Posts Tagged Matt Carle
Morning NHL rumors involving Jarome Iginla, Ryan Miller and the Flyers need for a defenseman
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News, NHL Rumors on November 30th, 2011
- Randy Sportak of the Calgary Sun: If Jarome Iginla is thinking about asking for a trade or possibly open to the idea of moving on, he isn’t saying so. He still believes that Calgary is the best situation for him.
“I want to win here and believe we can be a good team here. That’s really where my thoughts are,” Iginla said.
“It’s 60 games left, a lot of season. It’s a lot of time for us to make our way back.”
The 34 year old Iginla has one more year on his contract at $7 million. He may not want to go through another rebuilding process.
“It’s just the way it works, the way media is, as far as Internet and how easy it is to just run with a story,” he continued. “It’s not always accurate, that’s for sure, but that’s fine. I’m not blaming anybody, but there are things you read that aren’t accurate and you just move on.
“The best way to stop a story is to win games and climb in the standings.”
- Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: If Flames GM Jay Feaster decides he wants to move Iginla, he’ll need to get him to waive his no-movement clause and a blessing from ownership. If Iginla decides he wants to be traded, LeBrun thinks the Bruins will be one of the teams that will be interested.
Over the weekend Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal reported that Ryan Miller wanted out of Buffalo.
“That is not true at all, and I have never made any comment concerning my status with the team,” Miller told ESPN.com via text message Tuesday. “I am proud of being a Sabre for all we have accomplished, and I am excited about the new chapter Terry and Kim Pegula have inspired. I am working hard to get healthy and build my game back to where I want it so I can start to contribute to an effort to build a championship team.”
- Helene Elliott of the LA Times: Ducks’ chief executive, Michael Schulman gave GM Bob Murray a vote of confidence.
“We are certainly frustrated with the results to this point but remain optimistic that we can turn this season around,” Schulman said. “Bob has been largely responsible for a great deal of our success since he joined the organization, and we have complete confidence he will lead us out of this difficult time as well.”
- Jay Greenberg of CSN Philly: Injuries have hit the Flyers blueline, and they will likely go with some call-ups for now. “People I talk to, everybody is looking for a defenseman now, not looking to trade one.” said Holmgren. That could change if the Flyers decided to offer up one of their core young forwards.
- Dustin Leed of The Hockey Guys: Sources are telling Leed that Chris Pronger’s knee surgery could keep him out longer than the expected 4 weeks. The Flyers are concerned about Pronger’s injuries, and GM Paul Holmgren has been working the phones for a defenseman. Sources have confirmed that the Flyers have contacted the Flames about Mark Giordano and Scott Hannan. Putting Andreas Nodl on waivers put the Flyers at 49 contracts. The Hurricanes are willing to move a defenseman or two for a top 9 forward. The Flyers are not interested in Tomas Kaberle. They could offer draft picks for Tim Gleason ($2.9 million) or Bryan Allen ($2.75 million). Philly has the Kings 2nd round pick, either a 2012 or 2013 2nd round pick from the Panthers, and a 2013 3rd round pick from the Wild, to go along with their picks that they could offer up. Lightning Bruno Gervais is another potential target. The Canucks have been shopping Keith Ballard, but Leed doesn’t see the Flyers interested in his $4.2 million salary. The Flyers don’t have any interest in moving Matt Carle or Sergei Bobrovsky at the moment. For now they will go with Kevin Marshall and Marc-Andre Bourdon, but they’ll likely need another steady defenseman at some point.
- David Alter via twitter: The Maple Leafs have sent Keith Aulie back to the Marlies, so Carl Gunnarsson will play tonight.
Sunday morning rumor update … D-day for Filatov coming … Injuries to Hall, Edler, Lehtonen, Daley, and Eaves
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News on November 27th, 2011
- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun:
- Garrioch wouldn’t be surprised if the Stars showed interest in Jarome Iginla to help put the team back on the hockey map. If the Flames and Iginla (NTC) decide to move on, there will be plenty of teams interested. New Stars owner Tom Gaglardi is believed to be giving GM Joe Nieuwendyk the resources to add some salary.
- Lightning GM Steve Yzerman has interest in a goaltending and defensemen. Yzerman isn’t offering anything up that teams are interested in for a defenseman. He’d move Mattias Ohlund, but no one is interested in his remaining 3 years with a $3.607 million cap hit. Yzerman could be targeting Jonathan Bernier.
- The Blue Jackets are trying to get Bernier as well.
- Canucks GM Mike Gillis has been trying to trade Keith Ballard, and would like to get a defenseman in return. They may try to get Matt Carle from the Flyers.
- Don’t look for Islanders Kyle Okposo to get traded, he is wearing an “A”. Isles GM Garth Snow is looking for some forward help.
- Avalanche coach Joe Sacco is on the hotseat. Avs GM Greg Sherman may look to make a deal to shake things up. Center Paul Stastny’s name has come up. Many don’t think they’d move Stastny, but anything is possible in Colorado according to one league executive.
- The Flames could be interested in Oilers center Sam Gagner.
- The Hurricanes aren’t thrilled with Tomas Kaberle and have checked around to see if there is any interest.
- The Blackhawks would like to add a defenseman.
- Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune: Adding a goalie will likely be the main goal for Lightning GM Steve Yzerman this summer. Erlendsson doesn’t think they’ll make a change during the season. Dustin Tokarski and Jaroslav Janus are unknown projects who haven’t shown if they can play in the NHL. Cory Schneider and Jonathan Bernier could become trade options. The Lightning scouted the Kings late last year. A Vancouver scout was said to be scouting the Lightning’s AHL affiliate. Wild backup, Josh Harding, will be a UFA at the end of the year. A long shot could be 28 year old Vasily Koshechkin, a 2002 draft pick playing in Russia.
- Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic: Kyle Turris was originally going to be sent to the AHL on a conditioning stint, but will now remain with the Coyotes.
“Kyle has returned in phenomenal condition,” Maloney said. “We skated him hard two days in a row, and he looks strong and in shape, so we’ve decided to keep him with us. We still have the option to send him to Portland for a couple games next weekend, which we may, but it’s not in stone. We’re going to assess where he is in practice and potentially play him as early as next week.”
- Darren Millard via twitter: Millard wonders if last night will be the last straw in Washington. Will management make a coaching change?
- Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun: Senators GM Bryan Murray told Nikita Filatov that he’d make a decision on his playing future by November 30th. Filatov has said he’d rather go play in the KHL if there isn’t a roster spot in Ottawa. He has 6 points in his last 2 games, 12 points total in 14 games (not including last night’s game).
- Dan Tencer via twitter: Oilers forward Taylor Hall left last night’s game with a shoulder injury.
- Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province: Canucks defenseman Alex Edler suffered what looked to be a shoulder injury in the 2nd period last night.
- Dallas Morning News: Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen took a shot off his right knee, just above the goalie pad. He left right after and didn’t return. (it also looked like he could have injured his groin.)
- Dallas Stars via twitter: Stars defenseman Trevor Daley left last night’s game with an upper-body injury.
- Adrian Dater of the Denver Post: The Avs put defenseman Erik Johnson on the IR with a groin injury.
- Hockey Night in Canada Hotstove link: Talk on the Flames and Iginla. Iginla may be thinking about moving on.
- Mike Brudenell of the Detroit Free Press: Red Wings forward Patrick Eaves was taken off the ice on a stretcher after taking a shot off the side of the head/face. He was taken to a hospital, and was diagnosed with a fractured jaw.
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.
Richards says No to waiving NTC, would love to return to Tampa … Bryzgalov demanded a lot from the Coyotes … Oilers willing to trade 1st overall … Rangers to buyout Drury
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Entry Draft, NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on June 9th, 2011
- Joey Johnston of the Tampa Tribune: Brad Richards never wanted to leave Tampa, and would love to return.
“I don’t know what they’re thinking as an organization,” said Richards, 31, who has played for the Dallas Stars since the Lightning shipped him away a few hours before the 2008 trade deadline. “If they’re going to talk to me, I’d definitely be interested.”
“Obviously, fitting in with Tampa wouldn’t be an issue because of my history here,” Richards said. “In this salary-cap world, you have to be aware of each organization’s dynamics. Maybe you couldn’t get top dollar (in Tampa) that you might get somewhere else, but you consider other things.
“I’ve got friends and people I play golf with who constantly hammer me about coming back to Tampa. Even if I tried, I couldn’t get it out of my mind. So yes, it’s there. I’d love to see it progress. But what’s going to happen? Who knows?”
- Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News: The Dallas Stars asked Brad Richards if he would waive his no trade clause, but he said no at the advice of his agent.
“He asked in late May, and it was not a situation that was good for us, and so we said no,” Morris said of Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk. “He hasn’t asked again, but he understands that we would have to be aware of the situation and it would have to be a situation that would be one where we can see some benefit.”
The teams interested in Richards (Leafs, Rangers, Kings, possibly the Sabres and Blue Jackets ) don’t have to deal with salary cap issues. With the Flyers acquiring Bryzgalov with the hope of signing him, they will need the time before July 1st to make some other moves to fit him in under the cap.
- Scott Bordow of the Arizona Republic: It’s clear that Ilya Bryzgalov didn’t want to return to the Coyotes. He knew they wouldn’t be able to afford the $7 million he wants. With their payroll likely to be around $50 million next year, if they gave Bryzgalov big money they wouldn’t be able to re-sign some of their free agents, including Keith Yandle. Coyotes GM Don Maloney has talked about adding a goalie through trade or free agency. Marty Turco could be a stop gap goalie for them.
- Pierre LeBrun via twitter: Ilya Bryzgalov’s contract demands with the Phoenix Coyotes were off the charts according to a source.
- Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer: If the Flyers are able to come to terms with Ilya Bryzgalov they might have to deal Matt Carle or Jeff Carter, and possibly not re-signing Ville Leino.
“We still have intentions of trying to re-sign Ville . . . but you can only do so much,” Holmgren said. “We’re trying to have the best team available. We’ll see what we can do.”
Bryzgalov is reportedly looking for a 4-5 year deal worth at least $5 million. The Flyers currently have 18 players signed for almost $59 million for next year.
- Chris Johnston in the Globe and Mail: Oilers GM Steve Tambellini is open to trading the 1st overall pick in this year’s draft. He has had discussions with some teams about a possible trade.
“I’ve had a few calls (from) people kicking the tires of how they can help me make the Oilers a better team,” Tambellini said Wednesday after the NHL’s GMs meeting. “For me to move the No. 1 pick it would have to be obviously something exceptional. Because this is a huge building block again for us.
“These couple years here are exactly the time that we have to put pieces in place that are going to be part of the Oilers success for a long time. It would have to be something quite sweet.”
- Jesse Spector of the NY Daily News: The NY Rangers are planning on buying out the last season of Chris Drury’s contract. Buying Drury out will save the team $3.3 million against the cap this year, $1.6 million next year. They also are likely to buy out Wojtek Wolski, saving another $3.3 million next year, $666,667 in 2012-12. The Rangers have 7 restricted free agents, most notably Ryan Callahan and Brandon Dubinsky.
- Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun: Free agent Andrew Ladd is a top priority of Winnipeg’s new GM Kevin Cheveldayoff. “Andrew’s going to be one of my first phone calls,” new GM Kevin Cheveldayoff said, Wednesday. “He is a big, big piece of this franchise.”
- Adam L Jahns of the Chicago Sun-Times: Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman said there are no deals imminent with Chris Campoli, Michael Frolik, Viktor Stalberg, and Troy Brouwer. Bowman also added that he’s OK with going into the season with Corey Crawford and Alexander Salak in net. He also expects trade talks to heat up after the Stanley Cup.
- Chris Johnston in the Globe and Mail: Senators GM Bryan Murray is getting closer to making a decision on their new coach. “I just have to have a second interview with two or three of them and then make a decision.” Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk hopes to have his new coach soon. “It’s going well, we’ve met some impressive candidates,” said Nieuwendyk. “Ideally, I’d like to have it done before the draft. But certainly before free agency (opens July 1).” Wild GM Chuck Fletcher is thinking along the same lines as Nieuwendyk. “In a perfect world, you have guy in case you make a trade at the draft or for free agency he may have insight into a player,” said Fletcher. “He might have a player he absolutely doesn’t like or a style of player that he prefers. So if you’re filling out a certain role on your third or fourth line — let’s be honest, if the coach has a strong opinion on something I’d rather go with that player.”
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).
Around the Boards: Sun. Nov. 1st
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News, NHL Rumors on November 1st, 2009
- Jay Zawaski of Chicago Now: Marian Hossa has started skating with the Blackhawks, but is not expected to return until the end of November. They are also not going to rush Toews back.
- Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer: The play of James van Riemsdyk and Matt Carle has moved them both into consideration for US Olympic team according Brian Burke.
- Scott Morrison of CBCSports.ca: The Detroit Red Wings might be starting to look at trading for a goalie as they don’t appear to be that happy with the play of both Chris Osgood and Jimmy Howard.
- James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail: The Maple Leafs top 2 goalies appear to be back healthy for the moment, but how they will fair remains to be seen. According to Burke, “If one of [Gustavsson or Toskala] doesn’t emerge as the guy or both of them, if they can’t emerge as a tandem, then we’re going to have to go look for a goaltender. We can’t fix the goaltending situation until we figure out what we have.”
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