Brad Richards sounds like he's on the outs with talk of Dan Boyle signing a big new contract.
With Boyle signing, Brian Campbell might be the top defenseman available among the potential UFAs.
It's becoming more and more apparent that Waddell won't be able to sign Marian Hossa, so he's likely going to be dealt.
From a Red Wings perspective, Fedorov has been a name connected with them as well as Hossa. They may also be in the hunt for defense help with Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall and Chelios all dinged up. Kronwall and Rafalski should be back sooner rather than later. Lidstrom is probably out another 2 or 3 weeks. Holland isn't denying that he's looking to make a move.
Just saw on ESPN that Sundin is not going to waive his no trade clause.
The Lightning would free up a great deal of money by moving Richards. It's not his fault they are so bad this year and his stats are mainly indicative of him playing with a shitty supporting case, but the extra money would help them retain Boyle, sign Lecavalier longterm, and get a better goalie.
So Sundin will not waive his no-trade clause? Yawn. He's a fool. I suspect that there are teams(Detroit,Calgary) willing to sell their souls to get Sundin. Maybe it's a ploy to drive up his value.
Speaking of NHL'ers past their prime, Rob Blake is is full-on trade bait. All I can say about Blake is that whomever gets him will horribly overpay to do so. Even when he was not really old, he was brittle. What really frightens me is that the Wings have been playing like a hot bucket of ass for weeks now, and they're down several bodies on D.
I hate to say it but, trading for Blake sorta makes sense.
On the other hand, McCabe is supposedly available. IMHO that's the one dude on the market that I think the Wings need and they can get. Hudler and Filpula are nice , but the Wings have a roster full of those type of players.
I wonder where Richards will end up since the Lightning have a 6.67 million cap hit each year now with Boyle re signing. Lecavalier is going to cash in soon and probably make around what Ovechkin just landed.
Holy shit...the Penguins just got Marian Hossa and Hal Gill. When Sid comes back...look out for the Pens in the East. The Thrashers get three young players in return...Armstrong, Christensen and Esposito.
Shoalzie wrote:Brad Stuart to Detroit for a 2nd and 4th round pick
Hell yeah. I love this trade. Stuart's a decent skater, can score, and plays with a little sandpaper. Best of all he's not another euro, of which the Wings are overstocked with.
detroit media is melting over stuart being the only acquisition, but i like it as well. they'll break the snide soon enough.
was really praying for the hawks to find someone to take the albatross known as khabibulin off their roster, but unless they were willing to settle for a fifth or sixth round draft pick to get that salary off their payroll, it wasn't going to happen. ruutu getting dealt wasn't a big surprise, dude hasn't played up to his potential since he joined the big club and was very on and off.
big winners: the crapitals. huge move to pick up huet and find another long term goalie for when kolzig hits the highway.
hal gill is still a human pylon that is only effective if you choose to skate into him. mccabe wasn't the answer for the wings either, not the mccabe of eight years ago.
This last game in Edmonton should hopefully be the end of this ugly stretch for the Wings. Stuart will debut on Friday and supposedly Kronwall and Rafalski will return and Hasek will make his first start since returning from his hip injury. Cleary still won't be back until the playoffs, Chelios is day-to-day and Lidstrom is probably out until the middle of March, I'd imagine. The Stars probably made the best trade of the Western teams yesterday and the Avs could be improved depending on which Forsberg they get. The thing I'm relieved is that Burke didn't make that big of a trade yesterday. Going forward, the Ducks are the favorite in the West and my pick to win it all...but I think the Wings (when healthy) and the Stars (when healthy) will challenge them. The Sharks are better but until they do something in the playoffs, their a second tier team in the West.
This is my rankings for the West after yesterday's activities:
