By JOHN WAWROW and STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writers
Claude Giroux is set to enjoy a homecoming in Ottawa, while the Edmonton Oilers began addressing their goaltending needs by agreeing to sign Jack Campbell as the NHL’s free agency period opened Wednesday.
Giroux, who’s from northern Ontario and played his junior hockey across the river from Ottawa in Gatineau, Quebec, signed a $19.5 million, three-year contract with the Senators, according to a person with knowledge of the move. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal had not been announced.
A second person told The AP that Campbell has agreed to a contract with Edmonton, and spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal had not yet been signed.
The 34-year-old Giroux brings a veteran and leadership presence to Ottawa’s mix of youngsters. He spent his first 14-plus seasons in Philadelphia, where he served as the Flyers captain, before being traded to Florida in March.
“I wouldn’t sign here if I didn’t think we had a chance to win the Cup,” Giroux told Canada’s TSN. “I’m not saying we’re going to win the Cup this year, but the plan is to build on it and have baby steps for that.”
Giroux has topped 20 goals nine times, and finished second in the NHL scoring race with 102 points in 2017-18.
Campbell leaves the Toronto Maple Leafs for Edmonton, where he is projected to compete for the Oilers starting job after veteran Mike Smith’s playoff inconsistencies led to the Oilers being outscored 22-13 in being swept by Colorado in the Western Conference finals. Campbell cashes in on a season in which he had career highs in wins with a 31-9-6 record, five shutouts and 47 starts.
Teams were busy before the free agency period opened with the New Jersey Devils trading forward Pavel Zacha to the Boston Bruins for center Erik Haula. The move balances out the Devils’ lineup with New Jersey in the mix to land forward Johnny Gaudreau, one of free agency’s top prizes after he turned down an offer to re-sign with the Calgary Flames.
Haula has nine seasons of NHL experience and joins his fifth team since opening the 2019-20 season with Carolina.
The 31-year-old had 18 goals and 44 points in 78 games with the Bruins last season and adds a veteran presence to a young Devils lineup.
The trade also provides New Jersey more cost certainty under the salary cap to go after Gaudreau, who finished tied for second in the NHL scoring race with 115 points and is from Salem, New Jersey. Zacha is a restricted free agent and eligible for salary arbitration this offseason.
The re-tooling Bruins get younger in adding the 25-year-old Zacha, who was selected with the No. 6 pick in the 2015 draft. Zacha has seven seasons of NHL experience and is coming off a season in which he scored 15 goals and finished with a career-best 36 points.
In addition to Gaudreau, Colorado Stanley Cup champions Nazem Kadri and Darcy Kuemper and Dallas defenseman John Klingberg headline one of the deepest groups of free agents in recent history. And that’s after Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin and Edmonton’s Evander Kane took their names off the market by re-signing with their respective teams.
In Buffalo, the Sabres locked up one of their top offensive players by agreeing to re-sign Victor Olofsson to a two-year contract worth $9.5 million. Olofsson, who turns 26 next week, was a restricted free agent and scored 20 goals and a career-best 49 points last season.
The St. Louis Blues kept defenseman Nick Leddy around after acquiring him from Detroit at the trade deadline, signing him to a $16 million, four-year deal.
___
More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
