12:05: Once the Blues missed out on Jason Blake, they came out of nowhere and pursued Paul Kariya to sign in St.Louis. The Penguins offer was substantially less than St.Louis. The Blues are believed to have offered Kariya a 3 yr deal worth over 5 million. The Penguins had a 3 – 12 million deal on the table. Vancouver was also a finalist.
11:54 – Hockeybuzz.com is reporting Paul Kariya has signed with the St.Louis Blues. Looks like money has won out. Looking into the money differences. Don’t really care that i was wrong because i was just posting what i was told around 11:00.
11:08 – Paul Kariya is “very” close to signing with the Penguins. I don’t like to ever do this to Penguins fans but take it for what its worth but i have just received word that it is close to a done deal. My source said “unless Paul wakes up and changes his mind he will be a Penguin tommorow”. St.Louis and Vancouver are the other finalists. I was also told that Buffalo did getting into the running today for Kariya but the loss of Drury and Briere have made the Sabres less enticing to free agents.
Andy Sutton is still a possiblity if Markov signs elseware…..
10:32 – The Penguins have received phone calls from the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames . The three teams are trying to unload salary. Glen Murray, Alexei Kovalev and Alex Tanguay are on the trading block i have received word. I saw on a Pens msg board that the buzzontheburgh is reporting the Penguins have been offered Murray, Tanguay, and Kovalev. Sorry if anybody misinterpreted the posting but there have been no offers from the three teams named above but all three teams made it known to the Penguins they are looking to move Murray, Kovalev, Tanguay’s salaries
The Penguins are waiting word from Kariya and Markov….
10:11 – The Penguins are on the verge of signing Danny Markov. 2 year deal has been offered. Chicago is also in the running.
Bill Guerin has been very quiet today. I did receive word the Penguins “might” take a look at Guerin if his price comes down and the Penguins miss out on Paul Kariya. Hey Brendan Shananhan is available. Can’t see the Rangers having the money to re-sign him. I ll bet he signs in Montreal
The Penguins did inquire about Victor Kozlov who signed with the Washington Capitals.
9:21 – Toronto is out of the running in the Paul Kariya sweepstakes. Down to Vancouver and Pittsburgh. Both are offering less money than Toronto, MTL and St.Louis but it is believed Kariya was not interested in going to Toronto because of the media crazyness….
Penguins are now talking to Danny Markov and Andy Sutton
Scott Hannan has signed with the Avalanche. 4yrs – 18 million
5:00 Paul Kariya’s final three teams are Pittsburgh, Vancouver, and Toronto. The Leafs are rumored to be offering the most money per season. The Penguins are offering 3 years/ It is believed Kariya is not very enticed about signing with the Leafs because of all the media crazyness. Kariya is a very private guy and is a reason he was very content in Nashville. Money usually wins out but Kariya made his money in Anaheim and at this point in his career is looking for the best situation.
Scott Hannan appears he could be on the verge of signing in Pittsburgh. When a player has his teams narrowed down to 2 or 3 teams you never know how its going to play out. I’m still hearing they have offered a 4yr deal around 3.5 million. Brian Rafalski signing in Detroit means Danny Markov will not be returning. The Penguins have inquired about Markov but no formal offer has been made.
Well see how these situations play out …….
