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Working the Corners, a blog run by the San Jose Mercury News, says there’s no truth to the rumored two-year, $9 million contract offer to defenseman Rob Blake. Writer David Pollak believes the team will try to resign the veteran, but will look to lock up the 39-year-old to a one-year deal. Another interest bit of info posted on the site: Pollak confirms the team does have interest in Swedish free agent goaltender Jonas Gustavsson, who is looking to be a hot commodity this summer. We’ll have to see. Would definitely be interesting to see how such a signing would impact the status of current Sharks netminder Evgeni Nabokov. Read the post here.
Marian Hossa is looking for a long-term deal. Will he stay in Detroit red or head for greener pastures? He turned down long-term offers last year for a shot at the Cup, and the move backfired. Looks like he’s ready to cash in now. Personally, I think his value has gone down just a tad over the past year. His scoring drought to end the playoffs couldn’t have helped.
On a related note, NHL.com looks at Detroits other possible upcoming defections. Could be lots of changes on the horizon, though the team’s core will remain somewhat intact. UFAs include Mikael Samuelsson, Tomas Kopecky, Chris Chelios and Ty Conklin. I think Samuelsson could be an interesting pick up, and Conklin could draw some interest. And is this the year Chelios finally hands up his skates? We’ll know soon.
Instead of writing about rumors, USA Today NHL beat writer Kevin Allen writes about what he thinks WILL NOT happen this off season. He thinks the Sedin twins WILL NOT leave the Vancouver Canucks, Jack Johnson WILL NOT stay with the Los Angeles Kings, Jay Bouwmeester WILL NOT end up in the Western Conference and Alexander Radulov WILL NOT return to the Nashville Predators. Interesting take. Read it here.
What do you think WILL NOT happen this off season?
An article in the Tennessean notes that Nashville Predators captain Jason Arnott feels the team’s veterans need to pick up their scoring next season. That’s even if the team loses Steve Sullivan and Alexander Radulov doesn’t return. The article also quotes defenseman Greg de Vries, who says he is likely done in Nashville. Wonder if anybody will pick up the 36-year-old veteran. He could have a good presence as a teammate and mentor while playing on a second or third pairing, I would think.
Dallas Morning News blogger Richard Durrett looks at who could potentially man the blue line for the Dallas Stars next season. He notes that, if healthy, Sergei Zubov is slotted as the team’s No. 1 defensement. The pairings could look like this:
Niskanen-Zubov
Grossman-Robidas
Fistric-Daley
Should the team make a move for somebody like Chris Pronger or Jay Bouwmeester, or maybe a second- or third-liner?
There are no talks scheduled between center John Madden and the New Jersey Devils, though the defense-first specialist is open to further discussions. That’s according to The Star-Ledger. What do you think he’s worth? Bear in mind that he’s now 36 years old. I could see maybe a two-year deal at $2 million per. But where, I’m not sure.
The New York Time’s Slap Shot blog looks at the Pittsburgh Penguins 10 pending unrestricted free agents, including winger Bill Guerin and game six hero defenseman Rob Scuderi. The blog post also mentions the New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators as teams that have found out that “expensive, long-term deals that don’t work out for the club and/or player can damage a team’s ability to turn itself around under the salary cap.”
In his weekly Q&A with readers, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Dave Molinari says the Penguins aren’t likely to spend big on wingers to play alongside Malkin and Crosby, despite the team most likely losing Bill Guerin, Ruslan Fedotenko and Petr Sykora to free agency. He also cracks that only a “sucker” would take Marc-Andre Fleury via trade. And even so, it would be hard to find an equal netminder to play between the pipes for Pittsburgh.
Who do you think the Penguins should target to man the wings on the team’s top two lines? Any potential bargains out there who would be good fits?
Rangers Report writer Rick Carpiniello is headed on a two-week vacation, but leaves some predictions about the N.Y. Rangers transactions during that time period. He believes the team will look to move Redden, Gomez and/or Drury, but Gomez is the only one of the three with much value. He also sees the team losing Paul Mara, Derek Morris and possibly Nik Antropov. It’s an interesting read. Check it out by clicking here.
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