NHL and Hockey Rumors for Dec 1, 2008

Al Strachan on "The Hotstove" of CBC's Hockey Night in Canada broadcast reported that the Calgary Flames are shopping Mike Cammalleri, and are looking for a rugged winger in return. Brochu's take: I doubt that he is being shopped, as his play has really picked up in the last few weeks.

Adrian Dater of the Denver Post believes that the Colorado Avalanche are still interested in Buffalo Sabres forward Maxim Afinogenov, and are still making inquiries about him. Dater also reports that interest in trading defenseman Brett Clark has been lost due to the injury to Adam Foote. Brochu's take: I'm pretty sure Dater reported this Afinogenov rumor sometime last year, but I'm not sure. There hasn't been much interest in Afinogenov from any NHL team. Source

Tim Sassone of the Chicago Daily Herald is reporting that the Blackhawks are possibly shopping forward Martin Havlat, who has struggled of late. He believes that the Montreal Canadiens may be interested. Brochu's take: The Habs have been looking for a high scoring forward, but I don't think Havlat would fit into their system. Source

The following rumors come from rumor-monger extraordinaire, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun:

The Carolina Hurricanes are looking to shed some salary, and are shopping defensemen Joe Corvo and Frantisek Kaberle, and forward Patrick Eaves. Brochu's take: Eaves has not progressed since the trade from the Senators.

The Toronto Maple Leafs may ship defenseman Pavel Kubina to new GM Brian Burke's old team, the Anaheim Ducks. Brochu's take: The Ducks are pushing the cap, I don't think they will add another defenseman with such a high salary.

Tukonen for Hutchinson

The Tampa Bay Lightning have traded defenseman Andrew Hutchinson to the Dallas Stars for forward Lauri Tukonen. Hutchinson just cleared re-entry waivers Friday, while Tukonen is playing for Lukko Rauma of the Finnish league. Brochu's take: Tampa Bay may set the record for most trades this season!

NHL and Hockey Rumors for Nov 29, 2008

Brian Burke has been officially announced as the President and General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. It is a six year contract, believed to be in the $18 million range. Highlights from his press conference are:

-Cliff Fletcher is to remain as a consultant.

-He won't make trades before the Christmas trade freeze, and has a personal deadline of 10 days before that, which means he won't make any trades until the new year.

-One of his first priorities will be to make the team tougher, which could mean acquiring an enforcer.

-No mention of Dave Nonis, who has been rumored to be named the vice-president and director of hockey personnel.

-Burke tried to acquire Mikhail Grabovski from the Montreal Canadiens while he was the GM of the Anaheim Ducks.

-From his discussions with Mats Sundin, he doesn't believe the Leafs fit the profile that Sundin has stated.

The Washington Capitals have signed defenseman Bryan Helmer to an NHL contract. Helmer had been playing with the Caps AHL affiliate, Hershey Bears.

Ottawa Senators defenseman Luke Richardson has retired from the NHL. Richardson cleared waivers on Friday and will take a job within the Sens organization.

The New York Islanders have placed defenseman Thomas Pock on waivers.

NHL and Hockey Rumors for Nov 28, 2008

Darren Dreger of TSN is reporting that once Brian Burke is officially named the new president and GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, he will start shaping the team in his mode. The rumor is that defensemen Tomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina could be on the trading block, despite their no trade clauses. Alex Ponikarovsky and Nik Antropov are also believed to be considered trade bait. Brochu's take: There has been no "official" signing of Burke, yet. As for Burke, there is a widely reported (but wrong) notion that he likes to build a team with North Americans and not Europeans. Don't forget he made a trade during the 1999 NHL Entry Draft to draft the Sedins.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Forward Michal Birner has left the Anaheim Ducks organization and has signed with Pelicans Lahti of the Finnish SM-Liiga.

There are rumours from Sweden that Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Fredrik Norrena may be signing with Linkoping. Norrena is currently the odd man out in Columbus. Source

There's also a rumor that forward Mikael Renberg will come out of retirement and play with Swedish Elite League team Frolunda. Source

NHL and Hockey Rumors for Nov 27, 2008

The Florida Panthers have traded forward/defenseman Wade Belak to the Nashville Predators for forward Nick Tarnasky.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have put Andrew Hutchinson and Jason Ward on re-entry waivers on Thursday.

The Columbus Blue Jackets placed forward Kirill Starkov on waivers Wednesday. He has cleared.

The Ottawa Senators have placed defenseman Luke Richardson on waivers.