NHL Morning Papers (Thursday Edition): Heatley rejects Edmonton, Los Angeles misses out on Hossa and Rick Nash with some interesting comments

Free Agent/Trades Reaction

• In a move that was basically a foregone conclusion, the Ducks re-signed Scott Niedermayer to a one-year deal.
• “We think we have made a huge improvement to our defense,” said Don Waddell after acquiring Pavel Kubina from the Leafs.
• “I bring energy and finish checks,” said newest Bruins winger Steve Begin.  The Bruins also re-signed Byron Bitz and Johnny Boychuk.
• Erik Cole signed with the Hurricanes fairly soon after he could talk to any other team, but the same cannot be said for Chad LaRose.
• The Blackhawks surprised the hockey world yesterday by locking Marian Hossa up to a 12 year contract.  Tim Sassone chimes in on the Hossa contract and notes that the Hawks also picked up Tomas Kopecky and John Madden on Wednesday.
• The Flames unveiled Jay Bouwmeester to the Calgary press yesterday.  George Johnson gives credit where credit is due in his praise of Darryl Sutter.  Acquiring Jay Bouwmeester makes the Flames a legit Stanley Cup contender, writes Eric Duhatschek.
• The Avalanche made a shrewd signing yesterday by inking Craig Anderson to a two-year deal.  Staying in Colorado, Adrian Dater of the Denver Post is blown away by the all ridiculous contracts being signed.  (Writer’s note: Dater is right on point here.  Way too much absurdity.)
• The Blue Jackets’ signing of Samuel Pahlsson means that Manny Malhotra will not be returning to the club.
• The Red Wings were disappointed to lose Marian Hossa to the Blackhawks yesterday but its gives the team more flexibility moving forward.  This day wasn’t unexpected for Ken Holland.
• The Oilers brass flew down to Kelowna to talk to Dany Heatley and he still rejected the trade to Edmonton.  Meanwhile, the Oilers wouldn’t give Dwayne Roloson a two-year deal so he signed on Long Island and the Oilers signed Nikolai Khabibulin.  Fans chime in on the Oilers’ moves.  In other news, Jason Strudwick is back in the fold for one season.
• The Panthers were busy yesterday, as the team re-signed David Booth to a long-term deal and inked Radek Dvorak to a two-year pact.
• The Kings attempted to sign Marian Hossa, but came up short.
• Michael Russo provides the details on the Wild’s signing of Martin Halvat and Greg Zanon on Wednesday.
• “I think we got younger and we’re more talented“, said Habs GM Bob Gainey about his team’s activity on Wednesday.  “I’m extremely excited – it was a crazy day, but to end up in Montreal, I couldn’t be happier,” said Mike Cammalleri.  Red Fisher provides his takes on yesterday’s moves and says a classy goodbye to Saku Koivu.
• Both Steve Sullivan and Joel Ward decided to re-up in Nashville, writes John Glennon.
• The Devils saw a lot of players leave town yesterday, explains Mark Everson.  “This is not a sad day by any means,” said Lou Lamoriello.
• The Islanders added depth between the pipes with the signing of Dwayne Roloson, writes Greg Logan of Newsday.
• Over in Manhattan, the Rangers made a splash by inking Marian Hossa Gaborik (thanks to reader David for the correction) to a five-year deal.  “The money was the same (as Heatley), the terms were the same,” said Glen Sather about the Gaborik signing.  Don’t forget about the Rangers’ signing of Donald Brashear too.  Is there still more in store for NYR?
• Dany Heatley’s plan of exit from Ottawa was poorly constructed.  Make no mistake, the Senators are not going to keep Heatley.  Apparently the Sharks pulled out of the Heatley sweepstakes last week.  At least there was good news in Ottawa yesterday when class act Chris Neil re-signed for four years.
• The Flyers added character in Ian Laperriere and depth in net with Brian Boucher.
• The Penguins lost Hal Gill to Montreal but signed big winger Michael Rupp.  In positive news, Rob Scuderi and Ruslan Fedotenko have yet to bolt town.  Change doesn’t scare Penguins GM Ray Shero.
• San Jose was not busy on free agency’s first day.
• Neither were the Blues, but they did secure the services of Ty Conklin to be the team’s back up netminder for the next two seasons.
• The Lightning didn’t waste much time getting involved in free agency.  Martin Fennelly calls it a week of stability for Tampa Bay.
• One thing is for certain, the Leafs got bigger and stronger on Wednesday.  “But for me personally, Toronto was the best fit,” said Mike Komisarek.  Toronto GM Brian Burke was very happy to add Komisarek.
• The Sedin’s decision to stay in Vancouver was not totally about dollars, writes Iain MacIntyre.  Now the real work begins for Mike Gillis, opines Ed Willes.  Also of note, the Canucks signed Aaron Rome.
• Washington made an underrated signing yesterday, picking up Mike Knuble for two years.

Everything Else

• The Rochester Americans have hired Ted Nolan as VP.
• John Moore can skate like the wind, and his skills are already impressing those involved with the Blue Jackets.
• Staying in Columbus, negotiations with Rick Nash didn’t start off on a good note.  “If this doesn’t get done, I’m sure I won’t have a problem getting signed by somebody next summer,” said Nash.
• If Sergei Zubov gets an offer on the free agent market, the Stars expect him to bring it back to them to match before leaving.
• Things went as usual for the Phoenix Coyotes franchise on Wednesday.