Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Tarnstrom to Sweden, Veilleux to Switzerland?

Here are the latest NHL rumors for April 24, 2008:

With the official hiring of Mike Gillis as the new GM of the Vancouver Canucks, speculation continues as to the future of coach Alain Vigneault and captain Markus Naslund. According to the Globe and Mail, Naslund has refused to re-sign with the Canucks if Vigneault remains the head coach. Meanwhile, Gillis is looking for more speed, grit and competitiveness. He won't be afraid of "bold moves", and is willing to entertain the idea of trading Daniel and Henrik Sedin. Brochu's take: It looks like Gillis and Dave Nonis had opposite views on how "close" the Canucks really were. We shall see how decisive Gillis is in addressing the Canucks no. 1 problem, a lack of scoring. Source

Brian Burke is staying with the Anaheim Ducks and has pledged to honor his contract to finish the 2008-2009 season. He is also working on a long-term extension with the team. Brochu's take: This won't stop Toronto-based media to continue to speculate that Burke will become the Leafs GM in one years time. For now, Burke stays in southern California. Source

According to the Puck-rakers blog, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Ottawa Senators could be trade partners this summer. The draft will be in Ottawa in June, and there are rumors that the two teams are talking. The Jackets are quietly shopping Nikolai Zherdev and their first round draft pick in the 2008 NHL entry draft.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed forward Luca Caputi to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Brochu's European rumour roundup:

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Dick Tarnstrom has signed with SEL team AIK for the 2008-2009 season. Source

Swiss sources are saying that Minnesota Wild forward Stephan Veilleux is being targeted by Swiss Nationalliga A club Ambri Piotta. Source

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