News From Around The Crease

~ He has flirted with the idea of retirement many times over the past few years. But the temptation to play always seemed to win out. Now, it seems the time is finally right for Scott Niedermayer to hang up the skates for good. After 18 years in the NHL and numerous appearances on the international level, the 36-year old future Hall of Famer announced his retirement on Tuesday.

Niedermayer’s career has been on a year-by-year basis ever since he led the Anaheim Ducks to a Stanley Cup Championship in 2007. He was not able to lead Anaheim to the promised land again, but still put up three more productive seasons that included a 59-point campaign (the third-highest total of his career) in 2008-09 and an another Gold Medal winning appearance for Team Canada during this past winter’s Olympics.

His legacy will be as one of the game’s best offensive defenseman. Even on a defensive-minded New Jersey Devils squad, Niedermayer was able to exhibit his incredible offensive instincts from the blue line. He was a great skater, ran power plays extremely well, led by example and was a character guy – as shown during his free agency period in 2005 when he chose to leave the team he was drafted by and played for over 13 years to help his brother win a Cup in Anaheim.

At the NHL level, Niedermayer has attained a plethora of accomplishments. On top of four Stanley Cups between his time with the New Jersey Devils and Ducks, he has also taken claim to the Conn Smythe Trophy, a Norris Memorial Award and five All-Star Game appearances. For Team Canada, Niedermayer sports two Olympic Gold Medals, an IIHF World Championships Gold Medal and a first place finish in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. Even in juniors, Niedermayer was a stud – winning the Memorial Cup as a member of the Kamloops Blazers and making two Western Hockey League First All-Star Teams.

At 36 years old and coming off season where he notched 48 points, it’s safe to say Niedermayer still had something left in the tank and could have easily stepped right back into the Ducks’, or any other team’s, lineup. But after missing the playoffs this past spring – only the second time in his career not playing in the postseason, Niedermayer felt it was finally time to move on.

Niedermayer will remain with the Ducks as a consultant to general manager Bob Murray.

~ When the free agency period opens on July 1, it is going to be short one of the more highly-sought after centers expected to explore the market. The Montreal Canadiens announced on Tuesday that 27-year old Tomas Plekanec was re-signed to a six-year deal that TSN reported to be worth $30 million, or $5 million per season.

“I’ve always said it and I meant it. I wanted to stay in Montreal. I’m extremely happy and excited to be back here for six more years,” explained Plekanec via conference call from his native Kladno in the Czech Republic. “I couldn’t be happier and this is an exciting time for me.”

An organization so used to seeing its players move on when the opportunity for free agency arrives, the Canadiens are happy to keep one of their own. Plekanec was selected by the Habs in the third round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft and has spent all nine years with the team earning his spot on the roster.

In that time, he has proven himself to be a responsible two-way player capable of playing in all situations. Coming off a down year in 2008-09 when he posted just 39 points, Plekanec rebounded mightily last year with a career-high and team-leading 70 points between 25 goals and 45 assists while playing alongside Mike Cammalleri and Andrei Kostitsyn. He added three points in five contests as an important part of Czech Republic’s roster during the Olympics and added 11 points in 19 postseason contests during the Canadiens’ improbable to the Eastern Conference Finals.

With this signing, the Canadiens have $49.375 million committed to next season’s payroll with 14 players signed and the likes of Carey Price, Sergei Kostitsyn, Maxim Lapierre and Glen Metropolit in need of new contracts. Montreal is also in need of a backup goaltender after trading Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues last week.

~ A few players throughout the NHL have the “love to have them on my team, hate them when they’re not” label attached to them. Sean Avery of the New York Rangers is one of them. Jarkko Ruutu of the Ottawa Senators is another. And his knack for blindside hits coming to the forefront last season, Matt Cooke landed himself on that list, as well.

Regardless of his dirty reputation, or because of it, the Pittsburgh Penguins decided to keep Cooke around for the next three seasons by signing him to a deal that Pens Universe has at $1.8 million per season with a no-trade clause. He was otherwise scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Cooke became an instant heel to all 29 other teams and their fans with an early March hit to the head of Marc Savard that concussed the All-Star forward for the rest of the season and majority of the playoffs.

Outside of his agitating style, Cooke has also developed a reputation for being a pretty good offensive player, as well. On a line with Jordan Staal and Tyler Kennedy, the 31-year old was able to post 15 goals, which ties a career-high, and 15 assists for 30 points. He added four more goals during the playoffs. Over the course of 738 career games spanning 11 seasons with the Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh, Cooke has registered 114 goals and 157 assists for 271 points.

This signing brings Pittsburgh’s payroll up to $46.908 million with just three defensemen signed and general manager Ray Shero still needing to find a winger to compliment Sidney Crosby on the top line. Sergei Gonchar is also eligible to enter free agency next week and is expecting to seek a contract somewhere between $5 and 6 million per season – a range quite possibly out of the Penguins budget.

~ The San Jose Sharks have informed pending free agent goaltender Evgeni Nabokov that they are letting him enter the free agent market and will not offer him a new contract. General manager Doug Wilson let Nabokov know that the team was looking to head in a different direction, and his services after 10 years would no longer be needed.

“We’ve made a decision to go a different direction on the goaltender,” explained Wilson in a meeting with Bay Area media on Tuesday at Sharks Ice. “I had a conversation with him this morning because he deserves that respect and he’ll get nothing but great reviews on what he’s meant to this organization.”

This represents a major change for an organization that has seen Nabokov as its No. 1 goalie since 2000. He has served the team well during his time and played well enough for San Jose to feel comfortable in trading plenty of other star good netminders like Miikka Kiprusoff and Vesa Toskala. The 34-year old, Russian native has played 563 games in the teal uniform and has 293 career wins to go along with a 2.39 goals against average, .912 save percentage and 50 shutouts. He posted his third consecutive 40-win season last year.

Wilson’s reasoning behind moving away from Nabokov has to do with the money he is likely to demand on a new contract and the recent trend of unconventional goaltending options leading to playoff success. Nabokov is entering perhaps the final phase of his career where he can demand a big-money deal and he is well within his rights to capitalize on that. But that contract could fall somewhere in the ballpark of $6 million a season, which is too rich for a San Jose team still looking to re-sign players like Patrick Marleau (possibly), Joe Pavelski, Devon Setoguchi, Niclas Wallin, Scott Nichol, Manny Malholtra and a replacement for the recently retired Rob Blake.

Additionally, in light of rookie Antti Niemi’s Stanley Cup winning goaltending this past spring, Michael Leighton and Brian Boucher backstopping the Flyers to the Finals, and Jaroslav Halak stealing the show in Montreal, Wilson wants to explore cheaper options at contending for a championship.

“If you look at the trends in this league the last four or five years in particular and the dollars that are dedicated to that position,” he said. “If you’re dedicating $5 or $6 million, that’s coming out of somewhere else.”

Nabokov’s regular season play has largely been stellar, but his postseason performances have come into a question and it seems illogical to pay somebody $6 million when an opposing team’s goaltender is making under $1 million and manages to backstop his club to a Cup. Unfortunately, Wilson doesn’t have many options in the system right now outside of Thomas Greiss. He is prepared to consider options on the free agent market, such as Jose Theodore, Chris Mason, Marty Turco and Leighton.

~ The NHL released the 2010-11 schedule on Tuesday, with the puck slated to drop on October 7. The year will once again begin overseas, as six teams are slated to begin their campaigns in Europe during the Premier Series. Carolina and Minnesota will clash from Oct. 7-8 in Helsinki, Finland; San Jose and Columbus will go at it from Oct. 8-9 in Stockholm, Sweden; and Boston will face Phoenix in Prague, Czech Republic from Oct. 9-10.

Some important dates to keep in mind:

• The Chicago Blackhawks will raise the Stanley Cup banner on October 9 against the Detroit Red Wings, though they will open their season on the road against Colorado.
• Canadian rivalries will take center stage on opening night, as the Maple Leafs face off against the Montreal Canadiens at the Air Canada Center, while Edmonton and Calgary do battle at Rexall Place.
• The Pittsburgh Penguins open their new arena, Consol Energy Center, against their southern rival Philadelphia Flyers on opening night.
• John MacLean will be behind the bench for his first regular season game as head coach when the Devils start at home on Oct. 8 against the Dallas Stars, the team Jason Arnott put away to clinch the 2000 Stanley Cup.
• Steve Yzerman’s Tampa Bay Lightning will play his former team the Detroit Red Wings for the only time next season on Feb. 17 in Tampa.
• The annual Winter Classic will once again go down on Jan. 1, this time between the Sidney Crosby-led Pittsburgh Penguins and Alexander Ovechkin-led Washington Capitals. The Heritage Classic is given another go on Feb. 20 between the Canadiens and Flames.

~ The next group of Hockey Hall of Famers was announced on Tuesday. After years of being overlooked, Dino Ciccarelli finally got the call. Meanwhile, the first two women inductees to go into the Hall will come in the form of USA Women’s Hockey posterwoman Cammi Granato and “the Wayne Gretzky of women’s hockey,” Angela James. Along with those three, Red Wings executive Jim Devellano and Calgary Flames founding member Daryl “Doc” Seaman are going into the builder’s category. All of these names will be immortalized in Toronto on Nov. 8.