Hail and Farewell

Hail!

The Rampage announced on Thursday the signing of LW Pete MacArthur. Yet another Icehog joining the fold following in the footsteps of Bracken Kearns and Joe Fallon. Pete was a productive player for the Hogs last season scoring 8 goals and chipping in 34 assists in 71 games. He should be a nice addition to the 3rd line, possibly even seeing some time with the 2nd line depending on matchups.


Farewell!

It's a sad day. The St Louis Blues announced that they have agreed to a one year 2 way deal with David Spina. The fan favorite and spark plug will be sorely missed in the Rampage lineup and locker room. David really played well in his San Antonio career. Injuries, however, were starting to become a concern to some fans. And with his smaller stature and playing style, this fan isn't sure he will ever reach that next level. We all wish him nothing but good luck and best wishes though.


It was obvious as soon as the offseason officially started on July 1st that this team would be getting a major overhaul. The team was having some consistency issues and the place to change that is with your veterans. Also gone this offseason:

Joel Perrault (Vancouver) - one way deal
Sean Sullivan (San Jose) - two way
Stefan Meyer (Calgary) - two way
Jeff Hoggan - Germany
Francis Lessard (Ottawa) - two way


This also leaves just two players from last years team as free agents. Shaun Heshka and Josh Tordjman remain available and should be picked up before training camp starts as they are both experienced AHL level players.

The signing of MacArthur should pretty much wrap up any significant moves this offseason. The goalies are more than set. The defense is more than set. The top 3 lines of forwards are good. We may see a player like Ryan Weston make the squad out of training camp as the last forward.

See you at the rink!


Thanks to http://www.hockeydb.com/ and the Peoria Journal Star for the Spina news.