NHL and hockey rumors for July 31, 2008

The Minnesota Wild have bought out the last 3 years of Mark Parrish's contract. The cap hit will be spread out for the next 6 years. Parrish is now an unrestricted free agent. Brochu's take: Parrish will be a cheap pick up for a team looking for a decent 2nd/3rd liner.

The Detroit Red Wings have avoided arbitration and have re-signed forward Valteri Filppula to a five-year, $15 million contract.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have re-signed goaltender Pascal Leclaire to a three-year, $11.4 million contract. The deal will pay Leclaire $3 million this season, $3.6 million in 2009-10 and $4.8 million in 2010-11.

The Carolina Hurricanes have signed forward Drayson Bowman to a three-year, $2.06 million entry-level contract.

Brochu's European rumor roundup:

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Jaroslav Modry is very close to signing with Czech Extraliga club HC Bílí Tygři Liberec. Source

In an interview with hokej.sk, Ladislav Nagy acknowledged that he has had offers to play in Russia, but he wants to remain in the NHL. Nagy also expressed an interest in playing in Canada, and would not mind a lower salary to stay in the NHL. Brochu's take: This certainly adds to the rumors that the Toronto Maple Leafs were interested in him. Source

Swedish reports are indicating that Nashville Predators forward Jan Hlavac could be signing with Swedish team Linkoping.

There are rumors that Washington Capitals forward Ben Clymer could be signing with KHL team Ak Bars Kazan or Swiss Nationalliga A club Biel/Bienne. Source

NHL and hockey rumors for June 24, 2008

The Ottawa Senators have officially bought out the contract of goalie Ray Emery, making him an unrestricted free agent. Emery signed a three-year, $9.5 million contract in July of 2007 and has two years and $6.75 million remaining on his contract. Under CBA rules, the Senators are on the hook for one-third of Emery's remaining salary, $2.25 million. That amount will be spread across twice the length of the remaining years of the contract, resulting in a cap hit of slightly less than $600,000 for the next four years. Brochu's take: The Senators couldn't find a trade partner for the troubled netminder, but some team will pick him up. Emery also has the option to play in Europe.

Los Angeles Kings goale Dan Cloutier was expected to be bought out over the weekend but, according to CKNW Radio in Vancouver, a source is claiming that if the former Canucks goalie is injured, the team cannot complete the move, and will be force to pay his $3 million salary for the 2008-2009 NHL season. Brochu's take: Cloutier and "injuries" go together like ham and eggs. I expect some sort of grievance will be filed to the NHLPA for this.

Three players have been put on waivers by their teams for the purpose of being bought out if they clear waivers tomorrow at noon: Washington Capitals forward Ben Clymer and Carolina Hurricanes' Jeff Hamilton and David Tanabe. Brochu's take: There are rumors that the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers have interest in Hamilton has a power play specialist.

The Nashville Predators have re-signed defenseman Shea Weber to a three-year, $13.5 million contract extension.

The Tampa Bay Lightning have re-signed forward Vaclav Prospal to a four-year, $14 million contract extension. Source

The Chicago Blackhawks have re-signed forward Andrew Ladd to a two-year, $3.1 million contract. Source

Hurricanes trade watch

According to Lord Stanley's Blog at the News & Observer, the Carolina Hurricanes are looking for a forward, and a trade could happen in the next 48 hours. They are looking to add forward depth with Justin Williams out indefinitely and Matt Cullen's concussion problems. The Canes would probably part with a draft pick or low-level prospect. They are also still pursuing a puck-moving defenseman. Source

Rumors continue to swirl that the Colorado Avalanche are shopping defenseman John-Michael Liles. Could he be a fit in Carolina?

The St. Louis Blues are shopping three of their defenseman, and a trade could come very soon. It's believed that Barret Jackman, Bryce Salvador and Christian Backman are the names being mentioned. Source

Pierre LeBrun of Sportsnet is reporting that if significant progress isn't made in contract talks between Marian Hossa and the Atlanta Thrashers, the Thrashers will begin to shop Hossa in earnest. Source

Various sources have confirmed that the Dallas Stars have signed Mike Ribeiro to a five year, $25 million contract extension.

Waiver wire news:

The Chicago Blackhawks have placed Sergei Samsonov on re-entry waivers again.

The Washington Capitals have placed Ben Clymer on re-entry waivers.

The San Jose Sharks have placed goaltender Dimitri Patzold on waivers.

Simon Gamache has cleared waivers and released by the Toronto Maple Leafs. He will most likely be signing in Switzerland.

Lightning sale hits snag?

The sale of the Tampa Bay Lightning to the "Absolute Hockey" group seems to have hit a snag. The approval of the sale by the Board of Governors has been delayed until November. According to several league sources, the delay is due to a few of the financial backers of the group having pulled out. The group, led by former Blue Jackets GM Doug MacLean, may not have enough investors to buy the Lightning.

The rumours section of Yahoo Sports is speculating that Washington Capitals forward Ben Clymer may be traded. Clymer has two seasons left on his contract, and could go to a team looking for a reliable checking-line wing who isn't afraid to drop the gloves. Source

Injury reports: Jonathan Toews could miss 2-3 weeks with a broken right index finger, Petr Sykora will miss a few preseason games with a broken nose and Anson Carter suffered a concussion in his first preseason game.