Cleary, Bishop signed, Cloutier controversy?

The Detroit Red Wings have signed forward Dan Cleary to a 5-year, $14 million contract extension. Source

The St. Louis Blues have signed goaltending prospect Ben Bishop to an entry-level contract. The 6'7, 210 pound St. Louis native will report to the AHL Peoria Rivermen for the remainder of the season. Source

There has been a lot of speculation on what the Los Angeles Kings organization has allegedly done to goalie Dan Cloutier. The Kings apparently pushed Cloutier into playing while injured, and also mistreated him as he went to the minors (refusing to give an apartment to his pregnant wife) to find his game. The Kings have yet to respond to these allegations, so make your own decision. Source

On Team 1040 radio in Vancouver, Vancouver Canucks assistant GM Steve Tambellini hinted that the Canucks would be very active around the draft day and could make a "hockey trade" during that time.

Poll Results:

Who is the "winner" of the NHL trade deadline?

Dallas	53 (35%)
Pittsburgh	29 (19%)
San Jose	10 (6%)
Washington	14 (9%)
Colorado	40 (26%)
Other	4 (2%)

Total votes: 150

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Cleary to sign 5-year extension?

The Detroit Red Wings blog on Mlive.com is reporting that the Red Wings and forward Dan Cleary have agreed on a 5-year contract extension, and are working out the details for the dollar value. Cleary wants to get a deal done before he becomes a UFA on July 1. The deal is rumored to average around $2.5 million to $3 million a year. Source

The rumor around Buffalo is that goaltender Ryan Miller could become the future goalie of the Detroit Red Wings. With the Sabres allowing its' big free agents walk (or traded), Miller could be headed to his home state of Michigan. The goaltender is due to be an UFA in July 2009. Source

According to Swiss newspaper Blick, Travis Roche could be leaving the AHL San Antonio Rampage and sign with SC Bern of the Swiss Nationalliga A. Roche is property of the Phoenix Coyotes. Source

There's been some more fuel added to the Adam Foote controversy. Foote had allegedly "threatened to be a bad teammate" if he stayed with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Also, the Columbus Dispatch Blue Jackets "Puck-rakers" blog reported that Calgary Flames coach Mike Keenan knew ahead of time that Foote would be traded to the Colorado Avalanche and his equipment guys helped sew "52" and "Foote" on an Avs jersey before the trade was "officially" announced.

Blackhawks and Senators swapping goalies?

TSN is reporting a rumor that Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray and Chicago Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon were considering a crazy trade that would involve swapping goaltenders Martin Gerber and Ray Emery for Nikolai Khabibulin and Patrick Lalime.

The Detroit Red Wings have made several offers to their impending free agents. The Wings would like to sign forward Dan Cleary to a long-term deal for $2.5 million a season, but he could earn more on the open market. Defenseman Andreas Lilja has been offered a two-year deal worth a little more than $1 million a season. Defenseman Chris Chelios will be offered another one-year deal after the season.

The club hopes to sign forward Henrik Zetterberg to a long-term deal for five or seven years in the neighborhood of $7 million a season during the first week of July. He has one year left on a deal that averages $2.65 million a season and can't be signed to an extension until July 1. Source

There are rumours that Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller could be moving to another team next year. Miller does not seem to be in a hurry to negotiate. Miller earns $2.5 million this year, and will eran to $3.5 million next season, the last in his three-year deal. A report in The Buffalo News has suggested the goaltender would be looking for a six-year contract worth around $41 million. Source

The acquisition of Cristobal Huet by the Washington Capitals have upset goaltender Olaf Kolzig, who is a UFA this summer. "I guess I'll talk with my wife about what we want to do next year or the year after." said Kolzig. He will most likely move to a new team in the summer. Source

Sundin for Kesler, Bourdon, Schneider and a 1st?

Team 1040 radio in Vancouver and TSN is reporting a rumour that the asking price for Toronto Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin is Ryan Kesler, Luc Bourdon, Cory Schneider and a 1st round pick in 2008 from the Canucks.

The Ottawa Citizen is reporting that Ottawa Senators coach John Paddock made the four-hour trip to Binghamton from Ottawa after practice on Wednesday to check out the AHL Binghamton Senators in action against the Philadelphia Phantoms. Paddock was there to watch which players would fit on the big club if a roster player was traded. There are rumors that Antoine Vermette, Joe Corvo and Andrej Meszaros could be dealt at the deadline. When asked which players he was looking at, Paddock said: "Any one of the young players. (Alexander) Nikulin and (Ilya) Zubov have each had one game, or a few games up, and Brian Lee, and the goaltenders (Jeff Glass and Brian Elliott). And we know what Lawrence Nycholat can do as a call-up." Source

These following trade rumors are from TSN's Backchecking column:

The Ottawa Sun is reporting that Senators prospects Brian Lee, Ilya Zubov and Nick Foligno could be part of a deal to land a top-6 forward.

The New York Post is reporting that the New Jersey Devils have some cap room available and may target Chicago Blackhawks forwards Robert Lang and Martin Havlat. The paper also reports that they are interested in Edmonton Oilers defenseman Joni Pitkanen.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the Detroit Red Wings might consider moving Dan Cleary if they can't get him signed to a contract extension, and if the Wings could get a top-six forward in return.

Penguins in trade talks

Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ray Shero won't be making any panic moves to help his injury-riddled club, but he is keeping all the doors open. Shero cannot divulge specifics of any talks in which he is engaged, but acknowledged that he is speaking with other clubs. "You hear from somebody almost every day in this job," Shero said. "There is plenty of conversation." Source

The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed forward Darryl Boyce to an entry-level contract. The 23 year old undrafted centre had been playing with the AHL Toronto Marlies. Source

With the new year, many players can now be signed to contract extensions. Here are some of the ones that are close to signing:

The Dallas Stars can officially sign Mike Ribeiro to a long-term deal. Co-GM Les Jackson said the Stars have already started negotiations with Ribeiro's agent, Don Meehan. "We're talking, and things are moving forward," Jackson said. "We think things are very positive." Source

Anaheim Ducks GM Brian Burke is looking to sign forward Corey Perry to a long-term extension when he gets back to Anaheim on Jan 7. He is hoping to avoid the contract situation he had last year with Dustin Penner. Source

The Detroit Red Wings have offered goaltender Chris Osgood a three-year extension, but his agent, Rollie Thompson, said they still haven't decided on a term. A one-year, incentive-laden contract also is a possibility. Source

The Red Wings have also been in negotiations with defenseman Andreas Lilja and forward Dan Cleary. A deal may be close with both players.