Posts Tagged Zbynek Michalek

Trade Rumors still going on … Eyes turning to Free Agency

  • 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.
  • 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.

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

No Comments

Horton on the move before the draft? Stars need a pucking moving defenseman … To get Chiarelli’s attention, Oilers could ….

DJ Been of WEEI: There were reports that this weekend that the Bruins were close to trading for Nathan Horton, but it hasn’t happened yet. Several teams may also be close on a deal for him. The Maple Leafs are another possible destination for him.

Bob McKenzie via Twitter: Nathan Horton hasn’t been moved yet, but will be moved, the Bruins are right in it.

Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: If the Oilers wanted to see if they land the top 2 picks, offering Ales Hemsky and Jordan Eberle or Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson might get Chiarelli’s attention. Chicago could be asking for a 2nd round pick to get Kris Versteeg, plus taking Brent Sopel’s $2.2 million contract off their hands. The Sabres could use a defenseman like Sheldon Souray. The Sabres are looking to move Derek Roy, Tim Connolly, and Drew Stafford. The Sabres aren’t that interested in re-signing Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman.

Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News: The Dallas Stars have a surplus of left handed forwards (no right handed centers, and potentially only 1 right handed forward. The Stars could really use a puck moving defenseman, and could send out one of their top-6 wingers, James Neal, Jamie Benn, Brenden Morrow or Steve Ott.

Craig Custance of the SportingNews: The San Jose Sharks could be looking for a top-tier defenseman with possible targets, Anton Volchenkov, Paul Martin, Sergei Gonchar, and Zbynek Michalek.

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

3 Comments

Colorado Defenseman Outlook … Lightning not good for Yzerman? Hamhuis a good fit in Minnesota

  • John Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: Matheson doesn’t think Steve Yzerman will take the Tampa Bay Lightning GM job, as they are “set up to fail”. The Oilers should go after Dustin Byfuglien and his $3 million contract. They have 2 2nd round picks this year and prospect Riley Nash, that could be used in some sort of package. The Blackhawks will be looking to dump some salary this off-season.
  • John Matheson of the Edmonton Journal: Raffi Torres’ probably won’t be getting the nice contract he’d hoped for, as he was inconsistent with Buffalo down the stretch and was a healthy scratch in their final playoff game. The Predators will look to re-sign Patrick Hornqvist but probably won’t have the money for Dan Hamhuis. Hamhuis would be a great fit in Minnesota. Zbynek Michalek may look to join his brother Milan in Ottawa. Tom Poti, after taking a  puck in the face in game 6 of the Cap-Canadiens series, required 4 plates to repair the damage. The Capitals probably won’t bring back Jose Theodore, Brendan Morrison and Shaone Morrisonn. They may also look at trading Tomas Fleischman, who despite a 51 point season, was a healthy scratch in the game the Caps were eliminated.
  • Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: A reader asks Molinari of the possibility of the Pittsburgh Penguins going after Anton Volchenkov. Molinari thinks it would have to depend on what the Penguins want to do with Sergei Gonchar, Jordan Leopold, Mark Eaton, and Jay McKee. If they don’t want to pay Gonchar the big money, it could be a possibility.
  • Terry Frei of the Denver Post: The Colorado Avalanche defensive corps outlook for next season. Ruslan Salei and Brett Clark’s combined $6.5 million salaries are most likley both gone. The 39-year old Adam Foote’s 2 year deal expires, but he could be back on a salary that is maybe less than the $3 million cap hit he had this year. They’d like to move John-Michael Liles but he has 2 years and $8.4 million left. Scott Hannan is at $4.5 million and would be hard to move at that number. Kyle Comiskey is at a friendly $600,000 so he will most likely be back. They will look to re-signing Kyle Quincey. They will mostly likely have a top 6 of Foot, Quincey, Liles, Cuminskey, and Ryan Wilson. Defensive prospects are Kevin Shattenkirk, Colby Cohen, Tyson Barrie, Stefan Elliott and Cameron Gaunce.

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

1 Comment

Changes to Senators Defense for Next Year … Short List for Lightning GM … Coyotes and Avalanche Off-Season

  • Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun: Some big changes to the Senators defense could be coming this off-season. The Sens may not be willing to give Anton Volchenkov the $5 million a year he might get on the open market. Trade deadline acquisition, Andy Sutton, is 35-years-old and made $3.5 million last season, and will be looking for one more good contract before retirement. GM Bryan Murray thinks that prospects Patrick Wiercioch and Jared Cowen could be ready for the jump to the NHL next season. Other potential defenseman free agents that might be interested in playing for the Senators at a reasonable price are; Brian Pothier (former Sen), Sean O’Donnell (hometown), Shane Hnidy (former Sen), Zbynek Michalek (Milan’s brother), Kurtis Foster (lived close to Ottawa). On the forward side of things, they might look to re-sign Matt Cullen. They might have to turn to a trade to bring in some scoring if they are able to get some scoring from the free agent market.
  • Matt Paulson (AP) in the USA Today: The main off-season issue for the Phoenix Coyotes will be to find an owner once again. On the free agent side of things, which involves half their defensive corps, as well as forwards Matthew Lombardi and Lee Stempniak. Zbynek Michalek could be costly to keep around.
  • Darren Dreger of TSN: Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeffrey Vinik has a short list of potential GMs he likes, Dave Nonis, Doug Risebrough, and Steve Yzerman. It is rumored that the Red Wings have given the Lightning permission to speak with Yzerman. Vinik said before that he wanted to have a CEO in place before a GM was hired. Seattle Seahawks CEO, Tod Leiweke, has said previously he’s not a candidate, though some believe the details are being finalized for him to be named CEO.
  • Adrian Dater of the Denver Post: The Colorado Avalanche need to be bigger and faster along the blueline next season. Anyone of Kevin Shattenkirk, Colby Cohen, and Cameron Gaunce have a shot at making the team next fall. Chris Stewart and Peter Mueller will be looking for raises, both are coming off their entry level deals. The Avalanche do have the cap room to investigate adding a big name, but have shown lately that they may stick to rebuilding from in-house.
  • Helene Elliot of the LA Times: LA Kings coach Terry Murray would ‘absolutely’ like to Alexander Frolov back next year. It will probably come down to money, as Frolov is looking for a big deal, reportedly in the $5 million range.

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

1 Comment

Garrioch Rumors Update .. The Cost of Shot-Blocking, Stay-at-Dman is in $4 Million Range … Summit Series Anniversary Matchup?

  • Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun:
    • With Antti Niemi taking over the starting job from Cristobal Huet, and with a raise he’ll be getting this off-season, the ‘Hawks may bury Huet and his $5.625 in minors or buy him out.
    • The price for shot-blocking stay-at-home bluelines, Zbynek Michalek (Pho.), and Anton Volchenkov (Ott) could be in the $4-4.5 million range. Michalek will most likely have out priced himself in Phoenix. Volchenkov and the Senators are hoping to work something out.
    • The Ducks asked Teemu Selanne if he wanted to go anywhere at the trade deadline, he wanted to say. The Kings called about him.
    • After July 1st, the Bruins can talk to Zdeno Chara about a contract extension. He’ll be a UFA in 2011, and currently carries a $7.5 cap hit.
    • Sheldon Souray’s no-movement clause expires on July 1st, and Oilers will work hard to move him. He’d prefer the west coast to be closer to his family. The New York Rangers will most likely make a pitch.
    • The Canadiens didn’t want to move Jaroslav Halak at the deadline but may look deal him before the NHL Draft.
    • Contract talks between the Penguins and Sergei Gonchar are not going well. He could hit the open market and get in the $6-7 million range, the Pens were hoping for a hometown discount.
    • Jaromir Jagr is still a possibility for the Oilers next year, and the Rangers would like to get him back …. “But some believe it’s a risky move. “I just don’t know about Jagr. I understand why (the Oilers) want to make the move, I’m just not sure they should do it. I’m not sure if there is any gas left in that tank,” said one league executive”
  • Pierre LeBrun of the ESPN: The Russians have talked to Hockey Canada about a 2012 Summit Series, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the ’72 event. LeBrun thinks the Canada and USA should do the same. Signs are pointing to the Canadiens resigning Tomas Plekanec, but they would probably have to move out some salary to make it happen.
  • Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun: Brian Burke said in a radio interview the other day that he expects Tomas Kaberle to remain a Maple Leaf next season, and coach Ron Wilson hopes he’s back as well. If Burke gets a really good offer for Kaberle, he might end up pulling the trigger.
  • Chip Alexander of the Raleigh News & Observer: Manny Legace has played really well of late for the Carolina Hurricanes, but it still may not be good enough to earn a new contract from the ‘Canes. Carolina may go with the 23 year old Justin Peters as Cam Ward’s backup next year, instead of the 37 year old Legace. But Legace thinks some team will come calling for next year.
  • , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

    No Comments