Other Transactions That Didn’t Involve Philadelphia

With the Draft occuring tonight and the blockbuster trades and signings that occured yesterday in Philadelphia, other transactions that could have went unnoticed Thursday was the re-signing of Devin Setoguchi by the San Jose Sharks and the Montreal Canadiens coming to terms with defenseman Andrei Markov.

Setoguchi Renews Pact with Sharks

Setoguchi was a restricted free agent with San Jose, and he signed a three-year contract with the team. Craig Custance via Twitter reported the contract to be at $3 million per season but the announcement of the signing on nhl.com didn’t disclose any financial terms. At only 24 years old, Setoguchi scored 22 goals  and finished with 41 points in 72 regular-season games in 2010-11. During the playoffs, he tied for the team lead in playoff goals with seven and had 10 points in 18 postseason games. He had a niche for scoring game-winning goals as he had five during the regular season and two overtime goals in the playoffs.

While he made $1.8 Million last season, he played on a one-year deal that he signed last summer. The team wanted to see what he can prove and he did show flashes of brilliance in the second half of the season. His first half was brutal as he went 7-5-12 on the stat line the first 33 games of the season. He found his touch and lit the lamp more in the final 30+ games of the season when he went 15-13-28 in the later half of the season according to the Fear the Fin Blog.

The Sharks can only hope he can continue his consistency he brought to the table late in the season and in the playoffs. $3 million could have been a stretch to pay him, but Setoguchi played solid at the right time to drive his stock higher.

Markov Remains in Montreal

The Habs are taking a huge gamble and giving a three-year contract to a player who didn’t see any playing time last season in Andrei Markov. Markov, 32, was supposed to be the teams top player on the blue line, but he missed most of the 2010-11 season with a knee injury he suffered seven games into last season. This wasn’t his first rodeo with the injury bug as he has missed 112 games in the regular season from 2009-2011. When he’s healthy, he’s one of the top players on the blue line in the league. But the 6′, 209 lbs. Russian has to find a way to stay healthy and be productive for his team. His cap hit is reported to be $5.75 million per season. He would be interesting to see the progression of younger defensemen who was able to get playing time and experience in his absence. Markov could most likely play with P.K. Subban, who led the team in goals (14) and points (38) in 77 games as a rookie.

Things could also look good for James Wisniewski, as he joined the team via trade and will have an entire off-season and training camp to get adjusted to his new team.