Prospal to Philly, Boyle and Jackman signed

The Philadelphia Flyers have acquired Vaclav Prospal from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for defenseman Alexandre Picard and a conditional (2nd or 3rd) pick in 2009. Source

The St. Louis Blues have re-signed defenseman Barret Jackman to a 4-year, $14.4 million contract extension. Rumors are flying that the Blues will trade one of defensemen Bryce Salvador, Jay McKee and Christian Backman before the deadline, as many teams are "kicking the tires." Source

The Tampa Bay Lightning have re-signed defenseman Dan Boyle to a 6-year, $40 million contract extension. The Brad Richards rumours should explode about now. Source

Richards willing to waive his NTC!

Sportsnet is reporting that Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brad Richards is willing to waive his no trade clause. It's believed that GM Jay Feaster will be presenting deals to Richards this evening, and something could happen as early as Monday. The report also indicates that Richards wants to play for a playoff contender, which rules out the Columbus Blue Jackets and Edmonton Oilers. The Vancouver Canucks, Dallas Stars, Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens remain the front-runners. Let the Richards sweepstakes commence! Source

According to the Bergen Record, the New Jersey Devils have scouted and are interested in St. Louis Blues defensemen Bryce Salvador and Barret Jackman. Source

There will be more frequent posts as the deadline approaches.

Redden refuses to waive NTC

According to TSN, sources are saying that Ottawa Senators defenseman Wade Redden was approached by GM Bryan Murray to waive his no trade clause and Redden refused. This was brought on by interest from the San Jose Sharks. Source

The Windsor Star is quoting "highly-placed league sources" are indicating that LA Kings Rob Blake is headed to the Anaheim Ducks. Source

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is reporting that St. Louis Blues defenseman Barret Jackman rejected a multi-year contract offer from the team earlier this week. One source indicated that the Blues’ offer averaged less than $3 million per season. Talks continue, but he may become a good asset at the trade deadline. Source

The Phoenix Coyotes have signed Pete Vandermeer to an NHL contract. Pete, brother of Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Jim Vandermeer, has 210 penalty minutes this season and is fifth all-time in the American Hockey League with 2,374. Source

The Montreal Canadiens have traded Francis Lemieux to the Detroit Red Wings for Brett Engelhardt. Source

The latest NHL rumors for Feb 7, 2008

A rumour was reported on CKAC 730 AM radio in Montreal about the Montreal Canadiens trading Michael Ryder and Ryan O'Byrne for Calgary Flames forward Alex Tanguay. Tanguay has a no trade clause and is reportedly sick of hearing rumors about him heading to Montreal.

Andy Strickland of 1380 ESPN radio in St. Louis is reporting that defenseman Matt Walker has asked the Blues to be traded. There is a lot of speculation that the Blues are on the verge of a trade, possibly involving defenseman Eric Brewer and Barret Jackman.

Swedish reports have indicated that the Toronto Maple Leafs may be interested in signing forward Linus Klasen. Bill Meltzer of NHL.com also adds that both Philadelphia Flyers GM Paul Holmgren and Vancouver Canucks GM Dave Nonis, along with many other NHL scouts watched prospects Fabian Brunnstrom, Linus Klasen and Linus Videll, along with many other NHL scouts on a recent trip to Sweden. Source

Many Canucks fans' hearts skipped a beat on Wednesday when defenseman Mattias Ohlund was removed from the roster of the Canucks official website, prompting rumours of a trade. A later email from the webmaster indicated it was a glitch due to Ohlund's absence from the team for personal reasons.

The upstart European hockey superleague that was reported a few weeks ago is one step closer to reality. On Wednesday, Bloomberg news reported that Vladislav Tretiak, the legendary goaltender who's now president of the Russian Hockey Federation, and energy tycoon Alexander Medvedev have signed an agreement to create the rival league by April 15. The rival league will be known as the Continental Hockey League, and will have 20 Russian teams and an undetermined number of foreign clubs. It's possible that this new league will attract some NHL players to play in Europe. Source

Hurricanes trade watch

According to Lord Stanley's Blog at the News & Observer, the Carolina Hurricanes are looking for a forward, and a trade could happen in the next 48 hours. They are looking to add forward depth with Justin Williams out indefinitely and Matt Cullen's concussion problems. The Canes would probably part with a draft pick or low-level prospect. They are also still pursuing a puck-moving defenseman. Source

Rumors continue to swirl that the Colorado Avalanche are shopping defenseman John-Michael Liles. Could he be a fit in Carolina?

The St. Louis Blues are shopping three of their defenseman, and a trade could come very soon. It's believed that Barret Jackman, Bryce Salvador and Christian Backman are the names being mentioned. Source

Pierre LeBrun of Sportsnet is reporting that if significant progress isn't made in contract talks between Marian Hossa and the Atlanta Thrashers, the Thrashers will begin to shop Hossa in earnest. Source

Various sources have confirmed that the Dallas Stars have signed Mike Ribeiro to a five year, $25 million contract extension.

Waiver wire news:

The Chicago Blackhawks have placed Sergei Samsonov on re-entry waivers again.

The Washington Capitals have placed Ben Clymer on re-entry waivers.

The San Jose Sharks have placed goaltender Dimitri Patzold on waivers.

Simon Gamache has cleared waivers and released by the Toronto Maple Leafs. He will most likely be signing in Switzerland.