Monthly Archives: July 2010

The Senators announced they have signed Peter Regin to a 2 year, 2 million dollar contract and also signed Chris Campoli to a 1 year 1.4 million dollar contract. Both players were set to go to arbitration and got a deal done before their hearings. With now Ottawa needed a defensive defenseman, who will they go after? Will they trust Cowen with the job? Will they still bring back Sutton? Who will be traded….Kuba? We will have to see! Lets look into what could happen.

More and more, this is looking like the end.

There are only so many bullets you can dodge. And with the deadline on his no-trade clause fast approaching, it is becoming increasingly evident that Tomas Kaberle will not be continuing his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

With most of the big names out there taken what moves could be left for the Toronto Maple Leafs to make well lets look first at the very small pickings on the free agency list…

Agent: Turco will end up with competitive team

Kurt Overhardt chuckled when I asked if he is worried that Marty Turco might not end up with a place to sit in this free agent game of musical chairs.

“You’re the second guy to ask me that exact same question in that exact same manner,” said the agent for Turco. “The answer is no.”

Overhardt is confident that something will get done in the 7-10 days and that Turco, the all-time Stars win leader who was not offered a contract extension, will be on a contending team.

Kings replace Frolov with Ponikarovsky

So Frolov has signed with the Rangers at $3m for one season. As a replacement the Kings sign Alexei Ponikarovsky also at $3m for one season.

Is this a sensible choice. Off the top of my head I’d say no – Frolov is a much better option but let’s look at some stats to see if they agree.

With the recent injury to Sami Salo and surprisingly cap friendly deal Mason Raymond signed it looks like Kevin Bieksa could stay in Vancouver after all.

The Rangers upgraded their offensive capabilities yesterday by signing left wing Alexander Frolov to a one-year, $3 million deal that is not only cap-friendly but should serve as motivation for a player looking to build leverage in the market.

There is nothing negative about the signing of the 28-year-old winger whose personally disappointing 51-point season (19-32) in Los Angeles would have made him the Rangers’ third-leading scorer and whose contract leaves general manager Glen Sather enough cap space with which to maneuver.

As Brian Burke returns home from his fishing trip, talks could once again commence on the possible moving of Tomas Kaberle.

Here are some other various sources on Kaberle:

“The Sharks are the team to beat. The Leafs are aiming for Ryan Clowe as their target”

“The Sharks aren’t offering Clowe yet, but Brian does believe he could get Clowe if he just were to get some kind of bidding war going.”

This summer it has become very fashionable to rake Sutter over the coals for his trades this past year and free agents signings. Some of the critism is justified, but if you look at the postion the Flames are currently in its hard to argue that this team isn’t better than the one that started last year. Last year the Flames training camp lineup was:

Bourque Jokinen Iginla
Dawes Langkow Moss
Glencross Conroy Sjostrom
Nystrom Boyd Prust

Lundmark Mcgratten

Phaneuf Jay Bo
Reghr Giordano
Sarich Pardy
Kronwall

Kipper
McElhinney

The Aftermath In Chicago : An Alternative To The Firesale

What a difference a month makes.  Four weeks ago, the Blackhawks were the most stacked team in the league, boasting elite talent in every position, and every role.  Now, they have lost toughness from the bottom half of the roster in the form of Ben Eager and Adam Burrish.  They’ve lost hard-nosed warriors and checking line heroes in John Madden and Andrew Ladd.  They lost top six scoring in Kris Versteeg, and one of the better role-players in the West in Dustin Byfuglien.  They even lost depth in the form of Colin Fraser, and Brent Sopel.  And yet still, there is more loss to come

The Canadiens season starts in about a month and surprisingly the biggest question for the Habs right now is in net. Instead, this time it’s not about if Price can handle the pressure once again, as its now if he will ever sign with the club. Rumors have began to swirl that Price is demanding a lot of money from the club since he’s their only goaltender.

Canadiens are latest name to be cranked out in Bieksa rumour mill

Another day, another Kevin Bieksa rumour.

The latest twist in Twitter-land is that the Montreal Canadiens covet the Vancouver Canucks defenceman in exchange for 2010 first-round draft choice Jarred Tinordi. The rumour has some legs because the Canucks had interest in the 6-foot-5 blueliner, who’s the son of former NHL defenceman Mark Tinordi. He had nine points and 68 penalty minutes with the U.S. National Team Development Program last season and a was a member of the U.S. team that won the 2010 under-18 world title. Tinordi is projected as a tough, top-four defenceman and that’s why the Canadiens traded up to take him 22nd overall last month.

NHL rejects Ilya Kovalchuk contract for cir*****venting salary cap

The National Hockey League has rejected the 17-year, $102 million contract that Ilya Kovalchuk signed with the Devils on the grounds it cir*****vents the league’s salary cap.

The news was first reported on TSN’s website.

That means the blockbuster deal likely must be reworked.