Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 26, 2010

Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the Vancouver Canucks will try to move defenseman Kevin Bieksa as soon as possible.

The Atlanta Thrashers have placed Nigel Dawes on waivers.  He has cleared.

The Los Angeles Kings have placed goalie Erik Ersberg on waivers.  He has cleared.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Erik Ersberg is expected to sign with KHL team Salavat Yulaev Ufa.

There are rumors that Atlanta Thrashers forward Evgeny Artyukhin will sign with SKA St. Petersburg in Russia.

San Jose Sharks goalie Thomas Greiss has been loaned to Swedish club Brynas.

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 19, 2010

Haven't posted in a few days, here's the latest happenings in the NHL:

The San Jose Sharks have re-signed centre Joe Thornton to a three-year, $7 million contract extension.

The Florida Panthers have placed forward Kenndal McArdle on waivers.

The Anaheim Ducks have placed defenseman Brendan Mikkelson on waivers.

The New York Islanders have placed goalie Nathan Lawson on waivers.

The Dallas Stars placed forward Fabian Brunnstrom on waivers.  He has cleared.

The Atlanta Thrashers placed defenseman Boris Valabik on waivers.  He has cleared.

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 15, 2010

The Washington Capitals have placed goalie Dany Sabourin on waivers.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

The Los Angeles Kings have loaned defenseman Johan Fransson to SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL.

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 13, 2010

The New Jersey Devils have signed forward Adam Mair to a one-year, $515,000 contract.  Brochu's take:  You have to wonder why the Devils are signing more players when they can't afford to ice a full roster.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed defenseman Jeff Finger on waivers.  Brochu's take:  Fletcher got Fingered?

Forward Kirk Maltby has retired from the NHL.

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 12, 2010

Andreas Lilja

The Anaheim Ducks have signed defenseman Andreas Lilja to a one-year contract.  Brochu's take:  They better check his passport to be sure!

The Boston Bruins have placed goalie Nolan Schaefer on waivers.

The New Jersey Devils have placed enforcer Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond on waivers.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Defenseman Staffan Kronwall has left the Calgary Flames organization and signed a one year deal with Djurgarden in the Swedish Elite League.  Source

Carlsson, Greiss on waivers

The San Jose Sharks have placed goalie Thomas Greiss on waivers.

The Chicago Blackhawks have placed defenseman Jonathan Carlsson on waivers.

Hockey and NHL Rumors for the weekend of Oct 9-11, 2010

The Boston Bruins have re-signed defenseman Zdeno Chara to a 7-year, $45 million contract extension.  Brochu's take:  Provided he stays injury-free, this is a decent contract.  Chara is a fitness demon, so it's possible he can play at the highest level until he's 40.

The Bruins have also re-signed forward Patrice Bergeron to a three-year, $15 million contract extension.  They have also signed enforcer Brian McGrattan to a contract.

The Vancouver Canucks have traded defenseman Sean Zimmerman to the Florida Panthers for defenseman Nathan Paetsch.

The Buffalo Sabres have signed forward Mark Parrish to a one-year deal.

The Phoenix Coyotes have signed defenseman Brandon Gormley to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The Anaheim Ducks have signed goalie Igor Bobkov to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed forward Oliver Gabriel to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 7, 2010

The Edmonton Oilers have assigned defenseman Sheldon Souray to it's AHL affiliate, who have subsequently loaned him to the Washington Capitals AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears.  Souray remains the property of the Oilers and has no official connection to the Capitals organization.  Brochu's take:  This is similiar to what the Caps did with Michael Nylander.  I think the players and owners will have to address this issue in the new CBA.

The Vancouver Canucks have traded forward Darcy Hordichuk to the Florida Panthers for forward Andrew Peters.

The Canucks will also sign forward Peter Schaefer to a one-year, two-way contract ($600,000) on Thursday.

The Panthers have also placed defenseman Nathan Paetsch on waivers.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have placed defenseman Matt Lashoff on waivers.

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 6, 2010

The Vancouver Canucks have traded defenseman Shane O'Brien and forward Dan Gendur to the Nashville Predators for defenseman Ryan Parent and forward Jonas Anderson.  Brochu's take:  This is another "salary cap" trade, where the focus is more on money than actual hockey aspects.  Parent has subsequently been waived by the Canucks.

It's also believed that GM Mike Gillis is working on trading forward Darcy Hordichuk to clear more space.

The Los Angeles Kings have signed forward Jordan Nolan to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The Atlanta Thrashers have signed forward Alexander Burmistrov to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The New York Islanders have claimed forward Michael Grabner off waivers from the Florida Panthers.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have claimed forward Mattias Ritola off waivers from the Detroit Red Wings.

There was also many players place on waivers, which you can see here.

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 5, 2010

The Calgary Flames have signed forward Brendan Morrison to a one-year, $725,000 contract.

The Los Angeles Kings have re-signed goalie Jonathan Bernier to a two-year, $2.5 million contract extension.  Brochu's take:  An absolute bargain.  Bernier is considered one of the best young goalies not yet in the NHL.

The New York Rangers have signed forward Ruslan Fedotenko to a one-year, $1 million contract.

The Washington Capitals have signed goalie Philipp Grubauer to a three-year, entry-level contract.

There were also many players put on waivers, which I'll cover in a later post.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Forward Enver Lisin has left the NHL and signed a two year deal with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL.

Forward Kyle Wellwood has signed to play with HK Atlant in Russia.

Forward Dan Fritsche has signed a three-year contract with HC Geneve-Servette in Switzerland.

Hockey and NHL Rumors for Oct 4, 2010

The Florida Panthers have placed forward Joe Callahan, Michael Grabner and Andrew Peters on waivers.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have placed forwards Tom Sestito and Ben Guite on waivers.

The Ottawa Senators have placed Ryan Keller, Corey Locke, Cody Bass, Derek Smith and Francis Lessard on waivers.

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.