NHL and Hockey Rumors for Jan 3, 2009

Minnesota Wild forward Marian Gaborik will have surgery on his hip on Monday and will be out a minimum of 10 weeks. This will rule out any chance of Gaborik being traded before the trade deadline, as players that are placed on the long-term injury list are ineligible to be traded. There's a small chance that his rights could be traded right before the July 1st UFA deadline. Brochu's take: And so dies the Gaborik rumors. Perhaps Gaborik should have taken that $8 milllion a year contract when he had the chance; now no one will pay that much for a oft-injured player.

Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun is reporting that Senators GM Bryan Murray might be willing to shop 1st round pick he received from the Tampa Bay Lightning. There has been interest in forward Antoine Vermette and defenseman Christoph Schubert, but none of the offers were good enough for the Sens. The Edmonton Oilers and Columbus Blue Jackets are believed to have mild interest in forward Jason Spezza. The BJs might also be interested in Vermette and forward Chris Kelly and might be offering up defenseman Kris Russell in return, although the Sens are believed seeking a more established blueliner. Brochu's take: Hmmm...looks like Garrioch reads the Puck-rakers blog on the Columbus Dispatch, because this is essentially what they reported a few days ago, aside from Kelly's name being thrown in. Spezza's name continues to be in the rumor mill, but seriously, he won't be moved. Source

Brochu's European rumour roundup:

Forward Dan LaCouture has left the Carolina Hurricanes franchise and signed with KHL team Barys Astana. Brochu's take: There were rumours of this a few days ago, but I don't think there was much interest in where Dan Lacouture was going. Source

NHL and Hockey Rumors for Jan 1, 2009

Happy New Year everyone!

The Columbus Dispatch hockey blog "Puck-rakers" is reporting that the Blue Jackets are expected to make a move in the next 7 to 10 days. Several teams have called about forward prospect Maxim Mayorov. There are rumours that there is a deal with the New York Islanders for Doug Weight, but it seems GM Scott Howson would be better off holding on their no. 2 pick until later in the season. Writer Aaron Portzline is also reporting that the Ottawa Senators would like to trade forward Antoine Vermette to the BJs in exchange for defenseman Kris Russell and a draft pick. There's also rumors that they are dangling goalie Pascal Leclaire, and the Sens are also interested in him as well. Brochu's take: As reported earlier, keep an eye on the Columbus situation. They may try to make moves to at least make the playoffs this year. Source

According to Sportnet's Hockeycentral panel, there are rumors that Pat Quinn could be named as the new coach/GM of the Ottawa Senators, and also as the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers if they fire Craig MacTavish.

The New York Islanders have placed forward Mitch Fritz on waivers.