Canada Day Daily Dosage - Ehrhoff, Selanne, Harding...

Let the Silly Season begin!... Noon EST today marks the moment when most NHL GMs go completely bananas and this year smells like it's going to be worse than usual

The Sabres beat the clock and got Christian Ehrhoff to sign before going to market... he gets the rest-of-your-career & cap-cheatin' contract that is pretty standard these days.  Good move for Buffalo as he was the best dman available and they had a need for a PP QB.  I consider Lindy Ruff to be one of the most fantasy-friendly coaches out there so while Ehrhoff leaving Vancouver could hurt, he should be able to put up similar numbers while logging big minutes in Buffalo.  This signing combined with the acquisition of Robyn Regehr puts a big dent in Marc-Andre Gragnani's chances of holding down an NHL job this coming year.  This creates a big hole for the Canucks, especially on their top ranked PP.  If Salo also isn't re-signed then I guess Kevin Bieksa will likely soak up some of that time but there could be opportunities for a guy like Chris Tanev to step up or even Sebastien Erixon, if he's given a look due to injuries. 

Teemu Selanne had knee surgery yesterday so he wasn't of full mind to make a decision about returning next season but he likely just wants to see how the knee feels post-surgery and will leave the Ducks hanging for a while, per usual.  Even given his age (40), he's still one of the best UFAs out there so it's worth the wait. 

Josh Harding is a UFA that I'll be watching, I'm interested to see where he ends up.  I think this guy is a quality goalie that could challenge a #1 if he's given the chance... and can stay healthy, of course.

Still no decision from Jaromir Jagr... he and his agent appear to be milking it for all it's worth.

Jussi Jokinen re-upped with the Hurricanes for three more years... I'm not really a fan of this guy, he doesn't bring a lot to the table as he doesn't shoot enough.  Sure he had 30 goals two years ago but you shouldn't expect him to shoot 19% every year.  I'd also like him more if he could hold down a spot on the top line with Staal but instead he gets passed around between the top three lines.  His signing takes away a top 6 spot from someone like Zach Boychuk or Zac Dalpe, who I was hoping would be given a chance to play a little more.

Steve Montador signed a four-year deal with the Hawks... I think this guy is a underrated steady dman, he's averaged 6+18=24, plus-9 & 94 PIMs over the last four seasons and can put up some points without much PP time.  He'll chip in with some hits & bks as well.  He won't be for everyone but those of you in deeper leagues could do a lot worse than him as a 4th dman.

Jonathan Ericsson re-signed with Detroit... he showed some great fantasy potential in the AHL but that was three years ago now and we haven't seen much of that in the NHL.  He could be in line to see some more PP time but that will depend on who the Wings get to replace Rafalski.  This leaves just two openings in the Wings D-core, one of which will hopefully be occupied by super-prospect Brendan Smith.

The Leafs re-signed RFA goalie Ben Scrivens to a one-year, two way deal... he had a nice debut pro season with a 2.33 & .924 in 33 AHL games after a stellar collegiate career at Cornell, so the Leafs might have something here.  He'll need more time and will have to leapfrog some bigger names to work his way up to the big club.

Sheldon Souray, J.P. Dumont and Cam Barker were all bought out yesterday... all three could find new homes shortly.  Nobody wanted Souray with his big price tag but assuming he's willing to take a lot less to actually play in the NHL this coming season he can probably find a taker.  Dumont is only 33 and his value really started sliding part way through the 2009/10 season so I wouldn't write him off yet.  Barker is coming off a brutal season but he's only two years removed from 40 pts in 68 games so there's some talent there.

Sergei Shirokov gave it a good effort, playing two seasons in the AHL, but he's seen enough and is headed back to CSKA in the KHL.

After three seasons in North America and looking like he was pretty close to becoming an NHL regular, Jesse Joensuu has signed to play in the SEL this year.  The Islanders must have been playing hardball and he called their bluff.