Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 1, 2010

The Edmonton Oilers have placed defenseman Sheldon Souray and goalie Martin Gerber on waivers.  Brochu's take:  Souray being put on waivers was expected, but Gerber has been playing well in the pre-season.  The likelihood of Souray being picked up is low because of his high salary.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Forward Slava Kozlov has left the NHL and signed a one-year deal with KHL team CSKA Moscow.

Free agent forward Miroslav Satan is still looking to sign with an NHL team.  Satan recently played two games for Slovakian club HC Slovan Bratislava.

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 28, 2010

New York Rangers defenseman Wade Redden has cleared waivers and has been assigned to the AHL team in Hartford.  Brochu's take:  Redden's agent has been given permission to find a team in Europe for the maligned defenseman.  The Ranger's are still on the hook for his salary.

The Washington Capitals have signed forward Matt Hendricks to a one-year, two-way contract.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Chicago Blackhawks goalie Cristobal Huet has cleared waivers and has been assigned to HC Fribourg-Gotteron SA of the Swiss National League A.

Forward Marek Svatos has left the NHL and signed a one-year deal with KHL team Omsk.

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 27, 2010

The Bergen Record is reporting that the Colorado Avalanche are interested in acquiring New Jersey Devils forward Jamie Langenbrunner.  It's also believed that several teams are interested in forward David Clarkson.  Source  Brochu's take:  Langenbrunner's leadership would work well with the Avs' youthful lineup.

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

The Detroit Red Wings have signed forward Trevor Parkes to a three-year,entry-level contract.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed forward Andrew Crescenzi to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The New York Rangers have placed defenseman Wade Redden.  Brochu's take:  Redden won't be picked up, and in all likelihood will never be called on re-entry waivers.  His options are limited to the AHL, Europe or retire.  Injuries have really affected his play in the last few years.

The Chicago Blackhawks have placed goalie Cristobal Huet on waivers.  Brochu's take:  GM Stan Bowman has a plan in place to loan Huet to a team in the Swiss League, so this is merely a formality.  The Hawks will now be able to shed $5 million from their salary cap.

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.

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 21, 2010

The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed goalie Steve Mason to a two-year, $5.8 million contract extension.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have given their GM Ray Shero a five-year extension.

Tony Gallagher of the Vancouver Province is reporting that as Vancouver Canucks goalie Cory Schneider plays more and more, his trade quotient will rise.  Brochu's take:  Schneider is considered one of the best goalies not yet in the NHL, and he should get increased time in net this season with Luongo's reduced workload.  Source

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 20, 2010

Here's a bit of a rumor roundup from the weekend:

The Anaheim Ducks have signed forward Matt Beleskey to a two-year, $1.5 million contract.

The Columbus Post Dispatch is reporting that the Blue Jackets are considering acquiring Edmonton Oilers defenseman Sheldon Souray.  Souray remains in limbo after being barred from attending the Oilers' training camp.  Brochu's take:  Edmonton and Columbus have been frequent trading partners lately, so it's very possible that he could move there.  Defenseman Rostislav Klesla has bee mentioned in some trade rumors as well.  Source

The Buffalo Sabres have invited Mark Parrish to training camp.

The New Jersey Devils have extended an invitation to training camp to forward Adam Mair.

The Florida Panthers have invited Nick Tarnasky to training camp.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Defenseman Lukas Krajicek has left the NHL and signed with HC Trinec in the Czech Republic.

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 17, 2010

The Dallas Stars have re-signed restricted free agent forward James Neal to a two-year, $5.75 million contract. The Stars have also re-signed defenseman Matt Niskanen to a two-year, $3 million deal.  Brochu's take:  Given the Stars' ownership situation, it's paramount that these two get signed before the new season.

The Anaheim Ducks have officially signed Paul Mara to a one-year, $750,000 deal.

The Carolina Hurricanes have signed forward Patrick O'Sullivan to a one-year, two-way deal.

The Ducks have invited forward Stephane Veilleux to training camp.

The Vancouver Canucks have signed forward Brendan Morrison to a tryout contract.

The San Jose Sharks have invited defenseman Andreas Lilja to training camp.  Brochu's take:  Or was it Peter Worrell?  Just kidding!

The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed defenseman Charles Landry to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 16, 2010

The New York Rangers have re-signed restricted free agent defenseman Marc Staal to a 5 year deal worth $3.975 million a year.  Brochu's take:  This contract will look like a bargain in 2-3 years time.  Staal is an emerging defender in the NHL.

The Detroit Red Wings have invited forward Aaron Downey to training camp.

The Atlanta Thrashers have signed forward Enver Lisin to a try-out contract.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

According to Sportsnet, Peter Forsberg has not closed the door on a return to the NHL.  Although still recovering from ankle surgery, Forsberg has stated that he hasn't decided "100 percent" that he will retire.  Source  Brochu's take:  So that means we have to endure another year of Forsberg rumors...

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 15, 2010

The Anaheim Ducks have re-signed restricted free agent forward Bobby Ryan to a 5-year, $25.5 million contract extension.  Brochu's take:  Good deal for both sides. Ryan has 40 goal potential, and now the Ducks have the core signed for at least the next 3 years.

The Phoenix Coyotes have signed forward Eric Belanger to a one-year, $750,000 contract.  Brochu's take:  An absolute bargain.  There were rumors that had signed with the Capitals, but that was unfounded.

The Boston Bruins have invited forward Brian McGrattan to training camp.

There's a rumor that the Anaheim Ducks have signed defenseman Paul Mara to a one-year deal.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Free agent defenseman Tom Preissing has left the NHL and signed with Karpat in the Finnish league.  Source

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 14, 2010

Edmonton Oilers' GM Steve Tambellini issued a statement Monday night letting the media know that defenseman Sheldon Souray was not welcome at training camp. "We've been trying to move the player for some time obviously," Tambellini explained, "I hope to get it done during camp, but it's best for the Oilers for him not to be at camp right now." Souray is still skating in Edmonton for the time being, awaiting his future. Source Brochu's take: This is turning into an ugly situation for both sides. Souray's trade value is very low, and no one took a chance on him when he on waivers earlier this summer. Demotion to the AHL is a possibility, but perhaps a clean break would be best for both the Oilers organization and Souray.

The NHL has punished the New Jersey Devils for deliberately circumventing the salary cap in their first attempt at signing forward Ilya Kovalchuk. The Devils will be fined $3 million (which will not affect their cap ) and their third round draft pick in the 2011 NHL Draft. The Devils will also have to forfeit one of their next four first round draft picks at their choosing. Source Brochu's take: The NHL looks really bad on this one, considering they let the other long-term deals pass and chose this one to reject. The final cost of signing and landing Kovalchuk appears to have cost the Devils Patrice Cormier, Johnny Oduya, Niclas Bergfors, a 1st rounder in 2010, a future first-rounder, and $3 million.

Interestingly enough, the Atlanta Thrashers have signed restricted free agent forward Niclas Bergfors to a one-year, $900, 000.

The Philadelphia Flyers have invited forward Bill Guerin to training camp.

The Vancouver Canucks have invited forward Peter Schaefer to training camp.

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 12, 2010

Forward Ruslan Fedotenko and defenseman Garnet Exelby have been invited to the New York Rangers training camp.

Forward Marcus Nilson has been invited to the New Jersey Devils training camp.

Forward Tyler Arnason will be attending the Florida Panther's camp.

Defenseman Shane Hnidy has been invited to the Phoenix Coyotes training camp.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Free agent defenseman Christoph Schubert may be close to signing with Swedish club Frolunda HC. Source

According to an Austrian source, free agent defenseman Doug Lynch is looking to sign with an NHL team. It's believed the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames are interested.

Lightning sign Hutchings to entry-level contract

The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed forward Alex Hutchings to a three-year, entry-level contract. Hutchings was drafted in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. Source

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 11, 2010

The Colorado Avalanche have re-signed forward Peter Mueller to a two-year, $4 million contract.

The Phoenix Coyotes have re-signed restricted free agent forward Martin Hanzal to a two-year, $3.6 million contract.

The Edmonton Oilers have re-signed forward Andrew Cogliano to a one-year, $1 million deal.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed their 2010 NHL first rounder Ryan Johansen to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Forward Richard Park has officially left the NHL and signed a three year contract with Geneva-Servette HC of the NLA in Switzerland. Source

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 9, 2010

The Atlanta Thrashers have signed free agent forward Nigel Dawes to a one-year, $600,000 contract. It is a two-way contract.

The Chicago Blackhawks have signed free agent forward Ryan Potulny to a one-year, two-way contract.

The Nashville Predators have re-signed restricted free agent defenseman Cody Franson to a two-year, $1.6 million contract. Brochu's take: The two-year deal for restricted free agents seems to be the norm. Expect other NHL teams to sign their RFAs to two-year deals as well.

The Detroit Red Wings have re-signed forward Kirk Maltby to a one-year, two-way contract.

The Wings have also placed defenseman Derek Meech on waivers.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

There are rumors that free agent forward Richard Park has signed a multi-year deal to play in Switzerland. Sources are saying he has signed for Genève-Servette HC or Rapperswil-Jona Lakers. Source

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Sept 8, 2010

Yes, I am back! Just in time for the new NHL season. Long story short, I got lazy. But I should be posting on a regular basis from now on.

The Montreal Canadiens have signed free agent forward Jeff Halpern to a one-year, $600,000 contract.

The Phoenix Coyotes have signed forward Kyle Wellwood to a training camp tryout contract.

There are rumors that the Vancouver Canucks may invite free agent goalie Jose Theodore training camp on a try-out contract.