Posts Tagged Kris Versteeg
Wings-Leafs 2013 WC rumor … Panthers talking to Versteeg and Garrison … Kopitar leaves game … Green to LTIR … Umberger has concussion symptoms
Posted by Mark Easson in Fantasy Hockey News, NHL Free Agents, NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on January 13th, 2012
- Gregg Krupa of the Detroit News: It’s expected that the NHL will announce the site of next year’s Winter Classic during the All-Star weekend. Rumor is they’ll be announcing a Red Wings – Maple Leafs match-up in Detroit. Wings owner Mike Ilitch may want it at the Tigers Stadium. Michigan Stadium holds 110,000 plus. Officially 104,172 attended The Big House (Michigan Stadium) to see the Wolverines and Spartans set the record for most people at a hockey game. Unofficially they figured the number was closer to 113,000. They don’t sell beer at college football games at The Big House.
- Harvey Fialkov of the Sun-Sentinel: Panthers GM Dale Tallon has said they are already working on contract extensions for Kris Versteeg and Jason Garrison. Talks have begun but nothing is imminent. They haven’t talked in weeks, but they have got things rolling.
- Dan Arritt of ESPN Los Angeles: Kings center Anze Kopitar left last night’s game with an upper body injury. He was checked head-first into the boards by Stars forward Brenden Morrow in the 3rd period. Coach Sutter said he just had a bloody nose and will be fine.
- Aaron Portzline via twitter: Blue Jackets forward RJ Umberer is out indefinitely with concussion like symptoms.
- Katie Carrera of the Washington Post: The Capitals have put Mike Green on the LTIR. February 1st is the earliest he’ll be able to return. The Caps recalled forward Cody Eakin to take Green’s spot on the 23 man roster.
- Josh Rimer via twitter: Red Wings GM Ken Holland on Nicklas Lidstrom not being named to the All-Star game: “Lidstrom wanted a few days off during the break & he’s looking forward to a few days off to rest the batteries.”
- Pierre LeBrun via twitter: Ducks Teemu Selanne was asked to go to the All-Star game but politely declined.
- Sean Fitz-Gerald via twitter: Jonas Gustavsson will make his 5th consecutive start for the Maple Leafs tonight in Buffalo. Coach Ron Wilson is not sure if James Reimer will play this weekend.
Panthers acquire Kris Versteeg from the Flyers
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News, NHL Trades on July 1st, 2011
Florida Panthers via twitter: The Philadelphia Flyers have traded Kris Versteeg to the Florida Panthers for a 2012 or 2013 2nd round pick and San Jose’s 2012 3rd round pick.
The Flyers had acquired Versteeg from the Maple Leafs at the trade deadline for a 1st and 3rd round draft pick.
Sharp could have extension this summer … Lightning-Brewer close … Winnipeg Jets? … Flyers looking to move up in draft … Richards could be looking for 8/$50-55 million
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Entry Draft, NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on June 24th, 2011
- Pierre LeBrun via twitter: Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman has met with Patrick Sharp’s agent. Sharp is a UFA after next season, both sides agreed to talk again in a few weeks. The Blackhawks are confident that they can get a contract extension done with Sharp this summer.
- Nick Kypreos via twitter: The Lightning and Eric Brewer are closing in on a 4 year deal worth $16 million.
- Pierre LeBrun via twitter: Maple Leafs source saying there is nothing imminent at the moment.
- Dean Molberg (Fan 960) via twitter: “Rumors in Minny suggest True North has bowed to public pressure and will go with Winnipeg Jets after all.” Bob McKenzie via twitter: Winnipeg to announce team name before making the 7th overall pick. Michael Traikos via twitter: Mark Chipman hinted that Winnipeg team name will be unveiled at draft, but they may not have a jersey. Update: Darren Dreger via twitter: Dreger has a strong belief that Winnipeg team will be named the Manitoba Jets. Dreger corrects: “Secret is out. Wpg Jets returns.”
- Tim Panaccio via twitter: Panaccio thinks that Lavy may prefer winger Erik Cole over Brad Richards on July 1st.
- Frank Seravalli of the Philadelphia Daily News: The Flyers have been “absolutely drooling” over Gabriel Landeskog, and may be interested in moving up. Florida #3 could be the spot they would need to jump to. Seravalli thinks that Kris Versteeg and the #8 pick would be enough. If the Flyers aren’t able to move and they keep the pick, look for them to draft a defenseman, maybe Dougie Hamilton or Ryan Murphy. Brad Richards most likely won’t end up in Philadelphia. Seravalli reports that Steven Stamkos “isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds.” The more people he talks to, the more it sounds like it could be a possibility. The Flyers may have a deal in place with Ville Leino before leaving the draft this weekend.
- Tim Sassone of the Daily Herald: Blackhawks maybe making RFA Troy Brower available.
- Larry Brooks of the NY Post: Brad Richards (31) could be looking for a 8 year deal in the $50-$55 million range, and could grow if a bidding war starts.
- Dennis Bernstein via twitter: Bernstein thinks Gagne and Jokinen could be on the Kings radar.
Isles could be interested in trading 5th overall pick … More on Flyers-Jackets trade discussions … New coaches coming to Ottawa and Dallas … Rule 48 tweaks
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Entry Draft, NHL News, NHL Rumors on June 14th, 2011
- Chris Botta of the NYI Point Blank: If the right player was offered up for the Islanders 1st round pick (5th overall), they wouldn’t hesitate. Flyers Jeff Carter could be that type of player in terms of age and talent, but his cap hit of $5.2 million for 11 years and his sometimes pouty temperament might rule him out. The Islanders have trouble convincing top free agents to come, so looking at the trade route makes sense. They are unwilling to move any of their top prospects. The Islanders won’t be interested in trading their 5th overall pick just to give a cap team a break or for an overpaid aging player, will want equal value. In all likelihood, the Isles will end up keeping the pick.
- Katie Strang via twitter: Islanders pre-draft visits: Huberdeau yetserday, Couturier and Hamilton today, Ryana Murphy tomorrow.
- Tim Panaccio of CSNPhilly: Despite the rumors, discussions earlier between Flyers GM Paul Holmgren and Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson weren’t about Jeff Carter or the Jackets 8th overall pick. At the time (draft combine, before Bryzgalov trade) the 2 sides were discussing goalie Steve Mason. Now the sides have talked about the pick in a “lesser deal” according to sources. The Flyers don’t want to move Carter. The Flyers would rather move other pieces worth at least $5 million. Matt Carle could interest the Blue Jackets who are looking for a power-play defenseman, but it would take more than that to get the 8th pick. Howson may not be interseted in Scott Hartnell ($4.2 million) or Kris Versteeg ($3.083 million) as he may be looking for an impact centerman. Sergei Bobrovsky would likely be traded as well if they are able to sign Bryzgalov to a long-term deal.
- Pavel Lysenkov of SovSport.ru: The closer it gets to July 1st, the more likely that Jaromir Jagr won’t sign in the KHL, and he could head back to the NHL. SKA has already rejected Jagr. Vanguard isn’t offering much.
- Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News: Sources are saying that the Dallas Stars could name Glen Gulutzan as their next head coach by the end of this week. Gulutzan is the head coach of their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars.
- Allen Panzeri of the Ottawa Citizen: The Ottawa Senators will announce that former Detroit Red Wings assistant Paul MacLean will be the teams 9th head coach, and 4th coach under GM Bryan Murray’s watch. Ottawa Senators via twitter: Sens TV will be streaming the 11 am press conference live, Murray will be making the announcement.
- Pierre LeBrun and Scott Brunside of ESPN: The NHL competition committee is getting closer to approving the rewording of Rule 48.
“We’re definitely headed down the right path in expanding Rule 48,” Schneider said after Monday’s six-hour meeting. “What it’s coming down to is getting the wording down on paper properly and Brendan and I will continue to talk over the next few days and try to nail something down.”
According to the new Rule 48, any hit that targets the head and where the head is the principal point of contact will be illegal. Under terms of Rule 48 this season, only blindside hits to the head were illegal. “It’s very similar to what we talked about at the GMs meeting in the sense of broadening the rule,” league executive Rob Blake said Monday after the meeting. “The exact interpretation will go forward. But we had a good understanding that the union, the players and the NHL together want to go forward for the safety of the players.”
- Darren Millard via twitter: Winnipeg won’t release logo/name on Thursday, but will happen soon.
Penguins offseason notes … Columbus tells 3 they aren’t coming back … Flyers figuring out Bryzgalov parameters … MacTavish leading Wild candidate
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on June 13th, 2011
- Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Sidney Crosby has started his off-ice offseason workouts. Penguins GM Ray Shero plans to re-sign Dustin Jeffrey to a new deal this month. Tyler Kennedy is a RFA and the Pens make take him to arbitration to see what he’s awarded. If he’s in the $2 million range, which comparables suggest he could get, they may keep him. Rossi thinks he could also be traded. Defenseman Matt Niskanen could be available if any team is interested. Max Talbot is asking for 4 years and Pascal Dupuis is asking for a 3 year contract, the Pens don’t really want to go that long for either. Mike Rupp may be thinking he can get more on the open market than from the Penguins.
- Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch: The Blue Jackets have informed Ethan Moreau, Chris Clark and Craig Rivet that they won’t be re-signed. The Jackets are still thinking about re-signing Jan Hejda (50/50) and Scottie Upshall (unlikely).
- Chuck Gormley of the Courier Post: Flyers GM Paul Holmgren spent part of the weekend finding out the parameters to get Ilya Bryzgalov signed to a 5 to possibly 8 year term. He might be able to get upwards of $6 million if he were to hit the free agent market on July 1st. To get Bryzgalov at a cap friendly number of around $5 million, they may have to start to $7 million and go down to $2 million on a 7 or 8 year deal. Putting Ian Laperriere on a LTIR would take $1.2 million off their cap number, they’re at about $59 million now. Trading Jeff Carter is one option, moving Matt Carle and Kris Versteeg is another. Sergei Bobrovsky may also find himself in a trade as he would have to pass through waivers if he was to be sent to the AHL or recalled from AHL. If Bryzgalov is signed to a long-term deal, Bobrovsky may not get his shot as a #1, and they may be able to get a 2nd round pick or top prospect in return.
- Michael Russo of the Star-Tribune: Craig MacTavish was in Minnesota last week and had his 2nd interview for the vacant head coaching position. He’s considered to be the leading candidate at the moment.
50/50 Lightning re-sign Roloson by July 1 … Souray likely to be bought out … Ramsey awaiting coaching decision … Versteeg could be Flyers easiest move
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News, NHL Rumors on June 11th, 2011
- Erik Erlendsson via twitter: Erlendsson thinks there is a 50/50 chance the Lightning re-sign Dwayne Roloson before July 1st, and a 30/70 chance they re-sign Mike Smith. He also doesn’t see the Lightning spending big money on a goaltender instead of re-signing Roloson.
- Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: Sheldon Souray’s agent hasn’t heard from the Oilers if they will be buying Souray out or not, but it’s likely to happen. Next Wednesday is the first day teams can buyout players, the buyout window lasts 2 weeks. Souray has a $4.5 million salary and $5.4 million cap hit.
- Ed Tait of the Winnipeg Free Press: Winnipeg coach Craig Ramsey still doesn’t know if he’ll be heading north to coach the team. “They asked for the weekend and then said they’d call,” Ramsay said Friday afternoon in a telephone interview. “We’re just waiting on them now. It’s very difficult. It’s not a great thing to be sitting around wondering what’s going on. But that’s where we are and there’s not much I can do about that.”
- Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette: The Canadiens have re-signed Mathieu Darche to a one year, $700,000 contract. Darche scored 12 goals last year, and added 14 assists. The Canadiens now have 12 players under contract for year at about $41 million. They still need to re-sign Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges. Markov will get a deal in the $5-6 million range. Gorges will be looking for a longterm deal.
- Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch: The Blue Jackets have re-signed defenseman Grant Clitsome to a 2 year, $2.5 million contract. He’ll make $1.1 million next year, $1.4 million in 2012-13.
- Josh Cooper of the Tennessean: RFA Shea Weber had big impact in and out of the lockerroom in Nashville this season.
It’s clear that the Predators want to re-sign Weber and he wants to return to Nashville. The question is for how much money and how many years. At age 25, and already a Norris candidate, Weber could command a hefty payday, possibly in between $6.5 and $7 million per season. Indications are that he and Nashville would like a long-term deal. While a one-year bridge contract to UFA status is a possibility, a contract with more security is likely.
- Kevin Allen of the USA Today: So with the Flyers needing to clear out salary if/when they sign Ilya Bryzgalov, Allen thinks the easiest player for the Flyers to move would be Kris Versteeg. Versteeg has 1 year left at just over $3 million. Allen thinks the Panthers would be a good fit for Versteeg, who played for GM Dale Tallon in Chicago. Florida could use a forward and are about $30 below the salary cap floor. Matt Carle could also be moved. If Bryzgalov is re-signed, it’s likely that Michael Leighton and his $1.5 million contract would be buried in the minors as he’d be hard to move.
Blues may be shutout for UFA’s … Jackets dangling #8 … Richards rumors … Flyers should go after Thomas again … Leafs were in on Erixon
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on June 6th, 2011
- Roger Hensley of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Jeremy Rutherford notes that until the Blues are sold or new investors are brought in, they can’t afford a “legitimate” free agent goal scorer. With the free agent crop a little week, Blues fans shouldn’t expect them to be as active as they may like. Dan O’Neill doesn’t think a goal scorer is the Blues biggest off-season need. Andy Strickland thinks the Blues could explore the trade market. They would have to shed some salary if they were to take on a player like Paul Stastny.
- Larry Brooks of USA Today: Brad Richards will likely be looking for a long term deal at $7+ million a season, which may be more than the Rangers want to do. Richards may take less to return to Tampa. The Rangers could look at Jason Spezza who has 3 years at a $7 million cap hit, though he has a no-trade clause and the Sens may want too much in return. Stephen Weiss will also draw the Rangers interest. The Rangers were interested in Patrick Sharp last year, but he may not be available and/or would require a lot. Brandon Dubinsky wants a multi-year deal at $4.5 million per season.
- Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch: The scouting department for the Columbus Blues Jackets is likely to be completely reconfigured after the draft at the end of the month. Most of their scouts contracts expire at the end of the month, and their contracts haven’t been renewed. If the Blues Jackets are going to trade their 8th overall pick at this year’s draft, don’t rule out the Flyers as an interested partner. Both GM’s have talked on and off since early last year.
- Chuck Gormley of the Delco Times: Gormley thinks the Flyers should go after Tim Thomas again this off-season. Over a year ago the Bruins wanted Jeff Carter in return for Thomas. Both teams don’t have a lot of free cap space. The Flyers could send Matt Carle and his $3.4 million salary but it would take more. They don’t have a 1st or 2nd round pick this year. Gormley thinks Carle and Kris Versteeg could get the deal done.
- Damian Cristodero of the St. Petersburg Times: Could the Tampa Bay Lightning fit Brad Richards in even though they need to re-sign RFA Steven Stamkos and possibly UFA Eric Brewer? The Lightning have $38.37 million tied up in 11 players and buyouts. Free agents they may want to re-sign are Sean Bergenheim, Teddy Purcell, Dwayne Roloson and Mike Smith. Yzerman could also make some trades to free up some salary. If Simon Gagne would take a nice pay cut from the $5.25 million he made last season, they may be more willing to re-sign him. If they don’t re-sign Gagne, they could use that money towards Richards.
- Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: If the dollar amount and term get out of hand for Brad Richards, Stephen Weiss could be plan B for the NY Rangers. The Red Wings could be an option for Richards if he’s interested in a short-term, cap friendly number. The Rangers, Kings and Leafs will likely be offering more.
- Eric Francis of the Calgary Herald: According to Maple Leafs source, they were in on Tim Erixon trade talks with the Flames before he was traded to the NY Rangers. Francis thinks the Sharks should go after UFA Kevin Bieksa. Bieksa is “most apt” to take a hometown discount to remain with the Canucks. Christian Ehrhoff will likely go after the most money, and it’s unlikely the Bruins will want to re-sign Tomas Kaberle.
Who will start for Lightning? Thornton says he’ll play in Game 5 … Isles should ask for Versteeg, Hartnell or Carle for Nabokov … Jagr to sign in KHL
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on May 23rd, 2011
- Damian Cristodero of the St. Petersburg Times: Lightning coach Guy Boucher won’t reveal who his starting goalie will be, but it sounds like it would be Dwayne Roloson.
“I don’t feel like we’ve got a situation. … We’ve got a goaltender that has taken us here that knows how to win and knows how to bounce back.”
So is Roloson playing?
“He’s getting prepared for (today),” Boucher said.
- Mark Emmons of hte San Jose Mercury News: Sharks Joe Thornton didn’t return after taking a shoulder-to-shoulder hit by Raffi Torres in the 3rd period. Thornton didn’t talk to the media afterwards, but did send a text message that he’ll be in the lineup for Game 5,
“100 percent,” Thornton texted in response to the question of whether or not he expected to play. “It’s playoffs, got to play through everything.”
- David Climer of the Tennessean: The Predators need to lock up their face of the franchise, Shea Weber, and they should do it soon. If Weber is able to hit the open next season as a UFA, the Preds would have little chance of retaining him, as he could hit the $8 million mark.
- Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: The Islanders can’t just trade Evgeni Nabokov for a draft pick or prospect. “If the Flyers, who would like to dump some salary, aren’t willing to give up Kris Versteeg, Scott Hartnell or defenceman Matt Carle, all of whom make at least $3 million US a season, Snow should say no thanks.” If Nikolai Zherdevi isn’t playing in the KHL next year, Matheson would be shocked. Joni Pitkanen would look good in a Red Wings jersey, but they may not have the cap space to sign him. Do the Blue Jackets have the money to give Pitkanen? If the Oilers go after any unrestricted free agents, they should go after Brooks Laich. It wouldn’t be a surprised if former Blue Jackets assistant Bob Boughner becomes a Red Wings assistant.
- Genadi Boguslavski via twitter: Sometime this week Jaromir Jagr will sign a deal with SKA of the KHL.
- Dmitry Chesnokov via twitter: Dominik Hasek hasn’t received any contract offer yet for next season, and if he doesn’t, he’ll officially retire.
- Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer: Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford has said that it could be difficult for them to re-sign Jussi Jokinen. Jokinen could get as much as $3 million per season on the open market.
Bergeron’s status still unknown … Hurricanes off-season notes … Devils coaching candidates … Some Flyers goalie options
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on May 17th, 2011
- Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald: Patrice Bergeron skated with the Bruins strength and conditioning coach yesterday before practice. He did some work with the team, so there may be hope that he can go tonight. He took part in some power play and penalty killing drills, and took a few shifts with linemates Recchi and Marchand. When asked if Bergeron was ruled out for Game 2, Julien said, “No comments.” Then he added, “I don’t know. Is that better?”
- Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald: Tyler Seguin practiced on the 1st power play unit with Milan Lucic and Nathan Horton, and later on the 2nd unit with Mark Recchi and Michael Ryder. “We’ve got different looks, we’ve got different players. We want to make the power play work. And it’s never a bad thing to have those guys go through it, and if at one point you need him, you need him,” Julien said. “And what I said (Sunday) was exactly what we wanted to do with Tyler. I mean he hadn’t played a playoff game yet, and you give him a little bit to chew and then you give him maybe opportunities if need be in other areas.”
- Bob McKenzie via twitter: “IF, and I said IF, ATL moves to WPG, conventional wisdom is WPG to Northwest, MIN to Central and NSH to Southeast. But…” “…due to time issues, notion of WPG playing 1 season in Southeast not out of question. Realignment would come 1 yr later. Still lotsa ifs.”
- Chip Alexander via twitter: Though there is no offical work, Paul Maurice is expected to return as the Hurricanes head coach next season. Ron Francis is expected to move to assistant GM from his assistant coaching position. Erik Cole could possibly re-sign with the Canes before July 1st, and Brandon Sutter could get a long term deal. Cory Stillman could also re-sign with the Hurricanes, and then move to the front office after he’s done playing. The Canes will look to re-sign Chad LaRose. Re-signing Joni Pitkanen and Jussi Jokinen will be tougher. If they are unable to re-sign Pitkanen, they will look at bringing in another defenseman. They will also look signing an experienced backup and 4th line center.
- Dmitry Chesnokov via twitter: Kings prospect Maxim Kitsyn said he’ll most likely start next year in the KHL.
- Chris Botta of the NY Times: The New Jersey Devils head coaching search will now start as all candidates are available to talk. Likely to get a call from Lou are Ken Hitchcock, Michel Therrien, Kirk Muller, Scott Gordon, Mike Haviland and Larry Robinson. They should have a head coach picked before the draft on June 24th.
- Chuck Gormley of the Deleware New Journal: There are whispers that the Flyers may make a pitch for Ryan Miller, Henrik Lundqvist, Miikka Kiprusoff, Niklas Backstrom or Martin Brodeur. The only way to pull off a Miller, Lundqvist or Brodeur deal would be to involve a 3rd team. Kiprusoff will be 35 in October and makes $5.833 million. Backstrom has a $6 million cap hit and would require them to shed at least $3 million. They could trade Jeff Carter to the Wild. Gormley adds they could send Kris Versteeg and Matt Carle for Backstrom and perhaps Brent Burns (It would take a lot more than Versteeg and Carle to get Backstrom and Burns IMO).
Predators off-season notes … 5 Flyers require surgery … Fehr and Leblanc had shoulder surgery … Fasth getting interest
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on May 11th, 2011
- Josh Cooper of the Nashville Tennessean: The Predators made it to the 2nd round for the 1st time in franchise history, and will have a busy off-season with 4 UFAs and 5 RFAs. Their biggest challenge will be RFA Shea Weber who’d requires a raise from his current $4.5 million salary. Both sides had agreed during the season to wait until the off-season. One comparable could be Dion Phaneuf’s 6 year, $39 million deal. A starting point could be Brent Seabrook’s 5 year, $29 million contract, but he doesn’t put up the same offensive numbers and doesn’t provide the same leadership. Would they look at trade Weber before July 1st if they feel they can’t get a deal done? Joel Ward is a UFA and proved during the playoffs that he is more valuable than his $1.5 million he made this year. The Predators need to find a ‘game-changing forward,’ Shea Weber pointed this out on Monday. “That’s obviously up to the front office now, but we have to find a way to generate more goals,” Weber said. “We’re a good defensive team, but that can only get you so far.” Steve Sullivan will likely have to take a pay cut from his $3.75 million if he wants to come back next year. JP Dumont, who has a healthy scratch at times during the 2nd half of the season, is due to make $4 million next year and they could consider buying him out.
- Katie Carrera of the Washington Post: Capitals forward Eric Fehr had surgery to repair a torn labrum on his right shoulder. He could be out 4 to 6 months. 2 years ago he had surgery on both his shoulders.
“When he comes out of the sling, he’ll go through a very specific rehab program intending to get back his motion and strength and the rhythm of the shoulder back,” Shaffer said. “We’ll allow him to start skating two months from the date of the procedure, but return to play will be gradual. He’ll probably be on the ice in training camp but he won’t be in contact, collision situations.”
- Montreal Gazette: Canadiens prospect Louis Leblanc had arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder on Tuesday and will have 4 to 6 months of rehab. Leblanc was picked 18th overall in the 2009 draft. If the rehab lasts only 4 months, he could be ready for training camp.
- Elliotte Friedman of CBC Sports: Friedman thinks that if the Capitals are to shakeup their core, they should only move one of Mike Green or Alexander Semin, but not both.
- Philadelphia Flyers via twitter: Flyers GM Paul Holmgren said that 5 players will need off-season surgery. Mike Richards and Andrej Meszaros will have wrist surgery. Kris Versteeg will have a stomach muscle procedure, Blair Betts on his finger and Michael Leighton will have hip surgery.
- Damian Cristodero via twitter: The Lightning, Rangers and Oilers are reportedly interested in free agent Swedish goalie, Viktor Fasth.
Brassard to IR … Leino puts contract talks on hold for Versteeg … Bieksa out with broken foot … Klesla close
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL Injuries, NHL News on February 17th, 2011
- Columbus Blue Jackets: The Blue Jackets have placed Derick Brassard on IR, and is expected to miss 2-3 weeks. Tom Reed via twitter: The first MRI didn’t reveal a break, will have a second one this afternoon.
- Andy Strickland of True Hockey: Ville Leino was in the middle of contract extension talks with the Flyers when GM Paul Holmgren approached Leino with the option to either get a deal done now or wait until after the season so that they could trade for Kris Versteeg. They don’t have enough ‘tag room’ to do a deal now.
- Mark Spector via twitter: Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa has a broken foot, the Vancouver Sun is reporting he’ll be out 2-3 weeks. The Canucks have 6 of their top 8 defenseman out with injuries: Edler, Hamhuis, Bieksa, Ballard, Alberts, and Sweatt.
- Aaron Portzline via twitter: Blue Jackets defenseman Rostislav Klesla should begin skating later this week or early next week, he’s been out with a bruised knee.
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