Leafs Sign Gill, Kubina To Bolster Defence
Posted July 1, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
July 1 st was the opening day of free agent activity in the NHL, and the Toronto Maple Leafs weren’t about to waste any time trying to better their squad.
With top defencemen Bryan McCabe and Tomas Kaberle locked up long term, general manager John Ferguson Jr. started adding complimentary pieces on the blue line, inking veterans Hall Gill and Pavel Kubina.
The 6’7″ Gill signed a three-year deal worth $6.3 million, while Kubina, at 6’5″ came to terms on a four-year package worth $20 million.
“It was an area that we wanted to address,” said Ferguson. “We’ve done that and we feel really good about these signings. We think we’ve really shored up our back line.”
In the 2005 season, the 31-year-old Gill scored one goal and added nine assists while spending 124 minutes in the penalty box for the Boston Bruins.
Kubina spent last year and the seven previous with the Tampa Bay Lightning, where the 29-year old contributed five goals and 33 assists.
“I know there’s a lot of good hockey players in Toronto like (captain Mats) Sundin, McCabe and Kaberle,” Kubina said during a conference call. “I know Tomas Kaberle very well and that was the reason why I signed with Toronto. It’s a great organization too.”
The hope in Toronto is the two will add some toughness to a Leafs blue line that spent last year in tatters, as well as protect and free up more expensive pieces like McCabe and Kaberle.
Of course the Leafs weren’t the only ones busy trying to improve their team on Saturday.
Here’s a list of the other key free agent acquisitions of the day:
~ The Boston Bruins signed defenceman Zdeno Chara to a $37.5-million, five-year contract and centre Marc Savard to a four-year deal worth $20 million.
~ The Washington Capitals signed defenceman Brian Pothier, for four years at $10 million.
~ The Vancouver Canucks inked defenceman Willie Mitchell to the tune of $14 million over four years.
~ The Ottawa Senators were busy grabbing blueliner Joe Corvo for four years at $10.5 million and goaltender Martin Gerber for three years at $11 million.
~The Phoenix Coyotes added defenceman Ed Jovanovski with a $32.5 million, five-year deal.
~ The Montreal Canadiens re-signed Francis Bouillon at the cost of $5.6 million over three years.
~ The New Jersey Devils re-signed forward Jamie Langenbrunner to a five-year deal worth $14 million.
~ The Carolina Hurricanes re-signed restricted free agent Eric Staal and added goaltender John Grahame. Staal’s contract will be for three years and worth $13.5 million while Grahame’s will earn him $1.4 million a year over two seasons.
~ The Edmonton Oilers awarded a long-term deal to goaltender Dwayne Roloson at three years for $11 million and Fernando Pisani at $10 million over four.
~ The Detroit Red Wings re-signed goalie Chris Osgood to a two-year deal at $1.7 million.
~ The Los Angeles Kings signed Scott Thornton to a two-year deal worth $3 million and Rob Blake to a two-year contract at $12 million.
~ The Atlanta Thrashers signed Scott Mellanby to a one-year, $1-million deal..
