It’s that time of year people, and the rumour mills are running wild. On the eve of the NHL Entry Draft, rumours about trades and free agency are starting to heat up. Here is a brief rundown of a few of the latest.
The Sedin Twins. Although Canucks GM denies it, the rumours are rampant.
Markus Naslund will apparently become a free agent, and will not be re-signed.
Toronto acquired Jamal Mayers from the Blues for a 3rd round pick.
Bryan McCabe is rumoured to be on the block in Toronto. Cliff Fletcher, GM of the Leafs denies all.
Tampa Bay are rumoured to be trying to tie up top line centre, Vinnie Lecavalier to a multi-year deal.
The San Jose Sharks are rumoured to be contemplating shopping the rights to Brian Campbell before the draft.
The LA Kings are rumoured to have put Mike Cammalleri on the block.
The Ottawa Senators are rumoured to be wanting to trade Ray Emery, however there is also talk of a buy-out if a trade can not be found.
Wade Redden will most probably be leaving Ottawa if rumours prove to be true. Senators GM Brian Murray has confirmed he is open to the idea.
Pavel Kubina’s NTC is no longer an issue, so he may change teams before the season starts.
And what of the 2 most popular trade rumours?
Patrick Marleau has been talk of the town for a few years now, so trade rumours about the Sharks shipping him are not unheard of. At over $6 million a year, and declining offensive numbers it may be harder than it appears.
Florida captain Olli Jokinen apparently wants out of Florida, and is rumoured to have made it clear to Panthers management he wants a trade. Olli would be a positive addition to most NHL teams… but which one?
The Dallas Stars tried again to eliminate the San Jose Sharks today, but failed to achieve the task as the Sharks rallied to win in overtime, 3-2.
Jere Lehtinen opened the scoring for the Stars. Brenden Morrow put the Stars up 2-0 going into the third period. The 2nd period saw not one, but two waved off goals by Brenden Morrow. In the third Milan Michalek and Brian Campbell evened the score, taking the game to overtime, where Joe Pavelski netted the game winner in the 2nd minute of OT.
“Every game we lose, we give them more life, but I like our position better than theirs,” Morrow said. “The third period was our downfall. We have to move on, earn our breaks. We earned this 3-2 lead.”
- Yahoo! Sport
Click below to view the results of the following games played today.
Washington Capitals @ Philadelphia Flyers (G4)
Boston Bruins @ Montreal Canadiens (G5)
Anaheim Ducks @ Dallas Stars (G4)
Colorado Avalanche @ Minnesota Wild (G5)
Calgary Flames @ San Jose Sharks (G5) Full Story →
In order to view todays game results, please click the more button below. I have this in place in case there are some who do not wish to see the results.
Joe Pavelski and Milan Michalek led the San Jose Sharks to a new record tonight, defeating the Nashville Predators 2-1 on the road. The win, the Sharks 10th in row has them sitting atop the Pacific Division, 1 point ahead of the Dallas Stars and 4 points ahead of the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Anaheim Ducks.
The Sharks, 10-0-0 in their last 10 games have been surging since acquiring Brian Campbell from Buffalo at the Trade Deadline. They have been favorites to win the cup since the beginning of the season, and are starting to make the push at the right time of the season.
“It is a battle in that Pacific Division,” said Joe Thornton, the team’s leading scorer. “I believe we’re going real good right now, and it’s a good time to play those good teams and see how good we actually are.”
Three key factors have put San Jose on track. First, Jonathan Cheechoo is healthy. Second, Patrick Marleau rediscovered his game. And last, the addition of defenseman Brian Campbell at the trade deadline added a new dimension to the team. - Yahoo! Sports
Threatening the Sharks for the Division Title are the Dallas Stars who are 6-4-0 in their last 10 games. The Stars made big news recently by acquiring Brad Richards from Tampa Bay in a blockbuster move at the Trade Deadline. The Stars have been leading the Division for the last month, but a few recent losses now see them having to compete hard to win the Division.
4 points back from the Sharks sit the Anaheim Ducks, who have also started to make a push. They are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. The Ducks have been on again off again however and will need to push harder if they wish to compete with the Sharks and Stars.
The Sharks have 2 games in hand over both the Stars and the Ducks which could put them a few points ahead of their Division Rivals come the end of March.
2 Blockbuster trades highlighted todays Trade Deadline, with Tampa Bay moving Brad Richards to the Dallas Stars in a 5 player deal and also Atlanta Thrashers doing a 5 player deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Here is a full list of todays known trades.
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING traded Brad Richards & Johan Holmqvist
to the
DALLAS STARS in exchange for Mike Smith, Jeff Halpern, Jussi Jokinen & a 4th round draft pick
ATLANTA THRASHERS traded Marian Hossa & Pascal Dupuis
to the
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS in exchange for Erik Christensen, Colby Armstrong, Angelo Esposito & a 1st round draft pick
LOS ANGELES KINGS traded Jean-Sebastien Aubin
to the
ANAHEIM DUCKS in exchange for a 7th round draft pick
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS traded Chad Kilger
to the
FLORIDA PANTHERS in exchange for a 3rd round draft pick
NEW YORK RANGERS traded Al Montoya & Marcell Hossa
to the
PHOENIX COYOTES in exchange for David LeNeveu, Fredrik Sjostrom, Josh Gratton & a Conditional Pick
NEW YORK ISLANDERS traded Marc-Andre Bergeron
to the
ANAHEIM DUCKS in exchange for a 3rd round draft pick
NEW YORK ISLANDERS traded Chris Simon
to the
MINNESOTA WILD in exchange for a 6th round draft pick
LOS ANGELES KINGS traded Brad Stuart
to the
DETROIT RED WINGS in exchange for a 2nd round draft pick and a 4th round draft pick
ST LOUIS BLUES traded Christian Backman
to the
NEW YORK RANGERS in exchange for a 4th round draft pick
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS traded Hal Gill
to the
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS in exchange for a 2nd round draft pick and a 5th round draft pick
VANCOUVER CANUCKS traded Matt Cooke
to the
WASHINGTON CAPITALS in exchange for Matt Pettinger
SAN JOSE SHARKS traded Rob Davidson
to the
NEW YORK ISLANDERS in exchange for a 7th round draft pick
WASHINGTON CAPITALS traded Ted Ruth
to the
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS in exchange for Sergei Fedorov
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS traded Adam Foote
to the
COLORADO AVALANCHE in exchange for a 1st round draft pick
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS traded Martin Lapointe
to the
OTTAWA SENATORS in exchange for a 6th round draft pick
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS traded Tuomo Ruutu
to the
CAROLINE HURRICANES in exchange for Andrew Ladd
FLORIDA PANTHERS traded Ruslin Salei
to the
COLORADO AVALANCHE in exchange for Karlis Skrastins & a 3rd round draft pick
MONTREAL CANADIENS traded Cristobal Huet
to the
WASHINGTON CAPITALS in exchange for a 2nd round draft pick
SAN JOSE SHARKS traded Steve Bernier & a 1st round draft pick
to the
BUFFALO SABRES in exchange for Brian Campbell & a 7th round draft pick
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS traded Wade Belak
to the
FLORIDA PANTHERS in exchange for a 2008 5th found draft pick
ST LOUIS BLUES traded Byrce Salvador
to the
NEW JERSEY DEVILS in exchange for Cam Janssen
Joe Pavelski and Milan Michalek led the San Jose Sharks to a new record tonight, defeating the Nashville Predators 2-1 on the road. The win, the Sharks 10th in row has them sitting atop the Pacific Division, 1 point ahead of the Dallas Stars and 4 points ahead of the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Anaheim Ducks.
2 Blockbuster trades highlighted todays Trade Deadline, with Tampa Bay moving Brad Richards to the Dallas Stars in a 5 player deal and also Atlanta Thrashers doing a 5 player deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
