The NHL entry draft is off and running and the New York Islanders selected John Tavares – C – London, with the first overall pick.
The selection has set the stage in what will lead to a flurry of activity. The major move so far has been the Philadelphia Flyers acquiring Anaheim Ducks defenseman Chris Pronger
For the Penguins who select at #30, it is very quiet in the Penguins draft headquarters right now but they are receiving inquiries.
Live Updates appear at the bottom of the page
10:47 p.m. – Lightning have found a trade partner in Detroit — They are looking to go forward and will take Ashton or Ferraro.
10:43 p.m. – Ruslan Fedotenko is mulling over the Penguins offer. Will make his intentions known by Monday. I’m told talks went well today according to a source involved in talks. I’ll have an article up later tonight.
10:38 p.m. – Right winger Landon Ferraro remains on the board. A player Pittsburgh expected to go within picks 18-22. Even though Mario Lemieux is not a big fan of Landon’s dad, Ray Ferraro, that won’t play a factor into anything.
10:35 p.m. – Another top target off the board for the Penguins in Kyle Palmieri as the Ducks selected the talented forward at #26.
10:32 p.m. – St. Louis, Calgary and Philadelphia were the top landing spots for Zach Budish but I’m hearing he could be the DeJuan Blair of the NHL draft and could fall to the second round because of knee injuries/concerns. Pittsburgh has targets still on the board that they have rated higher than him.
10:30 p.m. – Jordan Caron off the board as the Bruins select him at #25. Was a top target for Pittsburgh.
10:22 p.m. – I was told from a source with the Penguins that the Lightning have offered their two second picks to every team that remains on the board in the first round. The Lightning own the 32nd, 52nd pick in the second round.
10:19 p.m. – Pittsburgh is thrilled on how picks 15-22 are going and they will get a high value pick at #30.
10:07 p.m. – A lot of insiders are surprised that Jordan Schroeder lasted until pick #22
10:05 p.m. – Lightning are offering their two second round picks to get back into the first round.
10:04 p.m. – Interesting that all key members of the Lightning front office remain at their draft table and there is a lot of speculation that a deal could go down before the end of the draft. This place will go crazy if it involves the Lightning.
10:03 p.m. – Leafs representive was seen speaking to a member of the Penguins draft table
9:51 p.m. – Calgary and New Jersey have swapped picks. Could be Kyle Palmieri but he is not the best value at this pick.
9:41 p.m. – I’ll have an article up in a bit on some quotes from Flyers GM Paul Holmgren. Flyers PR Staff are saying the days of Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby roaming around in the offensive zone against the Flyers are over.
9:30 p.m. – Rumor making the rounds that Pittsburgh has a press conference scheduled for Monday. Looking into it.
9:26 p.m. – Vancouver wants Pittsburgh’s 3rd round (63), 4th round pick to swap first round picks. Not going to happen.
9:22 p.m. – Chuck Fletcher makes his first pick as an NHL GM and selected Minnesota native Nick Leddy (D). Leddy was the first American picked in the draft. This is the first time since 1993 that an American skater was not taken in the first 10 picks
9:20 p.m. – The Ducks just selected Peter Holland with the 15th overall pick. Major reach but picks 15-30 are so unpredictable.
9:14 p.m. – Still very quiet at the Penguins draft table. Shero has only left his seat once and that was to talk to Chuck Fletcher.
9:11 p.m. – Some of my league sources who have speculated that it was a slam dunk that Bill Guerin would sign by July 1, are now coming around to the talk that Guerin may wait to see Pittsburgh has cap space for them. Pittsburgh would like to sign him before FA but the two sides have not come to an agreement on the amount of money per season.
Robert Murray is still in Montreal, and I would expect Shero and Murray to touch base again in the morning.
9:00 p.m. – Bob Gainey was just over at the Panthers table. Could be swapping picks although the Habs have been in on Bouwmeester. Everyone seems very surprised his rights haven’t been moved.
8:58 p.m. – Add the Blue Jackets to the list of teams interested in Ruslan Fedotenko. They have inquired about his rights along with the Wild.
8:52 p.m. – The Islanders have acquired the #12 selection. Minnesota receives picks 16, 77, 182
8:50 p.m. – The Flyers front office is very confident that the team will sign Chris Pronger to an extension. Paul Homgren just told the media that he will begin talks with Pronger after the weekend.
8:42 p.m. – Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson was a great pick for the Oilers who will continue to play a wideopen game under Pat Quinn.
8:35 p.m. – Minnesota is very high on Jordan Schroeder but Nashville may nab him at #11.
8:32 p.m. – Ray Shero was just speaking to Chuck Fletcher about three minutes ago. Talks with Fedotenko went well today according to his agent, for now I’m not looking much into it.
8:15 p.m. – The top five went as expected. The Islanders PR staff did a great job of fooling the New York media that the team was taking Matt Duchene. Never believed it one bit.
8:04 p.m. – The Belle Center is electric as Habs fans are waiting for the Habs to make a major move. Pretty Quiet on Lecavlier right now.
After some problems with my internet connection at the Belle Center, we should be ready to go.
