The Los Angeles Kings, one of the runners-up in the race to sign Brad Richards, wasted no time turning to Plan B by signing veteran forward Simon Gagne on Saturday.
Kings Insider on the team's website says it's a two-year, $7 million deal that will pay Gagne $4.5 million in 2011-12 season and $2.5 million in 2012-13 for a $3.5 million each season. Gagne has been cleared to play — he missed time last season with a sore neck but returned in the playoffs — so the signing is not contingent on him passing a physical.
Gagne, 31, spent 10 seasons with Philadelphia before being traded to Tampa Bay last summer. He had 17 goals and 40 points in 63 regular-season games, then contributed 5 goals and 12 points in the playoffs, helping the Lightning advance to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals before losing to Boston.
The native of Saint-Foy, Que., has 276 goals and 564 points in 727 regular-season games, as well as 37 goals and 59 points in 105 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He had back-to-back 40-goal seasons for the Flyers in 2005-06 and '06-07, and put up 34 goals as recently as 2008-09, one year after missing most of the season with concussion-related problems.
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