Big trade day!

Only a massive trade day like today would awaken me from my blogging slumber! So to review:

The Calgary Flames have traded defenceman Dion Phaneuf, forward Fredrik Sjostrom, and prospect defenceman Keith Aulie to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for forwards Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers and defenseman Ian White. Brochu's take: My philosophy is that the team that the best player goes to "wins" the trade, and in this case I would have to say Toronto gets the better end of the deal. Phaneuf is capable of much more, and he will get plenty of ice-time in T.O. Hagman/Stajan are good players, and I'm not sure how the Leafs will score from now on. Calgary gets a lot more offensive in this deal.

The Leafs have also acquired goalie Jean-Sebastian Giguere from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for goalie Vesa Toskala and forward Jason Blake. Brochu's take: Toskala's contract, along with Blake's, were essentially dead weight. After the signing of Hiller, Giguere's contract was the same on the Ducks. I see this trade more of moving dead money around than actual players.

The Anaheim Ducks have signed goalie Jonas Hiller to a 4-year, $18 million contract extension. Brochu's take: Not a bad deal.

The Philadelphia Flyers have signed defenseman Lukas Krajicek to a contract. The Tampa Bay Lightning had terminated his contract when he didn't show up to his AHL assignment.

NHL and Hockey Rumors for Nov 13, 2008

Brian Burke has stepped down as the GM of the Anaheim Ducks. Senior vice president of hockey operations and assistant GM Bob Murray has been promoted to general manager. Burke will remain on as special consultant to CEO Michael Schulman, but has been given a one week "break" which he can discuss and freely negotiate future employment opportunities as a GM in the NHL. TSN mentions it is now very likely that he will become the new GM and president of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Brochu's take: The longest rumor in the history of GM rumors can finally come true. Some in the media continue to speculate that the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks could also be pursuing Burke, but Toronto makes too much sense. It's close to his children, and his wife can easily get a broadcasting job in Canada. Source

It appears Jason Blake is already wearing out his welcome in Toronto, only in his 2nd year of a 5-year, $20 million contract. Blake does not have a no trade clause, but his contract and age essentially makes him untradeable. The Leafs have the option of trading him, demoting him or buying out his contract. Brochu's take: He's untradeable as the writer states. Demoting him would be another option, but I really don't see a buyout considering the Leafs already have Darcy Tucker's dead cap space on the books. Source

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Kevin Allen of USA Today is reporting that free agent defenseman Bryan Berard is close to signing a one-year deal with Vityaz Chekhov of the KHL.

Adrian Dater of the Denver Post is citing a Swedish source that Peter Forsberg recently had another operation on his oft-injured foot. Brochu's take: He's tried different doctors, and even different skates. Maybe Forsberg should go dip his foot in the waters of Lourdes? Source

Leino signs with Red Wings

According to a report in the Toronto Star, forward Jason Blake would welcome a trade. The Star asked Blake if he would put up a fuss if he were traded, he said: "Oh no, not at all, if that's the route." There have also been rumours that he could be on the list of buyouts that interim GM Cliff Fletcher plans to do this summer. Brochu's take: The Toronto media's love of the "buyout" option for its players is laughable. Buyouts are good options only if the contract is manageable. A trade seems most likely for Blake, however. Source

The Detroit Red Wings have signed Finnish forward Ville Leino to a one-year deal. Brochu's take: While the mainstream media have been focusing on the Brunnstrom affair, the Wings have made a even better move signing Leino. He could become an instant factor in the NHL. Source

There are conflicting reports that the Atlanta Thrashers have asked GM Don Waddell to step down and take another job in the organizations. TSN is reporting that Dave Nonis may be courted by Atlanta, and also Nonis will be interview on Tuesday for the vacant GM job in Toronto.

The Colorado Avalanche and coach Joel Quenneville have agreed to part ways. This has already sparked rumors that former goalie Patrick Roy could become the new head coach of the Avs.

Coach Jacques Lemaire has confirmed that he will return for an eighth season with the Minnesota Wild.

Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun believes that the only option for the Senators with the Ray Emery situation is a buyout. Also, he speculates that Chicago Blackhawks goalie Patrick Lalime will not return to the Hawks and could sign in Ottawa as a backup. Brochu's take: Stranger things have happened, but Lalime was carved like a turkey in Ottawa. Will the city welcome him with open arms? Source

The Ottawa Citizen is reporting that defenseman Wade Redden has no intention of accepting a lower offer from the Senators and it looks likely he will be leaving the Canadian capital via free agency. Brochu's take: Lowballing is never good in negotiations. Redden will easily get $6 million from someone this summer. Source

The Philadelphia Flyers have signed forwards Garrett Klotz and Darroll Powe to entry-level contracts. Source

Leafs to buy out Tucker, Blake?

On the intermission program "The Hotstove" during CBC's Hockey Night in Canada broadcast, Al Strachan stated that the Toronto Maple Leafs will definitely buy out Darcy Tucker's contract and will likely buy out Jason Blake's contract as well. Scott Morrison speculated that Blake could be traded sometime this summer, as well as Bryan McCabe, who is rumored to accept a trade to the New York Islanders. Brochu's take: The buy-out is the new buzzword in Toronto. Tucker's contract is relatively manageable and I doubt that he would get bought out. Moving Blake and McCabe's contracts would be easier and better off in the long run.

The Leafs also signed forward Kyle Rogers to a two-year, entry level contract. He will the AHL Toronto Marlies for the remainder of the season and playoffs. Brochu's take: Rogers was pursued by many teams, and is a good step for the re-building Leafs. Source

Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ray Shero is unsure if he could re-sign forward Marian Hossa. When asked about the situation, he responded "I don't know. If I had to look into a crystal ball, it would be a little cloudy." Brochu's take: Hossa knows he is the top free agent this summer and could get a better contract if he goes to free agency. I can only see Hossa re-signing with the Pens if they make a deep run in the playoffs. Source

The newspapers in Florida speculate that the Florida Panthers will be making several important decisions this summer. GM and head coach Jacques Martin and franchise forward Olli Jokinen have butted heads this season, and one or both of them could be gone. Brochu's take: My feeling is Martin is good as gone. As for Jokinen, several teams will make a run for him and the Panthers will have to seriously address if the packages are enough to trade him.

The Dallas Stars have signed forward Raymond Sawada to a two-year, entry level contract and assigned him to the AHL Iowa Stars.

The Washington Capitals have signed center Mathieu Perreault to a three-year contract, entry level contract.

Daily Sundin rumor

The title is a bit of a joke. It seems whenever the Toronto Maple Leafs lose, the centre of the universe is saturated with rumours of every single person on the Leafs being shopped. The majority of the rumors are about centre Mats Sundin, who has consistently stated he does not want to be traded, and hasn't been asked to waive his no trade clause. Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons has thrown his hat in the ring (rink?), adding that the Leafs should listen to offers for Darcy Tucker, Jason Blake, Pavel Kubina, Mark Bell, Andrew Raycroft and Alexei Ponikarovsky. Source

Bob McKenzie has also jumped on the Sundin rumour mill, stating that he would probably get more back in a package than any player that was traded around last year's trade deadline.

Various sources have confirmed that the Carolina Hurricanes claimed Chicago Blackhawks forward Sergei Samsonov on re-entry waivers. The Canes will pick up half his salary.

GM Garth Snow attended the New York Islanders-Vancouver Canucks game. The Islanders are slowly falling out of the playoff race and could become sellers at the trade deadline. Could we see Miroslav Satan in a Canucks uniform come Feb 27?

Brochu's European round-up:

Defenseman Joe Rullier has been released from his pro tryout contract with the New York Islanders AHL affiliate Bridgeport Sound Tigers and signed with the Kloten Flyers of the Nationalliga A in Switzerland.

Swedish reports have St. Louis defenseman Christian Backman headed to the Carolina Hurricanes. Source

Habs interested in Eriksson?

According to a source, several Montreal Canadiens scouts have been spotted at the Dallas Stars affiliate in Iowa, keeping an eye on forward Loui Eriksson. Eriksson had been a healthy scratch for Dallas for several games and sent down to Iowa for more playing time.

The NHL is looking into an incident involving Sean Avery and Jason Blake that happened on Saturday. The FAN 590 in Toronto reported that an unnamed Rangers player said Avery ignited a scuffle with Leafs forward Darcy Tucker because of insensitive remarks towards Blake. The league is expected to speak with Avery about the incident some time this week, possibly Tuesday. Source

Brochu's European round-up:

Russian Super League team Locomotiv Yaroslavl has offered David Aebischer a contract around $1 million dollars. Aebischer is currently playing for the Phoenix Coyotes AHL affiliate. It's also believed that Swiss Nationalliga A teams HC Lugano and ZSC Lions have shown interest in signing the goaltender. Source

Jason York may be close to signing with Fribourg-Gottéron of the Swiss Nationalliga A. Source

Blake unhappy in Toronto?

In an interview with Toronto Sun columnist Steve Simmons, Jason Blake expressed his frustrations with his struggling Maple Leafs team. "I'm not going to sit here and blow off steam because if I did, we would be here for an hour," Blake said. "It has nothing to do with my (health). I feel 100 times better than I did last year. "It's frustrating," Blake said, about being a goal-scorer and having just two at this time. "You have to get the puck ... You have to get the puck in certain situations ... Shots on goal don't mean anything. You want to get good shots." Source

Wes Walz has been officially granted a leave of absence by the Minnesota Wild. It's rumoured that he is considering retirement as assistant GM Tom Lynn has confirmed that Walz's leaving has nothing to do with family or health. TSN

The Ducks placed defenseman Maxim Kondratiev on waivers Thursday. Coach Randy Carlyle said the team was uncertain what it would do if Kondratiev, who has played in only four games this season, is not claimed. Source