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.

Hockey and NHL rumors for Aug 21, 2009

According to the Star Tribune, free agent forward Alex Tanguay is considering an offer from the Minnesota Wild. "Alex has been on the phone with Chuck and I've been on the phone with Chuck," Tanguay's agent Ritch Winter said. "We're working on some other teams, too. We're just doing as much homework as we can to help Alex make an informed decision." Brochu's take: Won't someone please sign Alex Tanguay? It's strange that no one has signed him yet. Source

The Nashville Predators have signed forward Marcel Goc to a one-year, two-way contract.

The Carolina Hurricanes have signed forward Stephane Yelle to a one-year, $550,000 contract.

The Buffalo Sabres have signed forward Jeff Cowan to a one-year contract.

The Anaheim Ducks have signed defenseman Brett Festerling to a two-year, $1 million deal.

The New York Islanders have signed goalie Nathan Lawson to a one-year deal.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

The Ottawa Senators have signed goalie Andy Chiodo to a one-year deal. Chiodo spent last season with Dynamo Minsk in the KHL.

Tanguay to the Canadiens?

TSN is reporting that the Calgary Flames are close to sending Alex Tanguay to the Montreal Canadiens for the 25th overall pick in the draft.

NHL and hockey rumors for June 17, 2008

The Ottawa Citizen is reporting that the Senators could be big players in the trade market around the NHL Entry draft, which is held in Ottawa this year. There's already speculation that the St. Louis Blues could be interested in troubled goalie Ray Emery, and rumors are flying that the Sens could be interested in two of the most talked about players this offseason; San Jose Sharks forward Patrick Marleau and Florida Panthers forward Olli Jokinen. It's also possible that the Senators would part with their draft pick. Brochu's take: Something could go down in the next week or so. Source

The Calgary Herald is bringing up the old Alex Tanguay for Olli Jokinen rumor again, and speculate that it could involve draft picks. Brochu's take: This rumor has been in the mill for the last year or so. However, Panthers' ownership has warmed up to the idea of trading Jokinen, so anything can happen. Source

Blake Wheeler has signed a two-year deal with the Boston Bruins, but it cannot be made official until July 1, in keeping with NHL bylaws that govern the movement and signing of unrestricted free agents. Source

The Atlanta Thrashers have re-signed goalie Johan Hedberg to a multi-year contract extension.

The New York Rangers have signed Swedish free agent forward Andreas Jamtin to a contract.

The Nashville Predators have signed defenseman Ryan Suter to a four-year, $14 million contract extension.

Forsberg signs with Avalanche!

TSN is reporting that Peter Forsberg has signed with the Colorado Avalanche for the rest of the season. Foppa had earlier declared it was "unlikely" he would return to the NHL this season. Source

Bob McKenzie of TSN was on Team 1040 radio in Vancouver and reported that 4 teams are on Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brad Richards short list of teams he would waive his no trade clause, and these teams are the Dallas Stars, Vancouver Canucks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks. The frontrunners are Dallas and Columbus, with Vancouver among the bottom 3-4 teams.

Calgary Flames GM Darryl Sutter told reporters that he will not trade winger Alex Tanguay and is happy with his team as it is. Of course, it could be a smokescreen to ward off teams while Sutter works out a deal. This could be a Foppa-esque situation. Source

The Buffalo News is reporting that defenseman Brian Campbell will be playing his last game for the Buffalo Sabres tonight, as sources are saying he will "definitely" be traded by the deadline.

Satan to Vancouver, Streit and Higgins to Atlanta?

According to Slovakian hockey site hokej.sk, there's a rumor that the Vancouver Canucks have offered forwards Ryan Shannon and Mike Brown to the New York Islanders for Miroslav Satan. Also, GM Dave Nonis was spotted talking to GM Garth Snow for 15 minutes at the GM meetings in Florida. Source

Swiss website hockeyfans.ch reports that the Montreal Canadiens are very interested in Toronto Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin and everyone's favourite rental player, Atlanta Thrashers forward Marian Hossa. The rumour is that the Habs have offered defenseman Mark Streit, forward Christopher Higgins and a first round pick to the Thrashers for Hossa. Source

TSN's Bob McKenzie is reporting that GM Bob Gainey is targeting an "impact player" at the trade deadline. It's believed that Gainey has offered Michael Ryder and a draft pick to the Calgary Flames for Alex Tanguay. McKenzie also confirms that the Canadiens are after Hossa and Sundin as well. Source

Rumors continue to fly about the Tampa Bay Lightning shopping forward Brad Richards, but his $7.8 million contract and no trade clause remains in the way. La Presse believes that the Canadiens would have interest. Source

The Los Angeles Kings have traded defenseman Jaroslav Modry to the the Philadelphia Flyers for a third round draft pick in 2008. Source

Possible Olli Jokinen offers?

Several offers for Florida Panther Olli Jokinen has been speculated in the rumour mill lately, including:

The Calgary Flames have offered Alex Tanguay and a 2nd round pick, and a conditional pick.

The Montreal Canadiens have offered Michael Ryder, Ryan O'Byrne and a 3rd rounder.

CKAC 730 radio in Montreal is reporting that the Florida Panthers have been scouting O'Byrne for a while, and GM Jacques Martin is very interested in the big defenseman.

There were at least 2 Montreal Canadiens scouts watching the Atlanta Thrashers-New Jersey Devils game Friday. The Canadiens have been rumored to be a big player in the Marian Hossa Sweepstakes, and could also be looking at Devils forward Brian Gionta.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Columbus Blue Jackets forward Sergei Fedorov could be returning to the Red Wings at the trade deadline. The Puck-rakers blog on the Columbus Dispatch website reports that GM Scott Howson spent half of the morning skate in conversation with Wings' GM Ken Holland and assistant GM Jim Nill. Speculate away! Source

The Buffalo News is reporting that the Buffalo Sabres should look to move one of Maxim Afinogenov, Tim Connolly, Ales Kotalik and Dmitri Kalinin. Source

Poll Results:

Who will sign Peter Forsberg?

Philadelphia Flyers	100 (36%)
Colorado Avalanche	21 (7%)
Vancouver Canucks	109 (39%)
Ottawa Senators	16 (5%)
Anaheim Ducks	3 (1%)
New York Rangers	7 (2%)
Other	20 (7%)

Total votes: 276

Thank you for participating in the polls!

The latest NHL rumors for Feb 7, 2008

A rumour was reported on CKAC 730 AM radio in Montreal about the Montreal Canadiens trading Michael Ryder and Ryan O'Byrne for Calgary Flames forward Alex Tanguay. Tanguay has a no trade clause and is reportedly sick of hearing rumors about him heading to Montreal.

Andy Strickland of 1380 ESPN radio in St. Louis is reporting that defenseman Matt Walker has asked the Blues to be traded. There is a lot of speculation that the Blues are on the verge of a trade, possibly involving defenseman Eric Brewer and Barret Jackman.

Swedish reports have indicated that the Toronto Maple Leafs may be interested in signing forward Linus Klasen. Bill Meltzer of NHL.com also adds that both Philadelphia Flyers GM Paul Holmgren and Vancouver Canucks GM Dave Nonis, along with many other NHL scouts watched prospects Fabian Brunnstrom, Linus Klasen and Linus Videll, along with many other NHL scouts on a recent trip to Sweden. Source

Many Canucks fans' hearts skipped a beat on Wednesday when defenseman Mattias Ohlund was removed from the roster of the Canucks official website, prompting rumours of a trade. A later email from the webmaster indicated it was a glitch due to Ohlund's absence from the team for personal reasons.

The upstart European hockey superleague that was reported a few weeks ago is one step closer to reality. On Wednesday, Bloomberg news reported that Vladislav Tretiak, the legendary goaltender who's now president of the Russian Hockey Federation, and energy tycoon Alexander Medvedev have signed an agreement to create the rival league by April 15. The rival league will be known as the Continental Hockey League, and will have 20 Russian teams and an undetermined number of foreign clubs. It's possible that this new league will attract some NHL players to play in Europe. Source

Ruutu on the block, Phaneuf signs?

The Chicago Daily Herald is reporting that centre Tuomo Ruutu could be attractive to many teams at the trade deadline. Ruutu could use a change of scenery and many teams would be interested in a gritty, offensive centreman. Source

There are rumors that the Calgary Flames have signed defenseman Dion Phaneuf to a 6 year, $39 million contract extension. Nothing official has been confirmed, but there is speculation that the contract contains a no trade clause that will kick in in the 5th year of the contract.

Darren Dreger of TSN is reporting on his blog that the Calgary Flames and Florida Panthers have been talking about trading Olli Jokinen, but the Panthers want Alex Tanguay and a young player or prospect.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired forward David Gove from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forward Joe Jensen. Source

Various sources are reporting that the Nashville Predators have signed forward Jordin Tootoo to a two year, $1.95 million contract extension. There are also rumours that J.P. Dumont has been signed to a 4 year, $16 million contract extension.

Jeff O'Neill has been practicing with the OHL Barrie Colts and could be signing with a team this year. While he didn’t say whether there were currently any NHL clubs beating a path to his door, he feels something may happen soon. “I’m just going to skate here maybe until the (Feb. 28 NHL trade) deadline, and maybe a decision will come then,” O’Neill said. Source

Tanguay waives his NTC?

Many GMs around the league are scouting other teams these days, perhaps having closer looks on players that they may want to acquire. Here are some of them:

Calgary Flames GM Darryl Sutter has been on a scouting trip that has seen him cover the Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils and the Florida Panthers.

According to Pierre McGuire of TSN, forward Alex Tanguay has agreed to waive his no trade clause. Rumours continue to swirl where Tanguay will end up, with Montreal and Florida being very likely destinations.

Dallas Stars co-GM Les Jackson will be in attendance at tomorrow's New York Rangers-Boston Bruins game, and it was recently reported that the Stars are considering "upgrading the herd." No trade is imminent, but both Jackson and other co-GM Brett Hull are eager to leave their stamp on the team. Source

The Team 1200 in Ottawa is reporting that several Columbus Blue Jackets scouts were watching the Ottawa Senators-Carolina Hurricanes game Thursday.

Marty York of the Metro News is reporting the Calgary Flames and defenseman Dion Phaneuf are close to a 10 year, $63 million contract extension. Source

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Duvie Westcott has been placed on waivers.

Canadiens scouting Flames

It was reported on TSN that Montreal Canadiens assistant GM Pierre Gauthier was watching the Calgary Flames-Minnesota Wild game Wednesday night. Both TSN analysts Bob MacKenzie and Darren Dreger speculated that Alex Tanguay could be headed to the Habs, while Michael Ryder could be the player going the other way.

Peter Forsberg may return sooner that previously reported. Various sources have confirmed that Foppa will try to skate in a week (as opposed to 2-3 weeks) and try to play for the Swedish National Team in the LG Hockey Games tournament in Stockholm from Feb 7-10. "If he's well enough, we'll of course give him a chance," Sweden coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson told The Associated Press. Source

Rumours continue to swirl the Chicago Blackhawks, as GM Dale Tallon is close to landing the puck-moving, veteran defenseman he's been looking for.

The Columbus Blue Jackets and the New York Rangers continue to scout each other, while the Blue Jackets are now scouting the Pittsburgh Penguins closely. The Jackets are looking at forward Erik Christensen closely, and also defenseman Fedor Tyutin. Source

Tanguay for Jokinen, Ryder for Mueller?

It's definitely trading season, and there are tons of rumours today:

TSN's Bob McKenzie on the segment "Insider Trading" speculates that the Calgary Flames need some stability in the centre position and could trade Alex Tanguay to the Florida Panthers for Olli Jokinen. Source

Radio station CJCR 1150 AM, based in Gatineau, Quebec, is reporting a rumour of the Montreal Canadiens sending forward Michael Ryder and a 4th round draft pick to the Phoenix Coyotes for Peter Mueller.

Peter Forsberg will begin skating in 2-3 weeks and is optimistic that he will play this season. Forsberg added that he could also elect to finish the season with Swedish team Modo instead. "I'm not going to retire today, I'm going to check with the doctors to see one more time what can be done. They should be able to fix it. I don't want it to be any major procedures, if it's a small thing they can fix, I'll be okay, if not I think I'll let it be. It's looking pretty dark." Foppa said. Source

The Toronto Maple Leafs organization is at a complete mess right now, with speculation rampant that GM John Ferguson Jr. is on his last legs. TSN is reporting that the Leafs have contacted former Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher if he was interested in an interim GM job. Source

The Buffalo Sabres and defenseman Brian Campbell have ended contract negotiations and will not negotiate until the end of the season. "I'm done talking about it with the team until the end of the year," Campbell said in HSBC Arena. "There's more important things right now than just me. We've got to win. "I think it's for the best." This will most certainly mean that Campbell will be traded, as there are several teams looking for a puck-moving defenseman. Source

Hartley fired, Waddell next?

Bob Hartley has been fired by GM Don Waddell of the Atlanta Thrashers. Waddell will be coaching the team on an interim basis until a permanent replacement can be found. Rumours have already circulated that Pat Quinn, Pat Burns and Dave King are leading candidates for the job. Waddell is also not off the hook and could very well be fired soon. Marian Hossa, a UFA at the end of the season, could become the biggest prize at the trading deadline. Source

According to various reports, the rumoured deal between Montreal and Calgary could involve Alex Tanguay and Alexei Kovalev.

Robert Esche has signed with Ak Bars Kazan of the Russian Super League. Esche's agent Rick Curran confirmed that Esche will soon join his new team. “We pretty much exhausted every possibility prior to making a final decision to go to Russia,” said Curran, who became Esche's agent in August. “It's an excellent team, and it will provide him the opportunity to get his game back where he wants it to be.” Source

The Ottawa Sun is reporting that the GM Bryan Murray is interested in picking up Zenon Konopka. Konopka is almost ready to start the season and the Blue Jackets could put him up on waivers soon. Source