Stars sign Jordie Benn, Hawks agree terms with Leddy & other news

Dallas - Defenseman Jordie Benn has signed a three-year contract to remain with the Dallas Stars, the team announced Wednesday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Benn, 25, had six points (one goal) in 26 games for Dallas in 2012-13. He scored his first NHL goal on March 23, 2013 against the Colorado Avalanche. Benn also skated in 43 games for the Texas Stars, Dallas' affiliate in the American Hockey League. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound native of Victoria, British Columbia is the older brother of Stars forward Jamie Benn. Jordie was signed as a free agent by Dallas on July 1, 2011.

Chicago - The Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday agreed to terms with defenseman Nick Leddy on a two-year contract. No financial terms were disclosed. "We are pleased to announce that Nick will remain a core member of our organization," Blackhawks vice president and general manager Stan Bowman said in a statement. "Over the course of the past three seasons, Nick has shown continuous development and we think he will be essential to our long-term success."

Leddy, 22, would have become a restricted free agent Friday. The Blackhawks acquired Leddy on Feb. 12, 2010, from the Minnesota Wild, who had taken him with the 16th pick in the 2009 NHL Draft. He played in all 48 regular-season games for Chicago in 2012-13, scoring six goals and finishing with 18 points and a plus-15 rating. Leddy also played in all 23 of Chicago's games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with two assists and a minus-8 rating. He saw a total of 12:55 of ice time during the last three games of the Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins. "I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to remain in Chicago and be a part of this special group of young, experienced players on a team in a winning environment," Leddy said in a statement. "The organization is first-class both on and off the ice, and I am honored to be a member of the Chicago Blackhawks."

The 6-foot, 191-pound native of Eden Prairie, Minn., has 13 goals and 62 points in 176 regular-season NHL games, all with Chicago.

 

Columbus - Forward Nathan Horton, likely to be one of the most coveted players when NHL free agency opens, on Wednesday visited with the Columbus Blue Jackets and toured Nationwide Arena, the Columbus Dispatch reported. Horton, 28, had seven goals, 19 points and was a League-best plus-20 for the Boston Bruins in their run to the 2013 Stanley Cup Final. His agent, Paul Krepelka, informed the Bruins this past weekend that Horton "is going to explore his options as an unrestricted free agent."

Krepelka confirmed to the Dispatch that Horton was in Columbus on Wednesday. The six-year, $24 million contract Horton signed as a member of the Florida Panthers expired after the 2012-13 season. He had 56 goals and 107 points in 169 games with Boston after being acquired from Florida in June 2010, and 15 goals and 36 points in 43 Stanley Cup Playoff games. Horton was a member of the Bruins' 2011 Stanley Cup championship team. Horton will need surgery to repair a dislocated shoulder that popped out in the first game of the Final against the Chicago Blackhawks. He left that game and did not return, but was able to play in the last five games while wearing a brace. Horton was in Columbus during a two-day window when players can visit and negotiate with teams, though a contract can't be signed until Friday. In 591 NHL games with Boston and Florida, Horton has 198 goals, 204 assists and a plus-62 rating. Florida chose him with the third pick in the 2003 NHL Draft.

 

Detroit - The Detroit Red Wings are going to use a compliance buyout on defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo. The Red Wings will shed his $2.5 million salary-cap charge for 2013-14, though Colaiacovo's salary for next season is $2.85 million. The Red Wings will owe him two-thirds of that amount (roughly $1.9 million) over the next two seasons. If he clears waivers, he will become an unrestricted free agent. "I got married over the weekend, so it was something that wasn't even on my mind," Colaiacovo told the team's website Wednesday. "I've been hearing a lot of rumors over the last couple of weeks, but I really didn't know what to believe because I haven't heard from anybody of importance."

Colaiacovo, 30, was limited to six games during the 2012-13 regular season due to a sprained shoulder sustained during the second game of the season, Jan. 21 at the Columbus Blue Jackets. He finished with one assist and a minus-4 rating. The Red Wings signed him to a two-year, $5 million contract on Sept. 14, 2012. "I came into Detroit last summer because I knew I was a top-four guy that could play in a situation there," Colaiacovo said. "I went through some difficulties last year that I would rather not talk about, but I still believe that I'm a guy who can play top-four on any team. I believe that I've proved that through my play, but they have some young guys who they relied upon real hard and some guys that they're going to lean towards next year. So who knows where I would have fit in there?"

Colaiacovo was a healthy scratch down the stretch and during Detroit's first five Stanley Cup Playoff games before playing in the final two games of the first round against the Anaheim Ducks and the entire seven-game series loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. He had no goals, one assist and a plus-3 rating in nine playoff games. "I still believe in myself, I believe in my abilities that I can help a team win," Colaiacovo said. "We were a game away from eliminating the Blackhawks this year and who knows where that could have led us to, but I consider myself a big part of that." Buying out Colaiacovo will leave the Red Wings with seven NHL defensemen: Niklas Kronwall, Jonathan Ericsson, Kyle Quincey, Brendan Smith, Jakub Kindl, Danny DeKeyser and Brian Lashoff.

"When [Carlo] got hurt, Lashoff had the opportunity to play 20 games," Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said. "[Lashoff] has to go through waivers; if [Lashoff] didn't get a chance I'm not sure where he'd end up. Jakub Kindl got a chance due to all of the injuries, and they all did a good job, and we really want to carry seven D.” MLive.com reported Tuesday the Red Wings do not plan to buy out forward Todd Bertuzzi, who has one year remaining at a salary-cap charge of $2.075 million. Forward Mikael Samuelsson is not eligible for a compliance buyout because he has an injured pectoral muscle.

Vancouver - Coach John Tortorella certainly is happy Roberto Luongo is still with the Vancouver Canucks, saying the goaltender will be "the backbone of our team." Speaking to TSN Drive radio, Tortorella on Wednesday addressed the situation that leaves Luongo as the Canucks' No. 1 goalie after Cory Schneider was traded to the New Jersey Devils at the 2013 NHL Draft on Sunday. The deal ended more than a year of goaltending controversy in Vancouver. "I think Roberto's a hell of a goalie. I've done many interviews, and people start saying, 'Well, Schneider's going to be the starter, and he's the backup.' Roberto Luongo isn't a backup. I watched him in the Olympics, I've watched him through his career. He is a really good goalie. I'm not sure what happened along the way, how this all got into this here, but I'm hoping he will get himself straightened out mentally. I believe he will because everybody I've talked to said he's just a great guy and a great pro, and he's going to be the backbone of our team."

Schneider became the Canucks' starter during the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs and seemed destined to be their goalie of the future. But general manager Mike Gillis was unable to trade Luongo and his long-term, expensive contract, leading to the deal of Schneider on Sunday for the No. 9 pick, which the Canucks used on forward Bo Horvat. Luongo at the time said, "I'm shocked. I have to let this sink in and figure out what I'm going to do." Tortorella said he has spoken to Luongo since the trade."I think I needed to, and I hope what will help him is that you have new guys coming in as far as a coaching staff, and how they feel."

Luongo, 34, went 9-6-3 with a 2.56 goals-against average and .907 save percentage in 20 appearances in 2012-13. Schneider, 27, went 17-9-4 with a 2.11 GAA, .927 save percentage and five shutouts. Each goalie started two games of the four-game first-round playoff sweep by the San Jose Sharks. "It's kind of a unique situation going on with the goalies here, with [Schneider and Luongo]," Tortorella said. "From afar, I watched it last year and I thought those two players handled themselves tremendously. Again, I only saw a little bit of it. ... It was a really precarious situation." Tortorella said it's his job to push the Canucks to the Stanley Cup, and he expects Luongo to be the goalie when he does. "If you just wipe away what's happened, he is our No. 1 goalie, and I think that's the way he's got to look at it," Tortorella said. "And he's got to try to put our team on his back and carry 'em."