Zetterberg, DiPietro sign with their clubs

DETROIT (CP) -- The Detroit Red Wings re-signed forward Henrik Zetterberg to a $10.6-million US, four-year contract Wednesday, bringing back at least one of their two star restricted free agents.
Pavel Datsyuk has agreed to a deal in Russia and remains unsigned by the Red Wings.But Zetterberg finally signed after a long negotiation. He'll earn $2.65 million a season. He led the Swedish Elite League in scoring during the NHL lockout with 50 points (19-31) in 50 games with Timra.In 2003-04, he had 15 goals and 28 assists in 61 games with the Wings. He has 37 goals and 50 assists in 140 career games.Datsyuk, according to reports out of Russia, signed a one-year deal worth up to $6 million US with Avangard Omsk of the Russian Super League but Dynamo Moscow matched Avangard's offer Wednesday to bring the 27-year-old back to the Moscow club where Datsyuk played during the lockout.It's not clear at this point whether Datsyuk has an out-clause in his Russian deal to re-join the Red Wings. If he doesn't re-sign by Dec. 1, he can't play in the NHL this season.In other signing news, the Toronto Maple Leafs have inked left winger Alexei Ponikarovsky to a two-year contract. Financial terms of the deal were not dislosed.Ponikarovsky, 25, played 19 games for Voskresensk of the Russian Hockey League last season collecting six points (one goal, five assists) with 16 penalty minutes. In 2003-04 with the Maple Leafs, he played 73 games collecting a career high 28 points (nine goals, 19 assists) with 44 penalty minutes. He was also third on the team in plus/minus at +14. The native of Kiev, Ukraine has played 116 career NHL games for Toronto collecting 37 points (12 goals, 25 assists) with 69 penalty minutes. He was Toronto's fourth choice, 87th overall, in the 1998 Entry Draft.

New York Islanders re-sign goalie Rick DiPietro to one-year deal
posted September 7 @ 16:57, EST
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (CP) - Rick DiPietro's new deal with the New York Islanders is 14 years short of what was originally discussed but the 23-year-old was nevertheless pleased to sign a $2.5-million US, one-year agreement Wednesday.
GM Mike Milbury and DiPietro's camp were contemplating a $60-million, 15-year blockbuster deal but it fell through mainly because of insurance issues, sources confirmed Tuesday.
DiPietro said talks would continue in January on a possible long-term contract.
"I've made my feelings known that Long Island is where I want to spend my career and hopefully we can work something out," he said Wednesday at the U.S. Olympic camp in Colorado Springs.
DiPietro, who turns 24 on Sept. 19, was 23-18-5 with a 2.18 GAA in 2003-04 with the Islanders. The Massachusetts native could be the U.S. starter at the Turin Olympics next February. He'll report to Islanders training camp when it opens Sept. 12 in Yarmouth, N.S.

-thanks to www.tsn.ca for the reports