Hockey and NHL rumors for Aug 29, 2009

The San Jose Sharks have traded defensemen Christian Ehrhoff and Brad Lukowich to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for defenseman Daniel Rahimi and forward Patrick White. Brochu's take: For the Sharks, this is a bit of a salary dump. With Ehrhoff and Lukowich off the books, the Sharks free up around $5.5 million in cap space. For the Canucks, they have significantly improved their defensive depth, while also acquiring assets in preparation for a trade.

The Canucks have also officially signed defenseman Mathieu Schneider to a one-year, $1.5 million contract. Brochu's take: A sweetheart deal with GM Mike Gillis' old client.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed forward Alex Tanguay to a one-year, $3.25 million deal. Brochu's take: You have to wonder why it took so long, but regardless, this makes the Bolts a more dynamic offensive team.

The Lightning have also re-signed defenseman Matt Lashoff to a two-year deal.

The New York Islanders have signed forward Tony Romano to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The St. Louis Blues have re-signed forward Chris Porter and Justin Fletcher to two and one-year deals, respectively.

The New Jersey Devils have re-signed defenseman Mark Fraser and forward Patrick Davis to one-year deals.

The Boston Bruins have re-signed goalie Kevin Regan to a one-year deal.

NHL and hockey rumors for Sept 24, 2008

According to Bob McKenzie of TSN, the Anaheim Ducks continue to shop defenseman Mathieu Schneider, but there are still no takers. McKenzie mentions that teams have called about forward Bobby Ryan, and he could be part of a package deal to entice other teams to take on Schneider's hefty salary. Brochu's take: The Ducks are running out of time, and a deal could be done this week. Throwing in the 2nd pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft may get the job done. Source

Rumours continue to swirl that Schneider is headed to the Atlanta Thrashers, Los Angeles Kings and St. Louis Blues. The loss of Erik Johnson for the entire season has the Blues as the frontrunner to land the Duck defenseman.

McKenzie also mentions that Washington Capitals forward Michael Nylander is available, and the Chicago Blackhawks, along with several other teams, may be working out a deal to get him. Brochu's take: Chicago just dumped Robert Lang's contract to get under the cap, why would they add an even bigger salary to their roster?

The Ducks have also signed center Maxime Macenauer and defenseman Eric Regan to three-year, entry-level contracts.

The San Jose Sharks have told defenseman Kyle McLaren to not participate in training camp scrimmages, raising speculation that the blueliner will be traded soon. Source

Retired forward Claude Lemieux is rumored to be trying to make a comeback to the NHL. The 43 year old has been practising with the Phoenix Coyotes but no one has called. Brochu's take: And no one is going to call. There are cheaper, younger, better players than Lemieux in today's NHL. Source

NHL rumors update for April 26, 2008

According to The Hockey News, Fabian Brunnstrom's agent, JP Barry, has instructed all NHL teams interested in signing the 23-year-old winger from Farjestad of the Swedish Elite League to submit a one-page proposal by next Monday outlining their offer and essentially selling themselves on why it would be the best place for Brunnstrom to play. Barry will go over them with Brunnstrom shortly after that and the list will then be narrowed down to a group of five, with whom Brunnstrom will seriously negotiate.

The Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars, Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and Detroit Red Wings have all filed their submissions. The Maple Leafs, Canadiens and Red Wings are believed to be the frontrunners at this stage, while the Vancouver Canucks remain in the running. Brochu's take: Anyone else sick of all this Brunnstrom hype? It's not like this guy is the next Forsberg. There just seems to be a lot of talk for a guy that didn't play very well in the second half of the SEL season, and only managed 9 goals all year. Source

The Boston Bruins have signed goaltender Kevin Regan and forward Levi Nelson to entry-level contracts.

The Los Angeles Kings have signed forward Bud Holloway to a three-year, entry level contract.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed forward Paul Szczechura to a two-year contract.

The New York Rangers have signed goaltender Miika Wiikman to a two-way contract.

I will be posting a big European rumour update soon, so check back later today or tomorrow.