NHL: Free Agency, Trade, Injury, and Rookie News!

Islanders sign Robert Nilsson

Sports Ticker

8/30/2005 1:59:19 PM

UNIONDALE, New York (Ticker) - The New York Islanders are hoping right wing Robert Nilsson will have the same offensive touch as his father.

The Islanders on Tuesday signed Nilsson, the 15th overall pick in the 2003 draft, to a three-year contract.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Regarded as one of the top European forward prospects in his draft class, the 20-year-old Nilsson is the son of former NHL player Kent Nilsson, who had 264 goals and 686 points in 553 career games with the Atlanta and Calgary Flames, the Minnesota North Stars and Edmonton Oilers.

"I feel I'm ready to test myself against the NHL, so I'm really excited about signing a contract, coming to Long Island and being part of the Islanders," Nilsson said. "I'm coming to camp with the goal of making the team. I know it will be a challenge, but I'm ready for it."

Nilsson, who broke Swedish Elite League records set by NHL All-Stars Peter Forsberg and Markus Naslund with eight goals and 21 points in 41 games as a 17-year-old in 2002-03, had two goals and four assists in 23 games with Djurgardens of the SEL last season.

At the 2005 World Junior Championships, Nilsson finished second on the Swedish team with four points, including three assists.

"Robert adds another offensive dimension for us," Islanders general manager Mike Milbury said. "I like our forwards a lot, but I would consider Robert - even though he's just 20 years ago and still developing - as gifted a playmaker as anyone on our team. He opened the eyes of a lot of people at the World Junior Championships. We have monitored his progress closely and feel Robert has the physical ability to make the jump right into the NHL."
 

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Making the Cut winners ready for NHL camps

Canadian Press

8/30/2005 12:26:30 PM

Jordan Little has been preparing for his big chance for months, working nights as a server at a Boston Pizza restaurant to help pay for the personal trainer who has been whipping him into shape.

On Sunday, Little flies to Edmonton to step onto the ice with the Oilers - all because of a TV show.

Little was one of more than 4,000 hopefuls who entered the Making The Cut television series. On Dec. 14, 2004, with 18 finalists remaining, the six Canadian NHL teams each awarded one player a training camp invitation.

The six-foot-four, 240-pound University of Manitoba defenceman had so impressed Kevin Prendergast that the Oilers executive made him the No. 1 pick.

"I'm anxious to get out there, for sure," says Little, 23.

Little's jaw dropped when the Oilers traded for Chris Pronger on Aug. 3 - he just happens to be Little's favourite NHL player.

"I'm thankful," Little says of the unique opportunity. "I feel blessed.

"For me, it's a huge honour because Edmonton has been my favourite team."

Of the hundreds of men about to report to NHL camps, none are more excited than Little, Michael Mole (Ottawa Senators), James Demone (Vancouver Canucks), Matt Hubbauer (Calgary Flames), Kevin Lavallee (Montreal Canadiens) and Dominic Noel (Toronto Maple Leafs).

Little got to play in Edmonton the last month of the AHL season with the Roadrunners last spring, and he hopes he'll be back with them this season. The Oilers hope that's the case, too.

"They're anticipating that I'll be playing in their system," says Little. "I'm not kidding myself that I'll make the Oilers this year.

"My hope is to make their AHL team and show what I can do there and in the future move up to the big club."

Mole, 22, a goaltender from Moncton, N.B., who played in the OHL with Mississauga and Belleville and who helped St. Francis Xavier win the 2004 Canadian university championship, already is in Ottawa skating with players readying for the main Senators camp which opens Sept. 13.

"The closer it's getting the more excited I'm getting," he said. "I'm being treated as if I'm one of the guys on the team.

"The training staff has been great with me. Everything is first class. I've got a few friends with the team or in their organization so it's a comfortable feeling."

He was at a Buffalo Sabres camp a couple of years ago.

"It's nice to get another chance at it," he says. "(The Senators) have a few goalies in their system but I'm not going to try to figure out where I stand.

"I'm not going to play that game. That's out of my control. I'm just going to focus on my game and fight for spot in the organization. Basically, I'm playing for a contract."

He worked half-days at the Jon Elkin goaltending school in Mississauga and worked out at Mind To Muscle, a centre that trains athletes, in preparing for camp.

This chance has convinced him not to return to school.

"I'm taking a big step leaving university," he says. "It's all or nothing.

"I've made the decision to play pro. If there ever was a time to do it, this is it.

"I never felt I was given a fair opportunity in the past. It's not due to lack of talent. There's just guys that fall through the cracks. I've had a lot of success since those days (in junior hockey) but I've had a hard time getting people to take me seriously. You hear people say, `Goalies have a tendency of maturing later than other players,' and I might be a prime example of that."

Demone, a six-foot-six defenceman from St. Albert, Alta., played for the ECHL's Texas Wildcatters last winter.

Hubbauer, a five-foot-10 centre from Winnipeg and former Bisons teammate of Little, had a limited role with Toronto's AHL farm team last winter.

Lavallee is a six-foot-three defenceman from Montreal who played in Germany.

Noel is a six-foot-one centre from Lameque, N.B., who played at Dalhousie University after amassing 105 points in his last season of major junior with Cape Breton.

They've waited a long time for this chance.
 

Knightfall1972 said:
Demone, a six-foot-six defenceman from St. Albert, Alta., played for the ECHL's Texas Wildcatters last winter...
Click to expand...

Hmmm...rough situation for that kid. We need another defenceman now that Brent Sopel and Marek Malik were cleared out to make room for Scott Niedermeyer (who went elsewhere)

But we are so close to the cap that I'm not sure we could fit him in even at minimum salary :(
 



Transactions for Tuesday, August 30th

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim - Signed defenseman Kent Huskins and centre Geoff Peters to one-year contracts.

Boston Bruins - Announced defenseman Hal Gill accepted his one-year qualifying offer.

Edmonton Oilers - Acquired forward Yan Stastny from the Boston Bruins for a 2006 fourth-round pick.

New York Islanders - Signed right wing Robert Nilsson, their first-round pick in the 2003 draft, to a three-year contract.

New York Rangers - Agreed to terms with defenseman Bryce Lampman and center Dominic Moore.

Vancouver Canucks - Signed right wing Mike Brown and defensemen Brett Skinner and Prestin Ryan.

Washington Capitals - Signed defenseman Bryan Muir.
 

Bruins re-sign Hal Gill

Sports Ticker

8/30/2005 7:26:01 PM

BOSTON (Ticker) - Defenseman Hal Gill decided to stay near home.

The Boston Bruins announced that Gill agreed to a one-year qualifying offer on Tuesday.

Terms were not disclosed, but Gill did receive $2 million in 2003-04.

A native of Concord, Massachusetts, Gill has missed just 14 games due to injuries in his seven seasons with the Bruins. In 2003-04, Gill appeared in all 82 games, recording nine points and 99 penalty minutes while ranking second among club defensemen with a plus-16 rating.

The previous season, Gill led the entire team in that category with a plus-21 rating. "We're pleased that Hal signed his contract," Bruins general manager Mike O'Connell said. "Hal is one of our steadiest and most reliable players. He plays a lot of minutes and has been one of our highest (plus-rated) players as well over the past couple of NHL seasons."

An eighth-round pick of Boston in 1993, Gill has collected 19 goals and 68 assists with 464 penalty minutes in 546 career games.

Due to the lockout last season, Gill played in 31 games with Lukko Rauma in Finland, totaling 10 points and 110 penalty minutes.
 

Capitals sign Brian Muir

Associated Press

8/30/2005 4:38:10 PM

WASHINGTON (AP) - Defenceman Brian Muir signed a contract Tuesday with the Washington Capitals, who acquired him from the Los Angeles Kings this month.

Muir has five goals, 15 assists and 167 penalty minutes in 181 games over nine NHL seasons. He's played for the Kings, Oilers, Devils, Blackhawks, Lightning and Avalanche.

The six-foot-four, 220-pound Muir played in just two games for the Kings in the 2003-04 season. Los Angeles traded him to Washington on Aug. 12 for future considerations.
 

Report: Leafs' Pilar out 2-3 months

TSN.ca Staff

8/31/2005 9:16:04 AM

A Czech web site says Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Karel Pilar has suffered a recurrence of a heart condition that forced him to miss the final half of the 2002-03 NHL season and the first 16 games in 2003-04.

According to a report in The Globe and Mail, Pilar, 28, is expected to miss the first two to three months this season.

Pilar was reportedly working out this month in Prague when he experienced dizziness and did not feel well.

The Globe added that Czech doctors could not pinpoint the problem, so the Leafs flew him to Montreal to have him examined by a heart specialist.

The specialist concluded that Pilar has suffered another bout of viral myopathy, a condition that sees a virus in the heart stiffen the muscle to the point it does not pump enough blood to the body.

Pilar, a restricted free agent, is looking to recuperate in time for a December return.

Files from The Globe and Mail were used for this report
 

Coyotes' Hull gets quotes ready for season

TSN.ca Staff

8/31/2005 9:36:51 AM

Leave it to Brett Hull to provide his colourful outlook on hockey with the 2005-06 NHL season right around the corner.

The veteran forward, who signed a two-year deal with the Phoenix Coyotes last August and has a year remaining on his contract, addressed various issues with the Arizona Republic including retirement, general managers and coaching.

Hull, who has played 18 seasons in the NHL, said that while he admired former St. Louis linemate Wayne Gretzky for trying coaching, he was not one of the people who reportedly tried to convince Gretzky not to try coaching.

"I've only told Wayne Gretzky not to do one thing, and he didn't listen to me so I would never tell him not to do anything again," Hull said to the Republic.

"I told him not to come to St. Louis from Los Angeles and that (Blues coach Mike) Keenan was an idiot. He said (Keenan) wouldn't be an idiot once he got there. I said, 'He'll never change.'

"I was right."

Hull also said coaching was not something the future Hall of Famer would try.

"I'm not very calculated," the 41-year-old told the Republic.

"I'm a real emotional guy, and as people probably know after reading some of the things I've said over my career, I don't put a lot of thought into what I say, and I say what I feel at the moment. I don't think that's a real good quality for a coach."

Even with a year left on his current contract, Hull added that he wasn't t thinking about his retirement just yet.

"This is not my 'Farewell Tour,' " he told the Republic. "Now, in a month or two, you can talk to Gretz, and maybe he'll tell you that it is my 'Farewell Tour.' "

Hull has played in 1,264 games in his NHL career with Calgary, St. Louis, Dallas and Detroit, scoring 741 goals, 649 assists and 1,390 points. He has won two Stanley Cups in his career (1999 with Dallas and 2002 with Detroit).

Files from The Arizona Republic were used for this report.
 

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