Hockey Rumors for Feb 2, 2010

Happy Groundhog Day!

The Calgary Flames have traded forwards Olli Jokinen and Brandon Prust to the New York Rangers in exchange for forwards Ales Kotalik and Chris Higgins. Brochu's take: This trade has been rumored for 24 hours, and it was believed that Kotalik's no trade clause was holding it up. The Flames wanted Jokinen in the lineup tonight, for some odd reason.

The Anaheim Ducks have placed defenseman Nick Boynton on waivers.

The New York Islanders have placed forward Trevor Gillies on waivers.

According to the Team 1040 in Vancouver, there is a rumor that the Vancouver Canucks are interested in acquiring Scott Niedermayer from the Anaheim Ducks. There is speculation that he wants to spend his last season in the NHL closer to home. Several Ducks' scouts were spotted at the last Toronto-Vancouver game.

Big trade day!

Only a massive trade day like today would awaken me from my blogging slumber! So to review:

The Calgary Flames have traded defenceman Dion Phaneuf, forward Fredrik Sjostrom, and prospect defenceman Keith Aulie to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for forwards Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers and defenseman Ian White. Brochu's take: My philosophy is that the team that the best player goes to "wins" the trade, and in this case I would have to say Toronto gets the better end of the deal. Phaneuf is capable of much more, and he will get plenty of ice-time in T.O. Hagman/Stajan are good players, and I'm not sure how the Leafs will score from now on. Calgary gets a lot more offensive in this deal.

The Leafs have also acquired goalie Jean-Sebastian Giguere from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for goalie Vesa Toskala and forward Jason Blake. Brochu's take: Toskala's contract, along with Blake's, were essentially dead weight. After the signing of Hiller, Giguere's contract was the same on the Ducks. I see this trade more of moving dead money around than actual players.

The Anaheim Ducks have signed goalie Jonas Hiller to a 4-year, $18 million contract extension. Brochu's take: Not a bad deal.

The Philadelphia Flyers have signed defenseman Lukas Krajicek to a contract. The Tampa Bay Lightning had terminated his contract when he didn't show up to his AHL assignment.

Backes for Schneider?

According to the Team 1040 radio in Vancouver, there are rumors that the Canucks are interested in St. Louis Blues forward David Backes. The speculation is that the Blues have sent scouts to watch goalie Cory Schneider in Winnipeg, and the top brass of the Canucks was scouting the recent Montreal Canadiens-St. Louis Blues game. Brochu's take: GM Mike Gillis did give an offer sheet to Backes a few years back, so they must be still interested.

Hockey and NHL rumors for Jan 10, 2010

According to the Edmonton Journal, Oilers defenseman Sheldon Souray is open to waiving his no-trade-clause. He is not asking for a trade, but if the team wants to go in a different direction, he is willing to be traded. Brochu's take: If the Oilers do conduct a fire sale, Souray would be amongst the first to go.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed forward Martins Karsums on waivers.

TSN's Darren Dreger, via his Twitter page, has reported that the Atlanta Thrashers are undergoing trade discussions with other teams about Ily a Kovalchuk. Dreger reports that the Los Angeles Kings, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks are "contenders". Brochu's take: Why is that all these teams, barring LA, have serious cap issues, and yet are still contenders?

Hockey and NHL rumors for Jan 4, 2010

The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed goalie Jaroslav Janus to a three-year entry level contract. The 20-year-old goaltender was drafted by the Bolts in the sixth round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in June.

The Chicago Blackhawks have signed defenseman Shawn Lalonde to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The San Jose Sharks have signed defenseman Taylor Doherty to a three-year, two-way contract.