Round and round

Boy, you take some time away from the blog for a holiday and the hockey world goes crazy. Here's a look at what's happened in the past week and a half to two weeks. ESPN.com's Scott Burnside starts off with some things he saw and heard at this year's NHL Entry Draft. Ottawa has signed defenseman Wade Redden and center Jason Spezza to two year contracts and also added goalie Martin Gerber, signing him to a three year deal. Patrick Roy and Herb Brooks have been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. There is a report out of Florida that winger Gary Roberts has asked the Panthers to trade him back to the Toronto Maple Leafs. In real news, the Panthers have signed defenseman Ruslan Salei to a four year contract. The Boston Bruins have hired former Detroit Red Wings coach Dave Lewis to be their new head coach. In addition, the Bruins made the biggest free agent splash this offseason by adding monster defenseman Zdeno Chara -- five years, $37.5 million -- and center Marc Savard -- 4 years, $20 million. The Maple Leafs have been -- surprise -- spending some money, inking defenseman Bryan McCabe to a five year deal worth upwards of $5.75 million per year and goalie Andrew Raycroft -- acquired for goaltending prospect Tuukka Rask -- to a three year $6 million deal. Vancouver was able to justify their acquisition of goaltender Roberto Luongo by signing him to a four year contract for $27 million. (Side note: That's a big chunk of change for a goaltender who has never even made it to the playoffs.) TSN.ca's Bob McKenzie wrote about what it might take to pry Chris Pronger away from Edmonton. With the trade completed just a few days later, he was pretty close. Anaheim acquired the former Hart and Norris Trophy winner from Edmonton in exchange for forward Joffrey Lupul, defenseman Ladislav Smid, Anaheim's first-round choice in 2007, a conditional first-round pick and Anaheim's second-round pick in 2008. Defenseman Rob Blake has returned to his roots, inking a two year deal to play in Los Angeles. The Kings have also added center Alyn McCauley, signing him to a three year contract, and forward Brian Willsie, signing him to a two year contract. The New York Islanders have added center Mike Sillinger with a three year deal. The Isles have also signed free agent defenseman Brendan Witt and forward Andy Hilbert to three year and one year contracts, respectively. Nashville, meanwhile, signed Jason Arnott to a five year contract to replace Sillinger. The New York Rangers went about keeping moody superstar Jaromir Jagr happy by signing fellow Czech Martin Straka to a one year contract. They also signed defenseman Aaron Ward to a two year contract. The Tampa Bay Lightning signed recently acquired goaltender Marc Denis -- from Columbus for winger Fredrik Modin and goalie Fredrik Norrena -- to a three year contract. To give themselves some salary cap room, the Lightning sent defenseman Darryl Sydor to Dallas for a 2008 fourth-round pick. Dallas, meanwhile, has signed Matthew Barnaby to a one year deal. The Phoenix Coyotes have added Jeremy Roenick with a one year contract, though I'm sure they're much happier about signing Ed Jovanovski to a five year deal. The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed forward Jarkko Ruutu and defenseman Mark Eaton to two year contracts. The Flyers have made another huge splash in the free agent pool by signing forward Randy Robitaille to a one year deal. The Atlanta Thrashers have signed unrestricted free agent goaltender Fred Brathwaite and forwards Jason Krog and Darren Haydar. Terms of the deals were not disclosed. The Thrashers have also signed unrestricted free-agent centers Steve Rucchin and Glen Metropolit. Free agent forwards Bill Guerin and Doug Weight have agreed to contracts with the St. Louis Blues. Guerin signed a one year deal, while Weight signed for five years. Edmonton has sign forward Marty Reasoner to a two year deal. The San Jose Sharks have signed forwards Curtis Brown and Mike Grier to contracts. Defenseman Teppo Numminen has signed a one year deal to remain in Buffalo. New jersey was able to keep (arguably) the best forward off the free agent market, signing Patrik Elias to a seven year, $42 million contract. Follow all of the transaction action with this link from TSN.