Bunch of rumors

http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/scott_cullen/?id=268952&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_nhl

- Habs inquiring into Smyth
- Avs shopping Leopold and Laperriere
- Flames interested in Jokinen, but his contract may be hard to take on
- Jackets interested in swapping Klesla with Sabres' Connolly
- Asking price for Jay Bouwmeester may be a top 4 D and a veteran forward to sell to the FLA fanbase and help their playoff run [Dash' note: Phillips and Fisher, anyone?]
- Capitals, Blackhawks, Flyers, Devils, Bruins, Flames and Sharks looking at Pronger, but Ducks looking for top young talent
- Philly interested in swapping JVR with Atlanta for Kari Lehtonen
- OTT expects to deal Kuba and Neil [Dash' note: even better, these two for Bouw]
- Flames eyeing Steve Sullivan
- Thrashers' shopping Havelid and Hainsey
- Leafs asking a 1st for Antropov
- Flyers' shopping Lupul to clear room for Briere
- Stars winger Jere Lehtinen, Kings LW Alexander Frolov, Thrashers RW Colby Armstrong, Thrashers G Kari Lehtonen, Flames C Matthew Lombardi, Bruins RW Michael Ryder (really?), Hurricanes D Joe Corvo, Penguins RW Miroslav Satan, Canucks D Kevin Bieksa and Capitals D Shaone Morrisonn could all be available
- Hawks' looking for checking line C: possibly Halpern, Moore, Pahlsson
- Oilers NOT going to move Cole
- Oilers and Jackets interested in Kovalev
- Isles entertaining offers for Guerin, Martinek, Witt
- Schubert possibly to Oil or Bolts
- J. Staal could be moved by deadline or summer if on ice performance doesn't improve
- 'Nucks won't make major move, barring an injury
- Wings' Holland won't make move for goalie
- Sens, Avs, Blues, Thrasher's eyeing Leclaire

Nothing on Gaborik?

Allan Muir of CNN/Sports Illustrated has a bushel of tasty rumours...

This one should be especially interesting to Ottawa fans:

Ottawa sends Chris Neil to San Jose for Timo Pielmeier
The Sens need to restock the cupboards, and Team Germany junior stopper Pielmeier gives them a young, talented goaler for the system. San Jose doesn't appear to have many glaring needs, but an aggressive, playoff-tested winger like Neil could provide valuable depth.

The rest of Muir's crystal ball bounces here:
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/allan_muir/02/27/trade.matchmaker/1.html

^ That's a pretty interesting one actually. He's one of SJ's 'Next 5' according to THN. Not too shabby if that happens.

Apparently Eklund(i know not a reliable source) is saying there is a rumour of hejduk to ottawa...... what are your thoughts on that?

What is the point of bringing Hejduk here LOL Thats the dumbest thing I've .... no, I've heard dumber from him...

Dash wrote:http://www.tsn.ca/columnists/scott_cullen/?id=268952&lid=headline&lpos=topStory_nhl

- Habs inquiring into Smyth
- Avs shopping Leopold and Laperriere
- Flames interested in Jokinen, but his contract may be hard to take on
- Jackets interested in swapping Klesla with Sabres' Connolly
- Asking price for Jay Bouwmeester may be a top 4 D and a veteran forward to sell to the FLA fanbase and help their playoff run [Dash' note: Phillips and Fisher, anyone?]
- Capitals, Blackhawks, Flyers, Devils, Bruins, Flames and Sharks looking at Pronger, but Ducks looking for top young talent
- Philly interested in swapping JVR with Atlanta for Kari Lehtonen
- OTT expects to deal Kuba and Neil [Dash' note: even better, these two for Bouw]
- Flames eyeing Steve Sullivan
- Thrashers' shopping Havelid and Hainsey
- Leafs asking a 1st for Antropov
- Flyers' shopping Lupul to clear room for Briere
- Stars winger Jere Lehtinen, Kings LW Alexander Frolov, Thrashers RW Colby Armstrong, Thrashers G Kari Lehtonen, Flames C Matthew Lombardi, Bruins RW Michael Ryder (really?), Hurricanes D Joe Corvo, Penguins RW Miroslav Satan, Canucks D Kevin Bieksa and Capitals D Shaone Morrisonn could all be available
- Hawks' looking for checking line C: possibly Halpern, Moore, Pahlsson
- Oilers NOT going to move Cole
- Oilers and Jackets interested in Kovalev
- Isles entertaining offers for Guerin, Martinek, Witt
- Schubert possibly to Oil or Bolts
- J. Staal could be moved by deadline or summer if on ice performance doesn't improve
- 'Nucks won't make major move, barring an injury
- Wings' Holland won't make move for goalie
- Sens, Avs, Blues, Thrasher's eyeing Leclaire

Dash, thanks for posting this. But IMHO for the benefit of our fellow members you should add the caveat that Scott Cullen's article is a summary of recent prognostications from a wide variety of hockey writers from newspapers across Canada and the US.

In many of the instances cited above, these so-called 'rumours' are really the wishful thinking or pot stirrings of these writers.

Fun to read, but in more than a few cases, strictly Ek-level gossip.

Well, they can always click the original link and see for themselves.

Monsieur Dash, you are correct sir! :D

Here's what the Globe & Mail says about the Sens at the deadline:


OTTAWA SENATORS

Needs Upgraded goaltending, a puck-moving defenceman and secondary scoring.

Since players to fill those needs are the most difficult to acquire, and because the team has little salary-cap space, general manager Bryan Murray will not try to get everything at the deadline. Instead, he is going to concentrate on moving some veterans who will become free agents on July 1. "I'm not trying to add very much right now," Murray said.

The debate rages about trading No. 1 centre Jason Spezza, but Murray said "right now, he will not be traded."

He also does not plan to ask any player with a no-trade clause in his contract beyond this season to waive it. That means forwards Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley and Mike Fisher and defenceman Chris Phillips are staying.

Tradable commodities: Forward Chris Neil, defenceman Filip Kuba, defenceman/forward Christoph Schubert.

Don't even ask: Heatley, Alfredsson, Fisher, Phillips, defenceman Anton Volchenkov, above.

Cap room: $2.3-million.

More on the rest of the Canadian teams from the G&M hockey mill:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090228.HOCKEYTRADES28/TPStory/TPSports/?page=rss&id=..HOCKEYTRADES28

PMD = Campoli, Secondary Scoring = Comrie

Problems = resigning Comrie to a fair price under our cap and the surplus of utility players like Vermette and Kelly. Too much $ upfront (~$25-mil tied up between 4 forwards). No big $ for elite PMD or Elite goalie.

Needs: PWF in the mould of Morrow, Nash

SC has some pretty interesting stuff on his site.

Apparently a trade for Kuba to a contending team for their first round pick has been on the backburner for a while now.
The Sens and Neil are almost 1 million per season apart on their contract negotiations. And apparently his return value of a second round pick has gone up already.
A deal with Comrie is pretty close to happening.
Schubert will be traded or waived early next week.
There are rumblings that teams might be interested in Jason Smith's services.

This is all pretty interesting stuff. Again these are rumours, so take it with a grain of salt. But it seems pretty logical to me.

Ship Kuba, Neil, Schubert, and even Smith out for whatever you can get and re-tool for next year.

Dash wrote:PMD = Campoli, Secondary Scoring = Comrie

Problems = resigning Comrie to a fair price under our cap and the surplus of utility players like Vermette and Kelly. Too much $ upfront (~$25-mil tied up between 4 forwards). No big $ for elite PMD or Elite goalie.

Needs: PWF in the mould of Morrow, Nash

I think the draft might be able to help us with that one.

I think Campoli is part of the PMD solution until Karlsson can make an impact, but I don't think he's the whole solution.

IMO, this team still badly needs to upgrade its D. I'm content with the top line, Fisher, Comrie, Vermette, Foligno and potentially Zubov and Regin as our scoring lines because PMDs will raise their point totals like they did in San Jose anyway.

PKC wrote:

Dash wrote:PMD = Campoli, Secondary Scoring = Comrie

Problems = resigning Comrie to a fair price under our cap and the surplus of utility players like Vermette and Kelly. Too much $ upfront (~$25-mil tied up between 4 forwards). No big $ for elite PMD or Elite goalie.

Needs: PWF in the mould of Morrow, Nash

I think the draft might be able to help us with that one.

The best powerforward winger is probably Zack Kassian, but I don't think he's anywhere near Morrow or Nash.

That's a tall order to find.