Hockey Trade Rumors

The Penguins cut Tyler Kennedy loose Monday, but general manager Ray Shero said he wants to re-sign him before NHL free agency begins Friday.

Shero also hopes to reach a tentative agreement on a one-year deal with Jaromir Jagr before Friday, industry sources told the Tribune-Review last night.

With July 1 free agency looming, the heat will be on to add an impact player from a pool of available talent that isn’t nearly as deep as Toronto general manager Brian Burke would like it to be.

“We don’t know what July 1 is going to look like yet,” Leafs vice-president of hockey operations, Dave Nonis, said Friday night before the draft got under way at the Xcel Energy Center. “We might make some deals between now and then that determine how aggressive we are on that front.

FLAMES SIGN TANGUAY TO 5-YEAR, $17.5 MILLION EXTENSION

Flames trade Regehr, Kotalik to Buffalo

Smyth trade not a done deal

John-Micheal Liles is heading to Toronto.

Flyers trying to trade Bobrovsky

Smyth to the Flames deal on hold

Mike Richards would have been an awfully nice fit at centre for the Maple Leafs.

Jeff Carter less so – more of a shooter – but still pretty good.

Alas, the frustration for Brian Burke is on the day the Flyers moved both, he got shut out on both.

Richards, a more expensive, 2011 version of Doug Gilmour, you could argue, was the one Burke bid hardest on. But, from a Leaf perspective, at least Los Angeles likely won’t be in the bidding for Brad Richards now that they’ve got Mike Richards, the former Philly captain.

Mike Gillis has already proved that the NHL entry draft is also the new trade deadline.

A year ago, the Vancouver Canucks general manager parlayed months of prior planning to acquire Keith Ballard in a multi-player swap that included Victor Oreskovich. It jettisoned a player who struggled to play in the top six in Michael Grabner and eliminated a contract of a player who couldn’t play anywhere in Steve Bernier. A year later, Gillis has acknowledged the need for a top-six forward and calls keep coming regarding Cory Schneider. And it wouldn’t be a stretch to suggest he’s fielded a few regarding Cody Hodgson.

The future of Brad Richards remained unclear on Thursday when the Dallas forward declined the Stars’ request for him to waive the no-movement clause in his contract.

Leafs were also interested in Carter and Kadri was discussed, but Tor wouldn’t include Kulemin to close deal for Carter.

Flyers asked for Kadri and Kulemin from the Leafs for Mike Richards. Toronto said they would consider it, but never heard back from Phi

Richards has been sent to the Kings in exchange for top Kings prospect Brayden Schenn, a first-rounder who finished last season in the WHL with the Saskatoon Blades, and NHL forward Wayne Simmonds.

Jeff Carter has been traded from the Philadelphia Flyers to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

In exchange for Carter, the Flyers are expected to receive Jakub Voracek, plus first and third round draft picks.

Last season, Carter scored 36 goals and 66 points, he also had two points in six playoff games as the Flyers were eliminated by the Boston Bruins in the first round.

Don Meehan, the agent for Maple Leafs winger Clarke MacArthur, shares the view that his client is headed for salary arbitration with the club.

“It seems like it as of now,” Meehan told the Toronto Sun via e-mail. “However, we will still make all efforts to get him signed.”

In recently asking Stars GM Joe Nieuwendyk a couple of questions on the this weekend’s draft, he said the odds of the team trading up are very slim, but the odds of them trading down are pretty good.

“I think moving down is a more realistic possibility,” Nieuwendyk said. “Our guys feel that after a certain point in this draft there are a number of good players and you’d be happy with acquiring any one of them. We don’t have our third round pick, so trying to get an additional pick is something that will definitely be discussed.”

Last season the Blues were hit by a rash of long-term injuries to their skilled forwards, and there was a lesson that came along with it. They’d better be prepared next time by having some NHL-ready depth in the organization.

It’s difficult to have replacements on hand for the likes of David Perron (concussion), Andy McDonald (concussion) and T.J. Oshie (broken ankle). Few teams, if any, have that type of talent in the minor leagues, which makes a midseason trade perhaps the only option.

Will the Edmonton Oilers end the suspense and admit they’ll definitely select Ryan Nugent-Hopkins first overall or announce a deal to get another top-10 pick at the NHL entry draft in St. Paul, Minn., on Friday?

Not yet, said Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini, who remains tight-lipped as he prepared to fly to St. Paul to finalize the team’s draft strategy with his scouting staff.

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke held court with a clutch of reporters on Monday morning, covering everything from the draft to free agency to the team’s future in net with James Reimer and Jonas Gustavsson. He had also just donated blood as part of a team-backed blood drive at the Air Canada Centre. So he had a pretty busy day:

Winnipeg’s search for a head coach for its new NHL franchise is now a two-horse race featuring Manitoba Moose boss Claude Noel and Chicago Blackhawks assistant Mike Haviland.

Two thoroughbreds in the field — the Thrashers’ 60-year-old veteran coach Craig Ramsay and former Edmonton Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish — were informed Monday they were out of the running for the vacant head-coaching gig

When it comes to following personnel decisions, there are many times when it’s tough not to read between the lines. Perhaps the most famous moment of a press conference telling the exact opposite of the story happened when Jerry Jones and Jimmy Johnson hammed it up about the coach’s departure when it was clear Jones jettisoned Johnson after a clash of egos.

While it’s not something that the team admitted to, many people are reading between the lines regarding the changes that have been made to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ coaching staff. The team added two new assistant coaches (Scott Gordon and Greg Cronin) while parting ways with two old ones (Keith Acton and Tim Hunter).

Free agency begins July 1, and Tampa Bay superstar Steven Stamkos, a restricted free agent, remains unsigned.

If anyone wants to bid on the 21-year-old high-scoring wunderkind, it’s probably a moot point because the Lightning retain the right to match any offer (similar to the Phil Kessel situation a couple of years ago).

But, boy, could someone drive up the price on owner Jeffrey Vinik if general manager Steve Yzerman doesn’t get a deal done in the next two weeks.

Kevin Cheveldayoff popped into his Chicago home over the weekend to say hi to the kids and celebrate part of Father’s Day with them.

Then the gong show that is his life resumed, and he hit the road for Minneapolis, the site of this weekend’s NHL draft.

The Detroit Red Wings announced today that veteran defenceman and team captain Nicklas Lidstrom will return for another year with the team.