In the two days after the NHL's free agency period opened on July 1, over $400 million was spent on players. We can mostly thank Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon for that as he overhauled his roster with a few overpayments on his way to reach and surpass the salary cap floor.

But Tallon wasn't alone in his big spending. The Buffalo Sabres, New York Rangers, Phoenix Coyotes, and Columbus Blue Jackets were the top four teams shelling out big bucks during the first week of free agency.

Puck Buddy Justin Megahan of Every Facet of the Game created an infographic that gives a team-by-team look at unrestricted and restricted free agent spending for the 236-year, $548.125 million in contracts that were handed out between July 1 and July 8:

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Megahan didn't include every free agent signing, instead focusing mostly on one-way contracts with a few exceptions.

"I did not count 2-way contracts with a few exceptions, like Brian Elliott's deal with St. Louis, since unless they sign someone else he's

109746595When we last left the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings they had just completed the Ryan Smyth trade, but one hangup from the deal was the discovery that Colin Fraser had a fracture in his foot, along with a cyst and would need surgery that would put him out of action for four months.

Understandably, the Kings weren't happy that they were getting back damaged goods. An earlier proposal of the deal that included Gilbert Brule instead of Fraser went sour when it was learned Brule hadn't been cleared yet for physical contact after suffering two concussions. Kings GM Dean Lombardi had planned to buyout Brule if that deal had gone through, but under the current NHL CBA injured players cannot be bought out. With Fraser, the Kings were getting back a player they had planned to have as part of their lineup going forward.

Lombardi told the Los Angeles Times last month that he wanted to work things out with the Oilers regarding the Fraser deal instead of voiding it. Oilers GM Steve

YANDLEDEAL copyThe unknown future of the Phoenix Coyotes didn't play into Keith Yandle's decision to re-sign with the team as his agent Jerome Buckley pointed out last week while negotiations were still on-going.

While some free agents may be scared off in signing a long-term deal in Phoenix given that they may not be there in a year's time, Yandle showed his commitment to the organization and took a nice pay raise at the same time.

After signing a five-year, $26.25 million deal Tuesday, Yandle's cap hit is just $300,000 more than Michal Roszival's $5 million. That's Glen Sather for you.

The news was broken by Ryan Whitney of the Edmonton Oilers of all people. He and Yandle are currently working out together in their home state of Massachusetts.

The 24-year-old Yandle is coming off a career season that saw him net 11 goals and 59 points, good for third among all NHL defensemen.

According to Andy Strickland of True Hockey, Yandle's deal breaks down over the five years as $4.75 million, $5M, $5.25M,

TARO copyHe wasn't the first draft choice to fail to make it to the NHL, but he certainly was the first player to not exist as all.

The legend of Taro Tsujimoto began during the 1974 NHL Draft. During the 11th round, Buffalo Sabres GM Punch Imlach became bored at the Draft's drawn-out process and decided to play a prank ... by inventing a player to select with his pick.

From the Sabres:

Sending a secretary to find some common Japanese names, Imlach soon came up with the imaginary Taro Tsujimoto of the Tokyo Katanas - literally translating to the Tokyo Sabres (Katana is a type of Japanese samurai sword).

When NHL President Clarence Campbell asked Imlach for his selection, he was met with laughter from around the League. International scouting wasn't as prevalent as it is in the NHL now, and drafting a player from Japan wasn't exactly a common practice.

Imlach stayed true to the prank until training camp, when he revealed that the draft pick didn't exist. To this day, however, Tsujimoto's name

Andy Van Hellemond spent 27 years refereeing in the NHL before hanging up his skates in 1996. Three years later, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame after 1,475 regular season games and 227 in the playoffs, including 19 Stanley Cup Final appearances. He was also a trendsetter in becoming the first official to wear a helmet beginning in 1984.

In another trendsetting move, Van Hellemond has become the first NHL official to file a lawsuit over a comic strip.

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Van Hellemond has apparently taken exception to this Adam@home comic strip and has served notices to newspapers that ran it on May 29, 2011, as well as the cartoon's creators, that he intends to sue for libel.

From the Toronto Star, which was one of the papers served:

"Our position is that the statement, that someone's 'the worst and most evil,' is a libellous statement," Gavin Tighe, Van Hellemond's lawyer, said this week. "You talk about evil, Adolf Hitler jumps to mind. Or Satan. ... Here's a guy whose entire career was

JSG1So maybe Semyon Varlamov wasn't the near-term fix for the Colorado Avalanche's goaltending situation.

Not long after Greg Sherman sent Washington Capitals GM George McPhee a first-round pick and a second rounder for Varlamov, he brings in Jean-Sebastien Giguere on a two-year deal worth $2.5 million (according to the Denver Post's Adrian Dater) to round out the Avs' crease.

According to Sherman, the No. 1 job is still up for grabs despite Giguere's veteran presence and the bounty he gave up to acquire Varlamov.

"Giguere is a veteran netminder who will complete our goaltending tandem," said Avalanche General Manager/Executive Vice President Greg Sherman.  "He is a proven winner and his addition will be beneficial to our entire team."

Many had Tomas Vokoun pegged for Colorado, but his price tag was much higher than Giguere's. And with the Avs not expected to be contending for any Stanley Cups in the near future, that likely was a factor why Vokoun won't be in Colorado next season. Vokoun

Screen shot 2011-07-01 at 2.38.20 PMThis was Max Talbot after his fight with Daniel Carcillo during Game 6 of the 2009 Eastern Conference quarterfinal. His shushing of the Philadelphia crowd and Penguins comeback soon after that moment made him an even bigger "superstar" in Pittsburgh than he already was.

Those memories have quickly been erased at the news that Talbot inked a five-year, $9 million deal with the Philadelphia Flyers just hours after former Penguins legend Jaromir Jagr joined their hated cross-state rivals.

Talbot had rejected a three-year offer from Penguins GM Ray Shero earlier this week, which effectively ended his tenure in Pittsburgh. After rumors of his negotiating rights being on the market, the Flyers swooped in for a guy who brings versatility as someone who can play the wing or at center and can be a vital member of the penalty kill.

"It wasn't so much about money but finding the right fit for me," said Talbot during an interview on TSN where, like Jagr, he also said his heart was in Pittsburgh.