NHL and Hockey Rumors for Jan 3, 2014

The Pittsburgh Penguins have claimed forward Taylor Pyatt off waivers from the New York Rangers.

The Minnesota Wild have placed forward Zenon Konopka on waivers.

The Nashville Predators have signed defenseman Jonathan-Ismael Diaby to a three-year, entry-level contract.  Diaby was the Preds' 64th overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

The New York Rangers have signed forward Anthony Duclair to an entry-level contract.  Duclair was the 80th choice in the 2013 NHL Draft.

The Calgary Flames have signed forward Emile Poirier to a three-year, entry-level contract.  Poirier was the Flames' first round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

The Winnipeg Jets have signed forward Ryan Olsen to a three-year, two-way, entry-level contract.  Olsen was the Jets' sixth round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

The Jets have also signed forward Nic Petan to a three-year, entry-level contract.  Petan was the Jets' second round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed forward Kerby Rychel to a three-year, entry-level contract.  Rychel was the Jacket's second of three picks in the first round of the 2013 NHL Draft.

Blue Jackets sign Bjorkstrand

The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed forward Oliver Bjorkstrand to a three-year, entry-level contract.  Bjorkstrand was the Blue Jacket's 89th overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

NHL and Hockey Rumors for March 13, 2013

The Ottawa Senators have acquired forward Matt Kassian from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a 6th round pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

The Philadelphia Flyers have traded forward Matthew Ford to the Columbus Blue Jackets for future considerations.

According to sources around the NHL, several team scouts were at the recent Calgary Flames-Los Angeles Kings game.  It's believed that teams are closely looking at players on the Flames' team should they decide to be sellers at the trade deadline.  Brochu's take:  Look for Jarome Iginla, Jay Bouwmeester and Miikka Kiprusoff to be in trade rumors for the next several weeks.

NHL and Hockey Rumors for March 11, 2013

The Winnipeg Jets have traded forward Spencer Machacek to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for forward Tomas Kubalik.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have placed defenseman Brendan Mikkelson on waivers.

The Chicago Blackhawks have placed defenseman Steve Montador on waivers.

NHL and Hockey Rumors for February 15. 2013

The Montreal Canadiens have acquired goalie Dustin Tokarski from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for goalie Cedrick Desjardins.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have traded forward Eric Tangradi to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for a 7th round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

The New Jersey Devils have acquired forward Alexei Ponikarovsky from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for a 7th round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft and a 4th round pick in the 2014 Draft.

Forward Andrew Brunette has retired from the NHL and has joined the Minnesota Wild in their hockey operations department.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have hired Jarmo Kekalainen as their new General Manager.  Kekalainen becomes the first European GM in the NHL.

NHL and Hockey Rumors for February 13. 2013

The Columbus Blue Jackets have fired GM Scott Howson.  Brochu's take:  The rumor is that Jokerit GM Jarmo Kekalainen is the front-runner for the job.

The Boston Bruins have placed forward Jay Pandolfo on waivers.  The Bruins had signed Pandolfo to a one-year contract earlier.

The Calgary Flames have placed goalie Danny Taylor on waivers.

The Minnesota Wild have placed forward Matt Kassian on waivers.

According to TSN's Insider Trading, the Colorado Avalanche and restricted free agent forward Ryan O'Reilly are far apart in negotiations and a trade appears likely.  Several Eastern Conference teams have already inquired about his services.  The Avs are reportedly looking for a young roster player and prospect.

Edmonton Oilers defenseman Ryan Whitney has been a healthy scratch for several games, and there are rumors that he is on the outs in Edmonton.

NHL and Hockey Rumors for February 12, 2013

According to Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch, scouts from 17 NHL teams were at the game between the San Jose Sharks and the Blue Jackets.  There was one scout each for the Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets.  There were two scouts each from the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers respectively.  Portzline is also reporting that the BJs are always looking to trade, but nothing is close.  Brochu's take:  Very interesting, especially for the Eastern Conference teams that don't play the Jackets.  

18 teams scouting Florida-Buffalo game

According to George Richards of the Miami Herald, 18 NHL teams were scouting the Florida Panthers-Buffalo Sabres game yesterday.  They were the Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Colorado Avalanche, Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Lightning, Winnipeg Jets, Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings, Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Phoenix Coyotes, Ottawa Senators, New York Rangers, Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

More signings in Europe

New York Islanders defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky has signed with HC Slovan Bratislava.  (Bratislava play in the KHL.)

Calgary Flames forward Jiri Hudler and Philadelphia Flyers forward Jakub Voracek has signed with HC Lev Praha.  (Lev Praha play in the KHL)

CZECH REPUBLIC

Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Rostislav Klesla has signed with HC Trinec.

Chicago Blackhawks forward Michael Frolik has signed with KLH Chomutov.

St. Louis Blues defenseman Roman Polak has signed with HC Vitkovice.

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jakub Kindl has signed with HC Pardubice.

SLOVAKIA

Detroit Red Wings forward Tomas Tatar has signed with SHK 37 Piestany.

AHL

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Brett Lebda has signed with the Rockford IceHogs.

Post-Lockout NHL Signings in Europe

Here's a few more NHL signings in Europe, look for my individual European country updates soon!  This post will be concentrated on players that have signed with Swiss, Russian and Czech clubs.

RUSSIA

Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has signed with SKA St. Petersburg.

Boston Bruins goalie Anton Khudobin has signed with Atlant Mytishchi.

SWITZERLAND

Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi has signed with SC Bern.

Boston Bruins forward Tyler Seguin has signed with EHC Biel.

Buffalo Sabres forward Tyler Ennis and Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon have signed with Langnau.

CZECH REPUBLIC

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Radek Martinek and Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference have signed with HC Ceske Budejovice.

Washington Capitals goalie Michal Neuvirth has signed with HC Sparta Praha (Prague).

St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Sobotka has signed with HC Slavia Praha (Prague).

NHL Lockout Signings: Russia

Here is a list of some of the NHLers that have signed with KHL teams:

Ottawa Senators defenseman Sergei Gonchar, Toronto Maple Leafs forward Nikolai Kulemin and Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin have signed with Metallurg Magnitogorsk.

New Jersey Devils forward Ilya Kovalchuk has signed with SKA St. Petersburg.

Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin has signed with Dynamo Moskva (Moscow).

Detroit Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk and Philadelphia Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov has signed with CSKA Moskva (Moscow).

Columbus Blue Jackets forward Artem Anisimov has signed with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl.

Free agent forward Andrei Kostitsyn has signed with Traktor Chelyabinsk.  Brochu's take:  He signed for the whole year in the KHL, this does not have an out clause in case the NHL ends its' lockout.

Huselius to AIK?

According to Expressen, Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kristian Huselius could be playing for Swedish team AIK if there is an NHL lockout.  Source

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.

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.

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

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.

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

Hockey and NHL rumors for Dec 30, 2009

The Washington Capitals have traded forward Chris Clark and defenseman Milan Jurcina to the Columbus Blue Jackets for forward Jason Chimera. Brochu's take: Trading your captain is a bit weird, but I believe the Caps are shedding a bit of salary cap space to make a big run to the Stanley Cup this season. Look for the Caps to make more moves soon.

The Vancouver Canucks have placed defenseman Mathieu Schneider on waivers. Brochu's take: There are rumors he might retire if he clears.

The Anaheim Ducks have placed forward Kyle Calder on waivers.

The Nashville Predators have placed forward Dave Scatchard on waivers.

Hockey and NHL rumors for Dec 15, 2009

According to the Puck-rakers blog, the Columbus Blue Jackets are interested in Ottawa Senators defenseman Brian Lee. Writer Aaron Portzline that a deal could involve forward Nikita Filatov, who is currently playing in the KHL. Brochu's take: Filatov is one of the top prospects outside the NHL right now, so I would say the Sens would have to give up more than that.

The Carolina Hurricanes have placed defenseman Aaron Ward on waivers and goalie Michael Leighton on re-entry waivers.

The New York Rangers have placed forward Pierre Alexandre Parenteau on waivers.

The Columbus Blue Jackets had placed Derek Mackenzie on waivers and the Tampa Bay Lightning had placed defenseman Lukas Krajicek on waivers. They have both cleared.

Hockey and NHL rumors for Dec 9, 2009

The Columbus Blue Jackets have traded forward Pascal Pelletier to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for defenceman Brendan Bell and centre Tomas Kana.

The Florida Panthers have placed defenseman Ville Koistinen on re-entry waivers.

Both Carolina Hurricanes goalie Michael Leighton and New York Islanders forward Jeremy Reich have cleared waivers.