Updated Hockey news and moves:
Anaheim Ducks: as of today the Ducks have traded Chris Pronger in return for Lupul and Scbisa, or something like that. Anyhow, sad to see Prongs go, but I think he’s not fitting into what the Ducks need now. When the Ducks won the cup, brutal force was the way to go; teams adjusted and now can defend against that so its back to the drawing board which has scoring and speed written on it. Also, late today the Ducks re-signed Erik (Spell) Christiansen to a one year deal along with Troy Bodie.
Updated: Scott and Teemu both returning to Ducks for 1 more year. Also, Teemu has notified the Ducks he will retire after that making this upcoming season his retirement tour!
Flames: Jay Bouwmeester was the biggest name being tossed around draft day as the hot property everyone wanted (before the Pronger trade happened out of no where). So now Calgary has “THE” man of the hour and maybe a renewed sense of being.
Rangers/Kings: The Rangers got the rights to Brian Boyle, a good hard nosed player that I thought worked well for the Kings, but I think they have other plans.
The Kings made a splash by not only signing Defense man Rob Scuderi and now Ryan Smith. Look for L.A. to break its playoffs drought this season.
Penguins: In the first feel good story of the off season, Bill Guerin took a hometown discount to remain with the Penguins, making Hossa look like scum, and letting his team know he’s ready to repeat!
Jaws 2: Rob Blake is going to give it one more try and see if San Jose knows the way to the cup. He signed for 1 year.
Devils: Johnny Oduya re-signed with NJ. Why is this significant? Someone somewhere had him listed as a potential Ducks deal, but low and behold, no dice. Ducks won’t be doing Oduya.
The other Jonas: GUSTAVSSON that is, won’t pick a team until…after July 1st. Why? Make a bigger splash! He’s the most sought after rookie goalie, and as of now everyone and their mother think he’s headed to Toronto.
Le Big Mac: In one of today’s biggest stories, the NY Rangers made a 6 player trade with Montreal that sent Scott Gomez packing to the Canadians! There were 5 other players involved but only care to notice Scott so there.
The biggest Non-Trade today: Heatley was traded, then not traded, then might be traded tomorrow to the Edmonton Oilers! In a deal that supposedly will send Dustin “It’s my fault contracts are so expensive” Penner and a few other bums to Ottawa in return for Heatley and some souvenirs! This deal was apparently finalized tonight around 5 p.m. PST, but then something happened and Heatley hasn’t officially agreed to being traded, so the world is holding its collective breath tonight for some sort of conclusion tomorrow…stay tuned. FYI: Heatley still in limbo.
Possible deals: I’m hearing that Havlat and Gaborik are going to be L.A. Kings tomorrow which I think will definitely spice things up for L.A. and make them a playoff contender this upcoming season. Updated: Gaborik signed with Montreal, and Havlat signed with Minny-sota!
Koivu: This is the rumor that won’t die. Apparently the Canadians have declined to offer Koivu and offer which would make him available tomorrow, which for some reason means he’ll come to Anaheim. Hey, I’ll take him, but first let’s see if this rumor is true. Updated: As more time goes by, the reality of Koivu coming to Anaheim seems more likely.
Sedins: This is another story that will be huge once it’s finalized. Vancouver made the Sedins an offer, which apparently they did not accept. The other rumored teams involved trying to sign the twins? Montreal and Toronto. Is it just me, or are all the Canadian teams stock piling players? Is this the year Canada gets the cup? Updated: The twins stay in Vancouver!
Hossa: According to what I’ve read, he turned down a multi year deal with Detroit, and may be headed to Edmonton. Updated: Hossa has cursed the Chicago Black hawks for the next 12 years! Hope it wasn’t a NTC!
Beaucheman: This guy is still without a team! I can not, for the life of me, understand why anybody has not swept this guy off his feet yet. The last thing I read, was that the Kings and Frankie were a year apart on terms.
Finally there is suppose to be a major three way deal on Monday involving the Hawks, Sharks and Maple Leafs, and the only clues that were given were that two goalies were involved and also a NTC. (WTF?)
Again, these are the deals that are of interest to me, so don’t message me saying I left so and so out. I’m aware of that. More updates as they happen.
Popularity: 100% [?]