Don’t know if there will be any news today.

So I thought, on this patriotic day, I’d leave you with a memory that is both patriotic and everything great about hockey, courtesy of Sports Illustrated.

Enjoy it, and a hamburger, and a cold beer. Don’t drink and drive, and do stop back here later.

(did you guys ever notice that on this famous cover, the flag is perfectly situated over the U and the S in Sports Illustrated?)

According to reports, Tyler Arnason has signed a two-way contract with the Rangers. Steve Zipay had it in his blog. More details to follow.

Here’s the official word:

RANGERS AGREE TO TERMS WITH FREE AGENT FORWARD TYLER ARNASON
            New York, July 3, 2009 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms on a two-way contract with free agent forward Tyler Arnason.
               Arnason, 30, skated in 71 games with the Colorado Avalanche last season, registering five goals and 17 assists for 22 points, along with 14 penalty minutes.  He finished seventh on the team in scoring with 22 points, and tied for seventh on the Avalanche with 17 assists.  He also ranked third on the club with 58 takeaways.  Arnason recorded four multi-point games on the season, including a three-assist performance, which tied a career-high, on March 8 at Chicago.  He posted a season-high, four-game point streak from January 10 against Pittsburgh to January 16 vs. Edmonton, collecting four points (one goal and three assists) over the span.

              In 2007-08, Arnason finished second on the Avalanche with 179 shots, registering 10 goals and 21 assists for 31 points in 70 games.  He ranked eighth on the team in assists and ninth in goals and points.  He also led Colorado with nine points (three goals and six assists) during the month of February.  Arnason posted eight multi-point performances, including two, three-point games – January 30 against Chicago (one goal and two assists) and February 9 at Vancouver (one goal and two assists).  He also registered 16 points in a 13-game stretch from January 12 at Carolina to February 9 at Vancouver (four goals and 12 assists).  On February 24, Arnason notched the fastest goal to begin a game by an Avalanche player during the season, tallying a goal 27 seconds into the game at Edmonton.  He recorded his 200th NHL point with an assist on November 16 at Dallas, and skated in his 400thcareer game on March 1 against Los Angeles.  In addition, Arnason registered five points (two goals and three assists) in 10 playoff contests with Colorado.  He tied for third on the team in postseason goals (two) and fourth in assists (three) and points (five).
                The 5-11, 204-pounder has skated in 487 career regular season contests with the Chicago Blackhawks, Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche, registering 88 goals and 157 assists for 245 points, along with 140 penalty minutes.  He established career-highs in goals (22), assists (33), points (55), power play goals (six), and shots (222) as a member of the Blackhawks during the 2003-04 season.  In his first year with the Avalanche in 2006-07, Arnason tied his career-high for assists (33), and finished third on the club with 211 shots.  In 2005-06, he posted a career-high, seven-game scoring streak from December 3 at Florida to December 18 vs. Dallas, registering nine points (four goals and five assists) during the stretch.  In addition, Arnason has recorded two career hat tricks, and was selected to the 2003 NHL All-Rookie Team following his first full season with Chicago.
           The Oklahoma City, Oklahoma native was originally Chicago’s seventh round selection, 183rd overall, in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.

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Here’s another big one:

RANGERS AGREE TO TERMS WITH FREE AGENT FORWARD COREY LOCKE
            New York, July 3, 2009 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms with free agent forward Corey Locke.
Locke, 25, skated in 77 games with the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League (AHL) last season, registering 25 goals and 54 assists for 79 points, along with 60 penalty minutes.  He established career-highs in assists and points.  Locke ranked among the league leaders in several statistical categories, ranking fourth in assists, tied for seventh in points and tied for 13^th in power play goals (13).  He also tied for the AHL lead with 29 power play assists.  Locke led the Aeros in assists, points and power play goals, and finished second on the team in goals.  In addition, he recorded a team-high, 23 multi-point performances, including a four-point effort on October 18 vs. San Antonio (two goals and two assists).  Locke registered a career-high, 10-game scoring streak from March 1 at Milwaukee to March 25 at Milwaukee, collecting 12 points (four goals and eight assists) over the span.
In 2007-08, Locke established a career-high in goals (30), while leading Hamilton (AHL) in goals, assists (42) and points (72).  He tied for 11^th in the AHL in goals and points.  He also tied the AHL season-high, and set a new career-high, for points in a game with six points on April 9 against Rochester (three goals and three assists).  In addition, Locke made his NHL debut with the Montreal Canadiens on January 8 vs. Chicago.
The 5-9, 175-pound forward has skated in 390 career AHL games in five seasons with the Hamilton Bulldogs and Houston Aeros, registering 110 goals and 198 assists for 308 points, along with 251 penalty minutes.  The three-time AHL All-Star (2006, 2008 and 2009) is Hamilton’s all-time leader in goals (85), assists (144) and points (229).  In addition, Locke has skated in 46 AHL postseason contests with Hamilton and Houston, collecting 22 goals and 23 assists for 45 points, along with 44 penalty minutes.  Last season, Locke established career-highs in playoff goals (12) and points (23) while skating in 20 games for Houston.  In 2007, he led Hamilton to the Calder Cup Championship, setting the franchise record for most points in a single postseason (22).
The Toronto, Ontario native was originally Montreal’s fourth round selection, 113^th overall, in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. 

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The Rangers also resigned P.A. Parenteau, who played in Hartford last season. 

A apologize for the unavoidable delay in getting this info.
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From what I’ve been told about Brashear-Orr is that it was nothing to do with money. They (Tortorella/Sather, et al) decided Brashear could get in on the forecheck better than Orr or any of the other available heavyweight types and be a useful fourth-liner, whereas Orr’s effectiveness fell off with the reduction of his minutes (Torts plays three lines, as you know).
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SIGNING ALERT, SIGNING ALERT:

RANGERS AGREE TO TERMS WITH FORWARD CHRIS CHAPPELL
            New York, July 2, 2009 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms with free agent forward Chris Chappell.
            Chappell, 21, skated in 68 games with the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) last season, registering 38 goals and 38 assists for 76 points, along with 88 penalty minutes.  He established career-highs in games played (68), goals (38), assists (38), points (76), and penalty minutes (88).  Chappell led Saginaw in goals and points, and tied for second on the team in assists.  He also led the team and tied for third in the OHL with 18 power play goals, while his 38 goals tied for eighth in the league.  Chappell was selected to represent the Western Conference in the OHL All-Star Classic, and collected one assist in the contest.  He posted two, seven-game scoring streaks – from November 7 vs. Ottawa to November 22 at Barrie (three goals and 10 assists) and February 25 vs. Plymouth to March 12 vs. Owen Sound (four goals and four assists) – and recorded 21 multi-point efforts, including his first career hat trick and four-point performance on February 16 at Oshawa (three goals and one assist).  In addition, the Pickering, Ontario native recorded two goals and six assists for eight points in eight playoff contests with Saginaw.  He tied for the team lead in postseason assists (six) and ranked fourth in postseason points (eight).
            The 6-4, 209-pounder has skated in 248 career OHL games with Saginaw, recording 70 goals and 84 assists for 154 points, along with 243 penalty minutes.  In 2007-08, Chappell ranked fifth on the Spirit in goals (14) and points (34), and tied for sixth on the team in assists (20).  He made his OHL debut against Plymouth on September 21, 2005, and registered his first point with an assist on October 15, 2005, against Owen Sound.  Chappell has also tallied four goals and eight assists for 12 points in 22 career postseason contests with Saginaw.

Just kidding.

Heatley again declined the request to waive his no-trade clause, even after personal visits from Kevin Lowe and Steve Tambellini of the Oilers’ front office. So he remains in Ottawa, $4 million richer, and on a team on which he doesn’t want to play. Good luck trading him now, Senators.

Here’s TSN’s story from shortly after midnight.

RANGERS AGREE TO TERMS WITH FREE AGENT FORWARD MARIAN GABORIK 

            New York, July 1, 2009 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms with unrestricted free agent forward Marian Gaborik.
        Gaborik, a two-time NHL All-Star, has reached the 30-goal plateau in five of his eight NHL seasons, including a 42-goal season in 2007-08.  He owns Minnesota Wild franchise records in points (437), goals (219), assists (218), power play goals (59), game-winning goals (43), and shots on goal (1,694).  He has also posted 112 career multi-point performances.  Gaborik, 27, has skated in 502 career regular season contests with Minnesota, registering 219 goals and 218 assists for 437 points, along with 301 penalty minutes.

         In 2007-08, Gaborik established career-highs in goals (42), assists (41), points (83), and plus/minus rating (plus-17).  His 42 goals and 83 points were both Minnesota franchise records, while his eight game-winning goals tied the franchise record he previously set during the 2002-03 season.  He also led the Wild in plus/minus rating and multi-point games (20), and tied for the team lead in power play goals (11).  On December 20, he became the first NHL player in 11 years to tally five goals in a game, accomplishing the feat against the Rangers (last – Sergei Fedorov, December 26, 1996).  He also added an assist in the contest to record his second career six-point effort.  In addition, Gaborik registered his 400^th NHL point with an assist on March 7 at Atlanta, and notched his 200^th career goal on March 15 against Los Angeles.
           In 2002-03, Gaborik became the first member of the Wild to participate in the NHL All-Star Game, tallying three points (one goal and two assists) in the contest to earn Second Star honors.  As a rookie in 2000-01, Gaborik led the Wild in points (36) and shots (179), and tied for the team lead in goals (18).  His 179 shots led all NHL rookies, while he finished fifth among league rookies in goals and tied for fifth in points.  He also registered his first career goal, the first goal in Wild franchise history, in his NHL debut on October 6, 2000 at Anaheim.
          In postseason play, Gaborik has skated in 29 career contests with Minnesota, collecting 12 goals and 10 assists for 22 points, along with 18 penalty minutes.  He led the Wild to the Western Conference Finals in 2003, registering a team leading nine goals and 17 points in 18 games.  His nine goals and 17 points both ranked third in the NHL.
           The 6-1, 200-pounder appeared in 17 games with Minnesota last season, registering 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points, along with two penalty minutes.  He led the Wild in points for the month of April, recording 10 points (five goals and five assists) in five games.  Gaborik posted seven multi-point performances, including a four-point effort on March 25 at the New York Islanders (two goals and two assists).  He finished the season riding a seven-game scoring streak, registering 13 points (seven goals and six assists) during the stretch, which included a five-game goal streak from March 29 at Edmonton to April 7 vs. Dallas.  The five-game goal scoring streak tied his career-high.  The April 7 game against Dallas was also Gaborik’s 500^th NHL appearance.
        Internationally, Gaborik has represented Slovakia in several major tournaments.  Most recently, he skated for his native country at the 2007 World Championships, registering a team-high five goals and 11 points in six games.  In 2006, he made his Olymipic debut for Slovakia at the Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, collecting seven points (three goals and four assists) in six games.
        The Trencin, Slovakia native was originally Minnesota’s first round choice, third overall, in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.

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SATHER ON CONFERENCE CALL:

He said the Rangers “had a lot of balls in the air” the last two days, but that they weren’t in on the bidding for Marian Hossa, who signed for 12 years with Chicago.

On Gaborik putting up those stats under Jacqes Lemaire’s stifling system:
“Gaborik played under that system and had almost a point a game. It’ll be interesting to see how he does under Tortorella’s system … an up-tempo, speed game. This guy fits that bill to a ‘T’.”
Said that the Rangers sent a scout to Slovakia, to Gaborik’s house with a video tape. He said Rangers doctors have been in touch with Gaborik’s surgeons, and that the hip surgery he had last season is the same that Michal Rozsival had, and that Mario Lemieux once had. So he’s not concerned at all about the hip (or related groin injuries).

He pointed out that the dollars and term of the Gaborik deal were the same as Dany Heatley’s contract, but the Rangers didn’t have to give up anything else to get him.
Asked where Gaborik stands among the elite forwards in the NHL:
“He’s certainly in the top 10. He’s an exciting guy to watch play. He can skate. He’s a great player and he’s young.”

On worries about putting Brashear in the Rangers’ lockerroom:
“I think our players will be excited to have him in the room. They know he’s going to be the man.”
He said he thinks Brashear is quicker to the puck than Orr, and that he will be a better fit for Tortorella’s puck-pressure system.

Sather also said that he thinks Dubinsky could be a No. 1 center, but that he will still be looking to add players, maybe as soon as tomorrow. He is also confident he has enough cap space left to sign Dubinsky, Callahan, and even Nik Zherdev; and to ward off any potential—albeit unlikely—offer sheets to any of his restricted free agents.

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One more thing: We’re told Gaborik did not get a No-Move clause.

RANGERS AGREE TO TERMS WITH FREE AGENT FORWARD DONALD BRASHEAR

New York, July 1, 2009 – New York Rangers President and General Manager Glen Sather announced today that the club has agreed to terms with unrestricted free agent forward Donald Brashear.
Brashear appeared in 63 games with the Washington Capitals last season, registering one goal and three assists, along with a team leading 121 penalty minutes. He placed fourth on the club, and second among team forwards, with 119 hits. Washington posted a 4-0-0 mark in games that Brashear posted a point. He tallied the game-winning goal on December 4 vs. the New York Islanders, his first game-winner since December 14, 2002 vs. Buffalo (as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers).
In 2007-08, Brashear led the Capitals with 119 penalty minutes and ranked fourth on the team with 133 hits. Brashear recorded five goals and three assists while skating in 80 games. The Capitals were 4-0-1 when he tallied a goal, and 6-0-1 when he registered a point. Brashear notched his 200th NHL point on March 3 vs. Boston, and skated in his 900th career game on February 5 at Columbus. On December 12, he posted his first multi-point effort since October 22, 2005, collecting two assists vs. the Rangers. In addition, Brashear tallied two points (one goal and one assist) in seven postseason contests with Washington.
The 6-3, 237-pounder has skated in 989 career regular season contests with the Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers, and Washington Capitals, registering 85 goals and 119 assists for 204 points, along with 2,561 penalty minutes. He established career-highs in assists (19), points (28) and shots on goal (127) as a member of the Canucks during the 2000-01 season. Brashear tallied a career-high, three assists/points on December 8, 2000 at San Jose. In 1999-00, Brashear notched a career-best 11 goals in just 60 games. As a rookie in 1993-94, he recorded four points (two goals and two assists) in 14 games with Montreal. He registered an assist in his NHL debut on November 15, 1993 at Ottawa, and tallied his first career goal two days later against Edmonton.
In post-season play, Brashear has appeared in 60 career contests with Montreal, Vancouver, Philadelphia, and Washington, registering three goals and six assists for nine points, along with 121 penalty minutes. He skated in the 2004 Eastern Conference Finals as a member of the Flyers, recording four points (one goal and three assists) and 61 penalty minutes in 18 games. His three assists, four points and 61 penalty minutes were all career-highs.
The Bedford, Indiana native was originally signed as a free agent by Montreal on July 28, 1992.
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OK, back to more normal stuff: TSN reports Rangers are one of the teams to have made an offer to Chris Neil.

Also, that Montreal signed Jaroslav Spacek for three years. Why? No idea.
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Reports: Eric Cole is re-signing with Carolina.

TSN saying Nikolai Khabibulin signing with Edmonton.

Ooops. Forgot to report Brian Boucher signing with the Flyers. Can you imagine?

Toronto wants Chris Neil, too.
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Bob McKenzie is saying that the Rangers are not involved in the Heatley sweepstakes. And that it will either be Edmonton or bust … “bust being Ottawa.” The Rangers surely aren’t going to put another offer with Dubinsky on the table, in my opinion. Although you never know what the Rangers are actually thinking, proof being earlier today.
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Oh, boy. Rumors are the Flyers will sign Ian Laperriere. They may have no goaltending, but they are going to be annoying to play against.
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Step out to get the mail at Blog HQ, and you miss a lot: Montreal signing Hal Gill (what is Bob Gainey doing up there?).

Pittsburgh signing Mike Rupp.

Rangers, according to TSN, have a four-year offer on the table for Chris Neil. Who is going to score goals? Do they want to be in the draft lottery next year?

Also, Florida signing Devils G Scott Clemmensen.

Meanwhile, we’ve got a new poll going on the right side of this page. Vote early and often.
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Mike Cammalleri to Montreal for five years, $6M per. I know a lot of you guys wanted him, but that’s a big contract. Is there a salary cap in Montreal????

The Toronto trade of Kubina to Atlanta is reportedly done, for Garnet Exelby, Colin Stuart and Tim Stapleton.
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Mike Komisarek is off the board, according to TSN: To Toronto.

Please let us know if you come across any news as you surf the net and the twitters.

If you need to catch up at any time, here is TSN’s tracker.
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Reports: Radek Dvorak re-signs with Florida, $3.4 M over two years. Not a big deal.

Rumors: Chicago interested in Hossa. Observation: Welcome to the club.

Reports: Kovalev re-signs with Montreal, $8.8M over two years.
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Saw this one coming a mile away and predicted it yesterday: Leafs sign Rangers enforcer Colton Orr. I must say, for four years at $1M per, I thought he would be worth keeping. But we saw that John Tortorella scratched him from Game 6 and Game 7. Nobody likes the tough guys like Leafs GM Brian Burke.

Devils re-sign Andy Greene, via Tom Gulitti. Who rules, by the way.
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Florida re-signs David Booth for six years.

Toronto Star reports that Toronto traded Pavel Kubina to Atlanta.

ESPN reporting that the Kovalev signing is NOT done.

TSN reporting Hossa signed with Chicago.
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Denver Post reports that Avalanche signed G Craig Anderson.
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Just an aside: If the Hossa deal is really for 12 years, that’s completely insane. Safe to say the Rangers won’t make the worst move today.

TSN reporting that Tampa Bay added Matt Walker for four years.

Another aside: Marian Hossa was once traded from Ottawa by John Muckler, with Greg DeVries, for Dany Heatley.
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TSN reports Ty Conklin signed with St. Louis.

Reports: Islanders sign G Dwayne Roloson for two years, $5M … Roloson confirms it; tells TSN Edmonton only offered one year.

Reports: Chicago also signs Tomas Kopecky for two years.

TSN now saying Scott Niedermayer might be talking to several teams, including the Devils, and not necessarily re-signing with Anaheim.
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THIS JUST  IN: The Rangers are really about to sign Donald Brashear. 
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Buffalo signed Steve Montador.

Brashear signing is completely official now.

Capitals signed Mike Knuble.
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The Brashear numbers, according to TSN: Two years, $1.4 million per. So why the heck not just keep Colton Orr for $1 M per???? Brashear can’t play, is hated by Rangers fans, and violated the Rangers in the playoffs. Makes no sense to me.
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Scott Niedermayer re-signed for one year, $6 M with Anaheim. Brother Rob is still available.

TSN says 16 signees have totalled $137.6 M today. Where’s the recession? And only $2.8 M spent by NYR.

He hired John Tortorella, the best coach he has ever hired in either Edmonton or New York. He worked with his tight salary cap and improved the Rangers dramatically around and at the trade deadline (Avery, Antropov, Morris) without giving up anything the Rangers needed for the coming season other than a second-rounder.

He had a decent draft—we will withhold judgment for years and years, as you must do with any draft.

And yesterday he dumped Scott Gomez’s contract on Montreal, opened up needed cap space to maneuver and improve the 2009-10 roster, got back some potentially high-end young players, and then took Ottawa GM Bryan Murray to school in a Dany Heatley showdown.

Now it’s make or break time. What Sather does with the new cap room, today when the free agent market opens at noon, or going forward through the summer, will define the organization and probably Sather’s legacy here.

Let’s face a few things. The Rangers who collapsed in the first playoff round, who weren’t nearly good enough through the previous 82 games, are worse right now, especially offensively, where they were already dreadful. They have taken off their roster: Gomez, Antropov, Morris, Markus Naslund, probably Colton Orr, Blair Betts, Freddie Sjostrom, Paul Mara, maybe Nik Zherdev and others. They have some young players who will fill those holes.

But Sather has to fill the rest, has to get some offense. 

There are stories today that the Heatley $4 million bonus at the crux of Ottawa’s fire sale can now be paid by the end of today … so Ottawa hasn’t cut that check yet. So Heatley apparently is still in play. There are stories that San Jose is interested. Maybe Sather will be interested again. Or maybe that ship has sailed, since the overmatched Murray was quoted as saying that Brandon Dubinsky and Michal Rozsival weren’t enough.

Can’t imagine Slats will sweeten that offer. Not when he can just spend money to improve his team starting in the next hour. What will he do? I have no idea. Nobody does. Maybe he will go the lesser-name route, which historically has been far more successful than the marquee/big-bucks path the Rangers and other teams have traveled (see list from yesterday morning’s post).

I’m taking up too much space and time saying I can’t even speculate what will happen. Watch (see below) and stay tuned here all day.
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NHL NETWORK U.S. TO TELEVISE FREE AGENCY SPECIAL ON JULY 1
     NEW YORK (June 30, 2009) – NHL Network in the U.S. will have six hours of live coverage to celebrate the opening of the NHL’s free agency period at Noon ET on July 1.  The hockey experts from NHL Live! will get things started with two hours of news, analysis, interviews and viewer phone calls beginning at Noon ET.  Next, NHL Network for U.S. viewers is presenting a live airing of TSN’s third annual NHL on TSN: Free Agent Frenzy special from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. ET.  Hosted by James Duthie, the show features TSN’s team of reporters and correspondents providing news of the day’s transactions.   

     TSN Hockey Insiders Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger will be at the ‘News Breakers’ desk to bring viewers the most up-to-date information on NHL signings. Duthie is joined by TSN hockey analysts Pierre McGuire, Darren Pang and former Tampa Bay Lightning General Manager Jay Feaster on the Instant Analysis panel while Gino Reda will deliver an in-depth look at all of the Free Agents in play. Duthie will also conduct live interviews with players, coaches and GMs from around the League, providing viewers with comprehensive access to instant reaction from the deal-makers and players involved.  Dave Hodge is joined in-studio by a panel including Michael Farber, Dave Naylor and Chris Stevenson with additional opinions and analysis.  NHL Network will be the only place on television for U.S. NHL fans to keep updated on all of the transactions of the day.