The NHL opened its 2008-2009 season in Prague, Czech Republic on Saturday with the New York Rangers playing the Tampa Bay Lightning. The two teams will also play on Sunday 10/5. The opening game went to the New York Rangers 2-1 on Saturday. The Rangers got goals from Markus Naslund and Brandon Dubinsky. This season marks the second year in a row that the NHL has opened in Europe. This years games in the Czech Republic were expected to have extra appeal with Jaromir Jagr as a member of the New York Rangers. However Jagr was not signed by the Rangers or any NHL team this year and instead opted to sign in Russia.

After Sunday’s second game in Prague against the Lightning, the Rangers will get a few days off before returning to Madison Square Garden on Friday to hose the Chicago Blackhawks.

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Forget about summer, it’s free-agent signing season in the NHL. Over the past few days, rumors have been flying around about what market will land the big names out there like Jaromir Jagr and Mats Sundin.

Sundin was reportedly offered a 2-year, $20 million dollar contract from the Vancouver Canucks, a deal that would make him the leagues highest paid player.

“We put a major offer together to try and attract the player we felt was the best center iceman on the market,” said Canucks GM Mark Gillis. “It’s an indication we are prepared to do what it takes to attract the best players here.”

The big signing of today was by far the Detroit Red Wings landing Marian Hossa to a one-year deal worth reportedly $7.45 million dollars. The high-scoring wingman was one of the top players who propelled the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Stanley Cup finals, which they lost to Detroit in six games. Hossa is 29 years old.

The Chicago Blackhawks made two big signings landing probably the top defensemen on the market in Brian Campbell as well as goalie Cristobal Huet. Campbell signed an eight-year $57.12 million dollar deal and Huet inked a four-year contract worth $22.5 million.

The two other big defensemen to reach deals Tuesday were Michal Rozsival and Wade Redden, who both signed with the New York Rangers.

Rozsival re-signed with the Rangers for a four-year contract worth $20 million while Redden signs a six-year, $39 million dollar deal after skating with Ottawa last season.

Defensemen Jeff Finger, formerly of the Colorado Avalanche, signed a four-year $14 million dollar deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Dallas landed forward Sean Avery to a four-year, $15.5 million dollar deal.

“We are excited about the opportunity to add a player like Sean Avery to our group,” Stars co-general manager Brett Hull said. “His ability to play the game with skill and tenacity makes us a better team and is a great complement to the players we have here.”

The Washington Capitals will say goodbye to longtime goalie Olie Kolzig after he signed a one-year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning after spending 16 seasons in Washington.

The New Jersey Devils got their hands in the mix of the free agent pool by signing Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik to contracts. Rolston agreed to a four-year, $20 million dollar deal while Holik signed a one-year contract worth $2.5 million dollars.

The New York Islanders made a little noise by singing Montreal’s former defensemen Mark Streit to a five-year $20.5 million dollar contract while the Boston Bruins also signed a former Canadien in Michael Ryder to a multi-year deal.

With the NHL salary cap rising up this season, teams have not been shy about dishing out the money to lure top free-agents to their squads. Over the next two weeks, look for almost every free agent out there to receive offers from teams trying to help the players find a new place they can call home.

Recap – The days from 2004 when the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup Championship are long gone, and currently the team is struggling to find an identity. Only 5 members of the active 29 on the roster skated in the Lightning’s championship victory four short years ago. The team is young, and the ownership is content with developing them as a unit. Center Vincent Lecavalier had a stellar first half netting 30 goals and 36 assist. These numbers were good enough to earn him 2008 Eastern Conference captain honors at the 2008 NHL All-Star Game.

2nd Half – The Lightning looked much better at home then on the road in the first half of the season, unfortunately for them, they play more road games during the 2nd half where they struggled and lost a conference high of 14 games. Look for Lecavalier to continue to have great numbers, too bad the team will not finish well and he will not be considered as the league MVP for that reason.
Team Name: Tampa Bay Lightning (20-24-5)

Southeast Division Standing: 5th place

Conference Standing: 15th place

Final Predictions: 4th in Southeast Division, 14th in Eastern Conference