Defensemen are in demand as NHL free agency begins

Associated Press

It was a great day to be a free agent defenseman in the NHL.

The biggest name on this year’s free agent board, high-flying forward Ilya Kovalchuk, remained available into Thursday night. His pricey demands could keep him on the market for a little bit longer.

That can’t be said for many other Grade-A players.

Sergei Gonchar got things kicked off less than an hour after teams could begin talking to free agents from other clubs. The defenseman, who can turn around any team’s suspect power play, quickly heard what he wanted to from the Ottawa Senators and left Pittsburgh for a three-year, $16.5 million deal.

“We made a call right at 12:01 and basically made a proposal,” Senators general manager Bryan Murray said. “I’m very happy. It adds a great deal to our team.”

New Jersey signed Henrik Tallinder away from the Sabres with a four-year, $13.5 million deal and then grabbed Ottawa’s Anton Volchenkov by agreeing to a six-year, $25.5 million pact.

Dan Hamhuis, whose negotiating rights were traded to Philadelphia and Pittsburgh in recent days, found a home — close to home — with the Vancouver Canucks. Hamhuis left the Nashville Predators for a six-year, $27 million deal.

Buffalo said goodbye to defenseman Toni Lydman, who inked a three-year, $9 million deal with Anaheim. They recovered by signing Pittsburgh defenseman Jordan Leopold to a three-year contract.

Phoenix came to terms with Derek Morris on a four-year contract worth $11-million, and Carolina signed Anton Babchuk for one year at $1.4 million.

The Coyotes also picked up veteran help on offense by agreeing to terms with former Carolina forward Ray Whitney.

Another area with a good deal of depth was goaltending. The Rangers targeted former Islanders goalie Martin Biron to be the backup to workhorse No. 1 netminder Henrik Lundqvist.