Detroit put Ed Belfour through a three-hour physical yesterday at the Detroit Medical Center, and, if the results are good, the Red Wings almost surely will offer him a contract,

After the physical, Belfour, coming off back surgery, met again with general manager Ken Holland, then left for the airport. Holland did not return a phone call.

Belfour, 41, attracted the Red Wings' attention because of his past success in the NHL playoffs, and because it won't cost much to sign him. He is a much cheaper option than, for example, trading for Anaheim's Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who has a year left on his contract at nearly $4 million, or trading for San Jose's Evgeni Nabokov, who comes with a four-year deal worth $21.5 million.

The Wings are eager to obtain a goalie and also to get the Brendan Shanahan situation resolved. The Wings have offered Shanahan one- and two-year deals each worth approximately $4 million per season, almost double the $2.28 million he made last year, when he scored 40 goals in the regular season and one in the playoffs.

Stars

Dallas signed free-agent center Jeff Halpern from Washington and former Penguins winger Matthew Barnaby from Chicago yesterday, the team's first significant moves since the high-profile departures of big forwards Jason Arnott and Bill Guerin and the loss of defenseman Willie Mitchell (to Vancouver) and backup goalie Johan Hedberg (to Atlanta). Halpern signed a four-year deal. Barnaby agreed to a one-year contract. No financial terms were released for either deal.

Sabres

Jaroslav Spacek, a prototypical defenseman for the reshaped game, agreed to a three-year contract worth about $10 million with Buffalo after being one of the stars in Edmonton's run to the Stanley Cup final.

Other moves

Calgary wasted little time in signing forward Alex Tanguay, acquired last weekend from Colorado, to a three-year, $15.75 million deal. The Flames also signed free-agent winger Jeff Friesen (Anaheim) to a one-year, $1.6 million deal. ... Los Angeles acquired goaltender Dan Cloutier from Vancouver for a second-round draft choice next year and a conditional selection in the 2009 draft. ... Minnesota signed right winger Marian Gaborik to a three-year, $19 million contract just before he was expected to file for salary arbitration. ... Carolina re-signed high-scoring left winger Erik Cole to a three-year, $12 million contract. ... Philadelphia re-signed goaltender Antero Niittymaki to a one-year contract. ... Anaheim re-signed high-scoring center Andy McDonald to a three-year contract. ... Phoenix signed rugged right winger Georges Laraque from Edmonton to a two-year contract.