NHL and Hockey Rumors for March 2, 2013

The Calgary Flames have signed restricted free agent forward Ryan O'Reilly to a two-year, $5 million offer sheet.  The Flames would have to send the Colorado Avalanche their 1st and 3rd round draft picks in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.  The Avs have subsequently matched the offer sheet.  Brochu's take:  A very interesting 24 hours in this "ROR" saga.  It's also believed if that had the Avs NOT matched, ROR would have to go through waivers.

The Philadelphia Flyers have placed goalie Michael Leighton and forward Tom Sestito on waivers.  Sestito has been claimed by the Vancouver Canucks.

The Dallas Stars have placed forward Tom Wandell on waivers.

The Vancouver Canucks have placed forward Aaron Volpatti on waivers.  Volpatti has been claimed by the Washington Capitals.

The Nashville Predators have traded forward Brian McGrattan to the Calgary Flames in exchange for defenseman Joe Piskula.

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Jan 4, 2011

The Philadelphia Flyers have placed goalie Michael Leighton on waivers.  Brochu's take:  Leighton led the Flyers to the Stanley Cup Finals a year ago, and now they let him go.  So much for loyalty.


The Phoenix Coyotes have placed forward Petr Prucha on re-entry waivers.  Brochu's take:  The Penguins, Flames and Maple Leafs all have interest the Czech winger.


The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed defenseman Deryk Engelland to a three-year, $1.7 million contract extension.

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.

NHL and hockey rumors for June 12, 2008

According to the Miami Herald, the Florida Panthers are looking to deal forward Olli Jokinen, but they expect any package to include a 1st round pick. It's believed Calgary, Minnesota, Vancouver, Dallas and Philadelphia would be interested in Jokinen. Brochu's take: There's been some rumors that the Blue Jackets and Sharks are interested. Florida's ownership wants a big name player in return, not just draft picks and prospects. Source

The Toronto Maple Leafs have confirmed that interim GM Cliff Fletcher will remain the GM for the 2008-2009 season.

The San Jose Sharks are expected to announce on Thursday that they will hire Detroit Red Wings assistant coach Todd McLellan as their new head coach. Source

The Anaheim Ducks have re-signed goalie Jonas Hiller to two-year contract extension. The Ducks also re-signed forward Andrew Ebbett to a two-year contract extension.

The Carolina Hurricanes have signed goalie Michael Leighton to a two-year, $1.2-million contract.

The Minnesota Wild have re-signed defenseman Erik Reitz to a one-year contract.

Dowd, Fitzpatrick, Grahame on waivers

The Philadelphia Flyers have placed centre Jim Dowd and defenseman Rory Fitzpatrick on NHL waivers Thursday. "At the end of the day, we felt it would give us more roster flexibility if they both clear," Flyers GM Paul Holmgren told the Philadelphia Inquirer from the world junior tournament in the Czech Republic. "It will allow us to do more things with our team, maybe even bring up a defenceman." Could a trade be coming soon? Source

The Carolina Hurricanes have placed goaltender John Grahame on waivers. Grahame is earning $1.4 million this season and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. "John Grahame didn't do anything wrong, he didn't get any support," GM Jim Rutherford said. "We're just giving another guy a chance here." The Hurricanes have called up Michael Leighton from the AHL Albany River Rats. Source