TUNE INTO THE FACEOFF CIRCLE’S LIVE COVERAGE OF THE 2008 NHL FREE AGENT FRENZY FOR THE LATEST SIGNINGS/TRADES/RUMOURS/TALK/SPECULATION. 

 

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By the way, off topic, if you’re viewing this site and want to update it without having to click “refresh” all the time, Firefox users can download the addon called ReloadEvery from the official site that refreshes a page automatically. Quite useful, then after you follow the instructions, I recommend you set it to every minute or 30 seconds.

The Faceoff Boards are offering a guest forum so you don’t even have to sign up to talk UFA stuff! http://faceoffboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=91

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6:45 PM - Matt Cooke has signed with the Penguins

4:38 AM - We’re late on this one, but Mark Cullen has been signed by the Canucks.

10:24 PM - Alright, we’re going to be slowing things down from this point on. Though we’ll be updating, there isn’t so much to talk about. If you want to talk though, theres always the Faceoff Boards!

CLICK HERE TO JOIN!

8:26 PM - There really hasn’t been much news…send me some emails.

7:16 PM - SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING IN A BIT! Steve isn’t around, and I had to build a barbecue. I’m back now.

5:01 PM - Per NHLLine:

The Ottawa Senators are still on the lookout for a puck moving defenceman. As reported on July 1st, the club is still in talks with the Florida Panthers about Jay Bouwmeester, although his price tag isn’t going to be very cheap. Other players the Sens are interested in are Carolina’s Frank Kaberle, Toronto’s Pavel Kubina or Bryan McCabe, Vancouver’s Kevin Bieksa, or free agent Bret Hedian. Jason Smith is still a possibility but isn’t exactly what the club is looking for.

4:48 PM - Rivet and a 7th traded to Buffalo for 09+10 2nds.

4:42 PM - The Jagr ripple effect has begun…IN RUSSIA?!?

When Jagr signed with Avangard Omsk Flyers may have received an unexpected benefit. Denis Bodrov - Flyers D prospect was told NOT to show up (team would be over budget, not cap) in camp. He is considering suing Omsk, since he had a signed contract with them. If he does not end up in Omsk this season, he will be in Philadelphia for the pre-season camp. PLEASE, do not ask for source. Can not disclose.

4:27 PM - TheFourthPeriod are reporting that there may be an oilers trade in the works:

It looks like something might be brewing with the Oilers on the trade front, waiting on that… Straka story should be up soon, I’m told… Nice pick up for Canucks in Bernier. Sabres gave up on him too early.

3:41 PM - CKNW 980 in Vancouver is reporting the Canucks will make an offer sheet for Valtteri Filppula.

3:37 PM - Grabovski has signed a 1 year contract with the Leafs. Questions coming soon.

3:14 PM - Canucks fans, what do you think of the Bernier trade? Also, taking emails now.

2:28 PM - Sorry, Steve was gone and I fell asleep again. BERNIER TRADED TO THE CANUCKS FOR A 2ND AND 3RD!

1:30 PM - Alex wants the Nucks to get Clowe:

GILLIS MAKE AN OFFER SHEET TO CLOWE YOU IDIOT! SJs OVER THE CAP NOW

12:55 PM - The team 1040 in Vancouver reporting Brendan Morrison is close to a deal with Minny.

12:39 PM - Wishart not confirmed yet BTW.

12:02 PM - Holy moly, the prospect heading to Tampa is former 1st rounder from a couple of years back Ty Wishart, a defenceman for whom the Sharks traded up to get with Montreal. This deal has steal written all over it for the Bolts in a few years (thanks for the tip Jordan) Now tim for lunch…:D

11:59 AM -  Going to grab some lunch, nothing much is happening right now sadly.

11:55 AM - Pesonen’s deal not quite complete yet according to this (thanks George)

11:49 AM - Fedor Fedorov officially signs with the Devils.

11:35 AM - Do you Sens fans agree with Michael?

Frantisek Kaberle, I hope Murray doesn’t bite at this…

11:22 AM - Not much activity today besides the Boyle deal…

11:13 AM -  Michael asks:

I like Meszaros, that said he’s not quite a 4 million dollar a year player yet…

Although there’s not much left out on the market Ottawa may find themselves

having to match a crazy offer sheet to retain Meszaros.

I don’t think he’ll end up playing for Ottawa this coming season.

Much to my distain…

 

Vermette and arbitration… I’m uncertain of the process of arbitration,

what are the what if scenario’s here?

No way he’s worth more than Chris Phillips or Anton Volchenkov, I agree.
The Sens could sign him and trade him, then sign a guy like Jason Smith…sounds like a good plan.

Well, Vermette’ll likely receive more money than he’s worth in arbitration, on a 1 year deal, but just enough to make him ask for more at the end of the summer by threat of becoming a UFA and signing somewhere else.

Sounds sketchy I know.
10:59 AM - Michael comments on San Jose’s moves:

 

Tampa will benefit with Matt Carle young and on the rise and depending on what they do with the picks in the future this could have a great long term effect for the team…

 

San Jose getting Dan Boyle and Brad Lukowich, and yesterday signing Rob Blake certainly makes a statement.  It looks to be a better defensive team this coming season.  Perhaps they’d have been better to stay the course with Carle, but time will tell.

 

Cheers

10:56 AM - The Penguins have signed Finnish league superstar (who has DESTROYED the league for the past several seasons) Janne Pesonen.

10:54 AM - The Sharks are overloaded at D and may move someone to get under the cap.

10:50 AM - Rumour flying around that Frantisek Kaberle may be on his way to Ottawa.

10:43 AM - Antoine Vermette is going to arbitration; Andrej Mezsaros wants $4 million a year…

10:30 AM - The Sharks are over the cap now; and still have to sign Ryane Clowe and Christian Erhoff.

10:27 AM -  Ahhh, this rocks, awesome chant at the Bell Centre during the year: link

10:21 AM - Your thoughts on this deal? Tampa gets some youth with Matt Carle and a 1st rounder in a deep draft while the Sharks pick up one of the game’s top defencemen.  The downside: Tampa loses Brad Lukowich while the Sharks might’ve given up a bit much to pry him away from the Bolts.

10:19 AM - The CANUCKS and FLYERS were the two other teams that Boyle was considering. Great splash by Doug Wilson, he might’ve given up a little much with Carle + 1st, but Dan Boyle is a an excellent defenceman and Brad Lukowich is very underrated. However in this deal, Tampa loses another blueliner by giving Lukowich away; they also cleared some salary, so maybe another deal or signing is coming.

10:17 AM - To San Jose: Dan Boyle, Brad Lukowich; to Tampa: Matt Carle (awesome young pointman), 1st, 4th and a prospect.

10:15 AM - DAN BOYLE DEALT TO SAN JOSE, more to come!

10:12 AM - Jaromir Jagr goes out in awesomness: link

“People think that it’s better to have a lot of choices, but sometimes having one choice is best because you can’t make the wrong one,” Jagr said. “I don’t know what I’m going to do now, but I’ll make that choice when it’s time.

“I want to thank Glen and Tom and the Rangers. I want to thank all the people who supported me. Being in New York was special.

“And I also want to say to the people like Mike Milbury who made their living by criticizing me all the time, that they can kiss my [butt].”

10:08 AM - Jarrett’s reply to Nagy comment:

2.5 seems a little high.

Anything 2 and under I think the Pens should pounce. 

2.5 is high for him because of his oft-injuredness, but with the nutty market, it wouldn’t surprise me if someone gave it to him…

10:06 AM - Tim Horton’s makes the best damn doughnuts ever. God I just had one, haha!

10:05 AM - Jacob comments on Demitra:

Do we have any idea where Demitra may settle?  I remember yesterday possible move was to the Rangers to play with Naslund….could the Pens use him?

There is no way he’s going to be a Pen, like we said for Jagr, unless they shed salary.

Honestly, I’m pretty certain he’ll be a Canuck, though anything can happen.

10:01 AM - Fred with an interesting idea:

How would you rank the Canadian Gms based on what they have done so far since the draft?

My ranking would be.

1. Lowe EDM (Cole, Brule, Visnosvky)
2. Gainey MTL (Tanguay, Laraque, Denis, Kostitsyn)
3. Sutter CGY (Bourque, Glencross, VanderMeer, Langkow, Conroy, Nystrom
4. Fletcher TOR (Hagman, Joseph, Finger)
5. Murray OTT (Ruutu, Auld, Donovan, Kelly)
6. Gillis VAN (Wellwood, Sanford, Johnson, Hordichuk

This seems pretty accurate, though I’m dropping down Fletcher one spot for that ridiculous Fingering.

1) Lowe EDM (Cole, Brule, Visnovsky)
2) Sutter CGY (Cammalleri, Langkow, Vandermeer, Glencross, Conroy, Nystrom)
3) Gainey MON (Tanguay, Laraque, Kostitsyn, Denis)
4) Murray OTT (Ruutu, Auld, Donovan, Kelly)
5) Fletcher TOR (FINGER, Hagman, Joseph)
6) Gillis VAN (Hordichuk, Johnson, Wellwood, Sanford)

9:57 AM - Jarrett asks about Nagy:

Hey What Salary is Nagy looking for???

Could be a low risk high reward situation for the Pens!

Nagy has been oft-injured for a few seasons now, but his point totals have been respectable. He could command at least $2.5-$3 million. He’s a high risk high reward because of his injury history, but when healthy, look out!

9:54 AM - Michael comments on Redden:

I’ve read that Redden has been on a down swing the past couple of seasons in Ottawa it’s been more like 3-4 seasons Since about the time his mother past away…  The guy is to fragile in my opinion, and while the Rangers have decided to pay him 6.5 over the next 6 years he’s lucked out, while Sather believes he can make a turn around, we sens fans have been waiting for this to happen for a long time.  Good Riddance!

I agree, the Rangers will be in for a bad awakening. I felt frustrated for you Sens fans watching him last season, he seemed to have the will to play but it just never worked out for him after signing that new deal

9:50 AM - The Leafs sign Jonas Frogren to a 2-year deal, looks like the mystery of the Euro defenceman has been solved.  Link here.

9:43 AM - The last big fish out there is Pavol Demitra. Ladislav Nagy could be a good reclamation project for a team willing to pick him up…

9:38 AM - Here’s a question: besides Jeff Finger, who got massively overpaid these past few days? Wade Redden, Michael Ryder, Mike Commodore…

9:35 AM  -  Stu Barnes is pondering retirement, while Mike Peca is looking for a 2-year deal from Columbus.

9:30 AM - Send in your emails, your thoughts about Boyle?

9:28 AM - The article also says the Sens and Isles were heavily involved, but dropped out. Ottawa did so because of his monster salary (6 yr/$40 million)

9:26 AM - TSN update on Dan Boyle:

The Vancouver Canucks are one of three teams in the running for veteran defenseman, Dan Boyle. Sources tell TSN the Canucks, San Jose Sharks and Philadelphia Flyers are the three teams Boyle is considering, however he has yet to waive his no-trade clause to clear the way for a trade. 

9:20 AM - Peter Chiarelli appears done with tinkering with his roster after picking up *drumroll* Michael Ryder *end drumroll* and will focus on re-signing Dennis Wideman before arbitration hits and he gets a ridiculous contract. Glen Murray’s days are thought to be  numbered as it’s possible he could be bought out.

9:18 AM - It appears Bryan McCabe is the odd man out on Toronto’s blue line, Fletcher will meet with him very soon to discuss his status, maybe entice him to waive his no trade clause to go some place like Tampa Bay or the Islanders, though he’s been difficult about this clause before, so don’t expect much Leafs fans, as Fletcher is already denying shopping him.

9:16 AM - Matt Cooke won’t be back with the Caps, George McPhee still hopes to sign Sergei Fedorov, who performed admirably for them this past playoff.

9:15 AM - As well as Brian McGrattan, the Yotes re-upped youngster Matt Jones as well, both were RFA’s.

9:13 AM - Tim Sassone reports the Hawks are after Pens defenceman Ryan Whitney…interesting, could Martin Havlat be headed the other way? I wouldn’t think of dealing Whitney right now if I were Ray Shero, he still has plenty of promise and upside, almost as ridiculous as those Malkin to LA rumblings a while back…more rumours to come!

9:11 AM - The Wild also picked up goalie Barry Brust to a 2-way 2 year deal worth $1.1 million total and the Yote signed defenceman Francis Lessard. Send in your emails, we’re back for day 4!

9:10 AM - The saga is done…Jaromir Jagr signs with Avangard Omsk and Josef Vasicek with Lokomotiv of the KHL. I guess Jagr went for the payday after all, sayannora, it was a good career.

8:46 AM - Hey folks, we’re back for Day 4, tune in again today for the live blog, if you wish, we’ll be up and running very soon, just gotta get to work. Thanks for sticking with us! 

12:43 AM - A nice writeup by Alex McPhee:

The free agency frenzy started on July 1st, a hope to ice a solid contender for the upcoming 2008-2009 Vancouver Canucks season, after they sorely missed out on the playoff this year. To date the biggest signings by the new General Manager, Mike Gillis, have been to Darcy Hordichuk (a 4th liner at best), former Canuck depth D-man Nolan Baumgartner (who spent the majority of the past two seasons in other minor league systems), re-signing back-up goalie Curtis Sanford (SV% of less than .900 last season) and signing RFA Kyle Wellwood (potential to be a good setup man if he can get his act together and stay healthy at the same time). I am a die-hard Canucks fan, really hoping for the opportunity to cheer for a contending team, which I haven’t been able to do with this franchise since 2003, and it appears I will not have an opportunity to again for a while.

The first mistake the Canucks made was allowing the Aqulini family to purchase this franchise, not only do they have no idea about how to control an organization, I wonder if they even like the game of hockey in general. The Aquilinis fired former GM Dave Nonis after one bad season, an up and coming great GM in the NHL, and replaced him with former player agent Mike Gillis. Mike Gillis was very good at his old job by hardballing GMs aroudn the NHL to get his clients better contracts; therefore now, these GMs are the same ones which he is trying to make deals with- Doesn’t go over well. Another mistake, again in my opinion, was keeping Alain Vigneault as our head coach. His system is not exciting, and he obviously didn’t motivate our players to a level where they achieved. Also to note, Marcus Naslund stated prior to free agency that he wants to play an offensive game in an offensive system, ie keep Alain, bye bye Nazzy- like it or not, he could’ve helped our dicipated offense in the upcoming season.

I had high hopes for Gillis coming into the draft and free-agent frenzy, yet I have been sorely disappointed. I was supportive of his first draft-pick in Cody Hodgson, as he has all the makings of being a solid NHL player, as well as second pick Yann Sauve, a big Defence man that will try to fill the void after the tragic passing of Luc Bourdon (that is, I mean, in years to come). He also picked up Kyle Wellwood, a player that has great hands and potential if put to good use and he can stay healthy, a good pickup and relatively low risk/ high reward for this signing. There is one problem with this signing however, which would arise if Wellwood had a solid year, then the one year deal would come back to haunt us in the free-agency next summer. However, in all a decent start to a team that needs a lot of improvements.

Having stated that, those moves were about the only ones Gillis had made thus far (3 days into free agency) and our new GM has significantly downgraded are team to a point which is likely of no return anytime soon. Yes we still have the Sedins, point per game players and about the only top 6 forwards we have left. And we do still have Roberto Luongo, the all-star franchise player, but how long will Lou want to stay in town for with the team that is assembled infront of him? It is very reminiscent of Florida all over again.

About 2 hours ago, Marcus Naslund signed a 2-year/ 8 million dollar deal with the New York Rangers. As much as some wanted Naslund out and a new leadership and core moving forrward, we have not replaced him with anyone of value that can put the puck in the net, like it or not. Moreover, there is very few free agents left that are of offensive value, one who Gillis offered an outrageous contract to, yet Mats Sundin is pondering retirement- not a young core player to more forward with if you ask me. That leaves who? Jagr, Shanahan, Selanee, Demitra… only one of those players who has more than a couple years left in Demitra, who was rumoured to sign and play here with Naslund once the Sundin offer was put on hold. But why would Demitra want to sign here in Vancouver now? There’s no future aside from Kesler and Sedins really, no friend in Naslund to play alongside anymore and no real top line to assemble. The others are getting older, still with skill but not to buiild a franchise upon, although I admit atleast if we were able to sign Jagr or Selanee it would atleast be entertaining to watch and maybe score us a 8th seed playoff birth at best and provide us some offense which we desperately need. However, why would these guys come here? Exactly, they won’t. Gillis also already missed out on trading for star-forrward Olli Jokinen, who the Coyotes got for next to nothing on draft day.

So what can we do? Well it seems that the only way to move forward is through high offer sheets to up and coming young players such as Steve Bernier, Pierre Marc Bouchard, Ryan Clowe or Patrick O’Sullivan. After that I guess we could re-sign Brendan Morrison, atleast hes a top 2 center, although it wouldn’t really improve our team from last season any, just make it better than it is as it stands now…Having said that, Gillis offered Morrison a measley 1.9mil- 1 year contract offer, as 7 other teams are said to be interested, and obviously willing to pay more for his services. The only other way we could build upon is via trade, yet we don’t have that many assets that to trade at this point. We aren’t dealing Hodgson, Kesler, Raymond, or Edler, so that leaves us with our star players, our defence and our 4th liners… The best trade for the Canucks to make, in my opinion, would be Bieksa, either Grabner or a Dman like Kraijeck and/ or a draft pick for someone like Martin St. Louis, as the Tampa Bay Lightning are desperate for Defenceman and we’re just desperate for anyone of value. We could always trade away the Sedins or Luongo, but then what are we left with? Having said that, how many people even want to trade with Gillis? It seems that the free agency was our big chance to improve our club and Gillis has completely failed at bringing in anyone to improve our club, and at the same time, let some significant players go and ultimately weakened our club and put us in a big hole. I guess the positive we can take away from this so far is that now we’re in the running for the Tavares/ Hedman sweepstakes, I guess that’s the only way we could attract Lou back to resign, and better than finishing 10th…

12:41 AM - Some answers!

just wana know if there are any canuck roumers if any.
hey just woundering what will rookie gm mike gillis do. been a canuck fan

Look for serious attempts at Jagr and Demitra.

 Any new rumors about the Avalanche? Thanks

There will be once Sakic and Forsberg make up their minds.

12:09 AM - I’ll get to your emails shortly…trying to setup a hockey game for tommorow.

11:21 PM - AT LAST! A SIGNING! Brian McGrattan, 1 Year in Phoenix.

11:07 PM - toget away from the inactivity how do you think the playoffs will look next year with the teams in their current form?  whats your picks?

Its way too early to tell..but I think its obvious that its Habs vs. Pens in the east and the Wings to demonish the universe, just like last year.

10:38 PM - Lets talk about something…just not Jagr to Pens. Send me your emails!

9:44 PM - No offence, but stop sending me this email, all of you! YES, it makes sense for the pens to get rid of a d-man to get Jagr. I get it.

It seems to be the age old question….or old ager questions.  If the Pens can move a d-man…should they actually go after Jagr (another right wing to which they already have 4(satan, kennedy, godard, and sykora)) or perhaps go after bertuzzi (with all the baggage, but cheaper and a left wing, of which they only have two actual wings(dupuis and fedotenko)?
 

9:33 PM - Sorry, was preparing dinner. Two emails.

Detroit won the Stanley Cup and have just gotten stronger.  Assuming they are odds on favorites to win the cup this season again, could this explain why some teams haven’t done too much at this point in time?

Pardon my opinion, but this makes sense. All the GM’s see Detroit making moves, and Pittsburgh making moves, and have basically gone “forget this!” and are now double checking their options.

Detroit won the Stanley Cup and have just gotten stronger.  Assuming they are odds on favorites to win the cup this season again, could this explain why some teams haven’t done too much at this point in time?

Possible but I kind of doubt it. I think they’re done unless they can bring in an impact player.

9:16 PM - Jeff is back, and ready to rock again! (After playing some ball hockey, haha) Fire up the email boxes, and hide the kids, tonights gonna be another great night!

9:06 PM - The Isles are inquiring about Dan Boyle to Tampa, but I don’t think he’d waive it to go to Long Island.

9:02 PM - Jagr to Pit is definitely heating up, here’s another comment from Kevin:

It’s very possible that the Pens will deal Sydor to pick up Jagr. Sam Weinman and Steve Zipay (Rangers beat writers) reported that not only was the press conference Sather held to announce the signings of Naslund and Kalinin, also that the Rangers were no longer going to pursue Jagr, so if Jagr signs with anyone in the NHL, I’m gonna guess it will be pittsburgh.

Could also be Edmonton, but these latest developments are making me lean towards the Pens…

8:53 PM - Very very interesting stuff, could Jagr be going back to where he spent part of his glory years? Awesome!

8:51 PM - TIPOS reports the following:

8:39 p.m. Big Jagr rumor — According to a source close to the Rangers organization who fed me the Naslund signing 50 minutes before the press announced it, the Rangers organization believes Jagr’s preference is to sign with the Penguins. It’s believed Mario and Jagr have had private discussions but the question remains according to this source, will the Penguins do what it takes to clear enough salary to sign Jagr and are other parties in the Penguins organization that interested in Jagr? There’s a rumor going around if Boyle accepts a trade to Ottawa, the Lightning would be interested in Sydor and Scuderi if they miss out on Jason Smith. Just hearsay regarding the Scuderi/Sydor rumor but my source with the Jagr info was on the spot with the Naslund signing so this may have legs. Waiting to hear back from my Penguins sources. more to come

8:46 PM - Waiting for something to happen, lol.

8:43 PM - Jacob’s reply:

True, but do you think it will help him and his future team>

I think his only logical choice, Montreal, can wait for him…so no biggie, as for Vancouver, he shouldn’t sign there if he’s true to his word: win the Cup.

8:40 PM - Jacob with this little quick hit:

Sundin….jerk or saavy businessman?

Neither…patient

8:34 PM - Interesting, Jagr to Pittsburgh is a hot rumour according to some Canadian press sources; maybe he’ll take less than $3.5 million? How’s that possible? Maybe some salary is on the way out…

8:33 PM - If anything at all happens it’ll be posted, just not sure what to talk about now, no rumours or anything circulating at the moment

8:17 PM - Day’s dying down…I’m going to take a few and be right back…

8:12 PM - Sheldon shooting down Jordan to 1st line LW:

Hey sorry about all this Penguins talk but I felt I must address what Jim said. Staal is probably not LWing the 1st line with Crosby. He’ll LW the 2nd line with Malkin most likely. Dupuis proved he can be a decent 1st line winger last season and Staal probably isn’t taking Blow$$a’s spot as RW. Satan will probably RW the 1st line not and Dupuis LW. Staal was a good 3rd line center which also added depth, but with Malone gone and an open space, he needs that spot. Remember his good rookie season where he also winged? We’ll see shades of that this year.

8:09 PM - Thanks to Miika for this tip: the Leafs may be trying to sign Jonas Frogren, according to GlobeSports.com. 28 year old’s profile can be found here.

8:05 PM - Tim with an interesting poitn on Blake/Streit:

Looks like the Sharks might have panicked a little bit and signed Blake for $5 million. They should have put on their reality hat and realized that Blake is a few years past his prime. They paid a cool million more than they could have by signing a younger D-man. Do you think Streit would have jumped at playing for the Sharks rather than on the Island?

Absolutely, no doubt about that. It was a desperation move, but Blake still gets the job done.

8:01 PM - Jacob’s reply:

Thats an awful big jump [Staal to 1st line wing]…not to say he couldn’t handle it, I just like him centering third.  It’s a nice two way center changup after Sid and Gino.  Though he did show some grit during the playoffs with the game after his grandfathers death.  Which brings me to the point of grit…do the pens have enough?

It might be a tough adjustment, but he can surely handle it…Godard is the grit you need, though another guy like Josef Vasicek for size would help.

7:59 PM - Chris sends this in:

You’re the Vancouver Canucks GM at this point, what do you do? I feel for Gillis a little bit here, if he landed Sundin he’d be the hero of the city, but it’s looking doubtful. Aside from Mats, what would you do to salvage the Canucks season and/or plan for the future? Very Curious J need some glimmer of hope.

Some glimmer of hope remains Chris, and his name is Pavol Demitra. He’d fit in nicely with your team, and I’m confident (and hopeful for you) he’ll be picked up.

7:56 PM - For you Wild fans, Brian in Minneapolis writes:

It looks like the Wild are done with free agency already.

http://ww3.startribune.com/blogs/wildblog/2008/07/03/wild-done-with-free-agency/

That is not a bad thing due to the overpricing of players and the lack of depth in the market this year. Also, we completed the objective of getting more offensive defensemen as well. I believe departing defensemen Keith Carney and Sean Hill will end up in Europe. The things the Wild have to worry about now is asking what’s in Houston beyond Gilles and who’s going to ratchet up the scoring since Rolston and Demitra left. Lastly, look for Marian Gaborik to be on the trading block at the deadline if everything falls flat.   

7:54 PM - Nick asks:

My names nick and I was just wondering if Jagr is for sure ruled out of the penguins or if their is still a notable chance of him coming to Pittsburgh after a trade or two.

Hey Nick, I doubt he’s ruled them out, he’s got to consider every viable option now.

7:51 PM- We’ve gotten burned before, so grain of salt with these rumours guys…

7:48 PM - Take these for what they’re worth, some unconfirmed rumours from a guy that’s emailed us for your viewing pleasure, grain of salt as always when rumours are posted:

Just heard that Big Bert is in serious negotiations with Carolina, to replace Cole and Boston is making a serious pitch to offset the loss in the Hossa sweepstakes.

Still no word on the mystery Euro defenceman the Leafs are supposedly signing.

Some notable trade rumours:

To Ottawa:  Dan Boyle

To Tampa:  Antoine Vermette and Meszaroz

Jagr talking to Atlanta?
7:40 PM - we’re here folks, just a little boring now that’s all, nothing new to report sadly.

7:35 PM- Greg chimes in again:

Blake is gone, now who do we have over the age of 25, and who is going to play “D”? By the way thank you for providing great feedback.

No problem Greg, it’s what we do…;)

You’ll be fine, trust me, a young d-corps is better than an old d-corps when you compare them head to head. They may be more inexperienced, but now they have a chance to grow into their own and develop quicker, rather than have a guy blocking them.

7:32 PM - Jacob asks: Bertuzzi for the Pens 1st or 3rd line?  Please?

Satan and Fedotenko is enough; why would you also want Bertuzzi? There’d barely be any space left in the cap then, plus he carries too much baggage.

7:29 PM - The Sharks quietly replaced Brian Campbell with Rob Blake, a definite downgrade, but worthwile in the end anyway.

7:27 PM - Nothing yet…lol

7:21 PM - I missed a few minor signings by the  Leafs: John Mitchell  signed a 2 year contract and Greg Scott 3 year contract

7:18 PM - Answering Cory’s comment…first of all, Bouwmeester is Jacques Martin’s last franchise player, besides Nathan Horton, and will try to keep him at any cost, now that Olli Jokinen and Roberto Luongo are gone, it’s imperative he re-signs him. As for the proposal, it wouldn’t work because Bieksa is more valuable than Afinogenov is right now, but I’m not sure if Canuck fans would be good with this…

7:14 PM - PM asks:

Do you think the Hawks will be able to move Khabibulin? If so who will take him and his 6.75 mil salary?

I think a team like Colorado, very thin at goal, is the only realistic option for him.
He could be a good fit, better than a Budaj/Raycroft tandem anyway.

7:10 PM - JG sends this:

looks like my canucks have lost out on mats sundin i dont think he would want to come to a rebuild team. do you think they will get anyone else besides him like re-sign brenden morrsion.

I think he’s going to end up in Montreal, for the simple reason he wants to win the Cup NOW then retire. As for other options, Pavol Demitra.

7:06 PM - MA Fleury saying he likes this, staying in Pit, great team and great future on French station.

7:01 PM - Heading into 7 PM here, email your questions, /comments and we’ll gladly talk! No new rumours to report as of now…

6:58 PM - Speculation has it that Jason Smith will be either a Sen or Sabre, both teams needing a guy like him badly. Montreal should jump in too, come on Bob, I love this guy haha.

6:55 PM - The Blackhawks have signed Matt Walker to a 1-year deal. (btw,Naslund signed for 2 years at $8 million total, not 1 yearat $4.5)

6:50 PM - Shawn sends in this email on Buffalo:

First of all — seriously? Someone tried to scam you guys? You’ve been tirelessly providing this information before everyone else, and for free, and someone wants to mess with you? That’s awful.

What do you see happening with the Sabres? Clearly they were not going to be a big money player, which is fine, but they clearly are not even going to get a defenseman in the $3 million range (given that they said Orpik was out of their range and he went for $3.5). Who is still out there that they’re realistically going to go after? They keep alluding to trades… any solid word?

Thanks again for all the information - I’ve been refreshing like mad for three days. (PS - I was tipped off by a friend that’s a Pens fan and found you via one of the Pens sites).

First of all, yes, it’s quite sad that people want to do stuff like that to ruin this for everyone. But no worries, illegit rumours/trades are not cool at all and I assure you we won’t be posting them (again) unless we’re certain of the source.

Realistically…Jason Smith is an option, like I mentioned earlier in the day, he brings great intagibles and could fill a bigtime void on your backend. He’s buff, likes to hit and a great leader, there’s everything to like about him.
No word yet on any trades, but if anything, Maxim Afinogenov could be used as bait.

Good to hear you’re on here with us, the more the merrier, thanks for the email!

6:48 PM - On Selanne again:

Don’t you think he might have a year left in him playing alongside Crosby or Malkin?

I think it’s even more unlikely he changes teams, if he’s coming back, it’ll be in Anaheim, or if there’s no room for him there, he could always go back to San Jose.6:46 PM - A couple more emails to get to before I scrounge for some more rumours, here’s Sergio’s take on Mats Sundin:

The fact that the Habs are waiting on Sundin may be a signal to Sundin that the Habs are committed to him (one could also see the addition of Laraque to the Habs as a another sign of this commitment. The Habs did not have a legit enforcer last season which meant that the opposition was quite liberal in its use of force against the Habs. Sundin, and the rest of the team, will not be worried about this anymore). Montreal will wait for him as long as Mats needs to make a decision about his playing future. Besides, he is the only player the Habs need at this moment in the UFA pool. A player like Demitra is not an option because of his injury history and level of skill in comparison to Sundin. Pavol will not really be adding anything of value. Moreover, other teams continue to sign players which will make the likelihood of Mats going to a place such as Detroit and NYR all the more remote. I personally believe it is down to Montreal/Vancouver/Toronto. The most appealing option is obviously Montreal. Insert him into the Habs lineup and it will look damn scary to the opposition. Moreover, Sundin not going after the Canucks offer may indicate that is genuinely interested in winning a Cup before he is done. With the team that Vancouver has right now, it would take a miracle for that to happen. He would just go into another situation ala TO with a team that would be fighting for a playoff spot. I thought he was done all of that. However, I do not think we should preclude a team like Colorado coming out of left field and picking him up. Lastly, I do not think he is going to retire. You know it when it is your time to do so. Waiting this long means that he will come back. Hopefully, it will mean that he will be a Hab by the end of the month or sometime in August J.

Hope you’re right buddy, Bob can wait for him now.

6:44 PM - Brian asks about Teemu Selanne:

Have you heard anything regarding Selanne?  He still has the skill to play but I haven’t heard anything about him at all.

Nothing at all…he should retire, it’s been a good career, go out on a high note and not after you’ve been waived or bought out.

6:42 PM - Mike Peca’s close to re-upping with the Jackets according to Aaron Portzline.

6:40 PM Some minor deals…goalie Chris Beckford-Tseu and Rory Fitzpatrick plus a couple of minor leaguers on their way to Florida. Beckford-Tseu was non-tendered by the Blues earlier.

6:26 PM - For the next 10 minutes, we shall be taking questions from the Guest Chat on faceoffboards… anyone can create a question.
http://faceoffboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=91

6:24 PM - Another email!

Is there any chance of Jagr signing in Vancouver? Could they afford to sign Jagr, Demitra.

Is Cory Schnieder on the trading block? Good young prospect, along with Bieksa or Krajicek for an

offensive player. Also, what about Jason Smith coming to Vancouver to be our next captain…

Jagr? Its possible…him and Demitra together would be about $12M, I think, which would probably rule out Sundin. Schnieder I really doubt would be on the block, unless, as you said, paired with Bieksa for  serious forward…though the defensive market may die out before hand. As for Smith, something tells me that isn’t happening.

6:16 PM - For the reader who tried to scam us with a fake paypal dispute…nice try.

6:14 PM  - The signing of Rob Blake by the Sharks is confirmed…assumed 1 Year, 5 Million.

6:12 PM - More questions and comments

“Hey it’s Breaker. Who do you think that Meszaros will end up in?”

He’ll either sign an extention with the Sens or be traded to Tampa in a deal for Boyle. Or who knows, we just saw a Habs/Leafs trade, what about Pavel Kubina?

Tim’s opinion on the best and worst UFA signings..

“I would have to say a toss up between Brooks Orpik and Brad Stuart. Both guys hit the open market but resigned with original teams for less money that others offered. Stay-at-home D-men were the best value across the board. Worst: Wade Redden (too much money and he got beat up by Ryan Whitney)”

6:05 PM - Sebastian asks..

Heard anything on Sakic yet? What’s your thaughts on him coming back?

It seems almost certain that he will be an Av if he plays next year…and he’s mostly headed towards coming back.

6:00 PM - We’ve opened up a section of FaceoffBoards where guests can talk, so you guys can chat about hockey without creating accounts (though I suggest you do so you can post in the other sections ) Enter here:  http://faceoffboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=91

5:56 PM - Mostly been responding to emails directly, cause I’ve been finding out about the places people are finding us on. New question.

who do you think has been the best signing overall this off season? Names jump out like Blow$$a but he’s only a hit and quit thing this year for the Wings and guys like Naslund and Kalinin jump out. Also, who resigned for the best value?

Conklin stands out, Auld is another good one.  Actually, pretty much every backup goalie signed for less than I thought. In my opinion, the best signing so far? Believe it or not, Sean Avery by the Stars. He’s earning about how much he should, but him and Ott are going to be something else together.

5:43 PM - Ah, so its The Insider on Pittsburgh Sports who’s been tipping pens fans off about us. Cool, cool, Pens fans (actually anyone) make sure to check out FaceoffBoards as well!

More emails:

Can you answer for me please. We cannot offer Jagr 12 million for 2 years, 4 million this year and 8 million next year against the cap, because in the NHL that would actually be 6 million a year against the cap? It this true? Because if it is true, then we can forget about Jagr  because we only have 4 million? Or can we trade Sydor and offer Jagr 6 million?

The the cap hit must actually be 4 Million…so 4 this year, 4 the next. It is ALWAYS averaged out.  They would have to trade someone (likely Sydor) to get to the 6 Million mark. Thanks for the email!

5:34 PM - Jan writes:
Jagr to the Oilers?    He only seems to be seeking a 1-2 year deal, and theres rumblings that the Oilers will make a big push for Hossa again next summer. Could Jagr be the stop-gap that improves the Oilers even more short term?

It makes sense, it really does, and I wouldn’t be shocked. He gets to be a hero in Edmonton if he signs, and maybe pushes the Oilers to a potential cinderella team. Thanks for the email!

5:31 PM - Another Pens Email!
The ‘Guins have 8 solid defensemen right now…9 if you count Alex Goligoski.  The Pens will still be VERY balanced on the blue line if they can find a way to dump Sydor and make room to aquire Jagr.  Just a possibility…its what makes this week so fun.

I have a question, Pens fans. Where are you finding out about us? We’ve been practically bombarded by you guys, not a bad thing, but its getting pretty crazy. We’re trying to find a Pens guy right now to help us out Send me an email and tell me where you heard about us.

5:27 PM - Daniel sends this in:

Picking up Jagr would totally change the situation in Pittsburgh. NY doesn’t have the cap room for him anymore without dumping some money so their offer is probably off the table. Some random team…Vancouver/Edmonton could offer him a contract but you have to think about why Jagr would stay in the NHL instead of heading to Russia for 15mil a year and the answer is the Stanley Cup. He’s got a chance if he comes to Pit and I bet Mario’s on the phone telling him that as I type. I say trade Sydor to CHI for a 99^th round draft pick or a case of beer and move his 2.5mil toward what you can offer Jagr.

Good plan, except that the Hawks need to shed salary, so taking him on wouldn’t work.

5:26 PM - The Habs signed goalie Marc Denis, likely to play in the minors next season.

5:24 PM - The Leafs have re-upped Dominic Moore per the Fan 590

5:23 PM - Per InsideSoCal (thanks Cheryl), the Kings have lost Rob Blake to SJ. He signed a 1-year/$5 million deal according to them.

5:22 PM - Nikulin coming now, it’s official

ATLANTA FANS GET UP AND SHOUT!!!! WOOOOOOHOOOOO!!!

 

Mike Knobler of the AJC is reporting that the last task to accomplish is to craft the contract wording so Ilya Nikulin stays playing in Atlanta and isn’t required to do time in Chicago with the minor league affiliate. Money is agreed upon. Its about time…

 

http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/thrashers/stories/2008/07/03/thrashers_0704.html

 

Now, hopefully the Thrash can get something done in the Center/Rightwing area…

5:19 PM - A Kings Website, InsideSoCal, is reporting that Rob Blake could be on the move to cross rival SJ.

5:16 PM - So it looks like no more Jagr to the Rangers, or Pittsburgh, unless they can free up space. Vancouver? Montreal? where will he land now?

5:12 PM - Breaker asks about Montreal:

I’m wondering on what you think the Montrela Canadiens need for the next season? I was thinking a goalscorer….Are there any left? Jagr? Any rumors involving jagr going to a certain team?
Thanks

They need a #4 defenceman badly, or a guy like Pavol Demitra/Jaromir Jagr as well.

Nothing new on them, and none will end up a Hab IMO.

5:10 PM - Alex with a follow up on Vancouver:

What the hell are the Canucks going to do now? There’s basically nobody left unless Gillis can by some miracle lure Sakic, Forsberg or Jagr here…Way to wait it out Gillis, push is on for Tavares now I guess…. Seriously who can we sign aside from Demitra that would make a scoring impact? He better trade for a big scorer…Ship St. Louis

None of the guys above you commented on are going to be in Vancouver.
Demitra is the last viable realistic option, besides St. Louis that we proposed, so Gillis better get cracking quick.

5:08 PM - Alex with a comment earlier I forgot to post:

I was trying to figure out how the Canucks could put together a decent team and this is a lineup, if we could make it happen, that could be decent…

St. Louis- Sedin- Sedin   (St. Louis via trade for Bieksa and maybe someone like Jannick Hansen, Grabner, or maybe Kraijeck and draft pick)
Demitra- Morrison- Naslund
Raymond- Kesler- Burrows
Hordichuk- Johnson- Robitaille

Ohlund- Edler
Salo- Kraijeck
Baumgartener- Kalinin? Modry?

It would be affordable and make for a solid 3 lines plus a pretty good defence corps… any chance? what do you think?

Forget Naslund and Kalinin now, but otherwise, this looks like a very solid possibility. Hopefully Gillis can lure Demitra and St. Louis in, which would be terrific.

5:05 PM - PO comments once more on Hossa:

in respsonse to tyler talking about Ho$$a coming back to the Pens… .NEVER. GOING. TO. HAPPEN….. if you listen to Sugar Ray Shero’s presser from yesterday, he was pissed.. Ho$$a basically said he thought the Pens weren’t good enough to bring home the cup so he signed with a team he thought was better and has a better chance… Shero is pissed, Sid is surely pissed (you shouldnt poke a sleeping bear!) and the city is pissed… we dont want him back… hopefully he tears an ACL or something and gets $4 mil next year from a team like Columbus where he can go and rot.

5:02 PM - Kalinin’s deal is for one season, likely worth between $2-$3 million

5:00 PM - Jan explains why Pit are losers:

To explain my reasoning of Pitt being Losers:

I just feel that Pittsburgh set some goals of what they had planned on the FA market, and none really worked out.

They wanted to keep Hossa; he’s in Detroit.
They wanted to get Jagr; nothing yet, probably not.
They were in contact with Naslund; looks like hes a Ranger.
They contacted Campbell…..nothing there either.

In regards to MFA and EM71.    MFA is a great signing I think, he really came into his own and proved his critics wrong ( me including ). 5mil annually is a solid deal and compared to Huet and Theodore, Fleury is a steal IMO.    As for Malkin, yes this is great, but if this happens 2 months from now then we arent even discussing it right now. In my winner/loser classification im simply referring to UFA’s, Offersheets, and Trades.        Malkin wasnt even a Restricted Free Agent till Next Year, that is why I did not consider EM71 in my Rankings.

4:58 PM - Tyler with an interesting point:

Interesting that Hossa takes a 1 year deal. More interesting that Pens signed Satan and Fedotenko to 1 year deals.  Maybe the Pens want to see if Fedotenko and Satan have chemistry with the team before signing them for 2-3 years . Maybe the Pens are leaving cap space after next season for signing Hossa long term. It’s a possibility. Should draw some questions becuase Miroslav and Ruslan seem to be the kind of players that could have commanded 2-3 year deals easily, and everyone is aware the risk Hossa is taking with that 1 year deal.  Maybe the Hossa hype is not over yet.

4:53 PM - Adam asks:

How do you feel about the Pens unloading Sydor to sign Jagr?  There’s cap room, and I think Jagr could put up 40+ winging the kid. 

It would make sense, like I suggested, place him on waivers and then recall him on re-entry, a team like Tampa could take him off your hands.

4:50 PM -  The Blues re-signed Yan Stastney to a 2-year deal.

4:46 PM - Ilya Nikulin coming to NA for Atlanta, 2nd round pick from 2000

4:43 PM - Figure on that Kalinin deal coming, plus another response to Jan:

How can you call Pittsburgh a loser when they locked up two more key pieces to their youthful core and re-signed their most physical defenceman? In addition you add two wingers who know how to score while being completely fiscally responsible??

Sure we lost a pissload of guys and plenty of grit. Last time I checked, the season started in September, not July. Plenty of time to fine tune through trades or sneaky little signings.

Am i worried about this team?? absolutely not!

Ray Shero is sticking to his plan. I admire him for that. It is too easy to go out and blow your cap space on a big name. Kudo’s to Ray!!!

4:41 PM - The Rangers also picked up Dmitri Kalinin (sorry for the downtime guys, had a server problem) as well as Markus Naslund.

4:34 PM - J sends this:

I’m pretty shocked that no one says the Thrashers are losers, because we feel like losers

Nobody, and I mean NOBODY wants to come here…its VERY depressing!!!!!!  Am I over-reacting?

Just a bit yes

4:32 PM - I am still getting some of your emails way too late (ie I received them 10 minutes after you send). This seems to be an issue with MSN/Hotmail at least for now, and some blackberry clients, so I am replying to everyone, just some later than others.

4:31 PM - Looks like Naslund is off the market.

4:27 PM - Attn: Jan

Still don’t get how you can say the Pens are losers really.  How many teams can say they extended a player like Malkin, re upped their number 1 goalie and one of the top FA D men.  Signed back a versitile player like Dupuis and basically swapped out Laraque for Goddard?

Sure Satan and Fedo aren’t glamour pick up’s, (quick stat, Naslund=81 goals over past 3 seasons, Satan=78) but when you are still left with the core the Pens have, I don’t see how you can say they are losers.

4:26 PM - Sather is rumoured to be announcing the signing of Markus Naslund to a 1-year deal worth $4.5 million, according to the Insider On Pittsburgh Sports. (this is unconfirmed, take it for what it’s worth, we’ll find out in 4 minutes)

4:23 PM - Chicago still is over the cap btw, thanks to Ken for clearing it up:

Regarding your post on the Blackhawks’ cap situation, note that the link includes only 10 forwards (no Skille, for example), nor does it include Cam Barker ($2,768,587) or Jordan Hendry ($625,000), both of whom will play with the big club most of, if not the entire season.

4:21 PM - Rumour: the PC is to announce the signing of Markus Naslund to a possible multi year deal worth $4.5 million per. This is unconfirmed, just an internet rumour.

4:19 PM - It’s official, Glen Sather has a PC in 10 minutes, speculation is rampant…trade, signing, Jagr?

4:15 PM - Jan sends in his winners and losers:

Winners
Detroit ( Hossa )
Edmonton ( Visnovski, Brule, Cole )
Chicago ( Campbell, Huet )
Dallas ( Avery will help big time )
TB ( Vrbata will balance scoring. they NEEEEEED D!!! )

Losers:
Toronto ( only because of Finger…Hagman is a good signing )
Ottawa ( didnt address any need other than Backup Goaltending )
Pittsburgh ( everyone is leaving town )

San Jose ( havent replaced Campbell, also lost Rissmiller )

Take most of these with a grain of salt, because teams like Ottawa, Buffalo, San Jose are all in similar positions. They have a few holes, but are simply not willing to hand over the key to the city along with millions of dollars for free agents. I figure that all three teams and many more that I have not mentioned will be looking to improve through the trade market.

4:11 PM - Kevin sends this in:

I don’t think the Pens panicked with Satan and Fedotenko. Naslund said no, Jagr says he wants to take his time, who’s left? Demitra? Is there a huge difference between Demo and Satan? If Shero waited much longer there wouldn’t be anyone left.

True, but Demitra is much better than Satan at this point, but that could change if the latter wakes up next season alongside Malkin or Crosby.
Shero did what he had to do, besids, I still believe Demitra’s going to Vancouver.

4:09 PM - Daniel Tjarnqvist’s signing is official with the Avs, one year deal.

4:07 PM - Nick sends this:

What do you see the Pens doing with Sydor?  Will they trade him or buy his contract out?  If they trade him, who would want him?

They could try buying him out or even waiving him. I’m sure the Lightning would be desperate enough to pluck him off re-entry waivers.

4:05 PM - Speculation has it NYR could be announcing something at a rumoured conference call at 4:30 PM. Re-signing Jagr? I doubt it.

4:04 PM - Miettinen’s deal is 3 years/$7 million

3:55 PM - Georges Laraque’s signing is official: 3 years/$4.5 million per (kidding, total)

3:52 PM - Another Pens question from Jordan:

I know Shero has put an offer on the table for Matt Cooke, 2 years/$1.6 Million a year, do you see him signing it and also, am I the only one who thinks Shero got nervous, panicked and signed Satan and Fedotenko? From what I’ve heard Mario has called Jagr a couple of time and there was interest from both sides. I’ve been hearing alot of Whitney trade rumors today, any truth to them?

I doubt Whitney is going anywhere first of all, he’s young, improving and should be a mainstay on Pittsburgh’s defence for as long as they can keep him. Second, that offer seems fair for Matt Cooke but with the market exploding, he could get upwards of $2 million (no kidding) and it’s definitely possible Shero panicked: he lost a few key players and needed to replace them, and did so adequately.

3:48 PM - Kai asked me who I thought the winners and losers of this year’s FA frenzy have been so far…

Winners: Tampa (adding several key players up front, bigtime improvement), Chicago (Huet and Campbell),  Edmonton (Cole, Brule, Visnovsky), Detroit (for picking up Hossa like that)…losers: Toronto (Jeff Finger WTF), NYR (Wade Redden gets overpaid bigtime), Columbus (Some good moves, but Mike Commodore’s signing is ridiculous), Boston (Michael Ryder gets $4 million!)

Feel free to send in yours as well!

3:44 PM - Some tidbits on Andrew Brunette:

Hi, I had a question regarding Andrew Brunette… I was wondering what you thought of the situation with the Avs and how he was treated.  It sounded like to me, both he and his agent were kinda blindsided by the fact that not only did they not consider him, but that they didn’t let him know until the last minute.  From what I’ve read, everyone was supposed to be getting a courtesy call and it didn’t sound like they even got that.  Pretty class-less from an organization that is supposed to be classy.  I’m an Avs fan and I’ve loved watching Bruno the past few years.. I think his leadership will be missed and even more, his clutch goals.. I think they made a mistake on this one, sorry… he’ll get back at us with our NW division rivals.

I think this definitely is terrible, wow, and surprising that they didn’t give him a call…

Brunette was the steal of the FA crop IMO, his salary is minimum for what he brings and the Avs will certainly miss a guy like him.
3:42 PM - The Hawks are not over the salary cap? Huh? Take a look here. More emails on the way…

3:38 PM - The Wild sign Antti Miettinen, details to come (as well as more emails, gotta answer them, thanks guys! :D)

3:36 PM - Kevin remarks on Laraque and Recchi:

Laraque a third-liner? I don’t know about that. He doesn’t have the speed for the third line.

Having said that, there’s no one who’s getting the puck from him when he gets control of it behind the net. Great puck control, great passer, will chip in an occasional goal. You may find his enforcer skills might not have as big an effect as you think because everyone’s too scared to fight him. That’s what it seemed like in Pittsburgh. I thought he’d be back and am a little sad he’s not.

Re: Recchi

He’ll always have a place in Pittsburghers hearts, but rumors circulated he was a bit of a cancer in the locker room two seasons ago. Atlanta did him a favor taking him off waivers. You can bash him for his comments, but he’s being honest, isn’t he? We hate athletes who pay “lip service” by saying “I want to return, great place here” and then DON’T, now we bash them when they’re honest? Having said THAT, did he at least thank Atlanta for resuscitating his career a little? He should’ve done that at least. Maybe he was being a little too harsh though.

3:34 PM - The Wild are close to signing Antti Miettinen, rumour.

3:31 PM - Thanks for that Jeff, now back to bizness…interesting email I just received, should generate some good new talk.

3:29 PM - The Faceoff Boards are having a contest! What do you have to do? Just sign up @ http://faceoffboards.com/register.php  and make 20 posts. A random who joins in the next two days and does this will get a prize from us! (Right now its $15, I’m trying to find something hockey related though)

3:24 PM - Matt from Pens Central sends in another Pens question: (let’s try and get some new topics in guys, enough with the Pens and Nucks already haha :p )

 

now that the pens got fed and satan for the wings.  what happens with staal.  my friend told me today he saw a shero presser and he said staal will be taking malones time on 5v5 and on the powerplay.  just something to think about.

 

matt from pens central

Staal could probably move to Malone’s spot, correct, on the wing with Crosby and Sykora.

On the PK, I imagine he’ll play centre.

3:20 PM - Seth sends this in on Pittsburgh (lots of Pens and Nucks fans here these past few days, haha):

Great job the past couple days with the updates on the free agency market.

 

I was just wondering, where are the Pens now in terms of salary cap, and what could that mean to chances of signing Jagr and/or Naslund??
thanks dude.

Last time I heard, it was just about $3.5 million…so no chance unless Sydor is dumped or some salary is shed.

3:17 PM - Andy Strickland saying that Dan Boyle’s agent claims that his client is leaning towards not waiving his NTC. Plus, Jaromir Jagr is going to wait before deciding per TSN.

3:14 PM - That’s the fourth signing of the day, leaving the big fish still out there.

3:11 PM - This is an unconfirmed report flying around the net right now btw, I hope it’s nothing more than $1.5 million per season.

3:09 PM - You have no idea how happy I am we’ve picked up an enforcer, something that’s been lacking way too much for way too long around here. Laraque is a good 3rd line plug who can score occasionally, so I am satisfied, but I hope Gainey isn’t done.

3:07 PM - MONTREAL signs GEORGES LARAQUE!

3:06 PM - John from GA adds to Recchi:

Just to add fuel to the ‘Recchi’s An Ass file’, he continued the “uhhhh, no” with this little gem:

“At some point,” Recchi continued, “there would probably be more teams but I don’t want to be on a bad team again. I know what my role is now and I want to be on a good team that has a chance.

I can’t post what I think about Recchi as it would surely be deleted immediately. The Thrashers may not be the best team in the NHL, but we saved his old balding a$$ from waivers last year.

Incidentally, have there been any rumblings regarding Atlanta and a UFA or RFA RW or C? We’ve still got alot of $$$ to spend down here…

Thanks for the quote John, and no, nothing new on the Thrashers either

2:58 PM - Be back in 5, keep them emails coming!

2:56 PM - Tim sends this in:

Is there a possibility that Canucks might be going after Dan Boyle? They need scoring, and even though Dan Boyle isnt a forward, he does put up some good numbers.

And, will the Canucks be going the Trade route now that Sundin is waiting and Hossa is signed?

It could be plausible, but the real question is: does Boyle want to be a Canuck?

Bieksa+Mitchell for him sounds fair. I think if anything they’ll pick up Demitra and maybe bring back Markus, otherwise, wait for Sundin.

2:53 PM - Some more on Satan, Pens fans, what do you think?

Some other things on Satan. Lot of people seem to think he’ll play with Malkin and Sykora. My question: is there enough pucks on the ice for that trio?

2) He reportedly contacted the Pens. That shows he wants to be there.
3) One year deal means he’ll be trying hard so he can earn another paycheck next year.

He may not be a prime-time, top-line winger anymore but he’s better than Colby Armstrong (sorry Colby! Still love you).

2:52 PM - Some defence for Recchi from Ken:

Not trying to pick a fight, just had to stick up for the “Recch’n’ ball”

In response to the guy calling Recchi an asshole…would he have preferred him to say yes he was going to return and then sneak out the back door? I didnt realize honesty made you an asshole. Id love to see him back in Pittsburgh. Hes a good guy, Ive never heard any gripes about him in the media. He actually went and picked up Armstrong and Christensen from the airport when they were sent to that god awful team….he made the arrangements for Staal to get to his grandfathers funeral during the playoffs…sounds like a real asshole to me.

Thanks for this Ken, I’m the one who called him an asshole, mainly because I never liked him, but this somewhat softens my stance, so thanks, and sorry if I offended you a bit.

2:49 PM - Still nothing new on Naslund, Jagr, Demitra…

2:42 PM - By the way, let me take a minute to encourage you to sign up at our official boards (the banner is just above) if you want to talk more hockey with a fun community. Send in your emails, anything you like, we’ll get a topic started again like this morning…

2:36 PM - Montreal signs Alex Henry and Cedrick Desjardins.

2:34 PM - Greg writes:

I have faith to burn it’s all the drinking I can’t afford:) To me over the years we have tried to piece a team together rather than rebuild. If they are sticking to this rebuild then yes we look great. The Kings have quite a bit of cap space and there is not much left in the pool. Do you feel that they will bring in a couple of vets to mold these young players? Will Doughty and Hickey be ready for the NHL this year?

A couple of vets would do just that, but sadly Dean Lombardi isn’t keen on picking anyone up this offseason, and good for him, leaving that valuable keep space alone to re-sign his young stars very soon.

I don’t think either will make the jump next year to be quite honest, Hickey still has a way to go while Doughty might just need a year or two before getting the call.

2:31 PM - He posted a whopping 2 assists all season long with the Flames last year in 58 GP

2:30 PM - This might’ve gone under the radar, but the Yotes picked up defenceman David Hale.

2:27 PM - This furthens my idea that Mark Recchi is an asshole, from J:

Ouch!  (got this from the AJC)

The Kamloops Daily News reports that Kamloops native Mark Recchi told them Tuesday night he was close to signing a contract with an NHL team. I can’t find a link, but here is the key content:

“Recchi, who turned 40 on Feb. 1, split last season between the Pittsburgh Penguins, who waived him after 19 games, and the Atlanta Thrashers, totaling 48 points in 72 games. With Atlanta, he had 40 points, including 12 goals, in 53 games.

“Recchi earned $1.75 million last season, down from $2.28 million in each of the two previous seasons. Asked if there was any chance he would return to Atlanta, Recchi replied: ‘Uhhh … no.’ “

(You’re 40yrs old Mark…we don’t want you anyways!)

2:26 PM - Kevin shares some good thoughts on Miro and Fedotenko going to the Pens:

I can live with those. Satan was a name I considered from the start (don’t think that means I had him high though; had Vrbata, Huselius, Naslund and one or two others higher) but his age was a little concern, as was his drop in production. Though the Islanders weren’t very good so that had to be considered. I think Satan is a slight reclamation project, but if anyone can do that, it’s Sid. Plus he always seems to kill us, so that’s one less player to worry about.

I’m fine with Fedotenko too. He’ll probably see time with Sid at some point as well, given how Therrien juggles his lines. He’ll probably be a decent producer (whether that’s goals, energy or what, we’ll see).

I didn’t even think of Fedotenko as an option (okay, briefly, weeks ago), but both guys have shown in the past they can score. I’m not overjoyed, nor am I planning a parade, but I am fine with these moves. I don’t know if Jagr would’ve fit in well here with Sid and Malkin (could he have handled living in their shadows? how would the fans have reacted?) and maybe I would’ve preferred Naslund, but there’s not much risk with just one-year deals.

2:22 PM - Speculation has it Dan Boyle has said no to waive his NTC to go to a certain team, but hasn’t ruled out for any others that could be offered to him.

2:20 PM - Reportedly, the B’s are trying to land Jaromir Jagr, according to some local radio stations (take it for what it’s worth).

2:16 PM - Andrew’s a fan of the signings made by Pit:

Hey guys, I’m a fan of the signings made by the Pens.  Both are low risk high reward situations.  Satan, I believe can have a resurgence of sorts playing alongside sykora and malkin.  He’s been lazy in the past but therrien and co should keep his head in the game.  Fedotenko is capable of going to the net and getting 15-20 goals.  Postgazette’s article states that the pens signed these guys when they were told they would not be able to sign naslund.  

I still feel like shero needs to sign another winger, I’m thinking maybe Jason Williams.. what do you think? 

Williams would be a decent pickup, but he’s too soft for my liking. A guy like Mike York is more appealing, despite some struggles, or Mark Recchi perhaps?

2:13 PM - The Lightning sign Wyatt Smith, and the Canes wrap up Dwight Helminen

2:05 PM - Alex talks trade:

Do you think there is any chance of a big trade happening something along the lines of….. Kevin Bieksa and a draft pick (or a quality Dman) for someone like Martin St.Louis?? Would address both teams needs, and would be a good trade I think…

Very interesting scenario.

If the Bolts can land two decent defencemen for St. Louis I think they’d sacrifice him and keep Dan Boyle.

Bieksa and a guy like Willie Mitchell for St. Louis would make sense.

2:03 PM - Verle says:

I dont know what to think of this..It’s hard to determine if Satan is past his prime and can be a legitimate top performer. Fedotenko is a good deal. Im curious, how do you feel about teh 3.5 for Satan?

Good News - Fleury’s deal. Solid.

 

Where does this leave the Pens with Naslund and Jagr? Any news? Can either fit?

It’s just a one year deal, and considering the potential payoff, it’s not that bad of a signing at all.
Fleury’s deal is solid, and could probably influence Carey Price’s deal from Montreal in a few years.

Naslund and Jagr won’t fit any in unless Darryl Sydor is dumped or if some salary is shed.

2:01 PM - Greg sends this in on the Kings:

Where are the Kings going. We seem to rebuild every other year and this is getting old. When we lost the Stanley Cup I was crushed, but I was more upset at the fact that the Duck won the cup before us. We are considered the Clippers of the NHL. I have been a Kings, Lakers, and Angels fan for about 20 years with pride. The Angels and Lakers do not win every year, but over most of those years they have tried to put a good team on the field, or floor, I cannot say the same for the Kings. I will never become a Ducks fan, but maybe we should look at the way the Red Wings run their club and take some notes.

The Kings are a good young bunch buddy.

So much potential is in your club, one day, it could be scary…Frolov, Kopitar, Brown, Bernier, Johnson, Doughty, Hickey to name a few.
Stick with them man, don’t lose faith, the day will come.

1:59 PM - Beatign a dead horse: The St. Petersburg times and the Tampa Tribune are both reporting the Bolts asked Dan Boyle to waive his NTC.

1:57 PM - OT: The emails coming mostly from hotmail accounts are taking longer to get here, at least some are, which is weird. I suggest Google Mail, it’s by far the best I’ve ever had. (back on topic now, lol)

1:55 PM - Matt asks:

So does this mean Shero is done making moves? I have a feeling he might not be. What do you think?

I feel he’s done making them as well, might try to move Sydor or pick up some depth, but that’s about it IMO.

1:54 PM - Mark:
“Meh.”

I think we’re seeing flashbacks of signing Ziggy Palffy, but at least they’re only one year contracts.

Satan has the skill, but not the heart. I’m sure he’ll do well on a line with Malkin and Sykora.

1:53 PM - WiseYoda with the following:

Satan\Fedotenko are no Naslund\Jagr… so I’m still hoping that with the $3.5 mil they have left ($6 mil if they get rid of Sydor for a bag of pucks) they can work on some top line love for Sid.  Dupius - Sid - Satan doesn’t really invoke fear in the heart of evil doers.  But Satan - Malkin - Sykora certainly would.  Let’s go Ray, one more top liner!
~WiseYoda

1:51 PM - Kevin’s reaction to Fleury signing:

My thoughts? Woohoo!

1:50 PM - Alex McPhee asks:

I’m starting to wonder if Mike Gillis is making a run at Tavares…..Any word on anything happening in Vancouver yet?

Nothing yet, Naslund is reportedly going to make a decision soon.

Plus, Demitra could always sign…sorry bud.

1:47 PM - Your reactions to this Pens fans?

1:44 PM - My suggestion was heard, and Satan signed. He should rebound playing some top minutes with Malkin or Crosby. As for Fedotenko, he can provide some secondary relief.

1:43 PM - It’s a one year deal worth $3.5 million and Ruslan Fedotenko, a 1 year deal worth $2.25 million! Rejoice Pens fans! Some decent help is on the way!

1:42 PM - PITTSBURGH SIGNS SATAN!

1:40 PM - Weird…I’m getting most of your emails on a 10 minute delay, for some reason.

1:38 PM - Andrew sends this in:  Any truth to the Kubina for Little rumour?

Doubt it, take that one with a grain of salt, some guy sent it in.

1:37 PM - Jarrett asks:

Any word on naslund??? Any chance that the Pens are still in the running or did his salary demand rise over 4.5 mil???

According to the most recent entry, he’s spoken to them and will make a decision soon.
I doubt it goes over $5 million to be honest, a 3 year deal in the range of $12-15 million sounds right.

1:34 PM - Naslund suitors down to Vancouver, Minnesota, Rangers and Pens. An announcement should come soon to where he’s going according to Pittsburgh Live Sports.

1:32 PM - MA Fleury signs a 7 year/$35 million extension with the Pens! Your thoughts?

1:30 PM - It’s a 2-way deal, so I doubt what I just said. He’s the first signing of the day…hurrah!

1:27 PM - Keith Aucoin’s deal is 2 years with the Caps, and could mean Matt Cooke/Sergei Fedorov are out the door.

1:25 PM - Speculation has it that the Oilers are trying to sign Jagr. Some more on Dan Boyle here.

1:24 PM - Some minor signings by Dallas: TSN

1:22 PM - Team 990 in Montreal reporting that George Laraque could finish his career as a Hab, hinting Montreal could pick him up. Jason Williams is another guy that’s been talked about too. Also, Martin Straka is done with the NHL and will go home (:() according to the Fan 590.

1:21 PM - Daniel asks:

Any options left through UFAs for the Wild to upgrade at forward (esp. center position)?

Josef Vasicek, Sergei Fedorov and Bryan Smolinski are a few guys out there, Fedorov would be a great pickup.

1:19 PM - Alright, let’s get back on here guys, send in your emails and we’ll chat.

Wieteze has the following:

For the teams that are looking to strenghten their defense (Senators, Lightning, Rangers, Penguins, Trashers, Sharks?) their are still some sweet alternatives besides Boyle. How about Rob Blake for example, haven’t seen a word about him the last days! Or how about defenseman like UFA’s Kalinin and Hill? (Could be that I’ve missend somet development about their situations)

Kalinin is an intriguing option, he can play offence but his work ethic has been questioned. Hill and Blake are both aging…

12:44 PM - Andy from Norway sends this in

The Pens should definitevely look at trading, either now or next summer, in order to build a solid team for the next decade. They can’t afford keeping three centermen like Crosby, Malkin and Staal under the salary cap. If they truly believe Staal can blossom into a great two-way forward (think Brind’amour) they should aim at having him leading their 2nd line along with two physical forwards. Those forwards could be brought in via this trade, signed as FA’s or drafted with picks from this trade (long term). If they rather would have two run-and-gun lines centered by Malkin and Crosby they should trade Staal to some other team who thinks highly of him. This will also bring alot back via trade and the Pens could then seek to improve their defence.

If they keep all three centermen Staal will likely center their 3rd line and command 5 mill+ i salary. This will leave the team with holes on their defensive pairings as they cannot afford bringing in enough quality D-men.

I’m guessing that come the time when little Staal is RFA, the Pens will try to trade him. For now they’re just utilizing his talent at low cost. Just like they’ve done with both Crosby and Malkin.

Andy from Norway

12:40 PM - Sorry I took so long guys, swamped at work… Habs Trade Mikhail Grabovski to the Leafs for Greg Pateryn (2008th rnd pick) and a  2nd in 2010.

12:03 PM - I’m going to run out to get some lunch guys, be back in 20 or so. Hang in there!

12:01 PM - Some minor signings: defenceman Sean Curry was signed to a 2-year deal by the Flyers; they also officially announced the signing of Nate Raduns to a 1-year deal while the Islanders re-signed their AHL stars Mike Iggulden and Brett Skinner to one year, 2 way deals. (thanks Rick)

11:59 AM - Ottawa Citizen quote from Bryan Murray:

But at least in Boyle’s case, the size and term of his contract made it impossible for the Senators to take it on. Boyle, who will be 32 on July 12, has a contract that will pay him $6.67 million in each of the next five years.

“That’s the problem,” said Murray. “It’s money and age a little bit. We’ve talked to both teams, but what it comes down to is that it’s difficult for us at this point in time.”

So they were never really into it in the end.

11:58 AM - By the way, some players that were non tendered…the list can be found here. Nothing really major.

11:54 AM -………….nothing yet

11:50 AM - According to their “trusted sources”, he rejected an offer the Lightning presented him with.

11:48 AM - RDS reporting that Dan Boyle does NOT want to be dealt. Even to his home town of Ottawa? I guess the beaches in Tampa are good enough, plus the team got much better.

11:44 AM - Rob sends this in:

Hey: great site…are the devils actually going after shanahan also? i guess they could also invite ken danyeko to camp this year too!

Shanahan never got an offer from the Devils and was baffled at all the talk about him going there, according to a report yesterday, so I’m not sure of the chances of him ending up in NJ next season. Daneyko…nice, haha.

11:43 AM - Capitals sign centre Keith Aucoin, David Koci to Tampa now official.

11:40 AM - Jan reminds us something very important:

Just remember that Boyle is an Ottawa native, and Ottawa needs a puckmoving defensman. The Senators also have plenty of Cap Room as they failed to sign any big name FA so far. Why wouldnt Boyle want to waive his NTC to return home to his old stomping grounds?        A Meszaros + Pick for Boyle sounds like an option, as TB needs some cap relief.      Murray, please dont trade Vermette….what am I gonna do with my #20 Jersey?

It would take more than just that to get Boyle IMO, at least Meszaros and Vermette, possibly a mid-end prospect/pick.

11:35 AM - Back to the Pens again, courtesy of Daniel:

So anyway back to the Pens. In his conference yesterday Ray Shero said that there would be some signings within 24 hours. He also said that he has players calling that want to come to Pittsburgh. Shero said that he only wants players that want to be here and not players that are just looking at a big paycheck. Do you think that Shero will sign someone today? There are alot of 2 tier players out there right now that I think could help shore up some grit and some help in the faceoff department and dont forget it wouldnt help to get a veteran since scary gary has gone to tampa! 

Ladislav Nagy? Brendan Shanahan? How about those guys? Miro Satan? Shanahan could probably replace Roberts and do more offensively.

11:30 AM - Kevin, with one last comment on Gonchar/St. Louis:

Late to the party (I was asleep :P) but on paper, sure, Gonchar for St. Louis looks pretty good. I’d love to have St. Louis on Crosby’s wing. But you have to take in other factors, like P.O. did. If Whitney had advanced, rather than regressed, last year, I might consider it, but Gonchar’s too valuable at this point. Whitney couldn’t even QB the No. 2 PP unit, let alone the top.

Very intriguing idea though, I’ll admit.

11:28 AM - It’s been over 12 hours since the last UFA signing (Kristian Huselius)…

11:27 AM - Buffalonian shares some insight on Boyle to BUF:

Not sure why Buffalo would want Boyle at 6 million…They could have had Campbell at that figure.  Plus, we have a young puck-moving defenseman in Sekera and need to add a physical D to the group.  Loved what Funk showed and happy for him to be full-time next year, but could use one more.  Love the idea floated on the Buffalo News Sabres Edge blog of getting McKee back in town via trading Max…Wishful thinking though

McKee is definitely awesome, but aging and he’s been hit by injuries if I’m not mistaken.

11:25 AM - Brandon comments on my Jordan Staal question earlier:

In regards to your “what do pens think of jordan staal”, I love the guy, and so does any person who really knows the game of hockey. While Crosby and Malkin were putting pucks in the net in the playoffs, Staal ruined the games of such allstars as the alfredson-heatley-spezza combination and guys like briere and zetterburg. If you go back and watch the tapes, you’ll see everytime one of those guys stepped on the ice, therrien got staal at there. a very underrated defensive forward, but not for long!

11:23 AM - Seb sends this in:

Hey, my first time writing. Great blog, I love it.

Darren Dreger is reporting that 24 hours ago, a Dan Boyle deal was out of the question, but now, it is a very big possibility, with at least 4 teams involved. Eklund reports a Boyle deal is imminent, and the teams potentially involved are :
Ottawa
Philadelphia
San Jose
Buffalo
Montreal
Boyle has a NTC, so if Boyle likes the east coast weather, he may not move at all.

Keep up the great work!

Hey Seb!

Thanks a lot, much appreciated.

Dreger is connected, so this rumour might have more to it than we think, could be an interesting day if Boyle is dealt and Demitra/Naslund sign.

11:21 AM - Daniel asks about Boyle to Philly Eklund rumour:

Boyle to Philly? Ok so who is Philly unloading then since they are already over the cap by a mil? Is there really that much interest in Boyle?

I don’t know how the Flyers could do this, unless they trade Joffrey Lupul, I can’t see them getting Boyle.
Actually, they might be banking on freeing up space by putting Derian Hatcher on the long term IR, where his salary doesn’t count against the cap.
11:18 AM - Jordan sends in this comment:

Haha. Great find with that Demitra story. Never heard that before. Sounds like a class act.
Going offline to sleep now. Just discovered your site today and I love it. You guys are doing a great job, keep it up. 

Take care buddy, and thanks! That Demitra story really touched me too, what a classy move!

11:15 AM - Send your emails in! Always willing to chat with you guys…what do you think of this Dan Boyle rumour?

11:09 AM - I hate doing this, but Eklund says 5 teams are involved: Ottawa, Philly, SJ, Buffalo and Montreal. Grain of salt as always.

11:06 AM - At this moment of very severe non-activity, I’m going to go over the line of not mentioning Eklund at all here today (or practically not) and say he’s put an “e4″ on a Boyle deal being imminent. There has been no indication he wants to waive his NTC, as TSN reported earlier this morning, he was approached in an effort to do so. Unless they fetch a good return for Boyle, I dont see this being worth-while.

11:02 AM -  Nothing new to report just now.

10:55 AM - Georges Laraque turned down an offer to play for the Preds recently, while the Oilers remain interested according to the Edmonton Journal

10:52 AM - A little off topic, but by looking at Pavol Demitra’s Wikipedia page, I came across this lovely gem:

Playing for St. Louis Blues in 1999–2000 Demitra made a significant gesture toward his teammate Scott Young in a last game of regular season against Los Angeles Kings. Young needed one goal to launch his 300 000$ bonus for scoring 25 goals (he had 24 at the time). Demitra himself was in pursuit of 90 points plateau for which he would collect 500 000$ in bonuses (he had 89 at the time). In the waning seconds of the game Demitra rushed toward an open net. He did not shoot, instead he passed the puck to Young. However Young’s shot was blocked by defenceman Jaroslav Modry and both players ran short of the bonuses. Asked by reporters after the game why he gambled his 500 000$ Demitra simply said:” Scott just needed this goal.” General Manager Larry Pleau still awarded both players with bonuses.

10:45 AM - Marcel Hossa has signed a deal with Dynamo Riga to play overseas next year as well as Ruzicka.

10:44 AM - Pat writes:

I know Smith brings great intangibles, but from the folks on various forums (you know, the ones who know EVERYTHING about hockey) I read that he really struggled on the ice with Philly last year. 

He’s lost a step or two over the years, but he can still bring it, I was impressed whenever I saw him play. He’s much better than most defencemen his age, never mind those pessimists. He gets the job done, that’s what matters in the end

A guy who’s struggled on the ice with Philly is Derian Hatcher, not Jason Smith.

10:38 AM - Do you think the Caps aren’t going to repeat next season? What do you think? By losing Cristobal Huet, Sergei Fedorov, possibly Matt Cooke…I’d say no. Losing Huet was a massive blow. Fedorov was exceptional under Bruce Boudreau and Cooke is the type of guy any team would love to  have, a class one agitator.

10:35 AM - Pat asks:

Where are you hearing the Jason Smith to Carolina rumor, and what does he have left in the tank?

Hey Pat, we don’t bring up rumours from any “sources” here, we only report what we read or hear around the net (newspapers, etc.).
Take that with a grain of salt, someone emailed it in, but to be quite honest, Smith is a big guy who can really play defence, any team would probably love to have him. Plus he’s a leader…I’d say he’s still got a bit left in the tank, on a short term deal, it could pay off.

Thanks for the email!

10:30 AM - Scott writes:

Great job with the site,

I find it funny that people on the Leafs board are comparing Fletcher to JFJ, with some wanting JFJ back. My question is, what do you think the Leafs would get if Kubina were to be traded?

Thanks!

Kubina’s value is at an all time high now that his NTC is gone and the market for defencemen has become expensive.

First off, I respect JFJ, but Fletcher is light years better than him, so tell them they’re nuts!

As for the trade…I’m guessing Kubina could get you a scoring line player, maybe a 2nd line center? Or if you want to go younger, maybe a high end prospect, a checking liner and a high draft choice?

Just speculating here, my buddy Jeff can probably give you a better answer (he’s a Leafs fan too!)

10:26 AM - According to today’s Ottawa Sun, the Jackets, Canucks and Thrashers are all after Andrej Meszaros and Antoine Vermette from Ottawa. A later report suggests Ottawa is looking for a defeceman via trade.

10:23 AM - Interesting quotes from Jaro Jagr that appeared in some NY newspapers today:

“I think they’re happy with what they got,” Jagr said of the Rangers. “The guys they got are what they feel they needed.”
Asked if he thought he could return to the Rangers, he replied: “That’s a tough question. To be honest, at times like this, I don’t think you should think. Because you might think something and get hurt. This is a business.
“But it doesn’t look to me like I was their first choice. And I don’t know if I was No.2 or No.3.”

Some quotes from Chris Drury too: link

10:20 AM - Stefan Ruzicka has signed a contract with Spartak Moscow of the Continental League. He was an RFA for the Flyers, they will still retain his NHL rights.

10:14 AM - That was 10, lol, anyway here’s Colin with another proposal:

Cheers all, you guys are doing a fantasic job.

 

Regarding the Pens…

 

What would you think of a Sydor and pick / role player for Havlat swap?  Chicago needs to clear cap room and Havlat, when healthy is a fantastic winger.  Plus, Havlats contract comes off the books next year when Evgeni Malkin’s and hopefully Jordan Staal’s new deals kick in.

 

Thanks!

Thanks Colin, glad you’re turning in!

As for this proposal, sure the Hawks want to dump salary, but this wouldn’t be the best way to do it; Sydor is way past his prime while Havlat can be of use to them when healthy. It would take more than just this to acquire him, even if he’s known for his injury proneness.

Cheers! And as for Jordan Staal, what do you Pens fans think of him? He hasn’t really done too much since breaking in…is he’s going to be a late bloomer like his bro Eric?

10:04 AM - Be back in about 10 guys, gotta run out quick, keep them emails coming!

10:02 AM - Andy emails us again:

Dan and P.O. are all right! The Pens have a real good Offense and they have even the chance to add Jagr, Demitra or Naslund. In addition to that they should sign one physical Forward.
I don’t see a better Team than Pittsburgh - in the East!

Andy (Germany)

10:01 AM - Reports out of Raleigh suggesting that Frank Kaberle might be on the chopping block.

10:00 AM - Still no signings to report…

9:54 AM - Dan tunes in on “RAY SHERO WE TRUST”:

WOW!!!!!!!! I believe that the pens not making a significant signing ie. overpaying somebody just to appease the masses has made my fellow penguinites lose their mind. GET RID OF GONCH ARE YOU SERIOUS! It is a complete crime that he wasnt nominated for the Norris this year and that he is so underrated, without him I believe the powerplay falls apart and also he is Geno’s best friend and only fellow russian on the team, boy with all that we would be in trouble next year. Pens fans just need to relax like Shero said yesterday we have a core group and we want to build around that. IN SHERO WE TRUST!

I am not suggesting to get rid of Gonch, but trade him