NHL News

Los Angeles - The Kings have terminated the contract of Mike Richards, they announced today. The club has issued the following statement and will not comment any further at this time:
"The Los Angeles Kings today have exercised the team's right to terminate the contract of Mike Richards for a material breach of the requirements of his Standard Player's Contract. We are not prepared to provide any more detail or to discuss the underlying grounds for the contract termination at this time."

Philadelphia - The Flyers traded chief goon Zac Rinaldo to the Boston Bruins on Monday for a third-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. Rinaldo, 25, had one goal, five assists, and led the Flyers with 109 penalty minutes in 58 games this season.  A sixth-round pick (No. 178) in the 2008 draft, Rinaldo has eight goals, 24 points and 572 penalty minutes in 223 games.

Montreal - The Canadiens bought out the contract of PA Parenteau, they announced Today. Parenteau, 32, had eight goals and 22 points in 56 games for the Canadiens this season. He had one season left on his contract and would have cost $4 million against the salary cap, according to war-on-ice.com. He originally signed a four-year, $16 million contract with the Colorado Avalanche before being traded to Montreal last offseason.


Anaheim - TSN reported Ducks defenseman Mark Fistric has cleared waivers and will be bought out. Fistric, 29, played nine games for the Ducks this season. He was injured early in the season and then sent to the American Hockey League after he cleared waivers in January. He signed a three-year, $3.8 million contract before the start of this season, so Anaheim is buying out the final two seasons. TSN also reported Nashville Predators forward Viktor Stalberg and Buffalo Sabres forward Cody Hodgson have been placed on waivers, and will be bought out if they clear Tuesday. Teams wishing to buy out players first have to place them on waivers; if they go unclaimed after 24 hours their contracts then can be bought out. Hodgson, 25, had career-worst totals of six goals and 13 points in 78 games in 2014-15. He has four years remaining on a six-year contract he signed in 2013. According to war-on-ice.com, he's still owed $19 million. According to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, since Hodgson is younger than 26, the Sabres would have one-third of the remaining value of the contract count toward their salary cap for twice the remaining years, meaning Hodgson would be on the salary cap until the 2022-23 season. Stalberg had two goals and 10 points in 25 games with the Predators this season, and he had 17 points in 20 games with the Milwaukee Admirals, their American Hockey League affiliate. He signed a four-year, $12 million contract in July 2013 but has 10 goals and 25 points in 95 games in two seasons. Stalberg, 29, is due to make $3.5 million each of the final two seasons of the contract with a salary-cap charge of $3 million; a buyout of his contract would save the Predators $4.667 million toward their salary cap, according to war-on-ice.com. However, he would count toward their salary cap through the 2018-19 season.
All told, Anaheim shipped out defenseman James Wisniewski and forwards Kyle Palmieri and Emerson Etem and brought in goaltender Anton Khudobin, forward Carl Hagelin, two second-round draft picks that he used Saturday and a third-round pick next year. Etem and Hagelin can become restricted free agents July 1, but Palmieri's contract will expire next summer when there could be as many as six restricted free agents coming up for Anaheim, including four of Murray's young defensemen: Hampus Lindholm, Sami Vatanen, Simon Despres and Josh Manson. In addition to the player moves, Murray was active behind the bench, adding former Ottawa Senators coach Paul MacLean as an assistant to Bruce Boudreau and former Edmonton Oilers coach Dallas Eakins to lead the Ducks' new American Hockey League affiliate, the San Diego Gulls. The trade with the New York Rangers to acquire Hagelin for Etem was perhaps the most intriguing one for the Ducks. Etem turned 23 last month and was a local kid, a former first-round draft pick from Long Beach, Calif., who was seen as perhaps becoming a homegrown star for the Ducks. Although he and Hagelin, 27, each likely will become a restricted free agent next week, Hagelin has arbitration rights and is therefore likely to command a higher salary. The difference is the elite speed Hagelin brings to the table, and that was important to Murray.
Boudreau admitted that the Ducks' lack of speed occasionally hurt them during the regular season, though he didn't feel it did in the playoffs, when he used Sekac to inject some into the lineup against the Blackhawks in the conference final after he sat out the first two rounds. With Hagelin now possibly lining up next to someone like Andrew Cogliano, Boudreau can counter some of the speedier lines in the NHL with one of his own. The addition of Khudobin creates what might be seen as a logjam in the Ducks net with Frederik Andersen and John Gibson already in Anaheim. But Murray prefers that to the alternative he lived through this season, when Andersen and Gibson each got injured and he was forced to turn to Ilya Bryzgalov and Jason LaBarbera to carry the load. Murray suggested he might not be done tinkering with his roster, and he said it is still a possibility that unrestricted free agent defenseman Francois Beauchemin will be back next season.
Washington - The Capitals have re-signed center Jay Beagle to a three-year, $5.25 million contract, senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today.
"We are pleased to re-sign Jay to a new three-year contract. Jay is a hard-working player who plays multiple positions and is an excellent face-off man and penalty killer. Jay has improved steadily since joining our organization and has always brought his game to a different level in the playoffs."

Chicago - The Blackhawks announced today they have agreed to terms with defenseman David Rundblad on a two-year extension, which runs through the end of the 2016-17 National Hockey League season. Rundblad, 24, tallied 14 points (3G, 11A) in 49 games with the Blackhawks last season. His career-best plus-17 rating ranked third on the team. He also competed in five postseason games on the way to his first Stanley Cup championship.

Minnesota - The Wild and goaltender Devan Dubnyk agreed to terms on a six-year contract Saturday. The contract is worth $26 million, an average annual value of $4.33 million, with the highest salaries in the first four years and a limited no-trade clause for part of the contract, the Star Tribune reported. The Wild have goaltenders Niklas Backstrom and Darcy Kuemper under contract through the 2015-16 season. Minnesota acquired Dubnyk from the Coyotes on Jan. 13 in a trade for a third-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. Dubnyk was 27-9-2 with a 1.78 goals-against average, .936 save percentage and five shutouts in 39 games with the Wild. He was a finalist for the Vezina Trophy and helped the Wild reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where they lost in the Western Conference Second Round to the Chicago Blackhawks. Dubnyk was the Edmonton Oilers' first-round pick (No. 14) in the 2004 NHL Draft. He has an NHL record of 97-91-26 with a 2.69 GAA, .914 save percentage and 14 shutouts. Dubnyk told the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

"The most exciting thing for me is knowing I get to be part of a really good hockey team for a long time. Getting a chance to play with that group of guys last year was the best experience for me. I’m real excited."