Posts Tagged Fernando Pisani

Hitchcock replaces Payne in St. Louis … Wild free agent and trade notes … Reimer-Scrivens could be 1A-1B next year … What is Nash worth?

  • Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post Dispatch: Ken Hitchcock has been named the St. Louis Blues head coach after the team fired Davis Payne yesterday. Hitchcock agreed to a contract through the end of next season. The Blues assistant coaches are expected to remain. The Blues are off to a 6-7 start. John Shannon via twitter: Confirmed that Blues asked the Blue Jackets permission to speak with Hitchcock yesterday afternoon, so everything moved quickly. Andy Strickland via twitter: Strickland notes that GM Armstrong wouldn’t make this decision on a whim and obviously had Hitchcock on his mind for awhile.
  • Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune: Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman was injured in Friday’s game. He suffered an upper-body injury and was unable to go last night. Forward Ryan Malone left yesterday’s game in the 2nd period with an upper-body injury and his status for Wednesday is uncertain.
  • Michael Russo of the Star-Tribune: Russo thinks that with $9 million in cap space this season, the Wild have the trade deadline flexibility and flexibility for free agent signings. He thinks the Wild will pursue Zach Parise if he becomes a free agent. If the Wild are to trade a defenseman this year, it could be Greg Zanon. The Wild would like to be moved to the Central division when realignment takes place. If Josh Harding is the heir apparent to Backstrom (UFA after next season), they’ll re-sign Harding (RFA after this season), continue to develop Matt Hackett and Darcy Kuemper and trade one of them.
  • Kevin Paul Dupont via twitter: Follower thinks that Krejci, Knight and a 2nd rounder would be enough for Rick Nash. Dupont doesn’t think so, a “player, prospect, and pick won’t do it.”
  • James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail: Mirtle thinks the Maple Leafs may be moving towards a James Reimer and Ben Scrivens – 1A and 1B duo for next season. Jonas Gustavsson will be a UFA at the end of the season. Gustavsson is on a  1-way deal so he’ll likely be sticking around this season.
  • Rich Hammond of LA Kings Insider: Lines at Kings practice yesterday: Gagne-Kopitar-Williams, Penner-Richards-Brown, Clifford-Stoll-Parse, Moreau-Lewis-Richardson

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Marchand re-signs for 2 years … Myers close on long-term deal … Markov not ready … Irwin and Leafs talking

  • Renaud Lavoie via twitter: Brad Marchand and Bruins agree to a 2 year deal worth $5 million.  $2 million this year and $3 million next, carrying a  $2.5 million cap hit.
  • Bob McKenzie of TSN: Tyler Myers and the Sabres are on the verge of signing a multi-year deal. It could be in the 6 year range at an average around $5.5 million. The deal wouldn’t kick in until next year. Pierre LeBrun via twitter: LeBrun is hearing the deal could be 7 years at around $5.5 million.
  • Renaud Lavoie via twitter: Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov is not ready for the start of camp, but hopes he will be ready for the start of the season.
  • Kyle Cicerella via twitter: Brayden Irwin remains unsigned by the Leafs, but he’s is skating today and a deal is being worked on.
  • Darren Dreger via twitter: The Dallas Stars are expected to file for bankruptcy today, which would “cleanse assets and ensure all outstanding liabilities are taken care of.” The NHL has been “financially managing” the Stars with the lenders for more than a year.

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Murray optimistic with Selanne … Kane healing well … Cumiskey remains unsigned … Turris wants $4 million plus

  • Helene Elliott of the LA Times: Ducks GM Bob Murray mentioned yesterday that Teemu Selanne “wants to come back and play from a mental perspective,” but it’s up to his surgically repaired knee.

    “He is working out on and off the ice and trying to strengthen his knee. It’s not quite where he wants it yet,” Murray said Tuesday via email. “He wants to make a decision prior to training camp.”

    Medical tests for the Ducks start on the 16th, and they hit the ice on the 17th.

    “I’m optimistic, but certainly understand him not wanting commit unless the knee is straightened out,” Murray said. “I’m going to talk to him again later this week and see how he is progressing.”

  • Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune: Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane had offseason left wrist surgery and has said he’s “a little ahead of schedule.” He hopes to be able to get in up to 4 exhibition games.

    “I get the splint off the 15th so after that I should be able to do pretty much everything,” Kane said. “I’ve been skating and working out. For a while there, I couldn’t go full equipment with the cast. Once I got the cast off that’s when I started trying to get back into the flow quickly.”

  • Adrian Dater of the Denver Post: Avalanche defenseman Kyle Cumiskey still remains unsigned. Cumiskey only made it in 18 games last year, but is 100% healthy according to his agent. His agent, Ross Gurney, wouldn’t go on record regarding why there hasn’t been a contract yet. Dater thinks a deal will get done before the start of camp next Saturday.
  • Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: Former Oilers and Blackhawk Fernando Pisani is still looking for a contract. He’s not keen on doing a tryout with a team, competing with guys on a one-way deal. Steve Staios and Bryan McCabe are also looking for work. Jason Strudwick also doesn’t have a contract, and reportedly has had some coaching offers, but he still wants to play.
  • Scott Burnside of ESPN: Underachieving Coyotes prospect Kyle Turris also remains unsigned. He has only scored 19 goals in 131 NHL games. League sources are saying that Turris is looking for a 3 year deal worth more than $4 million a season or a 2 year deal at more than $3 million. Turris’ agent told ESPN he won’t discuss numbers.
  • Nick Montemagno of Blueshirt Banter: Last year Henrik Lundqvist played 68 games, but if Marty Biron can remain healthy, Montemagno would like to see him play closer to 60 games.

    This will keep Lundqvist fresh, mentally and physically, throughout the course of the year, especially in the playoffs. I think we all noticed how fatigued Hank was by the fourth or fifth game of that first-round series against Washington back in April, and I’m sure that had a lot to do with the fact that he was forced to play out the entire final third of the season with Biron out. That will change in 2011-12.

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Kariya to play a part in Selanne’s decision … Off-season notes on the Blackhawks, Kings and Canadiens

  • JP Hoornstra of the InsideSocal: Paul Kariya could play a part in Teemu Selanne’s plan to play another season or not. Selanne has said he wants to know if Kariya would come back to Anaheim if he decides to play next year. “Obviously all the years that I had with Paul, it was just unbelievable,” Selanne said. “I talked to him yesterday and we’re going to meet next week. We didn’t even talk about injuries yet but I want to talk to him about how he’s doing, what he’s thinking and maybe go surf with him.”

    If he retires, Selanne said he would be at peace his career ending now. “I think so,” he said. “I tried to play like I left everything there. That’s how you should play anyway, every season. You can’t just win the Stanley Cup every year. That would be awesome, but it doesn’t work like that. I really believe we had enough tools to go further, but we lost.”

    If he comes back, it will be in Anaheim. “I haven’t thought about having a chance to go somewhere else,” he said. “This is my place for sure.”

  • Tim Sassone of the Daily Herald: Despite being knocked out by the Canucks in the first round, there isn’t a lot of holes to fill in the Blackhawks lineup. One area they need to add is size and sandpaper. They have to make decisions on RFAs Troy Brouwer, Viktor Stalberg, Chris Campoli and Jake Dowell, either to re-sign or use as trade bait. Re-signing RFA’s Cory Crawford and Michal Frolik is a priority. Ryan Johnson may be only UFA to return (if the price is right) out of a group of Tomas Kopecky, Marty Turco, Fernando Pisani and Jordan Hendry. Kopecky may have priced himself out of Chicago’s plans, he made $1.2 million this past season. The Blackhawks could look at dealing one of their “big-ticket players”, possibly Niklas Hjalmarsson and his $3.5 million cap hit.
  • Helene Elliott of the LA Times: The Kings think that Dustin Penner needs to improve his conditioning for next season. Winger Justin Williams needs to decide if he wants to have surgery on his shoulder or not. GM Lombardi has to decide if he wants Michal Handzus and Alexei Ponikarovsky back, coach Murray does. They must also re-sign RFA’s Drew Doughty, Wayne Simmonds, Trevor Lewis, Brad Richardson, Alec Martinez and Oscar Moller. Moller’s future with the Kings may not be bright as he scratched for Scott Parse who had been out for 5 months. Lombardi on Doughty, “Part of this is do we go short term with Doughty for now and keep it down or try and go long-term.”
  • Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette: The Canadiens blueline could have a different look next year as they have 6 UFA’s. Who of Andrei Markov, Roman Hamrlik, James Wisniewski, Brent Sopel and Hal Gill will be back?

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Rolston clears waivers, has never been asked to waive no-trade … Kane returns Friday? Seguin a healthy scratch? Roster notes and Starting goalies

  • Chris Kuc via twitter: Patrick Kane is close to returning, “Friday is a possibility. I just have to see how I am (Thursday) in practice and Friday in the pregame skate.” Tim Sassone via twitter: David Bolland is likely in the lineup for the Blackhawks tonight. Fernando Pisani won’t be in the lineup.
  • Bob McKenzie via twitter: Rolston cleared waivers and will be in the lineup for the NJ Devils tonight. Tom Gulitti via twitter: Brian Rolston said he’s never been asked to waive his no-trade clause. He was asked if he would waive it, responded, “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it”. Rolston expects to be in the lineup tonight.
  • Joe Haggerty via twitter: Looks like Tuukka Rask will start tonight for the Bruins against the Sabres. Tim Thomas likely to start against the Canadiens.
  • Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: It doesn’t look like Senators GM Bryan Murray will be able to make a trade before the NHL holiday roster freeze (Sunday the 19th). The Senators want to add a top 6 forward and a rugged dman. Teams are looking young players in return for older, expensive underachievers, which is why it’s unlikely he’ll get something done (I’m thinking Murray will join this train of thought if he looks to deal Alexei Kovalev).

    “We talk about trades and we talk to other managers, but that’s very difficult,” said Murray. “As I talk to different teams, even teams that want to make something happen, I have a tough time. Getting equal value at equal money is difficult.”

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Blues dangling D for Scoring, also inquiring about Bergeron … No contract talks yet for Parise … Blues look into Kovalev … Laperriere clears room for Leighton

  • Andy Strickland of True Hockey: The St. Louis Blues continue to look for scoring help and could be moving out a defenseman. The Blues have also inquired about Marc-Andre Bergeron, and could bring in the power play specialist if they move a Dman out.
  • Tom Gulitti of the Bergeron Record: Zach Parise has shed is immobilizing leg cast that he’s had on for 6 weeks. It will still be some time before he’s able to begin skating. Early February is when he might be able to return. The Devils have yet to approach Parise about a new contract.
  • Andy Strickland of True Hockey: The Blues have looked into Senators forward Alexei Kovalev, and are not the only team. Ottawa isn’t looking for a contract that goes beyond this year. Kovalev has a no-movement clause. Still no word on when David Perron could return from his concussion. Tim Kennedy has been given permission to seek a trade by Glen Sather. The Penguins will be looking to sign Mark Letestu to an extension soon. Mike Modano is still hoping to return in March, but there is no guarantee, and the Red Wings may have concerns on the shape he’ll be in as he didn’t arrive at training camp in great shape.
  • Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe: Dupont wonders if teams will call Panthers GM Dale Tallon about Erik Gudbranson. Florida was unable to come to terms with him before this season. Teams, such as the Bruins, may offer a roster player and swapping first round picks. Gudbranson isn’t going anywhere in my opinion.
  • Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun: Luke Schenn appears to be fine after taking a puck on the “unpadded part of the inside of his knee.” Mike Komisarek took part in the full practice and could play tonight if Ron Wilson chooses to insert him back in. Mike Brown will be out at least another 2 weeks.
  • Tim Panaccio of CSN Philly: The Philadelphia Flyers placed Ian Laperriere on LTIR yesterday. Laperriere hasn’t played a game this season due to post-concussion symptoms. Matt Walker could be added to the IR as he was injured over the weekend. The Flyers had about $550,000 in cap space as of yesterday, and by placing Laperriere’s $1.166 million on LTIR, they’ll be able to add Michael Leighton’s $1.55 cap hit.
  • Buffalo News: Buffalo Sabres forward Drew Stafford practiced yesterday and could go on Wednesday night versus the Bruins.

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No truth to Kaberle, Rosehill for Brown … Another Forsberg comeback? Donovan, Pisani looking for a deal

  • There was a rumor floating around the internet last night that the Toronto Maple Leafs have traded Tomas Kaberle and Jay Rosehill to the Los Angeles Kings for Dustin Brown. The report was tied to Rich Hammond of LA Kings Insider but he had nothing to do it. All of it was false.  Spector’s Hockey via twitter sums it up the best: “So, to sum up, folks: No truth to rumor the Leafs were about to trade Kaberle to the Kings for Dustin Brown. Total BS.” Daniel Tolensky (of TSN) via twitter: ”Does anyone really think Kings will trade their 25-year old Captain who scored 81 G over 3 yrs & has 4 yrs left @ $3.175 mil for Kaberle?”. Tolensky tweets that a top-6 forward for Kaberle would be bad contract (Malone)/project (Stafford)/prospect (Moller) and a pick, either a 1st or 2nd. Tolensky also thinks that Drew Stafford and a pick could be fair option for Kaberle.
  • Jimmy Murphy via twitter: Murphy can see Kaberle going to Boston, and Marc Savard going to Ottawa. (A 3-team, inter-division trade, unheard of. I don’t know what Toronto would get/want from Ottawa’s roster.)
  • Kevin Allen via twitter: There’s a Swedish media report that Peter Forsberg is thinking about returning to the NHL.
  • Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News: Answering some questions from a reader. The Stars have 20 players under contract for next season at $40.6 million, and they should be able to get James Neal,  Nicklas Grossman, and Matt Niskanen under contract, under their internal cap ceiling. The Stars will probably hold tough on their offers. Heika thinks the Stars could be offering Neal a 2 year deal for $5 million, Grossman at around $2 million per season for 3-4 years, and Niskanen a 1-year deal for around $1 million.
  • George Malik of MLive: Andreas Lilja finds it “tough” and “a little frustrating” being without an NHL contract for season. The frustration comes from the family side of things and not on the professional side, finding a home, enrolling kids in school. Lilja’s theory as to why there are still so many free agents out there, “They want to drive down salaries.  At the same time, I believe that there are many teams that want to attract younger players and give them a chance to play”
  • Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: Shean Donovan is hoping to get one more shot at the NHL. He’s 49 games short of 1,000. He’s talked to a couple teams, not no solid offers yet. He has 2 offers in Europe but will wait it out for a bit.
  • Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: The 33-year Fernando Pisani is still hoping to play in the NHL next season, on a 1-way contract. He’s unsure if he’d take a 2-way deal or a training camp invite.

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Souray provides list, 10 Intriguing Teams for Kevin Allen, Could the Hawks go after Niedermayer? Could the Predators trade Hamhuis?

  • 1:00 pm: The St. Louis Blues made a push Ilya Kovalchuk, but felt the Thrashers wanted a little more than they were willing to give up. ”We had been working at it for the better part of the week,” Davidson said. “We had great conversations with Atlanta. We talked to them about various thoughts and ideas and put (a trade proposal) together. It never came to fruition.” Davidson wouldn’t comment on whether they would pursue Kovalchuk in the off-season
    10:00 am:
  • Darren Dreger of TSN: Sheldon Souray has provided GM Steve Tambellini with a list of at least 6 teams that he’d waive his no-trade clause for. Western Conference teams are the Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars, and Los Angeles Kings. Eastern Conference teams are the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Rangers, and Washington Capitals. It hasn’t been said if any of those teams are interested in him.
  • Kevin Allen of the USA Today: Allen looks at 10 teams that have the most intriguing decisions to make:
    • Carolina Hurricanes: Available are Ray Whitney, Matt Cullen, Niclas Wallin (going to SJ?), Aaron Ward and Stephane Yelle.
    • Washington Capitals: Could use an upgrade on defense. Do they need to add another goalie with the health issues surrounding Semyon Varlamov?
    • Nashville Predators: Dan Hamhuis is a UFA at seasons end, and they may not be able to pay him what he could get on the open market. Could use some scoring help. Also involving the Predators but not mentioned by Allen is that both Dan Ellis and Pekka Rinne are UFAs at seasons end.
    • Atlanta Thrashers: Colby Armstrong and Kari Lehtonen can be had for the right price.
    • Toronto Maple Leafs: Forwards Alexei Ponikarovsky and Lee Stempniak are available. Tomas Kaberle might think about waiving his no trade clause.
    • Edmonton Oilers: Lubomir Visnovsky and Ethan Moreau amongst others are available.
    • Dallas Stars: If they are out of the playoff hunt, Jere Lehtinen, Marty Turco, and/or Steve Ott could be available.
    • Pittsburgh Penguins: They could use a scoring winger or two for Malkin and/or Crosby.
    • New Jersey Devils: After trading Dman Johnny Oduya, Lou may look at adding a Dman.
    • Ottawa Senators: May add a piece or two.
  • Tim Sassone of the Daily Herald: The Chicago Blackhawks could be looking to add a defenseman or 2, and perhaps a center. Could they make a run at Scott Niedermayer if he becomes available?
  • Scott Burnside of ESPN: Could the Nashville Predators trade UFA Dan Hamhuis at the deadline if they feel they can’t sign him to a contract extension?
  • John Kincade of The Fan 680 via Twitter: Kari Lehtonen will most likely be dealt, with the Stars and Blues as the current frontrunners.
  • Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: The Oilers are trying to move UFA Fernando Pisani. Some things that might hold up a deal; he makes $2.5 this year, and has missed 107 of the Oilers’ last 218 games with ulcerative colitis, a broken leg, and a bad back. The Oilers say they won’t give up draft picks to move the contracts of Ethan Moreau or Steve Staios. The Oils may also look to move UFAs Mike Comrie and Jason Strudwick. Patrick O’Sullivan and his $2.9 cap hit could also be on the move. The Montreal Canadiens might have an interest in O’Sullivan.

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Around the Boards: Oilers to be had, Hagman trade bait? Bruins looking for scoring? Khabibulin to have surgery

  • Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: Answers from Matheson’s Q&A. Fernando Pisani may be the easiest to move for picks. Ethan Moreau and Steve Staios could also go for draft picks. Maybe one of either Sheldon Souray ($5.4 million) or Lubomir Visnovsky ($5.6 million); and maybe one of either Tom Gilbert or Denis Grebeshkov. Patrick O’Sullivan and Andrew Cogliano might also draw some interest. He lists the untouchables as: Dustin Penner, Ales Hemsky, Ladislav Smid, Brule, Sam Gagner, Zack Stortini, Shawn Horcoff, J.F. Jacques and prospects Taylor Chorney, Jordan Eberle, Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson, Anton Lander or Jeff Petry.
  • TheFouthPeriod.com: Teams are keeping an eye on Maple Leafs winger Niklas Hagman. Toronto may be inclined to keep him and his $3 million salary (2 more years), but his value on the trade market would be higher than a Stajan, or Stempniak.
  • Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe: Bruins GM, Peter Chiarelli, has been working the phones of late, but nothing is close at the moment. The Bruins have had trouble scoring lately, and will be without Marc Savard and Patrice Bergeron for at least a couple weeks.
  • Sean Gordon of the Globe and Mail: The Montreal Canadiens have roughly $44.8 million tied up next year for 13 players. They should be able to re-sign 2 of the 3, Plekanec, Price and Halak, but will still have some work to do to fill out their roster under the cap.  Glen Metropolit, Paul Mara, and Marc-Andre Bergeron most likely won’t be brought back.
  • Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: The Ottawa Senators and UFA defenceman Anton Volchenkov haven’t had any talks yet, but Volchenkov’s agent is sure they will.
  • Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal: Edmonton Oilers goalie Nikolai Khabibulin is expected to have surgery to repair a hernated disc.

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Around the Boards: Wed. Oct. 28th

  • Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun: Fernando Pisani, who’s had some tough luck with injuries the past couple seasons is close to returning to the Edmonton Oilers. It may not be the best time to return to the Oilers dressing room as players, staff and members of the media that follow the Oilers have been getting sick. Ladislav Smid was confirmed as having the Swine Flu (H1N1).
  • Terry Frei of the Denver Post: Coach Sacco confirmed that backup goalie, Peter Budaj, has been diagnosed with the Swine Flu. John-Michael Liles (shoulder) and Tom Preissing (knee) are both back skating with the club, but remain out.
  • Mark Emmons of the San Jose Mercury News: Joe Pavelski and Torrey Mitchell took part in their first practice yesterday. Setoguchi is doubtful for tonight’s game.
  • Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun: Yesterday Brennan wrote that Erik Karlsson would most likely be sent back to Sweden, today Karlsson finds himself on his way to Binghamton, the Sens AHL club. They won’t lose a year on his contract by sending him to the AHL.
  • Steve Gorten of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: 2009 1st round pick Dmitry Kulikov’s solid play to start the season will keep him with the Panthers. Kulikov has been averaging over 17 minutes a game so far this season.
  • Frank Seravalli of the Philadelphia Daily News: Philadelphia is going to miss Simon Gagne for an extended period of time as it was revealed that he has 2 small sports hernia’s. He’s been placed on IR and could be moved to LTIR. The course of action to fixed the injury has yet to be determined.
  • Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer: Eric Stall has been moved to the point in an attempt to kick start the Hurricanes powerplay. Rod Brind’Amour, Ray Whitney and Sergei Samsonov, are the 1st line powerplay forwards with Stall and Joni Pitkanen on the point.
  • David Satriano of the New York Post: It appears that Marian Gaborik will miss tonight’s game against the Islanders.
  • Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: Answers a readers question about a Tom Gilbert to Buffalo for Drew Stafford trade rumor. Matheson says this rumor has been out there for a year.

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