The Anaheim Ducks announced today that the National Hockey League (NHL) club has signed left wing Matt Beleskey, right wing Jason Bailey, and defenseman John de Gray to three-year, entry-level contracts. Per club policy, financial terms were not disclosed. Beleskey, 19 (6/7/88), appeared in his fourth season with Belleville of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in 2007-08, scoring 41-49=90 points with a +32 rating and 106 penalty minutes (PIM) in 62 games. Beleskey led the Bulls in points, assists and PIM, ranked tied for first in goals and second in plus/minus, power play goals (13), and short handed goals (3). Among league leaders, he finished sixth in plus/minus. Selected by Anaheim in the fourth round (112th overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Beleskey has also appeared in 14 playoff games for the Bulls this year, collecting 8-14=22 points with a +9 rating and 13 PIM. The Bulls' captain leads his team in playoff scoring, assists, and power play goals while tied for the lead in goals scored. Belleville begins the best-of-seven Rogers OHL Championship Series against the Kitchener Rangers tonight. In four seasons with Belleville, Beleskey scored 98-123=221 points with a +23 rating and 467 PIM in 257 games. The 6-0, 206-pound native of Windsor, Ontario has appeared in the OHL playoffs in each of his four seasons with the Bulls, collecting 13-26=39 points with a +15 rating and 59 PIM in 40 games. Bailey, 20 (6/4/87), played in his second season with Ottawa (OHL) in 2007-08, scoring 8-9=17 points with 78 PIM in 34 games. The 6-0, 209-pound native of Ottawa, Ontario also appeared in four playoff games for the 67?s this year, collecting 0-2=2 points with 11 PIM. Selected by Anaheim in the third round (63rd overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Bailey split his amateur career between Ottawa and the University of Michigan. With the 67?s, Bailey scored 15-18=33 points with 166 PIM in 69 games over two OHL seasons. In 46 games with the Michigan Wolverines, he collected 5-2=7 points with 85 PIM. De Gray, 20 (3/14/88), played in 67 games for Brampton (OHL) in 2007-08, scoring 4-13=17 points with a +8 rating and 140 PIM. The 6-4, 213-pound de Gray tied career highs in goals, assists and points while setting a career high in penalty minutes. He also appeared in five games during the 2008 OHL Playoffs, going scoreless with 12 PIM. Selected by the Ducks in the third round (83rd overall) of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, de Gray played four seasons with Brampton from 2004-08. In 253 games all-time with the Battalion, the Richmond Hill, Ontario native scored 10-44=54 points with a +27 rating and 369 PIM.

The Stars signed center Steve Ott to a two-year deal worth $2.85M on Tuesday night, as reported by the Associated Press. Ott?s contract was set to expire after the season. He is signed through the 2009-10 season.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have re-signed defenseman Jan Hejda to a three-year contract, club General Manager Scott Howson announced today. As is club policy, terms were not disclosed. Hejda, 29, registered 13 assists with 61 penalty minutes and a +20 plus/minus rating in 81 games with the Blue Jackets in 2007-08. He set career highs in assists, points, plus/minus rating, penalty minutes, shots (71) and games played in his first season with the club. His +20 plus/minus rating shattered the club record of +13 set by Ron Hainsey in 2005-06, was tied for 10th among NHL defensemen and ranked 24th among all NHL players. "Jan had a good year playing against the top players in the League," Howson said. "We expect him to make a significant contribution to the Blue Jackets over the next three years."

The Anaheim Ducks announced today that the National Hockey League (NHL) club has signed center Ryan Carter to a three-year contract. Per club policy, financial terms were not disclosed. Carter, 24 (8/3/83), appeared in his first NHL season with the Ducks in 2007-08, scoring 4-4=8 points with 36 penalty minutes (PIM) in 34 games. On Feb. 8 at New Jersey, he scored his first two career NHL goals against Martin Brodeur less than eight minutes apart to lead Anaheim to a 2-1 win. In addition, he played in six Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Ducks, going scoreless with six PIM in the 2008 Western Conference Quarterfinal Series against Dallas. Carter also played in 13 games for Portland, Anaheim?s primary development affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL). In his 13 AHL appearances, he scored 3-2=5 points with a +3 rating and 38 PIM. Carter collected 2-2=4 points in his last seven games with the Pirates, including the lone goal in a 1-0 victory over Springfield in his final AHL game on Dec. 16 in Portland. A native of White Bear Lake, MN, Carter was originally signed by the Ducks as a free agent from Minnesota State University on July 12, 2006. He made his professional debut with Portland during the 2006-07 regular season, recording 16-20=36 points with 85 PIM in 76 games. Carter also appeared in four games with the Ducks during the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs, including Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final on June 4, 2007 at Ottawa.

Phoenix Coyotes' General Manager Don Maloney announced today that the Coyotes have signed left wing Brett MacLean to an entry level contract. As per club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed. MacLean will report to the Coyotes? American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate the San Antonio Rampage. MacLean, 19, was selected by the Coyotes in the second round (32nd overall) of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft. The Port Elgin, Ontario native led the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with 61 goals in 61 games while playing for the Oshawa Generals. He finished with 61-58-119 and 42 penalty minutes (PIM) while also ranking 2nd in points (119) and 9th in assists (58). MacLean also registered 5-11-16 and 12 PIM in 15 OHL playoff games this season. The 6-foot-2, 197-pound MacLean was named the OHL Player of the Month for November 2007 after collecting 22-11-33 in just 12 games. He also earned January Player of the Month honors after scoring a league-leading 10-20-30 in 14 games for the month. MacLean spent four seasons in the OHL and was a two-time Eastern Conference All-Star. In 245 career OHL games with Erie and Oshawa, he collected 131-157-288 and 151 PIM. He also recorded 12-21-33 and 27 PIM in 28 playoff career playoff games.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed forward Paul Szczechura (pronounced sha-HER-a) to a two-year contract today, Executive Vice President/General Manager Jay Feaster announced. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound native of Belleville, Ontario, scored 14 goals in 24 games with the Admirals last season after netting two in 29 games with the Iowa Stars before being traded to Norfolk on January 15 in exchange for future considerations. He was tied for third on the Admirals in goals with 16 and was seventh in points with 31. He led all Norfolk rookies in scoring and was tied for the team lead with three game-winning goals. Szczechura, 22, made his professional debut following the completion of his collegiate career in 2006-07, signing an Amateur Tryout Contract with Iowa. In 67 career AHL games, he has 19 goals and 19 assists with 50 penalty minutes. He also appeared in 10 Calder Cup Playoff games in 2007, tallying three goals and an assist with eight penalty minutes. Szczechura appeared in 153 career games with the Western Michigan University Broncos, recording 44 goals and 86 assists with 107 penalty minutes. In his senior year, Szczechura finished first on the Broncos in assists (26), tied for second in goals (19), and was second in points (45). He finished seventh in the CCHA in overall points. He was a two-time recipient of WMU?s Scholar Athlete Award.

Mike Gillis is the new GM of the Canucks, as reported by the Canadian Press. The NHL team made it official at a news conference today at GM Place.

Bruce Boudreau has been given a contract to remain with the Capitals as coach, a reward for leading the club from last in the NHL to a Division title, as reported by the Associated Press. GM George McPhee said Wednesday, ?He?s our coach. He?s under contract for a long time.?

The Blackhawks on Thursday agreed to terms with Dan Bertram and Mike Brennan, two members of the Boston College team that recently won the NCAA championship, as reported by Yahoo.com.

The Capitals on Tuesday signed right-winger Francois Bouchard to a three-year entry-level deal, as reported by the Associated Press. Bouchard, 19, was selected in the second round of the 2006 NHL entry draft.