Tuesday Rumor Roundup

- The Calgary Flames are expected to introduce to Brent Sutter as their new head coach later today. For those who didn't see, I wrote a little on the topic here. 

- The Pittsburgh Penguins' top priority this offseason: re-signing Rob Scuderi.

- As expected, Chris Chelios will not be re-signed by the Red Wings. 

- F Dany Heatley has informed Senators GM Bryan Murray of his 10 preferred destinations: Los Angeles, New York, San Jose, Detroit, Chicago, Vancouver and Boston are 7 of them.

Caps hire Woods as assistant coach

Just a few moments ago, word got through that the Capitals have promoted Bob Woods to the assistant coach position. 

Woods has no prior NHL coaching experience and served as Hershey's head coach from November 2007 to June 2009, where he maintained a record of 83-47-15 and recently captured the 2009 Calder Cup.

The former defenceman replaces Jay Leach who was let go at the beginning of the offseason. He had been with the Club since the 2005-06 season and was in charge of the team's defense. 

This certainly seems like a good move, especially with the past success the Caps have had with promoting people from within the organization. In addition to his presumably good relationship with his players, Woods is a good friend of Boudreau's, which should bode well!

Monday Rumor Roundup

Not much going on this morning, but thankfully the Red Wings are here to keep us busy:

- Two writers went ahead and explained why the Wings should not re-sign Marian Hossa, even though they claim that their decision has nothing to do with the 2009 playoff debacle that occurred in the Motor City, both for the Club and the star forward. 

- Chris Chelios and Red Wings GM Ken Holland will reportedly meet in the coming days to discuss the 47-year old's future with the organization. He claims that he still would like to play, so a return to Detroit does not appear imminent. 

Sunday Rumor Roundup

UPDATE 8:45 PM: 

- On an interesting side note, I stumbled upon a very intriguing piece in the Buffalo News, where writer Dan Zakroczemski lays out his "GM for a day" plan. Firstly, he suggests that the Sabres should upgrade their front office through the hiring of a good scout as assistant-GM to Darcy Regier. He then continues by indicating that the Sabres should rid themselves of most of their veterans, including D Toni Lydman and F Jochen Hecht, and put their youth in charge. Finally, he believes strongly that the Sabres should sign D Jay Bouwmeester.

- Cross the Edmonton Oilers off Jay Bouwmeester's list of possible suitors. 

- Things are looking grim for the Nashville Predators as they do not believe that they will be able to meet their UFAs' demands by July 1st. Nashville's most notable UFA is F Steve Sullivan, who had a great year with 32 points in 41 games after his return from severe back injuries. 

- Many things, including the hiring of Francois Allaire as goalie coach, are starting to indicate that G Jonas Gustavsson will end up a Toronto Maple Leaf.

Available Cap Room Rankings

The title says it all: here is a ranking of teams according to their available cap space for the 2009-10 season. This list will certainly highlight July 1st's top buyers, even though a certain portion of each team's cap space will have to be used on re-signing RFAs. Remember that each team does not also necessarily spend up to the cap.

Important Notice: Let's assume the Cap is at US$ 56.7 M. 

All numbers represent approximate values.

1- Nashville Predators: 33.5 M

2- Montreal Canadiens: 33 M

3- New York Islanders: 33 M

4- Phoenix Coyotes: 27.5 M

5- Atlanta Thrashers: 26 M

6- Vancouver Canucks: 21 M

7- Chicago Blackhawks: 22.5 M

8- Tampa Bay Lightning: 19.5 M

9- Florida Panthers: 18.5 M

10- Anaheim Ducks: 18 M

11- New York Rangers: 16 M

12- Dallas Stars: 14 M

13- Columbus Blue Jackets: 15 M

14- Los Angeles Kings: 15 M

15- Toronto Maple Leafs: 15 M

16- New Jersey Devils: 14.5 M

17- St. Louis Blues: 13 M

18- Carolina Hurricanes: 12.5 M

19- Minnesota Wild: 12 M

20- Colorado Avalanche: 11.25 M

21- Washington Capitals: 10.75 M

22- Edmonton Oilers: 9 M

23- Buffalo Sabres: 8.75 M

24- San Jose Sharks: 8.5 M

25- Calgary Flames: 7.5 M

26- Pittsburgh Penguins: 6.5 M

27- Boston Bruins: 6.5 M

28- Ottawa Senators: 4 M

29- Detroit Red Wings: 3.75 M

30- Philadelphia Flyers: 3.5 M

In Bold are teams that did not spend up to US$50 M in salaries last season.

In Blue are teams that have substantial RFAs to re-sign this offseason.

List of KHL-bound Players

For those of you wondering if any of your team's players have signed on officially with KHL clubs for next seasons, I have created this list that you may consult with angst:

Forwards:

- Viktor Kozlov (Washington): Salavat Yulaev UFA [3-years, US$2 M/y]

- Alexander Nikulin (Phoenix): CSKA Moscow [1-year]

- Marek Zagrapan (Buffalo): Severstal Cherepovets [3-years]

- Richard Zednik (Florida): Lokomotiv Yaraslavl on a [2-years] 

Goaltenders:

- Mikael Tellqvist (Buffalo): Ak Bars Kazan [1-year, US$1.3 M] 

Report: Sutter to coach Flames

In an unexpected turn of events, it seems as if newly liberated head coach Brent Sutter will actually join his brother, Darryl, in Calgary to become the next head coach of the club.

Sutter possesses a 97-56-11 record in the regular season in 2 seasons as the head coach of the New Jerseys Devils, but a 4-8 mark in the postseason. It is important to note that the Viking, Alberta native never made it out of the first round over the past 2 seasons with the Devils, but then again, so did the Flames!  

Round 3: Molsons re-acquire Montreal franchise

Congratulations to the Molson brothers on their purchase of the Montreal Canadiens from George N. Gillett, for the modest sum of US$550 M! 

In all seriousness, this event truly makes me happy as it puts an end to a long series of events that began earlier this year when the American millionaire hired Jacques Menard from BMO to evaluate his assets. Gillett, due to the poor economy, was heading into a dark financial hole if he didn't cut his losses which were mostly generated by his Nascar and English Soccer ventures. Today that dark hole turned into a fluffier and greener one.

This day also marks the end of Gillett's run as an NHL owner, a particularly successful one at that. In an industry where proprietors are ecstatic to cover their expenses, Gillett doubled the value of the Canadian franchise over a span of 8 years, from US$225 M (the price he paid Molson Coors in 2001) to US$550 M. 

Numerous other groups were amongst the bidders for the Historic Club, the Bell Centre and Gillett Entertainment Group, including one lead by Quebecor mastermind Pierre-Karl Pelladeau. In the end, the Molsons ponied up their savings and decided to purchase the Canadiens, in order to try and restore to the team the prestige it had possessed under their family in past years. 

The Molsons (Hartland and Thomas) originally purchased the Canadiens as well as the Canadian Arena Company, in 1957. They then proceeded to sell off both assets to their cousins (J. David, William A. and Peter B.)  for approximately US$5 M. In 1971, the Bleu-Blanc-Rouge was sold by the Molsons to a group headed by the Bronfman family. 

In a second attempt to lead the Montreal franchise to more success, Molson Breweries of Canada Ltd. purchased the club from this same group in 1978 and had possession of it until 2001. During their combined 37 years of ownership, the Molsons were present for 11 of the Canadiens' 24 stanley cup victories. But leave it at that, they're 0n an 8-year losing skid!

NHL Trade Deadline

The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired F Bill Guerin for a conditional 5th round draft pick.

The Boston Bruins acquired F Mark Recchi and a 2nd round pick in 2010 from the Tampa Bay Lightning for D Matt Lashoff and F Martins Karsums.

The Calgary Flames acquired F Olli Jokinen from the Phoenix Coyotes for F Matthew Lombardi, F Brandon Prust and a 1st round pick.

The Boston Bruins acquired D Steve Montador from the Anaheim Ducks for F Petteri Nokelainen.

12:15 PM- The Dallas Stars claimed F Brendan Morrison off waivers from the Anaheim Ducks

12:15 PM- The Toronto Maple Leafs claimed G Martin Gerber off waivers from the Ottawa Senators.

The Buffalo Sabres acquired G Mikael Tellqvist from the Phoenix Coyotes for a 4th round pick in 2010.

The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired D Andy Wozniewski from the St. Louis Blues for D Danny Richmond.

The Calgary Flames acquired D Jordan Leopold from the Colorado Avalanche for D Lawrence Nycholat, D Ryan Wilson and a 2nd round pick in 2009.

10:50 AM- The Lightning are said to be asking for a 2nd rounder for Mark Recchi.


10:47 AM- Tim Connolly has signed a 2-year, 9 M contract extension with the Sabres.

10:34 AM- Brian Burke has confirmed that Nik Antropov and Dominic Moore will not be Leafs by 3:00 PM EST.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have agreed to trade G Pascal Leclaire and a 2nd round pick to the Ottawa Senators for F Antoine Vermette.

9:55 AM- The Ottawa Senators have re-signed D Filip Kuba to a 3-year contract worth 3.7 M per year. He is off the market.

9:41 AM- The Canucks have reportedly offered F Mason Raymond, D Kevin Bieksa and a 1st round pick for Panthers D Jay Bouwmeester.

9:40 AM- A two-year contract worth an approximate 4 M is on the table for Sabres' forward Tim Connolly.

9:27 AM- For teams to acquire Nik Antropov, they wil have to surrender a 2nd round draft pick, as well as a 3rd rounder.

9:25 AM- Tomas Kaberle seems unlikely to be traded, due to his recent injury and the Maple Leafs' asking price for his services (1st rounder, prospect, player).

9:20 AM- Chris Pronger has been officially pulled off the market by the Anaheim Ducks.

9:19 AM - Martin St. Louis seems to be officially off the market. Among his suitors are the New York Rangers.

8:43 AM- According to Pierre McGuire, the a satisfactory package for Jay Bouwmeester would be a 4 component one, like last year's Marian Hossa trade.

8:41 AM- As per Doug McLean, the San Jose Sharks will be active in today's trade market.

8:36 AM- Goaltender Martin Biron has officially quashed a trade that would have ultimately sent him to the Atlanta Thrashers. Kari Lehtonen was a part of it.

8:35 AM- The Montreal Canadiens and the Washington Capitals are currently discussing a possible Michael Nylander trade.

8:31 AM- 6 to 7 teams are said to be interested in acquiring center Dominic Moore from the Maple Leafs. Some have offered a 2nd round pick for the 28-yr old.

8:21 AM-The Los Angeles Kings have signed defenceman Sean O'Donnell to a 1-year, 1.25 M contract extension. This takes him off the market.

Summary of Tuesday's Activity

10:45 PM- The Vancouver Canucks have re-signed F Alex Burrows to a 4-year, 8 M contract.

12:52 PM- The following players have been placed on waivers:

• RW Miroslav Satan (PIT): 17 G, 19 A, 36 Pts/3.5 M
  
• C Brendan Morrison (ANA): 10 G, 12 A, 22 Pts/2.75 M
• LW Gary Roberts (TB): 4 G, 3 A, 7 Pts in 30 GP/2.07 M
• G Martin Gerber (OTT): 4-9-1, .899 sv%, 2.86 gaa/1.85 M
• C Eric Perrin (ATL): 5 G, 10 A, 15 Pts/0.75 M
• LW Jon Sim (NYI): 9 G, 6 A, 15 Pts in 49 GP/1 M
  

12:05 PM- The New York Rangers have claimed F Sean Avery off waivers from the Dallas Stars. They will be responsible for half of his remaining salary over the next 3 seasons, or of US$3.875 M, and Dallas will pick up the tab on the other one.

12:04 PM- The Minnesota Wild and G Niklas Backstrom have agreed on a 4-year, US$24 M contract extension. The finnish goaltender is in the midst of another terrific season, with a 28-18-4 record, a .925 save percentage and a 2.24 goals-against-average. He also has a career-high 6 shutouts.

The Current State of Things

Update:
- Montreal Canadiens defenceman Mathieu Carle, currently playing for their AHL affiliate the Hamilton Bulldogs, has requested a trade.
- Devils' GM Lou Lamoriello says that he will try to trade goaltender Scott Clemmensen before tomorrow's Deadline.
- The Maple Leafs have decided to have forwards Dominic Moore and Nik Antropov sit tonight's game against the Devils out. According to Sportnet's Nick Kypreos, the Leafs mostly fear that either player might get injured, thus reducing their market value.
- In similar fashion, Tampa Bay has decided to scratch veteran forward Mark Recchi.
- Among others, the Montreal Canadiens seem poised to make another move over the next 20 hours. They currently have 9 defencemen including Mathieu Dandenault, who supposedly asked Bob Gainey for a trade in the last 10 days. Tonight's performance against the Buffalo Sabres will be a decisive factor in Gainey's approach to the Deadline.
- The trade that should send Bill Guerin to "an Eastern Conference team" seems more and more likely to be falling apart.
- Most Rangers, including head coach John Tortorella, seem happy to have Sean Avery back in the organization.
- Once more, few people know what to expect from Capitals GM George McPhee as the 2009 Trade Deadline looms. The only thing we do know is that he is looking at the situation with the long term in mind and is not inclined to trade prospects for rental players.

Heading into the Trade Deadline

Over the past few years, the words "trade" and "trade deadline" have had multiple meanings for Capitals fans.

Firstly, they had a negative connotation. They were associated with the rebuilding phase that was taking place in the US Capital and with the subsequent trading of talented players for draft picks and prospects. This point in time could not be represented in better fashion than by the 2003-04 season, more precisely by the last month before the Trade Deadline. At this point in time, one after the other, Washington stars Jaromir Jagr (New York), Peter Bondra (Ottawa), Robert Lang (Detroit) and Sergei Gonchar (Boston) were sent on planes heading north of the Verizon Center. In total, these 4 trades amassed a surprising total of 4 players, including forwards Anson Carter, Brooks Laich and Tomas Fleischmann and defenceman Shaone Morrisonn, as well as 5 draft picks (2 first rounders in 2004, 2 second rounders in 2004 and 1 fourth rounder in 2006) and obtained an important salary relief. One year later, the Capitals continued to part ways with veterans for draft picks, as they did with fan-favourite Brendan Witt and forward Jeff Friesen. The following season, the tide seemed to change when the Capitals signed enforcer Donald Brashear and defencemen Brian Pothier and John Erskine, indicating the team might not be so distant from reclaiming its' past success. But another disappointing season led them once more to trading several veterans for some future hope, incarnated by draft selections. It was then a dark time in the Capital as there was no indication that the team was near any form of revival, even after all these sacrifices.

But suddenly all of that changed. The past failure seemed to subside and the sacrifices looked worthwile: the Capitals were now winning with a new coach and some of these draft picks coming into their own, such as Mike Green and Alexander Semin. The 2008 trade deadline offered Caps fans finally a glimmer of hope as the team was commencing its' historic comeback toward a Southeast Division championship. It was the first time general manager George McPhee had been placed in such a situation in several years: he was now a "buyer". Not knowing what to expect, the media and the fans awaited with excitement February 26th. On this day, the Capitals made a splash in the NHL pond as they acquired veteran goaltender Cristobal Huet from the Montreal Canadiens and forwards Sergei Fedorov and Matt Cooke from the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Vancouver Canucks, respectively. These acquisitions proved to be exactly what the club needed to obtain it's first playoff birth since the 2002-03 season, as it won 10 of its' last 11 games.

Heading into this year's trade deadline, we only remember too well George McPhee's potential to astound us with his creativeness. Among the names that have been linked to DC are forward Bill Guerin and defenceman Derek Morris. The Nylander situation has also been a source of media speculation. Unbeknownst to me is the pertinence of the acquisiton of Bill Guerin, since his offensive production, 16 goals and 20 assists in 61 games, would only make him another regular face in this already crowded bottom 3 lines. On the other hand, the acquisition of a veteran defenceman such as Derek Morris would provide some much needed stability to the back end of the Capitals' defensive corps, an important factor in the team's and in Jose Theodore's success. Lastly, as much as we would like Nyles to be traded, not due to him being a bad teammate or producer (give him a fair chance, he was put on the 3rd line as opposed to the 1st where he had been successful in the past), I guarantee he will remain part of the team through the 3:00 PM EST NHL Trade Deadline. But even then, with GMGM, you truly never know what might happen...

Trade Deadline Predictions

Here are my predictions as to where certain big names might end up.
It is important to note that last year's success rate was an unflattering 9.5 % (2-for-21).

Forwards

Nik Antropov (TOR): Columbus
Bill Guerin (NYI): Washington
Jeff Halpern (TB): Staying Put
Olli Jokinen (PHX): Staying Put
Tomas Kaberle (TOR): Staying Put
Ian Laperriere (COL): Pittsburgh
Dominic Moore (TOR): Anaheim
Chris Neil (OTT): Edmonton
Michael Nylander (WSH): Staying put
Samuel Pahlsson (ANA): Chicago
Mark Recchi (TB): Nashville
Jarkko Ruutu (OTT): Pittsburgh
Antoine Vermette (OTT): Columbus

Defencemen

Jay Bouwmeester (FLA): Staying put
Filip Kuba (OTT): Edmonton
Jordan Leopold (COL): Boston
Derek Morris (PHX): Washington
Chris Pronger (ANA): Staying put
Christoph Schubert (OTT): San Jose

Goaltenders

Niklas Backstrom (MIN): Staying Put
Pascal Leclaire (CBJ): Ottawa

Success Rate: 4-for-21
Correct Picks are in Bold

Monday Activity Roundup

• The Los Angeles Kings have placed D Tom Preissing on waivers.
  
• The New Jersey Devils acquired D Niclas Havelid and F Myles Stoesz fromt the Atlanta Thrashers for D Anssi Salmela. Devils GM Lou Lamoriello keeps on improving his defensive corps, which makes New Jersey a more legitimate threat in the East.
• Islanders' captain Bill Guerin will sit out tonight's game against the Colorado Avalanche, which seems to indicate that he is on his way out. The only problem seems to be the receiving team's cap space, which has led to this long wait. The Capitals are apparently the team close to acquiring the veteran winger.
• The Minnesota Wild do not seem willing to sell off their assets... yet.
• Keith Tkachuk's situation seems tricky: he has a no-trade clause and might like to play for a playoff team, but his experience with the Atlanta Thrashers 2 years ago seems to indicate that he might be quite selective in his process and will only play for a clear-cut cup contender.
• The Sabres might like to part with one of their impending free agents, most likely Tim Connolly if they cannot re-sign him.
  
• Leafs' GM Brian Burke once again spilled the beans on his trade deadline whereabouts.
• The Senators seem more and more likely to part with Chris Neil and Filip Kuba.
• Among the possible Chris Pronger suitors: the Blues, the Bruins and the Leafs.
• The Thrashers seem once more inclined to sell off all their ''mid-range'' assets.

All these rumors can be found on spectorshockey.net

Reaction to the ANA-PIT trade

ANA: D Ryan Whitney
PIT: LW Chris Kunitz, C Eric Tangradi

Arguably this season's blockbuster, this trade sent defenceman Ryan Whitney, an intricate part of the Pittsburgh Penguins' 2008 Stanley Cup run, to the Anaheim Ducks, in exchange of forwards Chris Kunitz and Eric Tangradi. The 25 year-old Whitney had ammassed 13 points in 30 games for the defending Eastern Conference champions, while their powerplay quarterback Sergei Gonchar was sidelined by a shoulder injury. Kunitz, for his part, had been one of Anaheim's top forwards for the last 4 seasons and was deemed expendable, if the return he obtained contained a defenceman with a long-term contract, thus this trade. For the moment, Anaheim seems to have gotten the better end of this trade (slightly) as they acquired a proven veteran defenceman with offensive upside, who can help them immediatly. Pittsburgh received a solid but ''talent-limited'' forward in Kunitz, who should not be able to impact the club tremendously, even though he will provide some offensive upside. Tangradi is a little ways off, but should his transition to the NHL be smooth and swift, as it is expected to be, the Pittsburgh Penguins will have definitely won this deal.

2009 NHL Trade Deadline Coverage

Once again, I am back here at We want it Bad! for this year's seasonal coverage of the Trade Deadline, which will begin shortly.

Here is a schedule of events for the next 48 hours:

Tonight: A quick roundup of NHL rumors and of this season's trades.
Tomorow: An in depth look at all the rumors swirling in the NHL universe, as well as my predictions as to where specific players will land.
Wednesday: Live-blog of the 2009 Trade Deadline Day, along with rapid analysis and insight.