Fringe Signings (Jul 14)

Acquired from the Winnipeg Jets this summer, forward Joel Armia signed with his new club on Friday, the Montreal Canadiens, inking a 1-year, $1.85 million deal.  Armia was the centrepiece of a deal that saw the Jets dispatch of a lot of excess cap space, trying to pave the way for bigger and better things, while the Canadiens acquired a player with a reasonable amount of miles on him already, but still only 25 years old, trying to fit him into somewhat of a rebuild.

Last season, the Finn finished with 12 goals and 29 points in 79 games for the Jets, which had him ranked just outside of the hockey pool conversation, 220th among all forwards, and the Canadiens' depth could suggest that he could find a little bit more ice-time, which could lead to a little more offensive production.

Friday also saw the re-signing of Dallas Stars restricted free agent forward Devin Shore, who was right on the brink of being hockey pool worthy last season, actually appearing in last year's draft, but finishing 201st among all forwards in the rankings.  Shore signed a 2-year, $4.6 million deal before the weekend kicked off.

Shore finished with 11 goals and 32 points in all 82 games, right on the cusp of the rankings, and with the improvements done in Dallas in the off-season, not to mention some of the players ahead of him in the rankings falling off the list for a myriad of reasons, he could very well find himself a fit in a regular hockey pool spot next season.

An injury-plagued year really did a number on Columbus' Ryan Murray, restricting him to only 44 games last season. He had an upper-body injury at the end of November, which cost him 34 games and it made for a really long year.  The Jackets and the 24-year old defender agreed to the terms of his restricted free agency qualifying offer, a 1-year, $2.825 million deal, which will give him the opportunity to bounce back and possibly get his career on track.

In those 44 games, Murray finished with 1 goal and 12 points, good enough for 157th among defenders and a full season would have had him well inside the hockey pool conversation, one would have to believe.  He's another one of those players that may fall down the ranks of the draft, thanks to his injury last season, one to possibly take a note of for a bargain pick late.