TAMPA, Fla. (AP)—Free agent defenseman Mattias Ohlund has signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The 32-year-old native of Sweden has played in 770 games over the past 11 NHL seasons, all with the Vancouver Canucks. He is the Canucks’ career leader in goals by a defenseman and was an All-Star during the 1998-99 season.
He received a seven-year deal worth $24.5 million.
It was the first of a series of moves for the Lightning on Wednesday, as they also signed defenseman Matt Walker away from the Chicago Blackhawks and re-signed defenseman Lukas Krajicek.
Walker played in 65 games for the Blackhawks last season, when he had one goal and a career-high 13 assists. Krajicek, who signed a one-year deal, had two goals and 19 points last season with the Lightning.
Ohlund played in all 82 games last season, finishing with six goals and 25 points. He has 93 goals and 325 points during his career. In 52 playoff games, Ohlund notched nine goals and 28 points.
The Lightning not only feel they improved their roster immediately, but also are counting on Ohlund to be a mentor for Victor Hedman, the No. 2 overall pick in last week’s NHL draft.
TAMPA, Fla. (AP)—The Tampa Bay Lightning signed defenseman Victor Hedman to a standard, three-year rookie contract on Thursday.
Hedman was the second overall pick in June’s entry draft. He was rated as the top European player and one of the top two players overall available in the draft by NHL Central Scouting.
Tampa Bay general manager Brian Lawton said in a statement that the team was happy to get Hedman signed so that the rookie could focus on his development.
Hedman spent the 2008-09 season with MoDo of the Swedish Elite League.
Tampa Bay and Phoenix have completed a three-player trade with the Lighting sending right wing Radim Vrbata to the Coyotes for left wing Todd Fedoruk and defenseman David Hale.
I thought that Vrbata was still going to play this next season in the Czech Republic, but if the Coyotes could bring him back to North America, he could be a good fit.
Hale and Fedoruk bring a little bit of grit to the team in the form of cheap contracts.
The Tampa Bay Lightning finally ran out of patience with hulking winger Evgeny Artyukhin, whose tantalizing blend of size and speed never translated into production at the NHL level.
Artyukhin, 26, was dealt to Anaheim Thursday for 25-year-old left wing Drew Miller and a third-round pick in next year's draft.
A third-round choice in the 2001 draft, Artyukhin registered only 10 goals in 145 games for the Lightning, adding 241 penalty minutes in limited ice time.
After spending two seasons in the Russian League, Artyukhin re-signed with the Lightning last summer, agreeing to a 2-year deal worth $1.9 million. At the time, GM Brian Lawton said he was intrigued with Artyukhin's 6-foot-5, 270-pound frame and ability to change the tempo of a game in one shift.
"He brings a real unmistakable presence to the ice as soon as he comes over the boards,'' Lawton said in July, 2008.
Artyukhin played in 73 games for the Lightning last season and scored 16 points, but he produced only a single assist in his final 15 games and failed to impress Coach Rick Tocchet with his hockey smarts.
With the Ducks picking up the final year of Artyukhin's contract and Miller on a two-way deal, the Lightning have positioned themselves financially to pursue a veteran winger like unrestricted free agent Alex Tanguay, who scored 16 goals for Montreal last season.
Miller played on Anaheim's Cup-winning team in 2007 and scored 10 points in 27 NHL games last year. The Lightning consider him a hard-working grinder and a more responsible defensive player than Artyukhin, who never made the impact Tampa Bay envisioned eight years ago.
2009 Lightning Off Season Thread
2009 Lightning Off Season Thread
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