Hockey Trade Rumors

The Boston Bruins net is crowded, Leetch could be on his way back to the Toronto Maple Leafs or the New York Rangers, Jason Allison is sick and tired of the rumors, the Blues may be looking to dump their high priced veterans and the Florida Panthers are eager to obtain some speed and talent upfront.

Since the waiver acquisition which saw the Bruins pick up Craig Anderson from the Hawks this past week the rumors have reached overload surrounding the Bruins goaltending situation. We all know that three is a crowd especially in hockey as only two goalies can be in a rotation. It has been highly speculated that the Bruins are working the phone in an effort to see what kind of offensive talent they can get for Calder trophy winner Andrew Raycroft. One theory suggests that the Edmonton Oilers are highly interested and that their interest will continue to grow as the trade deadline progresses. With so many goalies on the trade market right now the Bruins are hesitant to rush into a trade in which they could get less then fair market value in return. It is also speculated that the Oilers have expressed interest in the Coyotes Curtis Joseph.

Some of the goalies who may be available before the March trade deadline include Raycroft, Cujo, Biron, Theodore, Nabokov, Roloson, Weekes and possibly Olaf Kolzig.

Ironic for the Hawks speaking of goalies is that they are now in need of a goalie because Khabibulin has since gone down to injury and they just lost Anderson to the Bruins.

There are big rumors that both the Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Rangers are interested in re-acquiring the aging Brian Leetch. We all know that the Rangers are in love with their former greats and as a result it makes it more likely that the Rangers would be the right fit for Leetch. He would be able to help add leadership to a team which has not seen the playoffs in many years. Look for the Rangers to offer a young defensive prospect for his services.

Speaking of the Leafs, they are in the middle of a huge meltdown. Their general manager iced a team that is built mainly on older veteran players and while they looked good at the start of the season the injury bug has bitten and it has bitten the Leafs hard. Without Lindros, McCabe and Tucker in the lineup the team has started to implode. Although Sundin was once a great player he is no longer able to carry the team the way that he was once able too. There has even been a call for the firing of Pat Quinn. How quickly people forget that it was Quinn who turned the franchise around and regained respectability for the Leafs in the league. This would be an idiotic move. A better move would be to offer a good package to the Bruins for Leetch who would be able to take some of the offensive pressure off of the defense since the loss of McCabe. Another move that the Leafs may be interested in making is re-acquiring Alex Moginly who has been spending the past while riding the bus with the River Rats. The only certainty with the Leafs organization is that Jason Allison is sick and tired of all the rumors. The likelihood of the Leafs trading Allison is very low because of the injury situation and his low contract.

Another team that could use some help is the Florida Panthers. Mike Keenan is badly in need of any offensive help . There is some speculation that he is inquiring about the availability of the Bruins Samsonov who is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of this season.

The Black Hawks could be about to have a fire sale. Some of the names who could be on the move include the oft injured Adrian Aucoin (and his huge contract) Cullimore and Matthew Barnaby. The player who is attracting the most interest is Cullimore because of his huge size and the fact that he could add some much needed defensive depth to teams entering the playoffs. The Avalanche, Kings and Bolts are showing interest.

Finally, the Blues have been shopping Doug Weight despite his no trade clause, Keith Tkachuk and Mike Sillinger. Teams that are seriously interested in Weight include the Ottawa Senators, Detroit Red Wings, Edmonton Oilers and the Canucks. It should be noted that the Canucks are also expressing interest in Mike Sillinger because of his face off abilities.

Have a great week