NHL Hockey Player News

Hamhuis, 33, was heavily rumoured to the Stars at last season’s trade deadline, but he really wanted to stay in Vancouver and finish out the season. He had 13 points (3G / 10A) in 58 games with the Canucks and now lands in Dallas after all. The big loser in this signing is the Canucks, who lose him for nothing. The Stars lost both Kris Russell and Jason Demers in free agency, so Hamhuis comes in and fills that second-pairing defenseman void.

Radulov, 29, is mercurial character to say the least. He has not appeared in the NHL since 2011-12, when he abruptly left the Predators for the KHL. He spent the last five years in Russia, including the last four with CSKA Moscow. He had 23 goals and 42 assists (65 points) in 53 games last year and totalled 238 points (78G / 160A) in 181 games over that four-year span. He is a firecracker, but if he acts like a team player in Montreal, they may have just struck gold. There’s no denying the high-risk of this move though.

Matthias, 28, split his time between the Maple Leafs and the Avalanche last year. He had 17 points (6G / 11A) in 51 games with Toronto before being traded to Colorado, where he added an additional 11 points (6G / 5A) in 20 games. The Jets are relatively thin upfront, so Matthias could land himself a top-6 gig.

Fiddler, 36, is in the twilight of his NHL career, but is coming off of a decent offensive season for a 4th line centre—he had 12 goals and 10 assists (22 points) in 82 games with the Stars and should be expected to be between 20-30 points again in 2016-17 with the Devils.

Hutton, 30, has been a solid backup in Nashville for the last three years and now moves to St. Louis where he will serve as Jake Allen’s No. 2. He was 7-5-3 with a 2.33 GAA and .918 SV% in 17 games with the Predators last season and carries a career 2.56 GAA and .910 SV%.

Clendening, 23, split his time between the Penguins and Oilers organizations last year. He had one goal and six assists in 29 NHL games and three assists in six games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL). He was signed to add some organizational depth to the Rangers blueline. He’ll be given a chance to crack the opening night roster in training camp, but will likely start in the AHL.

Schlemko, 29, has turned into one of the NHL’s most underrated and under-appreciated defensemen, but the Sharks finally showed him some love, signing him to a four-year deal worth $2.1 million annually. He is coming off of a six goals and 13 assists (19 points) in 67 games with the Devils.

Dahlbeck, 24, spent the majority of 2015-16 with the Coyotes, where he collected eight points (2G / 6A) in 71 games. The former third round pick (79th overall in 2011) has just 12 career points (3G / 9A) in 94 games between Arizona and Chicago.

Weise, 27, spent his time with the Canadiens and Blackhawks in 2015-16, totalling 14 goals and 13 assists (27 points) in 71 games. He struggled in a smaller role after being acquired by the Blackhawks, picking up just a single assist in 15 games. He is a solid top-9 forward who can play physically as well as pack a bit of an offensive punch for the Flyers in 2016-17.

Liles, 35, racked up six assists in 17 games with the Bruins after he was brought in from Carolina at the Trade Deadline. Liles is a solid offensive-defenseman who brings some offensive-punch and experience to the Bruins’ third-pairing. Overall, he had six goals and 15 assists (21 points) in 81 games last year.

Allen, 25, was 26-15-3 with a 2.35 GAA and .920 SV% in 44 games while splitting time with Brian Elliott in the Blues crease last season. With Elliott now in Calgary, the crease is all Allen’s and he should be an excellent fantasy option behind a strong Blues squad. Allen will get a chance to start around 60 games and he enters 2016-17 with a career 2.34 GAA and .915 SV%.

Lorito, 25, was an undrafted forward who played his first full pro season with Albany (AHL) last season. The 5-foot-9, 170 lbs. winger produced at a high rate, collecting 18 goals and 36 assists (54 points) in 71 games. He will likely start the 2016-17 season with the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Bailey, 24, was a part of the Dion Phaneuf trade and collected 21 points (7G / 14A) in 30 games with Binghamton (AHL) after the deal. He finished the season with 11 goals and 28 assists (39 points) in 68 AHL games in his first full season as a professional.

Lovejoy, 32, is a big blueliner (6’2” / 205 lbs) who moves better than his frame would suggest. However, he has never been a big point producer, carrying a career-high of 18 points (2013-14) into free agency. After the Ducks traded Adam Larsson to the Oilers, they needed to add a defenseman and the Lovejoy signing addresses that need.

McGinn, 27, had a nice 2015-16 season with the Sabres and Ducks. He had 14 goals in 63 games before he was traded at the deadline, where he added an additional eight goals in 21 games in Anaheim. He finished the year with 39 points (22G / 17A) in 84 games. He’s a heavy dude at 6-foot-1, 205 lbs. and should file in on the Coyotes’ top-6 in 2016-17.

Stewart was with the Wild for the second half of 2014-15, before going to the Ducks last season where he collected 20 points (8G / 12A) in 56 games. The former first round pick has struggled to gain any real traction in his NHL career and is more of a bottom-6 depth forward than the top-6 power-forward he was projected to be.

Stalock, 28, struggled with the Sharks last season, going 3-5-0 wit ha 2.94 GAA and .884 SV% before being demoted to the AHL and eventually traded to the Maple Leafs as a part of the James Reimer deal. The Minnesota native signed with his hometown team where he will battle with Darcy Kuemper for Devan Dubnyk’s backup job.

Staal is a former 100-point player, but has seen his career numbers come crashing down in recent years. After he was traded to the Rangers at the deadline, he struggled mightily, posting just six assists (3G / 3A) in 20 regular season games and failed to record a point in five post-season games. His recent struggles were detrimental to his UFA value, allowing the Wild to sign him to a potential bargain $3.5M AAV contract.

After spending five and a half years with the Winnipeg Jets, he had a reunion with the Blackhawks after being acquired at the Trade Deadline, but he wasn’t enough to propel them to another Stanley Cup. He had 12 points (8G / 4A) in 19 games with Chicago and 25 goals, 21 assists (46 points) in 78 games overall. Ladd will fill the hole left by Kyle Okposo’s departure to Buffalo and should find himself playing alongside John Tavares in 2016-17.

Reimer, 28, split last season with the Maple Leafs and Sharks after being dealt at the Trade Deadline. He combined for a 17-14-7 record with a 2.31 GAA and .922 SV%. He has a career .914 SV% in 196 starts and signs with the Panthers as insurance for 37-year-old Roberto Luongo. Bobby Lu will likely start the majority of games, but Reimer should start more than your average backup with the upside for a straight platoon if he plays well.