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The Toronto Maple Leafs have nine (or 10, depending on who’s counting) defensemen under contract for next season and would like to thin the hoard and acquire a forward (or a couple forwards). Here’s an article that looks at the situation. Maple Leafs GM says he has been contacted about one of his d-men, and the subject was not oft-rumored-to-be-traded Tomas Kaberle. However, it’s pretty certain that Kaberle’s name will be pushed around the NHL before his no-trade clause kicks in on Aug. 15.
Wonder who the unnamed defenseman is, and which team inquired. And who could use Kaberle on their blue line? I would think he’d be drawing more interest than there appears to be.
The San Jose Mercury News’ Gary Peterson writes a column examining the San Jose Sharks’ off-season to date. In the piece, he says the fate of forward Patrick Marleau is yet to be determined. He says “there has been speculation of a trade that would send Marleau to Ottawa for forward Dany Heatley, probably because it makes so much hypothetical sense. Heatley is unhappy where he is, and Marleau clearly needs to go if the Sharks are to upgrade their grit factor.”
Has anybody else heard this rumor (at least from a legitimate source)? Would make some sense, though I would think Ottawa could ask for more in return.
Anybody who has heard the rumor of a potential trade of Ottawa’s Dany Heatley to the Columbus Blue Jackets should go looking for another deal. The Columbus Dispatch and Ottawa Citizen have both debunked the rumor as being completely not true. No deal will be taking place, according to these publications.
I typically just report rumors on Hockey Watercooler, but some big signings and news took place today, and I’ve been sharing details of these situations. Hence, here’s some closure for regular readers:
- The Toronto Maple Leafs signed Swedish free agent Jonas Gustavsson to a one-year contract. The goalie also had been pursued by Dallas, San Jose and Colorado.
- Colorado Avalanche center Joe Sakic will be retiring after an outstanding 20-year NHL career.
- Defenseman Chris Pronger has agree to a multiyear contract with the Philadelphia Flyers, who paid quite a bounty for Pronger during the NHL draft about 10 days ago. No terms were discussed, but NHL.com reports it may be a seven-year deal worth $35 million.
Word is that the New York Rangers and Derek Morris’s agent are in discussions regarding a contract. The defenseman had one of his most disappointing seasons in 2008-2009, by all accounts, however has proven to be a fairly decent offensive weapon in years past. What do you Rangers fans out there think? Would he be a good signing or should the team move on?
