NHL and Hockey Rumors for Jan 4, 2014

The Buffalo Sabres have claimed forward Zenon Konopka off waivers from the Minnesota Wild.

The St. Louis Blues have placed forward Adam Cracknell on waivers.

The New Jersey Devils have placed forward Mattias Tedenby on waivers.

NHL and Hockey Rumors for Jan 3, 2014

The Pittsburgh Penguins have claimed forward Taylor Pyatt off waivers from the New York Rangers.

The Minnesota Wild have placed forward Zenon Konopka on waivers.

The Nashville Predators have signed defenseman Jonathan-Ismael Diaby to a three-year, entry-level contract.  Diaby was the Preds' 64th overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

The New York Rangers have signed forward Anthony Duclair to an entry-level contract.  Duclair was the 80th choice in the 2013 NHL Draft.

The Calgary Flames have signed forward Emile Poirier to a three-year, entry-level contract.  Poirier was the Flames' first round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

The Winnipeg Jets have signed forward Ryan Olsen to a three-year, two-way, entry-level contract.  Olsen was the Jets' sixth round pick in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

The Jets have also signed forward Nic Petan to a three-year, entry-level contract.  Petan was the Jets' second round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed forward Kerby Rychel to a three-year, entry-level contract.  Rychel was the Jacket's second of three picks in the first round of the 2013 NHL Draft.

NHL and Hockey Rumors for March 16, 2013

Look for another post that will cover some of the free agent, college and entry level signings that happened the past few days!

The Phoenix Coyotes have re-signed defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson to a six-year, $33 million contract extension.  Brochu's take:  This is a bargain.  OEL is capable of being a point-a-game defenseman.

The Montreal Canadiens have re-signed defenseman David Desharnais to a four-year, $14 million contract extension.

The New York Islanders have re-signed defenseman Colin McDonald to a two-year contract extension.

The Buffalo Sabres have acquired a 5th round pick in 2013 NHL Entry Draft from the Florida Panthers in exchange for defenseman TJ Brennan.


The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded forward Steckel to the Anaheim Ducks for forward Ryan Lasch and a seventh-round pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

The Washington Capitals have acquired forward Nicolas Deschamps from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for defenseman Kevin Marshall.

The Minnesota Wild have traded defenseman Chay Genoway to the Washington Capitals for a conditional seventh-round draft pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

NHL and Hockey Rumors for March 14, 2013

The Minnesota Wild have signed free agent defenseman Brett Clark to a one-year, $900,000 contract.

The Edmonton Oilers have placed forward Ben Eager on waivers.  Brochu's take:  I would guess someone will pick him up.

The Phoenix Coyotes have placed forward Nick Johnson on waivers.

The Chicago Blackhawks have placed forward Rostislav Olesz on waivers.

According to sources, there is a rumor that the Toronto Maple Leafs are looking at Minnesota Wild defenseman Marco Scandella.  There has been talk that Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner is unhappy playing in the AHL.  Brochu's take:  Perhaps a Scandella and Gardiner swap would make sense for both teams.  

NHL and Hockey Rumors for March 13, 2013

The Ottawa Senators have acquired forward Matt Kassian from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a 6th round pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

The Philadelphia Flyers have traded forward Matthew Ford to the Columbus Blue Jackets for future considerations.

According to sources around the NHL, several team scouts were at the recent Calgary Flames-Los Angeles Kings game.  It's believed that teams are closely looking at players on the Flames' team should they decide to be sellers at the trade deadline.  Brochu's take:  Look for Jarome Iginla, Jay Bouwmeester and Miikka Kiprusoff to be in trade rumors for the next several weeks.

NHL and Hockey Rumors for February 21, 2013

The Buffalo Sabres have fired head coach Lindy Ruff and have named Ron Rolston as interim head coach.  Brochu's take:  Ruff shouldn't have a problem of getting another NHL head coaching job, but he may have to wait till next year.

The Sabres have placed forward Cody McCormick on waivers.

The Anaheim Ducks have re-signed goalie Viktor Fasth to a two-year, $5.8 million contract extension.

According to CBC's Elliotte Friedman, Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ray Shero was watching the Colorado Avalanche/Minnesota Wild game.  Friedman speculates that he could be looking at forward Matt Cullen.  Brochu's take:  Cullen would probably only cost a draft pick.  Source

NHL and Hockey Rumors for February 15. 2013

The Montreal Canadiens have acquired goalie Dustin Tokarski from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for goalie Cedrick Desjardins.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have traded forward Eric Tangradi to the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for a 7th round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

The New Jersey Devils have acquired forward Alexei Ponikarovsky from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for a 7th round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft and a 4th round pick in the 2014 Draft.

Forward Andrew Brunette has retired from the NHL and has joined the Minnesota Wild in their hockey operations department.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have hired Jarmo Kekalainen as their new General Manager.  Kekalainen becomes the first European GM in the NHL.

NHL and Hockey Rumors for February 13. 2013

The Columbus Blue Jackets have fired GM Scott Howson.  Brochu's take:  The rumor is that Jokerit GM Jarmo Kekalainen is the front-runner for the job.

The Boston Bruins have placed forward Jay Pandolfo on waivers.  The Bruins had signed Pandolfo to a one-year contract earlier.

The Calgary Flames have placed goalie Danny Taylor on waivers.

The Minnesota Wild have placed forward Matt Kassian on waivers.

According to TSN's Insider Trading, the Colorado Avalanche and restricted free agent forward Ryan O'Reilly are far apart in negotiations and a trade appears likely.  Several Eastern Conference teams have already inquired about his services.  The Avs are reportedly looking for a young roster player and prospect.

Edmonton Oilers defenseman Ryan Whitney has been a healthy scratch for several games, and there are rumors that he is on the outs in Edmonton.

NHL and Hockey Rumors for February 12, 2013

According to Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch, scouts from 17 NHL teams were at the game between the San Jose Sharks and the Blue Jackets.  There was one scout each for the Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Colorado Avalanche, Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota Wild, Montreal Canadiens, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets.  There were two scouts each from the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers respectively.  Portzline is also reporting that the BJs are always looking to trade, but nothing is close.  Brochu's take:  Very interesting, especially for the Eastern Conference teams that don't play the Jackets.  

NYR/MINN trade, Palushaj on waivers

The New York Rangers have traded forward Michael Rupp to the Minnesota Wild for forwards Nick Palmieri and Darroll Powe.  Brochu's take: Rupp should add some needed toughness to the Wild.  

The Montreal Canadiens have placed forward Aaron Palushaj on waivers.

Post-Lockout NHL Signings in Europe

Here's a few more NHL signings in Europe, look for my individual European country updates soon!  This post will be concentrated on players that have signed with Swiss, Russian and Czech clubs.

RUSSIA

Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has signed with SKA St. Petersburg.

Boston Bruins goalie Anton Khudobin has signed with Atlant Mytishchi.

SWITZERLAND

Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi has signed with SC Bern.

Boston Bruins forward Tyler Seguin has signed with EHC Biel.

Buffalo Sabres forward Tyler Ennis and Minnesota Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon have signed with Langnau.

CZECH REPUBLIC

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Radek Martinek and Boston Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference have signed with HC Ceske Budejovice.

Washington Capitals goalie Michal Neuvirth has signed with HC Sparta Praha (Prague).

St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Sobotka has signed with HC Slavia Praha (Prague).

Wild sign Ortmeyer

The Minnesota Wild have signed forward Jed Ortmeyer to a professional tryout contract.

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 21, 2010

According to TSN, Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray is upset with his team's performance this season and is not afraid to make changes. "I've talked to a number of people, as I said," Murray said. "I talked to (Minnesota Wild general manager) Chuck Fletcher for a long time yesterday and said, 'can I help you, you help me' type of thing, so we're talking to management of other teams, trying to find if there is a need and possibility of making a move."  Brochu's take:  Stay tuned.  Murray is looking to shake up the roster and a trade is definitely possible.  Source

The Nashville Predators have signed forward Steve Begin to a one-year, two-way contract.  He has been subsequently put on waivers.

The Preds also placed forward Jamie Lundmark on waivers.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Forward Owen Nolan has signed a month-long contract with Swiss club ZSC Lions.  Source

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 2, 2010

The Minnesota Wild have signed goalie Jose Theodore to a one-year, $1.1 million contract.

The Vancouver Canucks have placed forward Darcy Hordichuk and defenseman Shane O'Brien on waivers.

Darcy Tucker has retired from the NHL, as well as Mathieu Dandenault.

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 30, 2010

The Washington Capitals have loaned forward Michael Nylander to the Rochester Americans, the AHL affiliate of the Florida Panthers.  Washington will still pay the $3 million salary, while the Panthers will pay a nominal feel.  Nylander cleared waivers earlier last week and is still property of the Caps and is subject to any future re-call waivers.  Brochu's take:  I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often.  Source

According to the Edmonton Journal, the Minnesota Wild may be interested in Edmonton Oilers goalie Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers.  Source

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 29, 2010

With Minnesota Wild goalie Josh Harding out for the season, there have been rumors swirling as to what the Wild will do with their backup situation.  Free agent goalie Jose Theodore's agent Don Meehan has contacted the Wild to see if they are interested in his client.  As well, there are rumors that the Wild are looking at San Jose Sharks goalie Thomas Greiss.  Brochu's take:  It's surprising that Theodore wasn't even given a tryout by any NHL team.  His experience could be a good compliment to Nicklas Backstrom.  Source

The New York Islanders have signed defenseman Mike Mottau to a two-year, $1.6 million contract.

The Islanders have also invited several players late to their training camp, as forwards Dean McAmmond, Krys Kolanos, Jed Ortmeyer, defenseman Anders Eriksson, and goalie Manny Legace have been given professional tryout contracts.

The Colorado Avalanche have signed forward Luke Walker to an entry-level contract.

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 26, 2010

The San Jose Sharks have signed forward Michael Sgarbossa, defenseman Curt Gogol and goalie J.P. Anderson to three-year,entry-level contracts.

The Washington Capitals have re-signed defenseman Tom Poti to a two-year, $5.75 million contract extension.  The Caps have also re-signed goalie Michal Neuvirth to a two-year, $2.3 million deal and goalie Brandon Anderson to an entry-level contract.

The Carolina Hurricanes have signed forward Jeff Skinner to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The Minnesota Wild have signed defensemen Jared Spurgeon, Colton Jobke and Josh Caron to three-year, entry-level contracts.

Latendresse for Pouliot

The Montreal Canadiens have forward Guillaume Latendresse to the Minnesota Wild for forward Benoit Pouliot. Brochu's take: You could say this is a trade of disappointments. Pouliot has not played to his draft position, and Latendresse has never taken that next level. Maybe a change of scenery would help them both.

Kobasew for Weller, Fallstrom, 2nd in 2011

The Boston Bruins have traded forward Chuck Kobasew to the Minnesota Wild for forward Craig Weller, a 2nd round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, and the rights to prospect Alexander Fallstrom. Brochu's take: I would say that the Bruins did this to get some salary cap space. Kobasew should be a solution to the injured forward group of the Wild. Value-wize, I would say the B's got the better end of the deal.

Hockey and NHL rumors for Sept 20, 2009

The Boston Bruins have traded forward Phil Kessel to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a first and second round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, as well as a 1st rounder in the 2011 Draft. The Leafs then subsequently signed the restricted free agent to a 5-year, $27 million contract. Brochu's take: Not sure why Burke didn't just send an offer sheet, which would have cost slightly less. A rather large overpayment IMO, but he didn't trade any roster players either.

The New York Rangers have re-signed forward Brandon Dubinsky to a two-year, $3.7 million contract.

The Detroit Red Wings have signed forwards Willie Coetzee and Tomas Tatar to three-year, entry-level contracts.

The Minnesota Wild have signed defenseman Bjorn Krupp to an entry-level contract. Brochu's take: A chip off the old block, one would hope.

The Dallas Stars have signed forward Tristan King and defenseman Hubert Labrie to three-year entry-level contracts.