NHL and hockey rumors for June 11, 2008

According to the Puck-rakers blog at the Columbus Dispatch website, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins have had preliminary talks about a trade. The talks are surrounding Pittsburgh trading the rights to some of their impending unrestricted free agents. Writer Aaron Portzline speculates it could be either Brooks Orpik or Ryan Malone. Brochu's take: This could be a move similar to what Nashville did last summer when they sent the rights to Kimmo Timonen and Scott Hartnell to Philadelphia. Rumors are flying it could be Marian Hossa as well. Source

The Dallas Stars have traded forward Marty Sertich to the Colorado Avalanche for a conditional draft pick in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Source

The Anaheim Ducks have traded defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron to the Minnesota Wild for a third round pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. Source

Vancouver Canucks forward Trevor Linden will announce his retirement in a news conference scheduled for Wednesday in Vancouver.

Dallas Stars defenseman Mattias Norstrom announced his retirement from the NHL Tuesday.

The Detroit Red Wings have agreed to a three-year extension with head coach Mike Babcock.

The Los Angeles Kings have fired coach Marc Crawford. Crawford had one year remaining on his contract. There are rumors that Joel Quennville could be taking his job.

Canucks fire GM Dave Nonis!

The Vancouver Canucks have fired GM Dave Nonis. Nonis' team has missed the playoffs 2 of the 3 years that he was in charge. "The decision to relieve Dave of his duties was difficult,” explained Canucks chairman Francesco Aquilini in a statement. "We want to thank Dave for the many contributions he has made helping to build our organization during his tenure. However, I think this important change in leadership is critical to the future of the team and the direction we need to take. It's not acceptable to our fans or to us as owners that our team isn't in the playoffs." Rumors are already flying that Anaheim Ducks GM Brian Burke could be on his way back to Vancouver to become the new GM. Brochu's take: Nonis took a lot of criticism for his lack of movement at the trade deadline, and it appears Aquilini wants to impose his will on the team. Expect a lot more changes to come, especially concerning the future of coach Alain Vigneault. Source

*** 9:42 PM PST Update *** Farhan Lalji of TSN is reporting on TEAM 1040 radio in Vancouver that a decision is already made on who the new GM will be, and there are rumours that Trevor Linden could be involved in the management in some capacity.

Ozolinsh invited to Sharks camp

Sandis Ozolinsh has been invited to the San Jose Sharks training camp on a try-out basis. Ozolinsh played for the New York Rangers last season, but only had 3 assists in 21 games. Ozolinsh has been dealing with substance abuse problems, but feels healthy. “I have a lot of good memories here and I’m excited to be here,” said Ozolinsh. "I really hope to make this team." Source

According to TSN, Anson Carter has been invited to the Oilers training camp.

Vancouver Canucks fans got a few injury shocks today. Roberto Luongo got a high slapshot to the collarbone/throat, Sami Salo could have a possible broken wrist and Trevor Linden has a pulled groin.

Selanne update

According to the official Ducks website, the Finnish interview reported yesterday was not true. Selanne has not talked to anybody about retiring and is looking forward to returning to the United States to decide his future. Source

With Alexander Svitov abandoning the Blue Jackets to sign with Avangard Omsk, could the Jackets be looking for help in their forwards? GM Scott Howson may be looking for help via the UFA route, as there are still some forwards such as Eric Lindros and Jason Allison still available.

There's a rumour that Trevor Linden has signed a one year, $750,000 deal with the Vancouver Canucks and will be announced officially on Monday.

Stefan signs in Switzerland

Patrik Stefan has signed with SC Bern in Switzerland. Stefan played for the Dallas Stars last season. It is a one year contract with an out-clause until September 11. Source

The New York Islanders signed forward Josef Vasicek to a one-year $750,000 contract. Source

According to the Vancouver Sun, Trevor Linden and the Vancouver Canucks are having problems agreeing to a contract. It's believed there are differing opinions on Linden's role to the team. Several teams have inquired about him, with Anaheim and Montreal to be the lead teams. However, Linden has expressed that he would like to play with the team he loves and would most likely retire if not offered a contract. Source