NHL ROUNDUP \ News and notes

Penguins: Pittsburgh signed one-year contracts with forward Adam Henrich and defenseman T.J. Kemp. Henrich, 24, of Thornhill, Ontario, played last season for the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals and the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers. Between those teams, he had 24 goals and 27 assists. Kemp, of Pickering, Ontario, has eight goals and 38 assists in 73 games for the AHL’s Springfield Falcons.

Flyers: Forward Patrick Thoresen has decided to reject a final contract offer and temporarily return to European hockey. “I wanted a so-called one-way contract, which is to say the same salary regardless of whether I played in the NHL or a farm team,” the 24-year-old Norwegian told the state radio network NRK. “That makes things more predictable for me and my family.” Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren said he hoped Thoresen would return. Holmgren said the Flyers were notified last week that Thoresen would not play for them next season.

Canadiens: Goaltender Jaroslav Halak was re-signed to a two-year $1.55 million contract. The backup to Carey Price will earn $750,000 next season and $800,000 in 2009-10. The 23-year-old Halak played six games with the Canadiens last season, going 2-1-1 with a 2.11 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage. He played in 28 games with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League, posting a 15-10-2 record with a 2.10 GAA and the league’s second-best save percentage at .929. He was selected in the ninth round by the Canadiens, 271st overall in the 2003 entry draft. He is 12-7-1 in 22 NHL career games with a 2.71 GAA and .913 save percentage.

Ducks: Center Brendan Morrison, who has had 50-plus points in six of the past seven NHL seasons, signed a one-year contract. The 32-year-old Morrison played in 542 consecutive games for Vancouver from 2000-07 before wrist and knee injuries limited him to 39 games with the Canucks last season. The 5-foot-11, 181-pound Morrison has appeared in 674 games, with 159 goals and 315 assists. He was among the Canucks’ top four scorers five of the past seven seasons. He had nine goals and 16 assists during his injury-abbreviated 2007-08 season.

Senators: Ottawa signed defenseman Jason Smith to a two-year, $5.2 million contract. The 14-year NHL veteran was an unrestricted free agent. He was captain of the Philadelphia Flyers last season and was captain of the Edmonton Oilers the five previous seasons. The 34-year-old Smith led the Flyers with 204 blocked shots and 142 hits in 77 games last season. He also had one goal and nine assists and 86 penalty minutes. Smith has 40 goals and 128 assists and 1,052 penalty minutes in 945 career games with the New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs, Oilers and Philadelphia.

Lightning: Mark Recchi was signed as part of a massive roster overhaul for a team with new owners and a new coach after finishing with the worst record in the NHL. Recchi, a a seven-time All-Star who has played 19 NHL seasons, had 14 goals and 48 points in 72 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Atlanta Thrashers in 2007-08. Recchi signed a one-year contract that will pay him $1.25 million next season. The Lightning also announced the signing of forward Brandon Bochenski, and the re-signing of forward Evgeny Artyukhin, who played for Tampa Bay in 2005-06 before spending the past two seasons in the Russian Super League.

Canucks: Vancouver retained forward Steve Bernier by quickly matching the one-year, $2.5 million offer sheet the young forward signed with the St. Louis Blues. The Blues tried to pluck the 23-year-old restricted free agent away just four days after the Canucks acquired him in a trade with Buffalo. Vancouver had seven days to either match or accept a second-round pick in the 2009 Entry Draft from St. Louis — less than the third-round pick in 2009 and second-round pick in 2010 they sent to the Sabres to acquire him on July 4. The Blues’ offer to Bernier comes a week after the Canucks signed St. Louis forward David Backes to a three-year, $7.5 million offer sheet. St. Louis, which had rebuffed Vancouver’s earlier attempts to trade for Backes, quickly matched the offer for the 24-year-old. Bernier, who averaged 15 goals his first three NHL seasons, split last year between San Jose and Buffalo, combining for 16 goals and 32 points in 76 games.

Associated Press