Around the Rink 08.29.06

The Nashville Predators added some punch to their forward line as they signed J-P Dumont to a 2-year deal worth around $4.5M. Dumont had 20 goals and 20 assists in 54 games and became a free agent when the Buffalo Sabres declined to sign Dumont to an arbitrator's reward.

The Predators have done some work in getting some more offense into their system. With the signing of Jason Arnott and revitalization of Paul Kariya-- the Preds are looking to take over as the Central Division's top team and enter a new era of hockey. Of course, if Dumont can build off his stellar playoffs where he had seven goals and seven assists in 18 playoff games. With the high-tempo Preds gameplan, Dumont should be assured to up his numbers as a secondary scorer.

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The Sabres were also dealt a blow by hearing that forward Tim Connolly will probably not be ready for training camp, as he is still feeling the effects of a concussion that he sustained during Game One of the Conference Semi-finals against Ottawa.

Connolly continues his history of concussion problems, having to miss out on the entire 2003-04 season with a concussion problem. At only 25-years-old, the worries are that he will become like Brett Lindros, taking too many shots to the head and having a promising career cut short. The Sabres are hoping Connolly will make sure that he is cleared to play before even thinking about stepping back onto the ice.

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The Carolina Hurricanes brought back David Tanabe by signing the defenseman to a one-year, $900k deal. The defenseman was originally drafted by the Hurricanes in 1999 and since then has registered 94 points in 374 games. Tanabe has had some injury problems, but he worked out for the Hurricanes to show that he was over those problems.

Also in Canesland, there are rumors that the Canes have been persuing Brad Isbister to help fill the void that will be left by the absence of Cory Stillman. Stillman will miss up to 35 games at the start of next season as a result of shoulder surgey the forward had on Friday.

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That's all from around the rinks in the NHL. Check out Face Off Hockey Show live on Wednesday night starting at 9 PM ET. If you can't make it live, check out our Podcast for anything you may have missed.