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Montreal - The Montreal Canadiens and forward Danny Briere have agreed on a two-year contract, the team announced Thursday. The Philadelphia Flyers bought out the final two years of Briere's eight-year, $52 million contract last week. Briere, 35, signed with the Flyers in the summer of 2007 and had at least 25 goals in three of his six seasons, helping the team reach the Eastern Conference Final twice and get to the Stanley Cup Final in 2010. In 15 NHL seasons, Briere, a 1996 first-round pick (No. 24) of the Phoenix Coyotes, has 286 goals and 659 points in 847 games with the Coyotes, Buffalo Sabres and Flyers. He had his worst offensive season in 2012-13, finishing with six goals and 16 points in 34 games. Briere said last week he wasn't surprised when the Flyers told him he was going to be bought out and said he appreciated the way the team handled the situation.

"That's why I have so much respect for the Flyers organization, [general manager Paul] Holmgren, [team president Peter] Luukko, [chairman Ed] Snider and everybody that works in the Flyers organization," Briere said. "They were respectful the whole time. It wasn't an easy thing for them, either, meeting with me and having to break the news. But they did it with a lot of class. I'll always be grateful for that and also my time here as a Flyer."

Briere said then he would like to play at least two or three more seasons. He chose the Canadiens reportedly over the New Jersey Devils and Nashville Predators. "I've been here a long time," he said of Philadelphia. "This is home now for me and my family. Yes, it's not an easy day, but at the same time, I’ve seen all the rumors and reality was that it was going to happen. Like I said, it's sad, but at the same time, hopefully it's new doors that open, new opportunities. Obviously I'm not very happy with the way last season went, but it's also extra motivation moving forward, to prove that I can still play, and hopefully I still have a few more years."

Philadelphia - The Philadelphia Flyers and forward Claude Giroux are close to a multiyear contract extension, according to multiple reports. Philly.com says the deal will be for eight years, $66 million and will be finalized "within a day or two." Other reports also say the contract will be worth more than $8 million annually. Giroux, 25, is heading into the final year of a three-year contract that carried a $3.75 million annual salary-cap charge. The Flyers captain had 48 points (35 assists) in 48 games in 2012-13, following a season when he scored 93 points (65 assists) in 77 games. He has 91 goals and 200 assists in 333 NHL games, all with the Flyers. Philadelphia this week agreed with forward Vincent Lecavalier on a five-year, $22.5 million contract after using compliance buyouts on forward Danny Briere and goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.
Ottawa - The Ottawa Senators have signed Jack Adams Award winner Paul MacLean to a three-year contract extension, the team announced Thursday. MacLean has led the Senators to the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of his first two seasons as their coach. He is 66-48-16 and was named the League's top coach in 2012-13 after leading the injury-ravaged Senators to the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference. They upset the second-seeded Montreal Canadiens before losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. "In two years, Paul has made a significant impact on the entire franchise, both on and off the ice," Senators general manager Bryan Murray said in a statement. "We feel that under Paul's direction we have been able to develop into a team that is competitive each and every night and we are confident that he is the person we want behind the bench to lead us to our goal of being a championship-level team."

He also was a finalist for the Jack Adams in his first season as Ottawa's coach. Before joining the Senators, MacLean was an assistant to Mike Babcock with the Detroit Red Wings for six years and the Anaheim (Mighty) Ducks for two seasons. They won the Stanley Cup together in 2008 with Detroit. "Paul represents what we want to become as both a hockey club and as a franchise," Senators owner Eugene Melnyk said. "He is a hard-working coach and an outstanding teacher and mentor of the game. Paul's ability to communicate openly and honestly with our players and prospects has been key to our on-ice success. He came to us with a history of winning and has instilled that same winning mindset with our players and our coaching staff. I am very pleased and proud to extend Paul's contract and look forward to his many future contributions to our team and to our city."

New Jersey - The New Jersey Devils have agreed to a contract with forward Patrik Elias, the team announced Thursday. Elias, 37, had 14 goals and a team-leading 36 points in 48 games for the Devils in 2012-13. The deal reportedly is for three years and worth $5.5 million per season. Elias is coming off a seven-year, $42 million contract. He is the franchise leader goals (375) and assists (555), and has 229 more points than anyone else in a Devils uniform. He becomes the second highest-paid player on the team for 2013-14 behind Ilya Kovalchuk ($11.3 million). The Devils have a little more than $12 million in salary-cap space remaining according to Capgeek.com, with forward Adam Henrique as a key restricted free agent and forward David Clarkson and defenseman Marek Zidlicky as unsigned unrestricted free agents. Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com and TSN reported the Devils were among three teams on Danny Briere's final list to sign with after the Philadelphia Flyers used a compliance buyout on him, but the forward agreed to terms Thursday with the Montreal Canadiens. Elias became a regular for the Devils in 1997-98 and has won the Stanley Cup twice. He has represented his native Czech Republic in the past three Winter Olympics and the World Cup of Hockey in 2004. The Devils also made the signing of forward Dainius Zubrus official. His deal reportedly is for three years at $3.1 million per season.

The New Jersey Devils plan to use a compliance buyout on goaltender Johan Hedberg, general manager Lou Lamoriello told The (Bergen) Record. Hedberg has been placed on unconditional waivers, in advance of the 5 p.m. Thursday deadline required to use the buyout, the newspaper said. The 40-year-old will become an unrestricted free agent. The Devils were unable to trade Hedberg this week after acquiring goaltender Cory Schneider in a trade from the Vancouver Canucks at the 2013 NHL Draft on Sunday. Schneider and Martin Brodeur are expected to split goaltending duties for the Devils in 2013-14. "I have no comment today," Hedberg told NJ.com.

Hedberg started 13 games in a row for the Devils this season when Brodeur was injured. Hedberg, 40, finished 6-10-3 with a 2.76 GAA and .883 save percentage. Hedberg was due to make $1.4 million in 2013, and that value will be cleared from the Devils' 2013-14 salary cap. The Devils on Thursday announced they had agreed to terms on contracts with forwards Patrik Elias and Dainius Zubrus.

 
Toronto - The Toronto Maple Leafs placed Mikhail Grabovski on unconditional waivers Thursday with the intention of using a compliance buyout on him, the steam said in a statement. Grabovski had four years remaining on a contract that would have paid him $21.5 million and cost the Maple Leafs $5.5 million per season against the NHL salary cap. This would be the second of two compliance buyouts allowed to the Maple Leafs, who also used one on defenseman Mike Komisarek. After scoring 52 goals in the previous two seasons combined before signing a five-year, $27 million contract extension, Grabovski had nine goals and 16 points in 48 games for Toronto last season.

"I would like to thank Mikhail for his contributions with the Leafs over the past five seasons," Toronto general manager Dave Nonis said. "This was not an easy decision to make as Mikhail made numerous contributions to our hockey club. This is a roster move that will give us salary cap flexibility moving forward."

Grabovski was second among Maple Leafs forwards in Corsi relative to the quality of competition he faced, which is a strong indicator he was one of the team's best players at possessing the puck at even strength. He also had the worst PDO among Toronto forwards, which measures shooting percentage and save percentage when he is on the ice, a low number can be an indicator of bad luck. Nashville Predators defenseman Hal Gill, New Jersey Devils goaltender Johan Hedberg and Colorado defenseman Greg Zanon also were placed on unconditional waivers Thursday, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie.