Hockey Trade Rumors

Here are some more rumours going around as we near the draft and the free agency season.

In Anaheim, the Ducks are looking to shop the 2nd overall pick and are looking at getting either another first rounder and a player or an established player that will make an impact. i could see them wanting an offensive minded blueliner or could this pick be packaged for Bertuzzi?

In Boston rumour has it that the Bruins are interested in signing John Leclair who was recently bought out by the Philadelphia Flyers. Joining him possibly would be his fellow LOD linemate Eric Lindros. It sounds reasonable that these two good friends would want to play together but would the B’s really be in the running?

In Today’s Toronto Star it was reported that Jason Allison is strongly considering a return home and playing for the Leafs. here is an exerpt from the article:

“To me, it makes a lot of sense,” Allison said. “I grew up here and I’ve been dreaming since I was 2 to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs. In the past I might not have been interested and part of the reason for that is that I kind of like my privacy.”

Cant really argue against this as it did come right from the player’s mouth.

In California, it has been rumoured that all 3 teams there are looking to make a pitch for Paul Kariya. The Sharks seem to be the front runners and it makes sense if Kariya wants to play for a contender. It looks more and more likely that he will be staying out west and not coming east to Philly, Toronto or Montreal as rumoured. Of course the Canucks are another prime candidate.

In St Louis, the Blues have stated they will not buy out any players. This means that certain free agents wont be back due to their high price tag. I am referring to Chris Pronger who will have to be qualified at the maximum in order to return. if that happens the Blues would have 3 players making up more than half of their salary cap room. The Blues will look to get something in return for him and teams like Florida, LA, Ottawa and Philly have the means to make a trade. But it will not come cheap.

In Phoenix, it has been rumoured from Khabibulin, to Modano, to AMonte that any or all these players will come to Arizona. The team has a set roster with 21 guys under contract. Once they sign their restricted guys there wont be much room to work with. playing for Gretzky may intrigue lots of players but they made their changes last summer and are probably going to look first to see if those changes pan out before making some moves.

There have been Mike Modano rumours everywhere. He is linked to Minnesota as that is where his career started, it has been mentioned he would return to Dallas probably if guys like Hatcher and Zubov return as well, it has been said before that Philly is interested as he wants to win, knows what Hitch***** expects and Philly is a legit contender. It also has been mentioned that Ottawa is a destination as him and Spezza would be a top 1-2 punch at centre and could put the Sens over the top. Even after his poor 03-04 season, he is still a top player and in great demand.

And wouldnt this be great for hockey for Mark Messier to finish off his career back home in Edmonton. I hope both parties can make that happen. it would be a nice feel good story for the league.

And finally lets hope for speedy recoveries for both Pat Burns (Cancer) and Patrik Elias (Hep A) who are both suffering from serious illnesses.