Penguins have made their interest known for Andrew Ladd & More Buzz

LATEST NHL CHATTER — The chances of Eric Staal being moved during the season is extremely small, rival executives with knowledge of the Hurricanes thinking say. New Hurricanes GM Ron Francis is committed to playing this season out and evaluate the future for Staal after the season. The Hurricanes want to see how this team performs fully healthy under head coach Bill Peters before making any moves that could alter the franchise. The Hurricanes, though, will continue to be a team that scouts will be flocking to watch. Jiri Tlusty is a hot name in scouting circles, a player several teams have their eye on but with Francis scouring the market for another scorer, Carolina doesn’t seem too inclined to

Inside the Metro Division: Hurricanes Trade Talk; Could Morrow re-enter picture with Flyers?

HURRICANES LOOK TO FREE AGENT MARKET OR TRADE ROUTE Will the Carolina Hurricanes look at Matt Niskanen as an option to replace Joni Pitkanen who is lost for the season? Possible, but to this point there hasn’t been any substantive trade talks between the Penguins and Carolina about Niskanen, sources tell Inside Pittsburgh Sports. The Penguins would like to hold onto Niskanen. Even with Pitkanen, it was going to be tough sledding for the Hurricanes in the Metropolitan division and the buzz for a few weeks now has been that Carolina seeks a left handed top-4 defenseman to replace Pitkanen. Ron Hainsey has been linked to the Hurricanes and Bob McKenzie of TSN threw out Leafs RFA Cody Franson as

Penguins 5 – Hurricanes 3: Post-Game Player Reports & Analysis

PENGUINS 5 – HURRICANES 3 The Pittsburgh Penguins (30-10-0, 60 pts) clinched their first Atlantic Division title since 2007-2008, defeating the Carolina Hurricanes (16-21-2, 34 pts) 5-3 on Tuesday night at PNC Arena. The Atlantic Division title is the Penguins first division title in the Dan Bylsma era. With eight games remaining the Penguins are also in the drivers seat to claim the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, leading the Montreal Canadiens by five points. “It’s been a priority for us to look at being tops in the division for the seeding in the playoffs,” head coach Dan Bylsma said. “To be able to do that with eight games left in the season, I think that’s a pretty

Hurricanes sign Alexander Semin to a five year, $35 million extension

The Carolina Hurricanes have signed right winger Alexander Semin to a 5 year, $35 million extension, the Hurricanes announced. “We’re very happy to retain Alex,” said Hurricanes GM Rutherford via the team’s official website. “Alex is an elite player and has been a major contributor to the Hurricanes having a very strong top line.”

Game Day Buzz: Skinner back for Canes; Malkin skates again; Despres scratched for 2nd straight game?

GAME DAY BUZZ PENGUINS (13-7-0, 26 PTS) @ HURRICANES (9-8-1, 19 PTS) MALKIN SKATES AGAIN Things continue to move in the right direction for Evgeni Malkin who skated again this morning at Southpointe. Malkin has been symptom free since Tuesday and has now skated in consecutive days. The Penguins continue to indicate there is no timetable for his return and they are going to be very careful on not establishing one. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if Malkin gets cleared for contact following this weekend, barring a setback. CANES GETTING HEALTHY Jeff Skinner, Tim Brent, Tim Gleason and Jamie McBain will all return to the lineup tonight for Carolina. The return of Skinner is huge for Carolina who has missed

Morning Pens Buzz: Penguins haven’t felt loss of Staal yet but likely will come playoff time

MORNING PENS BUZZ The storyline for tonight’s game vs Carolina is Jordan Staal facing his former team for the first time since being traded on draft day, a day after declining a 10 year, $58 million offer from the Penguins and making it known to the Penguins at the time that he intended to play his final season in Pittsburgh out and explore free agency. Staal had six great years in Pittsburgh, playing a key role in two Stanley Cup runs and a Stanley Cup championship in 2009. He was the Penguins best forward in the 2012 playoffs and the Penguins haven’t felt the loss of Staal yet as they are second in the Eastern Conference with 26 points and

Inside the NHL: Canes excellent off-season continues with Skinner locked up long-term

The Carolina Hurricanes strong off-season continued this week with announcement that the team has signed forward Jeff Skinner to a six-year contract extension worth $34.35 million. The deal will pay Skinner $4.35 million in 2013-14 and $6 million per season from the 2014-15 season through the 2018-19 season. “Jeff is a cornerstone player for our team, and his long-term commitment to the Hurricanes is great news for our franchise and our fans,” Canes GM Jim Rutherford said in a released statement. “At 20 years old, he is still in the very early stages of his career, and we felt it was important to ensure he would be spending much more of it in Raleigh.” Skinner in his second NHL season

Latest Pens Buzz: Jordan Staal to orchestrate his way to Carolina?

Penguins center Jordan Staal, 23, enters this off-season with Dwight Howard type power from the standpoint that no team is going to give up significant assets for a player who won’t commit long-term as Pittsburgh is in a position of weakness on the trade front if they were to entertain offers for Staal. Therefore, don’t bank on the rumor of Edmonton being willing to trade the No. 1 overall pick for Staal becoming any kind of a possibility as Staal has no interest in playing in Edmonton and sources inside the Penguins organization say there are serious doubts that GM Ray Shero will even consider moving Staal at the draft or before he can start negotiating with Staal on July

Pens Trade Deadline Central: Pens stand pat, don’t make any moves

TRADE DEADLINE CENTRAL Latest Updates – 3:15 p.m. – Pens quiet at the deadline, Shero to speak at 4:15 p.m. 3:10 p.m. – ZANON GOES TO BOSTON: The Boston Bruins were busy in the final minutes of the deadline, acquiring defenseman Greg Zanon from the Minnesota Wild and forward Brian Rolston and defenseman Mike Mottau from the New York Islanders. 3:05 p.m. – SHERO TO SPEAK AT 4:15 P.M.: Pens GM Ray Shero will meet with the media at 4:15 to discuss today’s lack of activity from the team. The Penguins did not make a move. 3:00 p.m. PREDATORS ACQUIRE GAUSTAD: The Nashville Predators acquired Sabres centerman Paul Gaustad right at the 3:00 p.m. deadline. The Penguins were never in

Saturday Morning Trade Rumblings: Av’s Jones has big game in front of Pens scouts, 6 other teams

Saturday’s Rumor Mill on Av’s Jones, Allen/Spacek, Sabres, Red Wings, Leafs, Kings, Rangers & more | — A growing trend in the NHL is GM’s resigning their own players (pending UFA’s). That continued Friday night when the Edmonton Oilers signed Ales Hemsky to a two year, $10 million extension. A big cap hit for a player with just 5 goals on the season and only 64 points since the 2009-2010 season. A big factor in team’s arguably overpaying to resign their own like Edmonton and Carolina just did with the Hemsky and Ruutu signings this week, is GM’s come to the assumption that they won’t be able to replace those particular players in free agency. — The New Jersey Devils paid