Dustin Byfuglien
The Chicago Blackhawks have decided to walk away from Antti Niemi's arbitration awarded $2.75M contract, and have instead signed veteran free agent Marty Turco to a one-year $1.3M contract. With the Blackhawks decision not to retain him, Niemi is now a free agent goaltender on the market and should attract some immediate attention.
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Kris Versteeg has undoubtedly been the prize pick up for the Maple Leafs thus far this offseason. You’ve heard all the basics by now. He’s great in the dressing room, he plays all three forward positions, he produces under pressure and he’s a back-to-back 20 goal scorer. At age 24, these are all impressive qualities, but now the real question is: how he will fare in the Maple Leafs’ system? [more…]
As much of the league takes a post-draft/free agent frenzy breather for the Canada Day and July 4th long weekend, I figure I'll spark some discussion with a bit of educated speculation. In talking to a source over the past week it's been suggested to me that Brian Burke has a  deal or two on the table for scoring help involving a Leaf asset he's struggling with the idea of parting with. It's said at this time Burke is hoping desperation on the part of the involved GMs reduces the price on a few top six trade options as the off-season continues. [more…]
Less than 36 hours to go until start of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, so here are some links to start your day:
- The [more…]
According to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun, the Chicago Blackhawks have traded forwards Dustin Byfgulien and Ben Eager along with defenseman Brent Sopel and prospect Akim Aliu [more…]
As July 1 approaches, there are no shortage of rumors involving the Toronto Maple Leafs as they attempt to bolster the forward ranks.
Although Nathan Horton has not been linked as a potential target of GM Brian Burke, I believe it is within the realm of possibility. I base this simply from speculation posted at Spector's Hockey.
One of the links quotes Elliotte Friedman discussing the possibility of Florida Panthers' GM Dave Tallon pursuing Tomas Kaberle. What's interesting is that Bruce Garrioch, of the Ottawa Sun, reported that Tallon is believed to be shopping Horton.
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There's already some discussion going on in the threads, but let's get all of that latest news out on the table:
- TSN's Darren Dreger recently tossed out his list of top 10 candidates to be moved at this year's trade deadline, with Matt Stajan and Alexei Ponikarovsky figuring in at the 4th and 5th spots respectively. He suggests that Stajan would perhaps yield "a decent prospect or drafts picks in return" and that Ponikarovsky would likely fetch a similar price. It's always hard to gauge the trade deadline market as values fluctuate on a yearly basis, but I've got Ponikarovsky pegged as an Antropov comparable (2nd round pick) as a big body and 60 point player while Stajan may compare favorably to Moore (2nd round pick starting price) as a depth centreman who can put up some points in the right situation. [more…]
Not a whole lot of news coming out of the NHL ranks these last few days, as the few free agents still available are playing the waiting game (kind of surprising to note that Alex Tanguay's still out there). As we try to make it through the last work day before the weekend, let's touch upon more trade speculation out of Chicago, Leaf prospect Mikhail Stefanovich, early playoff predictions and the Leafs' second annual Coca Cola Fans First Game. [more…]
