NHL

Trio of signings make Philly bigger on defense

By wire services
Published August 3, 2005

VOORHEES, N.J. - The Flyers bulked up their defense Tuesday by signing Derian Hatcher, Mike Rathje and Chris Therien. All are about 6 feet 5 and 235 pounds.

Hatcher, who captained Dallas to the 1999 Stanley Cup under current Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock, signed a four-year deal worth $14-million. He said he has recovered from a torn ACL that limited to 15 games in 2003-04. He became a free agent when Detroit bought him out instead of paying his $4.94-million salary.

Rathje, considered among the league's top stay-at-home defensemen, singed for five years and $17.5-million. He had two goals and 17 assists and was plus-18 for San Jose in 2003-04.

Therien returns to the Flyers, who traded him to Dallas late in 2003-04, for one season at $500,000. He had one goal and nine assists and was plus-6 in a combined 67 games.

RALEIGH, N.C. - Cory Stillman, part of the Lightning's Stanley Cup team, agreed to a three-year contract with Carolina.

Stillman, 31, was the Lightning's second-leading scorer and seventh in the league in 2003-04 with 80 points. He was third in the league with 55 assists.

In August 2004, the Lightning walked away from an arbitration award of $3.9-million, making him a free agent.

BLACKHAWKS: Defenseman Adrian Aucoin signed for four years and $16-million. He had his best season in 2003-04 while with the Islanders with 13 goals, 31 assists and a plus-29.

BLUE JACKETS: Adam Foote, part of two title teams in Colorado, signed a three-year deal worth $13.8-million. Foote, 34, who turned down a four-year, $12-million offer from the Avalanche, led defensemen with 35.5 shifts per game in 2003-04, had eight goals and 22 assists and was plus-13.

BRUINS: Forward Glen Murray re-signed for four years, and forwards Shawn McEachern and Dave Scatchard signed for two and four, respectively. Murray scored a team-high 32 goals and had 28 assists in 2003-04. McEachern was Atlanta's second-leading scorer with 55 points, including 17 goals. Scatchard had nine goals and 16 assists for the Islanders.

COYOTES: Goalie Brian Boucher, who in 2003-04 set a record with 332 minutes, 1 second of scoreless play, re-signed for one year and $900,000. The signing likely takes, for now, the Coyotes out of the running to sign Nikolai Khabibulin. Boucher went 10-19-10 with a 2.74 goals-against.

ISLANDERS: Defenseman Alexei Zhitnik signed a four-year deal. Financial terms were not disclosed. Zhitnik, 32, had four goals and 24 assists in 64 games for Buffalo in 2003-04.

KINGS: Three-time All-Star center Pavol Demitra agreed to a three-year deal worth $13.5-million. Demitra, 30, spent the past eight seasons with St. Louis, leading it in scoring four of the past six seasons and ranking fifth all-time in franchise history with 493 points. In 2003-04, he had 23 goals and 35 assists despite missing 24 games with various injuries.

PANTHERS: Left wing Martin Gelinas signed a two-year deal. Gelinas, 35, had 17 goals and 18 assists for Calgary in 2003-04.

RANGERS: Goaltender Kevin Weekes re-signed and forward Martin Straka and defenseman Marek Malik signed. Weekes, who signed for two years and $3.9-million, played in a career-high 66 games with Carolina in 2003-04, going 23-30-11 with a 2.33 goals-against average.

Straka, who scored 35 goals in 1998-99 and will get $3-million for one season, had only 10 goals and 16 assists in 54 games for Pittsburgh and Los Angeles. Malik, who signed for one year and $2.5-million, had three goals and 16 assists for Vancouver.

RED WINGS: Forward Steve Yzerman signed for one year, ensuring a 22nd season with the only team for which he has played. The future of Yzerman, 40, had been in doubt since surgery for a scratched cornea and multiple fractures below his left eye sustained when he was hit by a puck during a 2004 playoff game.

[Last modified August 3, 2005, 00:36:17]