Hockey Trade Rumors

Vancouver Canucks head coach Alain Vigneault let the cat out of the bag on French language TV: Goalie Roberto Luongo does indeed want a trade out of Vancouver.

Speaking over the telephone to a Montreal-based TVA Sports show called Le Match, Vigneault was asked if he agreed that Luongo needed a fresh start. (Vigneault was on the show Wednesday night to discuss his contract extension.)

“First of all, that is what he wants right now,” Vigneault said in the translated quote. “What we need to do is what’s best for our organization and our team. We have to look at what’s best for our organization and Roberto.”

The Lightning, leading up to free agency, will look to trade for a No. 1 goaltender, general manager Steve Yzerman said.

“My preference,” Yzerman said Thursday night, “is to go with a little bit younger guy that maybe has a little less experience that can step up and play well for us now.”

As an example he mentioned Semyon Varlamov, 24, whom the Avalanche acquired last summer from the Capitals for a first- and second-round draft pick and who had a respectable 2.59 goals-against average and .913 save percentage in 53 games.

Trade rumors, signing your own players and major roster decisions are all in play with the NHL Draft and NHL free agency little more than a month away.

That means the rumor mill is getting worked into a deep frenzy for 27 NHL teams watching the New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings work out the whole Stanley Cup thing. There were reports out of Columbus that the Bruins are working on pulling together a deal for discontented sniper Rick Nash as he becomes the biggest trophy on the trade market this summer.

This is where the big money is spent and the tears of regret flow for years. You must dabble and be aggressive at times, but you must be very careful not to lock down the wrong guy that saddles your future. The pickings are slim, but it appears the Stars are ready to shop. With the Bob Gainey hiring last week, many of the Stars brass spoke publicly about their intentions:

Stars president Jim Lites offered this: “We are without budget. As crazy as that sounds. We are restricted by only the CBA and fitting long and short term into that system…This is a different situation than we have been in for the last 4 seasons – which is we have an owner who is willing to spend and not being run by the league….We are prepared to spend what we need to spend, but we need to spend wisely.”

A star winger for the Devils, Parise will be the most coveted prize of the NHL’s off-season as he becomes an unrestricted free agent. His presence in the Eastern Conference Finals hints at a promising scenario for the Rangers that could play out in early July. Here’s Parise, 27 years old and in the prime of his career, delivering two goals and an assist in the Devils’ 4-1 series-tying victory in Monday’s Game 4, and it’s impossible to watch him and not wonder what he might bring to the Rangers if they were to win the bidding battle for him.

During a turn-back-the-clock, sunset run for Martin Brodeur, which began at the all-star break, the evidence has been mounting the 40-year-old is not ready to retire.

When there was a mention during Saturday’s CBC broadcast of Brodeur’s brother believing the goalie is coming back, it was yet another sign this won’t be the end of his career.

Would you trade Alex Ovechkin if you were Washington Capitals general manager George McPhee? Or would it be over Caps owner Ted Leonsis’s dead body?

Leonsis is paying Ovie $9 million for two more years, then seven years at $10 million. He loves the Russian forward. It’s mutual, certainly twice a month, on payday.

But is Ovechkin ever going to lead the Capitals to the Promised Land? People who know Ovie say he now looks overwhelmed by the expectations and the series of playoff losses that are wearing him down. It doesn’t look like the sheer joy of playing the game is there any longer.

Let’s forget about Ryan Suter and Zach Parise for a moment.

Judging from the reaction of Red Wings fans, that’s difficult to do considering they are the two prospective unrestricted free agents — and apparently the only ones the Red Wings care about this summer.

But suppose they remain with their teams. Or end up with someone else.

Who’s next on the Red Wings radar?

Brent Sutter lost the quarter-finals at the world hockey championships Thursday afternoon.

Nine hours later – at 1 a.m. in Helsinki – you have to figure he became the next head coach of the Edmonton Oilers.

Wanting more wins out of their young talent, the Edmonton Oilers won’t renew the contract of head coach Tom Renney after two seasons in the NHL’s cellar.

“We’re entering a new phase of our hockey club,” general manager Steve Tambellini said Thursday.

Whats up everyone? Maybe a bit of an odd topic but Im curious to know people’s thoughts.

Been watching a lot of playoffs and a bunch of the world championships. Obviously they are a bit different. The worlds teams are essentially “all star” teams while regular teams are just that.

Hasn’t been a Leafs article in a while, so I figured give us leaf-heads something to talk about to take out minds off of the sever lack of playoffs in the land (I only say that cause I can’t get Marlies games).

What’s going on with Milan Hejduk’s situation?
Not a whole lot in tangible terms. But this much I know: there is an ongoing dialogue between him and the team still at least.