The Colorado Avalanche signed all-star winger Milan Hejduk to a five-year deal Saturday. The five-foot-11, 185-pound Hejduk played for Pardubice HC in the Czech Elite League this past season, recording 25 goals and 26 assists in 48 games. Hejduk has eclipsed the 30-goal barrier four times in his six-year NHL career, including 50 in 2002-03 to collect the Maurice (Rocket) Richard Trophy as the league's top goal-scorer. "I wanted to keep playing in Denver for a long time," Hejduk said in a statement. "There's no better place to play hockey than in Colorado, where our fans have been so supportive. "We always have a chance to win every night. I'm looking forward to the upcoming season and this new NHL era." In the 2001 Stanley Cup playoffs, Hejduk led all NHL scorers with 16 assists in 23 games, helping the Colorado Avalanche to its second Stanley Cup Championship.

Stephane Robidas is returning to the Dallas Stars. The free-agent defenceman, who played 90 games for the Stars in 2002 and 2003, signed a two-year deal with the team Saturday. "We're very familiar with Stephane's abilities and we're glad to have him back in the organization," Stars general manager Doug Armstrong said in a release. "He is a solid defenceman who will bring stability and depth to our blue line." During his previous stint with the Stars, Robidas recorded four goals and seven assists with 43 penalty minutes. He skated in all 12 of Dallas' games during the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs, recording an assist and 20 penalty minutes. Robidas, 28, was traded to Chicago on Nov. 17, 2003, in the deal that brought defenceman Jon Klemm to the Stars. The Sherbrooke, Que., native spent the 2004-05 season with the Frankfurt Lions in the German Elite League, registering 15 goals and 32 assists in 51 games. Robidas, who played for Montreal from 1999 to 2002, has 13 goals in 33 assists in 247 career NHL games.



Jason Allison will launch his comeback in Toronto and Tie Domi will stay with the Maple Leafs despite a more lucrative offer from Pittsburgh. The NHL club announced the free-agent signings Friday. In taking a chance on Allison with a one-year deal worth $1.5 million US, the Leafs get a six-foot-three centre who because of injuries and the lockout has hardly played any games in three years. But Allison, 30, could be the club's No. 2 centre if he regains the form that saw him amass 74 points in 73 games in 2001-2002 with the Los Angeles Kings and a career-high 95 in 2000-2001 with the Boston Bruins, who he represented in the 2001 all-star game. He was third in the league in power-play points and fifth in overall scoring that season. He last played in 2002-2003, getting into 26 games with the Kings before what he describes as "a couple of minor whiplash incidents" that derailed his promising career. "I feel great and excited," Allison, who grew up in Toronto, said after accepting a No. 41 sweater from GM John Ferguson. He admitted the time away from hockey has been frustrating. "Anytime someone can't do what they love to do, it's tough on them" he said. "When you're out for a period of time like that, it makes you appreciate everything a lot more and makes you excited to get back at it. "I'm just ecstatic to be here and ready to go." Allison would have had to convince the Leafs he's physically sound. "It was a long battle but there's nothing structurally wrong, which is great news," he said. "It's not something that's expected to be a problem moving forward." Ferguson loaded the contract with bonus clauses that could see the centre earn upwards of $4.5 million if he regains the form he flashed years ago. "We anticipate he'll return to form in Toronto and do what he needs to do and get his career back on track," Ferguson said. "There's an assumption of risk in any kind of signing - this is a contact sport. "We've got a motivated player who wants to be here and wants to perform here. Our interests converged - he's here to win and we're happy to have him." Allison has played 486 career NHL games for Washington, Boston and Los Angeles. He has 137 goals, 288 assists and 365 penalty minutes. Drafted 17th overall by Washington in 1993, he was Canadian major junior player of the year in 1994 and helped Canada win world junior championships in 1994 and 1995.


Domi agreed to a $2.5-million, two-year deal even though Pittsburgh offered him $4.5 million over three years. "I've been here a long time," said the five-foot-10 right winger, who has spent the last nine of his 14 years in the league as the on-ice bodyguard for his Leafs teammates. "Change is tough, change is very tough. "I just couldn't see myself moving on at the last minute. And John was nice enough to have a last meeting with me. (Thursday morning) I really thought I was moving on. It was difficult to swallow. When I saw how much John wanted me, he really stepped up to the plate for me. "It was not about the money. The money's been good to me for the last 10 years. So I really thought with my heart, not with my wallet." Domi is third on the league's all-time penalty minutes list with 3,406. He trails only Dave (Tiger) Williams (3,966) and Dale Hunter (3,565). "We value his services," said Ferguson. Domi has 99 goals and 130 assists in 943 games. He had a career-high 29 points in 2002-2003. In his last season, 2003-2004, he had seven goals and 13 assists.


Chicago Blackhawks General Manager Dale Tallon was proud to add goalie Nikolai Khabibulin's talents to his roster Friday, but he was even more pleased to add his character. In the first week of free agency, Tallon signed defensemen Adrian Aucoin and Jaroslav Spacek and forwards Martin Lapointe and Jim Dowd. Character and the ability to play at a high level were the common denominators, Tallon said.

Calgary Flames sign defencemen Steve Marr, Brett Palin, winger Derek Couture and centre Warren Peters.

Chicago Blackhawks sign goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, centre Jim Down.

Colorado Avalanche sign forward Brad May.

Dallas Stars sign winger Junior Lessard, defenceman Mario Scalzo and goaltender Johan Hedberg.

Edmonton Oilers re-sign goaltender Jussi Markkanen, defenceman Igor Ulanov.

Nashville Predators sign winger Paul Kariya.

Phoenix Coyotes sign defenceman Brad Ference.

Tampa Bay Lightning re-sign defenceman Nolan Pratt, sign forward Mitch Fritz, defencemen Timo Helbling, Brandon Elliott, Brady Grego.

Vancouver Canucks re-sign centre Brendan Morrison.

Washington Capitals sign winger Alexander Ovechkin.

The Nashville Predators fought for a fair labour deal for small-market teams to help them compete in the NHL. They followed through with the biggest signing in the expansion franchise's short history. Paul Kariya joins his third team in as many seasons, but signed a two-year deal with Nashville. Paul Kariya signed a two-year, $9-million deal with the Predators on Friday. It's the left-winger's third team in three seasons, and he becomes Nashville's biggest scoring threat yet. "This is a day we've been waiting for for a long time for this franchise," general manager David Poile said. "He had a lot of places to go. "The fact (is) he chose Nashville, and I think in some regards that's got to be somewhat of a stunner that he chose here instead of going to some other bigger market where he could get more fanfare." The 30-year-old forward spent his first seven NHL seasons with Anaheim, helping the Mighty Ducks reach the Stanley Cup final in 2003. Then he joined up with former teammate Teemu Selanne, and the pair signed free-agent deals with Colorado for the 2003-04 season. He said he chose Nashville because the Predators started courting him the instant free agency opened. "They showed a commitment to me that I was the guy they wanted to bring to Nashville, and I was very excited about their hockey club," Kariya said in a teleconference. "I think it's a great young hockey club that's only going to get better.



Born: October 16, 1974 in Vancouver, British Columbia Drafted: Selected by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the first round (fourth pick overall) of the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. Personal: A Dean's list student while at Maine. His father was born in a World War II internment camp in Canada. Both parents are educators. His paternal grandparents, Isamu and Fumiko Kariya, were in the camp over 5 years and worked a dry-cleaning business upon their release from camp. His father played several tours with the Canadian National Rugby Team Paul is of Japanese descent (father is 100%). Hobbies include golf, tennis, and reading. Took up juggling at the beginning of the 1994-1995 season.

Kariya's development into a top-tier player came from his devotion to the game and the support of his sporting family. Of Japanese descent, Paul was born and raised in North Vancouver, British Columbia. His father, Tetsuhiko, toured for several years with the Canadian national rugby team. Paul took to the ice early, beginning at age three as a figure skater and then as a hockey player a year later. He had an instinctual balance on skates and excelled as a youngster, moving easily around the ice while the other kids struggled to stay upright. He moved up quickly and began playing with older players, listening to his father who coached him as an under-aged Atom. Though a diminutive player, Kariya was head-and-shoulders above the competition as a 15-year-old. He made the trek north to Penticton, a hockey factory that produced such stars as Andy Moog and Brett Hull, and with the Panthers he was able to attend a high quality school, which his parents always stressed. Kariya was the youngest of the 170 teenagers trying out for the Penticton Panthers, a new team in the BCJHL. Not only did he make the team, but he was voted its captain. The Panthers struggled, but Kariya averaged almost two points a game on his way to winning Junior Player-of-the-Year honors in the province.


Halfway through the next season, Kariya was selected to play for Canada in the World Junior Championships in Germany, joining another much talked about junior, Eric Lindros. The two became friends during the tournament and Lindros, seeing that the smaller player was exhausted and sick after so many games, suggested Kariya take a break when he returned. Kariya did not heed the advice and became sicker. He collapsed just before an All-Star game and was diagnosed with mononucleosis. He returned after missing 12 games and led the Panthers to respectability. Kariya finished his final junior season with 132 points and was chosen the top junior player in Canada. Kariya received scholarship offers from all over the United States, as well as a lucrative deal to play in the WHL with the Tri-City Americans. He decided to further his education and play for the University of Maine Black Bears in the United States collegiate ranks. In his first season, 1992-93, Maine was chosen the pre-season favorite to win the national championship. Fans filled the arena for practices and the Black Bears did not disappoint, losing only one game in the regular season. Kariya had 93 points and won the Hobey Baker Award as the nation's top player, the first freshman to win that honor. The day after winning the award, he led a third period comeback against Lake Superior State to secure the national title for Maine. That summer, Kariya was selected 4th overall at the NHL Entry Draft by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, but one of Kariya's dreams was to play for Canada in the Olympics, an assignment the Mighty Duck management agreed might help the winger ready himself for the pro game. He began his season with Maine and then joined the Canadian Olympic team as it readied itself for the 1994 Games in Lillehammer, Norway. After a strong exhibition schedule, Kariya was Team Canada's top scorer in the tournament with four assists and three goals, including an overtime winner against the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals. In the gold medal game, the final event of the Olympics, Canada and Sweden had to go to a sudden-death shootout to decide the winner. After five shooters for both teams, including Kariya, who scored one of Canada's two goals, the teams were still deadlocked. In the sudden death encore Kariya had to score to keep Canada's chances alive after Peter Forsberg scored on a nifty deke. However, Swedish keeper Tommy Salo made an acrobatic save on Kariya's close-in shot to win the game and the gold for Sweden.



Despite the disappointment, watched by millions of Canadians, Kariya rebounded to give everyone a taste of what was to come in 47 games with the Mighty Ducks and as a member of Canada's entry in the World Cup. The next season, 1995-96, he exploded for 108 points in his first full year in the NHL. It was a pace he would continue over the following three seasons, collecting 227 points in 220 games. In February 1996 Kariya was named a starter for the All-Star Game. He was still in awe of his fellow stars, making comments to that effect to the man he stood next to during the introductions, Winnipeg's high scoring Teemu Selanne. Three weeks later Kariya became more familiar with the talented Finn when the Mighty Ducks made a trade with Winnipeg to bring Selanne to Anaheim. Selanne had the speed and goal-scoring touch to take advantage of Kariya's innate ability to find the open man. The twosome formed a dangerous and fast combination, often teaming with center Steve Rucchin who, like Kariya, was a product of the post-secondary hockey system, joining the team after starring at the University of Western Ontario. Anaheim was improving but still had not made the playoffs during Kariya's stay when the 1996-97 season began. Kariya, named the team's captain, missed the first 11 games of the season due to injury, and his importance to the Mighty Ducks became apparent. The team won only one game during his absence. When he returned, Anaheim began to climb in the standings, earning a playoff spot by the end of the season. Kariya scored an overtime goal to keep the team alive in the first round against the Phoenix Coyotes as the Ducks rallied to advance to the next round in seven games. The Detroit Red Wings, the eventual Stanley Cup champions, had too much depth for Anaheim in the conference semifinals, sending the upstarts from the West home in four games. Kariya's 99 points in his shortened season and Anaheim's success ensured his name was among the final three considered for the Hart Trophy as the league's Most Valuable Player.





Just before he was to play in the 1998 All-Star Game, Kariya sustained his fourth concussion in a nasty incident involving Chicago's Gary Suter. Kariya never lost consciousness and could remember the details of the game. Only later did he feel the effects of the hit, the headaches and the memory loss. He missed the rest of the season and the Nagano Olympics because of post-concussion syndrome. He returned to form the next season. Terrorizing defenders and goalies with Selanne, Kariya finished third in overall scoring in 1998-99. In the summer of 2002, he was one of the original eight players named to Canada's Olympic Team. Kariya played alongside Mario Lemieux at Salt Lake City, and helped power the Canadians to the gold medal with three goals and an assist. Following a sub-par 2001-02 regular season in Anaheim, Kariya and the Ducks were looking to get back on the right track, and they did so with Kariya finishing the regular season with 81 points on the strength of 25 goals and 56 assists while the Ducks qualified for the post season for the first time since 1998-99. Not only did they qualify, but they reached the Stanley Cup Final only to lose to the New Jersey Devils in a hard-fought seven game series. After nine seasons in Anaheim, the former Hobey Baker winner was acquired by the Colorado Avalanche in the summer of 2003. Upon his arrival with the Avs, Kariya went on to play a mere 51 games with the club due to injury.



Song for the day - "Save The Last Dance For Me" - MICHAEL BUBLE