In Case You Missed it…

Some news items that broke while I was off-line…

• Au Revoir, P.A.: P.A. Parenteau’s three-year run with the Ranger organization ended July 2, when he signed a free-agent contract with the Islanders. According to capgeek.com, it’s a one-way deal for $600,000, which is $100,000 more than he made last year on his one-way with the Rangers. Hopefully the fact that it’s a one-way, combined with the cap-friendly salary, will help keep him out of Bridgeport because I don’t personally relish the thought of seeing him go up against the Wolf Pack potentially ten times during the year. Whatever happens, he certainly ranks as one of the all-time best forwards in Wolf Pack annals, having finished his Pack tenure fourth in franchise history in points (204), goals (83) and assists (121) and second only to Derek Armstrong in points per game (1.11) among players who played more than 76 games with the team.

• Newbury Re-signed: also on the veteran front, Kris Newbury, who was a very solid addition to the Wolf Pack roster after being acquired at the trade deadline from Detroit, scoring 18 points in 18 games in a Pack uniform, inked a new contract with the Rangers. Capgeek.com has his deal as a two-year, two-way contract.

• Other Comings and Goings: several commenters have referenced the Bobby Sanguinetti trade, which saw the former first-round draftee swapped to Carolina in a draft-day deal for a sixth-round 2010 draft pick and a 2011 second-rounder. Also gone from the Pack blueline is Dave Urquhart, who signed an AHL deal with Montreal. A pair of University of Wisconsin Badgers signed by the Rangers, though, could end up with the Wolf Pack. Forward Derek Stepan was the leading scorer at the World Junior Tournament this past winter, helping lead the U.S. to the Gold Medal, in addition to leading the WCHA in points and finishing second in the nation in point-scoring. And defenseman Ryan McDonagh was the 12th overall pick in the 2007 NHL Draft by Montreal, before coming to the Rangers last summer in the Scott Gomez trade.

• New AHL Coaches: as is usual this time of year, the winds of change are blowing through the AHL coaching ranks. Mark Holick has been tabbed from the WHL to take over the Syracuse Crunch for new parent club Anaheim. Jared Bednar has moved up from an assistant’s position with Abbotsford to the head job in Peoria, replacing Rick Wamsley. Long-time Pittsburgh Penguins assistant coach Mike Yeo is the new head man in Houston, which let go Kevin Constantine. And the latest new hire is Claude Noel, who replaces Scott Arniel with Manitoba in an interesting reversal of roles. Arniel left the Moose to take Noel’s old job with Columbus, which did not retain Noel after he finished last season as their interim head coach. Still open are AHL head jobs with Rochester, where Benoit Groulx left to go back to the Quebec League, Hamilton, which lost Guy Boucher to Tampa Bay, Albany, after John MacLean, the Devils’ coach in Lowell last year, got the New Jersey job, and Binghamton, from whose head post Don Nachbaur resigned.

And a belated congratulations to the Hershey Bears, who became the first team since the 1990-91 Springfield Falcons to capture consecutive Calder Cups when they came from two-games-to-none down in the Finals against Texas. This year’s Hershey club ranks as one of the best I’ve seen since I started covering the league in 1988, and they lived up to their talent.