LeClair Pens’ latest addition
John LeClair probably wouldn’t have given a thought a few weeks ago to joining a last-place team like the Pittsburgh Penguins. Sidney Crosby, Ziggy Palffy, Sergei Gonchar and Jocelyn Thibault changed his thinking.
John LeClair, let go by the Philadelphia Flyers in the first wave of NHL salary dumping last month, signed a two-year contract Monday with Pittsburgh – the Penguins’ fifth major player addition in slightly more than two weeks.
LeClair adds another established scorer to a radically reshaped team that finished last in the overall 2003-04 standings but now has the look of a playoff team after acquiring offensive-minded defenseman Gonchar, the high-scoring Palffy, goaltender Thibault and drafting top prospect Crosby.
Sharks re-sign Marleau, Sturm
Captain Patrick Marleau and speedy forward Marco Sturm re-signed with the San Jose Sharks, agreeing to multiyear contracts.
Marleau has been with the Sharks since 1997, scoring 332 points in eight seasons. Sturm has scored at least 20 goals in each of his last three NHL seasons.
Around the league
Right wing Pavel Brendl and defenseman Bruno St. Jacques signed one-year contracts with the Hurricanes. … Defenseman Jonathan Sigalet agreed to a three-year contract with the Bruins. … Defenseman Daniel Tjarnqvist signed a one-year contract with Minnesota after playing three seasons with Atlanta. … Sabres forward Jochen Hecht agreed to a three-year contract, while leading scorer Daniel Briere was one of 11 Buffalo players accepting one-year qualifying offers to re-sign with the team.
Defenseman Eric Brewer, acquired by St. Louis earlier this month in a trade for Chris Pronger, accepted the teams’ qualifying offer. The Blues also re-signed forwards Jamal Mayers and Peter Sejna and defenseman Brett Scheffelmaier. … The Predators agreed to terms with veteran center David Legwand on a one-year contract. … The Capitals re-signed center Jeff Halpern, defenseman Brendan Witt and eight other restricted free agents. … The Islanders re-signed veteran forwards Arron Asham and Oleg Kvasha to one-year contracts. … The Rangers re-signed Tom Poti, inking the defenseman to a deal that will pay him $2.356 million this season.