Paul Martin, Defenseman, New Jersey to Pittsburgh Teams hoping to woo Martin didn’t have much time to prepare as the Penguins inked their new defensemen within 24 hours. Martin will fill Gonchars void in the Pittsburgh D, giving the team some fresh legs down the stretch.Keith Ballard, Defenseman, Florida to Vancouver With arguably the league’s best goalie Roberto Luongo in net, the Canucks could probably hold fan try outs for their defensemen slots and still remain competitive at least through a period or two. Fortunately for Canucks fans, Luongo’s job just got a little easier when Vancouver acquired Keith Ballard in a draft day trade from the Panthers. Ballard has led his team in hits every year in his NHL career and should be a three pronged contributor for his new team, offense, defense and intimidation. (more…)

Though it the NHL off-season hasn’t garnered nearly the hype of Miami’s NBA coup d’etat, a lot of high impact players switched sweaters this summer and will be skating in new cities when the regular season kicks off in October. Here’s a look at the biggest additions and losses that will alter the league’s landscape.Evgeni Nabakov, Goaltender, San Jose to KHL There was no question as to whether Nabakov would cash in this summer, however he was expected to receive a big bag of American dollars, not Russian rubles. After 12 years of NHL service in San Jose, Nabakov has decided to pull an anti-Lebron and take his talents back to his home country. The goalie has been an integral part of the Sharks success over the past decade and will be sorely missed by fans in teal. (more…)