EHM The Blue Line

Satan + Fedotenko signed with Penguins, I guess these are 2nd liners, a replacement for Malone, Roberts and Hossa? Not enough, deffinitly. Although, I like to see slovakian fella in a pretty strong team, hopefully he will have an individual success next year.

Oh yes, both are one-year contracts.

NAzzy/Kalinin--rangers. Bye Bye markus. thanks for the good stuff from oh say 6 or 7 years ago. Well it feels that long even though I know it is not.

Canucks are so dead. So Dead.

batdad wrote:Canucks are so dead. So Dead.

Oh yeah.

Rangers are stacking up pretty well...Redden, Zherdev, Fritsche, now Naslund and Kalinin

And Laraque's coming home to Montreal.

Edit: Seems like Chicago wants to keep Khabibulin, so Havlat might be leaving...and that's a bad decision IMHO. They have great goaltending duo, but it's not just about that, and now that Khab is probably back-up, almost 7 mil. is ridicolous money for a back up goaltender to spend on...seriously.

Hawks are full of garbage about Krappibulin. Saying that cause noone will take him and they do not want his value to drop off. He will likely end up being waived and sent down so not counting that $6.75 against cap.

However, would not be shocked to see Havlat go too. Injury prone baby he is. Hmm...sounds like a fit.


So on the news tomorrow Canucks will have dealt Edler and someone (Luongo probably since the Hawks love their $6.75 mill goalies) to Chicago for Havlat and Robert Lang. Heh. Good move Canucks.

Rob Blake to the Sharks, 1 year, 5M$. After loosing Campbell...
Pens re-signed MA Fleury for 7 years with a 35M$ deal (5M$/yr)

Jagr and Sundin still undecided... Jagr won't be back with the Rags for sure, now that they've signed Näslund. Oilers and Pens are rumored to be after Jagr, but he may also return to Europe or retire. The Pens lost Hossa, drafted Jagr, won their two Cups with him (and obviously Super Mario), so it should be funny to see Jaromir ending his career there.

The Hawks should be stupid to keep Khabibulin. They signed Huet for 4 years at 5.6M$ per season. Keeping Khab' and his 6.75M$ would mean over 12M$ spent on just 2 goalies... Even if a cap going up like crazy, you can't afford to be that stupid. And they wouldn't have signed Huet that much if they thought Khabi would be the starter. So definetely, he'll be traded or waived. If they could trade both Khabi and Havlat, it would be of huge benefit for them! Even if they got peanuts in return, it would still save them A LOT of cap space used so far on grossly overpaid guys...

During this time, Mats Selfishdin looks more closely at the 2 years - 20M$ offer on the table from the Canucks...

So basically the Rags have replaced Jagr, Shanahan, Avery and Tyutin with Naslund, Zherdev, Kalinin and Redden. I like that...from a Bruins point of view

I agree with batdad, that Nucks team looks just awful on paper. What the Dickens is happening there. Well I'd surely prefer them to get Tavares instead of the Laughs.

The Habs had signed Laraque and Dennis.
Dennis will be our backup, and finally we have a player like Laraque to do the dirty job on the corners and in front of the net....
good news, but still wishing on Sundin!

Jagr officialy signed with Omsk, his agent approved it on www.hokej.cz , so don't expect his comeback to Penguins. Oh well, all eyes on Sunding now.

He's probably going earn more than any NHL team have offered him, and that's the only reason that explain this sign.
So my prediction is more than 5.5M US$, and at least 3 year contract.

Add the Sabres to the competition for Tavares/Hedman. At least according to their fans. They now have the same lineup they started last season, minus two of their top four defensemen (Campbell, Kalinin). Bernier goes to Vancouver for a 2nd and 3rd. This means the Campbell trade netted the Sabres a 1st, 2nd and a 3rd. Not bad for the Sabres really, but considering the market 2 years ago (Tkachuk deal) this is not as good as they could have got.

So....Vancouver gets a 6'2" 225 lbs RW, Right hand shot. Gee I wonder what line he will start on?

Sedin-Sedin-Bernier
Raymond-Wellwood-????
Burrows-Kesler-Pyatt
Pettinger-Ryan Johnson-Hordichuk
Cowan

D-still solid with

Mitchell-Ohlund
Salo-Edler
Bieksa-Krapicek
Baumgartner ???

Lebongo
Sanford and sons

This is still in competition for Tavares Hedman

Predicted NHL bottom 5

Toronto
Vancouver
Buffalo
Atlanta
Nashville

This will lead to Toronto losing the lottery and Atlanta moving into the #1 slot by winning it. Thanks Buttman.

Dan Boyle traded to the Sharks along with Brad Lukowich. Tampa receives Matt Carle, Ty Wishart, 1st round pick in 09 and 4th round pick in 10. LINK

After acquiring Boyle, and after signing Rob Blake recently, the Sharks traded Craig Rivet to the Sabres, along with a 7th round pick in 10 in exchange for 2nd round pick in 09 and 2nd round pick in 10. LINK

Fun read: Kevin Lowe (Oilers GM) talks about Brian Burke (Ducks GM). I seriously doubt they'll spend their holidays together

That interview its a MUST! lol i thought i was reading a Portuguese/Spanish/British newspaper about 2 football(soccer) coaches lolol

Rumors say that Demitra had signed with Canucks, 3 year 11 mil$ deal. Not confirmed yet.

gibson41 wrote:Rumors say that Demitra had signed with Canucks, 3 year 11 mil$ deal. Not confirmed yet.

WOW!!! If that is true I think its a hell of a deal for the Nucks....I mean, look at the deals Ryder, Huselius or others have signed....I think its not a lot for Demitra.

I REALLY wish Ryder can find his form....because if not we have anoter 4 million $ man who is worthless...

This Demitra is still not confirmed on TSN.ca more than 24h after the supposed signing, so i guess it was just a rumor...

Facts now...

Owen Nolan to Minnesota for a 2 years - 5,5M$ contract (2,75M$/yr). A bit expansive IMO for a 36 years old guy who had just 32 points and 77 penalty minutes last season.

Matt Cooke to Pittsburgh on a 2 years - 2,4M$ contract (1,2M$/yr).

Mats Sundin seems to be still be very undecided about his future, and may remain this way for some other weeks, as mentionned in this article (scroll down to the second part of the article, "The Sundin Watch").

Shadd666 wrote:This Demitra is still not confirmed on TSN.ca more than 24h after the supposed signing, so i guess it was just a rumor...

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=242835& ... cStory_nhl

And Tampa Bay signed Recchi, after Roberts another veteran to their roster.

Some good news...

http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bru ... day_1.html

I was really happy to read that Bergeron is feeling great and ready to get back into action.

As Canadiens fan i should not be feeling this, but i really hope Patrice makes a tremendous season..
I follow him since the times of Acadie-Bathurst and i always had the feeling that he could be one of the bests @ nhl level....

So Bertuzzi is now a Flame... He wanted to play in Canada, and Iginla convinced him to come in Calgary (LINK). The deal is 1 year at 1.95M$, which is a pretty nice price, and roughly the salary difference saved in the Tanguay-Cammalleri deals. Although i really dislike what Todd did back in 2004, i think he is a good acquisition for Calgary. Plus, he knows Keenan pretty well, which can only help him He should fit well in the Flames system. Way more than Cammalleri IMO.

Other noticeable signings: Brendan Morrison to Anaheim (1 year; 2.75M$); Jason Smith to Ottawa for 2 years.

With Tampa signing another forward, i'm really looking forward to watch their games! They should score A LOT, and also probably allow A LOT of goals. Should be pretty fun to see

I echo that Bruins72!!
Do you think Manny will challenge Tim Thomas for the starting role?
Enjoyed this quote also:

Joe Colborne really enjoyed his first Bruins practice experience under P-Bruins bench boss Scott Gordon..

“It was pretty neat,” he said. “You see guys out there like Patrice Bergeron and shooting on Manny Fernandez was a pretty good experience.

“I got one or two past him, but not very many,” he continued half-jokingly. “Each time I felt like celebrating because that is the first time that I have ever been scoring on an NHL goaltender.”

He has grown again anyway, over 6-5 now

A lot of people think Fernandez still has it in him to be a starting goalie but he's got to prove it to me before I buy into it. Tim Thomas on the other hand... he's played his tail off for the Bruins. He keeps proving everyone wrong. He's the type of underdog I've always pulled for. In my mind, he's the starter until somebody takes it away from him.

I read yesterday (or maybe it was this morning) about Colborne being measured in at 6' 5 1/2" for the rookie camp. I guess it's safe to call him around 6'5" but I don't know how much stock to put into that. They're always reporting guys taller than they are. Anyhow, I've read some good things about Colborne. I wasn't too thrilled when they first drafted him but the more I read about him and read what he says, he seems like a good kid that just might be something.

Everything I've read about Bergeron from this camp says he is like a man possessed! Expect a big year out of him. He is so hungry! He's got his weight/muscle back from what he lost while out. He's so eager to play because he missed the game so much while recovering. All reports are saying he's playing like a kid trying to impress the team and win a job. He didn't even have to be at this camp. It was just for rookies but he wanted to come and work on some things and shake some rust off. Seriously, he is going to be awesome this year.

I'm also hearing good things about Blake Wheeler. All reports say he's just what was expected when Phoenix originally drafted him. He's just got to work on a couple areas but he looks to be an NHLer for sure. They're just not sure if he'll start the season with Boston or Providence.

Despite the fact that they haven't done too much in the off-season (so far... not that I expect them to do much more), I have a good feeling about this team.

bruins72 wrote:A lot of people think Fernandez still has it in him to be a starting goalie but he's got to prove it to me before I buy into it. Tim Thomas on the other hand... he's played his tail off for the Bruins. He keeps proving everyone wrong. He's the type of underdog I've always pulled for. In my mind, he's the starter until somebody takes it away from him.

I read yesterday (or maybe it was this morning) about Colborne being measured in at 6' 5 1/2" for the rookie camp. I guess it's safe to call him around 6'5" but I don't know how much stock to put into that. They're always reporting guys taller than they are. Anyhow, I've read some good things about Colborne. I wasn't too thrilled when they first drafted him but the more I read about him and read what he says, he seems like a good kid that just might be something.

Everything I've read about Bergeron from this camp says he is like a man possessed! Expect a big year out of him. He is so hungry! He's got his weight/muscle back from what he lost while out. He's so eager to play because he missed the game so much while recovering. All reports are saying he's playing like a kid trying to impress the team and win a job. He didn't even have to be at this camp. It was just for rookies but he wanted to come and work on some things and shake some rust off. Seriously, he is going to be awesome this year.

I'm also hearing good things about Blake Wheeler. All reports say he's just what was expected when Phoenix originally drafted him. He's just got to work on a couple areas but he looks to be an NHLer for sure. They're just not sure if he'll start the season with Boston or Providence.

Despite the fact that they haven't done too much in the off-season (so far... not that I expect them to do much more), I have a good feeling about this team.

I have my doubts about Manny too. Hope he can recover well from last years surgery and be a good goaltender for us....still dont know if starting or backup, good we have Thomas!!
Have to say that I also was a bit dissapointed about the games Rask has played last year with the big club.....well, surely it was a bit too early for him for a callup, but all the talk of Rask being as good or even better then Price blew away pretty soon. Still think he can be great though, but the Toivoinen experience makes me a bit careful with young goalies.

Iam pretty happy from what I read from the rookies camp. Seems that Hamill, Couldborne, Wheeler and even Mikko Lehtonen are playing pretty good there, giving a good impression about them.

Its curious, our defense last year was pretty good, but we still all want to see a D-men coming our way (including me, btw). I think we are a top 4 D-men away from being one of the top teams in the East, but I doubt we will see anymore movement from Chia and co....and its kind of sad, seeing some other trades who have been taken place I think Chia could have got a good one like for example Zidlicky for a good price.
Still hope Chia can get a deal for a good puck-moving D-man....thats all I ask

Shocking, well not really. Jay Feaster quits Tampa Bay.

Shocking was Tortorella sack.
Since the Lockout the team lacked to build a solid roster, specially on the 3/4 lines and PK lines, and they wasted almost half of the cap in 3 players(Richards,Lecavalier & St.Louis), all this was reflex of bad management of Feaster.
You could put the best head coach in Tampa (tortorella is at least of the bests),but the results would be always same...

:This FA signings are ridiculous....