Hockey Trade Rumors

General manager Peter Chiarelli says his Boston Bruins are on “the eve” of having star center Marc Savard (and his $4 million salary-cap hit) back in the lineup — and Marco Sturm is not far behind. So Chiarelli finally started his cap-clearing purge Monday.

Chiarelli needed to clear $1.1 million in space to fit Savard under the $59.4 million salary cap, and by trading Matt Hunwick and his $1.4 million cap hit to Colorado for prospect Colby Cohen, he did that and more, gaining $300,000 in cap space. Now he must find a way to make room for Sturm, which will mean clearing approximately $3.2 million in cap space.

http://tsn.ca/world_jrs/feature/?id=33764

Nothing too major in terms of surprises, although man oh man has Scott Glennie ever dropped off. I think he might have got an invite if Schenn was invited though. Also a little bit of a surprise that no members of the 67’s trio was invited, and especially Toffoli.

With Luongo’s hot and cold play, and Cory Schneider’s consistently solid play, the Vancouver Canucks are fortunate to have 2 solid goalies, with Eddie Lack posting great numbers on the farm.

I posed this thought on Twitter during Sunday night’s game: Is the trade that brought Dustin Byfuglien, and others, to the Thrashers the greatest in franchise history?

I was accused by a few of hyperbole. However …

* Byfuglien leads the Thrashers in scoring with 25 points through 24 games. He is also tied for the team lead with nine goals. He had 34 regular-season points all of last season with Chicago.

The Calgary Flames hadn’t even returned home from their latest loss when word starting spreading Darryl Sutter had been fired Saturday night.

“Not true,” declared Flames president Ken King just as the team’s charter arrived from Pittsburgh, prompting him to address the team immediately, informing them talk of their GM’s demise was untrue.

Kevin Bieksa misses a game with the flu, everybody wonders if he’s really sick and the trade winds start blowing again. While it was confirmed Sunday that the Vancouver Canucks defenceman has been battling flu-like symptoms for two weeks and was bed-ridden, it hasn’t stopped speculation that his days here are numbered.

Steve Simmons wrote in the Sun Today that the Leafs should seriously consider sending Tyler Bozak to the AHL Marlies.

Yesterday’s victory over the Flyers that represented a 360 from Friday’s folly on Long Island does not change Devils Surgeon General Lou Lamoriello’s mandate going forward, for though his team went 3-1 last week, the GM’s primary obligation is to conduct hockey triage the rest of the way in order to build the best club possible for next year.

Shea Weber will become a RFA at the end of the year. Although he is a restricted free agent, Weber’s future is very much in his own hands. Weber has been solid offensively and defensively for Nashville since coming into the leauge in 2006. Over the last two seasons Weber has put up 96pts in 159 games, 39 of which were goals. Weber is only a year away from unrestricted free agency and with Nashville not being the strongest team financially, Weber’s time as Preds Captain could be coming to an end.

I’m hearing more trade chatter than usual. Avs looking for some forward grit/leadership. D man could be on move. Let’s wait and see

http://twitter.com/adater/statuses/8358358671163392

As Marc Savard continues to progress, so approaches general manager Peter Chiarelli’s decision — one that’s been anticipated since the playmaker was placed on long-term injured reserve at the start of the season because of post-concussion symptoms.