Several of last summer's free agent signings worked out great for the Dallas Stars, not the least of which was Michael Ryder and his career high 35 goals.
And while you can debate the merits of the Adam Pardy signing, at least he spent a significant chunk of his year on NHL ice, which leaves the title of "worst free-agent signing of the offseason" to one Eric Godard.
The Stars will rectify that soon, as assistant general manager Frank Provenzano told Mike Heika that the Stars will buy out the tough guy who spent his entire year in Austin with the Texas Stars.
Godard has one year left with the Stars, this time a one-way deal that would have guaranteed him a full NHL salary regardless of where he played.
As such, the Stars decided it was best to cut ties and simply pay the two-thirds buyout on his $700,000 salary for the 2012-13 season. The buyout can be spread over two years on the salary cap, so the cap hit should be $258,333 and $233,333 for the next two seasons (according to capgeek.com).
Godard is 32 and has played 335 NHL games with 18 points and 833 penalty minutes.
After the jump, the Stanley Cup comes to the Metroplex, an update on the Jamie Benn contract talks and every NHL team agreed to contract extensions with every player on Thursday, or at least it felt that way.
- I'm not exactly sure what ties Alec Martinez of the Los Angeles Kings has to Allen, but he will be bringing the Stanley Cup to the city at the end of August. [CBC.ca]
- Second-round pick Mike Winther will likely stay with the Prince Albert Raiders in the CHL for the next few seasons, and he might even get a few more dinners out of the deal. [Airdiee Echo]
- Fellow second-round pick Ludvig Bystrom was taken by the Plymouth Whalers in the first round of the CHL import draft. This development caused a bit of discussion behind the scenes here at DBD, since as far as we're aware, Bystrom will continue his career in Sweden, at least for now. But there is no indication this move means he's coming to North America - just that Plymouth has his rights should he decide he wants to cross the pond. [Detroit Free Press]
- It's still way too early to start getting worried about the Jamie Benn contract situation, though if you want to give yourself an ulcer go ahead and dream of all the offersheets you would make if you were another team's general manger. But Heika says the negotiations appear to be going as well as can reasonably be expected at this point. [DallasNews.com]
- Wonder how the Stars quartet became involved in the ownership and coaching of the Allen Americans? Craig Ludwig sat down with a local reporter recently and gave a fairly thorough explanation. [SportsPageMagazine.com]
- In what is quickly becoming Dallas Stars circa 2001 or so redux, the St. Louis Blues signed coach Ken Hitchcock to a one year-contract extension through 2013-14. Word is an extension for general manager Doug Armstrong is not far behind. [NHL.com]
- While I appreciate the team loyalty from Sidney Crosby to sign a 12-year, $104.4 million deal (not to mention the risk the Pittsburgh Penguins are taking by signing a guy who is veering a wee bit too close to Eric Lindros territory for comfort), the $8.7 million average annual value is way too cutesy for my taste. Also getting a significant raise Thursday was Kings goalie Jonathan Quick, who signed a 10-year deal worth an average of $5.8 million. And over in Vancouver Canucks world, goalie Cory Schneider has agreed to a three-year deal worth $12 million. Next up, the inevitable end of Roberto Luongo in that town. [PittsburghPenguins.com/Los Angeles Times/@Real_ESPNLeBrun]
- In the most recent edition of "What Happened To The Stanley Cup Winning Puck?" the one belonging to the Kings has been found. I will give Patrik Elias a credit for actually going to look for the thing. [Puck Daddy]
- Yes, this video is a week old today, but owner Tom Gaglardi does give some insight into how he viewed the team's approach for the draft and talks a little bit about the Mike Ribeiro trade.