Monday, November 01, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Nov 2, 2010

The Edmonton Oilers have placed goaltender Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers on waivers.

The New York Islanders have placed forward Jon Sim on waivers.

The San Jose Sharks have placed defenseman Mike Moore on waivers.

The Buffalo Sabres have signed forward Zack Kassian to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The Calgary Flames have signed defenseman Mark Giordano to a 5-year, $20.1 million contract extension.

There are rumors that the Toronto Maple Leafs may be interested in acquiring Dustin Penner from the Edmonton Oilers.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:


Goalie Vesa Toskala has signed a month-long contract with Swedish club AIK.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 26, 2010

Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the Vancouver Canucks will try to move defenseman Kevin Bieksa as soon as possible.

The Atlanta Thrashers have placed Nigel Dawes on waivers.  He has cleared.

The Los Angeles Kings have placed goalie Erik Ersberg on waivers.  He has cleared.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Erik Ersberg is expected to sign with KHL team Salavat Yulaev Ufa.

There are rumors that Atlanta Thrashers forward Evgeny Artyukhin will sign with SKA St. Petersburg in Russia.

San Jose Sharks goalie Thomas Greiss has been loaned to Swedish club Brynas.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 21, 2010

According to TSN, Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray is upset with his team's performance this season and is not afraid to make changes. "I've talked to a number of people, as I said," Murray said. "I talked to (Minnesota Wild general manager) Chuck Fletcher for a long time yesterday and said, 'can I help you, you help me' type of thing, so we're talking to management of other teams, trying to find if there is a need and possibility of making a move."  Brochu's take:  Stay tuned.  Murray is looking to shake up the roster and a trade is definitely possible.  Source

The Nashville Predators have signed forward Steve Begin to a one-year, two-way contract.  He has been subsequently put on waivers.

The Preds also placed forward Jamie Lundmark on waivers.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Forward Owen Nolan has signed a month-long contract with Swiss club ZSC Lions.  Source

Monday, October 18, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 19, 2010

Haven't posted in a few days, here's the latest happenings in the NHL:

The San Jose Sharks have re-signed centre Joe Thornton to a three-year, $7 million contract extension.

The Florida Panthers have placed forward Kenndal McArdle on waivers.

The Anaheim Ducks have placed defenseman Brendan Mikkelson on waivers.

The New York Islanders have placed goalie Nathan Lawson on waivers.

The Dallas Stars placed forward Fabian Brunnstrom on waivers.  He has cleared.

The Atlanta Thrashers placed defenseman Boris Valabik on waivers.  He has cleared.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 15, 2010

The Washington Capitals have placed goalie Dany Sabourin on waivers.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

The Los Angeles Kings have loaned defenseman Johan Fransson to SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 13, 2010

The New Jersey Devils have signed forward Adam Mair to a one-year, $515,000 contract.  Brochu's take:  You have to wonder why the Devils are signing more players when they can't afford to ice a full roster.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed defenseman Jeff Finger on waivers.  Brochu's take:  Fletcher got Fingered?

Forward Kirk Maltby has retired from the NHL.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 12, 2010

Andreas Lilja
The Anaheim Ducks have signed defenseman Andreas Lilja to a one-year contract.  Brochu's take:  They better check his passport to be sure!

The Boston Bruins have placed goalie Nolan Schaefer on waivers.

The New Jersey Devils have placed enforcer Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond on waivers.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Defenseman Staffan Kronwall has left the Calgary Flames organization and signed a one year deal with Djurgarden in the Swedish Elite League.  Source

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Carlsson, Greiss on waivers

The San Jose Sharks have placed goalie Thomas Greiss on waivers.

The Chicago Blackhawks have placed defenseman Jonathan Carlsson on waivers.

Saturday, October 09, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for the weekend of Oct 9-11, 2010

The Boston Bruins have re-signed defenseman Zdeno Chara to a 7-year, $45 million contract extension.  Brochu's take:  Provided he stays injury-free, this is a decent contract.  Chara is a fitness demon, so it's possible he can play at the highest level until he's 40.

The Bruins have also re-signed forward Patrice Bergeron to a three-year, $15 million contract extension.  They have also signed enforcer Brian McGrattan to a contract.

The Vancouver Canucks have traded defenseman Sean Zimmerman to the Florida Panthers for defenseman Nathan Paetsch.

The Buffalo Sabres have signed forward Mark Parrish to a one-year deal.

The Phoenix Coyotes have signed defenseman Brandon Gormley to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The Anaheim Ducks have signed goalie Igor Bobkov to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed forward Oliver Gabriel to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 7, 2010

The Edmonton Oilers have assigned defenseman Sheldon Souray to it's AHL affiliate, who have subsequently loaned him to the Washington Capitals AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears.  Souray remains the property of the Oilers and has no official connection to the Capitals organization.  Brochu's take:  This is similiar to what the Caps did with Michael Nylander.  I think the players and owners will have to address this issue in the new CBA.

The Vancouver Canucks have traded forward Darcy Hordichuk to the Florida Panthers for forward Andrew Peters.

The Canucks will also sign forward Peter Schaefer to a one-year, two-way contract ($600,000) on Thursday.

The Panthers have also placed defenseman Nathan Paetsch on waivers.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed defenseman Matt Lashoff on waivers.

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 6, 2010

The Vancouver Canucks have traded defenseman Shane O'Brien and forward Dan Gendur to the Nashville Predators for defenseman Ryan Parent and forward Jonas Anderson.  Brochu's take:  This is another "salary cap" trade, where the focus is more on money than actual hockey aspects.  Parent has subsequently been waived by the Canucks.

It's also believed that GM Mike Gillis is working on trading forward Darcy Hordichuk to clear more space.

The Los Angeles Kings have signed forward Jordan Nolan to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The Atlanta Thrashers have signed forward Alexander Burmistrov to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The New York Islanders have claimed forward Michael Grabner off waivers from the Florida Panthers.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have claimed forward Mattias Ritola off waivers from the Detroit Red Wings.

There was also many players place on waivers, which you can see here.

Monday, October 04, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 5, 2010

The Calgary Flames have signed forward Brendan Morrison to a one-year, $725,000 contract.

The Los Angeles Kings have re-signed goalie Jonathan Bernier to a two-year, $2.5 million contract extension.  Brochu's take:  An absolute bargain.  Bernier is considered one of the best young goalies not yet in the NHL.

The New York Rangers have signed forward Ruslan Fedotenko to a one-year, $1 million contract.

The Washington Capitals have signed goalie Philipp Grubauer to a three-year, entry-level contract.

There were also many players put on waivers, which I'll cover in a later post.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Forward Enver Lisin has left the NHL and signed a two year deal with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL.

Forward Kyle Wellwood has signed to play with HK Atlant in Russia.

Forward Dan Fritsche has signed a three-year contract with HC Geneve-Servette in Switzerland.

Sunday, October 03, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 4, 2010

The Florida Panthers have placed forward Joe Callahan, Michael Grabner and Andrew Peters on waivers.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have placed forwards Tom Sestito and Ben Guite on waivers.

The Ottawa Senators have placed Ryan Keller, Corey Locke, Cody Bass, Derek Smith and Francis Lessard on waivers.

Saturday, October 02, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 2, 2010

The Minnesota Wild have signed goalie Jose Theodore to a one-year, $1.1 million contract.

The Vancouver Canucks have placed forward Darcy Hordichuk and defenseman Shane O'Brien on waivers.

Darcy Tucker has retired from the NHL, as well as Mathieu Dandenault.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 1, 2010

The Edmonton Oilers have placed defenseman Sheldon Souray and goalie Martin Gerber on waivers.  Brochu's take:  Souray being put on waivers was expected, but Gerber has been playing well in the pre-season.  The likelihood of Souray being picked up is low because of his high salary.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Forward Slava Kozlov has left the NHL and signed a one-year deal with KHL team CSKA Moscow.

Free agent forward Miroslav Satan is still looking to sign with an NHL team.  Satan recently played two games for Slovakian club HC Slovan Bratislava.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 30, 2010

The Washington Capitals have loaned forward Michael Nylander to the Rochester Americans, the AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers.  Washington will still pay the $3 million salary, while the Panthers will pay a nominal feel.  Nylander cleared waivers earlier last week and is still property of the Caps and is subject to any future re-call waivers.  Brochu's take:  I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often.  Source

According to the Edmonton Journal, the Minnesota Wild may be interested in Edmonton Oilers goalie Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers.  Source

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 29, 2010

With Minnesota Wild goalie Josh Harding out for the season, there have been rumors swirling as to what the Wild will do with their backup situation.  Free agent goalie Jose Theodore's agent Don Meehan has contacted the Wild to see if they are interested in his client.  As well, there are rumors that the Wild are looking at San Jose Sharks goalie Thomas Greiss.  Brochu's take:  It's surprising that Theodore wasn't even given a tryout by any NHL team.  His experience could be a good compliment to Nicklas Backstrom.  Source

The New York Islanders have signed defenseman Mike Mottau to a two-year, $1.6 million contract.

The Islanders have also invited several players late to their training camp, as forwards Dean McAmmond, Krys Kolanos, Jed Ortmeyer, defenseman Anders Eriksson, and goalie Manny Legace have been given professional tryout contracts.

The Colorado Avalanche have signed forward Luke Walker to an entry-level contract.

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 28, 2010

New York Rangers defenseman Wade Redden has cleared waivers and has been assigned to the AHL team in Hartford.  Brochu's take:  Redden's agent has been given permission to find a team in Europe for the maligned defenseman.  The Ranger's are still on the hook for his salary.

The Washington Capitals have signed forward Matt Hendricks to a one-year, two-way contract.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Chicago Blackhawks goalie Cristobal Huet has cleared waivers and has been assigned to HC Fribourg-Gotteron SA of the Swiss National League A.

Forward Marek Svatos has left the NHL and signed a one-year deal with KHL team Omsk.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 27, 2010

The Bergen Record is reporting that the Colorado Avalanche are interested in acquiring New Jersey Devils forward Jamie Langenbrunner.  It's also believed that several teams are interested in forward David Clarkson.  Source  Brochu's take:  Langenbrunner's leadership would work well with the Avs' youthful lineup.

The New York Islanders have signed forward Nino Niederreiter to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The Detroit Red Wings have signed forward Trevor Parkes to a three-year,entry-level contract.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed forward Andrew Crescenzi to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The New York Rangers have placed defenseman Wade Redden.  Brochu's take:  Redden won't be picked up, and in all likelihood will never be called on re-entry waivers.  His options are limited to the AHL, Europe or retire.  Injuries have really affected his play in the last few years.

The Chicago Blackhawks have placed goalie Cristobal Huet on waivers.  Brochu's take:  GM Stan Bowman has a plan in place to loan Huet to a team in the Swiss League, so this is merely a formality.  The Hawks will now be able to shed $5 million from their salary cap.

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 26, 2010

The San Jose Sharks have signed forward Michael Sgarbossa, defenseman Curt Gogol and goalie J.P. Anderson to three-year,entry-level contracts.

The Washington Capitals have re-signed defenseman Tom Poti to a two-year, $5.75 million contract extension.  The Caps have also re-signed goalie Michal Neuvirth to a two-year, $2.3 million deal and goalie Brandon Anderson to an entry-level contract.

The Carolina Hurricanes have signed forward Jeff Skinner to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The Minnesota Wild have signed defensemen Jared Spurgeon, Colton Jobke and Josh Caron to three-year, entry-level contracts.

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 21, 2010

The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed goalie Steve Mason to a two-year, $5.8 million contract extension.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have given their GM Ray Shero a five-year extension.

Tony Gallagher of the Vancouver Province is reporting that as Vancouver Canucks goalie Cory Schneider plays more and more, his trade quotient will rise.  Brochu's take:  Schneider is considered one of the best goalies not yet in the NHL, and he should get increased time in net this season with Luongo's reduced workload.  Source

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 20, 2010

Here's a bit of a rumor roundup from the weekend:

The Anaheim Ducks have signed forward Matt Beleskey to a two-year, $1.5 million contract.

The Columbus Post Dispatch is reporting that the Blue Jackets are considering acquiring Edmonton Oilers defenseman Sheldon Souray.  Souray remains in limbo after being barred from attending the Oilers' training camp.  Brochu's take:  Edmonton and Columbus have been frequent trading partners lately, so it's very possible that he could move there.  Defenseman Rostislav Klesla has bee mentioned in some trade rumors as well.  Source

The Buffalo Sabres have invited Mark Parrish to training camp.

The New Jersey Devils have extended an invitation to training camp to forward Adam Mair.

The Florida Panthers have invited Nick Tarnasky to training camp.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Defenseman Lukas Krajicek has left the NHL and signed with HC Trinec in the Czech Republic.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 17, 2010

The Dallas Stars have re-signed restricted free agent forward James Neal to a two-year, $5.75 million contract. The Stars have also re-signed defenseman Matt Niskanen to a two-year, $3 million deal.  Brochu's take:  Given the Stars' ownership situation, it's paramount that these two get signed before the new season.

The Anaheim Ducks have officially signed Paul Mara to a one-year, $750,000 deal.

The Carolina Hurricanes have signed forward Patrick O'Sullivan to a one-year, two-way deal.

The Ducks have invited forward Stephane Veilleux to training camp.

The Vancouver Canucks have signed forward Brendan Morrison to a tryout contract.

The San Jose Sharks have invited defenseman Andreas Lilja to training camp.  Brochu's take:  Or was it Peter Worrell?  Just kidding!

The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed defenseman Charles Landry to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 16, 2010

The New York Rangers have re-signed restricted free agent defenseman Marc Staal to a 5 year deal worth $3.975 million a year.  Brochu's take:  This contract will look like a bargain in 2-3 years time.  Staal is an emerging defender in the NHL.

The Detroit Red Wings have invited forward Aaron Downey to training camp.

The Atlanta Thrashers have signed forward Enver Lisin to a try-out contract.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

According to Sportsnet, Peter Forsberg has not closed the door on a return to the NHL.  Although still recovering from ankle surgery, Forsberg has stated that he hasn't decided "100 percent" that he will retire.  Source  Brochu's take:  So that means we have to endure another year of Forsberg rumors...

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 15, 2010

The Anaheim Ducks have re-signed restricted free agent forward Bobby Ryan to a 5-year, $25.5 million contract extension.  Brochu's take:  Good deal for both sides. Ryan has 40 goal potential, and now the Ducks have the core signed for at least the next 3 years.

The Phoenix Coyotes have signed forward Eric Belanger to a one-year, $750,000 contract.  Brochu's take:  An absolute bargain.  There were rumors that had signed with the Capitals, but that was unfounded.

The Boston Bruins have invited forward Brian McGrattan to training camp.

There's a rumor that the Anaheim Ducks have signed defenseman Paul Mara to a one-year deal.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Free agent defenseman Tom Preissing has left the NHL and signed with Karpat in the Finnish league.  Source

Monday, September 13, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 14, 2010

Edmonton Oilers' GM Steve Tambellini issued a statement Monday night letting the media know that defenseman Sheldon Souray was not welcome at training camp. "We've been trying to move the player for some time obviously," Tambellini explained, "I hope to get it done during camp, but it's best for the Oilers for him not to be at camp right now." Souray is still skating in Edmonton for the time being, awaiting his future. Source Brochu's take: This is turning into an ugly situation for both sides. Souray's trade value is very low, and no one took a chance on him when he on waivers earlier this summer. Demotion to the AHL is a possibility, but perhaps a clean break would be best for both the Oilers organization and Souray.

The NHL has punished the New Jersey Devils for deliberately circumventing the salary cap in their first attempt at signing forward Ilya Kovalchuk. The Devils will be fined $3 million (which will not affect their cap ) and their third round draft pick in the 2011 NHL Draft. The Devils will also have to forfeit one of their next four first round draft picks at their choosing. Source Brochu's take: The NHL looks really bad on this one, considering they let the other long-term deals pass and chose this one to reject. The final cost of signing and landing Kovalchuk appears to have cost the Devils Patrice Cormier, Johnny Oduya, Niclas Bergfors, a 1st rounder in 2010, a future first-rounder, and $3 million.



Interestingly enough, the Atlanta Thrashers have signed restricted free agent forward Niclas Bergfors to a one-year, $900, 000.

The Philadelphia Flyers have invited forward Bill Guerin to training camp.

The Vancouver Canucks have invited forward Peter Schaefer to training camp.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 12, 2010

Forward Ruslan Fedotenko and defenseman Garnet Exelby have been invited to the New York Rangers training camp.

Forward Marcus Nilson has been invited to the New Jersey Devils training camp.

Forward Tyler Arnason will be attending the Florida Panther's camp.

Defenseman Shane Hnidy has been invited to the Phoenix Coyotes training camp.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Free agent defenseman Christoph Schubert may be close to signing with Swedish club Frolunda HC. Source

According to an Austrian source, free agent defenseman Doug Lynch is looking to sign with an NHL team. It's believed the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames are interested.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Lightning sign Hutchings to entry-level contract

The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed forward Alex Hutchings to a three-year, entry-level contract. Hutchings was drafted in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Source

Friday, September 10, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 11, 2010

The Colorado Avalanche have re-signed forward Peter Mueller to a two-year, $4 million contract.

The Phoenix Coyotes have re-signed restricted free agent forward Martin Hanzal to a two-year, $3.6 million contract.

The Edmonton Oilers have re-signed forward Andrew Cogliano to a one-year, $1 million deal.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed their 2010 NHL first rounder Ryan Johansen to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Forward Richard Park has officially left the NHL and signed a three year contract with Geneva-Servette HC of the NLA in Switzerland. Source

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 9, 2010

The Atlanta Thrashers have signed free agent forward Nigel Dawes to a one-year, $600,000 contract. It is a two-way contract.

The Chicago Blackhawks have signed free agent forward Ryan Potulny to a one-year, two-way contract.

The Nashville Predators have re-signed restricted free agent defenseman Cody Franson to a two-year, $1.6 million contract. Brochu's take: The two-year deal for restricted free agents seems to be the norm. Expect other NHL teams to sign their RFAs to two-year deals as well.

The Detroit Red Wings have re-signed forward Kirk Maltby to a one-year, two-way contract.

The Wings have also placed defenseman Derek Meech on waivers.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

There are rumors that free agent forward Richard Park has signed a multi-year deal to play in Switzerland. Sources are saying he has signed for Genève-Servette HC or Rapperswil-Jona Lakers. Source

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 8, 2010

Yes, I am back! Just in time for the new NHL season. Long story short, I got lazy. But I should be posting on a regular basis from now on.

The Montreal Canadiens have signed free agent forward Jeff Halpern to a one-year, $600,000 contract.

The Phoenix Coyotes have signed forward Kyle Wellwood to a training camp tryout contract.

There are rumors that the Vancouver Canucks may invite free agent goalie Jose Theodore training camp on a try-out contract.

Friday, April 02, 2010

Sort of update

Hey guys. Sorry about the lack of posts. I have been contemplating what to do exactly with this website. I've been thinking about keeping it a simple blog, or making it into a complete website with lots of content. At the present time, I am too busy to update everyday, so you can expect a weekly update, until the end of the month. If anything, I predict that this blog will be updated more frequently around draft time. Cheers for reading.

Monday, February 01, 2010

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.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

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.

Friday, January 22, 2010

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.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

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?

Sunday, January 03, 2010

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.

Saturday, January 02, 2010

Hockey and NHL rumors for Jan 3, 2010

The Boston Bruins have signed free agent forward Miroslav Satan to a contract for the rest of the season. The deal has a no movement clause. Brochu's take: My heart is broken that he didn't sign with the Devils. ;-)

The St. Louis Blues have fired head coach Andy Murray and replaced him with interim coach Davis Payne, who had the been the head coach of the Blues' AHL affiliate.

The future of Ilya Kovalchuk could very well be settled in the next couple of days. Atlanta Thrashers GM Don Waddell is hoping to get something done by Monday, otherwise it's very likely he will be traded. The Hotstove panel suggested that the Chicago Blackhawks are very interested. Brcohu's take: The Hawks COULD trade some of their bigger contracts to get him, but Kovie's going to come at a very high price, probably higher than what the Thrashers got for Marian Hossa.

Friday, January 01, 2010

Lukowich and Bochenski on re-entry waivers

The Vancouver Canucks have placed defenseman Brad Lukowich on re-entry waivers.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed forward Brandon Bochenski on re-entry waivers.