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2009 NHL free agency begins

It strikes me as funny that only three days after the draft I'm seeing posts describing today as "Hockey Christmas."  I guess it's fitting.  Players may get a new city to play for and fans have someone new to cheer on.  So, hockey Christmas it is.

If you haven't heard by now, Scott Gomez is no longer in Pittsburgh's division.  He, along with Tom Pyatt and Mike Busto were shipped out to Montreal in exchange for Chris Higgins, Ryan McDonagh, Pavel Valentenko and the rights to Doug JanikHabs Eyes on the Prize is screaming "Bad deal," while Blueshirt Banter has high hopes that the move opens up cap space for a bigger name.

There are plenty of big names on the market this year.  Some, such as Marian Hossa, return to the market once again.  The latest rumor out of Detroit suggests the Red Wings offered Hossa $4-million a year as part of a 10-year deal.  Yes, ten years.  Something tells me he had zero interest from the release of the offer, later confirmed when he openly rejected it yesterday.  Why Detroit would want to limit their Stanley Cup chances over the next decade is beyond me...

If you're keeping your eyes on things today then it's pretty likely that you'll hearor see the Penguins tossed around in a few moves.  Chuck Gormley from Philadelphia's Courier Post  believe the Pens may be interested in Mike Knuble.  In all likelihood the Flyers will look to retain Knuble.  However with a cap hit of $2.8 million last season, that may even be a bit out of Pitt's price range.

Sure, there's going to be a lot of action going on today throughout the hockey world.  SBN Hockey makes it easy for you with this nifty little free agency hub.  Mirtle also listed the Top 100 UFAs and provides a little cheat sheet for teams around the league.

If you see something break, feel free to chat it up here or hit up the hub for some of the latest news from around the network.

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