Armstrong To Leafs, Niittymaki To Sharks, Auld To Montreal, O'Donnell To Flyers

 

~ Penguins fans probably would have love to have him back, but the winger most compatible with Sidney Crosby that was dealt to Atlanta in the Marian Hossa trade is now heading to Toronto on a three-year, $9 million deal. That's right, Colby Armstrong is the second top-six forward acquired by Brian Burke in the past two days (Kris Versteeg being the first.) He made $2.4 million last year, so this represents a $600,000 raise and is pretty equal to the output he provides. Armstrong is a gritty two-way player with 20-goal potential.

~ The San Jose Sharks cut the line on Evgeni Nabokov because they wanted to seek cheaper options than the $5- to 6-million he will probably find somewhere in free agency. Well, they found one, and it comes in the form of ex-Flyer/Lightning netminder Antero Niittymaki. He is on board for two years at $2 million per, which drastically lower than what Nabokov likely would have cost. But I do fear in this case that the Sharks will get what they pay for. Niittymaki is good and posted 21 wins with Tampa last year in 49 games played. But he's still just a better-than-average backup and will fail to win over 40 games a season like Nabokov did three years in a row if asked to shoulder a heavy load in San Jose.

~ Forget Dan Ellis, people. His lacking French-speaking skills won't be necessary. The Montreal Canadiens went another route for their No. 1A/2 goalie next season with Alexander Auld. Auld, who was a waiver acquisition for the Rangers late last year, is a more-than-adequate backup who will push Carey Price. Auld is there for one year at $1 million, which is by far a cheaper rate than what St. Louis will now have to dish out for Jaroslav Halak.

~ Apparently the Philadelphia Flyers need an army of defensemen, because they have quite a few and just added another. Veteran Sean O'Donnell is coming to Philly on a one-year deal worth $1 million, plus games played incentives. He's a good stay-at-home defender and worth it at that price. But the signing still begs the question, why? Or ... who's being dealt?