Posts Tagged James Wisniewski
Salo out, Bieksa staying? Ryan and Wisniewski still unsigned … Kariya to the Kings?
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News on July 24th, 2010
- Craig Custance of the Sporting News: Don’t wait for Bobby Ryan to sign an offer sheet with someone. “Bobby wants to remain in Anaheim and they want him there,” Guy (Ryan’s agent) told Sporting News. The Ducks would match most offer sheets.
- Eric Stephens of the OC Register: James Wisniewski is set to go to arbitration on August 3rd. Wisniewski’s agents wouldn’t rule out the possibility of getting something done before the 3rd. Bob Murray, the Ducks GM, expects to go to arbitration. Last year, the sides signed a 1 year deal before to avoid the process, but don’t look for that to happen this year.
- The Vancouver Province: Sami Salo will be out for at least 3 months with a torn achilles tendon while playing floorball (similar to floor hockey) in Finland. The Canucks have 9 defenseman locked up, 6 make more than $3.25 million.
- Brad Ziemer of the Vancouver Sun: With Salo out until Christmas, the Canucks may not be able to live without both Salo and Kevin Bieksa. Canucks GM Mike Gillis had hoped to swap Bieksa for a top 6 forword, but may now have to look to free agency to add some scoring.
- Andy Strickland via twitter: Paul Kariya looking for ‘right fit…’ Los Angeles Kings?
Kovalchuk and Kings close … Market to open up soon? Malkin to the wing with Crosby
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on July 16th, 2010
- Nick Kyperos via Twitter: 8:40 AM Post - “A big swing in the Ilya/Kings talks. Major stumbling blocks have been rectified. A source now described it to me as “close but not done”
- Mike Russo via Twitter: Lockout protection has been a ’sticky part’ in the Ilya Kovalchuk - Los Angeles Kings talks.
- Tom Gulitti via Twitter: (last night). Devil’s GM Lou Lamoriello said they will be patient while Kovalchuk makes up his mind. “I think we have to understand what he’s going through.” Waiting for Kovalchuk won’t interrupt any other potential transactions. If there is a deal to make them better, they’ll do it.
- Stephen Harris of the Boston Herald: Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli thinks that once Kovalchuk signs, the markets will open up again. He’s been shopping Marc Savard and Tim Thomas for awhile, but things have come to a halt. “I think once a player of that caliber moves, there’s probably a couple of other players just under him who might move in a couple of deals” Chiarelli said. The Bruins signed Gregory Campbell and Adam McQuaid to 2 year deals, Jeff LoVecchio and Andrew Bodnarchuk received 1 year deals.
- Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: Mike Modano told ESPN there is no truth to the rumor linking him to the Blackhawks. Former Predator, Denis Grebeshkov has been getting some interest, but nothing concrete. Some of the interest is coming from the KHL, but he’d prefer to stay in the NHL. LeBrun thinks that if the Sharks think Kaberle’s price is too high, Grebeshkov could be an option.
- Eric Stephens of the OC Register: There is nothing going between the Anaheim Ducks, James Wisniewski and Bobby Ryan, but they’ve been talking with Teemu Selanne.
- Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Penguin management has concluded it might be time to move Malkin to the wing on Crosby’s line, bumping Staal to the 2nd line center. If the move doesn’t work, they can easily go back to having all 3 of them at the center position.
- Chris McCosky of the Detroit News: Derek Meech was re-signed by the Red Wings for $500,000 yesterday, but he may not get much playing time as a 7th or 8th defenseman, and may find himself with a different club by the start of the season. If he makes it to camp, he’ll be battling Jakub Lindl, Brandon Smith and Doug Janik for the 6th spot. GM Ken Holland was scheduled to talk to Mike Modano late yesterday afternoon, a decision wasn’t expected to be made. They’ve also had talks with Kirk Maltby regarding a 1-way and 2-way contracts.
- Ralph Strangis of the Dallas Morning News: If the Stars make any acquisitions, it would have to be at least dollar-for-dollar. Unless they would consider moving Benn or Neal, there isn’t much interest in any of their players. Once the new ownership is in place, they may be able to add some players/contracts.
Are the Kings interested in Gagne and others? Modano has 4 options … Not much going on for Frolov
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on July 6th, 2010
Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: One report is saying the Los Angeles Kings are out of the running for Simon Gagne, and another says they are still interested. Things were quiet involving Tomas Kaberle over the weekend, but should pick up this week.
Helene Elliott of the LA Times: Elliott wonders how the Kings can become more attractive to free agents. Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson and Wayne Simmonds will be free agents soon, and will they want to re-sign with a team that can’t draw top free agents? The Kings may have to go the trade route to fill some holes in their roster. If the Devils sign Kovalchuk, they’ll have to clear out some salary. Brian Rolston could be available, but he’s 37 and has a $5.062 cap hit. Tomas Kaberle is an option but the Leafs probably want prospects and picks (nope … they’d like a top 6 forward, maybe a Wayne Simmonds or Dustin Brown). The Kings like Simon Gagne, and the Flames may deal Robyn Regehr. Marc Savard could fit but the Kings may not be on the 5 team list Savard has.
Pierre LeBrun via Twitter: Alexander Frolov hasn’t received much interest, other than the Rangers doing some brief tire kicking.
Jeremy Rutherford via Twitter: A “good-faith” move by Jaroslav Halak by not filing for salary arbitration.
Dmitry Chesnokov via Twitter: Evgeni Nabokov couldn’t agree on a contract with SKA St. Petersburgh.
Ansar Khan of MLive: The Detroit Red Wings are close to signing 3 of their restricted free agents to 1 year contracts: Patrick Eaves, Drew Miller and Derek Meech. GM Ken Holland isn’t close to signing Justin Abdelkader and Darren Helm, both could get long-term deals later on in the summer though.
John Shannon via Twitter: The Detroit Red Wings and 3 other teams are interested in Mike Modano.
David Haugh of the Chicago Tribune: Mike Modano hasn’t heard from the Chicago Blackhawks, but they could be an option for him as they are looking for some 3rd/4th line depth (cost friendly depth). “I’d like to see what kind of wiggle room they have left under the salary cap, if they can fill that third- or fourth-line void and see how I would fit in with those guys,” said Modano. “They have a great nucleus of kids. So there is a lot of interest there. Obviously, coming off the type of year they’ve had there’s a lot of excitement for anybody who has Chicago on their list of options.”
Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe: Blake Wheeler filed for arbitration yesterday, but Wheeler’s agent plans on working hard to get a deal done. They haven’t had much discussion with GM Peter Chiarelli as he’s been busy with the draft and free agency. Mark Stuart didn’t file for arbitration as he and Bruins are close to a 1-year extension. Boston re-signed both Nathan McIver and Nolan Schaefer.
Eric Stephens of the OC Register: Anaheim Ducks defenseman James Wisniewski filed for salary arbitration yesterday, but after the meeting his agent and GM Bob Murray last week, they appear to be on the “same page”. More discussions should take place before their arbitration meeting which would be between July 20th and August 5th.
NHL Trade Rumors keep on coming
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Entry Draft, NHL Free Agents, NHL Rumors on June 25th, 2010
Eric Stephens of the OC Register: The Anaheim Ducks have made an offer to restricted free agent Bobby Ryan. The offer is for 5-years in the $20-25 million range according to GM Bob Murray. Murray also said that if Ryan were to get an offer sheet, they’d match as they have plenty of cap space (what else is he going to say?). The Ducks are looking for a puck moving defenseman, and Murray offered this regarding the Leafs-Ducks rumors involving Ryan and Kaberle, “Why would I give up a young guy for someone with one year left on their contract?” At the moment they’ll be holding on to their 12th pick, but the 29th pick is available and getting inquiries. Murray will meet with James Wisniewski’s next week in Chicago.
Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: Tim Thomas still has a no trade clause which may make trading a little more difficult. Free agent goalies that will make less than Thomas next year (and you wouldn’t have to give anything up): Evgeni Nabokov, Marty Turco, Dan Ellis, Chris Mason and Martin Biron. Jonathan Quick isn’t going anywhere according to Dean Lombardi. The Flyers met with Michael Leighton’s agent yesterday. Marty Turco could end up in San Jose if he’s willing to take a pay cut. One rumor making the rounds yesterday was Mike Ribeiro to St. Louis, but was called ‘unlikely’ by a St. Louis front office source. A Maple Leaf front office source said Thursday afternoon that “things were heading up”.
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: The Flyers are looking for an upgrade over Michael Leighton, but will need to shed some salary to do so. The Flyers don’t want to move Jeff Carter, but they may have too. The Kings could use a center and move Jonathan Bernier. James Wisniewski and the Ducks are far apart, and might be shopping his rights around to see what they can get for him, they’d like a Dman in return. The Panthers have inquired about Kris Versteeg. The Blackhawks want a #1 and prospect in return. The Canucks have offered the Blackhawks a prospect and the 25th pick for Versteeg. The Dallas Stars have been targeting Tomas Kaberle and Keith Ballard. The Nashville Predators are trying to trade the rights to Denis Grebeshkov.
Larry Brooks of the NY Post: The New York Rangers have been contacted by the Boston Bruins if they’d be interested in Marc Savard. Savard has a $4 million cap hit through 2016-17, which might be too much for Rangers. Brooks mentions 10th overall pick in the same paragraph, but he doesn’t say that is what the Bruins wanted in return. The Rangers talked to Nashville about Jason Arnott before he was traded to New Jersey. The Rangers will be keeping an eye on the Dallas Stars-Brad Richards situation, Richards is in the last year of his contract and has a cap hit of $7.8 million. The Rangers could look Vladimir Tarasenko, Jeff Skinner, Emerson Etem, and Nino Niederreiter with the 10th overall pick tonight.
Rob Longley of the Toronto Sun: As of Thursday night, interest in Kaberle has hit ‘double-digits’.
Tim Panaccio via Twitter: The Flyers and Bruins have talked about Tim Thomas, but the Flyers would have to clear $5 million in cap space.
Maple Leafs interested in Hamhuis? Kovalchuk update, well sort of …
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Entry Draft, NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on June 19th, 2010
- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: The Bruins continue to shop Tim Thomas around in hope of freeing up some cash before July 1st. The Blues had shown some interest before they acquired Halak. Other teams that could be looking for a starting goalie are Philadelphia, Washington, San Jose and Tampa. Thomas is 36-years old with 3-years left at a $5 million cap hit. The Lightning made a run at Carey Price, but the Canadiens had already decided to keep him. The Capitals are rumored to be shopping Alexander Semin around the league, looking for 2 top prospects and a pick. The Florida Panthers are shopping Nathan Horton, Rostislav Olesz, Radek Dvorak, and Keith Ballard.
- Tom Gulitti of The Record: Gulitti runs through the Ilya Kovalchuk free agent situation. Kovalchuk won’t be signing with the KHL or the New Jersey Devils before the July 1st free agent date. The Devil’s and Kovalchuk continue to talk. There is still a possibility of signing with the Devils on July 1st. His opinion of the organization has increased over time. He wants to play for a winning team, and his first choice is to stay in the NHL, with the KHL as a fall back.
- Damien Cox of the Toronto Star: It’s been well documented that the Toronto Maple Leafs are one of many teams interested in Patrick Sharp and Nathan Horton, but Cox throws out the name Dan Hamhuis. Dan Hamhuis is a UFA, Sharp and Horton would would have to be acquired through trade. What the team does with Tomas Kaberle would influence any of the above move(s).
- Tim Panaccio of CSN: The Flyers had interest in trading for Carey Price before the Canadiens shipped Halak off to St. Louis. TSN reported that the Flyers, Lightning and San Jose were interested in Halak, though Flyers GM Paul Holmgren denied it. The Flyers are uncertain if Michael Leighton could be their #1 goalie next year.
- Eric Stephens of the OC Register: According to James Wisniewski’s agent, they are not in talks with Anaheim, and there is the possibility that the RFA is dealt. Wisniewski is coming off a 1-year deal at $2.75 million. He had 30 points last season in 69 games, and was in the top-20 in ice time (24.:20).
- Mike Russo of the Star-Tribune: The Minnesota Wild could be open to trading the 9th overall pick in this year’s NHL draft, but it would have to be for a young player that could give them 8-10 years of solid production. The Wild have varying degrees of interest for centers Patrick Sharp, Jeff Carter, and Stephen Weiss.
- Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: After not having much success with the Penguins after he was acquired at the trade deadline for Luca Caputi, Alexei Ponikarovsky most likely won’t be re-signed. Jay McKee probably won’t be back either. The Pens are still considering bringing back Sergei Gonchar, Jordan Leopold, Mark Eaton, Matt Cooke and Bill Guerin.
- Elliotte Friedman via Twitter: The 34-year old Chris Mason was asking the St. Louis Blues for 3 years, $11.25 million.
- Helene Elliot of the LA Times: Former coach of Flyers, John Stevens, has been offered an assistant coach position from the LA Kings.
Salary cap could increase $2 million which would the Penguins and others … James Wisniewski may seek #2 Dman money and/or be traded … NHL Draft Rumors
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Entry Draft, NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on May 29th, 2010
- Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: The Pittsburgh Penguins and the rest of the league received some good news in that according to Gary Bettman, the salary cap could be going up by about $2 million from it’s current $56.8 million. This might make it a bit easier for the Penguins to re-sign Sergei Gonchar and Matt Cooke. GM Ray Shero said that Ruslan Fedotenko won’t be back, and that they are talking to Jay McKee, but they might go a different direction. Bill Gurein wants to play next year, but the Pens have to see if he fits in to their plans. No decision has been made on whether they want to bring Alexei Ponikarovsky back or not.
- Eric Stephens of the OC Register: The Anaheim Ducks will retain the negotiating rights with James Wisniewski by offering him a qualifying offer before the June 25th cut off date. Wisniewski may be looking for a nice raise on his one-year, $2.75 million deal he signed last year. He was 20th in ice time and may be seeking #2 Dman money. If that is the case, look for the Ducks to continue to try and trade him (at the deadline they were trying to move him). Ducks GM Bob Murray has yet to meet with Saku Koivu or his agent. Murray has talked to the agent of Sheldon Brookbank.
- Damian Cristodero of the St. Petersburgh Times: They can’t talk contract extension until after July 1st, but Lightning GM Steve Yzerman plans to start conversations with Steven Stamkos. Stamkos agent told the paper he’d “welcome” the discussion.
- Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette: Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier said there won’t be a major overhaul of the club. The Canadiens have about 11 million to sign 7 players. They’ll look to trade both Kostitsyn’s but that could be difficult. The 6′5″ Ryan O’Byrne could also be trade bait. Gauthier and Tomas Plekanec’s agent have talked but no offer has been made, and it’s doubtful the Canadiens will overpay for him. He’s rumored to be after $5 million a season. Jaroslav Halak has arbitration rights, and has put up numbers similar to goalies in the $4-5 million range.
- Gare Joyce of ESPN: The Florida Panthers might be willing to trade down from their #3 draft slot. One Eastern Conference GM said he thinks draft prospect, Jack Campbell, could be a top-10 pick. Kirill Kabanov’s draft stock continues to be surrounded by red flags. One top scout said they won’t interview him, therefore won’t draft him. He met with 17 teams. Brett Connolly who’s draft slot has been in question due battling an injury all season (hip injury), survived the testing and looked good. He’s projected as a top-10 pick, possible a top-5 if further medical tests are good.
The Headshot Issue Revisited…
Posted by Derek in NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Opinion on March 18th, 2010
When I posted the original “Headshot Issue..” article on Monday, November 16th, 2009 I surely didn’t anticipate just how much momentum this “hot topic” would generate.
I stand by my opinion in that article, that all the rule changes have unforeseen negative effects that inevitably require more rule changes, that there’s always a “buzz word” that carries the most weight when condemning the accused in the time after an incident and before the NHL, notably Colin Cambell, review the play.
The buzz word this year is “headshot” and now every hit is being fit into that box in one way or another. Everyone from players to coaches to GM’s are using the catch-phrase headshot when sharing their feelings regarding the latest controversial hit, weather the term applies or not seems irrelivent.
Take a look at the play in the video posted below by Mark earler today, it shows the replay of Brent Seabrook being CHARGED by James Wisniewski. I’m not sure who the Duck’s comentators are but they actually start discussing weather the hit is going to fall under the umbrella of headshots…. What?
I’m not privileged to all the criteria for what constitutes a headshot by league standards but surely this doesn’t qualify. To be completely honest, I kind of felt like Seabrook was selling it a little bit. The tell tale sign being when he goes down to the ice, eyes closed in apparent confusion etc, he puts his arm out to soften the landing… An attempt to maximize the penalty, as all players are instructed to do in these kinds of circumstances.
The point is that no single rule is going to solve all the problems with players being injured and you can’t fit every incident into the same box. The hit by James Wisniewski was clearly intent to injure, and charging, and should be treated as such but it’s a seperate issue from the headshot issue that everyone is talking about. Besides, what footage do you think they’ll be running in the commercials leading up to the next game between the Ducks and Blackhawks? Maybe call it a “rivalry”…
Hockey is a tough game, players get hit hard. Sometimes players go too far and get disciplined for their actions but when the perception is that the incident is part of the bigger problem players then become guilty of all the incidents preceding the one they actually took part in. It will be interesting to see how the NHL handles the possible suspension.
update: Wisniewski suspended 8 games.
Another Dirty Hit? Contending Teams Might go After Turco for Next Season … Rangers-Isles in 3D
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News on March 18th, 2010
“There are certain hits in a game that are tolerable if you have the puck,” a visibly angry Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “(If) you hit a guy without the puck you can kill a guy. It’s the most dangerous hit in the history of the game. He tried to hurt him. That’s as a bad a hit as you can ever have in the game.”
Blue Jackets could look for an Offensive Defenseman or Top Center … Wisniewski Happy to be a Duck
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on March 8th, 2010
Trade talk is picking up as Olympic Freeze is Over
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on March 1st, 2010
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