Posts Tagged Stephen Weiss
Burke says hasn’t spoken SJ about Thornton … Malkin out tonight … Habs have $3.5 million in cap space … Edler out 3 months after surgery
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on February 1st, 2011
- Bob McKenzie via twitter: Brian Burke said “I have never spoken to Doug Wilson on that. Total fabrication.” Burke was responding to internet rumors of a possible deal with the Sharks involving Joe Thornton.
- Rich Chere of the Star-Ledger: Jason Arnott has already stated he’d waive his no-trade clause, and is unsure where he’ll finish the season. “I think I have to just go out and play,” he said. “The trade deadline is coming up. I’m sure it will come quicker than normal. I just have to wait and see.”
- Will DePaoli via twitter: Coach Dan Bylsma said that Evgeni Malkin won’t play tonight but he’s traveling with the team.
- Iain MacIntyre of the Vancouver Sun: Alex Edler underwent micro discectomy surgery on Monday, hopes to be back by the end of the regular season, though GM Mike Gillis said that is unlikely, as it could be 3 months to recover. Sami Salo still doesn’t know when he’ll be able to return, he’s been practicing for 5 weeks. Andrew Alberts could be back on Friday, Aaron Rome could be ready next week.
- Adrian Dater of the Denver Post: Avalanche winger David Jones will be out indefinitely with a shoulder injury that he suffered in the final game before the all-star break. Peter Forsberg’s next practice is scheduled for Wednesday.
- Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette: The Montreal Canadiens have about $3.5 million in cap space after the season ending injuries to Markov and Gorges. Do they go after a top 6 forward like a Richards, Arnott or Weiss? Or after a defenseman like Robyn Regehr?
- Chris Johnston via twitter: Jordin Tootoo has been cleared to practice after spending time in the leagues substance abuse and behavioral health program.
- Andy Strickland via twitter: St. Louis Blues forward Andy MacDonald will return to the lineup Friday.
- Larry Brooks via twitter: Vinny Prospal could be making his season debut on Thursday. Ryan Callahan is in tonight, Brandon Dubinsky is a possibility.
- Jonas Siegel via twitter: JS Giguere will start in net for the Maple Leafs tonight vs. the Panthers. George Richards via twitter: Scott Clemmensen will be in net for the Panthers.
Crosby cleared for light workouts … Healing Rangers … Roundup of names mentioned in trade rumors
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on January 29th, 2011
- Pierre LeBrun of ESPN:
“There hasn’t been much real talk,” Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon told ESPN.com this week. “Teams are saying ‘We’ll talk later, we’ll talk later.’ But that’s fine.”
“There’s been lots of talk going on, but it’s hard to jar anything loose right now,” Columbus Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson said this week.
“Most of us have players that we would make available even right now for a trade, either because they’re underperforming and/or overpaid,” Buffalo Sabres GM Darcy Regier told us this week. “But it’s impossible right now to get an agreement on values. We’re all hoping that we’re going to be able to just charge a cost without taking anything back, and that’s not reality. So I think, yes, we’re all sitting around to the last day or two again [before the trade deadline].”
The Maple Leafs and Senators have been trying to make trades (not with each other) for some time but haven’t had any luck. It doesn’t look like the Senators will move Erik Karlsson, Daniel Alfredsson, and Jason Spezza. The Leafs may be ready to take draft picks and prospects as ‘traditional hockey deals’ are harder to do nowadays. There’s the Tomas Kaberle and his no-trade clause question that will be brought up again. Francois Beauchemin and Kris Versteeg will continue get interest. Sheldon Souray is still available. Dustin Penner should draw some interest. Future UFA’s the Sabres have are Tim Connolly, Mike Grier, Rob Niedermayer, Craig Rivet and Steve Montador.
- Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Sidney Crosby has been cleared by doctors to begin light workouts. He’s been out since Jan. 5th with a mild concussion. Crosby will have to be symptom free from the workout before he’ll be able to practice with the team.
- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: Sources are saying that the Ottawa Senators are trying to move Sergei Gonchar. Gonchar has 2 year and $11 million left on his deal. The Sharks, Bruins, and Blue Jackets are teams that have shown interest in adding a defenseman. “You could deal him, but you’re going to have to take somebody back,” said one NHL insider. “It’s going to have to be a dollar-for-dollar, which means they’ll have to take someone’s big contract back. “This is going to be a really tough deal for (the Senators) to make.” Chris Phillips and Jarkko Ruutu have been the most talked about names.
- Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post Dispatch: A list of players who’s names have come up the most in trade rumors: Mike Fisher (OTT), Tim Connolly (BUF), Daniel Alfredsson (OTT), Sergei Gonchar (OTT), Chris Phillips (OTT), Robyn Regehr (CAL), Bryan McCabe (FLA), Stephen Weiss (FLA), Tomas Vokoun (FLA), Cory Stillman (FLA), Drew Stafford (BUF), Tomas Kaberle (TOR), Francois Beauchemin (TOR), JS Giguere (TOR), Jason Arnott (NJ), Brad Richards (DAL), and Devin Setoguchi (SJ).
- Michael Arace of the Columbus Post-Dispatch: If the Columbus Blue Jackets fall out of the playoff race, they could look to move Jan Hejda, Kristian Huselius, Sammy Pahlsson, and Chris Clark.
- Jesse Spector of the NY Daily News: The NY Rangers should get Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi back on Tuesday. Vinnie Prospal is close to returning, and before the trade deadline they’ll also get Erik Christensen, Brandon Dubinsky and Ruslan Fedotenko back. Spector polled fans to see what they wanted to the Rangers to do, the results: Stand pat: 36% Defenseman: 23% Center: 13% Trade a veteran: 11% Address a weakness only if the market price is good: 7% Any power play help: 5% Jason Strudwick-type defenseman who can also spell a forward: 3% Jarome Iginla: 2%. Specific defenseman named: Anton Babchuk (Flames), Brent Burns (Wild), Brian McCabe (Panthers), Steve Montador (Sabres) and Tomas Kaberle (Maple Leafs).
- Lisa Wallace of the Globe and Mail: Ray Emery is hoping to get a contract in the next couple of weeks, as he continues he comeback attempt. Last April he had bone grafted from his leg and inserted “into the ball of the hip.” He was on the ice in Ottawa with goaltending coach Eli Wilson. “I’m ready to go and start training in the American Hockey League and know that my body can take that kind of exertion,” Emery said. “The hockey’s not all the way there. I feel like a player at the end of the summer who needs some training and some games to get a feeling for the game again.”
- Tim Sassone of the Daily Herald: The Blackhawks are looking to add another defenseman and a center. Players they might be offering as trade bait are Victor Stalberg, Jack Skille, and Nick Boynton. Defenseman that Sassone thinks they could look at are Bryan McCabe, Roman Hamrlik, Joni Pitkanen, and Chris Phillips.
Edler out 8-10 weeks … Trade decision coming for Panthers … ‘Hawks GM talk trade deadline … LA Kings notes
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News, NHL Rumors on January 28th, 2011
- Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province: Canucks defenseman Alex Edler will have microdiscectomy procedure on his back Monday to repair a tear in a disc, he’ll be out 8 to 10 weeks. This should allow Sami Salo to return to the lineup (if he’s able to) before the playoffs with the team having to make a roster move to accommodate his salary. It may also allow the Canucks to add a penalty killer if they put him on LTIR. Keith Ballard’s role should increase. Andrew Alberts and Aaron Rome should return a week to 10 days after the break.
- George Richards of the Miami Herald: The Florida Panthers are getting close to the time they’ll need to decide if they are buyers or sellers. The Panthers don’t have many unmovable contracts, and could look to acquire draft picks and prospects. They have said they would like to re-sign Tomas Vokoun but that could have been done in an attempt to drive up the trade price. Players who might draw some trade interest are Bryan McCabe, Cory Stillman, Chris Higgins and Radek Dvorak. Guys like Stephen Weiss and David Booth might be there for the pickings if the offer is right.
- Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News: Heika doesn’t think the Stars will trade anyone off their roster in an attempt to improve it. Heika was asked if he thinks that Brad Richards would stay even without new ownership, “It’s difficult to get into his head. If they win the Cup and don’t have a new owner, he might stay. If they lose in the first round and don’t have a new owner, he might go.”
- Tim Sassone of the Daily Herald: Comments from Chicago Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman on the upcoming trade deadlines,
“We’re not saying we’re going to wait a month, if there’s a deal to be made over the next two weeks. Things star to pick up around now, and between now and the next four or five weeks is when it all happens.
“You’re always going to look for depth because we’ve been fortunate and had a good run here with health on the back end. You look around and there are teams that are missing four defensemen. If that happens, we’ve got young kids, but when you’re making a stretch run you can never be too deep on the back end.
“Up front it’s the same thing. You always want to be a little heavier at center if you can. I wouldn’t say that we’re only going to look for that, but if you’re asking me, in a perfect world, you’re looking at depth on defense and up the middle.
- Dennis Bernstein via twitter: Bernstein doesn’t see the LA Kings going after Jason Spezza if he were to become available, Mike Fisher would be a better option.
- Dennis Bernstein via twitter: Drew Doughty deal is coming along slowly, no rush, will get done.
- Dennis Bernstein via twitter: Justin Williams is likely the only UFA that the Kings would re-sign, and if they fall out of the playoffs, they may deal him.
Kings ask about Gaborik … Panthers shopping Weiss and others … Savard hit hard … Nabokov says no to Isles … Leafs shopping Dmen
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors on January 23rd, 2011
- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: A league executive told Garrioch that teams are calling about Senators center Mike Fisher, but acknowledges that he’s not having a good year along with many other Sens. “I just don’t think they can get enough for him to warrant that kind of move,” said another executive. “That’s a drastic move and they’ve got to play (well) next year. They need to have some players.” Kings GM Dean Lombardi is looking for scoring, and even called the Rangers about Marian Gaborik. The Sharks are still looking for a defenseman and could dangle winger Devin Setoguchi, who’s a RFA at seasons end and is making $1.8 million this year. Garrioch thinks the Senators should make a pitch for Canucks goalie Cory Schneider. Sources are saying Brian Burke continues try attempt to move Francois Beauchemin and/or Mike Komisarek for younger players, and there is always Tomas Kaberle and his no-trade clause. Sharks, Bruins, Predators and Avalanche are looking for defenseman. The Panthers are looking to clean house, offering up G Tomas Vokoun, LW Cory Stillman, and RWs Radek Dvorak and Rostislav Olesz. Stephen Weiss is also being shopped and is getting interest. Philadelphia could have an interest in Tomas Vokoun.
- Gordon McIntyre of the Vancouver Province: Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa left the game part way through the first period after a fight with Tom Kostopoulos. Coach Vigneault said he didn’t receive a concussion, but his eye was swelling shut. The Canucks have also been without Aaron Rome who’s been out the last 4 games with a knee injury.
- Adrian Dater of the Denver Post: Peter Forsberg will take the next couple days and weeks to determine if he’ll feel good enough to return to the NHL. Yesterday he skated with injured Ryan O’Reilly and their assistant coach.
“I want to be sure this time if I am going to be good enough. I don’t know how long it’s going to take,” Forsberg said. “I’m going to try to do it as soon as possible, but I think it’s going to take some time at least.”
- Stephen Harris of the Boston Herald: Bruins center Marc Savard had to be helped off the ice after he was hit into the boards by former Bruin Matt Hunwick.
“Marc is going to be heading back home (today),” said B’s coach Claude Julien. “He got shook up, obviously, on that hit. He’s going to be re-evaluated. We don’t have anything concrete, other than that we’re going to be cautious and send him back home to get checked out.”
- Bob McKenzie of TSN: Evgeni Nabokov has said he doesn’t want to report to the Islanders who claimed him on waivers yesterday. The Isles could suspend him and not have to pay him anything. “The Islanders could appeal to the NHL to “toll” the contract, which essentially means push it to next year. In that case, Nabokov would then “owe” the Islanders a year and Nabokov would not necessarily become a free agent on July 1.” They could look to trade him but he’d have to go through waivers for only the teams that put a claim on him. They could also just place him on full waivers without intent to trade. Nabokov also has a no-movement clause.<
- Rich Chere of the Star-Ledger: The Devils may have started Johan Hedberg against the Flyers to ‘showcase’ him to other teams.
- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: Senators owner Eugene Melnyk said that GM Bryan Murray and coach Cory Clouston won’t fired before the end of the season, and that there is a plan in place to put the team back on track.
“There is no one, no one, on this planet that bleeds more than I do for this team, as a fan and as an owner,” said Melnyk. “I am more disappointed in the performance of the team than any fan could imagine. The time has come to make some of the most difficult decisions that an owner can make. Do we need a game-changer? I believe we do. I’ve lost sleep. Bryan Murray loses sleep. Cory Clouston loses sleep. Everybody who loves this team doesn’t sleep well at night.”
- Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal: Ales Hemsky and Jordan Eberle have informed the NHL that they won’t be participating in the all-star game and skills competition.
- Jesse Spector of the NY Daily News: Rangers Brandon Prust left after the 2nd period after blocking a shot in the foot in the 1st period. Dan Girardi also left last night’s game after hurting his ribs in a fight. The Rangers recalled Michael Del Zotto and Evgeny Grachev after the game.
Neuvirth, Green and Sloan injured for Caps … Sabres injury notes … Video of Stajan getting hammered by Staal, Legal or not?
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News, NHL Rumors, NHL Videos on November 23rd, 2010
- Katie Carrera of the Washington Post: Michal Neuvirth is day-to-day with a lower body injury after tweaking something yesterday morning. Semyon Varlamov was recalled but didn’t get his skates until the second period, the Capitals were given permission to switch backup goalies during the game, Braden Holtby started. Mike Green did not play the final 13 minutes of the 3rd, Tyler Sloan left in the 1st period, more will be known this morning
- John Vogl of the Buffalo News: Rob Niedermayer had arthroscopic knee surgery and will be out 2 weeks. Ryan Miller practiced after resting his injured groin over the weekend. Drew Stafford and his injured shoulder practice but did not take contact, he could be available this weekend. Jochen Hecht skated after practice, he’s nursing an upper body injury, but is expect to be able to go tomorrow night. Tim Connolly left in the middle of practice and is questionable. The Sabres recalled Luke Adam and Colin Stuart from Portland of the AHL.
- Erik Erlendsson via twitter: The Tampa Bay Lightning should know Wednesday morning if Simon Gagne will go versus the Rangers, said to be “very probable”.
- George Richards of the Miami Herald: Stephen Weiss aggravated an ankle injury Saturday night and was pulled from the game as a precaution, it isn’t serious.
- James Mirtle via twitter: Mirtle posts a great quote from Dallas Stars coach Marc Crawford after their loss to the Maple Leafs, “The positive thing is there are a billion people in China that don’t know that we played terrible tonight.”
- Calgary Flames forward Matt Stajan is crushed by NY Rangers defenseman Marc Staal. Rule 48 stats: states: “A lateral or blind side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact is not permitted?” In my opinion it is a clean hit. I’m sure the league will review it.Vicki Hall of the Calgary Herald notes what some people on twitter were saying, with most thinking it was clean.
Brodeur out 2 weeks … Savard Skating with team … Selanne and Miller out with sore groins
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Injuries, NHL News on November 21st, 2010
- Toronto Sun: Martin Brodeur may be out the New Jersey Devils lineup for 2 weeks. After re-aggravating his bruised elbow on Thursday versus the Maple Leafs, doctors have told him to rest if for 10 days. An MRI was done on Friday and came back negative.
- George Richards via twitter: Stephen Weiss injured his ankle again and will miss Monday’s game versus the Penguins.
- Curtis Zupke of the OC Register: Teemu Selanne rested yesterday and will miss today’s game as well with a sore groin. He has been bothered by it for 4 or 5 days, and re-aggravated it on Friday.
- Steven Harris of the Boston Globe: Marc Savard skated with the Bruin teammates yesterday. He hasn’t been cleared for contact yet, but this is a big step in his recovery from post concussion syndrome. Savard also commented on Colin Campbell’s emails,
“I have nothing against (Campbell). I think that stuff was private stuff and I think that stuff that he was saying (in the e-mails) got interpreted in a bad way,” Savard said. “It had nothing to do with the (Matt) Cooke incident. I played for (Campbell with the Rangers), and I think that was one of the ways when I first came in the league to stay in the lineup was to draw penalties. I think he encouraged it at the time, if you asked him. So I think that’s what he was referring to, but it had nothing to do with the Cooke situation.”
- Globe and Mail: Ryan Miller missed last night’s game with a sore groin.
Trade Rumors still going on … Eyes turning to Free Agency
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL Rumors on June 27th, 2010
- Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: The LA Kings made a play at the rights for Ilya Kovalchuk, but the New Jersey Devils reject as they still hope to re-sign him. If Dan Hamhuis and the Pittsburgh Penguins don’t reach a deal, the Kings could also be interested in signing him. The Kings like Tomas Kaberle but it may not fit as the Leafs want a top-6 forward, and so do the Kings. The Devils are still trying to sign Paul Martin, but it looks like he maybe heading to the open market. Kaberle could be an option for the Devils if they are unable to sign Martin. The Sharks re-signed Niclas Wallin and Scott Nichol to one year deals. The Phoenix Coyotes still hope to re-sign Zbynek Michalek, but are running out of time.
- Bruce Garrioch in the Toronto Sun: Ray Whitney could sign with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He could get a 2 year deal at $3.5 million per season. Minnesota made a run at David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron and Stephen Weiss. The Oilers offered Andrew Cogliano and another player to Boston for the 2nd overall pick. The Bruins are still working on moving Marc Savard. The Coyotes, Rangers, Leafs, and Thrashers are looking for a center. Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto are on Savard’s list of preferred teams.
- ChicagoBreakingSports: Niklas Hjalmarsson has received a qualifying offer from the Chicago Blackhawks. Andrew Ladd and Jordan Hendry have yet to receive qualifying offers and may hit unrestricted free agency.
- Pat Hickey: Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier must decide this week if he’ll re-sign Dominic Moore. Glen Metropolit and Paul Mara appear to be headed to free agency. He’ll also start working on signing Carey Price to a long term contract.
- Michael Russo of the Star-Tribune: With the Minnesota Wild unable to make any trades during the draft, they may be more active in the free agent market than originally planned, or they may just hold course. The Wild need to address the lack of depth at center. They are hoping that Pierre-Marc Bouchard is able to return from his concussion that happened 17 months ago.
- Pierre LeBrun via Twitter: Yzerman told LeBrun that they were not acquiring the rights to Chris Mason.
- Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe: Tim Thomas may have waived his no trade clause. The Flyers have shown interest (this was written before Flyers acquired Nabokov’s rights).
- Darren Dreger via Twitter: The Maple Leafs have shown some interest in Marc Savard. Tomas Kaberle won’t be part of a deal if it happens.
- Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star: Burke put Kaberle talks on hold Saturday and focus on the draft. After free agency starts on July 1st, he expects talks to heat up after the free market for offensive defenseman is set.
- Michael Obernauer of the New York Daily News: The New York Rangers and Marc Staal don’t appear close to a deal at the moment.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a wide gap; it’s more like a chasm.
“I’d like to have it done,” Sather said. “In Staal’s situation, he’s in exactly the same position Dubinsky was in last year. Where that’s going to end up is anyone’s imagination. He’s a good player, we like him – just like Dubinsky: we’d like to have him back, we think he’s got a long future, we’re going to treat him fairly. Sometimes agents don’t recognize that – leverage works both ways.”
- Tim Panaccio of CSNPhilly: The Flyers may have a verbal agreement with the San Jose Sharks that would send the Flyers 2011 7th round pick to the Sharks for the rights to Evgeni Nabokov.
Maple Leafs interested in Hamhuis? Kovalchuk update, well sort of …
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Entry Draft, NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on June 19th, 2010
- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: The Bruins continue to shop Tim Thomas around in hope of freeing up some cash before July 1st. The Blues had shown some interest before they acquired Halak. Other teams that could be looking for a starting goalie are Philadelphia, Washington, San Jose and Tampa. Thomas is 36-years old with 3-years left at a $5 million cap hit. The Lightning made a run at Carey Price, but the Canadiens had already decided to keep him. The Capitals are rumored to be shopping Alexander Semin around the league, looking for 2 top prospects and a pick. The Florida Panthers are shopping Nathan Horton, Rostislav Olesz, Radek Dvorak, and Keith Ballard.
- Tom Gulitti of The Record: Gulitti runs through the Ilya Kovalchuk free agent situation. Kovalchuk won’t be signing with the KHL or the New Jersey Devils before the July 1st free agent date. The Devil’s and Kovalchuk continue to talk. There is still a possibility of signing with the Devils on July 1st. His opinion of the organization has increased over time. He wants to play for a winning team, and his first choice is to stay in the NHL, with the KHL as a fall back.
- Damien Cox of the Toronto Star: It’s been well documented that the Toronto Maple Leafs are one of many teams interested in Patrick Sharp and Nathan Horton, but Cox throws out the name Dan Hamhuis. Dan Hamhuis is a UFA, Sharp and Horton would would have to be acquired through trade. What the team does with Tomas Kaberle would influence any of the above move(s).
- Tim Panaccio of CSN: The Flyers had interest in trading for Carey Price before the Canadiens shipped Halak off to St. Louis. TSN reported that the Flyers, Lightning and San Jose were interested in Halak, though Flyers GM Paul Holmgren denied it. The Flyers are uncertain if Michael Leighton could be their #1 goalie next year.
- Eric Stephens of the OC Register: According to James Wisniewski’s agent, they are not in talks with Anaheim, and there is the possibility that the RFA is dealt. Wisniewski is coming off a 1-year deal at $2.75 million. He had 30 points last season in 69 games, and was in the top-20 in ice time (24.:20).
- Mike Russo of the Star-Tribune: The Minnesota Wild could be open to trading the 9th overall pick in this year’s NHL draft, but it would have to be for a young player that could give them 8-10 years of solid production. The Wild have varying degrees of interest for centers Patrick Sharp, Jeff Carter, and Stephen Weiss.
- Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: After not having much success with the Penguins after he was acquired at the trade deadline for Luca Caputi, Alexei Ponikarovsky most likely won’t be re-signed. Jay McKee probably won’t be back either. The Pens are still considering bringing back Sergei Gonchar, Jordan Leopold, Mark Eaton, Matt Cooke and Bill Guerin.
- Elliotte Friedman via Twitter: The 34-year old Chris Mason was asking the St. Louis Blues for 3 years, $11.25 million.
- Helene Elliot of the LA Times: Former coach of Flyers, John Stevens, has been offered an assistant coach position from the LA Kings.
Bruins trading for the 4th overall pick? Weiss not getting traded?
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Entry Draft, NHL Free Agents, NHL Rumors on June 18th, 2010
- Brandon Worley of the NBCsports.com: I’m shaking my ahead over this one, as there seems to be many holes. According to Worley’s ‘reliable source’, the Boston Bruins would send Marc Savard, RFA Blake Wheeler, and the 15th overall pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets for the 4th overall pick. Oh yeah, Savard also has a no-trade clause. It isn’t for certain that the Bruins are offering the 15th pick.
- Steve Gorten of the Sun Sentinel: The Florida Panthers have talked to Oilers and Bruins about moving up in the draft with no luck. Teams have also been calling them about their 3rd overall pick. They are still unsure of who’d they take if they keep the pick. The Panthers may not be looking to trade Stephen Weiss, if they did, their number one center would be Steven Reinprecht followed by Shawn Matthias. Weiss also makes a reasonable $3.1 million.
- Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette: Canadiens GM Gauthier conceded that part of the decision to trade Halak was for salary cap reason. What was Halak looking to sign for? Gauthier doesn’t know as the 2 sides never talked.
- Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: A reader asks if the Penguins would consider trading the rights to Sergei Gonchar before July 1st. Molinari writes that Shero probably wouldn’t do that until he was completely convinced that he couldn’t re-sign Gonchar.
- Pierre LeBrun of ESPN: It doesn’t appear that Matt Cooke and the Pittsburgh Penguins are close to coming to a deal. Talks between Andy Sutton and the Ottawa Senators are moving along slowly as the team attempts to keep Anton Volchekov in town. Things are slow for Matt Cullen as well. The New York Rangers have not talked to Ollie Jokinen at all. Jokinen wants to stay in the NHL and not go to the KHL.
- Curtis Zupke of the OC Register: Scott Niedermayer’s agent has said “It’s probably Anaheim or nothing”.
- Chraig Custance of the Sporting News: So it appears that UFA Chris Mason is done in St. Louis with the Halak deal. Mason’s agent offers up teams that could be looking for a starting goalie … “There could be surprises,” he said. “With Steve Yzerman going into Tampa, does he think he needs to make a change there? San Jose, do they make a change? What does Philadelphia do? It could be there are no jobs and there could be five jobs.”
- Elliotte Freidman via Twitter: Nothing new on the New Jersey Devils-Paul Martin talks.
- Michael Russo Star Tribune: Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher thinks the team will try and go the trade route to improve his team rather than go the free agent route as it isn’t the greatest. The Wild are looking for top-6 forward, mainly a #2 center. They have some depth on the blueline that they might be able to use to acquire a forward. Brent Burns and goalie Josh Harding, as well as their 1st round pick could all be in play.
Kaberle trade talk heating up … Spezza for the 4th pick? New GMs looking to make moves?
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Entry Draft, NHL Free Agents, NHL Rumors on June 9th, 2010
- Elliotte Friedman of CBC: The Columbus Blue Jackets may be making a stronger push next season to make the playoffs, and could be kicking around the idea of trading their 4th overall draft pick. The Blue Jackets still need to find a center for Rick Nash, and Friedman wonders if they’d consider taking on Jason Spezza’s contract. Michael Leighton may be getting a 3 year contract offer from the Flyers, Friedman doesn’t think it would be for more than $1.5 million. The Florida Panthers may take a crack at Tomas Kaberle, Nathan Horton is a Burke type player.
- John Vogl of the Buffalo News: Sabres GM Darcy Reiger did not want to talk about the rumor that they may be interested in Tomas Kaberle. The Sabres could use a power-play quarterback, and the Leafs could use some scoring. Two players that have to mentioned because of their subpar playoff performances are Tim Connolly and Drew Stafford. There are a few things that instantly pop in to my mind on this; would Burke trade his ‘all star’ dman to a division rival? Both are not ‘Burke’ type players (no toughness). Connolly is making $4.5 million in the last year of his contract and is one hit away from his carrier being over, Stafford hasn’t lived up to his offensive talents the past 2 seasons (34 pts in 71 games this past season, 45 pts in 79 games in 2008-09).
- Michael Traikos in the Montreal Gazette: Even though he loses his no-trade clause for the summer (starting at the Draft) his agent Rick Curran believes Tomas Kaberle still has a clout on where he could end up. “As of the draft, we don’t have a no-trade (clause),” agent Rick Curran said. “But it’s almost effectively a no-trade, because unless Tomas wants to go there most general managers that I’m familiar with are not giving up asset value for a one-year player who may not even want to come to my team. Especially with what Brian wants in return.” It’s being reported that at least 4 teams have inquired about Kaberle; Anaheim, Buffalo, Columbus, and New Jersey.
- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: With such a weak free agent class, GMs have been more involved with trade talks (salary cap issues also play a big part). Teams with new GMs may be looking to make an early impression as well. Dale Tallon in Florida would like to make some moves, possibly trading Nathan Horton ($4 million cap hit until 2013) and Rostislav Olesz ($3.125 through 2014), but teams would rather have Stephen Weiss and Keith Ballard. Steve Yzerman may make a pitch for Carey Price or Jaroslav Halak. The Oilers would like to move Shawn Horcoff ($5.5 million through 2015) and Sheldon Souray ($5.4 through 2012).
- Bryan Mullen of the Tennessean: Predators GM David Poile thinks it’s going to really tough to re-sign Dan Hamhuis, “I think it’s going to be very difficult,” Poile said. “But I’d like to continue having conversations this week and possibly reach out to Dan next week before we take our final position.” Hamhuis’ agent has said that talks have been positive and ongoing. If they are not able to re-sign Hamhuis, they may look to re-sign Denis Grebeshkov and/or UFA Francis Bouillon. Jonathon Blum or Ryan Ellis may be rushed a little a quicker than they originally wanted. The Predators are trying to lock up Patrick Hornqvist, but salary is hard to determine after 2 goals in 08-09, and 30 last season.
- Tarik El-Bashir via Twitter: The Washington Capitals and Eric Fehr are talking a multi-year deal.
- Ryan Kennedy of the Hockey News: 2010 NHL Draft prospect, Kiril Kabanov, is better known for his off-ice antics than his on-ice talent has seen is stock plummet into the 2nd or 3rd round instead of top 5-10 pick. He’s had issues with the KHL, his QMJHL junior team (Moncton) and the Russian U-18 team, and now must find a new agent, 2 weeks before the draft. JP Barry has decided to move as “It just wasn’t a fit”. George Malik of MLive: Malik notes that Neate Sager of Yahoo, and Bruce Ciski of Fanhouse, think that Red Wings could still be interested in Kabanov, but not in the 1st round.
Burke Talks about Leafs … Blues not going after Kovalchuk … Some Panthers could be shopped
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News on April 15th, 2010
- Fan 590 Brian Burke Press Conference: Yesterday Brian Burke held a news conference discussing the Toronto Maple Leafs season, and what could happen going forward.
- Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun: Brian Burke’s wish list “1. A Top-6 forward; 2. Adding more size to the roster; 3. Augmenting team toughness.” With the lack of picks at this years draft, July 1st will be their draft.
- Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: There were rumors that the St. Louis Blues might go after a high priced scorer this off-season, but President John Davidson has said that he has no plans on pursuing one. Ilya Kovalchuk name has been mentioned as a possible free agent target, as well as Patrick Marleau. “A, it’s just too expensive, and B, the growth pattern of our club is going in the right direction. I know we had a terrible first half, but our second half, it got us back on track. We have to continue to grow like that, to put us into a position of, ‘When is the right time to try to add something that’s really going to make us a better club?’”
- George Richards of the Miami Herald: Tomas Vokoun will be shopped by the Florida Panthers, and he’s said he’d waive his no trade clause for the right situation. They might also be shopping Stephen Weiss, Nathan Horton, and Bryan McCabe.
- Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: The Thrashers have 9 UFAs this year, and they may be looking to re-sign at least 3 of them, Pavel Kubina, Maxim Afinogenov, and Colby Armstrong. Kubina and Afinogenov have both said they’d be interested in returning.
- Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Down the stretch, Johan Hedberg was the #1 goalie for Atlanta, going 11-8-3 while starting 22 of 32 games. Despite that, the 37-year-old UFA doesn’t know if he’ll be back with the Thrashers next season.
LeBrun and Garrioch Sunday Rumors …
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors on February 14th, 2010
- The Blackhawks have looked for available goalies around the league, but feel that it wouldn’t be an upgrade. They also don’t have a lot of cap room for this year, after the acquistion of Kim Johnsson.
- The Islanders are shopping Martin Biron, Dwayne Roloson and Andy Sutton. Roloson is 40 years old and will make $3 milllion next season ($2.5 million cap hit).
- Predators GM, David Poile, will meet with all his UFA’s during the Olympic break. If they are unable to re-sign Dan Hamhuis, they might look at trading him, despite being in a potential playoff spot.
- Dennis Seidenberg and Jordan Leopold are as good as gone from the Florida Panthers.
- The Capitals may be considering adding a goalie. GM McPhee has looked around, but their options may be limited as some teams aren’t in the selling mood. Marty Turco, Martin Biron and Jaroslav Halak could be options.
- The Rangers could be looking to do something, with Brandon Dubinsky’s name in the middle of it.
- The Bruins wouldn’t ask Tim Thomas to waive his no-movement clause until he has something in place. They’ve talked to 3 teams about Thomas.
- The Blue Jackets are shopping Raffi Torres, Jan Hejda and Milan Jurcina.
- Florida may be shopping Tomas Vokoun and his no-trade clause. Would he waive it to go to Philly?
- Florida could move Stephen Weiss to the Maple Leafs.
- Ray Whitney demanded a 2 year, $7 million contract extension from the LA Kings.
- The Oilers are trying to move Shawn Horcoff, Robert Nilsson, Sheldon Souray, Steve Staios, and Tom Gilbert.
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