The KHL lures a few NHLers

- Forward Mike York signed a contract today with Sibir Novosibirsk. York played with Phoenix last season, notching 14 points in 63 games.
- Blueliner Steve McCarthy signed a contract today with Salavat Yulaev Ufa. McCarthy played with the Thrashers last season, recording 7 points in 55 games.
- Veteran forward Jozef Stumpel joined Branislav Mezei with Barys Astana, signing a one-year contract. Stumpel recorded 20 points in 52 games with the Panthers last year.

My take: Other than Jagr (and maybe Radulov), the KHL as yet to lure top-tier free agents. Depth players who can't find an NHL contract and players with a bad reputation like Emery are the most likely to head to Europe.

Next coach of the NYI?

Now that Nolan is out who's next? Snow already said that Trottier is not on their list. I would have to think it will eiter be Bob Hartley, Paul Maurice, or John Tortorella. I think Tortorella is the best fit, but I wouldn't mind Hartley. I'm not a fan of Maurice.

I guess we will know the new coach in the next couple weeks.

Go Islanders!

Forward Matt Foy lands in St. Louis

The 25 year-old Foy played for the Wild last season, recording 8 points in 28 games. The terms of the deal are still unknown.

Hurricanes Sign Three

The Carolina Hurricanes signed three players today.

Patrick Dwyer, Joe Jensen and Mark Flood all agreed to one year, two way contracts with the Hurricanes and are expected to play in Albany this season.

Dwyer will earn $500,000 at the NHL level and $55,000 playing in Albany.

Jensen will earn $522,500 at the NHL level and $50,000 in the minors.

Flood will earn $500,000 at the NHL level and $60,000 playing for the River Rats.

Leafs Acquire Tough Guy Hollweg

The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded for tough guy forward Ryan Hollweg from the New York Rangers. The Leafs gave up a 5th round pick which they acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the deal that sent D-man Hal Gill to the Pens.

Other Signings Today

Here are a few other signings that happened today:

The Dallas Stars have given a 2 year contract extension to head coach Dave Tippett. Tippett led the Stars to the western conference final when they eventually lost to the Stanley Cup Champions of 2008, the Detroit Red Wings

Philadelphia Flyers forward Patrick Thoresen has signed a 1-year contract with HC Lugano of the Swiss League. Thoresen posted 8 points in 38 games with the Flyers and is now known for that slap shot that hit him in the "GROIN" in the playoffs.

The St.Louis Blues have re-signed forward Jay McClement to a new 1 year contract extension worth 950,000 dollars. the Kingston,Ontario native put up 22 points in 81 games last year with the Blues and finished with a lowly -17 in the plus/minus section.

The Columbus Blue Jackets signed forward Craig Mcdonald to a one-year contract, and re-signed center Derek Mckenzie to a two-year deal Monday.

Instant Analysis: The Ted Nolan Saga

Once again, Ted Nolan is back on the 'Best Non-NHL Coaches" List. And it may be likely that he stays on that list for a while.

Upon hearing the news that Ted Nolan and the New York Islanders had 'parted ways', I got the same reaction many people got.

'What?'

I mean, what hasn't he done to make his Islanders a better on-ice product? He's had less talent in past years than anyone could imagine, and has still gotten the best out of his team pretty much night in and night out.

The general consensus is now at this point, 'what does this guy have to do to get himself fired?' Upon reading the reports that discuss the 'philosophical differences' between management (Garth Snow) and coaching (Nolan), you figure the coach is always going to be the one on the wrong side of the bargaining table. That's it. Pointe finale.

Yet, is it his fault that the premier free agent signing for the Islanders, a hockey market with some past history behind it, a pretty stable fan support system and not many excuses as to how anyone should not want to play there, was Mark Streit?

There are more questions than answers at this point for the Islanders organization. It will be hard to compete in the East for them already this year, and if their priority in July is to find a coach, rather than look at player development (which is where organizations should be at this point), the Islanders are a step back.

Which soon could lead us a step closer towards yet another change in the Islanders management. And maybe a complete overhaul as well.

BREAKING NEWS: TED NOLAN OUT

According to Newsday.com, Ted Nolan is out as Islanders head coach. GM Garth Snow cited irreconcilable differences that led to him and Nolan agreeing to Nolan's departure from the Islanders' head coaching job. This is not totally shocking news, as Nolan's request for an extension was denied by owner Charles Wang last spring. The Islanders become the second team currently without a coach, as the Los Angeles Kings have still not hired a replacement for Marc Crawford.

Mike Smith extended by Tampa

Goaltender Mike Smith has been extended for two years by the Lightning. The 26 year-old Smith, was acquired from Dallas in the Brad Richards trade at the trade deadline last season. The Kingston native appeared in 13 games with the Bolt last year, posting a 2.79 GAA and a .893 save percentage.

Not Before Christmas For Forsberg

According to a few sports stations Swedish forward Peter Forsberg despite playing last year at Christmas time with the Avalanche, The Avs fans should not hold there breath for the re-signing of Forsberg as it will be at least Christmas before he returns to the league and guess whats keeping him out....AGAIN, that ailing ankle of his.

Rising salary cap bringing NHL back to pre-lockout memories

Hello, I'm Ryan (or the hockey god) from Red Light District. I'll be contributing to this blog on a weekly basis, and Scotty will do vice versa for my blog. Here's a glimpse of what you'll see starting later this week...

In the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals, Daniel Alfredsson scored in overtime of Game 5 to send the Ottawa Senators to their first Stanley Cup Final. Little did we know that that was the abrupt ending to the Buffalo Sabres’ two-year prominence in the Eastern Conference. One month later, the small-market Sabres had to say goodbye to their co-captains, and faces of the franchise, Daniel Briere and Chris Drury, to Philadelphia and New York, respectively. Those two moves right there signaled that a problem was brewing in the post-lockout era.

To read the rest of this story, please visit the RLD!! Thanks...