sentences:  In July 2006, the Senators lost four players to free agency; the aforementioned defencemen Zdeno Chara (who signed a five–year deal with the Boston Bruins), Brian Pothier (who signed with the Washington Capitals), goalie Dominik Hasek (who signed a one-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings) and forward Vaclav Varada (who signed with HC Davos of the Swiss Elite League).Former Carolina Hurricanes starter Martin Gerber was signed to fill the void left by Hasek, and Ottawa also signed defenceman Joe Corvo, formerly of the Los Angeles Kings.A short time later, they traded star forward Martin Havlat and centre Bryan Smolinski to the Chicago Blackhawks for Tom Preissing, Josh Hennessy, Michal Barinka and a second-round draft pick in 2008.