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NHL Free Agent Tracker

Below is the list of NHL free agents who made it to unrestricted free agency without re-signing with their teams prior to July 1 at 12 PM ET.

Celebrating 4th of July With American Hockey Highlights

There are many different ways to celebrate the 4th of July holiday: You can cross state lines and purchase hundreds of dollars worth of illegal fireworks. You can stuff your face with food, whether it be for fun or in the name of "competition." You can spend quality time with family and friends. You can combine all of the above and stuff your face with food, in the presence of family and friends, while you dodge the local police and set off hundreds of dollars worth of illegal fireworks.

You can also spend a few minutes and watch a bunch of random videos that feature American-born hockey players.

Enjoy.

Kings Acquire Ryan Smyth, Avalanche Dump Salary

The Los Angeles Kings entered the offseason with a fair amount of cap space and plethora of young assets that could have been used to bring in a big-name player to help boost a young team from Western Conference bottom-feeder to legitimate playoff contender. Personally, I was pushing for disgruntled Senators forward Dany Heatley, who seemed like he would have been a nice fit. The Kings, however, may have found an even better fit, when you consider Heatley is, apparently, out of his mind and doesn't quite know what he wants or where he wants to go.

Late Friday night, the Kings acquired veteran forward Ryan Smyth from the Colorado Avalanche for defensemen Kyle Quincey and Tom Preissing, and a fifth-round draft pick. For the Kings? They get a gritty, veteran leader still capable of scoring 25-30 goals. For the Avs? It's a salary dump, and a head start in the season-long quest for Taylor Hall.

Rick Nash Gets Contract Extension

Once he was drafted, Rick Nash quickly became the centerpiece of the Columbus Blue Jackets. It didn't take him long to prove himself worthy of such a label.

Now the Blue Jackets' captain, Nash has blossomed into one of the best players in the NHL. Coming off the team's first-ever appearance (albeit a short one) in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Nash was about to enter his final season before unrestricted free agency. Instead, he's become the highest-paid player in franchise history.

Fedotenko Joins Guerin, Takes Less Money to Stay With Penguins

I don't know how Penguins general manager Ray Shero pulled it off, but he managed to not only retain the services of Ruslan Fedotenko and Bill Guerin, two of the teams top-six forwards from their Stanley Cup winning team, but he did so while getting them to take paycuts.

After signing Guerin to a one-year deal on Monday, the Penguins announced that they agreed to terms with Fedotenko Friday afternoon. Rob Rossi of the Tribune Review reports the deal as being worth $1.8 million, down from the $2.25 million he made a season ago.

Selanne Will Retire After Next Season

Ducks forward Teemu Selanne will retire after the 2009-2010 season.The Anaheim Ducks still have plenty of veteran presence on their team, despite the trade of defenseman Chris Pronger to Philadelphia.

Captain Scott Niedermayer and forward Teemu Selanne have both said they will return. For Niedermayer, the future is uncertain beyond next season. Selanne, meanwhile, says 2009-2010 will be his last year in the NHL.

Will New Faces, Old Strategy Help Spending-Happy Rangers?

Marian GaborikAh yes, another July 1 passes and the Rangers make another splash in the free agent market. This year they signed the oft-injured and cranky Marian Gaborik to a five-year deal worth $37.5 million, and tough guy Donald Brashear for two years and $2.8 million. Also, former big July 1 signing, Scott Gomez, was shipped off to Montreal in a seven player deal that brought back forward Chris Higgins, among others.

But will all the superstar swaps and signings pay off for the Rangers? They've made similar moves for the past two years and have a grand total of eight playoff wins and a mid-season coaching change to show for it. So is this summer different, or are the Rangers sticking to the same big money strategy that has failed them before?

Scott Niedermayer Is a Happy Duck

Scott Niedermayer had to take some time after Anaheim's grueling seven-game loss to the Red Wings to think about his future. He'll be 36 next month, and the defenseman wanted to make sure he still had the fire to play another full NHL season, with all the time and energy and sacrifices that entails. It's a decision he grapples with on a semi-annual basis.

All it took was watching the Penguins and the Red Wings play for the title to get Niedermayer in the right frame of mind to say "yes" to the Ducks and their one-year, $6 million offer. He officially agreed to the deal on Wednesday, the first day of free agency.

"The Stanley Cup Finals obviously gets you excited to get back on the ice," Niedermayer told FanHouse by phone from Vancouver.

Kubina, Antropov Give Thrashers Fans Some Hope

Hockey fans in Atlanta have known nothing but losing and front office incompetence since the Thrashers joined the NHL a decade ago. Even the best season in franchise history, the 2006-07 campaign that saw the Thrashers qualify for their first and only playoff appearance, ended in disappointment as they were quickly swept under the rug in four games by the New York Rangers.

In the two seasons following that trip to the postseason, the Thrashers have returned to their sub-80-point ways, toiling at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. Thanks to a couple of shrewd moves at the start of the offseason, and some returning young talent, this year's version of the Thrashers looks like it has a chance to make some noise.

Martin Havlat Twitter: 'There's Something to Be Said For Loyalty and Honor'

The Minnesota Wild had quite the busy day in free agency on Wednesday, signing shot-blocker Greg Zanon from the Nashville Predators, and swapping one oft-injured, yet supremely talented forward (Marian Gaborik) for another oft-injured, yet supremely talented forward (Martin Havlat). There was also a report from Michael Russo of the Star Tribune that the team was working on a deal with Saku Koivu.

Havlat, 28, signed a six-year, $30 million deal in Minnesota late Wednesday night, and followed it up by voicing his displeasure with the negotiating process in Chicago ... via Twitter.

A Look at Montreal's Roster Overhaul

The Montreal Canadiens entered the offseason with the always dangerous combination of salary cap space and open roster spots. It didn't take Bob Gainey long to start reconstructing his roster, making the head-scratching trade for Scott Gomez and his gigantic contract on Tuesday, a move that was panned by pretty much every analyst/blogger/and fan outside of New York City.

On Wednesday, when the free agent frenzy officially opened, Gainey continued his roster overhaul, and essentially cornered the market on small, undersized forwards, and reunited Gomez with one of his former teammates from his New Jersey glory days.

Marian Gaborik Signs With Rangers

When Marian Gaborik turned down a ten-year, $78 million offer from the Wild last summer, it was clearly not just about the money. After all, a $7.8 million annual average was about as much as he could possibly hope to earn, especially if he got a ...

Pavel Kubina Traded to Atlanta; Toronto Signs Mike Komisarek

Late last week, Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke made it clear that his team would not be pushed around this upcoming season. Based on his first moves this offseason, he wasn't kidding. After signing tough-guy Colton Orr to a four-year, $4 ...

Oilers Sign Nikolai Khabibulin

We weren't far into the annual craziness of NHL free agency when the Edmonton Oilers suffered a significant loss. Goalie Dwayne Roloson was a rock for this team over his three-plus seasons in northern Alberta. After practically carrying the Oilers to ...

Marian Hossa Signs With Chicago

For the second year in a row Marian Hossa has left the Stanley Cup runner-up in free agency. Unlike a year ago when he signed a one-year deal with the Red Wings, multiple media outlets are reporting on Wednesday that Hossa has signed a long-term, ...

Mattias Ohlund Signs With Lightning

Just mere minutes after the NHL free agency period started Wednesday, the Tampa Bay Lightning jumped in the pool. Looking for a veteran defenseman to help tutor rookie Victor Hedman, the second overall pick in the NHL Draft last weekend, the ...