NHL and Hockey Rumors for Nov 28, 2008

Darren Dreger of TSN is reporting that once Brian Burke is officially named the new president and GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, he will start shaping the team in his mode. The rumor is that defensemen Tomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina could be on the trading block, despite their no trade clauses. Alex Ponikarovsky and Nik Antropov are also believed to be considered trade bait. Brochu's take: There has been no "official" signing of Burke, yet. As for Burke, there is a widely reported (but wrong) notion that he likes to build a team with North Americans and not Europeans. Don't forget he made a trade during the 1999 NHL Entry Draft to draft the Sedins.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Forward Michal Birner has left the Anaheim Ducks organization and has signed with Pelicans Lahti of the Finnish SM-Liiga.

There are rumours from Sweden that Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Fredrik Norrena may be signing with Linkoping. Norrena is currently the odd man out in Columbus. Source

There's also a rumor that forward Mikael Renberg will come out of retirement and play with Swedish Elite League team Frolunda. Source

McDonald for Weight - official

The Anaheim Ducks have traded centre Andy McDonald to the St. Louis Blues for Doug Weight. McDonald is scheduled to make $3.33 million this year and next year while Weight is making $3.5 million. The Ducks have now cleared around $2.5 million of "tagging room" from next years cap. More deals could be in store tonight. More details to come.

7:45 pm EST update! St. Louis Blues President John Davidson announced today the team has acquired forward Andy McDonald from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for Doug Weight, Michal Birner and a 7th round draft choice in 2008. Source