Big trade day!

Only a massive trade day like today would awaken me from my blogging slumber! So to review:

The Calgary Flames have traded defenceman Dion Phaneuf, forward Fredrik Sjostrom, and prospect defenceman Keith Aulie to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for forwards Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers and defenseman Ian White. Brochu's take: My philosophy is that the team that the best player goes to "wins" the trade, and in this case I would have to say Toronto gets the better end of the deal. Phaneuf is capable of much more, and he will get plenty of ice-time in T.O. Hagman/Stajan are good players, and I'm not sure how the Leafs will score from now on. Calgary gets a lot more offensive in this deal.

The Leafs have also acquired goalie Jean-Sebastian Giguere from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for goalie Vesa Toskala and forward Jason Blake. Brochu's take: Toskala's contract, along with Blake's, were essentially dead weight. After the signing of Hiller, Giguere's contract was the same on the Ducks. I see this trade more of moving dead money around than actual players.

The Anaheim Ducks have signed goalie Jonas Hiller to a 4-year, $18 million contract extension. Brochu's take: Not a bad deal.

The Philadelphia Flyers have signed defenseman Lukas Krajicek to a contract. The Tampa Bay Lightning had terminated his contract when he didn't show up to his AHL assignment.

More free agent signings from July 1

The St. Louis Blues have matched the 3-year, $7.5 million offer sheet give to David Backes by the Vancouver Canucks. Brochu's take: Well, that didn't take long. It was pretty obvious that it would be matched. Rumors were that GM Mike Gillis tried to get Backes via trade but was rejected.

The Canucks have signed forward Darcy Hordichuk to a three-year deal. Terms were not disclosed.

The Canucks also signed forward Ryan Johnson to a two-year, $2.4 million contract.

The New Jersey Devils have signed Brian Rolston to a four-year, $20.25 million contract.

The Devils have also signed Bobby Holik to a one-year contract worth $2.5 million.

The Nashville Predators have signed goalie Drew MacIntyre to a one-year deal.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed forward Niklas Hagman to a four-year contract worth $12 million. Brochu's take: Maybe the Leafs ARE capable of making a decent signing.

The Minnesota Wild have signed forward Craig Weller to a two-year contract worth $600,000 a season.

The Boston Bruins have signed forward Michael Ryder to a 3-year, $12 million contract. Brochu's take: Will the Bruins actually play him?

The Columbus Blue Jackets have sigend defenceman Mike Commodore to a 5 year, $18.75 million contract.

Zidlicky traded to Wild, more rumors

The Nashville Predators have traded defenseman Marek Zidlicky to the Minnesota Wild for Ryan Jones and a second round pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Brochu's take: A bit of a salary dump, and I wonder how much new Wild owner (ex-Preds owner) Craig Leipold has to do with this trade.

The Philadelphia Flyers have traded defenseman Denis Gauthier and a second round pick in the 2010 draft to the Los Angeles Kings for Patrik Hersley and Ned Lukacevic. Brochu's take: I guess the Flyers didn't have to buyout Gauthier's contract. Source

The Minnesota Wild have signed forward Andrew Brunette. Terms were not disclosed as of this post.

The Boston Bruins have signed UFA forward Blake Wheeler to an entry-level contract.

The Vancouver Canucks have signed forward Kyle Wellwood to a one-year, $997,500 contract. The Canucks are also rumored to be in pursuit of forward Niklas Hagman.

There are rumors that the Boston Bruins have made a 12-year, $100 million contract offer to Marian Hossa.

There are also rumors that Olaf Kolzig could be signing with the Tampa Bay Lightning.