Morning Hits: Roy and Radulov, Stoll, Jets injuries, Bobrosky’s contract, Fleury and other goaltending scenarios

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on May 24th, 2013 8:04 am, 2 Comments

  • Dan Rosen: If the Senators win Game 5 tonight, Game 6 will go on Sunday at 7:30 pm, moving the Kings-Sharks to 10 pm. If the Penguins win, the Kings-Sharks will be at 8 pm.
  • Josh Cooper: Cooper points out that Patrick Roy and Alexander Radulov had a good rapport when Radulov was in Quebec. The Predators have been unable to trade Radulov for the last year.
  • Jon Rosen: Kings Jarret Stoll rode the stationary bike on Wednesday. He was at the area yesterday but not skating.
  • Tim Campbell of the Winnipeg Free Press: Jets Evander Kane won’t need surgery for his wrist problem and lower leg/foot nerve damage. Tobias Enstrom’s bad back only needs rest. Mark Stuart’s sports hernia doesn’t require surgery. Zach Bogosian missed the final three games of the season with a concussion.
  • Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch: The Blue Jackets and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky contract talks have stalled.

    “We’ve talked. We’ve exchanged ideas,” general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said this week. “But we haven’t made any progress, really. It’s been pretty quiet for a while now.”

    The RFA will be looking for a nice raise from this $1.7 million he made last year. The Blue Jackets will send him a qualifying offer, but he’ll reject it. Bobrovsky could get an offer sheet, with the Blue Jackets having seven days to match.

    “That’s something we can’t control,” Kekalainen said. “It’s obvious what we’re going to do if it goes that far. We have great ownership; committed ownership. We would match any offer there might be, but I’m optimistic we won’t get to that point.”

  • Aaron Portzline: Portzline wonders if the Bobrovsky talks drag into July, would the Flyers try to sign him to an offer sheet.
  • Craig Custance of ESPN: Custance wonders if Marc-Andre Fleury’s days in Pittsburgh could be numbered. GM Ray Shero could trade Fleury and his $5 million salary cap hit through 2014-15, and go with Tomas Vokoun and a young, cheaper goalie. It’s a move that may upset the balance in a close Penguins dressing room.

    “Guys will bleed for him. I wouldn’t hold your breath to think Pittsburgh is going to do something rash,” one NHL source said. “Marc-Andre Fleury has one thing in his corner — that’s called the Stanley Cup. Once accomplished, you know he can get it done.”

    The Blackhawks may have to consider putting Ray Emery to see if he can spark the Hawks. GM Stan Bowman may look at his goaltending situation in the summer if they lose to the Red Wings. Emery will be a UFA this summer. The Hawks are just over $2 million under the cap for next year with 21 players signed. Other UFA goalies this year: Mike Smith, Niklas Backstrom, Nikolai Khabibulin and Evgeni Nabokov. Emery could be a great fit with the Islanders or Coyotes if they don’t re-sign Smith, possibly the Sabres if they trade Ryan Miller or the Wild if they don’t keep Backstrom.

  • Katie Strang: The Cap Advantage Recapture Rule could really hurt the Rangers, as well as many other veterans. If Mike Richards were to retire in 2017, it would cost the Rangers $5.66 million in 2017, $8.5 million in 2018 and $17 million in 2019.

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Buyout Notes: starting time, Briere, Flyers, Richards and a top 10 list

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on May 24th, 2013 7:36 am, No Comments

  • Tim Panaccio: Buyouts can’t begin until 48 hours after the Stanley Cup Final ends.
  • Steve Simmons: Simmons ran into Daniel Briere who told him that he expects to be bought out by the Flyers. He would like to stay. (Briere also said on TSN last night that he could be bought out)
  • Tim Panaccio: Panaccio thinks the Flyers will save the second buyout until next summer unless they decide they absolutely need it.
  • Dave Lozo: A Brad Richards buyout would cost the Rangers $24 million. If they buy him out next summer, it would cost $9 million in salary and $18 million in buyout. Keeping him one more year costs $3 million.
  • Benoit Rioux of journaldemontreal.com: (h/t to @AlexManno31) Rioux lists his top 10 potential buyouts. 1. Tomas Kaberle (MON) 2. Mike Komisarek (TOR) 3. Ilya Bryzgalov (PHI) 4. Keith Ballard (VAN) 5. Brad Richards (NYR) 6. Daniel Briere (PHI) 7. Anton Volchenkov (NJ) 8. Rick DiPietro (NYI) 9. Dany Heatley (MIN) 10. Vincent Lecavalier (TB).

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Coach and GM Notes: Roy, Maloney, Canucks, Tippett and Tortorella

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News, NHL Rumors on May 24th, 2013 7:06 am, No Comments

  • Adrian Dater: The Colorado Avalanche have hired Patrick Roy to be their head coach and VP of hockey operations.
  • Graham Taylor: Coyotes GM Don Maloney has or is close to signing a contract extension.
  • Pierre LeBrun: The Canucks are not in a rush to name a new head coach. They have a broad list of obvious and less obvious names.
  • Bob McKenzie: Coyotes Dave Tippett is a legit candidate for any coaching position. UFA on July 1st.
  • Marc Savard: “Tortorella should get fired right after the game he has ruined all of his players confidence.”
  • Rob Vollman: “Of NHL games coached by former NHL players, only 4.1% were by goalies. And their teams fared the worst. HoF vs non-HoF: no difference.”

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Morning Hits: Burmistrov, Bogosian, Horcoff, Enroth and possible Canucks coaching candidates

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News on May 23rd, 2013 7:53 am, 4 Comments

  • Gary Lawless of the Winnipeg Free Press: Two sources have said that Jets RFA forward Alex Burmistrov has no-intention of re-signing with the team. Burmistrov wanted to be traded at the deadline and the Jets were trying too. Head coach Claude Noel and Burmistrov have had issues for two years, and hit a low when he was made a healthy scratch for four straight games. Names that reportedly came up when the Jets held talks with the Senators (Jakob Silfverberg), Sabres (Drew Stafford) and Islanders (Kyle Okposo). GM Kevin Cheveldayoff won’t let him go for nothing, but his market value is getting muddy. Burmistrov’s agent Mark Gandler would only say that he wasn’t going to sign in the KHL. The Jets haven’t held talks with RFA Zach Bogosian.
  • David Staple of the Edmonton Journal: Should the Oilers buyout Shawn Horcoff? The 35-year old Horcoff’s game has been on the decline and he’s been injured in two of the past three seasons. Horcoff could also be blocking Anton Lander, if the Oilers feel he’s ready. If his salary cap hit isn’t an issue this year, than he still may be a valuable bottom-six forward to have. His salary cap hit may become an issue for season, so if he’s bought out, it would likely be next year and not this summer.
  • John Vogl of the Buffalo News: Jhonas Enroth on whether he’s ready to be the No. 1 in Buffalo if Ryan Miller is moved: “I’m ready.”

    “I’ve been growing a lot,” Enroth said. “I want to play more. My goal is to be a starter one year in the NHL, and right now Ryan is the starter here. It’s kind of hard to take the job from him here, but we’ll see what happens.”

    The Sabres could be dealing at the draft, which could include Miller, though moving goaltenders isn’t always easy.

    “We get to the draft, and everything’s unpredictable,” Miller said. “I mean, everyone thought Luongo was going to get traded, and look where he is. He’s right where he is. … It’s just a weird landscape.”

  • Elliott Pap of the Vancouver Sun: Pap lists possible coaching candidates for the Canucks: Dallas Eakins, Lindy Ruff, Dave Tippett, Scott Arniel and Tom Renney.

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Quick Hits: Sutton, Quebecor’s false rumour, Nichushkin and Gragnani

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Entry Draft, NHL News, NHL Rumors on May 23rd, 2013 7:37 am, No Comments

  • Craig Custance: Defenseman Andy Sutton retired from the the NHL yesterday.
  • Quebecor Media: “The rumour that Quebecor is currently in negotiations with the #NHL to buy a franchise is completely false.”
  • Corey Pronman: 2013 NHL draft prospect Valeri Nichushkin told RSport.ru that he’ll be transferring to North America. His KHL team, Dynamo, have no issues with terminating his contract. Dmitry Chesnokov: Nichushkin and his camp say that the Hurricanes and Lightning have shown interest in him. Nichushkin’s godfather had mentioned the Hurricanes and Lightning, Nichushkin himself mentions the Predators.
  • Dmitry Chesnokov: Defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani signed with HC Lev in the KHL.

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Playoff Notes: Clowe, DeKeyser, Alfredsson, Kunitz and Stralman

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on May 23rd, 2013 7:30 am, No Comments

  • Dan Rosen: Rangers Ryane Clowe practiced for the first time yesterday since being injured in Game 5 against the Capitals.
  • Craig Custance: Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser is getting close to returning as his cast was to come off yesterday.
  • Renaud Lavoie: Senators Daniel Alfredsson picked up the puck after last night’s game. Lavoie wonders if it was his last game in Ottawa. Ian Mendes: When asked about picking up the puck, Alfredsson said: “because I’ve got a lot of kids at home.” Alfredsson on if it was his last home game: “The focus goes into this game. Whatever happens, happens. It’s not something I’m thinking about.”
  • Andrew Gross of the Bergon Record: Rangers defenseman Anton Stralman only had one shift in the second period and sat out the third period in Game 3. He was hit into the boards by Milan Lucic.

    “He’s played so well that’s a big blow for us as far as our matches and just our depth within our defense,” coach John Tortorella said.

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Maple Leafs Notes: Komarov, Gunnarsson, Leafs RFAs, UFAs and Free Agent Fits

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on May 22nd, 2013 8:14 am, 13 Comments

  • Dmitry Chesnokov: Maple Leafs RFA winger Leo Komarov: “Won’t hide it – I’ve held negotiations with Dynamo [KHL], but I’m waiting for an offer from Toronto.”
  • Luke Fox of SportsNet: Maple Leafs defenseman Carl Gunnarsson made $1.35 million last season and will be a RFA.

    “The ball is in their court right now, so they got to get it moving,” Gunnarsson says of the Leafs, who have seven unrestricted and seven restricted free agents to figure out this summer. “The four years I’ve had here have been great. We’ll see what they want from me next year. I haven’t thought about what I want.”

    Gunnarsson will meet with agent this week and go over their plan.

  • Jeff Simmons of SportsNet: The Leafs have a current projected cap room of $19,495,833 according to CapGeek.com. They have to decide if they want to re-sign UFA Tyler Bozak, and if so, how much do they want to commit to him. They need to re-sign RFAs Nazem Kadri and Cody Franson. Kadri could be a tough sign.

    UFAs: Clarke MacArthur future as a Leaf is up in the air after a disappointing regular season. Colton Orr showed improvement this season. Tim Connolly is gone. Ryan Hamilton could return with the Marlies. The Leafs will likely look for an upgrade on Ryan O’Bryne. Mike Kostka could be back as an No. 7 option.

    RFAs: Joe Colborne is still a project but could be an eventual Bozak fill-in. Leo Komarov is a nice bottom-six piece. Frazer McLaren is a Carlyle favorite but easily replaced. Reliable Carl Gunnarsson should be back. Mark Fraser performed well but future unclear.

    Free Agent Fits: Devils right winger David Clarkson would give the Leafs some size in their top-six. If the Leafs don’t re-sign Bozak, Mike Ribeiro could be a nice fit between Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul. Defenseman Rob Scuderi would bring the Leafs blueline some toughness and experience.

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Morning Hits: Roy, Emelin, Ribeiro and Hemsky

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on May 22nd, 2013 7:23 am, 2 Comments

  • L.A. Lariviere: Patrick Roy’s brother said he was wrongly quoted in the Denver Post article and that he expressed only his intuition.
  • Renaud Lavoie: Canadiens defenseman Alexei Emelin had surgery on his left knee and will be out for six months.
  • Katie Carrera of the Washington Post: Carrera ponders if the Capitals should re-sign center Mike Ribeiro. Ribeiro was second on the team in scoring with 49 points. It’s unclear if his contract demands will fit into the Capitals long-term plans. He said again last week that his next contract “has to be four or five years.” He’s looking for stability for his three children who are all in school.

    “If I can stay in the city and retire here, it’s more about the kids. I don’t want to move them too many times. School – they’re going into high school now, so if I can stay here until they go to college, or stay in the city until they go to college, that’s my focus,” Ribeiro said. “I still believe I can get better. I don’t see myself getting worse. It can only get better. I can be out there. I can work out more. There’s a lot of room there to improve and that’s why I don’t think I should have less than four or five years.”

    Ribeiro made $5 million last season. The Capitals currently have just over $58 million committed to 19 players for next season and still need to re-sign Karl Alzner and Marcus Johansson.

  • Jonathan Willis of Oilers Nation: Willis looks at the possibility of the Oilers trading right winger Ales Hemsky. Though he admits that you may not get a big return back, it doesn’t make sense to trade him for nothing. If they keep Hemsky, it could give them the option to trade Jordan Eberle for a legit number one defenseman. Holding to Hemsky now would also give them the option to move him at the trade deadline where his value may be higher. Hemsky could also bounce back this year, which would obviously benefit the Oilers. If they are able to get good value for him, then it makes sense, but if they are getting little back, it doesn’t make sense.

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Morning Hits: Patrick Roy and the Avs, Canucks Coaches, Avs #1 pick, Flyers draft options and Caps UFA Hendricks

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Entry Draft, NHL Free Agents, NHL Rumors on May 21st, 2013 8:04 am, 2 Comments

  • Adrian Dater of the Denver Post: Patrick Roy’s brother, Stephane, is saying that Patrick will be the next coach of the Colorado Avalanche.

    “They’re discussing the final details of an arrangement. Colorado is going to be very happy. Patrick is looking for a new challenge,” said Stephane Roy, the younger brother of his famous sibling.

    The Avalanche wouldn’t confirm and Patrick couldn’t be reached.

  • Renaud Lavoie: It’s premature to say that Patrick Roy is the head coach of the Avalanche as it’s not a done deal.
  • Ed Willes of the Vancouver Province: The Canucks coaching staff including Alain Vigneault, Rick Bowness and Newell Brown, are still waiting to learn their fate from GM Mike Gillis. The trio don’t understand why they haven’t heard anything yet.
  • Adrian Dater of the Denver Post: The Avalanche’s chief scout, Rick Parcey, said that Seth Jones being their likely top pick in the draft is premature.

    “The No. 1 spot, it’s open,” Pracey told me. “You know, Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin and Alexander Barkov, and you can go into other guys. There are others out there – Sean Monahan, Elias Lindholm – that are very, very interesting players. It’s by far not a slam dunk. It’s not one player that’s running away with this thing.”

    Dater would still bet on the Avs draft Jones as he fills a big need on the blueline.

    “We have to be looking at the best player available,” Pracey said. “When you’re holding the No. 1 pick, you still have to maintain that philosophy. We’re after not only the most talented kid right now, but long into the future. We hope this is a 10-15 year player for us. We have to make sure we have all our bases covered. They’re all good players, and we’ve had an extreme amount of coverage on these top kids, and now we’re entering the secondary phase.”

  • Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer: Carchidi lists some names who could be there when the Flyers pick 11th overall in the 2013 NHL draft: Darnell Nurse (D), Rasmus Ristolainen (D),  Ryan Pulock (D), Hunter Shinkaruk (C/LW), Frederik Gauthier (C), Sean Monahan (C) and Nikita Zadorov (D).
  • Katie Carrera of the Washington Post: The Capitals will have tough UFA decisions on Mike Ribeiro and valuable fourth-liner Matt Hendricks. Hendricks kills penalties, drops the gloves if need be and is respected by teammates and coaches. He’s likely due a raise from the $800,000 he earned this past season. He hopes to remain in Washington.

    “It’s a big part of the business when it comes to players’ salaries,” Hendricks said. “You want to get what you feel you deserve and what is right, and that’s what happens in the negotiating process.”

    The Capitals currently sit about $6.2 million under next seasons $64.3 million salary cap.

    “When you’re in a cap world, sometimes you just don’t have choices,” McPhee said. “This is what you have to work with and if it doesn’t fit for them you move on, you get someone else and that’s the world we live in now.”

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Injury Notes: Seidenberg, Redden, Ference, Lundqvist, Spezza and Beauchemin

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News on May 21st, 2013 7:26 am, No Comments

  • Joe McDonald of ESPN: Injured Bruins defensemen Dennis Seidenberg and Wade Redden practiced yesterday and travel with the team to New York.

    “Whether it’s next game or not, we’ll see how he feels [today],” Julien said of Seidenberg.

    “Not too bad,” Redden said. “It’s day-to-day still. I’ve got to talk with [the medical staff] and see where we’re at, but it’s progressing good.”

    Their other injured defenseman, Andrew Ference, doesn’t look as lucky. He was seen last week wearing a walking boot.

  • Mike Mazzeo of ESPN: Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist injured his shoulder in the 3rd period in Game 2 on Sunday.

    “Yeah, it’s under control,” Lundqvist said after practice Monday. “I landed on the ice awkwardly and hurt it a little bit. It’s under control.

    “Everybody’s sore. It’s the playoffs. You can’t just sit out because it’s hurting a little bit. It happens and you just have to make sure you do the right things to make it good.”

  • Erin Nicks of NHL.com: Senators Jason Spezza played his first game since Jan. 27th on Sunday and seems to be feeling no ill effects.

    “I feel good,” Spezza said Monday. “To play a double-overtime game and coming out no worse for wear is definitely positive for me and encouraging that I made the right decision [to play]. I took a pretty good pounding and played more than we had initially planned, but it’s all positive and I hope to get even better as we go on.”

  • Helene Elliott: The Ducks said that defenseman Francois Beauchemin had surgery to repair his ACL. Surgery went well and he hopes to be ready for next season.

 

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Morning Hits: Wolski, Scott, Brunner, Roy and Hemsky

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on May 20th, 2013 7:57 am, No Comments

  • Renaud Lavoie: The Sabres signed John Scott to a one-year deal at $750,000.
  • Adrian Dater of the Denver Post: A source confirmed that Patrick Roy is a strong candidate for the Avalanche head coaching position. Roy was offered the position in 2009, but turned it down.
  • Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: Ales Hemsky’s days with the Oilers could be coming to an end. GM Craig MacTavish isn’t going to pay $5 million a season for a second line winger with world-class ability.  His knock is missing too many games due to injury.

    “I don’t think there’s a market for him … I shouldn’t say there’s no market,” said former NHL general Craig Button, who now works for TSN. “But the salary cap is coming down to $64.3 million. He makes $5 million for one more year. Would the Oilers pick up half of that to trade him, 50-50 (with another team)? That would still free up $2.5 million in cap space for the Oilers.

    “I don’t know if they can get something tangible in return for Hemsky. Andrew Cogliano got the Oilers a second-round draft (pick). I don’t know if they can get that for Hemsky,” Button said.

    “He’d be rolling along, on pace for 80 points, and bang, he gets hurt. He’s not reliable (to possible trade suitors).”

    Western Conference teams that might be interested: Predators, Blue Jackets, Red Wings, Blues, Coyotes and Jets (moving next season). If the Red Wings lose Valtteri Filppula, Hemsky could be an option if they only have to pay $4 million.

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Morning Hits: Spezza, Quick, Sharks fined, trade options for Miller and a look at the Canucks

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on May 19th, 2013 8:39 am, No Comments

  • Bruce Garrioch: With Jason Spezza returning to the Senators lineup today, would have to assume that Guillaume Latendresse will be sitting.
  • Helene Elliott: Kings Jonathan Quick received a game misconduct that the end of last night’s game. He receives an automatic $200 fine and “the case shall be reported to the commissioner, who shall have full power to impose such further penalties by way of suspension or fine.” Because it was for abuse of an official, if a player receives two of them, they can be suspended. It was Quick’s first abuse of an official.
  • Jon Rosen of LA Kings Insider: The NHL didn’t like Sharks GM Doug Wilson’s comments regarding the Raffi Torres suspension and have fined the organization $100,000.
  • Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News: It sounds like the Sabres would like to keep Tomas Vanek, but he may be looking to get out. The Sabres may be more interested in trading goalie Ryan Miller. The 33-year old Miller is set to make $6 million next year and may not be easy to move with the salary cap going down. Harrington thinks a team that is close to the winning the Cup may be interested in Miller. Could the Ducks be interested? Jonas Hiller has a year left on his deal and was only OK in their first round loss. The Blues might be interested. Brian Elliott lost four straight in the first round, and Jaroslav Halak may not be getting along with coach Ken Hitchcock. Sabres GM Darcy Regier is unlikely to move Miller to an Eastern Conference team, so that would eliminate the Capitals and perhaps the Penguins. If a non-Cup contending team is interest, maybe the Avalanche. Miller would be an improvement over Semyon Varlamov and JS Giguere.
  • Iain MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun: The Canucks are already over next year’s salary cap with 17 players under contract. Trading Roberto Luongo and buying out Keith Ballard would free up $9.5 million. They would have to be cautious free agent spenders. They probably can’t afford Ryane Clowe, Nathan Horton or David Clarkson. They may have to look at cheaper options like Guillaume Latendresse, Raffi Torres, Eric Nystrom and Bryan Bickell. There isn’t much help from within the organization coming up. Six current Canucks have no-trade clauses, and another three kick in on July 1st: Alex Burrows, Chris Higgins and Alex Edler. Edler may be used as a trade chip. Would the Flyers deal Sean Couturier for Edler? Could the Canucks get a package including Justin Abdelkader from the Red Wings or Jamie McGinn is a deal with the Avalanche.

    “In order to get players to play for less than market value, you have to give them something they can rely upon,” Gillis explained. “I think if a player was unhappy here, he’d waive his no-trade. If we were unhappy with him, it would be obvious and he would waive his no-trade. But that’s not a path we’re looking to right now. I think we need to supplement our core group of players that are here as best we can, and then look at possibilities down the road.”

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