5 Suitors for Luongo?
5 SUITORS OUT THERE FOR LUONGO? The buzz in NHL circles today is surrounding Robert Luongo and not because he is close to being traded. It’s because of GM Mike Gillis comments to the Vancouver Sun about a mystery team. “We have a potential deal in place with one team that has to do something with another player that they have — and it’s not who anybody thinks it is — so we have to wait. (But) we’ve been offered packages that don’t fit what our plan is, what we need,” Gillis told Sun. Who could that be? Well there might not be a mystery team at all and I’m hearing no’s on Tampa Bay, New York Islanders and Washington.
Pens – Canucks Post Game Observations
Pittsburgh 4 – Vancouver 3 Post-Game Observations *During the preseason the Penguins were technically sound and that continued into the first 25 to 30 minutes of last night’s season opener. The Penguins were aggressive and fast on the puck and really controlled the play for much of the first period. The Penguins were impressive with their ability to push the play out of the gates, jumping out to a 2-0 lead on goals from James Neal and Matt Cooke. Pens – Canucks Dan Bylsma Post-Game Audio “The pace was high, ” head coach Dan Bylsma said afterwards as the game had a playoff feel to it at times. Against a team like the Canucks, you have to avoid getting out
Finger Gate: Burrows scores 11 seconds into OT to give Canucks 2-0 series lead
Vancouver 3 – Boston 2 Alex Burrows took a big bite out of the Boston Bruins Stanley Cup dreams in Game 2 of the Cup Finals. Burrows who was not suspended for biting Patrice Bergeron in Game 1, scored in the first period, setup up Daniel Sedin in the third period for the game tying goal and then scored 11 seconds into overtime, beating Zdeno Chara around the net and an erratic Tim Thomas who was out of position. Burrows game winner gave the Canucks a 3-2 victory and commanding 2-0 series lead. It’s hard to imagine the Bruins getting back into the series. Vancouver is looking to become the first Canadian team to win the Cup since the Montreal
Pens/NHL Tidbits: Increased cap won’t influence Pens to overpay free agents to be
DePaoli’s Thursday Morning Pens/NHL Notes *NHL executive Bill Daly told reporters in Vancouver that the NHL salary cap could be as high as $63.5 million for the 2011-2012 season. That is great news for teams like the Flyers, Penguins, Rangers but not good news for small market teams who are struggling to spend to the minimum cap floor. It’s amazing how much the cap has increased since the lockout when the league had a $39 million cap in 2005-2006. The transformation of the Penguins as a franchise has also been something to watch. They have evolved into one of the strongest financially and they are right up there with big market teams like the New York Rangers, when it comes
Stamkos not taking advantage of opportunity with Crosby sidelined
Sedin’s could be the ones to close to the gap Sidney Crosby has missed four straight games due to a concussion and will miss another contest Saturday afternoon against the Boston Bruins. Despite being sidelined, Crosby’s NHL points lead has remained very much intact by a wide margin.
Penguins Game Day: Scouting Report on Canucks – Penguins
Penguins Game Day When: November 17 2010 | Where: Consol Energy Center PITTSBURGH PENGUINS VS VANCOUVER CANUCKS The Penguins line up against the streaking Vancouver Canucks in Pittsburgh Wednesday night. Both teams are coming off overtime losses Monday night, Vancouver dropping to the Buffalo Sabres, and Pittsburgh losing in maddening fashion to the New York Rangers. It is the lone meeting between the teams this season. Vancouver beat the Penguins last year 6-2, in which John Curry and Alexander Pechurskiy made appearances in goal. VANCOUVER 10-4-3 (23 pts) 1st Northwest, 3rd West 6-0-1 Home, 4-4-2 Road 8-1-1 Last 10 PITTSBURGH 9-8-2 (20 pts) 3rd Atlantic, 5th East 3-5-1 Home, 6-3-1 Road 4-5-1 Last 10 MATCHUP The Canucks have owned the
NHL playing hardball with Kovalchuk Again; Torres signs with Canucks
Around the NHL The New Jersey Devils and Ilya Kovalchuk have agreed to the framework of a new deal in the range of 12-13 years but at this time both sides are not able to push forward with the deal. After Devils officials and agent Jay Grossman met with NHL officials on Monday, the NHL has not signed off on the framework of the deal nearly 48 hours later. Discussions though are ongoing between officials from both sides. A league source told me earlier in the week that the framework of the new deal has Kovalchuk’s cap hit closer to $7 million than the previously $6 million cap hit for the 17 year – $102 million deal that was rejected.
NHL: Los Angeles & Minnesota interested in Fedotenko?
Kaberle on the radar of Rangers, Wild, Capitals Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke will begin the process of listening to offers for defenseman Tomas Kaberle and once again Kaberle will be highly coveted. Whether he gets traded though remains to be seen due to his NTC. Among the early suitors, Kaberle is at the top of the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals wishlist. Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher has also been coveting Kaberle since the 2009 NHL entry draft but Kaberle nixed a potential deal to Minnesota last summer and will likely do the same again this winter. Burke is looking to sell high on Kaberle who has 35 points in 40 games this season. The asking
The Latest Penguins Draft Buzz; Opportunity to move up for the Penguins?
The Latest Draft Buzz Seven hours until the NHL draft begins and while Pittsburgh plans on staying put at #30, they have had discussions with the Vancouver Canucks (22) and the New York Islanders (26) about moving up a few spots. Vancouver is extremely interested in moving back and accumulating more picks. If Pittsburgh pursues this potential trade, it will be to land one of their top forward targets in Kyle Palmieri, U.S. Under-18 (USDP), Jordan Caron, Rimouski (QMJHL) Landon Ferraro, Red Deer (WHL) or Zach Budish, Edina High (USHS-Minn.) If Pittsburgh stays at #30 which appears very likely at this point, team officials will be thrilled if defenseman Simon Despres, Saint John (QMJHL) is available at #30. Pittsburgh has
Kings, Panthers, Canucks to make major play for Marian Hossa
Marian Hossa is in the middle of negotiations with the Detroit Red Wings on a 7 year deal worth $6 million per season but he will have the opportunity to cash in big during free agency. League sources claim LA Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi is prepared to break the bank to land Hossa as the Kings are seeking a top tier winger to play alongside Anze Kopitar. The Vancouver Canucks who made a 6 year offer to Hossa last summer will be in the mix again as Canucks forward Pavel Demitra, a close friend of Hossa will hope to lure Hossa to Vancouver. The other team being mentioned that are prepared to make a major offer to Hossa if