[July 16, 2014](The Sports Xchange) - The Nashville
Predators signed free agent centers Mike Ribeiro and Derek Roy to
one-year contracts on Tuesday. Ribeiro's deal is worth $1.05 million and
Roy will make $1 million next season.
The team also announced the signing of first-round pick Kevin
Fiala to a three-year entry-level contract. Fiala, 17, was a
finalist for the 2014 Swedish Hockey League Rookie of the Year Award
and the 11th overall pick by the Predators last month.
Ribeiro, 34, scored 47 points with 16 goals and 31 assists for the
Phoenix Coyotes last season. In 865 career NHL games with Montreal,
Dallas, Washington and Phoenix, Ribeiro has scored 656 points.
Roy, 31, scored 37 points in 75 games with the St. Louis Blues last
season and is a four-time 60-point, 20-goal scorer. In 666 career
NHL games, he has scored 492 points while spending time with
Buffalo, Dallas, Vancouver and St. Louis.
The Pittsburgh Penguins announced that center Sidney Crosby will not
require surgery on his injured right wrist.
The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported last week that Crosby would
have arthroscopic surgery in the coming days after the NHL MVP was
hampered during the playoffs. But he sought additional medical
advise and it was ultimately determined surgery was not necessary.
Crosby, who scored a league-best 104 points, is not expected to miss
any time next season.
The New York Islanders announced defenseman Calvin de Haan signed a
three-year deal reported by Newsday to be worth $5.9 million and
center Casey Cizikas re-signed for two years at a reported $2.9
million.
It capped a busy day for the Isles' front office, which also
announced that defenseman Matt Donovan and forward Brett Gallant
accepted their qualifying offers, and forward Kirill Kabanov was
placed on unconditional waivers.
The Minnesota Wild maintained their front-line depth Tuesday by
re-signing restricted free agent forward Jason Zucker to a two-year
contract.
It's a two-way deal in the first season and one way in the second,
ensuring that Zucker will make the same amount in year two whether
he's playing in the NHL or the American Hockey League.
In 21 games last season, Zucker had four goals and five points. He
played in 20 games the previous season for the Wild and also had
four goals and five points.
The Carolina Hurricanes hired David Marcoux as their new goaltending
coach on Tuesday.
Marcoux is a 25-year coaching veteran whose resume includes six
years as goaltending coach for the Calgary Flames from 2003-09,
where he helped Miikka Kiprusoff become a Vezina Trophy and Williams
Jennings Trophy winner.
The Arizona Coyotes announced that forwards Brandon McMillan and
Jordan Szwarz each signed two-way contracts.
McMillan's contract is for one year and $625,000 in the NHL and
$100,000 in the American Hockey League and avoids an arbitration
hearing. Szwarz's is for two years, with financial terms unknown.
McMillan, 24, had six goals in 22 games with the Coyotes last
season, adding 26 points in 46 games with the Portland Pirates of
the AHL. Szwarz, 23, had three goals and 19 penalty minutes in 26
games for the Coyotes last season.
The Washington Capitals signed goaltender Vitek Vanecek to a
three-year entry-level contract. Financial details were not
disclosed.
Vanecek, 18, was a second-round pick last month after posting a 2.64
goals-against average, a .921 save percentage and two shutouts in 38
games with Bili Tygri Liberec of the Czech Republic's under-20
league last season.
The Columbus Blue Jackets re-signed defenseman Tim Erixon to a
one-year contract. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Erixon, 23, had 38 points (five goals, 33 assists) in 40 games with
the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League last season.
Originally a first-round pick by the Calgary Flames in 2009, he was
acquired by Columbus from the New York Rangers in 2012. Erixon had
seven assists and 24 penalty minutes in 51 games with the Rangers
and Blue Jackets.
