Kukkonen staying with Flyers
The Flyers re-signed defenseman Lasse Kukkonen to a two-year, $1.75 million contract yesterday. "He's a really good defenseman for us and we feel he is only going to get better," general manager Paul Holmgren said of the 25-year-old, who came to the Flyers last season in a trade for forward Kyle Calder.
The Flyers re-signed defenseman Lasse Kukkonen to a two-year, $1.75 million contract yesterday.
"He's a really good defenseman for us and we feel he is only going to get better," general manager Paul Holmgren said of the 25-year-old, who came to the Flyers last season in a trade for forward Kyle Calder.
"We felt that Lasse was a nice addition to our team when we acquired him in February," Holmgren said. "He showed that he can move the puck extremely well and that he is a really steady defender. We look forward to him being part of our defense for the next two seasons."
The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Kukkonen scored five goals and added nine assists in 74 games for the Flyers and the Chicago Blackhawks this season. He had 38 penalty minutes and led all NHL rookies in blocked shots with 151.
Kukkonen will make $850,000 next season and $900,000 in 2008-09.
The club also signed 6-1, 200-pound right winger David Laliberte to a three-year entry-level contract.
Laliberte, 21, recorded 50 goals and 48 assists in 68 regular-season games for the Prince Edward Island Rocket this season. He had 86 penalty minutes.
He was fifth in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League in goals and tied for 11th in points with 98.