The Value of: Lubomir Visnovsky
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.
If the Oilers cannot move star defenseman Sheldon Souray perhaps they can move another of their excellent offensive defensemen in Lubomir Visnovsky. TSN’s Darren Dreger listed Visnovsky as one of his 10 most likely players to get traded at the trade deadline so it should make sense that the Oilers wish to move this talent.
Categories: Buffalo Sabres, By Teams, Deadline Speculation, Eastern Conference, Northeast, Northwest, Ottawa Senators, Southeast, Value Of:, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals, Western Conference Tags: Jarret Stoll, Lubomir Visnovsky, Matt Greene, Scott Niedermayer, Sheldon Souray, Steve Tambellini
Moves Imminent on Broadway
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun recently reported that the New York Rangers are shopping wingers Ales Kotalik and Christopher Higgins.
The Rangers brought in both players this past off-season to bolster their offense with hopes that they would fit into coach John Tortorella’s system. GM Glen Sather hoped they would fill holes and perform at levels, but at this point both have vastly disappointed. Now Sather looks for alternative options to “beef” up his top six in order to gain a bigger presence up front, something Kotalik should provide.
What do I mean?
The Rangers want size in front of the oppositions crease in order to create more traffic to generate more offense.
When the team they signed Marian Gaborik they had one goal in mind: the Stanley Cup playoffs. Currently, the Rangers sit on the outside looking in, knowing some tweaking in the line up is a must.
Tortorella simply cannot work with the mix of forwards he currently has. Outside of Gaborik, most of the team fail to put together a consistent effort. We know the personality of Mr. Tortorella, a fiery, intense coach with a limited tolerance. The team’s current players show they cannot play his system properly.
It is time to make a change.
Categories: Atlantic, By Teams, Eastern Conference, New York Rangers, Northwest, Vancouver Canucks, Western Conference Tags: Ales Kotalik, Bobby Sanguinetti, Christopher Higgins, Glen Sather, Ilkka Heikkinen, John Tortorella, Marian Gaborik, New York Rangers, PA Parenteau, Pavol Demitra, Scott Gomez, Wade Redden, Zdeno Chara
Possible Scenarios with Mathieu Schneider Placed on Waivers
Earlier today, the Vancouver Canucks placed veteran defenseman Mathieu Schneider on waivers. Team 1040 AM Vancouver interviewed head coach Alain Vigneault about the team’s recent play and their decision to place him on waivers.
Both the Canucks and Schneider mutually felt waivers was the best route to take. According to reports the team attempted to trade the veteran for the past month, but there were no buyers.
In this cap constrained era of the new NHL his hefty cap hit of 2.75 million is quite the amount to absorb, so most teams should pass on a waiver claim. Now, the speculation changes to the veteran getting put on re-entry waivers, in which a team would absorb roughly a 1.25 million cap hit. Let the rumors begin as to which GM decides to pick up the phone and contact Canucks GM Mike Gillis should he place Schneider on re-entry waivers. As a veteran of 22 seasons and experienced powerplay quarterback, the 40-year-old could help a team in need of depth.
A brief run down as to who might go after his services should he go on re-entry waivers:
Categories: Atlantic, Buffalo Sabres, By Teams, Eastern Conference, Montreal Canadiens, Northeast, Northwest, Pacific, Phoenix Coyotes, Southeast, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals, Western Conference Tags: Alain Vigneault, Anders Eriksson, Bruno Gervais, Buffalo Sabres, Freddie Meyer, Mark Streit, Mathieu Schneider, Mike Gillis, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals
