Sunday, December 07, 2008

NHL and Hockey Rumors for Dec 7, 2008

The following NHL and hockey rumors are from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun:

"Multiple NHL sources told Sun Media yesterday that Atlanta Thrashers GM Don Waddell has held serious talks with several teams about the possibility of trading forward Ilya Kovalchuk." Garrioch speculates that the Montreal Canadiens have an "obvious interest" in the Russian forward. Brochu's take: If Kovalchuk is traded, Waddell would be fired shortly thereafter. I predict that Kovalchuk will stay, unless some team ridiculously overpays.

"There's a lot of talk the [New York]Rangers are looking to move either defenseman Wade Redden or Michal Rozsival. Both were signed to new deals in the off-season, but Redden, who agreed to a six-year, $39-million deal, has a no-movement clause in his contract, making it more likely that Rozsival would be dealt." Brochu's take: For the record, Redden does NOT have a no-movement clause, but a somewhat limited no trade clause where he has listed three teams he cannot be traded too. Both the hefty contracts of Redden and Rozsival make them essentially untradeable.

"The [Florida]Panthers are trying to move forward Nathan Horton. He is scheduled to make an average of $4 million on a contract that runs through the 2012-13 season, which could make him difficult to trade. Forwards Rostislav Olesz and Brett McLean can be had for a draft pick." Brochu's take: Horton would probably get interest from a lot of teams in the NHL.

"The [Edmonton]Oilers have mild interest in moving defenseman Ladislav Smid. Given a chance, he could fit the bill for the [Ottawa]Senators." Brochu's take: There's been a lot of rumors that the Senators and Oilers are discussing trades, and this should add to the scuttlebutt.

"The [Philadelphia]Flyers are looking to dump salary and might decide to see what they can get for forward Joffrey Lupul." Brochu's take: Lupul's been on the trading block for a few weeks now.

Garrioch also believes the Thrashers will move defenseman Matheiu Schneider by the March 4 trade deadline, and he has already received a few calls.

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