NHL Signings & Free Agents

Kopitar, 28, has spent his entire NHL career with the Kings after the club selected him in the first-round (11th overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. In 725 regular season games he has 645 points (230G / 415A), a plus-62 rating and 194 penalty minutes, while in 70 postseason games he has 60 points (18G / 42A), a plus-22 rating and 37 penalty minutes en route to two Stanley Cups.

Richards had his contract with the Kings terminated in 2014 after he faced a charge of possession of a controlled substance while entering Canada. The Capitals met with the NHL on Wednesday and he was granted permission to resume his NHL career. Richards won a Stanley Cup with the Kings in 2012 and has 482 career NHL points (179G / 303A) in 710 games.

Zubrus has been with the Sharks on a tryout but finally signed this afternoon. The 37-year-old had four goals and 10 points in 74 games with the Devils last season. He has 584 career points (225G / 359A) in 1243 games, but will likely serve as a depth forward at this point in his career.

Abdelkader, who had a career-high 23 goals and 21 assists last season, opened this year with a hat trick, but since then he has only scored one goal with three assists in 14 games. Abdelkader will be paid $4.5 million until he is 36-years-old.

Clune, 28, signed an AHL contract with the Maple Leafs this summer and registered two goals and three assists in eight games with the Marlies. Signing him to an NHL contract forced the Leafs to make room on the roster for Clune, by placing Mark Arcobello on waivers.

Ekholm has one goal and two assists in eight games this season. He is not usually known for producing offensively, having recorded just 30 points (9G / 21A) in 153 career games.

Plekanec has four goal in five games so far this season and is now locked up for another two years. The most important part of this contract extension, is that it ends the same season as Carey Price’s contract, giving the Habs a lot of flexibility to resign Price.

Boulton, 39, has played with the Islanders for the last three years and his NHL career will extend into a 16th season. The 1994 ninth round pick has 31 career goals, 48 assists (79 points) 1419 PIMS in 648 games.

Despres, 24, who was acquired from the Penguins last season, had six points (1G / 5A) in 16 games with the Ducks and 23 points (3G / 20A) in 75 games between both teams. He is expected to open the season on the Ducks’ second pair with Cam Fowler as his partner and has clearly become a big part of the Ducks’ plans going forward.

Gomez, 35, was in Blues camp on a PTO and made the team after posting one assist and a minus-3 rating in four games during preseason action. Gomez had seven goals and 27 assists (34 points) in 58 games with the Devils last year.

Skille had one goal and one assist in five preseason games on a tryout with the Avalanche. It was enough to earn him a roster spot and he could be in the lineup for their season opener.

Lack, 27, was acquired from the Canucks for a third and seventh round pick this summer and he will challenge Cam Ward for the starting job this season. In his first two seasons in the NHL, Lack has gone 34-30-9 with a 2.43 GAA, .917 SV% and six shutouts. During the preseason he posted a 1-0-0 record, a 2.21 GAA and .932 SV% in three games (136 minutes played). Those number were substantially better then Ward’s preseason stats.

Gustavsson, who was with the Bruins on a PTO, won the Bruins’ backup job by going 1-1-0 with a 2.07 GAA and .923 SV% in two preseason games. In six NHL seasons, Gustavsson is 60-55-21 with a 2.89 GAA and .901 SV% between the Maple Leafs and Red Wings.

Fleischmann had one goal, two assists and 14 shots on goal in four preseason games with the Canadiens. Fleischmann had just 27 points (8G / 19A) in 66 games between the Panthers and Ducks last year.

Campbell, 27, had one assist in 33 games with the Coyotes last season. He was a third round pick (74th overall) in 2008 and plays a physical game, but doesn’t have much of and offensive game to speak of.

Seabrook, 30, was drafted 14th overall in 2003 and is now signed through the 2023-24 season. The 6-foot-3, 218 lbs. defensemen is on of the steadiest blueliners in the NHL. He has only missed 10 games over the last nine seasons and has averaged eight goals and 27 assists (35 points) per 82 games throughout his career.

Boyes, 33, spent the last two seasons in Florida, where he collected 35 goals and 39 assists (74 points) in 156 games. Boyes was one of a few players who were brought into Maple Leafs training camp on PTO’s but was the only one to receive a contract. Boyes will battle with Michael Grabner, P.A Parenteau and Richard Panik for playing time in the Leafs’ top six.

Gibson is expected to start this season in the AHL after the Ducks signed Anton Khudobin this offseason. Gibson was going to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season and Khudobin will become a UFA after this year. Which paves the way for Gibson to be a full-time NHLer next year. However, there is still a chance he is on the Ducks roster throughout this season.