Canadian teams make free-agent splash

Hockey Betting Lines

07/02/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The last time Alex Tanguay and Olli Jokinen were in Calgary Flames uniforms, it seems management, fans or the players themselves, couldn't leave town fast enough.

Times change, especially when your former team may be the only one courting you. And so we have the slightly odd sight of Calgary general manager Darryl Sutter signing Tanguay to a one-year deal and Jokinen to a two-year deal on the opening day of free agency in the NHL.

Tanguay, 30, had a career-high 81 points (22 goals, 59 assists) in 2006-07 as a member of the Flames. In the last three seasons - one each with Calgary, Montreal and Tampa Bay - Tanguay's production has slipped considerably. He had 10 goals and 37 points last season for the Lightning. Sutter is hoping Tanguay and Jarome Iglinla can reignite the magic.

Jokinen, 31, played most of last season in Calgary before being shipped off to Broadway in February. In 26 games with the New York Rangers, Jokinen was a bit of a bust, with four goals and 11 assists. In 75 games, with Calgary over parts of last season and 2008-09, the veteran Finn wasn't bad, notching 19 goals and 31 assists.

It's nowhere near his career high of 91 points (39 goals, 52 assists) in 2006-07 with Florida, but the Flames can use all the offence they can get after posting a league-worst 204 goals last season, or 2.49 goals per game.

The Flames also signed forwards Tim Jackman and Raitis Ivanans. Jackman, 28, had four goals, nine points and 98 penalty minutes in 54 games with the New York Islanders last season. Ivanans, 31, spent the last four seasons as the Los Angeles Kings' enforcer, but had no points and 136 PIMs in 61 games last season.

Other Canadian teams made a splash, too, in a busy week of signings, trades, drafts and general house cleaning.

The Ottawa Senators went for offensive finesse on the back end instead of bone-jarring body checks by signing veteran blue-liner Sergei Gonchar to a three-year deal and watching Anton Volchenkov sign with the New Jersey Devils. Gonchar is 36 and has a lot of mileage on him, but he has a deadly accurate shot and few can compare when it comes to producing points from the point and being the quarterback on a power play.

Vancouver signed two-way forward Manny Malhotra to a three-year contract as well as inking forwards Joel Perrault and Jeff Tambellini. The big deal for the Canucks, however, was signing defenseman Dan Hamhuis to a six-year contract.

The 27-year-old has played all six of his NHL seasons in Nashville. More importantly, Hamhuis has missed only nine games during that time. This durability is important for a Vancouver blue line that was devastated by injuries all season.

There also is a lot to look forward to in Edmonton in 2010-11: No. 1 overall draft pick Taylor Hall will be given every chance to make the team; speedster Jordan Eberle is on the verge of cracking the roster; Ales Hemsky will be healthy (for at least one shift); and free-agent defenseman Kurtis Foster will add some depth to the blue line.

The Oilers also acquired defenseman Jim Vandermeer from the Phoenix Coyotes for forward Patrick O'Sullivan, which is not a bad thing. The Oilers have lots of smallish forwards and need some beefing up on the blue line.

The Oilers lost some grit when injury-plagued captain Ethan Moreau was picked up on waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was a bit of an inglorious end for the 34-year-old winger who has led the team in injuries and dirty work for years.

Toronto added some Stanley Cup grit with the acquisition of Kris Versteeg from the Chicago Blackhawks (along with prospect Bill Sweatt). Versteeg has scored 20 or more goals in each of the past two seasons. Going to Chicago were Viktor Stalberg and QMJHL forward prospects Chris DiDomenico and Philippe Paradis.

The Leafs also got more truculent by signing gritty forward Colby Armstrong to a three-year deal. Armstrong had 15 goals and 29 points in 79 games for the Atlanta Thrashers last season.

Montreal found two low-cost backups to Carey Price after shipping playoff savior Jaroslav Halak to the St. Louis Blues last month by signing goalies Alex Auld and Curtis Sanford to one-year deals. The Habs also signed forward Dustin Boyd to a one-year contract. The former Flame and Nashville Predator is a decent third- or fourth-liner.

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Football Betting Lines

The 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds have been released and Denver Broncos' running back Knowshon Moreno has been made the opening favorite.

Bet NFL Sports Lines

Moreno was selected in the first round of April's NFL draft and is expected to carry the rushing load for the Broncos this season. And with Jay Cutler now in Chicago, Moreno might be expected to be Denver's entire offense.

Betting Lines from sports betting lines have made Moreno a 5/2 favorite to win this year's Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. Fellow running back Chris “Beanie” Wells (Arizona Cardinals) is right behind Moreno at 7/2, while Donald Brown (Indianapolis Colts) and receiver Michael Crabtree (San Francisco 49ers) are 5/1 to win. Quarterbacks Mark Sanchez (New York Jets) and Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions) are 7/1 and 8/1, respectively.

A couple of players who present some value are Josh Freeman, Shonn Green and Darrius Heyward-Bey.

Freeman needs to beat out Byron Leftwich to become the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but if he does, he has a lot or raw talent and could use the weapons around him (i.e. Kellen Winslow Jr. and Antonio Bryant) to be very successful in his first season.

Green enters a crowded backfield in New York, but considering both Thomas Jones and Leon Washington are unhappy about their contract situations and might holdout, the former Iowa product could become the Jets' primary back.

Everyone was shocked when Al Davis took Heyward-Bey with the eighth overall pick in April's draft, but the kid has a tremendous amount of talent and if quarterback JaMarcus Russell takes the next step this year, the former Maryland product could blossom. Plus, Heyward-Bey will be looking to prove the people wrong who said Oakland should have taken Michael Crabtree with the No. 8 pick.

And if you're looking for a deep sleeper, check out Pat White at 30/1. He enters the Miami Dolphins vaunted “Wild Cat” offense and could be a big time playmaker.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year odds, see below.

2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds to Win

Ramses Barden (NYG) 40/1

Andre Brown (NYG) 20/1

Donald Brown (IND) 5/1

Kenny Britt (TEN) 20/1

Glenn Coffee (SFO) 30/1

Chase Coffman (CIN) 50/1

Michael Crabtree (SFO) 5/1

Josh Freeman (TB) 14/1

Shonn Green (NYJ) 14/1

Percy Harvin (MIN) 10/1

Darrius Heyward-Bay (OAK) 18/1

Juaquan Iglesias (CHI) 30/1

Cornelius Ingram (PHI) 50/1

Rashad Jennings (JAC) 30/1

Johnny Knox (CHI) 40/1

Jeremy Maclin (PHI) 18/1

Mohamed Massaquoi (CLE) 30/1

LeSean McCoy (PHI) 12/1

Knowshon Moreno (DEN) 5/2

Hakeem Nicks (NYG) 18/1

Brandon Pettigrew (DET) 30/1

Brian Robiskie (CLE) 20/1

Mark Sanchez (NYJ) 7/1

Matthew Stafford (DET) 8/1

Jason Smith (STL) 40/1

Mike Thomas (JAC) 25/1

Patrick Turner (MIA) 50/1

Mike Wallace (PIT) 50/1

Chris Wells (ARI) 7/2

Pat White (MIA) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 9/1

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