The Latest buzz from the NHL GM meetings in Pittsburgh
Rumor Mill Heating Up NHL GM’s have convened in Pittsburgh for the annual GM meetings, trade winds and free agent talk is starting to heat up. Here’s the latest. Atlanta Thrashers GM Don Waddell has his most important off-season ahead for him as his star forward Ilya Kovalchuk is entering the final year of his contract. Word is Waddell will be aggressive in free agency and will make a strong run at the Sedin twins with Waddell prepared to make long-term offers to both players worth as much as $6 million per season. *Another player on the Thrashers radar is San Jose Sharks forward Patrick Marleau according to a league source. The asking price is steep. *The Atlanta Thrashers have approached
NHL Draft: Islanders win draft lottery
1. New York Islanders 2. Tampa Bay Lightning 3. Colorado Avalanche 4. Atlanta Thrashers 5. Los Angeles Kings 6. Phoenix Coyotes 7. Toronto Maple Leafs 8. Dallas Stars 9. Ottawa Senators 10. Edmonton Oilers 11. Nashville Predators 12. Minnesota Wild 13. Buffalo Sabres 14. Florida Panthers Top Prospects
The Latest Penguins Buzz
The Penguins have four out of their final six games on the road as the team finishes their regular season schedule. On Wednesday, the Penguins faceoff against the New Jersey Devils (47-24-4, 98 pts) in a potential first round matchup. The Devils lead the season series 3-2. Great players elevate their games at this time of the year and Sidney Crosby did just that in the third period of Saturday afternoon’s game against New York, scoring the game winning goal and extending his point streak to 15 games. Ruslan Fedotenko is currently in a third line role right now which is where he belongs. He appears much more comfortable against Calgary which was the first game he played with Jordan
Malkins’ 5 point night, powers Penguins past Thrashers
Penguins 6 – Thrashers 2 Post Game Thoughts The Penguins have now won nine of 11, earning points in all 11 games (9-0-2). The win tied the Penguins (84 pts) with the Philadelphia Flyers who are currently 4th in the Eastern Conference with 84 points. Philadelphia (37-22-10, 84 pts) has three games in hand on the Penguins (38-26-8, 84 pts). Pittsburgh is 4-1 against Philadelphia this season Evgeni Malkin’s five point night (2 goals, 3 assists) against the Atlanta Thrashers cooled any talk that the Art Ross Trophy is up for grabs as Malkin moved 10 points ahead of teammate Sidney Crosby. The power play which went 3-for-6 saw Evgeni Malkin have a Mario Lemieux moment with a beautiful one
Penguins/Thrashers Lineup News – Kovalchuk out
Atlanta Thrashers (30-35-6) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (37-26-8) ***Morning Skate Update*** The Penguins just concluded their morning skate. There will be no lineup changes from Sunday’s game other than Marc Andre Fleury starting in goal. It was believed Craig Adams would get back into the lineup tonight but he was the extra forward in the skate. As expected Evgeni Malkin did participate in today’s morning skate and will play tonight. The Atlanta Thrashers on a 6 game winning streak will be without forward Ilya Kovalchuk tonight who has missed the Thrashers last two games. Ilya Kovalchuk did not make the trip to Pittsburgh and head coach John Anderson indicated Kovalchuk will likely return to the lineup on Friday for the Thrashers.
NHL: Kings, Thrashers, Wild among 6 teams with scouts in attendance for the Hawks – Penguins game
Scouts from 6 teams were at the United Center Friday night according to a source.
NHL: Canadiens acquire Mathieu Schneider
According to TSN.Ca, The Atlanta Thrashers have¬†traded defenceman Mathieu¬†Schneider to his former team, the Montreal Canadiens. In exchange, the Thrashers receive a second round draft pick in 2009 and a third round¬†selection in 2010.¬† In addition to Schneider, Montreal receives a conditional pick at this year’s draft.
Around the NHL
Evgeni Malkin leads the NHL with (24 goals – 56 assists – 80 points) and is a +19. Despite leading the NHL in the points, Malkin is not even in the top 3 when it comes to the M.V.P. discussion. For him to get into the top three by the end of the season, he will have to get the Penguins into playoffs and there’s been talk he will have to get into the 40 goal plateau. A lot of experts who have votes look at goals, Ovechkin and Parise are going to easily top 40. Is it right to overlook the assists Malkin is putting up? No it’s not but he’s going to need at least 40-43 goals to
NHL: Report: Rangers looking to bring back Avery
2/6/09 Sean Avery back to New York?: The New York Post reports, Rangers GM Glen Sather is in Dallas for the teams’ game Friday and is expected to meet with Stars co-GM Les Jackson to hammer out details that could lead to Avery eventually rejoining the Blueshirts before March 4.
Trade Watch
If the Penguins want Colby Armstrong it is going to cost them puck moving defenseman Alex Goligoski according to a league source. Contrary to other reports, the Thrashers are not actively shopping Armstrong and they remain very high on him. Armstrong has 13 goals on the year, has been a great locker room presence and is averaging between 15-17 minutes of ice time per game. The Thrashers have received quite a few inquires about Armstrong including from the Penguins, Wild, Rangers, Kings, and Flames. As I’ve been mentioning for a while, the Thrashers are actively shopping former Penguins forward Eric Christensen. Columbus, Montreal, New York Islanders and the Phoenix Coyotes are four teams to express interest. The trade deadline always