Hockey Trade Rumors

It’s August 25th. Do you know where Josh Bailey’s second professional contract is?

Bailey remains unsigned, and that’s a little bit of a surprise. Islanders training camp begins in three weeks, so this is a good time to review what we know about Bailey, the Islanders and the state of his very restricted free agency.

As the end of August begins to near, hockey fans start to hit the part of the year that goes the slowest. News is slow and camps haven’t started yet. So to get some interest for the season up and running, I’ve decided its time for the inaugural HTR Bold Predictions Thread.

The good thing about the Internet is that news can travel at a blinding speed on the information superhighway. The bad thing is that a false rumor can travel just as fast.

Trent Hunter‘s apparent signing with the Ducks on Friday was just that — a false rumor that only took flight due to a computer glitch in which a Google search of “trent hunter anaheim ducks” revealed a Ducks’ player page with Hunter’s mugshot and career statistics listed.

It’s that time of year again when everything is put on the line and prognostications are made for the upcoming season.

In keeping with a THN tradition, we have already debated the merits of each organization and after much back-and-forth, settled on our rankings from 1-15 in each conference.

Toronto general manager Brian Burke has thus far not responded to unrestricted free agents who are seeking a tryout with the Leafs at next month’s training camp. Homeless veterans such as Owen Nolan and Todd Fedoruk (Vancouver) and goaltender Ray Emery (Chicago) will be getting a chance in those cities and in the past, Burke has extended a hand to players such as Jason Allison and Wayne Primeau.

“We haven’t ruled out an invitation,” Burke told Sun Media. “But most likely we will give the kids a look.”

If reports are to be believed, Jaromir Jagr might not be the only former NHLer coming back to North America from the KHL this season. Genadi Boguslavski of Sovetsky Sport out of Russia reports that former Sharks first round pick in 1996 defenseman Andrei Zyuzin is close to returning to the NHL. Yahoo’s Dmitry Chesnokov follows that report up saying that Zyuzin has two offers from NHL teams to return to the NHL after a three season absence from the league.

Winnipeg: NHL heaven or NHL hell — depends on who is doing the talking.

Bob McCown says three members of the Winnipeg Jets are actively trying to get out of Winnipeg. Jets captain Andrew Ladd says let them go.

What Ladd says about the issue is far more important.

The Senators are looking at one crowded blue line when training camp opens Sept. 17 at Scotiabank Place.

The speculation in NHL circles is that with nine defencemen vying for seven spots on the roster, at least one will be dealt before the Senators report for physicals.

Six have one-way contracts, youngsters Jared Cowen and David Rundblad are virtually assured spots, while Patrick Wiercioch will also make a serious push.

Everyone around Ryan Kesler believes he is going to make a full recovery. His surgeon, Dr. Marc Phillipon, a renowned hip specialist who has treated stars like Alex Rodriguez, Greg Norman, Mario Lemieux and, most recently, elite sprinter Tyson Gay, believes he should be “as good as new.”

All of the news for Kesler following last week’s surgery is encouraging. He’s a quick healer and he’s been through this before.

Teemu Selanne has reportedly told a Finnish newspaper that he will wait until September to make a final decision on playing with the Ducks in 2011-12.

Ilta-Sanomat, Finland’s second-largest newspaper, caught up with Selanne on Wednesday and the winger reportedly said that he wants more time to make sure that his knee heals properly after it was revealed by Ducks GM Bob Murray over the summer that it bothered the high-scoring forward through much of last season.

We’ve reached the dog days of summer where news like Patrick Lalime/Chris Osgood retiring is the biggest hockey news out there to chew on – so I thought maybe it’d be a good time for us to all get to know a little more about one another and why we love the teams that we love – and it’s not because “they’re awesome” – that’s the casual fans response.