Montreal to move up in draft?

Rumours from Montreal indicate that the Canadiens are trying to move up in the draft. They may use some of their picks (12th and 22nd) to try and get a higher pick. It is believed they are very interested in the top 2 available defenseman, Karl Alzner and Keaton Ellerby. The Canadiens have a history of getting the player they want at draft time, as they moved up to grab Guillaume Latendresse last year.

Phoenix, Detroit and Toronto remain the frontrunners in signing Todd Bertuzzi.

According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, the Florida Panthers are interested in three goalies: Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Ilya Bryzgalov and Vesa Toskala. GM and coach Jacques Martin is quoted as saying, "I don't think there's anybody else as far as a name besides Giguere...We'll look at the situation at the draft. If we can improve the goaltending situation through a trade, then that may be an area we address." South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Offers for Philly's pick?

Sources in Philadelphia have confirmed that GM Paul Holmgren is actively shopping his no. 2 pick. It is believed he is putting out feelers in order to get the best package available. Holmgren would also be willing to package Joni Pitkanen. Sources have rumoured that these are the early packages offered:

Edmonton has offered Joffrey Lupul and Raffi Torres.

Boston has offered Patrice Bergeron.

New York has offered Petr Prucha and their 1st rounder.

Florida has offered Jay Bouwmeester, but want another young player in return.

Lamoriello looking for coaches

GM Lou Lamoriello is actively seeking a coach before the NHL entry draft. According to inside sources, Mike Keenan was NOT approached for the job. Several rumoured candidates include Albany River Rats coach Tom Rowe, current assistant coach John MacLean, Gerard Gallant and Mike Kitchen.

According to an interview on Team 1040 in Vancouver, Dave Nonis has clearly refuted the Mattias Ohlund reports from Sweden and also explicitly stated that Ohlund has a no-trade clause. However, he did indicate that he will certainly make a trade to improve his team.

Atlanta is rumoured to be going after Scott Gomez.

Ryan Smyth at 80%?

According to sources close to Islanders management, Ryan Smyth is 80% probable to return to the New York club. Owner Charles Wang and his management group have offered a 6 year, 37.5 million contract, with a club option for a 7th year. It's likely that Wang will outbid any team wanting to sign Smyth as he unloaded the Alexei Yashin contract off his cap.

Toronto is interested in acquiring Nikolai Zherdev from Columbus. It is believed that they are offering Pavel Kubina. The Maple Leafs are also closing in on a 2 year deal with Mats Sundin, which should be completed this week.

Several reports in Slovakia indicate that Vladimir Orszagh may return to the NHL this season.

Cleveland looking at expansion?

According to sources in Cleveland, the city might be looking at an expansion team in the future. The last NHL team in Cleveland was the Barons, who last played in 1978. It is believed that the current ownership of the Cleveland Browns is involved in the discussions.

The Shanahan-Canucks rumours have picked up again, as he was recently spotted in Vancouver.

The Edmonton Oilers are still heavily pursuing Sheldon Souray, as well as looking at deals for Chris Drury and Paul Kariya.

The New York Rangers are looking to offload Petr Prucha.