Monthly Archives: January 2010
FLAMES, RANGERS TO ANNOUNCE JOKINEN-KOTALIK DEAL
Tsn.ca
Sources tell TSN the New York Rangers and Calgary Flames are expected to announce a trade that will send Calgary centre Olli Jokinen and forward Brandon Prust to the Rangers in exchange for forwards Ales Kotalik and Christopher Higgins.
Assessing the fallout from Sunday's wheeling, dealing
Phil Coffey – NHL.com Sr. Editorial Director
And just like that, what had been a sleepy NHL trade market gets a huge jolt of caffeine.
Not surprisingly, Brian Burke was at the epicenter of things. Burke, the Toronto Maple Leafs’ general manager has long said that trades are good for the NHL because they create great interest. Well, he sure did his part in getting tongues wagging Sunday morning, while in the process adding some very important pieces to the Maple Leafs’ future.
LARRY BROOKS
Ales Kotalik has left the Rangers after being told that he would be traded, The Post has learned.
Kotalik, the 32-year-old winger who was signed to a three-year, $9M free agent contract this summer, accompanied the Blueshirts to Phoenix for the first game of their three-game western tour but did not accompany his teammates here for tonight’s match against the Avalanche.
Sunday Rumors from Larry Brooks
Larry Brooks
So Atlanta general manager Don Waddell will not allow clubs interested in acquiring Ilya Kovalchuk to speak to the winger’s representative about a contract extension before a trade is completed.
We were told a while ago that Waddell doesn’t want agent Jay Grossman to control the process, but we are duty bound to suggest that might not be such a bad idea given the Thrashers’ track record in these matters.
The Leafs “are” also on the verge of acquiring veteran goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere from the Anaheim Ducks, pending his waiving a no-trade clause, a source told ESPN.com.
Rumors from the Ottawa Sun
BRUCE GARRIOCH
The Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes are cooling off, just at the wrong time for Atlanta Thrashers GM Don Waddell.
With only two weeks until the Olympic break and a roster freeze that runs Feb. 12-28 — up until three days before the trade deadline — sources say Waddell’s phone isn’t exactly ringing off the hook.
At this point, it would appear more teams are out of the running than actually vying for Kovalchuk.
The belief is the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers both looked into acquiring the potential unrestricted free agent, but don’t consider themselves contenders.
The Leafs have acquired Keith Aulie, Dion Phaneuf and Fred Sjostrom from Calgary for Matt Stajan, Ian White, Jamal Mayers and Nik Hagman.
There is another deal pending with another team as per Brian Burke during his press conference.
Boring Business
Maple Leaves
Hall Call
The Latest Lecavailler News
Kent Hughes, the agent for Lightning captain Vinny Lecavalier, did react to a Hockey News story that said if Vinik takes control, he could ask Lecavalier to waive his no-move clause as a way for the team to cut costs.
Lecavalier, 29, with 14 goals and 52 points, is in the first year of an 11-year, $85 million deal that pays $10 million this season.
Twins say they were unaware of Leafs’ pursuit
By MIKE ZEISBERGER, QMI Agency
His chin buried deep in his hand, Brian Burke sits alone at the west end of the Air Canada Centre, intently watching the prized Sedin twins being put through their paces.
POST STAFF REPORT
An unnamed Eastern Conference team is competing with the Kings, Canucks and Bruins in trying to trade for Thrashers forward Ilya Kovalchuk.
The Los Angeles Times, in reporting on the Kings’ interest in the upcoming unrestricted free agent, does not name the fourth team, but previous reports have said the Islanders and Devils each have varying levels of interest.
Rangers GM shouldn't sacrifice future for No. 8 seed
THE fear factor as it applies to the Rangers is that Glen Sather will respond to the team’s latest string of crash-and-burn by making risky trades in order to acquire a Band-Aid or two to apply to his team’s hemorrhaging arteries when the general manager’s best course of action is simply to allow the body to bleed out.
There is much with which to indict Sather over the course of his tenure that began in June of 2000, but trading pieces of the franchise’s foundation in exchange for instant gratification would not be among the particulars in a bill of impeachment, certainly not since the lockout.
Is it Time to Change the Draft?
Is it time to change the way to change the way draft positions awarded? I’ll admit I am a Leafs fan and this might seem like sour grapes, but it’s not…mostly. The advantages of the current system are obvious, look no further than Pittsburgh, Washington and Chicago, but it rewards failure.
As it gets closer to the deadline day, March 3rd, teams all across the league begin to will conclude whether they are buyers or sellers. With the current setup there will be a group of underperforming teams that will begin to off load talent with the hope of finishing in the bottom 5.