Christmas in July 6

Free agent frenzy got away and off to an easy start Wednesday, July 1st, but there would be also some movement the day before. The Montreal Canadiens launched a big invest with the brand new York Rangers that sent center Scott Gomez with the Habs, and winger Christopher Higgins in the Blueshirts. A few other players were active in the deal, especially prospect Ryan McDonagh who also proved in Manhattan. Gomez is often a proven set-up man; he's had 40+ assists overall but one of his seasons, and it has registered 50+ 4x. Higgins has reached the 20-goal plateau in three of his four seasons, and in all probability would have reached 20 last season had he not missed 25 games attributable to groin and hand injuries. In other news Tuesday, the Calgary Flames got defenseman Jay Bouwmeester signed towards a five-year deal, after trading for his rights from your Florida Panthers on draft day, definitely the best defensive corps within the league.Come Wednesday, plus the Montreal Canadiens were more active. They signed Brian Gionta who played adequately with Scott Gomez in Nj-new jersey, winning a Stanley Cup together in 2002/03. Will probably be interesting, unsurprisingly, to find what we can do together in Montreal. The Habs also grabbed another high scoring forward, Mike Cammalleri, and inked him with a five-year deal worth $30 million. However they didn't stop there; GM Bob Gainey also discovered defensemen Jaroslav Spacek and Hal Gill. The Canadiens have tended qualifying returning purports to Tomas Plekanec, Matt D'Agostini, Kyle Chipchura, and Guillaume Latendresse, yet it seems to be if Alexei Kovalev, Alex Tanguay, Saku Koivu, and Matthieu Schneider are common on their way out.The Chicago Blackhawks also made big news, signing prolific goal scorer Marian Hossa towards huge 12-year deal. Some have expressed concern of the fact that Hawks are usually in trouble this year whether they have to sign Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, particularly with the salary cap set to continue down, yet it appears to be if Chicago set in it to win the Stanley Cup this season, inspite of the obstacles. Considering the roster they need now, they are to stay a posture for you to do only that. If ever the Blackhawks just want to keep Hossa, Kane, and Toews for 2010/11, I'd assume the ball player that can require could possibly be defenseman Brain Campbell and his $7 million salary... The Hawks also grabbed forwards Tomas Kopecky and John Madden, in which are each capable of being 20-goal scorers.The Atlanta Thrashers signed the commanding forward Nik Antropov to a four-year deal, plus used another ex-Leaf, Pavel Kubina, in a very trade that sent Garnet Exelby and Colin Stuart to Toronto. Antropov could be a good match star winger Ilya Kovalchuk. With Brian Little, Tobias Enstrom, Zach Bogosian, this year's pick Evander Kane, Atlanta provides extensive promising youth to utilize in the process. Even if it's going to be enough to transform last year's disappointing season around, however remains to wear.The newest York Rangers signed flashy winger Marian Gaborik into a five-year deal, with the expectation that he or she stays healthier than he did in Minnesota. Regarding part, the Wild signed another injury-prone player in Martin Havlat, inking him to the six-year deal. Havlat played in 81 games last season when using the Blackhawks - his longest season yet - here's to hoping he stays healthy likewise!The Washington Capitals signed Mike Knuble, a perennial 20-goal scorer over the past seven years, who's also reached 30 twice. Knuble is tough during the corners and really should often be a great playmaker for two-time league MVP Alexander Ovechkin.The Tampa Bay Lightning selected defenseman Mattias Ohlund, the Phoenix Coyotes got defenseman Adrian Aucoin, as well as Toronto Maple Leafs signed Mike Komisarek within the rival Montreal Canadiens.The Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche made an effort to address their goaltending issues, buying Nikolai Khabibulin and Craig Anderson respectively.The 2009 afternoon, the Vancouver Canucks signed Mikael Samuelsson of your Red Wings. Also of note, the Sedins twins is going to be vacationing in Vancouver, simply because they signed five-year contracts worth $30.5 million each.Other notable players who stayed with just one teams were Tim Thomas (Boston), Doug Weight (Islanders), Johan Franzen (Detroit), Keith Tkachuk (St. Louis), Bill Guerin (Pittsburgh), Rob Blake (San Jose), David Booth (Florida), Scott Niedermayer (Anaheim), Erik Cole (Carolina), and Mikhail Grabovski (Toronto).- Josh Lind