Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 12, 2010

Andreas Lilja

The Anaheim Ducks have signed defenseman Andreas Lilja to a one-year contract.  Brochu's take:  They better check his passport to be sure!

The Boston Bruins have placed goalie Nolan Schaefer on waivers.

The New Jersey Devils have placed enforcer Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond on waivers.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Defenseman Staffan Kronwall has left the Calgary Flames organization and signed a one year deal with Djurgarden in the Swedish Elite League.  Source

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 17, 2010

The Dallas Stars have re-signed restricted free agent forward James Neal to a two-year, $5.75 million contract. The Stars have also re-signed defenseman Matt Niskanen to a two-year, $3 million deal.  Brochu's take:  Given the Stars' ownership situation, it's paramount that these two get signed before the new season.

The Anaheim Ducks have officially signed Paul Mara to a one-year, $750,000 deal.

The Carolina Hurricanes have signed forward Patrick O'Sullivan to a one-year, two-way deal.

The Ducks have invited forward Stephane Veilleux to training camp.

The Vancouver Canucks have signed forward Brendan Morrison to a tryout contract.

The San Jose Sharks have invited defenseman Andreas Lilja to training camp.  Brochu's take:  Or was it Peter Worrell?  Just kidding!

The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed defenseman Charles Landry to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The lull before the storm

One quick rumor update before today's NHL free agent frenzy begins:

According to Sportsnet, the Tampa Bay Lightning have an offer on the table to Brian Rolston, but Rolston and his agent wants to wait for other offers before accepting or rejecting it. The deal is rumored to be around the same term and a little bit less than what Ryan Malone signed. (7 year, ~$29 million)

TSN is reporting that the Anaheim Ducks and forward Corey Perry are close to a new deal; a contract similiar to similar to the one that Ryan Getzlaf signed last season worth approximately $5.325 million per season. Brochu's take: This should put all the "offer sheet" rumors to rest.

Impending free agent Brian Campbell could be signing with the Atlanta Thrashers, who are rumored to be offering more money than most teams. The Ottawa Senators are in heavy pursuit of the rearguard as well.

The Edmonton Oilers could be offering a huge contract worth $9 million a year to Marian Hossa. The Vancouver Canucks are also interested in signing the winger. Brochu's take: If some team is stupid enough to give Hossa $9 million per, the NHL should implement some kind of rule to stop this silliness. Source

The Detroit Red Wings have signed Peter Worrell...err...Andreas Lilja to a two-year, $2.5 million contract extension.

The New York Rangers have signed goalie Matt Zaba to a contract extension.

The Ottawa Senators have signed forward Jeremy Yablonski to a two-year entry level contract.

The Boston Bruins have re-signed forward Petteri Nokelainen to a two-year, $1.7 million contract extension.

Vigneault to return?

According to TSN, the Vancouver Canucks have fired assistant coaches Barry Smith and Mike Kelly. Reports are indicating that head coach Alain Vigneault was the one that delivered the news. This has led to speculation that Vigneault will return as the head coach of the Canucks for the 2008-2009 season. Brochu's take: Unless he gets an extension, Vigneault remains a lame duck coach.

The San Jose Sharks have re-signed forward Jeremy Roenick to a one-year contract. The deal is believed to be worth in the $1 million range.

The next outdoor game for the NHL is rumored to be set in Chicago between the Blackhawks and Boston Bruins. It appears problems with the New York proposal has opened the door for an outdoor game in Chicago.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Swedish team Rogle has targeted several NHL players for the 2008-2009 season. It's believed they are interested in Phoenix Coyotes forward Mathias Tjarnqvist and Detroit Red Wings defenseman Andreas Lilja. Source

Afino-gone-ov?

Bucky Gleason of the Buffalo News is reporting that the Buffalo Sabres should trade forward Maxim Afinogenov. Gleason notes his eight years of relative sub-par productivity and his contract ($3.5 million for another season) as factors to get rid of him. Brochu's take: Maybe Afinogenov would benefit from a change of scenery. He has speed to burn, but his hands have never caught up to him. Source

The Philadelphia Flyers have signed forward Jon Kalinski from Michigan State University to an entry-level contract. He will join the AHL Philly Phantoms for the remainder of the season.

The Boston Bruins have signed defenseman Jeff Penner from the Unversity of Alaska-Fairbanks to an entry-level contract. He will join the AHL Providence Bruins next week.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

According to Swedish sources, Linköping forward Tony Mårtensson is rumoured to be signing with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Brochu's take: Martensson led the SEL in points with 17 goals and 50 assists. He could provide the Blue Jackets with some much needed offense. Source

Phoenix Coyotes defenseman Travis Roche will leave the organization and play for SC Bern of the Swiss Nationalliga A for 2008-2009.

St. Louis Blues defenseman Micki DuPont will leave the organization and play for EV Zug of the Swiss Nationalliga A for 2008-2009.

There's a rumor that Detroit Red Wings defenseman Andreas Lilja might sign with SEL club Malmo. Brochu's take: This might be an option more than anything. Lilja will probably sign with the Wings this summer.

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

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.