Posts Tagged Mats Zuccarello Aasen
Crosby not ready to start in 1st round … Rangers season down to today, Gaborik’s last game with them? Adam Foote retires
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Videos on April 9th, 2011
- Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Sidney Crosby took part in another non-contact practice yesterday, but is not expected play in the start of the 1st round next week, “He has a couple more steps to go in his rehabilitation before he can even think about returning to play,” Bylsma said. “I don’t know how fast that’s going to happen. I don’t know if that’s going to happen. Considering he has a couple more steps to go through, it seems like anything in the immediate future is out of the question.”
- Larry Brooks of the NY Post: The Rangers season comes down to today, “The Rangers must win and the Hurricanes must lose, whether in regulation, overtime or via a shootout. Or if the Rangers fall in overtime, they need a regulation loss by the Hurricanes to advance.”Chris Drury is expected to play, the 1st time since Feb. 3rd. Mats Zuccarello was recalled earlier in the week, so it’s likely that Sean Avery will be scratched, and the Matt Gilroy RWer experiment is over. Brooks thinks it’s possible that this could be Marian Gaborik’s final game in a Ranger uniform. He was benched for part of the 3rd period on Thursday. Gaborik still has 3 years left on his contract at $7.5 million per season.
- Rich Hammond of the LA Kings Insider: Kings winger Dustin Brown temporarily left last night’s game after crashing into the boards. Nothing is really known about the injury, he finished the game but didn’t talk to the media after the game as he was receiving treatment.
- Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal: Oilers forward Ryan Jones will be UFA, but hopes that he can stay in Edmonton.
“Right now my mindset is to get something done here, but I’ve earned the opportunity to be an unrestricted free agent. If it doesn’t work out (here), I’ll have to go a different route.
“There’s been talks going on all along (between the Oilers brass and his agent), whether its about numbers or just trying to feel things out. By no means have either one of us moved on.
“My thoughts right now are that I hope to be here. If not I’ll move on.”
- Erik Erlendsson via twitter: The Lightning will be without Ryan Malone and Victor Hedman tonight.
- David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News: Devin Setoguchi ‘cramped up’ before last night’s game. He’ll be re-evaluated today to see if he’s able to go tonight.
- Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun: Senators GM Bryan Murray got a 3 year contract extension yesterday, but coach Cory Clouston may coach his last game for them today. According to Brennan, “Murray isn’t bringing him back because Murray doesn’t want him back. That plain, that simple.”
- Adam Foote Retires
Stars still looking to trade Ribeiro … Red Wings may still be looking at a couple moves … Could Redden remain with the Rangers?
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL Rumors on August 9th, 2010
- EJ Hradek via twitter: Hradek thinks the Dallas Stars would still like to trade Mike Ribeiro, but they can’t get the deal they’d like. He thinks they are looking for a top-4 defenseman.
- Ansar Kahn of MLive: The Red Wings have looked at Lukas Krajicek as their 6th defenseman, and may be a better fit than Willie Mitchell, as he’d come at a more affordable price. Mitchell probably wants more money than the Wings have available, and may not be comfortable with being the 5th/6th defenseman and getting less ice time. Andreas Lilja may be a better option than Krajicek, but the Red Wings were offering $1 million, and he was seeking $1.5 million.
- Ansar Kahn of MLive: After the Mike Modano signing, the Red Wings have 15 forwards, so it will likely mean they will have to trade or waive someone. Mattias Ritola or Drew Miller will be the likely candidates to be moved. Khan thinks Miller will be moved. Ritola has a higher offensive upside, and is signed for 3 years, while Miller is on a one year deal.
- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: The Senators have about $57.5 million (including Cheechoo and Emery buyouts) committed to 22 players. Their defensive corps currently consists of Sergei Gonchar, Chris Phillips, Filip Kuba, Erik Karlsson, Matt Carkner, Brian Lee and Chris Campoli, with youngster Jared Cowen and Patrick Weircioch waiting in the wings. Brian Lee could be moved. If they are looking to add some toughness to the back-end, Brendan Witt and Willie Mitchell could be options. The Senators may also look to add a top-6 forward through free agency (I didn’t realize there were any top-6 forwards available). If they add another forward, Ryan Shannon could be dealt or sent to the minors.
- Larry Brooks of the NY Post: With the additions of Alexander Frolov and Todd White, it appears the Rangers may not be planning on having Wade Redden’s salary counting against the cap, possibly waiving him during training camp. Though the Rangers defense may have some question marks that may lead the Rangers to keeping him. Marc Staal still isn’t under contract, Steve Eminger may too expensive for a 7th defenseman, Matt Gilroy may not be progressing as much as the Rangers had hoped, and what if Redden bounces back to his Senators days. The Norweigen Hobbit, Mats Zuccarello-Aasen, who was signed last spring, may find himself in the minors.
- Toronto Sun: Reports are the that Vesa Toskala will be heading to play in Sweden next season. Farjestad may be looking for a goalie since their current goalie, Robin Rahm, tested positive for a banned substance and may be a 2 year ban.
Mats Zuccarello Aasen – Remember This Name
Posted by Derek in NHL Entry Draft, NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Opinion, NHL Rumors on April 17th, 2010
April 17th: TSN from a Damien Cox blog in the Star: Cox is reporting that Mats Zuccarello-Aasen will be signing with the New York Rangers. The deal may not be announced until after the World Hockey Championship. The Maple Leafs offered him a 2-year entry-level contract. Other teams interested were the Red Wings, Oilers and Blackhawks.
April 3rd: Hans Abrahamsson of Swedish site Aftonbladet.se: Through translation … 8 teams have expressed some interest in MZA. Rangers GM Glen Sather has talked with the pint sized forward. Detroit are probably the front runners so far. Six teams are list who have reported interest in MZA; the Maple Leafs, Blackhawks, Avalanche, Bruins, Red Wings and Rangers.
April 2nd: Ansar Khan of MLive: The director of European Scouting for the Detroit Red Wings, Hakan Andersson, has met with Mats Zuccarello-Aasen in Sweden.
April 1st: Damien Cox of the Toronto Star: Brian Burke’s remodelling of the Toronto Maple Leafs will continue this off-season, and Cox expects them to keep spending this summer. The Leafs might have another college signing or 2, they’ve already signed 2 who are expected to play for the Marlies next year. There is interest in the Norwegian Hobbit, Mats Zuccarello-Aasen, as well as one or two other European free agents.
March 24th: Damien Cox of the Toronto Star: The Maple Leafs are one of at least 6 teams that are interested in signing the Norwegian Hobbit, Mats Zuccarello-Aasen. Other teams who are reportedly interested in MZA are the Red Wings, Thrashers, Stars, Oilers and Blackhawks. The Leafs are more interested in adding size upfront, but are also on the lookout for potential top 6 forwards.
March 23rd: Damien Cox of the Toronto Star: The Toronto Maple Leafs are believed to be one of the teams in hot pursuit along with Detroit, Atlanta, Dallas, Edmonton and Chicago as this begins to turn into this year’s version of the Fabian Brunnstrom Sweepstakes.
March 21st: Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: MZA’s agent is eyeing the Red Wings. Matheson thinks the Wings are interested, but would sign him to a 2-way deal. If he didn’t make the team, or like playing in the AHL for $100,000 or so, he would head back to Sweden.
March 19th: Ansar Khan of MLive: Mats Zuccarello-Aasen could be on the Detroit Red Wings radar as a potential free agent acquisition. MZA’s agent is saying “Detroit is the ‘hottest choice’”, with Chicago, Atlanta, and Dallas as other suitors. Mats will look at signing with a team this more offensive minded as it suits his playing style more than a defensive system.
March 7th: There’s a lot of buzz about diminutive Norwegian winger Mats Zuccarello Aasen, and it’s likely he’s headed to the NHL next season. But the question is whether he can be successful at his size — 5-foot-7 and 161 pounds.
Mats Zuccarello Aasen
One Swedish hockey writer had this to say (via Aftenposten), “Look at stars like Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane, to name a few. New rule interpretations and attitudes in the NHL are a benefit to players like them and Mats.”
He caught a lot of eyes at the Olympics, including that of Red Wings VP Steve Yzerman. He told Swedish TV stations (via Aftenposten), “I can not remember his name, but No. 48 in Norway has been very good in the Olympics.”
Yup, that’s Aasen, so now there’s speculation that the Red Wings might be interested in the winger. We already knew several NHL teams were eying the 22-year-old, including the Chicago Blackhawks.
While searching out stats on the diminutive left winger for this article, I found that Hockey DB.com had stats as usual (great site for stats), and they have him listed at 5′ 7″ and 154 pounds. Most NHL defencemen could curl about that much weight, but the “New NHL” does offer some opportunity for the smaller, highly skilled players.
Nicknamed “The Norwegian Hobbitt Wizard”, he has a great set of hands and creativity that is always required for a small player to gain as much notoriety has he already has.
Here’s a little sample of his play, courtesy of Youtube.com.
His stats for Modo are impressive too, considering the amount of games played he’s better than a point per game average.
We’ll be keeping an eye on Aasen, along with a variety of other European and U.S. College free agents as the season continues. This is where an NHL team, like the Detroit Red Wings, can really set themselves apart with quality scouting.
Players that can contribute in the NHL, without using draft picks to acquire them, are at a premium for teams trying to re-build in todays salary capped NHL.
Look for a tab in our “Features” section in the near future for more articles like this one, as we compile a list of the best eligible players outside of the NHL, and see where they might fit in in the future.
More Injuries in Vancouver … Podcast from GlobeSports … Hudler back to Detroit
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on April 2nd, 2010
- Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province: The injury front keeps getting bigger out in Vancouver. Already without Mikael Samuelsson, Steve Bernier, Willie Mitchell, and Shane O’Brien (disciplinary); Daniel Sedin was held out of last night’s game, and most likely tonight’s game with back spasms. The spasms flared up on Wednesday. During last night’s game, the Canucks got another scare when Alex Burrows blocked a one-timer with his throat. He appear to be breating fine later on in the dressing room. Swelling of the throat area will be monitored. “My throat is inflamed and I had a tough time swallowing,” Burrows said. “We’ll see how it goes but I think I’ll be fine. “I had a tough time breathing and that had me thinking so I tried to get off to get medical treatment right away.”
- Podcast from the Globe and Mail: Round table taking about possibility of the Winnipeg Jets returning, Red Wings resurgence, big names possibly taking over in Calgary and the Montreal Canadiens playoff bid.
- Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Daily News: Some changes will be made to the Flyers roster next season, and GM Paul Holmgren already has an idea.
“There are certain guys on this team that are going to be back here next year,” Holmgren said. “And there are certain guys who aren’t.”"So if the season ended today, you have a pretty good idea of what you would do?” I asked.”Most of it, yeah,” he said.
- Frank Seravalli of the Philadelphia Daily News: Braydon Coburn is denying the rumor that he turned down a contract offer from the Flyers and won’t negotiate until after the season. He doesn’t think his agent has talked to the Flyers at all about a contract.
- Ansar Khan of MLive: The director of European Scouting for the Detroit Red Wings, Hakan Andersson, has met with Mats Zuccarello-Aasen in Sweden.
- Ansar Khan of MLive: Jiri Hudler may be hoping to return to the Detroit Red Wings next year. The GM of Moscow Dynamo may be switching teams, and might not try to prevent it. Hudler left the Wings to sign a 2 year, $10 million contract in the KHL. If he returns to the Red Wings, he’ll be on a 2 year contract worth $2.875 million a season, a contract that was awarded by an arbitrator last year.
Off-Season Spending for the Maple Leafs? Stars to Re-sign or Trade Richards?Jussi Rynnas Visits Stars Today …
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL Injuries, NHL Rumors on April 1st, 2010
- Damien Cox of the Toronto Star: Brian Burke’s remodelling of the Toronto Maple Leafs will continue this off-season, and Cox expects them to keep spending this summer. The Leafs might have another college signing or 2, they’ve already signed 2 who are expected to play for the Marlies next year. There is interest in the Norwegian Hobbit, Mats Zuccarello-Aasen, as well as one or two other European free agents. The Leafs have around $6 million in cap space (though I think it will be less, depending on what their RFAs sign for), which could increase if Jeff Finger and his $3.5 million are shipped to the Marlies or elsewhere. The potential trading of Tomas Kaberle and his $4.25 could also create more space, or lessen it depending on what they get in return for him. UFAs they might look at are Raffi Torres, Eric Belanger, and Adam Burish.
- Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News: The Stars Brad Richards contract expires after next season, and the Stars may be looking to lock him before the start of next season, to potentially avoid a Ilya Kovalchuk situtation. He currently has a cap hit $7.8 million, and would most likely sign for less. If some sort of agreement can’t be reached, they could look at dealing him. If they are able to re-sign Richards, they could use Mike Ribeiro and his $5 million salary as trade bait to bring in an offensive defenseman.
- Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News: Finnish free agent goalie Jussi Rynnas will be meeting with the Dallas Stars today. The 6-5 goalie posted a 14-13-1 record with a 2.50 GAA and .929 SV%.
- Chuck Gormley of the Courier Post: Braydon Coburn of the Philalphia Flyers is in the finals season of his 2 year, $2.6 million deal. The Flyers offered him an extension, but he turned it down and told them he’ll wait until the summer. Coburn is a RFA.
- Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: There is a good chance that both Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar will be back in the Penguins lineup Saturday afternoon versus the Thrashers.
Oils Want #1 and #2 … Leafs after the Hobbit … Good News on the Injury front for Rangers and Canadiens
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on March 24th, 2010
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
- 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.
- 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.
Recent Comments