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!