lecavalier, bought out by the Tampa Bay Lightning last week, has agreed to a multiyear contract with the Philadelphia Flyers, the team announced Tuesday. Tim Panaccio of CSN Philadelphia and Darren Dreger of TSN report the contract is for five years and $22.5 million, an average annual value of $4.5 million. ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun reports the contract includes a no-movement clause. Lecavalier was the object of a dozen teams' affection after the Lightning bought out the final seven years of his contract. Tampa Bay will pay him $32.667 million over the next 14 years. Lecavalier has 14 years of experience in the NHL, all with Tampa Bay, which took him with the No. 1 pick in the 1998 NHL Draft. The 33-year old has averaged 27 goals per season throughout his career. He scored 10 goals and finished with 32 points in 32 games for the Lightning in 2012-13. Lecavalier has 383 goals and 874 points in 1,037 regular-season games; he was a member of Tampa Bay's Stanley Cup-winning team in 2004, when he scored nine goals and finished with 16 points. Lecavalier won the Rocket Richard Trophy in the 2006-07 season after posting an NHL-best 52 goals; he finished third in the scoring race with 108. In 2008, he was the recipient of the NHL's King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which is awarded to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution to his community.

 

St Louis - The St. Louis Blues agreed to terms with defenseman Jordan Leopold to a two-year contract Wednesday, keeping him off the free-agent market, which is scheduled to open Friday at noon ET. The deal is worth $2.5 million per season, according to multiple sources. Leopold took a pay cut from his previous contract, which paid him $3 million in each of the past three seasons. Leopold, 32, played 15 games with the Blues in 2012-13 after coming over in a trade from the Buffalo Sabres. Factoring in the 24 games he played with the Sabres before the trade, Leopold appeared in 39 games and had eight points with a minus-8 rating in 2012-13. He also skated in all six games the Blues played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

 

Minnesota - The Minnesota Wild placed defenseman Tom Gilbert on unconditional waivers Wednesday. The Wild are planning to use one of their two compliance buyouts available should Gilbert clear waivers on Thursday. Gilbert would become an unrestricted free agent on Friday and free to sign with any team but Minnesota. Gilbert has one year left on a contract that carries a $4 million cap hit. The Wild would have to pay him two-thirds of that over the next two years if he clears waivers and is bought out.

"Due to the NHL salary cap decreasing this season, we needed to make this difficult decision to give the team more flexibility," Wild general manager Chuck Fletcher said. "We thank Tom for his time with the Wild and wish him the best going forward."

Gilbert had 18 points in 63 games with the Wild after being acquired in a trade from the Edmonton Oilers for Nick Schultz on Feb. 27, 2012.

NY Rangers - The New York Rangers on Wednesday officially announced the hirings of Ulf Samuelsson and Scott Arniel as assistants to new coach Alain Vigneault. The New York Daily News reported Sunday that Samuelsson would be added to the staff, a report that appeared to be confirmed when Samuelsson was on the ice Tuesday with the team's prospects at its rookie camp at the MSG Training Facility in Tarrytown, N.Y. Samuelsson spent the previous two seasons as coach of Modo in the Swedish Elite League. He last worked in the NHL as an assistant coach with the Phoenix Coyotes from 2006 to 2011. He played in the NHL for 17 seasons, including four with the Rangers. ESPNNewYork.com and The (Bergen) Record had reported Tuesday that Arniel, former coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, also will join Vigneault's staff. Arniel spent last season as coach of the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League. Chicago was the American Hockey League affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks, whom Vigneault coached until being fired following the Canucks' first-round loss in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Prior to taking the Blue Jackets coaching job in 2010, Arniel coached the Manitoba Moose, then the Canucks' AHL affiliate, where he also worked with Vigneault.

New York Rangers general manager Glen Sather said his decision to not buy out the contract of center Brad Richards came down to one thing, he thinks Richards can be a good player again."He's a really good player. I think he had an off-year, and we think he'll be much better next year, so that's the deciding factor [in bringing him back]" said Sather, who in 2011 signed Richards to a nine-year contract worth $58.5 million.

In July 2011 Richards signed a nine-year, $58.5 million contract with the Rangers, but in his second season in the deal he had 34 points in 46 regular-season games. In Stanley Cup Playoffs, he had one goal in 10 games and was a healthy scratch in the final two games. However, he has 816 points in 900 regular-season games, and won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2004 to help the Tampa Bay Lightning win the Stanley Cup, in other words, he has a track record for success. Even if Richards wasn't bought out this summer, there is speculation the Rangers may still buy out the center's contract next summer. They will have one more compliance buyout, and could look to clear money for new contracts for star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, defenseman Dan Girardi, captain Ryan Callahan and center Derick Brassard.

Calgary - The Calgary Flames have signed forward TJ Galiardi, whom they acquired from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for the Flames' fourth-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. Galiardi, a 25-year-old Calgary native, had five goals and nine assists in 36 games with the Sharks in 2012-13. "I don't think it's still fully sunk in that I'm going to be on the Flames," Galiardi told the team's website. "It's been a dream of mine ever since I was a little kid. I think ever since I got into the NHL, I've always had a soft spot for the Flames even though I was playing against them. I always figured when the time came when I was an unrestricted free agent I would try my best to make it to Calgary. The fact that it happened this soon and when I was a restricted free agent, it's great."

The Sharks had acquired Galiardi in a trade with the Colorado Avalanche, along with Daniel Winnik and a 2013 seventh-round pick in exchange for Jamie McGinn, Michael Sgarbossa and Mike Connolly on Feb. 27, 2012. "The fact that I was going to get traded was out of the blue but [Sharks general manager] Doug Wilson was great," Galiardi said. "Once we got to that process, he let me know which teams were interested and when I heard Calgary, it was a no-brainer for me and I said that was my team that I wanted and was pretty much only interested in. Then I and [Flames GM] Jay Feaster talked and worked out a deal. It all pretty much came about in the last couple days."

A 2007 second-round pick of the Avalanche, Galiardi has 39 goals and 87 points in 221 NHL games in five seasons. "We are thrilled to add a young player with TJ's size and versatility to our lineup," Feaster said in announcing the trade. "He can play left wing or center, he competes hard, is a very good energy player, and he is only 25 years old. The fact that he is from Calgary, lives here in the offseason and played for the Hitmen [in the Western Hockey League] is an added bonus, as he is yet another player who is excited to be part of our program going forward."