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

Report: Kovalchuk seeks contract in Russia

Sports Ticker

9/10/2005 4:19:19 PM

ATLANTA (Ticker) - The Atlanta Thrashers parted ways with one of their two superstar forwards. They may be doing the same with their other shortly.

According to a report on the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's website Saturday, restricted free agent Ilya Kovalchuk will begin pursuing a contract with a team in his native Russia.

Agent Jay Grossman told the Journal-Constitution a deal could be reached early next week. On August 23, the Thrashers traded right wing Dany Heatley to Ottawa for Marian Hossa and defenseman Greg de Vries.

Should he sign a contract with a Russian team, Kovalchuk - who made $1.13 million in 2003-04 - can negotiate freely with the Thrashers until October 5, the opening day of the NHL season. Beyond that date, the 22-year-old must clear waivers before returning to Atlanta, but he undoubtedly would be claimed by another team.

Atlanta general manager Don Waddell expressed his desire to reach an agreement with Kovalchuk but would not divulge the gap between the team's offer and the player's request.

"We want him in Atlanta, he wants to be in Atlanta. We're going to do everything we can to make it happen," Waddell told the newspaper on Friday. "I'd say we have a difference (in monetary demands) right now."

The first overall pick in the 2001 draft, Kovalchuk has been a dynamic offensive player for the Thrashers, collecting 108 goals and 205 points over his first three seasons. In 2003-04, the native of Tver made his first All-Star appearance and was a co-winner of the Maurice Richard Trophy after netting 41 goals in 81 games.

Kovalchuk scored 29 goals as a rookie in 2001-02 and increased the total by nine the following season. However, he has a tendency for defensive lapses, which have landed him on the bench for extended periods of time during games.

The Thrashers open training camp Monday and play their first exhibition game September 18 against Montreal. Atlanta begins the 2005-06 season at Florida on October 5.
 

log in or register to remove this ad

Reports: Messier expected to retire

TSN.ca Staff with files

9/10/2005 2:49:16 PM

It looks like the 2005-06 NHL season will begin without the league's second-leading scorer of all time.

According to the New York Post, Mark Messier is done playing after 25 seasons in the NHL.

Other newspaper reports say that the future Hall of Famer will not be reporting for a training camp physical with the New York Rangers on Monday, and may take the opportunity to announce his retirement from hockey.

Messier, who turns 45 in January, has not officially informed the Rangers of his decision.

His NHL career with the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks has been decorated with endless awards, trophies and international accolades.

Messier, who in 1994 captained the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup in 54 years, has played 1,756 NHL games, second by 11 games to Gordie Howe's 1,767. He ranks seventh on the all-time goals list, third with 1,193 assists and second behind long-time teammate Wayne Gretzky with 1,887 points.

Messier is a two-time Hart Trophy winner as the league's most valuable player, has appeared in 15 All-Star Games and was a member of six Stanley Cup-winning teams. He is the only player to captain two different teams to championships.

Messier's most recent NHL appearance in April of 2004 may have been his last, as he left the ice at Madison Square Garden with applause and cheers from teammates, family, friends, fans and even the visiting Buffalo Sabres.
 

Stumpy is back home

09/10/2005

Steve Thomas has accepted the Toronto Maple Leafs' invitation to attend camp on a tryout basis.

Sportsnet.ca -- With the Maple Leafs lacking both depth on the wings and veteran leadership, Toronto has added a familiar face to their training-camp roster.

Steve Thomas has accepted the Toronto Maple Leafs' invitation to attend camp on a tryout basis.

Thomas told Sportsnet, "My intention is to eventually sign a contract and play this season for the Toronto Maple Leafs."

In 2003-04, the Toronto native had 10 goals and 12 assists in 44 games while suiting up for the Detroit Red Wings.

This will be Thomas' third stint with his hometown squad. The fan-favourite began his career in a Leafs' uniform before spending time with the Wings, Blackhawks, Islanders and Devils. The veteran has played 20 seasons in the NHL netting 421 goals while setting up another 512.
 



Messier retires after 25 NHL seasons

Canadian Press

9/12/2005 2:04:56 PM

NEW YORK (CP-AP) - Mark Messier is calling it quits.

The 44-year-old announced his retirement Monday, ending a career that stretched 25 NHL seasons and produced six Stanley Cup rings and the second most points in NHL history.

Messier called it a tough decision, because he was still healthy. But he said the fact he could leave the game in good condition also influenced his decision.

"For me it's been a long career, I achieved a lot," he said during a conference call Monday. "There was really nothing left for me to achieve, it was just time for me to move aside and go on to something else."

The two-time league MVP (1990 and '92) played for Edmonton, Vancouver and most recently the Rangers in a stellar career that featured 694 goals, 1,193 assists and 1,887 points in 1,756 games. He ranks second only to Wayne Gretzky in scoring.

Known as the Moose, Messier was renowned for his leadership skill. He and Wayne Gretzky led the Oilers in their halcyon years and then Messier brought the Cup to the Big Apple as a Ranger.

The Edmonton native joined the Oilers for the 1979-80 season after stints in the World Hockey Association with Indianapolis and Cincinnati.

The Rangers plan to retire Messier's number on Jan. 12.

Messier became a star in Edmonton in the 1980s and won five Cups with the Oilers. He became a headliner on Broadway in the '90s, captaining the New York Rangers to the '94 championship that ended the team's 54-year title drought.

Even though the official announcement came Monday, Messier all but said goodbye on March 31, 2004, following the Rangers' final home game before the lockout that wiped out all of last season.

The Rangers held physicals for their players Monday at the opening of training camp, but the longtime star never expressed intentions to return for another season.

But Rangers general manager Glen Sather, the architect of the Oilers' dynasty that was spearheaded by Messier and Gretzky, always left room for the rock-jawed captain to come back.

Messier teamed with Gretzky to win four championships in Edmonton during the 1980s and then won another in 1990 after Gretzky was traded to Los Angeles.

He trails only Gretzky in playoff goals and assists, but he topped the Great One by adding one post-season guarantee that took him to heightened status in Manhattan.

With the Rangers trailing New Jersey 3-2 in the 1994 Eastern Conference finals, Messier promised New York would force a seventh game. He made good on his word by posting his fourth and final playoff hat trick in a 4-2 victory.

New York won Game 7 in double overtime to advance to the final, which also ended with a seventh game victory.

His second stint with the Rangers, which covered the final four seasons of his career, wasn't nearly as successful. New York failed to make the playoffs in any of the years. Messier played in the post-season during his first 13 NHL years, before New York missed in 1993.

After leaving the Rangers following their most recent playoff appearance in 1997, Messier was out of the playoffs for the next seven years - including three with Vancouver.

He leaves 970 fewer regular-season points than Gretzky and 37 more than Gordie Howe, who sits in third place.

"I never thought about any individual records," Messier said. "Coming back to break any records, especially that record wasn't all that appealing to me."

Messier always did things on his terms, and his retirement is no different. After a year off, he wasn't spurred to play again even though he is only six goals away from 700 - a mark reached by only six players - and 11 games short of tying Howe's record of 1,767.

Edmonton GM Kevin Lowe, Messier's longtime teammate on the great Oilers teams, tried to convince him to return to his hometown for a farewell tour. But Messier really only considered playing in New York, where he has a young family.

Messier was showered with applause from teammates, family, friends, fans and even the Buffalo Sabres when he skated off the ice for what turned out to be his final game 18 months ago, a 4-3 loss at Madison Square Garden.

Messier and Gretzky have always been linked, whether on the ice or in the record book. Messier scored 109 playoff goals, 13 fewer than Gretzky, and set up 186 others - 74 fewer than Gretzky, now the Phoenix Coyotes coach.

But the second partnership lasted just one year as Messier left the Rangers for Vancouver as a free agent following a surprising run with Gretzky to the Eastern Conference finals.

When Sather took over as Rangers GM in 2000 he brought Messier back. Messier scored his final goal in his final game, No. 698 with the Rangers.

The inability to rekindle success in New York and the departure of close friend Brian Leetch, who was traded to Toronto as part of the Rangers' salary dump of 2004, surely pushed Messier to his final goodbye to Broadway.
 

Panthers re-sign Jokinen and Van Ryn

TSN.ca Staff with files

9/12/2005 8:43:15 AM

The Palm Beach Post reports that the Florida Panthers have agreed on one-year contracts with centre Olli Jokinen and defenceman Mike Van Ryn.

Jokinen's agent, Mark Gandler, declined to reveal financial details, but told the paper, "it's a one-year deal and everybody's happy."

Jokinen will be an unrestricted free agent next year and the Panthers can negotiate a long-term deal with him beginning Jan. 1.

Van Ryn agreed to the Panthers' qualifying offer of $1.64 million, according to his agent, Pat Morris. The Post adds that the Panthers agreed to make it a one-way deal so Van Ryn would not take a $35,000 salary if he were sent to the minors.

In 2003-04, Jokinen and Van Ryn were the team's top two scorers, with 58 and 37 points, respectively.

Defenceman Jay Bouwmeester is the team's remaining unsigned restricted free agent.
 

Canadiens ink Ryder to one-year deal

Canadian Press

9/12/2005 3:06:30 PM

MONTREAL (CP) - The Montreal Canadiens have re-signed winger Michael Ryder to a $1-million US, one-year deal.

The Habs open training camp Tuesday.

Ryder was the last Montreal player to re-sign. The 25-year-old St. John's native was a nominee for the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 2003-04 after scoring 25 goals and adding 38 assists in 81 games.

He was Montreal's eight-round pick, 216th overall, in the 1998 entry draft.
 

Hockey Hearsay: Smyth, Oilers still far apart

Sportsnet.ca

September 12 @ 9:00 AM

The Edmonton Oilers and their Ryan Smyth are still no closer to a long-term deal.

According to the Edmonton Sun, although offers are still on the table for multi-year deals, it appears more and more that the two sides will agree to a pre-approved one year fallback deal for slightly more than Smyth's $2.698 million qualifying offer.

"If we can't come to terms, we've got the one-year deal in place," Smyth told the Sun. "We've made strides and they've made strides trying to get this done."
 

Star junior defenceman Dion Phaneuf ready to make jump to NHL

Sportsnet.ca

September 12 @ 14:12, EST

CALGARY (CP) - Defenceman Dion Phaneuf has wasted little time impressing the Calgary Flames.

While the main camp begins with on-ice sessions Tuesday, the former star with the Red Deer Rebels has already turned heads at the Flames' prospects camp.

The six-foot-two Edmonton native arrived with an impressive resume. He was awarded the Bill Hunter Memorial Trophy last season as the Canadian Hockey League's top defenceman and distinguished himself at the world junior championship with some thumping hits.

As president of the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Knights, Calgary's new farm team, Doug Soetaert would love to see the hulking blue-liner suit up in the American Hockey League.

But in his other role as assistant GM of the Flames, Soetaert says that's not going to happen.

"No chance," said the former GM of the Western Hockey League's Everett Silvertips, who saw Phaneuf in action several times as a member of the Rebels. "He's a hell of a hockey player. He's a kid that's got unlimited potential. I don't see him going south."

Phaneuf did what Flames coach and GM Darryl Sutter expected him to at the prospect camp, which wrapped up Monday while veterans reported to camp for fitness testing and medical examinations.

"He's had a good summer of training," Sutter said. "He's ready to go. He's 215 pounds and that's the weight we want him at."

Sutter has high expectations for Calgary's first-round pick (ninth overall) in the 2003 NHL draft.

"I've watched Dion Phaneuf play a lot of hockey, probably over 100 games in the last three years, so I know where he's going to take his game."

After his Rebels were eliminated from the WHL playoffs in the first round, Phaneuf returned home to rest up after a gruelling season. He then dedicated himself to preparing himself for his first pro campaign.

"You can never be quick enough, you can never be strong enough and that was one of my goals when I went back after the season," Phaneuf said. "I wanted to have a good summer of training and come in as best shape as I could and I feel I did that."

After competing against him for five days during prospect camp, forward Dustin Boyd said he believes Phaneuf has what it takes to play for the Flames.

"He's got the size and the speed and the strength to play in the show," said Calgary's third-round pick (98th overall) in the 2004 draft. "He's got all the tools to make it."

As a forward with the WHL's Moose Jaw Warriors, Boyd has gone up against Phaneuf several times over the past few seasons. With the pair playing on opposite squads in the prospect camp, their on-ice battles continued during scrimmages Friday and Sunday.

"I tried hitting him there and he's pretty solid on his feet and he kind of knocked me over," said Boyd, who hopes to follow in Phaneuf's footsteps and make the Canadian squad for the 2006 world junior championships in Vancouver.

Goalie Brent Krahn, chosen ninth overall by Calgary in the 2000 draft, is also a believer.

"He has all the tools to play in the NHL," Krahn said. "I think everybody sees that. For a guy like me to have a guy like Dion playing in front of me, it definitely makes you feel good because you know he's going to take care of the extra whacks and hacks."

Because of his hard-hitting style, Phaneuf has been compared Scott Stevens. He has also drawn comparisons to Al MacInnis for his booming shot.

"Anytime you can model (yourself after) or set goals to be like any one of those two guys, it's definitely big shoes to fill," Phaneuf said about the recently retired NHL all-stars. "They were great for the game and they had very good careers. They both were guys that everyone wanted to have on their team."
 

Remove ads

Top