Does Clearing Jokinen Mean Kovalchuk?
With the departure of Olli Jokinen for essentially spare parts, Flames fans believe another deal will be made. After all, GM Darryl Sutter did effectively clear 500K off his cap after the supposed salary dump. So is Sutter now looking to Atlanta and and acquiring Ilya Kovalchuk?
Categories: Around the League, Atlanta Thrashers, Calgary Flames, Central, Chicago Blackhawks, Eastern Conference, Los Angeles Kings, NHLHS Features, Northwest, Pacific, Southeast, Trade Rumors, Western Conference Tags: Ales Kotalik, Christopher Higgins, Don Waddell, Dustin Boyd, Greg Nemisz, Ilya Kovalchuk, Jarome Iginla, Keith Aulie, Leland Irving, Matt Stajan, Mikael Backlund, Niklas Hagman, Olli Jokinen, Tim Erixon, Tuukka Rask
The Value of: Ilya Kovalchuk
NHL Hot Stove presents it’s “The Value Of” series which will look at some of the names discussed around the NHL who likely will be moved at the March 3rd trade deadline.
Categories: Atlanta Thrashers, Atlantic, Boston Bruins, Central, Chicago Blackhawks, Deadline Speculation, Eastern Conference, Los Angeles Kings, Northeast, Pacific, Philadelphia Flyers, Southeast, Trade Rumors, Value Of:, Washington Capitals, Western Conference Tags: Akim Aliu, Alexander Semin, Andrei Loktionov, Andrew Ladd, Anton Gustafsson, Bill Sweatt, Blake Wheeler, Braydon Schenn, Bryan Little, Claude Giroux, Dany Heatley, Dave Bolland, Don Waddell, Dustin Byfuglien, Eric Fehr, Evander Kane, George McPhee, James van Riemsdyk, Jeff Carter, John Carlson, Karl Alzner, Kris Versteeg, Kyle Beach, Marian Hossa, Mathieu Perreault, Matt Greene, Nicklas Backstrom, Olli Jokinen, Oscar Moeller, Oskar Osala, Scott Parse, Thomas Hickey, Tobias Enstrom, Tomas Fleischmann, Trevor Lewis, Troy Brouwer, Tuukka Rask, Vladamir Sobotka, Wayne Simmonds, Zach Bogosian
Hopefully an End to the Kovalchuck Speculation.
If you’ve read past work on this situation, where I’ve sited points from Canadian radio or other articles around the blogosphere, you would know that the Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes keeps going.
Late last night, via twitter, conversations came up that Kovalchuck and the Thrashers have hit a point in contract talks with most speculating the drama will conclude by week’s end. Pierre LeBrun of ESPN stated in an article on Saturday that the new year would have some critical news in the Kovalchuck endeavors. Well, all signs are pointing to LeBrun’s speculation as accurate.
Supposedly Kovalchuk will sign a deal with the Thrashers worth between 8 million and 11 million per year in the range of a 10-12 years. This signing would be great news for the Thrashers organization and bad news for 29 other teams that hoping to acquire the Russian sniper with a tempting package.
Kovalchuck’s agent Jay Grossman and Atlanta Thrashers GM Don Waddell met this weekend during the World Junior Hockey Championships and with the team presenting a deal to Grossman. Now the decision rests on Kovalchuk’s shoulders. Does he want to stay in Atlanta, a place he publicly stated he loves? Do his his fears of relocation trump this supposed love affair?
There are still other scenarios however.
Categories: Atlanta Thrashers, Atlantic, Central, Chicago Blackhawks, Eastern Conference, New York Rangers, Southeast, Trade Rumors, Washington Capitals, Western Conference Tags: Atlanta Thrashers, Don Waddell, Ilya Kovalchuk, Jay Grossman
Final Destination: Scott Niedermayer
Some players around the League find themselves at a career crossroad. A crossroad with tough decisions to make regarding ongoing speculation of their final season. Speculation whether to stay on a sinking ship and finish at the bottom of the sea or leaving one’s comfort zone in an attempt to stay on top. Certainly no easy decision for any player
While Scott Niedermayer ponders his future in hockey he continues another solid year in his famed career. The same cannot be said for the Anaheim Ducks, who sit 13th in the Western Conference despite coming off a come from behind victory against the Colorado Avalanche. The team finds themselves as of this writing a mere five points behind the eighth seed.
The asking price for the captain should be reasonable, as he would strictly be a playoff rental. However, GM Brian Murray can acquire a potential piece or pieces to build for a brighter future in sunny Anaheim.
A quick look around the league shows there are a few teams in need of Niedermayer’s services. At 37, he still is one of the best defensemen in the game and a huge piece for a few teams looking for that extra push into serious cup contention.
Lets take a closer look at which teams could trade for Niedermayer in order to bring home Lord Stanley’s Cup. Even though he already carries four Stanley Cup rings to his credit, every player in this league starts the season with one goal in mind.
Categories: Anaheim Ducks, Atlantic, Central, Chicago Blackhawks, Eastern Conference, Los Angeles Kings, New Jersey Devils, Pacific, Philadelphia Flyers, Southeast, Trade Rumors, Washington Capitals, Western Conference Tags: Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Anaheim Ducks, Andry Greene, Brian Murray, Bryce Salvador, Chicago Blackhawks, Chris Pronger, George McPhee, Johnny Oduya, Los Angeles Kings, Lou Lamoriello, Martin Brodeur, Mike Green, Mike Knuble, New Jersey Devils, Niklas Backstrom, Paul Holmgren, Paul Martin, Philadelphia Flyers, Ray Emery, Rob Niedermayer, Scott Niedermayer, Stan Bowman, Tom Poti, Tomas Fleischmann, Washington Capitals, Wayne Gretzky
Islanders Looking for Help on the Blueline
Chris Botta of Islanders Point Blank runs down the Islanders need for a new defenseman in his latest entry. A few main points from the article:
- Injuries: Radek Martinek out for the season. Andy Sutton out at least two more games.
- Depth: Rookie Andrew MacDonald already plays 12 minutes a game. Brendan Witt is a team worst minus 15. Dustin Kohn is the only option to be called up.
- A few players that Botta thinks would make sense: Aaron Ward, Garnett Exelby, Brent Sopel or Joe Corvo. Botta prefers Corvo or Ward.
A move could easily be made for all these rumored available defensemen. As I wrote earlier, I don’t think Carolina is purely in “sell-mode” yet, moving Ward will make the team younger and may even be a bit of addition by subtraction. Getting rid of a vet not necessarily working out may wake up some other underachieving players. I still feel Carolina will need a young defenseman coming back or will have to wait for Corvo to return from injury to replace Ward’s minutes.
Interesting to see what will happen on the Island. They are willing to spend, which is a welcome change to a very promising young team.
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-Alexander Monaghan
NHLHS Founder
thehotstove@gmail.com
Categories: Atlanta Thrashers, Atlantic, Carolina Hurricanes, Central, Chicago Blackhawks, Eastern Conference, New York Islanders, Northeast, Southeast, Trade Rumors, Western Conference Tags: Aaron Ward, Andrew MacDonald, Andy Sutton, Brendan Witt, Brent Sopel, Chris Botta, Dustin Kohn, Garnett Exelby, Islanders Point Blank, Joe Corvo, Radek Martinek
