Hockey Trade Rumors

Who would have ever thought that college star Justin Schultz might be one of the prizes when NHL free agency opens on July 1?

It is what happens when there’s the converging of a bonafide top-four defenseman who’s coming up on four years without signing with the club that drafted him, has the potential option of making a deal with any other team and a free agent crop that’s pretty thin after Zach Parise and Ryan Suter.

Finally, in a radio interview this past week Feaster suggested trades are in the offing. This time, Jarome Iginla’s name is not among them. However, in spite of his no trade clause Defenceman Jay Bouwmeester may be in play. In fact, a member of the Flames organization suggests that is exactly the case. As well standout Miikka Kiprusoff may be available in a goaltending market that has grown this offseason. If that’s a fact the Flames deck could be shuffled greatly.

Should the New York Rangers be eliminated from the playoffs, expect them, along with the San Jose Sharks, the Boston Bruins and the Leafs to be among the leaders in the Rick Nash chase next month. The more teams which fail to meet expectations, the more suitors there will be for the occasionally explosive Nash … If I’m defenceman Ryan Suter, I don’t re-sign with the Nashville Predators. I test free agency on July 1. The reason: The Predators don’t have the kind of forwards you can win a championship with.

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/05/12/simmons-torts-retorts-have-killed-his-olympic-hopes

Here are the most logical trade partners for the Penguins:

1. Carolina Hurricanes

Staal’s brother, Eric, plays in Raleigh. Also, consider the following: The Hurricanes could use a dominant No. 2 center, they’re $20 million under the salary cap for next season and have plenty to offer the Penguins.

There is no way of knowing what’s inside Alex Semin as this monumental night of his professional career approaches.

But in many ways, this is an historic confrontation for the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers and a probable farewell for one of hockey’s most confusing and confounding players.

The Capitals were built around a supposed fabulous four, Alexander Ovechkin, Semin, Mike Green and Nicklas Backstrom, and this will season will end the run of that group, no matter what happens Saturday at Madison Square Garden. Game 7 may be an entrance on to a new stage or the last game Semin plays for the Caps.

Maybe the last game he plays in the NHL.

Almost a week after the Phoenix Coyotes howled in their locker room as the Predators trudged through the hallway of Jobing.com Arena, it’s still hard to believe the season is over.

The Predators seemed to have all the ingredients to make a deep Stanley Cup run. They had a top defenseman (Shea Weber), a trade-deadline acquisition with a Stanley Cup ring (Hal Gill), an elite goaltender (Pekka Rinne) and a talented scoring winger (Alexander Radulov).

As Glen Sather slowly made his way down the hallway towards the New York Rangers dressing room, with his head down, as the only one in the building wearing a trench coat, you wonder if he’s thinking: Would any of this be different with Rick Nash?

Would Sather’s mistake-filled tenure of running the Rangers have been corrected in this strange playoff spring by completing the deal he worked so hard on and couldn’t find a way to make happen?

The Senators could be in for a long, hot summer trying to sign defenceman Erik Karlsson.

Craig Oster, Karlsson’s agent, confirmed by e-mail late Monday there haven’t been any formal talks between the two sides and none are planned at this juncture.

No, this shouldn’t come as any surprise as the season ended less than two weeks ago. The club’s scouting staff is focused on the coming weekend when the group gathers in Ottawa to rate players for next month’s NHL Entry Draft in Pittsburgh.

Toronto has to top the early line as betting favourite to trade for Roberto Luongo. They have both need and assets. It’s also a place Luongo is willing to go.

But you can’t be sure how much Luongo’s official list really matters anyway. It’s hard to believe there are many situations less inviting than the one in Vancouver, where, if he were to come back, his playing time may be reduced to something like 30-35 games behind Cory Schneider. Don’t be surprised if Luongo’s real list is a lot longer than five teams.

If you’re a Detroit Red Wings fan, you’re delighted that the Phoenix Coyotes eliminated the Nashville Predators in the second round of the playoffs on Monday.

And not just because you’re upset that the Predators ousted Detroit in the first round – although that probably has something to do with it.

Instead, you’re happy because you believe the early exit for a Nashville team that was all in this year to win the Stanley Cup will enhance the Red Wings’ chances to land impending unrestricted free-agent defenseman Ryan Suter.

Now that their season is over, where do the Flyers go from here?

Well, one of the first things on general manager Paul Holmgren’s agenda is trying to resign defenseman Matt Carle ($3.4 million cap hit this year) and right winger Jaromir Jagr ($3.3 million), a pair of potential unrestricted free agents. The Flyers would like to sign both players, a source said

The Flyers have $61.2 million committed to next year. If Chris Pronger is on the long-term injured reserve list again next season, the Flyers will get $4.9 million of cap relief.

Much criticism and many jokes have been made about Dustin “Pancake” Penner, but it wouldn’t come as a shock if Senators GM Bryan Murray shows interest in the 6-foot-4, 240-pound (on a good day) Los Angeles winger when he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.

The two have a history, and Penner is proving in these playoffs that he still has some game. The native of Winkler, Man. has two goals and five assists in nine post-season games, helping the Kings earn the first berth in the final four.

Shea Weber hugged Pekka Rinne in a somber dressing room, the two stars shaking their heads in disbelief.

Out in the second round against the Phoenix Coyotes? Not how they had envisioned their season ending. Not by a long shot.

“It’s very disappointing. It’s very disappointing,” Nashville Predators GM David Poile told ESPN.com, while making sure to give the Phoenix Coyotes the utmost respect for a series win he felt they certainly deserved.

It was one of the first questions asked to Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman during his end-of-the-season press conference.

How would you describe your working relationship with [coach] Joel [Quenneville] this year? Was it any more strained or different than past seasons?

money talks, and when it comes to hiring coaches, there is no salary cap. Phil Jackson money would be ridiculous in the NHL – but Jacques Lemaire is surely worth at least half as much as Scott Gomez.

What is the going rate for a superb NHL coach? Right now, Mike Bab***** is believed to be the highest-paid coach in the league at about $2 million a season.

So what do you want? Would Lemaire go back behind the bench for that much or a little more, over three seasons? Only one way to find out, right? As for the cost to the Canadiens, one modest playoff run would more than cover the entire cost of the contract.

New Habs GM Marc Bergevin, not surprisingly, wants to bring his old Blackhawks colleague Rick Dudley with him to Montreal and is in discussions with the Toronto Maple Leafs to do just that.

Dudley is director of player personnel for the Leafs. Montreal wants to make him its new assistant GM. Toronto GM Brian Burke is talking to Bergevin about how to proceed.

TV here is reporting a deal between the NHL and Greg Jamison to buy the team. Bettman and Jamison here tomorrow for a presser

https://twitter.com/#!/dave_zorn/statuses/199374856100397056

Money key issue in Smyth-Oilers talks

Edmonton Oilers winger Ryan Smyth hoped to have a new contract before the season ended and while there is a two-year deal being discussed, money is the issue.

How much is he worth?

“He wants to remain in Edmonton and they know that,” said Smyth’s agent Don Meehan.

Their general manager is on more solid footing than the coach, ownership is miffed at another spring in which Stanley Cup expectations weren’t met and there’s expected to be a shake-up of some sort in the hockey operations department — whether it involves the bench boss or his assistants.

This is the situation in San Jose. It parallels the uncertainty in Vancouver.

We speak here of the Detroit Red Wings and the approximately $20 million they have at their disposal to chase free agents, and an owner, Mike Ilitch, with the track record indicating he’s going to do just that. Question is, will realignment go ahead after Collective Bargaining Agreement talks are finished or not?