The return is a 6th round pick in 2008.

More to follow.

The Panthers get defenseman Karlis Skrastins and a third round pick.

More to come.

Heading the other way appears to be forward Andrew Ladd.

TSN is now also reporting the trade on their website.

More updates to come.

The Canadiens get a 2009 2nd round pick in exchange.

With this acquisition, there’s some thought the Capitals may be preparing to move goaltender Olaf Kolzig, who is an unrestricted free agent.

More to follow.

The Lightning have officially asked Richards to waive his no-trade clause, and he has obliged.

Along with Richards, the Lightning will send goaltender Johan Holmqvist to Dallas. In return, the Lightning get goalie Mike Smith, Jussi Jokinen, and Jeff Halpern.

Updates to follow.

< a href="http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=230612&hubname=nhl" rel="external">TSN is reporting that forward Steve Bernier and the Sharks’ first-round draft pick are heading to the Sabres.

Stand by for more information as it becomes available.

The Leafs are getting a 5th round draft choice.

“I’m happy,” Belak told TSN. “I has a good run in Toronto and I’m unrestricted this summer and I didn’t know what plans the team had in the future.”

More to come as information is available.

Darren Dreger reported earlier this morning that Mike Comrie signed a contract extension with the New York Islanders.

It’s believed to be for one year at $4 million per season.

The Blues are now confirming the deal to Sportsnet.

TSN now has this on their website with a few comments from the Blues.

“We feel that Cam’s style of play will bring energy and grit to our lineup and being from St. Louis, feel that he will be an instant fan favorite here,” said team president John Davidson in a statement.

“Our depth at defense enabled us to make this move. We admire and respect Bryce as a player for what he did on and off the ice in St. Louis and thank Bryce and his wife April for their contributions as members of our family.”

Stay tuned as more information comes in.

The type of pick depends on how far the Flyers make it into the playoffs. If they reach the Eastern Conference Finals, they’ll give the Lightning their second-round pick in 2009. If they don’t, the Lightning get Calgary’s third-round pick in 2009 which is owned by the Flyers.

With injuries hitting the Flyers from all sides, they had to make a move to bolster their forward group.

“With the loss of forwards due to recent injuries, we felt that we needed to add some help to that position,” Flyers GM Paul Holmgren said in a statement. “We believe that Vinny (Prospal) will bring experience with the ability to produce offence.”

Prospal himself says that he’s glad he’s heading back to where he once played before. His days in Tampa Bay were becoming bitter, especially after runins with his head coach.

“It is something that I kind of expected – not to go to Philadelphia – but being traded,” Prospal said in a release. “My name has been mentioned all around the paper and there has been a lot of rumours. They had a decision to make and they basically dealt me away.”

“I am glad that I am going to an organization that I already have been involved with. Philadelphia is a great place to play because they have awesome fans and I was drafted by Philadelphia, so I am basically coming back to where I started.”

The Lightning have high hopes for the 22-year-old Picard. And they should. He’s a very talented player.

“Alexander Picard is a young prospect with good size and excellent hockey sense who has played in the NHL,” said Lightning GM Jay Feaster. “We believe he has a significant amount of upside in his future. In moving Vaclav Prospal we wanted to add to our organizational depth, and by acquiring both a young defenseman and a future draft pick we were able to achieve that goal.”

TSN reports that the Lightning have signed Boyle to a six-year deal worth $40 million.

“We are extremely pleased to have Dan back in the fold for the next six years,” said Lightning GM Jay Feaster. “Our team and our fans have been able to witness first-hand, during Dan’s injury and recovery, how tough it is to win without Dan in our line-up.”

“As John Tortorella has consistently said, Danny is the player that makes our offense go from the back end, and this signing demonstrates the commitment of current and prospective ownership to ice a championship caliber team in Tampa.”

Boyle will get $6.66 million per season for all six years.

Not bad for the 31-year old defensemen.

“I am grateful that we were able to get the deal done today,” added Boyle. “I am very proud of what we have been able to accomplish here in Tampa over the past few years, including winning the Stanley Cup.”

“And while this year may not have gone the way we have liked to this point, I am confident we can return to those winning ways very quickly. Otherwise, I would not have made the commitment to stay with the Lightning.”

The question now with the Lightning is how are they going to fit Boyle with the club’s Big Three on the roster? Oh, yeah, they’ll move Brad Richards and his $7.8 million cap hit.