Posts Tagged Dan Ellis

Marleau Should be Good for Game 2 … Predators, Devils, Senators, and Red Wings Off-Season Decisions

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on May 1st, 2010

  • Gary Peterson of the San Jose Mercury News: Surprise game 1 scratch, Patrick Marleau, should be feeling better, and ready to return for game 2 on Sunday. Marleau was taken out of the line just before game one with ‘flu-like’ symptoms.
  • Iaian MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun: Canucks leading playoff scorer, Mikael Samuelsson, missed practiced yesterday with a sore back, but it’s not expected to keep him out of the line up for game 1.
  • John Glennon of the Tennessean: Predators forward JP Dumont had his ice cut this season by 2:43, which isn’t sitting well with Dumont, and he wants to talk to coach Barry Trotz about it. If Dumont leaves the meeting unhappy, it may lead to him willing to waive his no-movement clause. GM David Poile thinks he has a reasonable chance to re-sign defenseman Dan Hamhuis. They spoke last week, and plan to do so again in the near future. Denis Grebeshkov future with the club may hinge on how the Hamhuis pans out. Dan Ellis most likely won’t be back with the Predators, as he’s going to see what the open market brings him.
  • Rich Chere of the Star-Ledger: The Devils will have to decide soon if they are going to send offers to Paul Martin and Ilya Kovalchuk. Because the Devils lost in the 1st round, they won’t make any money this season, but that won’t play a part in their (owers and Lou’s) decision to bring back Martin and Kovalchuk or not. The coaching search will take more shape during the next couple weeks. I’m sure they’ll want to have someone in place before the draft in June.
  • Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: GM Bryan Murray and coach Cory Clouston received votes of confidence from Ottawa Senators owner, Eugene Melnyk. Melnyk will be sitting down with both for reviews, and thinks some tinkering might need to be done with the team. When asked about Jason Spezza and his no-trade clause that kicks in on July 1st, the decision on how to precede with that will be in the hands of Murray. The Sens will spend up to the salary cap next season which is rumored to be slightly above this seasons $56.7 million. They already have $49 million committed for 17 players. Anton Volchenkov turned down a 5 year, $20 million contract before the Olympics, and is looking for something between $4.5-5 million a season. The Senators didn’t make any money this season, they needed to reach the second round to do so.
  • George Malik of MLive: Off-season decisions involving the Detroit Red Wings … Trying to re-sign Nicklas Lidstrom, hopefully at a discount. Re-signing UFAs Tomas Holmstrom, Todd Bertuzzi, and Andreas Lilja. Deciding if they want to bring back any of (not likely); Kirk maltby, Jason Williams, Brett Lebda, Brad May andn Doug Janik. Attempting to re-sign; Justin Abdelkader, Drew Miller, Patrick Eaves, Darren Helm, Daniel Larsson, Sergei Kolosov, and Mattias Ritola. Do they send qualifying offers to Derek Meech, Ville Leino, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and Johan Ryno?
  • Damian Cristodero of the St. Petersburg Times: Steve Yzerman has been mentioned as one of the leading candidates to become the Lightning’s next GM, but Scotty Bowman would be surprised if he’d leave the Red Wings organization. Yzerman was been with the Wings for 27 years, and Bowman thinks he could be moving up the organization.

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Who’ll Buy the Coyotes? The Flyers Goaltending Issues … Kulemin Staying in Toronto?

Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on March 21st, 2010

  • Pierre LeBrun of ESPN:
    • The League and Players will be voting on whether to fast-track new head-shot rules, which will most likely happen. Francois Beauchemin said to ESPN, “But I wish the league would have taken care of this last summer like we [the players] had asked them to,”.
    • The Ice Edge Group, which signed a letter of intent to buy the Coyotes, may not be front runners anymore to buy them. Jerry Reinsdorf could be back in the mix. Relocation may enter into the picture if a local owner isn’t found by May.
    • Mike Cammalleri should return to the Canadiens lineup later this week.
  • Jim Matheson of Edmonton Journal:
    • Matheson thinks the Oilers should trade prospect Linus Omark for the best draft pick they can get.
    • The Red Wings might go after European FA, Mats Zuccarello-Aasen, offering a 2-way contract that has an out to return to Sweden if he doesn’t make the big club or like the AHL.
    • Raffi Torres has no goals in 7 games since being traded to the Sabres. “I’ve been terrible; all I’ve done is given them a little bit of physical play,” said Torres.
    • Steve Stamkos has a painful bone bruise in his back.
  • Larry Brooks of the NY Post: The Philadelphia Flyers inquired about Tim Thomas at the deadline, but were unable to work out a deal to fit him under the cap. They might try again in the summer to land Thomas, as well as looking at Marty Turco, Evgeni Nabokov and Dan Ellis.
  • Scott Burnside of ESPN: The Flyers made a run at Tomas Vokoun, but the Panthers wanted Jeff Carter.
  • Tim Panaccio of CSNPhilly: The Flyers had hoped to use Michael Leighton’s playoff performance as a gage as to what kind of contract to offer him. Now that his season is most likely finished, this obviously won’t happen, and they will re-evaluate their goaltending situation after the season.
  • Paul Hunter of the Toronto Star: Maple Leafs winger Nikolai Kulemin has greatly improved his overal game this year, and now finds himself on the Leafs top line, getting plenty of ice time. Kulemin is a RFA after the season, and there have been reports that he might head to the KHL to collect a larger pay check, but that may not be the case. “I want to play here. Some players are going to Russia for some big money but I like it here,” he said. “I want to play here in the better league. I want to play better and make the team better.”

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    Problems with Phoenix’s Potential New Owners? Leighton back in Philly? Forsberg Done for Good? Kings Showcasing Bernier?

    Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on March 12th, 2010

  • David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail: The Banks may not be willing to give the “Ice Edge” group the funds to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes for $160 million. Jeffery Vinik only paid about $100 million cash for the Tampa Bay Lightning. There was a bill proposed by Arizona legislature last month to create a special tax to help the arena cost, it fell through. A real-extate company was suspose to help the Ice Edge group financially pulled out.
  • Frank Seravalli of the Philadelphia Daily News: Michael Leighton’s play in net may have helped save the Flyers season, but it hasn’t gotten Flyers talking to him about a contract extension yet. The Flyers have had a tendency to go the lost cost route in net, so Leighton might appeal to them rather than going after higher priced goalies such as Marty Turco, Evgeni Nabokov, Vesa Toskala, Dan Ellis, and Antero Niittymaki.
  • Kevin Allen via Twitter: After Modo’s playoff loss Peter Forsberg said “this might have been my last game.”
  • Chris Botta of NYI Point Blank: Some points from Garth Snow’s interview with MSG Network. Snow expects Rick DiPietro to play again this year (I wonder how long it will be before he’s hurt again). Snow expects to test the free agent market out, and will be looking for a couple defenseman (Makes you wonder why they traded Andy Sutton in the middle of a playoff run, especially when they are pretty thin on the blueline now).
  • Steve MacFarlane of the Calgary Sun: Ian White hopes to re-sign long term with the Calgary Flames this summer. “I would hope they’d want to keep me around here,” said White, of Steinbach, Man.”I love being out west. I love playing for Calgary. I love everything about this organization. I’d be honoured to be able to stick around here for a few more years.”
  • Helene Elliot of the LA Times: Jonathan Bernier will most likely make the start for the LA Kings tonight as Jonathan Quick will miss the game as he’s awaiting the birth of his first child. Kings backup, Erik Ersberg, hasn’t played in a month but coach Terry Murray wants to see Bernier play. “I want to see him. I know he’s had a great year, one of the best in all of the goaltenders that are outside of the NHL, and this might be an opportunity for me to get a look at him, for the team, and for him to come up and play,” Kings Coach Terry Murray said Thursday. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Kings were showcasing Bernier, especially if they feel Quick is their goalie of the future. Quick is signed for another 2 years.
  • Matthew Sekeres of the Globe and Mail: Steve Bernier of the Vancouver Canucks will be out for 4-6 weeks after having sports hernia surgery yesterday.

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    Cooke’s hit a ‘shoulder to the head’ according to Colin Campbell … GMs talking Headshots in Florida … Injury Updates

    Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on March 9th, 2010

  • James Murphy of NESN: The NHL’s chief disciplinarian Colin Campbell has said that Matt Cooke’s hit on Marc Savard was a shoulder to the head, rather than an elbow to the head. Campbell and about 7 others watched the hit for an hour and a half. Savard suffered a grade 2 concussion. A shoulder to the head may be a lesser suspension than an elbow to the head. Cooke is a repeat offender, so his punishment might be a little stiffer.
  • Elliotte Friedman of CBCSports: GM’s are taking another serious look at headshots at their GM meetings in Florida. Some factors Friedman thinks the GMs must address; ‘Make the penalties harsh’, ‘ease up on the self-interest’, ‘soften the equipment’, ‘make the victims more aware’, ‘be flexible’, and ‘eliminate the instigator rule’. Some of Friedman’s ’30 Thoughts’ below:
    • Some Canadian-based GMs think Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier jacked up the price of rentals when he gave up a 2nd round pick for Dominic Moore. I’d have to agree with them, I don’t know what Gauthier was thinking.
    • Other teams may not be pleased with Darryl Sutter giving Matt Stajan 4 years and $14 million. I agree with this as well, I was  (and am still) shaking my head over this one. $3.5 million for a 3rd line center? But I guess for now he’s the #1 center in Calgary.
    • Dan Hamhuis wasn’t dealt at the deadline as nobody wanted to give up a 1st rounder for the UFA.
    • Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli may not have wanted to give up a high draft pick or top prospect to acquire a scorer at the deadline, as he may not think they are legitamate contenders.
    • 2 teams (at least one) would have taken Cristobal Huet from the Blackhawks for a 1st rounder and an established player.
    • Some GMs believe now that the Canucks will hold on to Cody Hodgson.
    • Brian Burke has said it’s more likely that Tomas Kaberle is signed to an extension, rather than being traded.
    • Raffi Torres may want to return home to Toronto next year, but will Burke want him?
    • One of the reason’s Alexei Ponikarovsky was traded was that he asked for a 4 year contract extension.
  • Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Evander Kane of the Atlanta Thrashers will have a CT Scan on his left foot today. Kane blocked a shot on Saturday, and didn’t return after it happened.
  • John Glennon of the Tennessean: Newly acquired Dman Denis Grebeshkov will be out of the Predators lineup for 1-2 weeks with a lower-body injury. Shea Weber is doubtful for tonight’s game. Dan Ellis will start for the Preds.
  • The Ottawa Citizen: The Ottawa Senators have signed the 23-year-old Brian Lee to a 2 year contract extension. Lee was drafted 9th overall in 2005, but hasn’t really lived up to expectations yet.
  • Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald: Tuukka Rask was back on the ice for a 2nd day with several Bruins,e h aggravated an old right knee injury last week.

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    Almost Trade Deadline Day

    Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News, NHL Rumors on March 2nd, 2010

  • 3:59 PM: TheFourthPeriod: Alexei Ponikarovsky is close to be dealt. The Kings, Penguins, and Predators have shown serious interest. The Leafs are hoping for a 1st round pick, but might take a 2nd and top prospect.
  • 10:57 AM: Brad Ziemer of the Vancouver Sun: Finding some 3rd line scoring is on the wish list of Canucks coach, Alain Vigneault. If GM Mike Gillis agrees, he may look at Steve Reinprecht, who he considered bringing in last season. Other options could be Eric Belanger, Doug Weight, or Jeff Halpern. If they are worried about Willie Mitchell’s health, they might look at Aaron Ward or Andy Sutton. 2006 1st round pick, Michael Grabner, might be bait to bring in some help.
  • 10:52 AM: Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Don Waddell tells Chris he’ll be a buyer more than a seller. He’d like to add a forward with size, and some scoring to make up for Kovalchuk’s departure. He’s talked to 15 teams, but there isn’t a lot of options available. A few teams have called about Slava Kozlov.
  • 10:46 AM: Chuck Gormley of the Courier-Post: The Flyers may also be talking to the Predators about goalie Dan Ellis. This would make a lot of sense for the Flyers as Ray Emery is on LTIR and Michael Leighton is their starting goalie. It would make sense for them even if Emery wasn’t on LTIR.
  • 10:43 AM: TheFouthPeriod: The Kings may have moved on from Ray Whitney and may target, Slava Kozlov, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Raffi Torres or Paul Kariya.
  • 10:39 AM: Chris Botta at NYI Point Blank: The Isles have had a couple offers, 2nd round picks for Andy Sutton but they may hold out for a 2nd rounder plus an additional pick.
  • 10:36 AM: Frank Seravalli of the Philadephia Daily News: Sources are saying the Flyers will send Ryan Parent and Braydon Coburn to the Preds for Hamhuis. May happen when Cote and Syvret clear waivers at noon today.
  • 10:31 AM: Tim Panaccio of CSNPhilly: The Flyers and Predators have talked about Dan Hamhuis. The Preds have asked about several players, including Ryan Parent, who they sent to Philly in the Forsberg deal in 2007.
  • 10:25 AM: Sam Carchiki of the Philadelphia Inquirer: The Flyers freed up $2 million in cap room by placing Ray Emery on LTIR and waiving Riley Cote, bringing their total cap room up to $2.8 million. They have shown interest in Alex Frolov, Raffi Torres, and Colby Armstrong. Dan Hamhuis could be their main target.
  • 10:23 AM: Kevin Mio of Habs Inside/Out: The Canadiens and Tomas Plekanec’s agent held talks during the Olympic break, and will continue to talk after the trade deadline day.
  • 10:19 AM: Chris McCosky of the Detroit News: Red Wings GM Ken Holland doesn’t expect to make any moves at the deadline, but if he does do something, it will have to be dollar-for-dollar as they are against the cap. “Our trade deadline was Franzen, Lilja and Kronwall,” he said, referring to the healthy return of Johan Franzen, Andreas Lilja and Niklas Kronwall. “Not too many teams are going to do any better than that.”
  • Steve Gorten of the Sun-Sentinel: After trading Jordan Leopold yesterday, and Dominic Moore before the Olympics, the Panthers may still not be finished dealing. Tomas Vokoun, Dennis Seidenberg, Rostislav Olesz, Cory Stillman, and Steven Reinprect, could be some of the few that are moved.
  • Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun: The Oilers acquired a 2nd round pick for Denis Grebeshkov yesterday, and they will still make several other moves. From GM Steve Tambellini, “I wouldn’t say everyone is on the block, but given where we are I’d be crazy not to listen to everything,” he said. “That doesn’t mean we’re going to do it, but I’ll listen to everything.”
  • Michael Russo and Chip Scoggins of the Star Tribune: The Minnesota Wild and Marek Zidlicky have contract that is all but complete. It is a 3 year deal for the 33 year old, but the sticking point is the full no-trade clause that Zidlicky wants. The Wild only want to include a no-trade clause for part of the contract. If they can’t agree on the contract, they’ll most likely trade Zidlicky. They are also getting some calls about Owen Nolan, and it’s also rumored that they might be willing to trade Eric Belanger.
  • Adrian Dater of the Denver Post: Marek Svatos is waiting to be traded, his bags are already packed, now he’s just waiting for the Avalanche to trade him. Svatos was in the lineup last night playing on the 2nd line, with scouts from at least 2 teams in attendance, the Blackhawks and Sharks.
  • Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: Ladislav Smid’s name was creeping into a few trade rumors, but that will probably be the end of them as he has bulging disc in his neck. In the next few days he’ll visit a neurologist to decide if he’ll just need a short rest, or if it will be a season ending injury, that might require surgery.

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    Turco Staying Now? Ellis Staying in Nashville? Caps Looking Winger and Dman … Lilja to be Cleared

    Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News on February 25th, 2010

  • Richard Durrett of ESPNDallas.com: So the Stars have waived Alex Auld, who might get claimed, and would definitely get claimed if put on re-entry waivers. It looks like the Marty Turco will be staying with Stars. “He’s obviously stepped his game up and has been very consistent for us the last six or seven games,” Nieuwendyk said. “When we sit back and think about it, we have to decide what gives us the best chance in the month of March. Rather than put a lot of pressure on Lehtonen, we’ll have Marty play the way he is.”
  • Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News: Heika thinks the Stars will move Steve Ott. This move would clear up some cap space that could be used on a right winger or defenseman.
  • John Glennon of the Tennessean: With the Predators re-signing of Pekka Rinne yesterday, Poile said it doesn’t mean they will trade Dan Ellis. Poile also has said in the past that they wouldn’t trade one of their goalies unless they had one signed.
  • TheFourthPeriod: The Capitals and Blues were talking before the Olympic roster freeze. The Caps would like to add a physical defenseman and a veteran forward. The Capitals are said to be interested in Blues Dman Barrett Jackman, and Blue Jackets winger Raffi Torres.
  • Bob McKenzie via Twitter: Lightning head coach wasn’t too pleased with the firing of his assistant coach, Wes Walz.
  • Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press: Red Wings Dman, Andreas Lilja will be cleared to return to action by today. Lilja has been out since last February 28th. Kirk Maltby will be having right shoulder surgery, and will be out for 4-6 weeks, so there is a chance he’ll return for the playoffs.
  • Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun: The Olympic break gave many NHLers’ time to heal, but it wasn’t enough for Oilers forward, Sam Gagner. Gagner injured his knee before the break, and 2 MRI’s releaved no structural damage. He is not able to practice yet, but still hopes to be able to return on March 2nd versus Nashville.

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    Preds Re-sign Rinne … Stars Waive Auld

    Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on February 24th, 2010

    Jeff Marek via Twitter: The Nashville Predators have signed goalie Pekka Rinne to a contract extension. This is good news for my fantasy hockey team, as it most likely means that Dan Ellis will traded, and Rinne will get the bulk of the starts for the Preds.

    Bob McKenzie via Twitter: The Dallas Stars have placed goalie Alex Auld on waivers.

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    Kaberle Willing to be Traded? Goalie Situation in Philly … What will Nashville do? Brawler Grabovski back at Practice

    Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News, NHL Rumors on February 24th, 2010

  • Andy Strickland: Sources close to Tomas Kaberle are telling Strickland that he’s ready to waive his no-trade clause. So far, he’s wanting to stay in the Eastern Conference.
  • Tim Panaccio of CSNPhilly: Ray Emery’s health status is still unknown, but they should find out soon how’s he’s progressing. Flyers GM Paul Holmgren still maintains he’s “comfortable” with Michael Leighton, Brian Boucher and Ray Emery. I don’t completely believe that statement, they need a legitimate starter if they seriously want to compete. Panaccio mentions some low cost rentals; Manny Legace, Andrew Raycroft, and Martin Biron.
  • John Glennon of the Tennessean: Decision time involving Dan Hamhuis is nearing. “We’ve had some dis­cus­sions in trying to sign Dan Hamhuis and also some over­tu­res into whether we’d trade Dan Hamhuis. So I think that kee­ping him or tra­ding him would be the most sig­ni­fi­cant thing we do at the dead­line,’’ Poile said from Van­cou­ver, where he’s ser­ving as Team USA’s asso­ciate gene­ral manager.” If they were to trade Hamhuis, they’d need to bring in another Dman. As for their goalie dilemma, they won’t move either Dan Ellis or Pekka Rinne unless they re-sign one of them.
  • John Glennon of the Tennessean: Predators GM David Poile hasn’t spoken with Alexander Radulov about rejoining the Predators at some point. Poile has this to say, “I’ve seen him a cou­ple of times and our con­ver­sa­tions are fine, but there have been no con­ver­sa­tions about the future at all,’’ Poile said. “That ball is in his court. We’ve well esta­blished that if there is going to be an over­ture about him coming back to Nash­vi­lle, he’ll be the one to make it. We ini­tia­ted all the over­tu­res last year, so it’s in his court.”
  • J Vogl of the Buffalo News: Buffalo may look at trading soon to be free agents Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman. The Sabres are carrying 8 Dman, and they have another 8 on their AHL club.
  • Paul Hunter of the Toronto Star: Maple Leafs center and Vancouver street brawler, Mikhail Grabovski, should be back practicing with the Leafs today. His broken wrist kept him off the Belarus roster. Grabovski was in Vancouver watching the team play, and was arrested early Saturday morning after getting in a street fight. Mommy and Daddy picked him up from jail around 9 am.

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    Turco on the Move Now? Sexton working 9 deals, Price and Halak staying put for the time being?

    Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News on February 10th, 2010

  • Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News: So with the Stars trading for Kari Lehtonen, they now have 3 NHL calibre goalies. It would appear that the Stars will now look to moving Marty Turco. That’s putting a lot faith in Lehtonen and Auld to help them make the playoffs, especially for Lehtonen who’s been battling injuries for years.
  • Frank Seravalli of the Philadelphia Daily News: The Flyers could be the frontrunners to trade Marty Turco if he becomes available. The Flyers would have to shed salary, almost equal to Turco’s $5.7 million cap number, if they were going to bring him in.
  • Scott Burnside and Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: The Stars trade for Lehtonen was a buy-low gamble. Halak or Schneider would have cost more. The Flyers or Blackhawks could look at adding Marty Turco. The Flyers could look at Pekka Rinne or Dan Ellis, both come with a lower salary number for this year, meaning they wouldn’t have to get rid of nearly as much salary. Martin Biron is another low cost option. Burnside thinks the Stars may jump on one of these goalies.
  • Tim Baines, Don Brennan and Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: Brennan thinks the Senators need a forward and a Dman, and mentions the names Pavel Kubina and Dustin Penner. Garrioch says the Sens have only $500,000 in cap space left, and that Penner may not be available. Burying Cheechoo’s $3 million contract in the minors could free up some space.
  • Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette: There haven’t really been any negotiations between the Montreal Canadiens and Tomas Plakanec, but that might change with Gauthier taking over. New GM, Pierre Gauthier as said that they will keep both Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak for the time being.
  • Scott Burnside and Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: Burnside and LeBrun discuss the Price-Halak situation, as well as Tomas Plekanec. Gauthier and Plekanec’s agent had a meeting in January, and both sides agreed that they’d like to keep Plekanec in Montreal. Having the cap room to sign Plekanec long term will be an issue.
  • George Richards via Twitter: Florida Panthers GM Randy Sexton is working on 9 different trades.
  • Eric Francis of Canoe – Slam! Sports: A number of GMs around the league were not happy that they were not in on the Dion Phaneuf trade discussions. Many were not aware that he was available, and would have offered more than what the Maple Leafs gave them.

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    Are the Preds and Ducks Buyers or Sellers? Injury to Getzlaf, Franzen Returns Tonight

    Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on February 9th, 2010

  • Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald: The Bruins have not asked Tim Thomas to waive his no trade clause, not yet at least.
  • Mike Heika of the Star-Telegram: With Tom Hicks and the Dallas Stars having some money issues, they will once again be under a tight budget for next year. The Stars have an internal cash budget of $45 million. They’ve had trouble selling the more expensive seats, and will be rolling back some of those prices next year.
  • John Glennon of the Tennessean: The Preds are another team that aren’t sure if they are buyers or sellers. They could use some scoring depth and a penalty killer. Dan Hamhuis and one of Dan Ellis or Pekka Rinne could be available for trade, as all will be UFA’s at the end of the season.
  • Andy Strickland via Twitter: The Blues have told other GM’s that Carlo Colaiacovo is available.
  • Eric Stephens of the OC Register: The Ducks are unsure if they are buyers or sellers this year, as they are hanging around the last playoff spot. They could bring in some guys to bolster their playoff chances, or they could become sellers with assets like Scott Niedermayer, Saku Koivu, Teemu Selanne, and others.
  • Chris Botta of NYI Point Blank: Andy Sutton and Dwayne Roloson might become available on the Isle. A few teams have inquired about Sutton already.
  • George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press: The Red Wings will welcome back Johan Franzen tonight, Drew Miller is also expected to play. Niklas Kronwall won’t be in the lineup as he’s still waiting for a knee brace. Tomas Holmstrom is a game time decision. Ole-Kristian Tollefsen cleared waivers and was assigned to Grand Rapids of the AHL.
  • Robyn Norwood of the LA Times: Ducks all-star and Team Canada member, Ryan Getzlaf, suffered an ankle sprain last night. Initial X-Rays were negative, and a MRI is scheduled for today.
  • Ray Parrillo of the Philadelphia Inquirer: Ray Emery missed his 3 straight game because of a sore hip. He had an MRI done on it to determine what is causing the issue. They are optomistic that it’s not a long term problem.

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    Plan B for some, Torres, Whitney and Ponikarovsky … Pony for at least a 2nd, Lou looking for a center now

    Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on February 6th, 2010

    • Scott Burnside and Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: Plan B for teams who missed out on the Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes. Raffi Torres of the Columbus Blue Jackets is up for grabs. LeBrun thinks Torres would fit in nicely in Pittsburgh, Burnside mentions the Kings and Avalanche. The Kings would like Ray Whitney and offered him a 1 year contract extension, he wants a 3 year deal from them. As of Thursday, the Penguins haven’t called the Hurricanes about Whitney. The Pens are tight against cap and may wait until the deadline day when a new salary will be at it’s lowest. Alexei Ponikarovsky could be nice fit for Pittsburgh, LA, and maybe the Thrashers to go along side Slick Nic Antropov.
    • Darren Dreger of TSN via Twitter: As many as 10 teams have an interest in Maple Leafs forward Alexei Ponikarovsky, and they should get at least a 2nd round draft pick for him. If 10 teams would offer a 2nd round pick, I think it might take a 1st or a 2nd plus prospect to get him.
    • Bill Watters mentioned during the Leafs-Devils intermission that the LA Kings offered a 1st round pick and a prospect to the Hurricanes for Ray Whitney.
    • David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail: There could be a bidding war for Ray Whitney between the Sharks and Penguins. The Sharks or Blackhawks may call Burke about Tomas Kaberle. Dan Hamhuis and Kari Lehtonen should draw some interest. Preds GM David Poile plans on talking to the agents of Dan Ellis and Pekka Rinne over the Olympic break, if one re-signs, the other will most likely be traded, with the Blackhawks potentially interested. The Blackhawks are looking for a defenseman and quietly shopping for a goalie.
    • TheFouthPeriod: New Jersey GM Lou Lamoriello may not be done dealing. They had an interest in Matt Stajan before he was dealt. They are now keeping an eye on Saku Koivu, Matt Cullen and possibly Mike Modano.
    • John Vogl of the Buffalo News: Though the Sabres have struggled recently (2-5-1), GM Darcy Regier said improvements will come from within, for now at least. “The focus isn’t to look right now for outside help,” he said. “It’s how do we all get better internally. I think we’re all focused on that.”
    • Allen Panzeri of the Ottawa Sun: The Senators have lost rookie Erik Karlsson until after the Olympic break with a shoulder injury.

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    Around the Boards: Selanne out 2-6 weeks, Goalie dilemma in Nashville? Kings-Frolov to talk, Leclaire out after shot to head

    Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on January 15th, 2010

    • Robyn Norwood of the LA Times: The Anaheim Ducks will be without Teemu Selanne for 2 to 6 weeks after surgery to repair 2 broken bones in his jaw after he took a puck in the face the other night. His participation in the Olympics is in question. He should be fully healed by the trade deadline day.
    • John Glennon of the Tennessean: The Nashville Predators find themselves in a situation similar to the Montreal Canadiens, they have 2 free goalies (Pekka Rinne and Dan Ellis) who think they should be a number one goalie. The Preds have been rotating between goalies lately. They may be leaning towards keeping both goalies for the remainder of the season and then trade one before July 1st and at least receive some compensation. “I don’t see (a goalie trade) happening now, but if one of our guys was to play 15 games in a row before the deadline, or if there were injuries, problems or holes in another area we needed to fill … ” Poile said before the team left on its three-game swing.
    • Rich Hammond of the LAKingsInsider.com: Hammond interviews GM Dean Lombardi. Lombardi has a meeting scheduled this month with Frolov’s agent. If they are unable to reach a deal by the trade deadline, they are still most likely going to hang on to him instead of trading for draft picks. But I wouldn’t be surprised if Frolov would be part of a package to bring a star, such as some guy playing in Atlanta.
    • Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Penguins GM Ray Shero has begun contract talks with defenceman Sergei Gonchar and Kris Letang. I think it will be tough to fit both Gonchar and Letang under the Pens salary cap, unless both players sign for a friendly number.
    • Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: Pascal Leclaire suffered a mild concussion at yesterday’s morning skate after taking a shot to the head. The Sens goaltender statistics rank among the worst, and sf the Sens begin looking for a goalie, expect to hear Martin Biron’s name come up. Same could be said for any team that might be in the market for a goalie.
    • The Calgary Herald: The Flames would like to re-sign both Olli Jokinen and Rene Bourque. Jokinen would have to take a pay cut, and Bourque will be looking for a big raise as he’s having an excellent season. Some are saying Bourque could get in the neighbourhood of $4 million a season.

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