Hockey and NHL rumors for Sept 29, 2009

It's been a busy couple of days in terms of NHL transactions, so I should be caught up by tomorrow.

The New Jersey Devils have signed forward Rob Niedermayer to a one-year deal. The Devils have also signed forward Andrew Peters to a two-year deal.

The Colorado Avalanche have signed forward Milan Hejduk to a one-year contract extension.

The Boston Bruins have signed forward Guillaume Lefebvre to a one-year, two-way deal.

The Anaheim Ducks have traded defenseman Steve McCarthy to the Atlanta Thrashers for future considerations.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed forward James Wright to a three-year entry-level contract.

The St. Louis Blues have signed defenseman Darryl Sydor to a one-year contract.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed forward Ryan Bayda to a one-year, two-way deal.

The New York Islanders have signed defenseman Anton Klementyev to a three-year, entry-level deal.

NHL and Hockey Rumors for July 6, 2009

The Florida Panthers have signed defenseman Clay Wilson to a two-year contract.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have re-signed forward Trevor Frischmon to a one-year deal.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

The Toronto Maple Leafs are rumored to be signing Swedish forward Rickard Wallin. Wallin is the captain of Swedish club Farjestad. Source

The New Jersey Devils have signed forward Ilkka Pikkarainen. Pikkarainen returns to the organization after spending three seasons with Finnish club HIFK. Source

The Edmonton Oilers have signed defenseman Matt Nickerson. Nickerson spent last season with Ilves of the SM-Liiga. Source

The St. Louis Blues have signed goalie Hannu Toivonen. Toivonen returns to the NHL after spending 2008-2009 with Ilves.

The Anaheim Ducks have signed defenseman Steve McCarthy. McCarthy spent last season with KHL club Salavat Yulaev.

NHL and Hockey Rumors for May 4, 2009

According to the New York Post, Markus Naslund has retired from the NHL at the age of 35. Naslund notified New York Rangers GM Glen Sather of his decision at an exit interview on Thursday. The Rangers have not commented on the newspaper report. Naslund still has one year remaining on his contract, worth $3 million. Brochu's take: Naslund was once amongst the top 3 players in the league. However, he's never really been the same since the Steve Moore hit.

The San Jose Sharks have signed forward John McCarthy to a two-year, entry-level contract. McCarthy was the Sharks' 7th round pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

According to TSN, the Philadelphia Flyers have had significant discussions with Ray Emery's agent, J.P. Barry, about a return to the NHL. Emery played in Russia last season in the Kontinental Hockey League with Atlant Mytischi and has a lucrative offer on the table to return to the KHL with the same club. The Flyers have been rumored to be looking to improve their goaltending position, and they are also interested in Florida Panthers goalie Craig Anderson and Atlanta Thrashers goalie Kari Lehtonen. Brochu's take: There's also rumors that the Edmonton Oilers are looking closely at the young netminder. Source

The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting the Blackhawks and free agent-to-be forward Martin Havlat are discussing a 8-10 year contract extension. Brochu's take: While Havlat finally had an injury-free season, his questionable injury history should scare any team off a long-term offer like that. The Hawks would be making a big mistake if they did that. Source

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Buffalo Sabres goalie Mikael Tellqvist has left the organization and has signed with Russian club Ak Bars Kazan for the 2009-2010 season.

NHL and hockey rumors for July 14, 2008

There's been a lot of movement to the KHL lately, so without further ado:

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

There are rumors that Brendan Shanahan has been pursued by several Russian teams, including SKA St. Petersburg and Dynamo Moskva (Moscow).

The Florida Panthers are rumored to be close to re-signing forward Janis Sprukts, who played in Finland last season.

Defenseman Branislav Mezei has signed with Barys Astana in Kazakhstan for the 2008-2009 season. Source

Forward Josef Stumpel has also signed with KHL team Barys Astana for one year.

Forward Mike York has signed with Sibir Novosibirsk of the KHL.

Defenseman Steve McCarthy has signed with Salavat Yulaev Ufa of the KHL.

The Atlanta Thrashers have signed forward Jason Williams to a one year, $2.2 million contract.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed forward Kris Beech to a one year, two-way contract.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed forward Craig MacDonald to a contract.

The Dallas Stars have signed forward Jamie Benn to a three-year, entry level contract.

The St. Louis Blues have signed forward Brad Winchester to a contract.

Trade Crosby?

Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette is wondering aloud if the Pittsburgh Penguins should trade Sidney Crosby. Smizik rationalizes that the Pens are actually better without Sid the Kid in the lineup, and they could get a lot in return. Source

According to Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, the Montreal Canadiens were willing to send Christopher Higgins and their 1st, 2nd and 3rd round pick in 2008 to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Mats Sundin. Simmons claims that Sundin's no trade clause nixed the deal. Source

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is reporting that Thrashers GM Don Waddell has no talks planned with any of their free agents, unrestricted or restricted. The Thrashers have eight potential unrestricted free agents on their roster including Mark Recchi, Johan Hedberg, Eric Boulton, Bobby Holik and Steve McCarthy. Goalie Kari Lehtonen is due to become an RFA this summer. Source