Posts Tagged Washington Capitals
Thornton-Sharks talking extension … On why Kovalchuk deal should be accepted … Devils moving Zajac?
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL Rumors on August 30th, 2010
- Mark Emmons of the San Jose Mercury News: Joe Thornton is having preliminary talks with the San Jose Sharks about a contract extension. The 31-year old Thornton will be a UFA at seasons end. Thornton has a cap hit of $7.2 million this season according to capgeek.com.
- Nick Kypreos via twitter: On why the new Kovalchuk deal should get approved. Rejected deal had $2.75 million over the last 5 years. New deal, $10 million over the last 5 years.
- Mark Everson of the NY Post: Rumors are out there that Travis Zajac could be one of the players the New Jersey Devils move to make room for Ilya Kovalchuk. The Devils could be looking to move Bryce Salvador and Dainius Zubrus. The 25-year old Zajac is the teams number 1 center, and has a cap hit of $3.89 million for the next 3 years. Zajac had 25 goals and totalled 67 last year.
- Mike Hume of ESPN: Trading Zajac would be a serious hit to the Devils. Jason Arnott would then be the teams top center. Zajac could bring back a decent return in prospects and/or draft picks. The Washington Capitals have been looking for a 2nd line center and have a deep farm system. 2009 draft pick, Jacob Josefson, would be a possible internal replacement.
- Jimmy Murphy via twitter: Sources are telling Murphy that nothing will most likely come from the Marc Savard contract investigations. The investigation is hampering trade talks.
- Jimmy Murphy via twitter: Murphy thinks that the Edmonton Oilers should throw an offer sheet to Carey Price.
- Gregg Krupa of the Detroit News: Kirk Maltby’s agent said they are negotiating with the Detroit Red Wings, and that a deal could be finalized this week. The deal will most likely be a 2-way deal. Maltby did talk with other teams, including the Tampa Bay Lightning.
World Hockey Summit … Kovalchuk side/Devils meet with League … Mitchell deciding soon … Luongo out as Captain?
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL News, NHL Rumors, NHL Videos on August 24th, 2010
- Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy: Brian Burke talking about the Maple Leafs and the World Hockey Summit.
Brian Burke talks Kaberle, World Hockey Summit from Greg Wyshynski on Vimeo.
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- EJ Hradek via twitter: Meeting at the League office in New York yesterday involving Kovalchuk’s agent, Devils GM Lou Lamoriello and Devils owner Jeff Vanderbeek.
- Tom Gulitti via twitter: A contract for Kovalchuk was submitted to the league, just talked about the structure.
- Gordon McIntyre of the Vancouver Province: Willie Mitchell won’t discuss where he might sign, but he did say that a decision is coming soon.
- NHL Sources Say via twitter: Reporting the Kings are out on Willie Mitchell. Canucks a long shot. Capitals or Sharks front runners.
- Brad Ziemer of the Vancouver Sun: Canucks GM Mike Gillis will be looking into the the team’s captaincy between now and the beginning of training camp. Roberto Luongo is still the team’s captain (I’ve never understood that move), but Henrik Sedin could be ready to take over.
- Curtis Zupke of the OC Register: Joffrey Lupul has a re-occurrence of a blood infection in his back and will miss the beginning of training camp, and may not be ready for the start of the season. Lupul is taking antibotics and is not able to do any excercise for the next 4 weeks. He’ll be re-evaluted on September 20th.
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Jeff Marek of CBCSports: A summary of some happenings at the World Hockey Summit. Slava Fetisov says that Russia isn’t interested in transfer agreements with the NHL but will work together to go the game worldwide. Daniel Afredsson says the larger ice surfaces creates a slower game, perfers NHL ice size. Yzerman said the lack of arenas in Florida has hurt the development of the sport.
And at the end of Day 1, many of us came away with the same question: What is this?
I’d like to say it was a discussion but it really wasn’t. Hockey personalities from across the globe, representing a myriad of different interests, had their say on their “sweet-spot” topics and then answered a couple of questions. Each session lasted no longer than 30 minutes.
- Jesse Spector (NY Daily News) via twitter: Still “nothing new” on to report on the Marc Staal - New York Rangers contract talks.
- Craig Custance of the Sporting News: Now that Bryan Little has signed, the Atlanta Thrashers will now focus on re-signing Niclas Bergfors. GM Rick Dudley also said the team has touched base with Lee Stempniak. They may leave a roster spots open for young players like Patrice Cormier and Alexander Burmistrov.
- Neil Koepke of the Lansing State Journal: Tim Kennedy has talked to 5 or 6 teams, and would like to be signed in the next week or two.
Nothing new on Kovalchuk talks … Semin okay after car accident … Caps talking to Vancouver and Edmonton
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL Rumors on August 20th, 2010
- Tom Gulitti via twitter: New Jersey Devils GM Lou Lamoriello says “everything is status quo” on Kovalchuk talks. Then asked if still trying to sign him “Yes. I said I’m not going to comment until everything has come to a conclusion.”
- Dmitry Chesnokov via twitter: Kovalchuk’s agent told SovSport that he’s hasn’t received any indication that Kovalchuk is considering the KHL. (This is great news for my fantasy hockey keeper team. The Aki Bergala’s are hoping the Kings steal him away from the Devils)
- Dmitry Chesnokov via twitter: Alexander Semin was in a car accident. A police spokesman said that he wasn’t hurt when his mercedes collided with a Lada.
- Peter Adler of the Edmonton Journal: The Washington Capitals have been talking to the Edmonton Oilers about Sheldon Souray, and the Vancouver Canucks about Kevin Bieksa. Tomas Fleischmann has been rumored to be heading the other way in both potential deals.
- Chris Botta via twitter: Islanders 2008 3rd round pick, Kirill Petrov will be staying in the KHL next sesason according to his coach at Kazan. He has 2 years left on KHL contract.
- Dave Fuller of the Toronto Sun: Brian Burke would like the “World Cup of Hockey” to be brought back and played every 2 years as an alternate to the IIHF World Championship. The NHL and the players are barely compensated for World Championship and the Olympics.
“Each NHL team shuts down their business for close to three weeks while the Olympic Games are played. In return, fans, management and owners are often rewarded with tired or broken players on their return from Olympic competition.
“And it’s not fair that the athletes themselves are not compensated for their participation. They run the risk of injury in international tournaments, which can threaten their NHL livelihood.”
- Steve MacFarlane of the Calgary Sun: The Calgary Flames currently have 22 players under contract at $61 million. There’s still plenty of time for the team to get under the $59.4 million salary cap. The team chose not to buyout Ales Kotalik, which would have put them under the salary cap. They have 8 defenseman on 1-way contracts. The Flames could move one of their defenseman, or bury one in the minors.
- Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch: The Blue Jackets are still talking to the Canucks about defenseman Kevin Bieksa.
Mitchell could get offers starting today … Bruins interested in Bieksa? Nothing new on Bergeron and Chara extensions, or a Savard trade
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL Rumors on August 18th, 2010
- Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Pronvince: Willie Mitchell has made it through 4 physicals symptom free. The front runners are the Canucks, Sharks, Kings, and Capitals. Mitchell is expected to make a decision in the next week. The Kings are able to offer more than the Canucks, who are hoping he’ll give them a hometown discount. Even if the Canucks were able to re-sign him, they would still have to make some moves, possibly moving out Andrew Alberts and/or Kevin Bieksa.
- Katie Carrera of the Washington Post: Mitchell met with the Capitals yesterday. Mitchell’s agent, Mike Luit, said there isn’t an established timeline for his client to make a decision. He’s been symptom free during workouts, is behind on his conditioning, but in 5-6 weeks he’ll be back to normal.
- Nick Kypreos via twitter: Mitchell may receive up to 4 offers as early as today (Caps, Sharks, Kings, Canucks), and don’t be surprised if someone gives him a long term deal.
- Curtis Zupke of the OC Register: Mitchell may be out of the Anaheim Ducks price range, especially since they still have to sign RFA Bobby Ryan.
- Jimmy Murphy via twitter: The Bruins might be interested in Kevin Bieksa. Murphy isn’t sure what the Canucks would want, but they once had interest in Michael Ryder when he was a UFA.
- Dennis Bernstein via twitter: All is quiet in the Ducks side of things involving their pursuit of Bieksa.
- Jimmy Murphy via twitter: The Kovalchuk ruling probably won’t have any effect on a contract extension for Patrice Bergeron since he’s only 25. Bergeron’s next contract “won’t be his last“.
- James (Jimmy) Murphy of ESPNBoston: There is nothing new to report on the Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron contract extensions. There is also nothing new involving Marc Savard.
- Helen St. James of the Detroit Free Press: Backup goalie, Chris Osgood needs to have a bounce back season after 2 sub-par seasons. Osgood will be 38 in November, and is the in the last year of his contract. It’s assumed he’d like to comeback next year, but he’ll have to prove to the team he’s still capable.
Mitchell and Bieksa rumors … Could Chara get 10 years? Blues interested in Sweatt
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL Rumors on August 17th, 2010
- Dan Murphy via twitter: Willie Mitchell has worked out for the Kings, Sharks, and Canucks. Capitals next. No confirmation on LA offer.
- Dan Murphy via twitter: No hometown discount for Mitchell and the Canucks, especially if the Kings may be offering a 2 year deal.
- Dan Murphy via twitter: Canucks GM Mike Gillis would like to keep Mitchell, and he’d like to stay, but he may not get the best deal from Vancouver.
- Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News: Heika is asked about the possibility of the Stars going after Kevin Bieksa. Bieksa will make $3.75 million this season, and the Canucks are close to the cap and may not want to take much salary back. The Stars are on a tight internal budget and it might not fit well, plus he’d on the last year of his deal. They would have up a good young prospect for him.
- Sports-Express: Alexander Shapiro is reporting that the Devils have offered Ilya Kovalchuk a contract for over 10 years. It could clear up in the next few days.
- Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe: The Kovalchuk contract rejection (and other investigations) could impact the contract extension for Zdeno Chara. The 33-year old Chara will be a free agent after this season, and given his dedication to fitness, it wouldn’t be a shock if he were able to sign a 10-year contract and play until he’s 43. A 10-year deal could be cap friendly with not a huge drop off at the end. Would the NHL go for it? The 2 sides have talked, and would like to get something done before the season, but it isn’t a necessity. The Flyers, Sharks and Capitals could be interested in Antti Niemi.
- Andy Strickland via twitter: Blues interested in Bill Sweatt but won’t be meeting this week.
- Will DePaoli via twitter: As of mid yesterday afternoon, Penguins hadn’t connected Bill Sweatt.
- Andreas Liden of St.ru: Freddy Modin is heading back to his Columbus home, is still looking for a new team to play for this year.
Audio on Kaberle … Free agent news from around the league
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL News, NHL Rumors on August 16th, 2010
- Andy Strickland via twitter: The idea the the St. Louis Blues were going to trade David Backes was laughable.
- Andy Strickland via twitter: The Blues had said for weeks that Kaberle never made sense since he could walk away at the end of the year.
- Steve Simmons via twitter: Kaberle was willing to sign a long term contract if he was traded to a city he liked, but no one asked.
- Andy Strickland via twitter: Responding to Simmons …. Only if right city. Kaberle’s agent has said of his desire to stay in the Eastern Conference.
- Damien Cox on the Fan 590: Audio on the non-trade and what the future holds for the Leafs.
- Doug MacLean on the Fan 590: Audio, talking Leafs and the non-trade of Kaberle.
- Will DePaoli of Inside Pittsburgh Sports: Some agents are saying that many of the established veterans may not be signing anywhere until mid-to-late September. Teams are looking for younger, cheaper 3rd-4th liners. They don’t have any cap space, but the Bruins are looking at veteran free agent wingers. They’re keeping in touch with Bill Guerin and Miro Satan. Raffi Torres has drawn minimal interest and may have to settle for a 1 year deal around $800,000 to low $1 million. Willie Mitchell in talks with 5 teams; Kings, Sharks, Lightning, Capitals and Canucks. The Anaheim Ducks are looking for a defenseman before turning their attention to Paul Kariya. Ruslan Fedotenko has received an invite to Islanders training camp, the Wild may also be interested. Slava Kozlov wants to go to a contender but not getting a lot of interest, KHL is option but not being pursued at the moment. A couple of teams have called about Jeff Halpren, but he’s yet to receive an offer.
- Katie Strang of Newsday: The Islanders are not interested in Antti Niemi, disputing some reports.
- EJ Hradek via twitter: Thinks the only logical spot for Niemi is San Joseba possibly the Capitals if they are not sold on their two young goalies.
Kaberle D-Day … Canucks have offer for Bieksa … 4-5 teams interested in Mitchell
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Rumors on August 15th, 2010
Back from a weekend of camping, catching up on things, some quick rumor hits for this afternoon. Kaberle deadline at midnight.
- TSN: Burke As of Sunday Morning, “If these offers are all we get…he’s staying put,”
- Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun: “I’d say there are three or four legitimate offers we needed to discuss,” Burke told the Toronto Sun. “There’s nothing worth taking — yet. If we end up with Kaberle (whose no-trade clause expires at midnight) that’s fine with me.” Tonight is also the deadline for the Leafs to sign Bill Sweatt before he becomes a UFA. Burke pulled their offer off the table weeks ago, and according to his agent, Sweatt never said no to the deal.
- Mark Spector via twitter: Burke talking players/prospects, not top-6 for Kaberle.
- Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News: Joe Nieuwendyk says the Stars are not trying to trade for Kaberle today.
- Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch: The Blue Jackets could still be in on Kaberle.
- Eric Stephen of the OC Register: The Ducks aren’t in on Kaberle.
- NHL Sources Say via twitter: Sharks have offered Derek Joslin and a 1st to Canucks for Kevin Bieksa. Not in on Kaberle.
- Dan Murphy (Sportsnet) via twitter: Willie Mitchell seen in LA with ‘Kings brass’.
- Nick Kypreos via twitter: Canucks still in on Willie Mitchell. LA and 3 other clubs interested.
- Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: Rumor that Sharks might offer LW Jamie McGinn or C Logan Couture for Bieksa. Ribeiro has been offered to every team in the league. Would have to offer more than Ribeiro for Kaberle. Tampa doesn’t want to trade LWer Ryan Malone, a player Burke may covet. Marc Savard hurt by all the rumors this summer. The Panthers, Capitals, Flyers, and Sharks are believed to have some interest in Antti Niemi.
- Daniel Tolenskyvia twitter: Stars have 3 key RFAs still unsigned, ownership uncertainty, so they are probably not trade candidates unless it’s a salary dump. (They’ve been looking to shed Mike Ribeiro and his $5 million salary through 2012-13).
Belanger to Caps, and Fleischmann on the way out? Kaberle interest varies
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Free Agents, NHL Rumors on August 12th, 2010
- James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail: Sources saying Eric Belanger has reached a deal with the Washington Capitals. The Capitals might be moving out a forward for a defenseman before they announce the signing. Brian Burke has said they are not in discussion with the Capitals about Tomas Kaberle. The Capitals could be looking at Kevin Bieksa, Sheldon Souray or others. The Capitals are also said to be in on Willie Mitchell.
- Spector’s Hockey via twitter: The Capitals could be dealing Tomas Fleischmann for a defenseman.
- Lyle Richardson of Fox Sports: The number of teams interested in Tomas Kaberle varies between 6 and 12 depending on the source, and levels of interest varies as well. The Kings and Devils may be more concerned with Ilya Kovalchuk. The Sharks may not want to part with a top-6 forward. The Ducks don’t want to trade Bobby Ryan. The Stars and Blues have their own salary cap. Red Wings are at the cap and have their top defensive corps set. Boston has cap issues, but would like to move Savard, Burke said in June he wasn’t interested in him. The Flyers have been interested in the past, but may not be willing to part with Jeff Carter anymore for him. Sabres are another team that could be interested, but they don’t make a lot moves in the off-season. Columbus has kicked tires but find the price a little high. The Lightning could be interested but they brought in Pavel Kubina earlier in the summer.
- Will DePaoli via twitter: The Kings could be looking to get back in on Kovalchuk, but he’ll renegotiate with the Devils first.
- Andy Strickland via twitter: Blues GM Doug Armstrong doesn’t see anything else happening before training camp.
Mitchell’s agent talked with Detroit … Savard trade chatter … Blues talk
Posted by Mark Easson in NHL Rumors on August 6th, 2010
- Craig Custance of the Sporting News: Ken Holland has spoken with Willie Mitchell’s agent about the possibility of bringing him to Detroit. According to CapGeek.com, the Wings have about $1.6 million in cap space available. Mitchell wants to play for a contender, and there are rumors that the Capitals, Sharks, and Canucks are also interested.
- Jimmy Murphy via twitter: Murphy’s is getting Marc Savard trade ‘chatter’ today.
- Andy Strickland via twitter: A couple of days ago it looked like Bill Guerin would have been signed by now, today Guerin told Strickland he’s still in ‘limbo’.
- Michael Russo via twitter: If Detroit wasn’t interested in Mike Modano, he would have retired.
- Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Q&A with Rutherford from yesterday. Nothing concrete on the Ryan Potulny rumor, they have lots of forwards already, not sure where the fit would be. 2010 1st round draft pick, Vladimir Tarasenko, will be playing in Russia this year, maybe in N.A. the following season. The Blues may be interested in trading a defenseman. Though Tomas Kaberle would be a good fit, and he’s sure the Blues have investigated, there doesn’t appear to be anything there. The Blues still need a scorer, a puck moving D, and more time for younger kids to develop. The Blues have tried to trade Eric Brewer, but had no luck.
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