Posts Tagged Roman Hamrlik
Afternoon notes involving the Coyotes future, Gagner, Brassard, Maple Leafs, Devils, Kuba, Schenn, Stars injures, Karlsson, Oilers and Bryzgalov
Posted by Mark Easson in Fantasy Hockey News, NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors, NHL Starting Goalies on December 7th, 2011
- Nick Ctsonika via twitter: Bill Daley said they continue to talk with 2 prospective buyers for the Phoenix Coyotes. As long as it’s progressing, they’ll continue to work towards keeping the team there. Renaud Lavoie via twitter: The NHL says that there are multiple groups that are interested in putting a team in Quebec City. Craig Custance of ESPN: In the long term, the new conference are set up to easily add expansion teams.
“Yes, you could do that. Depending on where they’re located, you might have to do some reshuffling,” commissioner Gary Bettman said following the conclusion of the board of governors meetings. “But there was no discussion of expansion.”
The NHL can’t shop for a new city for the Coyotes until after Dec. 31st. It’s unlikely they would do another 1 year deal with the City of Glendale if they can’t find a buyer for the team. Custance lists the 5 most attractive cities for the NHL: 1. Quebec City 2. Southern Ontario 3. Seattle 4. Kansas City 5. Las Vegas.
- David Staples of the Edmonton Journal: It doesn’t make any sense for the Oilers to trade Sam Gagner right now. If the right package is put together, anyone is tradable though. He’s willing to take the right pay package to remain an Oiler.
- Aaron Portzline via twitter: Portzline sensed from Blue Jackets GM that nothing is imminent with Derick Brassard, or that there is even anything on the table for him.
- Terry Koshan via twitter: Brian Burke’s self imposed Christmas roster freeze goes into effect on Friday the 9th, 10 days before the NHL roster freeze.
- Tom Gulitti of the Bergon Record: Today marked the first full practice for Devils forward Travis Zajac. He’s expected back before Christmas. Can Janssen is not practicing today due to a chest contusion. Lines and defensive pairings: Forwards; Zach Parise-Adam Henrique-Ilya Kovalchuk; Mattias Tedenby-Patrik Elias-Petr Sykora; Dainius Zubrus-Ryan Carter-David Clarkson; Eric Boulton-Tim Sestito-Nick Palmieri; Rod Pelley-Travis Zajac. Defensemen: Henrik Tallinder, Mark Fanye; Andy Greene, Anton Volchenkov, Bryce Salvador-Adam Larsson; Mark Fraser.
- Ian Mendes via twitter: Senators defenseman Filip Kuba was put on the IR with a left shoulder injury. He’ll be out 3 to 4 weeks.
- Tim Panaccio via twitter: Flyers forward Brayden Schenn is not on the trip. GM Paul Holmgren said he’s day-to-day with an upper body injury. Sam Carchidi via twitter: The Flyers said yesterday that Schenn was healthy, but apparently he still has a foot issue. they are hopeful he can play on Thursday. Carchidi added that apparently Schenn is bothered by both an upper and lower body injury.
- Mark Stepneski via twitter: Stars Trevor Daley and Alex Goligoski will be in the lineup tomorrow. Brenden Morrow is likely in as well.
- Stephen Whyno of the Washington: Capitals Mike Green and Jay Beagle both skated on Monday and Tuesday, but there is no timetable for their return. Roman Hamrlik is skating as well and is day-to-day.
- Randy Sportak via twitter: Flames Goalie Henrik Karlsson has MCL tear and is out 6 to 8 weeks.
- 630Ched.com: Devan Debnyk will start in net for the Oilers. Forward lines: Ryan Smyth – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Jordan Eberle, Sam Gagner – Shawn Horcoff – Ales Hemsky, Magnus Paajarvi – Eric Belanger – Ryan Jones, Ben Eager – Anton Lander – Lennart Petrell. Defensive Pairings: Ladislav Smid – Tom Gilbert, Ryan Whitney – Jeff Petry, Theo Peckham – Andy Sutton.
- Tim Panaccio via twitter: Ilya Bryzgalov will start in net for the Flyers tonight.
- Andy Strickland via twitter: Jaroslav Halak is expected to start for the Blues tomorrow against the Ducks.
Afternoon notes on Iginla, Sarich, Giordano, Krejci, Richards, Walker, Hamrlik, Huselius, Brown, Franson, Reimer and starting goalies
Posted by Mark Easson in Fantasy Hockey News, NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors, NHL Starting Goalies on December 2nd, 2011
- Randy Sportak via twitter: Flames GM Jay Feaster denies the rumors that Jarome Iginla has been asked to waive his no-trade clause. David Amber via twitter: Since the Flames are at the bottom of the standings and Mark Giordano is out indefinitely, IF Amber was the GM, he’d ask Iginla to waive his no-trade and do a rebuild.
- Roger Millions via twitter: Sportsnet analyst Rhett Warrener said that Flames defenseman Cory Sarich has requested a trade.
- Jermain Franklin via twitter: Flames defenseman Mark Giordano is out indefinitely with ruptured tendons in his leg. He’ll be re-evaluated in 3 weeks, where he’ll get another MRI.
- James Murphy via twitter: Murphy notes that just because David Krejci has signed for 3 years, doesn’t mean that he won’t be traded by the end of the deal.
- Dennis Bernstein via twitter: Word is that Kings Willie Mitchell and Mike Richards could be out for multiple games.
- Tim Panaccio via twitter: Flyers defenseamn Matt Walker clears re-entry waivers.
- Katie Carrera via twitter: Capitals defenseman Roman Hamrlik is out with a lower-body injury.
- Aaron Portzline via twitter: Blue Jackets winger Kristian Huselius will play tonight against the Oilers.
- David Alter via twitter: Leafs winger Mike Brown will be out 6 weeks after disc surgery.
- Mark Masters via twitter: Leafs coach Ron Wilson thinks that defenseman Cody Franson will be in the lineup on Saturday.
- Brian McNally via twitter: Lines at Capitals practice: Ovechkin-Backstrom-Brouwer. Semin-JOhansson-Knuble/Eakin. Chimera-Laich-Ward. Hendricks-Perreault-Halpern.
- David Alter via twitter: Lines at Maple Leafs practice: Lupul-Bozak-Kessel, Frattin-Connolly-MacArthur, Crabb-Grabovski-Kulemin, Dupuis-Colborne-Steckel, extras, Orr, Rosehhill.
- Tom Gulitti via twitter: Martin Brodeur will start in net for the Devils tonight. Johan Hedberg will start on Saturday.
- Dan Tencer via twitter: Devan Dubynk will start in net for the Oilers tonight. Nikolai Khabibulin will start tomorrow against the Flames.
- Aaron Portzline via twitter: Curtis Sanford will start in net for the Blue Jackets against the Oilers tonight.
- James Mirtle via twitter: Jonas Gustavsson will start in net for the Leafs against the Bruins tomorrow. David Alter via twitter: James Reimer has been cleared to return to the Leafs lineup tomorrow.
Afternoon notes involving Hagman, Myers, Green, Crosby, Connolly, Ott, Staal, Hamrlik, Markov, Hedman, and Huselius … Lines and Starting goalies
Posted by Mark Easson in Fantasy Hockey News, NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Starting Goalies on November 14th, 2011
- Bob McKenzie via twitter: The Ducks claim Niklas Hagman on re-entry waivers from the Calgary Flames.
- Brian Wilde via twitter: Sabres defenseman Tyler Myers will be a healthy scratch.
- Katie Carrera via twitter: Capitals defenseman Mike Green isn’t traveling with the team, but they hope he’ll join them at some point on the road trip.
- Darren Dreger via twitter: Penguins captain Sidney Crosby ruled out for tomorrow.
- Terry Koshan via twitter: Maple Leafs forward Tim Connolly hasn’t ruled out tomorrow night’s game, but Thursday is a better possibility.
- Mark Stepneski via twitter: Stars forward Steve Ott will be a game-time decision tomorrow. Kari Lehtonen will get the start in net.
- Chip Alexander via twitter: Hurricanes Eric Staal will start on the wing, but could “drop down to center” with Boychuk and Tlusty.
- Brian McNally via twitter: Capitals defenseman Roman Hamrlik suffered an upper body injury over the weekend but expects to play on Tuesday.
- Marc Antoine Godin via twitter: Andrei Markov is skating with teammates this morning.
- Damian Cristodero via twitter: Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman could play tonight. Ryan Malone is doubtful. Dwayne Roloson will start in net.
- Aaron Portzline via twitter: Blue Jackets forward Kristian Huselius, who has been out with a torn pectoral muscle, should be back in the lineup in two weeks.
- Katie Strang via twitter: Rangers lines: Anisimov-Stepan-Gaborik, Dubinsky-Boyle-Callahan, Avery-Richards-Fedotenko, Deveaux-Christensen-Prust.
- Rob Rossi via twitter: Penguins lines: Malkin-Crosby-Neal Kunitz-Staal-Dupuis Cooke-Park-Asham Tangradi-Vitale-Adams. Defensive pairings: Letang-Martin Engelland-Orpik Niskanen-Picard.
- David Alter via twitter: Maple Leafs lines: Kessel-Bozak-Lupul, MacA-Grabo-Kulie,Frattin-Steckel-Lombardi, Brown-Dupuis-Crabb, Extras; Connolly, Rosehill, Orr.
- Chip Alexander via twitter: Cam Ward will start in net for the Hurricanes.
- Sam Carchidi via twitter: Not official, but look for Sergei Bobrovsky to start against the Hurricanes, Ilya Bryzgalov to start on Thursday against the Coyotes.
Morning rumors involving the Blue Jackets, Turris, Gagner, Nabokov, Kaberle and Miller … Owners may be hiding revenue
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on November 13th, 2011
- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: Part of the reason there have been no firings in Columbus are because of financial concerns. They have the 5th highest payroll at $63.9 million and they will lose a “boatload of money.” They had interest in LA Kings assistant GM Ron Hextall. One of the reasons the Coyotes don’t want to give in Kyle Turris is the precedent it would set for players coming out of their entry level deal. The Panthers may have been ready to trade Stephen Weiss before the season, but have since pulled him off the market. The David Booth trade helped secure his status with the team. There is nothing imminent on any Sam Gagner deal. The Islanders and Coyotes are looking for centers. The Canucks have been sniffing around the league for a defenseman. Teams have shown interest in Blue Jackets Antoine Vermette and Derick Brassard. The Senators would be interested in Vermette but may find it tough to take on his $3,75 million through 2014-15. The Jackets could move Rick Nash but that would be a tough in season trade to make. They haven’t shopped him around. The Sabres tried to trade for Blackhawks Patrick Kane during the offseason. Sources are saying that Evgeni Nabokov could end up in Phoenix.
- Larry Brooks of the NY Post: Sources are saying that the NHLPA believes owners are hiding revenue from last season. The PA also believes the $25 million the league gets from Glendale to keep the Coyotes there should be counted as revenue. The Capitals and Predators are said to be part of a handful of teams “that have been cited for failure to declare hockey-related revenue.” The PA didn’t exercise their option to audit teams over the summer.”Because not only was the oversight foolish, it will prove costly to the players for, as Slap Shots has been told, the union is now prohibited from auditing past seasons regardless of the degree (if any) of malfeasance, misfeasance or just plain carelessness (uh, right) of those clubs who allegedly under-reported revenue to be shared with the athletes.”
- Luke DeCock via twitter: DeCock says the Hurricanes are desperate to move Tomas Kaberle.
- Slava Malmud via twitter: Sabres Ryan Miller’s trade value continues to fall. GM Darcy Regier could end up considering whose future considerations look better.
- Arthur Staple of Newsday: Islanders GM Garth Snow said “nothing imminent” on the trade front. “If there’s a deal out there that makes our team better, we’ll always look at that,” Snow said. Winger Nino Niederreiter could play on Tuesday. Blake Comeau or Jay Pandolfo could be scratched.
- Katie Carrera of the Washington Post: Capitals defenseman Roman Hamrlik left last night’s game with an undisclosed injury. “He’s day-to-day. He got a cross-check and he’s fine,” Coach Bruce Boudreau said. “He’s not fine enough to play, but he, from what I’ve been told, is day-to-day.”
More on Belak … Byfuglien arrested … Kugryshev back to Russia … H. Sedin has sore hip … 10 “under-the-radar” players
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News, NHL Rumors on September 2nd, 2011
- Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star: Two people who knew Wade Belak said that he did suffer from depression and that he took medication to treat it. Belak’s widow released a statement asking “that everyone remember Wade’s infectious sense of humour, his caring spirit and the joy he brought to his friends, family and fans.”
- Mark Seidel via twitter: Seidel says that Belak did not kill himself and that “any suggestion to the contrary is simply wrong.” In time the truth will come out. He can’t say much about the death, but believes it will be “ruled a horrible accident” when all said and done. He apologizes for the vagueness.
- Steve Buffery of the Toronto Sun: Special assistant with the NHLPA Mathieu Schneider said on the radio that people should stop jumping to conclusions regarding Wade Belak’s death. Schneider said it’s “dangerous and hurtful,” especially to his family, to speculate why he ended his life. Buffery lists a bunch of athletes (not just hockey players) who have taken their lives in the last year.
- Ed Tait and Gary Lawless of the Winnipeg Free Press: Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien was arrested late Wednesday night on “probable cause for third degree boating while intoxicated and the refusal of a blood or urine test.” He was released from jail 2:23 Thursday morning. He was booked weighing 286 pounds, up from his approximate 245 pounds playing weight last year.
- Ansar Khan of MLive: Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall is in the final year of his contact, has only played with the Wings, and would like to keep it that way. “Everyone knows I like it here a lot,” Kronwall said. “I want to stay. Hopefully, they want me to stay as well. So whenever they feel it’s the right time to start negotiating we’ll be ready for it.” The Wings will likely start contact talks with Kronwall soon.
- Dmitry Chesnokov via twitter: Capitals prospect Dmitri Kugryshev is heading back to Russia after playing last year in the AHL. His deal is not the ‘rent’ type, he’ll be signing a valid contract with CSKA. The Capitals will retain his rights.
- Dmitry Chesnokov via twitter: Andrei Zyuzin wanted to play in the NHL this year, but declined an offer from the Sharks. Zyuzin’s agent said that contact was for well less than a $1 million and he wanted more.
- Gord McIntyre of the Vancouver Province: Cancucks forward Henrik Sedin’s status may be up in the air, more will be known when he skates next week. “I don’t think it [Henrik's sore hip] was too bad, but he felt he needed some time off.”
- Scott Burnside of ESPN: Burnside mentions 10 “Under-the-radar” players who could make an impact this season: Alexei Ponikarovsky (CAR), JS Giguere (COL), Jakub Voracek (PHI), Anthony Stewart (CAR), Andrew Cogliano (ANA), Ian White (DET), James Neal (PIT), Niclas Bergfors (NASH), Mathieu Garon (TB) and Roman Hamrlik (WAS).
- James Mirtle via twitter: David Koci has been invited to the Jets training camp on a tryout.
- Martin Lunden of Swedish Oil by dohfOs: Oilers 2011 1st round pick Oscar Klefbom had his leg cut that required 10 stitches. When the stitches were removed, it was discovered that it was infected. He is on penicillin which prohibits him from playing.
- Josh Cooper of the Tennessean: Predators GM David Poile said defenseman Francis Bouillon “will probably not be ready for camp.” Mike Fisher is still recovering from shoulder surgery. “I would say we’d probably go a little bit slower with (Fisher) going into training camp to make sure he’s ready and 100 percent going into the season,” Poile said.
Morning news and rumors involving Ehrhoff, Montador, Oshie, Maple Leafs, Wisniewski, Penguins, Canadiens, Jets and Sens
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on June 30th, 2011
- John Vogl of the Buffalo News: After the Sabres acquired the rights to Christian Ehrhoff, they sent the rights to Steve Montador to the Blackhawks for a conditional 2012 or 2013 7th round draft pick.
- Nick Kypreos via twitter: The Islanders reportedly offered Christian Ehrhoff a 6 year deal worth close to $33 million before his rights were moved on.
- Andy Strickland via twitter: An official announce should come later this morning, but the Blues and TJ Oshie have reached an agreement on a deal, possibly for 1 year.
- Darren Dreger via twitter: The Maple Leafs have shown interest in UFAs, Brad Richards, Christian Ehrhoff, Scottie Upshall, and Max Talbot.
- Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch: On James Wisniewski’s rights being sent to Columbus.
“I called James and his response was ‘Let’s go. We’re going,’” Zito said. “His level of enthusiasm for (Columbus) was pretty high.
“I grabbed a shirt and shoes and flew to Detroit (from Chicago) to meet him last night. Then we flew together to Columbus and got here around midnight. So here we are. I look forward to meeting with the guys and seeing what they’re thinking.”
Both sides are expected to meet around 8:30 this morning. Zito wouldn’t say the term and money they are seeking.
- Rob Rossi and Dejan Kovacevic of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Sources are saying the Penguins have offered Jaromir Jagr a 1 year deal worth $2 million. As of last night they still hadn’t heard back from him. The Red Wings and Canadiens have made offers to Jagr as well. Jagr was to land in the US late yesterday afternoon, but after 6 pm, Jagr’s agent Petr Svoboda was not returning messages. The Penguins are about $6 million below the cap, but would like to keep $1.5 million free for in-season moves. Aaron Asham signed last night for 1 year, $775,000. GM Ray Shero still hopes to re-sign Tyler Kennedy and Michael Rupp by Friday.
- Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette: The Montreal Canadiens will have some extra cash to spend tomorrow as Roman Hamrlik rejected their 1 year offer, and James Wisniewski rights were sent to Columbus. After Yannick Weber signed a 2 year deal worth $1.7 million, the Canadiens have 17 players under contract with a cap hit of just over $50 million. They still need to sign Josh Gorges, Ryan White, another forward and a backup goalie. Players that could interest the Canadiens are: Michael Rupp, Tyler Kennedy, Aaron Asham, Ville Leino, Ben Eager, Michael Handzus and Alexei Ponikarovsky.
- Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun: The Winnipeg Jets probably won’t be able to land a big name, but here is a list of players that could fit the mould of someone they might be interested in: Max Talbot, Joel Ward, Sean Bergenheim, Chris Higgins, Jonathan Ericsson, Cody McCormick, Vernon Fiddler, Rick Rypien, Shane Hnidy, Jason Jaffray.
- Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun: The Senators would like to sign a player who could play on their top 2 lines and a backup goalie.
“There will be a couple of guys we will discuss, and there might be the same type of situation that, after Day 1 or Day 2 or Day 3, the guy that we like hasn’t signed yet and is wondering what’s going to happen with himself, and may be very willing to come to a younger team, that he may feel he has a real good chance to get a good spot and produce.
“We need probably three goalies in the organization. we need a backup here, we need a backup in Binghamton, and we need a fifth guy. So right now, that’s been the talk here between our staff. But we’ve also looked at guys that are young and we think have Top 6 forward potential, but we have to see where it all plays out on Day 1 and Day 2.”
Canucks-Ehrhoff working on deal … Leafs had interest in Laich … Hamrlik gets 1 year offer from Habs … Canes-Cole not close … Penguins notes
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on June 28th, 2011
- Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: There has been an offer and counteroffer between the Canucks and Christian Ehrhoff. An Ehrhoff deal would be around Kevin Bieksa and Dan Hamhuis money, a $4.5-4.6 million cap hit. Unlikely that he’d take less than either player. The Red Wings could be waiting if he doesn’t re-sign with the Canucks.
- Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun: Tim Brent will join Fredrik Sjostrom, Darryl Boyce, Joey Crabb and Jay Rosehill as Maple Leafs UFAs. “We have made it clear that Tim would like to remain in Toronto to improve upon last year’s strong season,” Morris said in an e-mail to QMI Agency Monday night. “However, as of this late date, we would expect that Tim will be a free agent on Friday to look at his alternatives.”
- Damien Cox via twitter: The Maple Leafs were one of the teams that were very interested in Brooks Laich.
- Dmitry Chesnokov via twitter: KHL president Medvedev says that he will “help” younger players like Varlamov, Shirokov and Filatov come back to the KHL.
- Tom Reed via twitter: Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson made several inquiries at the draft about defenseman, but couldn’t get anything done.
- JF Chaumont via twitter: Defenseman Roman Hamrlik has received a 1 year contract offer from the Canadiens.
- Darren Dreger via twitter: It’s not sounding like the Hurricanes and Erik Cole are close on a deal, things can change quickly though.
- Josh Yohe and Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review: Even though Tyler Kennedy wasn’t qualified yesterday, GM Shero wants to re-sign him by Friday. Shero also hopes to sign Jagr by then. The Pens may also be interested in re-signing Mike Rupp.
- Will DePaoli of Inside Pittsburgh Sports: Jaromir Jagr’s agent, Petr Svoboda, is in Montreal and confirms that he spoke with Penguins GM Ray Shero this morning.
- Thomas Reed via twitter: Tyler Kennedy could make sense for the Blue Jackets if he doesn’t come to terms with the Penguins.
- NHL.com: Penguins coach Dan Bylsma on Sidney Crosby,
“He came back to Pittsburgh after a hiatus or vacation with some of his teammates,” Bylsma said. “The doctors here cleared him to go home and work out as he normally would be working out. He’s been working out two times a day and progressing along his normal road of summer activity. That’s what Sid has been doing. He’s got another two and a half months ahead of doing that.”
Bylsma on Evgeni Malkin,
“He really believed — and was trying to convince everyone involved — that he was going to be coming back as soon as possible to play in the playoffs if we could have moved on (to the next round),” Bylsma said. “He was progressing to the point where that was actually a real possibility. He was really doing very well strength-wise and he was ahead of schedule in terms of what the doctors could do with his rehab.”
Blue Jackets want to trade and spend money this offseason … Avs could pass on Larsson … Ramsay interviews for his position
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on June 19th, 2011
Happy Father’s Day to all the dad’s out there.
- Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch: The Blue Jackets are looking to move their 8th overall pick, and have money to spend on free agents. They could have traded Steve Mason to Philadelphia and others, but have decided to keep him for now. GM Scott Howson will look for a backup, but not one that may not initially challenge for the #1 spot. The Jackets need to add a player that could be on the top defensive pairing.
“We’re talking to a lot of teams about defensemen,” Howson said. “Certainly we’re going to get to free agency and see what’s there, too, but there are a number of avenues we might take. We’ve made it clear that we want to change our back end, but you can only do so much. If you don’t have a willing trade partner, and if the free agents aren’t what you thought they’d be, there’s not much you can do.”
Christian Ehrhoff, Andrei Markov, Ed Jovanovski, Tomas Kaberle, Kevin Bieksa and James Wisniewski. Mike Commodore is expected to be bought out. The Blue Jackets could also use a top 6 center. Howson tried to get Jeff Carter but that didn’t work out. Signing Brad Richards would be nice, but a really though sell. Tim Connolly could be an option for the Jackets. If they bring in a top center, Antoine Vermette could move to the wing. Scottie Upshall wants to stay but he’ll likely move on. They’ll look to add a 3rd line player. Portzline thinks that if someone offers a 4th round pick, a middling prospect or a veteran for Nikita Filatov, they’d send him packing.
- Adrian Dater of the Denver Post: Adam Larsson will likely be a top 4 pick in this year’s draft, and could be the pick for the Colorado Avalanche. Larsson may not come over to North America for next season. From his agent, “Our belief is we’ll stay another year or two in Sweden.” Dater thinks that if he wants to stay in Sweden next year, the Avs may not want to draft him.
- Erik Erlendsson via twitter: If the Lightning aren’t able to re-sign Eric Brewer, they could bring in Kevin Bieksa, Christian Ehrhoff, Roman Hamrlik or Tomas Kaberle.
- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: The Ottawa Senators would like to move up in the draft, they hold the 6th overall pick, and the Devils at #4 are said to be dangling the pick. The Sens are would rather trade one of their 3 2nd round pick instead of their 21st overall pick they acquired from Nashville. The Senators have tried to trade defenseman Sergei Gonchar and Filip Kuba with no luck so far. They look to sign a backup for Craig Anderson.
- Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Winnipeg interviewed their coach Craig Ramsay yesterday, who has 1 year left on his contract. “It was a good talk,” Ramsay told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I enjoyed the conversation. There was no commitment and no timeline [for a hire]. Nothing has been decided.” GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has also interviewed Mike Haviland (CHI assistant), Claude Noel (AHL Manitoba), and Craig MacTavish.
- Matt Kalman of the Boston Herald: After Game 7 Mark Recchi said he’d be retiring, and several days of celebrating hasn’t changed his mind, “No, that’s it.” He’ll take some time off now and hopes to find a management position at some point.
- Jim Jamieson of the Vancouver Province: Tanner Glass is one of Vancouver UFAs that hopes to be able to return. 3 other UFA forwards for the Canucks are Chris Higgins, Raffi Torres and Jeff Tambellini. Chris Higgins has also said he’d like to be back.
Malhotra plans for Game 1 … Wings looking for Dman … Crosby to be re-evaluated … Another group interested in Thrashers
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on May 29th, 2011
- Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province: Canucks forward Manny Malhotra has been given medical clearance and is preparing to play in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. 11 weeks ago he nearly lost his eye. “Everything is as it should be,” Malhotra said of the eye. “Going forward, I will continue to be monitored daily and if at any time the doctor doesn’t like what he sees, he has the ultimate veto power,” Malhotra said. Malhotra is expected to take Cody Hodgson’s spot as the 4th line center.
- Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News: The Red Wings will now be looking for a top defenseman after Rafalski’s unexpected retirement. “The market isn’t as strong, but we’re only looking for one guy,” Holland said. “If a player’s not out there or doesn’t want to buy into the program, we’ll look at an alternative plan. Do you go a touch higher than you want? Yeah. But we’re not going to go dramatically higher than what we think makes sense.” UFA’s that might interest the Wings are Kevin Bieksa, Christian Ehrhoff, Joni Pitkanen, Ed Jovanovski, James Wisniewski, Roman Hamrlik, Ian White and Tomas Kaberle.
- Fan 590 Audio: Ken Holland talks on Prime Time Sports (Thursday) talking about Rafalski’s retirement and what it means for their blueline.
- Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Sidney Crosby will be re-evaluated by a concussion specialist in the next week or so. Crosby has been vacationing in Europe, needs clearance from doctors before he can resume his off-season workouts. The Penguins won’t be re-signing Alex Kovalev or Mike Comrie. Comrie could retire, “I’m not sure what Mike’s going to do,” Shero said. “He might be leaning toward retirement.” Shero didn’t rule out re-signing any of their UFA’s: Max Talbot, Pascal Dupuis, Mike Rupp, Craig Adams, Arron Asham, Eric Godard, Chris Conner and Nick Johnson.
- Craig Custance of the Sporting News: Chris Osgood is “100 percent healthy” but a decision on his playing future is still not known. “He’s going through the internal process to decide if he has the energy and the desire and determination to play hockey again,” Holland said. “In the middle of June, we’ll look at the goalies that are out there, we’re going to try and figure out a way to be the best team that we can.”
- Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Another group stepped forward with interest in buying the Thrashers and keeping the team in Atlanta. Statement from president Don Waddell.
“Along with all other groups who have expressed an interest in pursuing an ownership opportunity, which has happened as recently as earlier this week, we have said continuously that ‘until an agreement is signed and approved by the board of governors, it’s never too late but they will have to move very quickly and decisively. Ownership still is committed to selling at a greatly reduced price to anyone committed to Atlanta.’ ”
Roloson to start … Thornton played with separated shoulder … Red Wings options … Leafs and Richards … A Souray buyout coming?
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News on May 25th, 2011
- Darren Dreger via twitter: “Sorry Wpg, it’s inching closer, but there still is no firm deal with ASG and there will not be an announcement today. From a key source.” Bob McKenzie via twitter: “As for WPG, principals still grinding out detail work. Hearing Thurs as earliest possible date for announcement, perhaps Fri or later.”
- Martin Fennelly of the Tampa Tribune: Dwayne Roloson will be between the pipes for Tampa Bay in Game 6.
- Pierre LeBrun via twitter: Joe Thornton played last night with a separated shoulder.
- Brian Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News: Brian Rafalski will retire at an 11 am press conference. The Wings now have an extra $6 million to work with this summer. Possible free agent defenseman the Red Wings could look at are Canucks Kevin Bieksa, Sami Salo and Christian Ehrhoff, Joni Pitkanen (Car), Tomas Kaberle (Bos), Ed Jovanovski (Pho), Eric Brewer (TB) and Scott Hannan (Was). RFA’s that would require multiple 1st round picks in an offer are Drew Doughty and Shea Weber.
- Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press: If Nicklas Lidstrom returns to the Red Wings, he’ll join Niklas Kronwall, Brad Stuart, and Jakub Kindl. Jonathan Ericsson might be brought back as they have a bit more financial flexibility with Rafalski retiring, but they won’t overpay for him. Ruslan Salei is likely done with the Wings. 2007 1st round pick Brendan Smith has a shot at making the team. They could bring in 35 year old Ed Jovanovski to eat up minutes. Kevin Bieksa could be another option, as well as Joni Pitkanen, Sami Salo, Eric Brewer, Tomas Kaberle, Bryan McCabe and Roman Hamrlik.
- Pierre LeBrun via twitter: Lidstom will let the Red Wings know of his plan to retire or to come back again likely before the NHL draft.
- Damien Cox of the Toronto Star: The Maple Leafs want to be in the Brad Richards sweepstakes. It has been suggested that Burke could possibly offer a deal in the 7 or 8 year range, which goes against his usual philosophy. Richards could get more than $7 million, possibly up to $8 million. The Rangers or Kings might consider offering more. Without having an owner and coach in place, it would be difficult for Nieuwendyk to re-sign Richards. The Leafs could look to acquire his rights before July 1st, but not if it requires them to send Nazem Kadri the other way.
- Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: The Oilers are considering options again with regards to defenseman Sheldon Souray. He’s still owed $4.5 million with a $5.4 million cap hit. They could buy him out after June 15th for 2/3′s salary, cap hit spread out over 2 years. He could also be sent to the minors. The Oilers are still pursuing Swedish goalie Viktor Fasth and are interested in Finnish Dman Ville Lajunen. Zach Stortini could be traded by the entry draft.
- Will DePaoli via twitter: The Penguins have yet to contact Arron Asham about a possible contract.
- Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post Dispatch: Blues forward David Perron is making some progress with his post-concussion syndromes.
“We’ve talked to David, and he’s feeling better, but he’s not at the point where he’s coming back to St. Louis to take the necessary tests before he can train,” Blues general manager Doug Armstrong said. “He’s taking small steps ahead, but not to the point where he has passed his tests to begin his summer training program.”
Armstrong had said that if Perron still have symptoms in July, they would have to plan to start the season without him.
Bergeron needs medical clearance … Contract talks for Gorges and Markov next … Coaching candidates
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on May 19th, 2011
- Steve Conroy of the Boston Bruins: Patrice Bergeron just needs medical clearance before he can get back in the Bruins lineup. He took contact at yesterday’s practice, and will take part in this mornings practice before deciding if he’s in or not. He’d most likely center Mark Recchi and Brad Marchand. Shawn Thornton would likely be the odd man out. Tyler Seguin would likely remain with Chris Kelly and Michael Ryder.
- Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press: If Drew Miller is back with the Red Wings next year or not, it will come down to price. He made $650,000 this past season, and was a valuable penalty killer. He added 10 goals and 8 assists in 67 games. “Hopefully we can work something out. I’d definitely like to stay — I mean, it’s a great organization here. They have a lot of depth, but that’s what happens when you have a good team.”
- Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette: The Canadiens now have 3 defenseman under contract for next season, Alexei Yemelin, PK Subban and Jaroslav Spacek. Negotiations for Josh Gorges and Andrei Markov are next. Because of the salary cap, it’s unlikely that James Wisniewski or Brent Sopel will be back. Hal Gill and Roman Hamrlik could be back at the right price.
- Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review: Salary cap issues could prevent the Penguins from re-signing Tyler Kennedy. They’d like to keep him, but the RFA may be in the $1.5 – $2 million range. He had 21 goals and 45 points last season. Kennedy could be traded before the team has to send him a qualifying offer.
- Tony Marinaro via twitter: Bob Boughner stepped down as the Blue Jackets assistant coach. Marinaro is hearing that Florida or Dallas could be possible teams he could coach.
- Rich Hammond of the LA Kings Insider: Oscar Moller update. He’s expected to sign 2 year deal with a team in Sweden, and the Kings would almost certain retain the RFA’s rights. To retain his rights they would just have to extend a qualifying offer by June 27th.
- Andy Strickland of True Hockey: Dave Cameron (Mississauga OHL head coach) is being strongly considered as the next Ottawa Senators head coach. Minnesota and Florida are possible destinations for former NY Islanders head coach Scott Gordon. A source tells Strickland to not completely write off Brad Richards to Tampa. Strickland (and myself) doesn’t see it happening. A $4-5 million price tag for Jaromir Jagr could be a hefty price if a potential 3rd line NHL winger. Strickland is told that Mike Modano will officially retire at some point this off-season. Chris Osgood could do the same.
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