NHL Hockey Player News

The Blackhawks signed Jonathan Toews to the exact same contract. The deal does not kick in until the 2015-16 season, but the annual cap-hit will be the highest in the league. When Kane and Toews joined the Blackhawks they had not reached the Finals since 1992, but since drafting Kane (first overall) in 2007 they have won two Stanley Cups and reached the Western Conference Final two other times. Kane tallied 29 goals and 40 assists (69 points) in 69 games last season. Kane went on to post 20 points (8G / 12A) in 19 postseason games. Kane has some of the best hands in the NHL and will be one of the first right wingers off of the board this season.

The Blackhawks signed Patrick Kane to the exact same contract. The ,deal does not kick in until the 2015-16 season, but the annual cap-hit will make them the highest paid players in the NHL. When Toews and Kane joined the Blackhawks they had not reached the Finals since 1992, but since drafting Toews (third overall) in 2006 they have won two Stanley Cups and reached the Western Conference Final on two other occasions. Toews had 28 goals and 40 assists (68 points) with a plus-26 rating in 76 games last season. Toews has scored on a 74.5 point per 82 game pace in the first seven years of his career. He is one of the most reliable centres in the league and should be a top-15 pick in fantasy drafts next season.

Wingels, 26, tallied 16 goals and 22 assists (38 points) with a plus-11 rating in 77 games with the Sharks last season. With Brent Burns set to move back to defence next season, Wingels becomes a candidate to move up into the Sharks top-6 and could land on a line with Patrick Marleau and Logan Couture come October. Wingels will look to build off of his best professional season as he eyes down his first 20-goal campaign.

Sheppard, 26, had 20 points (4G / 16A) in 67 games with the Sharks last season. The regular season was a struggle, but Sheppard had two goals and four assists in seven postseason games. He has yet to develop into the scorer that made him the ninth overall pick in 2006. Sheppard has just 73 points (16 G / 57A) in 323 career NHL games.

Kontiola, 29, had 12 goals and 22 assists (37 points) with Chelyabinsk Traktor of the KHL last season. The former seventh round pick of the Blackhawks in 2004 had a strong Olympics with Team Finland and will provide the Maple Leafs with some depth down the middle this season.

Clifford had three goals and five assists (eight points) in 71 regular season games and seven points (1G / 6A) in 24 playoff games. At this point , it is unclear when Clifford sustained the injury, but he will be ready for the 2014-15 season.

Quick injured his wrist in game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Rangers. Quick is expected to be healthy in late August or early September which will have him ready to go for the 2014-15 season.

Volchenkov, 32, recorded eight assists in 56 games with the Devils last season. Despite sub-par offensive numbers, Volchenkov led the Devils in hits (129) and was second in blocked shots (91) even though he missed 26 games. He had strong possession numbers in 2013-14 and should settle in nicely on the Predators second pairing.

Sekac, 22, was coveted by most NHL general managers on July 1st, but elected to sign a two-year contract with the Habs. Sekac had 11 goals and 17 assists (28 points) in 47 games with Prague Lev of the KHL last season.

Lehtera, 26, was selected in the third-round (65th overall) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Lehtera had 12 goals and 32 assists (44 points) in 48 games with Novosibirsk Sibir of the KHL last year. He has just seven games of North American hockey experience. He had one assist in those games with Peoria (AHL).

Legwand had 14 goals and 37 assists (51 points) in 83 games between the Predators and Red Wings last season. The 33-year-old should play a big role with the Senators this season after they dealt Jason Spezza to the Dallas Stars.

McClement, 31, spent the last two seasons with the Maple Leafs. He had 10 points (4G / 6A) in 81 games last year, but it all about his two-way game and penalty killing. McClement ranked tied for first in the NHL amongst forwards averaging 3:25 shorthanded TOI.

Vrbata, 33, had 20 goals and 31 assists (51 points) in 80 games for the Coyotes last season. He has been a consistent point producer throughout his career and could end up playing with Daniel and Henrik Sedin. Another 20-plus goal and 30-plus assist season should be attainable.

Fiddler rejected a contract extension from the Stars a few weeks ago, but the two sides were able to make it work. Fiddler had six goals and 17 assists (23 points) in 76 games. The veteran forward plays a strong two-way game and won 52.2% of his face-offs. He is a good penalty-killer and is more useful for the Stars than your fantasy squad.

Schultz had five assists and a minus-13 rating in 69 games with the Blue Jackets and Oilers last season. Schultz will likely start the season as the Flyers seventh defenseman and carries no fantasy value.

Kulemin tallied nine goals and added 11 assists (20 points) in 70 games with the Maple Leafs. He spent the first six years of his career with Toronto, and 2013-14 was his worst year. The former 30 goal scorer has tallied just 23 goals over the last three seasons (188 games played). He could play with John Tavares, which would boost his fantasy value or he may be re-united with Mikhail Grabovski.

Grabovski was limited to 58 games by injuries in 2013-14. He had a strong start to the year and finished with 13 goals and 22 assists (35 points). He joins the Islanders, who now have three good centres with Grabo, John Tavares and Frans Nielsen. He is also reunited with Nikolai Kulemin, the two played together in Toronto from 2008-13.

The 35-year-old veteran centre had 18 goals and 25 assists (43 points) with a minus-8 rating in 82 games with the Jets last season. The Predators do not have the most talented pivots, so Jokinen could be the one that starts the season with James Neal.

McCormick returns to Buffalo for his fifth season with the Sabres after finishing the 2013-14 season with 14 games as a member of the Minnesota Wild. McCormick was a part of the trade that sent Matt Moulson to the Wild, but now they are both back with the Sabres for the next few years.

MacKenzie scored nine goals and added nine assists (18 points) in 71 games with the Blue Jackets last season. D-MacK provides the Panthers with some depth at centre; he won 51.5% of his face-offs in 2013-14.