Canadian teams make free-agent splash

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07/02/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last time Alex Tanguay and Olli Jokinen were in Calgary Flames uniforms, it seems management, fans or the players themselves, couldn't leave town fast enough.

Times change, especially when your former team may be the only one courting you. And so we have the slightly odd sight of Calgary general manager Darryl Sutter signing Tanguay to a one-year deal and Jokinen to a two-year deal on the opening day of free agency in the NHL.

Tanguay, 30, had a career-high 81 points (22 goals, 59 assists) in 2006-07 as a member of the Flames. In the last three seasons - one each with Calgary, Montreal and Tampa Bay - Tanguay's production has slipped considerably. He had 10 goals and 37 points last season for the Lightning. Sutter is hoping Tanguay and Jarome Iglinla can reignite the magic.

Jokinen, 31, played most of last season in Calgary before being shipped off to Broadway in February. In 26 games with the New York Rangers, Jokinen was a bit of a bust, with four goals and 11 assists. In 75 games, with Calgary over parts of last season and 2008-09, the veteran Finn wasn't bad, notching 19 goals and 31 assists.

It's nowhere near his career high of 91 points (39 goals, 52 assists) in 2006-07 with Florida, but the Flames can use all the offence they can get after posting a league-worst 204 goals last season, or 2.49 goals per game.

The Flames also signed forwards Tim Jackman and Raitis Ivanans. Jackman, 28, had four goals, nine points and 98 penalty minutes in 54 games with the New York Islanders last season. Ivanans, 31, spent the last four seasons as the Los Angeles Kings' enforcer, but had no points and 136 PIMs in 61 games last season.

Other Canadian teams made a splash, too, in a busy week of signings, trades, drafts and general house cleaning.

The Ottawa Senators went for offensive finesse on the back end instead of bone-jarring body checks by signing veteran blue-liner Sergei Gonchar to a three-year deal and watching Anton Volchenkov sign with the New Jersey Devils. Gonchar is 36 and has a lot of mileage on him, but he has a deadly accurate shot and few can compare when it comes to producing points from the point and being the quarterback on a power play.

Vancouver signed two-way forward Manny Malhotra to a three-year contract as well as inking forwards Joel Perrault and Jeff Tambellini. The big deal for the Canucks, however, was signing defenseman Dan Hamhuis to a six-year contract.

The 27-year-old has played all six of his NHL seasons in Nashville. More importantly, Hamhuis has missed only nine games during that time. This durability is important for a Vancouver blue line that was devastated by injuries all season.

There also is a lot to look forward to in Edmonton in 2010-11: No. 1 overall draft pick Taylor Hall will be given every chance to make the team; speedster Jordan Eberle is on the verge of cracking the roster; Ales Hemsky will be healthy (for at least one shift); and free-agent defenseman Kurtis Foster will add some depth to the blue line.

The Oilers also acquired defenseman Jim Vandermeer from the Phoenix Coyotes for forward Patrick O'Sullivan, which is not a bad thing. The Oilers have lots of smallish forwards and need some beefing up on the blue line.

The Oilers lost some grit when injury-plagued captain Ethan Moreau was picked up on waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was a bit of an inglorious end for the 34-year-old winger who has led the team in injuries and dirty work for years.

Toronto added some Stanley Cup grit with the acquisition of Kris Versteeg from the Chicago Blackhawks (along with prospect Bill Sweatt). Versteeg has scored 20 or more goals in each of the past two seasons. Going to Chicago were Viktor Stalberg and QMJHL forward prospects Chris DiDomenico and Philippe Paradis.

The Leafs also got more truculent by signing gritty forward Colby Armstrong to a three-year deal. Armstrong had 15 goals and 29 points in 79 games for the Atlanta Thrashers last season.

Montreal found two low-cost backups to Carey Price after shipping playoff savior Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues last month by signing goalies Alex Auld and Curtis Sanford to one-year deals. The Habs also signed forward Dustin Boyd to a one-year contract. The former Flame and Nashville Predator is a decent third- or fourth-liner.

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Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards

Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.

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Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.

Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.

Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.

Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.

All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.

A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.

2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1

Ron Brace (NE) 25/1

Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1

Darius Butler (NE) 40/1

Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1

Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1

Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1

Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1

Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1

Larry English (SD) 15/1

Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1

Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1

Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1

Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1

James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1

Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1

Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1

Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1

Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1

Roy Miller (TB) 20/1

Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1

Fili Moala (IND) 30/1

Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1

Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1

B J Raji (GB) 7/1

Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1

Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1

David Verkune (CLE) 20/1

Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 6/1

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