NHL notebook: Stars sign Radulov to 5-year, $31.25M deal

Montreal Canadiens free agent forward Alexander Radulov signed a five-year, $31.25 million contract with the Dallas Stars on Monday.

Radulov collected 54 points (18 goals, 36 assists) in 76 games with the Canadiens last season and had a team-high seven points in the postseason.

“Alexander is a dynamic playmaker with top-end speed and skill,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said Monday in an interview with the team website. “To add a forward of this stature to our lineup makes our top-six as deep and talented as any group in this League.”

Radulov signed a one-year deal with the Canadiens in 2016 after four seasons with CSKA Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League.

–The Canadiens agreed to terms with free agent forward Ales Hemsky on a one-year contract.

Hemsky, 33, appeared in 15 games with the Dallas Stars in 2016-17, missing 65 games due to injuries. He totaled seven points (four goals, three assists).

“We are very pleased with the acquisition of Ales Hemsky,” Canadiens general manager Marc Bergevin said in a statement. “He is a skilled player with lots of experience in the NHL. Considering the terms of the agreement, it was very appealing to us. We feel he will be a good addition to our group of forwards.”

Hemsky owns 572 points (174 goals, 398 assists) in 838 regular-season NHL games with the Edmonton Oilers, Ottawa Senators and Stars. He scored 43 power-play goals and 18 game-winning goals. Hemsky has 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) in 43 playoff contests.

— Former San Jose Sharks player and assistant coach Rob Zettler is returning to the club, the team announced.

Zettler once again will serve as an assistant coach, filling the void created when Bob Boughner accepted the head coaching position with the Florida Panthers last month.

Zettler joined San Jose during its expansion year in 1991, recording one goal and 18 assists in 196 contests over a three-year period. He also was an assistant with the Sharks from 2002-08 and most recently served as the head coach for Syracuse of the American Hockey League.

“It is both an exciting challenge and a privilege to come back to an organization that I have so much passion for, and I am happy to get my family back home to San Jose,” Zettler said. “I want to thank Pete (DeBoer, coach), Doug (Wilson, general manager) and his staff for their time during the hiring process and for this opportunity. Ultimately, I want to win, and I look forward to working together and building on the success this staff has had.”

–The Detroit Red Wings agreed to terms with restricted free agent defenseman Xavier Ouellet on a two-year contract.

The deal is worth a reported $1.25 million per season. He earned $715,000 last season.

Ouellet, who turns 24 on July 29, played in 66 games with the Red Wings in 2016-17 in his first full NHL season, totaling 12 points (three goals, nine assists) and 51 penalty minutes with 73 hits and 87 blocked shots while averaging 17:58 time on ice.

The 6-foot-1, 208-pound Ouellet owns 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) and 57 penalty minutes in 96 NHL games since making his debut during the 2013-14 campaign. He also appeared in 183 games with the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins from 2013-16, notching 62 points (nine goals, 53 assists) and 112 penalty minutes.

–The Tampa Bay Lightning re-signed restricted free agent defenseman Slater Koekkoek to a one-year contract.

The one-way deal is worth $800,000, general manager Steve Yzerman announced.

Koekkoek, 23, played in 29 games with the Lightning in 2016-17, recording four assists. He also skated in 48 contests with the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League, notching 13 points (two goals, 11 assists). Koekkoek appeared in 22 Calder Cup playoff games and registered a goal and six assists as the Crunch reached the finals.

The Winchester, Ontario, native is still seeking his first NHL goal. He has five assists in 41 career NHL games, all with Tampa Bay. He also skated in 10 Stanley Cup playoff games with one assist.

–The Minnesota Wild re-signed restricted free agent defenseman Mike Reilly to a two-year, $1.45 million contract.

The deal is worth $675,000 in 2017-18 and $775,000 in 2018-19, the team announced.

Reilly, 23, had one goal and two penalty minutes in 17 games with Minnesota in 2016-17. He added 30 points (five goals, 25 assists) and 48 penalty minutes in 57 games with the Iowa Wild of the American Hockey League last season.

The Chicago native recorded one goal, six assists and eight penalty minutes in 29 games with Minnesota in 2015-16, including his NHL debut on Jan. 9, 2016.

–The Washington Capitals signed right winger Devante Smith-Pelly and forward John Albert to a one-year, two-way contracts.

Smith-Pelly’s deal is worth $650,000 at the NHL level and $300,000 at the American Hockey League level. Albert’s contract is for $650,000/$220,000.

Smith-Pelly, 25, registered nine points (four goals, five assists) in 53 games with the New Jersey Devils last season. During the 2015-16 season, the 6-foot, 215-pounder recorded 25 points (14 goals, 11 assists) in 64 games for the Montreal Canadiens and Devils, earning career highs in goals, points and game-winning goals with five.

Albert, 28, recorded 155 points (68 goals, 87 assissts) in 283 career AHL games with St. John’s and Manitoba. The Cleveland, Ohio, native played in Finland for Karpat during the 2016-17 season, collecting 24 points (12 goals, 12 assists).

–The Edmonton Oilers signed forward Brad Malone to a two-year contract.

Malone, 28, split the 2016-17 season between the American Hockey League’s Hershey Bears and the Chicago Wolves, posting 28 points (11 goals, 17 assists) and 72 penalty minutes in 71 games. He did not see any ice time at the NHL level in 2016-17.

Malone, a native of Chatham, New Brunswick, owns 30 points (13 goals, 17 assists) and 188 penalty minutes in 176 NHL games with the Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche. In 2015-16, he recorded two goals, four assists and 75 penalty minutes in 57 games for the Hurricanes.

Malone was originally a fourth-round pick of Colorado in 2007.