Notebook Buzz
The Toronto Maple Leafs have hired former Ducks GM Brian Burke. Is Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish on the hot seat? Hossa over Franzen?
Craig MacTavish‚Äôs job is officially on the line in Edmonton, as it appears the Oilers head coach is beginning to lose his players‚Äô interest after eight seasons behind the bench according to Sportsnet.Ca. “But a high ranking source within the organization said Thursday that the Oilers will make a trade to try to shake up their lineup before firing their head coach, whose team has struggled out of the gate at 9-10-2 and sits in last place in the Northwest Division.” A veteran Oilers player, who requested anonymity added: “Maybe a trade, then the coach. After this long, a change might be good.” — Sportsnet.CA,
The Toronto Sun reports, the Toronto Maple Leafs have signed Brian Burke as their new team president and general manager. The deal is believed to be for six years at $3 million per season and could be announced either today or Saturday according to the report.
Superstar Marian Hossa has been the Detroit Red Wings best player since opening night but the Wings are going to find it very difficult to retain Marian Hossa and others. With a struggling economy that will likely effect the salary cap, the Red Wings are greatly affected by this because they’ve got four players — Henrik Zetterberg, Marian Hossa, Johan Franzen and Mikael Samuelsson — eligible to be unrestricted free agents next summer and another, Jiri Hudler, who can be a restricted free agent. Dave Dye reports Red Wings GM Ken Holland believes realistically he can only re-sign two of his three top potential unrestricted free agents due to cap restrictions. — Detroit News
Take: Zetterberg will be the Wings top priority and resigning Hossa and Franzen is going to be very difficult. Franzen has proved to be a tough negotiator and could seek up to $6 million on the open market.
