Tuesday, January 20, 2009

NHL and Hockey Rumors for Jan 20, 2009

According to Steve Kouleas of the Score program "Hardcore Hockey Talk", the Vancouver Canucks are rumored to be interested in an "big name" Eastern Conference winger. Brochu's take: Speculation is that it could be Bolts forward Martin St. Louis.

The Sun-Sentinel is reporting that Florida Panthers GM Jacques Martin may have to deal with the Jay Bouwmeester situation at the trade deadline. Martin said he hasn’t spoken with Bouwmeester’s agent and that “there’s no change in his status.” “We’ll talk to him in the near future,” Martin said. “The closer we get to the trading deadline, it’s an issue we’ll have to resolve. Right now, he’s playing his best hockey." Source

The San Jose Sharks have called up forward Claude Lemieux from the AHL affiliate in Worcester. Brochu's take: I thought it was complete longshot that he would be back in the NHL, but here he is. I'll happily congratulate Lemieux on making it back, and I'll be tucking into my slice of humble pie.

Sportsnet is reporting that the Detroit Red Wings and forward Henrik Zetterberg are close to a contract extension. It's believed the deal is in the 10-year range with the average annual salary to be slightly less than $7.5 million. Brochu's take: Good market value for Zetterberg, but the length of the contract is a bit scary considering the economic future of the NHL.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have claimed defenseman Cory Murphy off re-entry waivers from the Florida Panthers.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Goaltender Marek Schwarz has left the St. Louis Blues organization and is returning to his native Czech Republic. Schwarz, who was on his last year of his entry-level deal, left his team, the Alaska Aces of the ECHL, on Monday. Source

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