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.

NHL and Hockey Rumors for July 18, 2009

The Washington Capitals have traded defenseman Keith Seabrook to the Calgary Flames for future considerations.

The Los Angeles Kings have re-signed defenseman Jack Johnson to a 2-year contract extension. Brochu's take: The restricted free agent was the subject of trade rumors this summer, but so much for that. But I believe he will be traded sometime this season.

The Minnesota Wild have signed goalie Wade Dubielewicz to a one-year contract. The Wild have also signed forwards Danny Irmen, Duncan Milroy, Benoit Pouliot, Jon DiSalvatore and defenseman Clayton Stoner to one-year deals.

The Atlanta Thrashers have signed defensemen Grant Lewis and Scott Lehman.

The New Jersey Devils have signed defenseman Cory Murphy to a contract.

The Edmonton Oilers have re-signed goalie Devan Dubnyk to a 2-year deal. They have also signed forward Colin McDonald to a one-year contract.

NHL rumor update Mar 3

The Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune is reporting that the Minnesota Wild were willing to deal forward Benoit Pouliot at the trade deadline. This could be because the 21-year-old forward has not had a very good season, scoring only 9 goals and 21 points in 42 AHL games. Apparently, teams were asking for the availability of James Sheppard, Mikko Koivu and Colton Gillies. Source

The Montreal Canadiens have signed forward Ben Maxwell to an entry level, 3-year contract. Terms were not disclosed. Source

The Ottawa Senators are reportedly close to signing forward Jesse Winchester to a free agent contract. The 6'1, 205 pound forward plays for the Colgate University Raiders. Source

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

The Ottawa Senators are rumoured to be close to signing prospect Peter Regin to a contract. The Danish forward is having a good season with Timrå of the Swedish Elite League. Source

There is a rumor that an NHL team is interested in Regin's teammate, Mika Pyörälä. "There is an NHL team that has spoken with me about Mika," Pyorala's agent Juuso Pullianen said. Pullianen also said that several other teams have shown interest in the free agent. Could he be the next over-hyped European free agent to come over to North America? Source

Oleg "Freakin" Saprykin is reportedly interested in returning to the NHL. He led his team CSKA Moscow in scoring with 26 goals and 46 points, according to Sovietsky Sport. (Translation via the New York Times Slap Shot blog) Source