NHL: Player News and Rumors (Thread finished)

Red Wings and Belfour still negotiating
Associated Press
7/11/2006 5:12:57 PM

DETROIT (AP) - Ed Belfour seems to want to play for the Detroit Red Wings, who appear to be interested in signing him.

All that's left is a contract both sides can agree on, giving the 41-year-old goaltender a new home with a team that has made finding a No. 1 goalie its top priority.

''I expect we'll be talking again today,'' Ron Salcer, Belfour's agent, said Tuesday afternoon. ''I'm waiting to hear back from them.''

A message seeking comment was left with Red Wings general manager Ken Holland, who did announce in a statement that the team had re-signed defenseman Brett Lebda to a four-year contract.

Detroit has needed a goalie since deciding against offering Manny Legace a contract to return after his strong regular season and poor postseason. The Red Wings have signed Chris Osgood, bringing him back as a backup.

Belfour had back surgery in April but cleared a physical with the Red Wings last week.

While there seems to be mutual interest between Belfour and Detroit, Red Wings spokesman John Hahn said the team has also been in contact with Dominik Hasek, a 41-year-old goalie and former Red Wing.

Belfour is coming off a lacklustre season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, going 22-22 with a 3.29 goals against average. He didn't play after March 10 because of his injured back, which had given him problems previously in his career.

The Maple Leafs declined to pick up the option on Belfour's contract in June, making him an unrestricted free agent. He was 93-61 with a 2.51 GAA in three seasons in Toronto.

Belfour has 457 career wins - trailing only Patrick Roy in NHL history - with Chicago, Dallas and Toronto. While playing for the Blackhawks, he won the 1991 and '93 Vezina Trophies, which recognize the top goalie in the league.

He has 88 playoff victories, a total behind just Roy, Grant Fuhr and New Jersey's Martin Brodeur. Belfour ranks fifth in league history with 14 post-season shutouts.

Hasek has had trouble staying healthy in the last two seasons of his stellar career. He was 28-10 last season with the Ottawa Senators, who lost his services after he injured his groin during the Olympics in Italy.

He underwent surgery to repair a serious groin injury before signing with the Senators as a free agent two years ago, then had an entire year to rest because of the NHL lockout.

During the 2003-04 season, Hasek played just 14 games for the Red Wings because of a groin injury. The six-time Vezina Trophy winner, with 324 career wins, helped Detroit win the Stanley Cup in 2002. He played for the Buffalo Sabres from the 1992-93 season through 2000-01.
 

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Team Canada News!

Great One likes Alberta coaches
Sportsnet.ca
July 11, 2006

Sportsnet.ca -- Wayne Gretzky says the two best Canadian hockey coaches today are found in Alberta and should be the early favourites to lead Team Canada at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games.

According to a report in the The Globe and Mail, Gretzky said Edmonton Oilers bench boss Craig MacTavish and Calgary Flames head coach Darryl Sutter should receive serious consideration for the job that is now 43 months away.

"There are lots of good Canadian coaches," Gretzky told the paper. "But when you look at what Craig and Darryl have accomplished with their teams the last few years, they absolutely should be the favourites. They coached their teams to the Stanley Cup finals and they coach in Canada, and right now they are the best Canadian coaches in the game."

Gretzky added that it will be two years before he makes a decision on whether he will return as the Canadian Olympic men's team executive director.

The possibility also exists that he himself could be behind the Canadian bench in 2010.

He was asked whether he could see himself behind the bench at the Vancouver Games or a future Olympics.

"Absolutely," he said. "But the one thing I have learned over the years is that you earn your stripes, and the only way I would coach the team is if I earned my way."

The Great One will have plenty of opportunity to do just that having recently signed a five-year extension to coach the Phoenix Coyotes.
 
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More NHLPA News!

NHLPA faces U.S. labour board charge
Sportsnet.ca
July 10, 2006

Sportsnet has learned that the National Labor Relations Board in the United States has issued a charge against the NHLPA for failure to disclose information to a member.

The NLRB concluded that "the unions failure in refusal to provide bargaining unit employees with copies of the complete current collective bargaining agreement with the NHL, including all "side letters" incorporated into that agreement, violated section 8 (b) (1) (A) of the act".

New York lawyer Bob Lanza filed the complaint early November on behalf of former NHL player Trent Klatt and a number of disgruntled NHLPA members.

The charge comes on the eve of Ted Saskin's first summer NHLPA meetings as Executive Director.
 

Forsberg may be back sooner than expected
Canadian Press
7/11/2006 5:37:26 PM

PHILADELPHIA (CP) - Finally some good news for Peter Forsberg.

The Philadelphia Flyers forward won't need a second off-season ankle surgery. That means he could be back playing in October instead of January as planned.

Forsberg has been plagued by injuries during his stellar career but got the good news about his ankle today after visiting a doctor in North Carolina.

The 32-year-old had 75 points in 60 games for Philadelphia last season.

The Flyers were one of the league's best teams when he played - they were 35-16-9 with him in the lineup.
 

Lightning sign Luke Richardson
TSN.ca Staff
7/11/2006 5:46:22 PM

TAMPA BAY - The Tampa Bay Lightning have signed defenceman Luke Richardson to a one-year, $500,000 contract.

Richardson, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound, 19-year NHL veteran, has accumulated 1,312 games in his career with Toronto, Edmonton, Philadelphia and Columbus. He has netted 33 goals and handed out 156 assists in his career which began in 1987 with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He has also played in 69 career Stanley Cup Playoff games and recorded eight assists. He split the 2005-06 season between Columbus and Toronto.

''Prior to trading Darryl Sydor to Dallas we had identified Luke as the player we wanted to bring into our organization to effectively take over Syd's role,'' Executive Vice President and General Manager Jay Feaster said. ''We made our contract offer to Luke and had to wait because we weren't the only team in the mix for his services. The ideal situation would have been to have Luke signed before we executed the trade. However, the trade would not wait. We made our deal and then did everything we could to convince Luke to choose Tampa as his destination.

''Not only did Claude Loiselle work hard with Luke's agents, but Director of Player Personnel, Bill Barber, had numerous conversations with Luke about the merits of playing in Tampa. In the end, Luke's relationship with Billy and also with Craig Ramsay went a long way in terms of influencing his decision. We view Luke as a very dependable, hard-nosed, honest, hard-working defenseman who brings a veteran presence to our blue line and our room. He is a rugged, gritty d-man who brings a physical presence and will be able to settle things down on the ice when necessary. We are thrilled to add him to the Lightning organization.''

Richardson, 37, played under Ramsay during the 1999-00 season when the Flyers went to the Eastern Conference Finals. He played in 18 games that postseason and recorded one assist. It was the second time in his career he reached the Conference Finals after playing 16 playoff games with Edmonton in 1992.

The Ottawa, Ontario native began the 2005-06 season serving as the Blue Jackets' captain for the second consecutive season. He played in 44 games with Columbus, scoring one goal and adding six assists. He was traded to Toronto on March 8 and played in 21 games with the Maple Leafs. He recorded three assists with 41 penalty minutes.
 

Panthers agree to terms with Horton
TSN.ca Staff
7/11/2006 5:58:50 PM

SUNRISE, Fla. - The Florida Panthers have agreed to terms on a one-year deal with forward Nathan Horton.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Horton, 21, was drafted by Florida with the third overall pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. During the 2005-06 campaign, Horton posted career highs in games played (71), goals (28), assists (19), points (47) and penalty minutes (89). On Dec. 13, 2005 versus Nashville, Horton became the youngest Panther ever to record a hat trick (20 years old).

''Nathan is a talented player with whom we are pleased to have reached a contract agreement,'' said General Manager Mike Keenan. "He is a very skilled and hard working offensive player that will play an important role in our club's success next season."

The Welland, Ontario native played in 55 games during his rookie season (2003-04) scoring 14 goals, including six power play goals. Horton became the youngest player in NHL history to score on a penalty shot on Jan. 8, 2004 at Philadelphia.
 

NHL News!

Hawks, Thrashers given more flexibility
Associated Press
7/11/2006 7:40:11 PM

ATLANTA (AP) - The Atlanta Hawks and Atlanta Thrashers were given significant added flexibility on Tuesday in their ability to trade and sign players.

The Maryland judge who last week ruled the teams couldn't sign a free agent to a deal longer than one year, changed that to four years. But the Hawks and Thrashers cannot go over the salary cap in order to sign a player.

It was not known what prompted the new ruling Tuesday from Montgomery County (Md.) Circuit Court Judge Eric Johnson.

''We now have the needed flexibility to be able to enter into player transactions for both teams,'' said Bernie Mullin, the president of the NBA and NHL clubs.

Mullin added that Hawks general manager Billy Knight and Thrashers general manager Don Waddell have been notified of the new ruling and will pursue deals in an effort to improve both teams.

Even before Tuesday's change, the Hawks and Thrashers were fairly confident they could put together rosters as planned for the coming year. The Hawks already had initiated negotiations with free agent point guard Speedy Claxton, and the team is expected to announce Wednesday that Claxton has been signed to a four-year deal. That was planned before Johnson's ruling.

The Thrashers had already finished most of their free-agent negotiations, too, for next season.

However, without the added flexibility, the Hawks likely would have had difficulty negotiating a sign-and-trade deal involving free agent forward Al Harrington. It would have been a significant blow to the team to lose Harrington without receiving any compensation.

Johnson's new ruling specified that the Hawks can enter a sign-and-trade deal that would bring the team a new contract of up to four years.

Last month, Johnson said Boston businessman Steve Belkin is entitled to buy the Hawks and Thrashers from his former co-owners. The judge has said the current ownership and management team should retain control while the appeals are heard.

Any new free-agent signing of more than four years during the appeal must now be approved by Belkin.

The judge has ordered the current owners to post an appeal bond of $11.4 million US to protect Belkin against any decrease in the value of the franchises during the appeal. Johnson said Tuesday the bond must be paid by July 20.

Johnson ruled last month the ownership group did not abide by the terms of an agreement to buy out Belkin. The judge said the group's actions triggered Belkin's right to buy them out.

The appeal of last month's ruling could last a year or longer.
 

CP is reporting that Darryl Sutter is stepping down as coach of the Calgary Flames. Jim Playfair will be the new coach and Wayne Flemming the new assistant defensive coach. I fifgured this would happen this season, but when it didn't happen right away, I thought maybe next season. This is good. As well as Darryl's done, GM/head coaches are not the best way to go, historically. Too bad it's not brother Brent coming in, but Playfair should do a decent job.
 

Agamon said:
CP is reporting that Darryl Sutter is stepping down as coach of the Calgary Flames. Jim Playfair will be the new coach and Wayne Flemming the new assistant defensive coach. I fifgured this would happen this season, but when it didn't happen right away, I thought maybe next season. This is good. As well as Darryl's done, GM/head coaches are not the best way to go, historically. Too bad it's not brother Brent coming in, but Playfair should do a decent job.

It kind of shocks me. I mean, usually coaches don't step down until they (A) Suck, or (B) the team has tuned them out.

I don't think Sutter matches either of those.
 

Teflon Billy said:
It kind of shocks me. I mean, usually coaches don't step down until they (A) Suck, or (B) the team has tuned them out.

I don't think Sutter matches either of those.

Well, he's stepping down to be the full-time GM. It's been the plan since he got here. Whether it was this off-season or next was the question.
 

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