Hockey and NHL rumors for Aug 10, 2009

According to Darren Dreger of TSN, the Toronto Maple Leafs are close to sending goalie Justin Pogge to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a conditional late round draft pick. Brochu's take: Pogge's name has been in the rumor mill for sometime, so it wasn't a surprise that he would get traded.

The Leafs are also close to signing free agent goalie Joey MacDonald to a deal.

Theoren Fleury is attempting another NHL comeback, according to TSN. Fleury spent last season playing senior hockey in Alberta, and is currently contacting teams to gauge their interest.

The Philadelphia Flyers have signed goalie Nicola Riopel to a contract. Source

The Montreal Canadiens have signed forward Gregory Stewart to a one-year contract.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Goalie David LeNeveu has left the Anaheim Ducks organization and signed with Austrian hockey club EC Salzburg. Source

NHL and Hockey Rumors for Jan 8, 2009

Sorry about the lack of updates, it's been a busy time for me.

According to a French language hockey website, the Tampa Bay Lightning are having serious financial troubles and have asked forward Vincent Lecavalier to waive his no trade clause. Brochu's take: There have been rumours that the "Bolts" are having money issues, but I doubt that they asked Lecavalier to waive his NTC, since he just signed a long-term extension. Source

Ottawa Senators Eugene Melynk made an announcement to the media assuring that he is not looking to make changes to his team at the moment. Rumors spread early on Wednesday that coach Craig Hartsburg and GM Bryan Murray would be both be fired, and replaced with Pat Quinn and Bob Nicholson respectively. There have also been speculation that Quinn could become the coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins once Michel Therrien gets fired.

According to the Team 1040 radio in Vancouver, the Tampa Bay Lightning have been scouting the Vancouver Canucks very closely for the past few weeks, and something could be in the works. Brochu's take: The Nucks and Bolts have been common trading partners lately; it wouldn't surprise if there is a trade brewing between these two teams again.

The Anaheim Ducks have traded forward Brad May to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a conditional 6th round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. Brochu's take: This makes this the 3rd time that GM Brian Burke has traded for Brad May. He did it in Vancouver, and he brought May into Anaheim. Does May have incriminating photos of Burke or something?

The Calgary Flames have signed defenseman Keith Aulie to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Forward Frederik Cabana has left the Philadelphia Flyers organization and signed with Austrian hockey team EC Dornbin. Source

European rumor update for May 16, 2008

Here's the big version of Brochu's European rumour roundup:

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Lars Jonsson has signed with Brynäs of the Swedish Elite League for the 2008-2009 season. Source

Los Angeles Kings forward Matt Ryan has signed with Augsburg Panther of the DEL in Germany. Source

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Alain Nasreddine has signed with Nürnberg/Sinupret Ice Tigers of the DEL.

Montreal Canadiens forward Jonathan Ferland has signed with Austrian club Villacher SV.

Phoenix Coyotes forward Joey Tenute has signed with Jokerit of the Finnish SM-Liiga.

The St. Louis Blues have signed defenseman Jonas Junland to an entry-level contract. Source

Vultures circling Toronto, interest in Staios?

The Toronto Star is reporting that there were 18 scouts from 16 NHL teams watching the Toronto Maple Leafs-St. Louis Blues game Tuesday. Mats Sundin remains the subject of trade rumors, and there is speculation that interim GM Cliff Fletcher will talk to Sundin this week about waiving his no trade clause. Source

According to Adam Proteau of the Hockey News, a Western Conference GM stated that Edmonton Oilers defenseman Steve Staios might draw some interest around the league. Source

In other Oiler news, it looks like billionaire Daryl Katz's new $200 million offer to buy the Oilers will be accepted by the EIG board members. Source

TSN is reporting that the Calgary Flames and defenseman Dion Phaneuf are close to a long-term contract extension, with minor details being ironed out. This should put the preposterous Phaneuf rumours to rest. Source

Bob McKenzie of TSN is reporting that Peter Forsberg has given his agent Don Baizley the go-ahead to speak to NHL teams that may be interested in signing the Swedish forward. Source

Brochu's European round-up:

Forward Matt Hussey has left the AHL Lake Erie Monsters and signed with Jokerit in Finland. He was signed by the Colorado Avalanche last summer. Source

Dallas Stars prospect Sergei Korostin has left Dynamo Moskva (Moscow) in Russia and is now playing with the Texas Tornado of the North American Hockey League (NAHL). He was the Stars' third round, 64th overall selection in the 2007 NHL entry draft. Source

Goaltender Maxime Ouellet, the former first-round NHL draft pick, has left Red Bull Salzburg in Austria and signed with the Mississippi Sea Wolves of the ECHL. Source

Aftonbladet in Sweden is reporting rumours that Dallas Stars defenseman Mattias Norström will leave the NHL in 2008-2009 and sign with AIK of the Allsvenskan, the second highest league in Sweden.

The paper is also reporting that Edmonton Oilers defenseman Dick Tarnström will also sign with AIK next season. Source

Winnipeg Jets to fly again?

There has been speculation that the NHL is considering a move back to Winnipeg, buoyed by the strength of the Canadian dollar. In a report in the Toronto Star, a high-ranking hockey source says the league receives daily calls about bringing a franchise back to Manitoba. The NHL contacted Canadian regulators to reinforce its trademark on the Winnipeg Jets name and there is a brand new hockey venue in the MTS Centre waiting for a major league partner. Source

PJ Stock on the Team 990 in Montreal is reporting that he heard a "trade idea" from an email involving a trade between the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning. The trade would involve an exchange of Michael Ryder, Andrei Kostitsyn and Jaroslav Halak for Brad Richards and Andre Roy. Richards has a NTC.

Maxime Ouellet has signed a four week pro tryout contract with Red Bull Salzburg in the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga in Austria. Ouellet signed a minor league contract with the New York Islanders earlier this summer. Source

Tjärnqvist to Columbus?

Daniel Tjärnqvist is still looking for a club after turning down Swedish club Djurgården, and could be signing with Columbus. "I have had contact with Columbus for some time. They say that they want to have me, but the terms were not good. Now, my agent will check around in Russia to me. Probably, I will begin in Salzburg. Hardy Nilsson called and said that they had a player with an injured back and needed help immediately." Source

According to William Houston of the Globe and Mail, "speculation has Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Ferguson fired in November if the team continues to lose more than it wins." One broadcaster says Bowman would jump at the opportunity to run the Leafs if his contract matched that of Bryan Colangelo, who is president and general manager of the Toronto Raptors. (Both Raptors and Leafs are owned by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.)
Bowman would want Colangelo’s autonomy and a contract that matched his annual salary of about $3-million. If Bowman took over, he would “clean house,” the source said. Colin Campbell has also been rumoured to be a favourite for the job.

Pierre LeBrun of Sportsnet has listed a long list of potential candidates for the head coaching job of the Atlanta Thrashers. Pat Quinn seems to be the frontrunner, while John Anderson, Randy Cunneyworth, Craig Hartsburg , Mike Sullivan, Robbie Ftorek, Kevin Constantine, Steve Stirling and Peter DeBoer are also in the running.

Tjarnqvist to Djurgarden?

The Daniel Tjarnqvist saga never seems to end. Earlier in the summer, he was rumoured to be signing with Ak Bars Kazan in the Russian Super League. This was promptly denied by Tjarnqvist, who was still waiting an NHL offer. Now it appears Djurgården of the Swedish Elite league has offered him a contract. According to Sportal.nu, Djurgarden has been in contact with him and has an offer on the table, if he wants it. Tjärnqvist played for Djurgården from 1997-2001, as well as the lockout year in 2004-2005. Source

A late report from Sweden has Jeff Friesen headed to Leksands IF to join Ed Belfour, but this has been flatly denied by Leksands sportchief Mikael Lundström.

Pat Leahy has signed with EHC Black Wings Linz in Austria. Leahy was a UFA of the Nashville Predators, and appeared in one game in 2006-2007.

There's a rumour that Jamie McLennan has left Metallurg Magnitogorsk. It's unknown if an NHL team has offered him a contract.