NHL: Player News and Rumors (Thread finished)

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Flames add Friesen to forward ranks
TSN.ca Staff
7/5/2006 12:32:28 PM

The Calgary Flames have signed free agent winger Jeff Friesen to a one-year, $1.6 million contract, adding another forward to bolster GM-head coach Darryl Sutter's goal-hungry club.

Friesen, 29, played last season with the Washington Capitals and Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals and 11 points in 51 games.

He has 11 NHL seasons under his belt with the Ducks, Capitals, New Jersey Devils and San Jose Sharks, scoring 212 goals and 504 points in 821 games.

 

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Hurricanes sign Cole to three-year deal
Canadian Press
7/5/2006 1:01:36 PM

The Carolina Hurricanes agreed to terms with their star winger on Wednesday, re-signing resricted free agent Erik Cole to a $12-million, three-year contract.

The 27-year-old had a career-high 30 goals and 59 points despite missing the final 22 regular-season games with a serious neck injury.

He returned for the final two games of the Stanley Cup final.

"Erik has developed into a dominant power forward," Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford said in a statement. "His size, speed and skill make him the ideal player for today's NHL, and he is one of the cornerstones of our team going forward."

 

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Hockey Hearsay
July 05, 2006

Carter likely done with Canucks
Searching for a three-year, $9 million deal, Anson Carter has likely priced himself out of a return to Vancouver.

According to the Vancouver Province, Carter, who had a breakout season playing between the Sedin twins, is looking for a three-year deal at roughly $3 million per year. The Canucks can only offer $1 miilion per year.

"I know where Anson is [in terms of how much money he wants] and if he's able to get any type of offers that he's hoping to get, then it's not going to work in Vancouver," said GM Dave Nonis.

Carter signed a $1 miilion deal last season in Vancouver and scored 33 goals.


Sens wouldn't budge from $6M offer for Chara
Zdeno Chara wanted to stay in Ottawa, but Ottawa apparently didn't want Chara enough for him to stay.

With 23 teams contacting Chara, 15 making offers and seven teams offering over $7 million, Chara was still willing to stay with the Sens for less but Ottawa would not budge from their initial offer of $6 million.

"I thought Ottawa would be really aggressive. In the last nine days before July 1, we never received a phone call," Chara told the Ottawa Sun. "Myself and (agent) Matt (Keator) were just sitting there and making all the calls.

"We told them, 'Let's talk and let's negotiate.' They said: 'Six million, you sign it or we're going to go the other way.' They did.

"They chose Wade (Redden). He's an unbelievable player and a great guy. He's a good leader and they made the right decision. They are saying that Wade took less to stay in Ottawa, but we both got offered $6 million and he didn't take less because he took $6.5 million."


Spacek leaving Edmonton
First Chris Pronger leaves Edmonton and now Jaroslav Spacek is packing up and heading out of town.

Spacek, who logged over 23 minutes a game and quarterbacked the powerplay told the Edmonton Oliers he won't be re-signing, reports the Edmonton Sun.

"Jaro is a good player, we were obviously interested in having him back, but we're not going to run out there and immediately make an offer on somebody else because we lost him," assistant GM Scott Howson told the Sun.

"We were willing to meet the price he was asking for, the money was similar on both sides, but he wanted to go to the other team for one reason or the other," said Howson. "It wasn't a case of he didn't like it here, but when you get to unrestricted and you get to choose your team, a lot of things can come into play. I didn't get the reason why he chose and, to be honest, I'm not very interested in it at this point."

 

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Arrgg!

Spacek leaves Edmonton to join Sabres
TSN.ca Staff with files
7/5/2006 3:11:54 PM

The Buffalo Sabres announced that they have agreed to terms on a multi-year deal with unrestricted free agent defenceman Jaroslav Spacek.

Spacek was a key member of Edmonton's run to the 2006 Stanley Cup Final, finishing second in scoring among NHL defenseman with 14 points in 24 games. He was eighth overall in power play scoring, 10th in blocked shots, and 10th in average ice time.

Spacek split the 2005-06 season between Chicago and Edmonton, collecting 43 points, 96 PIM and +11 in 76 games, while averaging 23:39 of ice time per game.

He scored 24 points in 45 games with Chicago, before being traded to Edmonton on January 26.

In 31 games with the Oilers, Spacek scored 19 points. He scored points in 14 of 31 games with Edmonton, and was plus or even in 19 of 31 games.

 

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Specek leaving Edmonton was expected, but it still makes me angry. Pronger insisting on leaving has given the city a black eye, IMO. Expect Radek Dvorak to sign with Buffalo, as well, although I won't be as upset about him leaving. He just couldn't score this year.

Peca is also guaranteed to leave, since the Oilers have brought back Reasoner to fill his position. Of course, there is always a chance that he might change his mind at the last minute, but I doubt it. Rem Murray might or might not return, but, as of yet, I haven't heard anything.

I expect Laraque to sign with Montreal, if the Oilers aren't willing to pay him the $1 Mil. he wants to stay in Edmonton. Dick Tarnstrom is deciding on whether to remain in the NHL or return home to Sweden to finish his career there.

Samsonov wants to stay and if the Oilers are willing to pay around $3.7 Mil. for his services then expect him to remain an Oiler.

Today is the deadline for opting for Salary Arbitration and, so far, only Shawn Horcoff has already opted for arbitration. Joffrey Lupul, Ales Hemsky, and Jarret Stoll are Edmonton's other restricted free agents that must decided whether or not to go to arbitration.

Both Todd Harvey and Igor Ulanov are listed as unrestricted free agents on the Edmonton Oilers homepage, which is interesting considering their contract weren't up on July 1st. Most likely the team bought out their contracts.

Edmonton Trade Rumors posted on the Edmonton Oilers Messageboard

- With the signing of Chara, the Bruins are going to have a hard time signing RFA Brad Stuart. Apparently he's hearing Brad Stuart to Edmonton for Robbie Schremp or Mark-Antoine Pouliot, Taylor Chorney and picks. Apparently the Bruins are higher on Pouliot because he is a safer bet to be a top six forward.

- The San Jose rumours floating around are more than just “Rumours”. My source tells me that there is more to the Bergeron-Ehrhoff deal. The Oilers and the Sharks are trying to hammer out a blockbuster. With Thronton taking the reigns as the undisputed #1 center in SJ, it would be in their best interest to trade Marleau for a cheaper #2 center. I’ve heard Marleau & Ehrhoff to Edmonton for Horcoff, Bergeron, Anaheim’s 1st round pick.

- The Oilers will make an offer to Chicago for Adrian Aucoin. The Blackhawks want Staios and young defensemen.

 

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Cloutier traded to Kings for draft picks
TSN.ca Staff
7/5/2006 4:14:22 PM

Just a week after signing new No. 1 netminder Roberto Luongo, the Vancouver Canucks have bid farewell to their former starter.

The Canucks and Los Angeles Kings have completed a deal that sends goaltender Dan Cloutier to L.A in exchange for a second-round draft pick plus a conditional draft pick.

The move reunites Cloutier with former Canucks head coach Marc Crawford, who was hired by new GM Dean Lombardi last month.

Cloutier suffered through a difficult season in 2006. After getting off to a 5-2-1 start in Vancouver, he was forced to miss five games with a concussion. Four games into his return, he suffered what was initially diagnosed as a sprained knee and was scratched for the next seven games before the team confirmed he had suffered a partially torn anterior cruciate ligament.

Cloutier will earn $2.55 million US next season, the final year of a two-year deal he signed with the Canucks.

 

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TSN.ca's "Ice Chips" column for today (July 5) has some interesting tidbits...
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/feature/?fid=10460&hubname=

Here are the highlights...

> Free agent goaltender Ed Belfour is expected in Detroit today. The Red Wings want to put him through a rigorous physical because he's 41 and coming off back surgery... Dominik Hasek, 41, is also on the market, and if the Wings decide to go the trade route, there's Buffalo's Martin Biron. San Jose's Evgeni Nabokov is the best of the available goaltenders, but because he just signed a four-year extension worth $21.5 million in February, the Wings would have to trade away a player of near-equal money to keep enough salary-cap room to fill other holes. The Wings have 13 players signed to contracts totaling $31.287 million against next season's $44-million cap. - Detroit News

> With Wednesday's 5 p.m. deadline looming for restricted free agents to file for arbitration, Devils GM Lou Lamoriello began negotiating Monday with center Scott Gomez's father/agent Carlos on a possible long-term deal. Lamoriello is also trying to find cap room to re-sign restricted free agent right wing Brian Gionta, who, like Gomez, can be unrestricted next year. The problem is the Devils already have more than $41 million committed toward the $44 million salary cap for next season. Teams can go as much as 10 percent over the cap until the first day of the regular season, but even that doesn't leave Lamoriello much wiggle room with restricted free agents David Hale and Paul Martin also to be re-signed (and also arbitration eligible) and the backup goalie spot still vacant. Gomez, 26, earned $2.204 million last year while Gionta, 27, earned $627,000 - Bergen Record

> While the Coyotes have been active in signing unrestricted free agents, they are not close in coming to terms with their own restricted players. The biggest name out there who has yet to re-sign is Ladislav Nagy. Nagy is arbitration eligible but his agent says playing in Europe next season is one of the options he and the 27-year-old forward are considering. Nagy made $1.976 million last year. The Coyotes made him a qualifying offer for the same amount last month. He is believed to be seeking a substantial raise, likely in the $3 million-$4 million range. - East Valley Tribune

 

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Islanders re-sign defenceman Bouchard
TSN.ca Staff with files
7/5/2006 4:08:13 PM

The New York Islanders have re-signed veteran defenseman Joel Bouchard to a one-year contract.

Bouchard is coming off his first season in the organization in 2005-06, when he played 25 NHL games after a mid-season recall.

"We're very happy that Joel is coming back for his second season with us," said Islanders Vice President and general manager Neil Smith.

"I was extremely impressed by Joel's commitment last season, when he returned from a serious shoulder injury earlier than anyone thought possible and was such a positive influence on our team. We really like the skill level, work ethic and leadership Joel brings to us."

The 32-year old Bouchard has played in a total of 364 NHL games in over parts of eleven seasons with Calgary, Nashville, Dallas, Phoenix, New Jersey, Pittsburgh, the New York Rangers and the Islanders. He has recorded 22 goals and 53 assists for 75 points and 264 penalty minutes in his career.

 

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Lindros hopes to return with Maple Leafs
Canadian Press
7/5/2006 4:47:42 PM

TORONTO (CP) - The Big E wants to return to the Toronto Maple Leafs and is waiting for the NHL club to decide whether the feeling is mutual.

Veteran centre Eric Lindros, an unrestricted free agent, says he spoke with Leafs GM John Ferguson on Tuesday night about possibly returning.

"We'll see how much (salary cap) space he's got and what he wants to do and who he wants to sign," Lindros said Wednesday. "We'll see where it goes.

"Hopefully we'll figure something out," Lindros added. "But I don't know what's going to happen."

Lindros said other NHL clubs have showed interest since he became a free agent last Saturday so he doesn't want to wait around all summer while the Leafs make up their mind.

"I've been in touch with John about a time frame and when it's time to move ahead," said Lindros, who earned $1.55 million US last season. "So we'll see what happens."

If the Leafs do re-sign him, Lindros returns to a much different dressing room. Gone are Ed Belfour, Tie Domi and likely Aki Berg, Jason Allison and Alexander Khavanov if the Leafs decide not to re-sign the unrestricted free agents.

The team has been busy in recent days, acquiring blue-liners Pavel Kubina and Hal Gill as well as starting goalie Andrew Raycroft.

"We got two big defencemen, that really helps us, and now it comes down to the forwards and what John wants to do up there," said Lindros. "But the team looks really good from the goaltender up to the defence, there's some spots up front that need to be addressed and I'm sure John will do that."

Lindros was speaking to reporters after taking part in Nike Bauer's off-ice training event at Rogers Centre, where several hundred aspiring young players took tips from Lindros as well as Leafs forwards Chad Kilger and Alexei Ponikarovsky, Ottawa Senators forward Chris Kelly and Matt Nichol, the Leafs' strength and conditioning coach.

Lindros got the loudest cheers from the kids on hand and it's clear playing for his hometown team remains the perfect fit for him.

"It's a wonderful place to play in," said the 33-year-old former Hart Trophy winner. "I got out of the gates pretty well last year but I didn't get to play that much last season and I'd like to come back and have a really strong season."

In fact, he was one of Toronto's better players early last season, but was sidelined by a serious wrist injury that ended up wiping out his year, a brief comeback late in the regular season abruptly ended after completely tearing the ligament in his wrist.

"I feel strong and healthy, my wrist will be 100 per cent, certainly by training camp," said Lindros, who had 11 goals and 11 assists in 33 games last season, his first in Toronto.

"It's a time issue, really," he said in explaining his rehab. "A ligament takes time to heal, but within that you're working on flexibility, you're working on wrist strength, your finger strength, everything that comes together with shooting a puck.

"I skated today for the first time in a while."

 

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Wild re-sign Gaborik to three-year deal
TSN.ca Staff
7/5/2006 5:39:39 PM

The Minnesota Wild announced Wednesday that the team has re-signed forward Marian Gaborik to a three-year deal contract.

Gaborik, 24, was a restricted free agent.

The Slovakian forward was drafted thrid overall by the Wild in 2000 and has 134 goals and 274 points in 360 career games.

In 65 games last season, he had 38 goals and 66 points.