Rumors from around the league
The St. Louis Blues are looking to continue their salary dump, The Sharks are looking to finalize new contracts, the Habs are in goalententer lala land, Gonchar’s days may be numbered in Pittsburgh , Jokinen waits to sign a new contract and a number of teams are shopping for defender depth
The St. Louis Blues have made a number of moves within the past 10 days to dump contracts and show respect for their quality aging veterans by moving them to winning teams. Mike Sillinger was moved to the Predators and Doug Weight was shipped off to the Hurricanes. Keith Tkachuk is likely the next move that the Blues are likely to make. A number of teams are already showing interest including the New York Rangers who are looking to add some scoring help because of the injury to Petr Prucha. Los Angeles and the Colorado Avalanche are also said to be interested in adding scoring depth to the lineup. The Blues are looking to rebuild their team through draft picks. It is speculated that they are asking for a top draft choice and a mid level prospect. Keep in mind that Tkachuk must first agree to any deal because of this no-trade clause.
Some of the other players that the Blues are looking to move include Eric Weinrich and Scott Young. It is believed that the Vancouver Canucks and the L.A. Kings are the front runners to acquire the rapidly aging Weinrich.
Another team that is on a loosing spiral, the Pittsburgh Penguins are also apparently looking to move some defensemen. The two names that they are looking to deal include Ric Jackman and Sergei Gonchar. The problem however with moving Gonchar is his ridiculously huge contract that stands somewhere in the neighborhood of 5 million per year. Non the less, the New York Rangers are apparently interested in making a deal to add some scoring to their d before the trade deadline.
The Montreal Canadiens are in the midst of a major goaltending controversy. With Jose Theodore riding the pine backup Christobal Huet has stepped it up with back to back shutouts. It is well known that the Canadiens are shopping Theodore along with his 4.5 million dollar contract. One rumor that has been making the rounds is that the Edmonton Oilers could be looking to shore up their goaltending position by offering up Mike Peca. Another suggestion is that Theodore could go to Anaheim straight up for JS Gigure.
In San Jose , the Sharks are close to resigning goaltender Evgeni Nabokov and Jon Cheechoo. By signing these players they are looking add some stability to the core of their team for years to come. Look for the Sharks to push for some defensive help in the next few weeks as they make a run for the last playoff spot out west.
Olli Jokinen has recently turned down a huge 16 million dollar four year contract. This is leading to speculation that he is wishing to be moved before the trade deadline only to re-sign with the Panthers in the offseason as an Unrestricted Free Agent. The team that is often mentioned as a possible candidate is the Ottawa Senators who may be looking to make a deal to keep pace with the Carolina Hurricanes. It was well known that the Senators were disappointed that they missed out on Doug Weight.
Here is a list of some of the defenseman that may be on the move this trade deadline season. Eric Weinrich, Jassen Cullimore, Brendan Witt, Andrei Zyuzin, Ric Jackman, Sergei Gonchar, Brian Leetch and Darryl, Sydor.
Have a great week
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