Some notes to kick off the offseason frenzy that will soon take place…

The Oilers have traded for Flyers forward Ryan Potulny. Philadelphia receives defenceman Danny Syvret, Edmonton’s former 3rd round pick from 2005. An interesting deal that could eventually work out for both teams, the youth and potential these guys offer could pay off in the long run; Potulny has yet to make any impact in about 40 NHL games with Philly over three seasons while Syvret is an agile, quick puck-moving defenceman that could fill a void in the Flyers d-corps very soon, with Jaroslav Modry and Derian Hatcher lurking near the door. Edmonton basically gets a potential checking liner with a bit of scoring upside as Potulny didn’t blow the water out down in the AHL with 47 points in 57 games. Syvret meanwhile put up 2 goals and 18 assists in 63 games with Falcons and Bears this past season.

Veteran Hurricanes pointman Bret Hedican reportedly doesn’t figure to be in the team’s plans next season. The 37-year old who captured his first Stanley Cup with Carolina in 2006 was in the final year of a 6-year/$18 million contract and says he’s planning to move with figure skating wife, Kristin Yamaguchi to Northern Carolina, away from Raleigh (which is evidently in the South) and there is a slight chance he could come back next season, but in my opinion we’ve seen the last of Hedican, who has been rumoured to be contemplating retirement since 2006. In 988 career games with St. Louis, Vancouver, Florida and Carolina, the Minnesota native scored 54 goals and assisted 234 times, giving him a total of 288 points during a 15-season career.

Jim Balsille is back in the media once again, this time his advisor, Richard Rodier, had some harsh words for the NHL and more specifically, commissioner Gary Bettman:
The commissioner made it very clear he does not want Jim in the league under any circumstances, period.
The Blackberry mogul was unsuccesful in two bids to purchase the Nashville Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins, with a report out of the National Post recently claiming he’s in talks with 8 teams to potentially become a managerial partner/owner.

John Tortorella is being targeted by the San Jose Sharks, wonder what happened to those wacky “Milbury to SJ a done deal?” rumours that popped up last week; Tortorella was relieved of his duties this week by the Lightning, a reported replacement is ESPN analyst and former Kings coach Barry Melrose, who is denying he’s been approached to coach the team.

Pascal Leclaire and Dan Fritsche, among others, have been offered new contracts by the Columbus Blue Jackets, who are trying to secure their two young restricted free-agents. However this is apparently a procedure to retain their rights, as both will likely get more than a 10% raise, especially Lecalire, who enjoyed a fantastic breakout year but somehow got snubbed when it came time to play the All-Star Game.

Wade Redden’s possible suitors include: The Canucks, Flyers, Predators, Blackhawks, Maple Leafs, Sharks and in my opinion, the Devils, but Lou Lam likely won’t bite for the expensive contract Redden will demand, despite his poor showing this past year.

Jaromir Jagr has reportedly received a multi-million dollar offer to play in the new Continental League with Avangard Omsk.

Cliff Fletcher could possibly trade the Leafs 7th overall pick, if the price is right; how about Jeff Carter from Philadelphia? seeing the Flyers could lose Carter to another offer sheet very soon. He could probably fill an important 1st line centre void in Toronto’s lineup and become a cornerstone to build off of for the years to come…him, or Alex Pietrangelo, your call.