Ed Belfour signs one-year deal with Panthers
- Oilers Lock Up Hemsky for 6 seasons
- Sharks sign Ehrhoff, newly acquired Bell
NHL Jeff's Take: Despite TSN's earlier reports that the Panthers had had a change of heart, I thought the Panthers' signing of Ed Belfour was inevitable. He should be a great mentor to Alex Auld as well as a capable fill-in. Hopefully his back will be able to hold up in his lesser than usual role.
Having personally witnessed Ales Hemsky play live in 3 games of the Stanley Cup Finals, I knew that he would be an important part of the Edmonton Oilers' future. Just watching him move the puck and skate around countless players is absolutely breathtaking. In my eye, he will be one of the NHL's top offensive threats for years to come, and with signing those years will most likely (see Chris Pronger) be in an Oilers uniform.
Christian Ehrhoff was a significant player for the 2005-06 Sharks defense. He was able to chip in a bit of offense from the blueline, while maintaining strong defensive poise. It should be extremely beneficial for the Sharks to have him back.
Mark Bell, whom the Sharks recently received in a 3-way trade with the Blackhawks and Senators, is a likely candidate to take the spot of recently traded Nils Ekman on the top line with Hart and Art Ross Trophy winner Joe Thornton and Rocket Richard Trophy winner Jonathan Cheechoo. Bell is definitely an upgrade from Ekman, but I was surprised they let him go. The way that I look at it, why mess with chemistry that is already working. It seems the Sharks assumed that chemistry was merely between Thornton and Cheechoo (who did have a lot more points than Ekman), but Ekman's significance in that chemistry should be revealed come October.
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