NHL: Player News and Rumors (Thread finished)

AHL may make facial protection mandatory
TSN.ca Staff
6/27/2006 3:10:13 PM

It looks as though the face of the game will be changing, at least at the minor league level.

Sources say the American Hockey League is preparing to make the use of facial protection mandatory for every player, including those from the NHL who are assigned to the AHL during the season.

The AHL is currently conducting its annual meeting in Hilton Head, S.C., and a vote on the visor issue is expected to take place tomorrow. The sense is that there is enough support amongst the AHL governors to enact the new rule, which would force every player, regardless of age or experience, to wear a visor in all AHL games beginning next season. There apparently is no provision to allow for “grandfathering,” that is, giving existing pro players the option and mandating it only for new players entering the league.

This potential move to mandatory visor use comes in the wake of Portland Pirate player Jordan Smith losing an eye as a result of being struck by a puck earlier this season. Smith, a first-year pro who was a top prospect of the NHL's Anaheim Ducks, was forced to retire because of the injury.

While the NHL has no plans to adopt the same rule, there is a possibility the NHL could change its rules on facial protection during the off-season.

To what extent that happens depends upon player reaction to the visor issue at the NHLPA's annual meeting in Whistler, B.C. next week. It's expected the NHLPA membership will be asked to vote on whether they would approve a rule that would force all new players coming into the NHL to wear a visor, but would allow all existing NHL players the right to choose.

If the NHLPA membership voted in favour of that, it's believed the NHL would adopt the new rule in time for play in the fall. If, however, the NHLPA membership rejects it, the league has no authority to unilaterally impose the rule.
 

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MacTavish, Oilers talk multi-year deal
Canadian Press
6/27/2006 6:24:10 PM

EDMONTON (CP) - The Edmonton Oilers are negotiating to sign head coach Craig MacTavish to a long-term deal.

MacTavish will be a free agent come Saturday after the Oilers declined to pick up his contract option following the regular season.

"Both Craig and I knew it was important for the team to have success this year. So we wanted to wait for the season to end before we made any decisions," Oilers GM Kevin Lowe told The Canadian Press on Tuesday.

Oilers president and chief executive officer Patrick LaForge believes MacTavish will remain with the club.

"I'm 100 per cent confident we will get it wrapped up within the next week," LaForge told the Edmonton Journal in Tuesday's edition. "I don't think anybody should read anything into it (the option not being picked up)."

The Oilers did pick up the options on assistant coaches Charlie Huddy, Bill Moores and Craig Simpson.
 

Bruins relieve Sullivan of duties
Canadian Press
6/27/2006 6:00:38 PM

BOSTON (CP) - The Boston Bruins relieved Mike Sullivan of his coaching duties Tuesday in an announcement that was hardly surprising given the team has been interviewing candidates to replace him.

New Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli has interviewed former Toronto Maple Leafs coach Pat Quinn and former Detroit Red Wings coach Dave Lewis and planned to speak to other candidates as well.

The announcement Tuesday was made by Bruins interim GM Jeff Gorton as Chiarelli remains under contract with Ottawa until July 15.

''Peter had not met Mike prior to coming to Boston and he felt that it was incumbent upon him to get to know Mike before making a decision on the coaching situation,'' Gorton said in a statement. ''Mike went to Ottawa a couple of weeks ago and they had a good discussion about the game and how it needed to be played in order to have success. Peter advised Mike that he would be talking to other candidates. He went through that process and his decision was that at this time we are better served to have a clean slate.

''Peter communicated to us that he has talked to candidates and expects to give us his decision on a new head coach in the near future,'' added Gorton.

Sullivan, 38, became the 26th coach in Bruins history in June 2003. He went 70-56-15-23 for a .543 win percentage over his two seasons behind the Boston bench, including a 41-19-15-7 record during his first season in 2003-04, the top record in the Northeast Division and the second-best record in the Eastern Conference that season.

But the Bruins were upset by Montreal in 2004 playoffs and last season missed the post-season after going 29-37-16.

Speculation is former Leaf coach Pat Quinn is the front-runner to be offered the job, but if Quinn, for any reason, is unable to finalize a deal, former Detroit coach Dave Lewis appears to be next in line.
 

Is there any specific reason other than macho idiocy that prevents players from agreeing with this? (ie: does it have any real affect on the ability to play)?

END COMMUNICATION
 

Lord Zardoz said:
Is there any specific reason other than macho idiocy that prevents players from agreeing with this? (ie: does it have any real affect on the ability to play)?
Click to expand...

You're talking about visors? No, I doubt it. Some players say it would make things harder on them, but they all wore visors/cages as kids, up until they were drafted, so it can't be all that bad. They managed to make helmets mandatory, with a grandfather clause. I thought it was just a matter of time before the same happens with visors.
 

Ack!

Cuban, Marino want to buy Penguins
Associated Press
6/27/2006 7:28:22 PM

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Mark Cuban is known for baiting NBA officials, and Dan Marino is the most prolific passer in NFL history. But the Pittsburgh natives now want to expand into a different sport in their hometown - hockey.

The two have joined with a New York City financier in trying to buy the NHL's Penguins from Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux's group, which is selling the two-time Stanley Cup champions even as the team seeks a new arena deal.

The group of prospective Penguins owners is headed by Andrew Murstein, the president of Medallion Financial Corp., a company that finances New York City taxicab medallions and originates consumer loans for recreational vehicles. Also included are principals in Pittsburgh-based Walnut Capital, a real estate management and development company.

Walnut Capital CEO Gregg Perelman recently teamed with Cuban to buy a nine-story downtown Pittsburgh office building. Cuban, who grew up in suburban Pittsburgh, is the billionaire Dallas Mavericks owner whose holdings include a movie production firm and high-definition TV channel.

Adding Cuban and Marino is expected to strengthen the group's estimated $150 million US bid not only financially but perception-wise. Neither Cuban nor Marino have any interest in moving the Penguins from Pittsburgh - Cuban has made it a condition of his participation - even though the team has yet to land a deal to build an arena to replace 45-year-old Mellon Arena.

Murstein was in Dallas on Tuesday, presumably to meet with Cuban about his involvement in the group. In the past, Murstein expressed interest in buying two NHL franchises, the Blues and Ducks, and the Kansas City Wizards of Major League Soccer.

Todd Reidbord, Walnut Capital's president, said recently his group was the only one interested in buying the Penguins that has fully committed to staying in Pittsburgh. At least four other groups have expressed interest in the team, which is expected to be sold before the start of the NHL season in October.

Lemieux's ownership group, which also includes California businessman Ron Burkle, bought the team in federal bankruptcy court in 1999 - partly to protect the nearly $30 million in deferred money owed Lemieux on his contract. Lemieux's group has since paid back all money owed by the club before its bankruptcy filing, a rarity during such procedures.

The uncertainty over the Penguins' arena status has clouded their future in Pittsburgh. Lemieux's group has partnered with Isle of Capri Casinos, which has agreed to build a $290 million arena if it wins the solitary license that will be awarded for a slot machine casino in the city.

However, Isle of Capri is not seen as the favourite, and two other groups seeking the slots license - Harrah's and Majestic Star Casino - have not pledged full arena funding.

Gov. Ed Rendell has asked those two bidders to give $7.5 million a year toward an arena, with the Penguins contributing $8.5 million from the start and an additional $4 million per year, including $1.1 million in naming rights. The Penguins have declined to sign off on the deal, as the Isle of Capri bid would not require the team to make a financial contribution toward replacing the NHL's oldest arena.

Murstein revealed the addition of Cuban and Marino in his group in an interview Tuesday with Pittsburgh radio station WEAE, an ESPN affiliate. Cuban did not immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press, but confirmed his involvement in an e-mail to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Cuban was interested in buying into Lemieux's group in 1999, but declined to accept a role that would not include input in the team's day-to-day operation. Marino, the former University of Pittsburgh and Miami Dolphins star quarterback, expressed interest in buying into the Pittsburgh Pirates in the mid 1990s but never did so. Cuban also is interested in buying the Pirates at some point, but the current ownership has given no sign of wanting to sell.
 

The year of the free agent defenceman
Canadian Press
6/27/2006 8:57:55 PM

With so much media attention paid to Nicklas Lidstrom, Zdeno Chara, Wade Redden, Rob Blake and Ed Jovanovski, it's easy to forget there are other talented NHL defencemen slated for unrestricted free agency when the market opens Saturday.

"For free agency, this is the year of the defenceman," Nashville Predators GM David Poile said Tuesday.

"We don't know what's going to happen between now and July 1, but if there's not too many signings this week, there's going to be a lot of quality defencemen available."

Lidstrom, Redden and Blake are expected to stay put with their respective teams, leaving Chara and Jovanovski as the free-agent headliners. But don't forget the likes of Pavel Kubina, Willie Mitchell, Brendan Witt or Jay McKee.

"There's quantity and quality and there's some value out there," said Anaheim Ducks GM Brian Burke, whose team is on the lookout for defensive help.

If a team strikes out on the headliners, there's much more available: Hal Gill, Danny Markov, Kim Johnsson, Teppo Numminen, Francis Bouillon, Jaroslav Spacek, Niclas Wallin, Aaron Ward, Ruslan Salei, Brian Leetch, Brett Clark, Karlis Skrastins, Jason Woolley, Dick Tarnstrom, Joe Corvo, Filip Kuba, Daniel Tjarnqvist, Andrei Zyuzin, Ken Klee, Kenny Jonsson, Tom Poti, Jason Strudwick, Brian Pothier, Aki Berg, Alexander Khavanov, Mark Eaton, Luke Richardson, Nolan Baumgartner, Sean Brown, Keith Carney, Eric Weinrich.

"Yes, there's some good ones," Blackhawks GM Dale Tallon said from Chicago.

"We're pretty deep with our young defencemen and we expect Adrian Aucoin to come back from surgery and be strong but we're probably going to be looking for a power-play type player on defence," added Tallon.

The best defenceman available right now isn't even a free agent. Former Hart Trophy winner Chris Pronger has asked for a trade out of Edmonton and Oilers GM Kevin Lowe is sifting through offers.

St. Louis, Anaheim, Toronto, Florida and the N.Y. Rangers are among the teams believed to be after Pronger, who has four more years on his deal paying him $6.25 million per.

But one GM, who requested anonymity, said the immense interest in Pronger will take a hit come Saturday because of all the defencemen available on the free-agent market.

"Lowe has to make the deal before July 1," said the GM.

On the other hand, Pronger stands above the free-agent class, so maybe Lowe doesn't have to worry.

The Minnesota Wild, meanwhile, made a splash over the weekend when they traded for star forward Pavol Demitra and now they're focused on adding defensive help as well. They'll keep an eye on what transpires in free agency.

"I think there are a lot of people out there," Wild GM Doug Risebrough said. "But who knows how it's going to go?"

Risebrough has three of his own defencemen slated to hit the market Saturday: Kuba, Tjarnqvist and Zyuzin.

"We've inquired, we had some discussions with them but we'll have to wait and see," Risebrough said.

The Predators, like the Wild, may lose three defencemen to unrestricted free agency in Witt, Eaton and Markov but continue to talk to them.

"We've still got three or four days to see if we can do anything there," said Poile.

The New Jersey Devils should be another team looking for a free-agent help on defence but cagey veteran GM Lou Lamoriello wouldn't tip his hand Tuesday.

"We'll look at everything," he said from his New Jersey office. "I'll leave it at that."

Lidstrom's agent Don Meehan, meanwhile, is scheduled to talk again with Red Wings GM Ken Holland on Wednesday as the two sides attempt to close out a deal before Saturday.

Ottawa GM John Muckler also continues to talk to Meehan about Redden (where it's close) and agent Matt Keator about Chara (not so close). Blake, who wants to stay in Denver, was expected to renew talks with the Avalanche before the end of the week.

Jovanovski is almost surely headed for the open market and may soon re-join former Canucks teammate Todd Bertuzzi in Florida after the winger was dealt there by Vancouver in the Roberto Luongo deal last Friday night.

Jovanovski has an off-season home in South Florida and met his wife there during his first go-around with the Panthers.

It's a great fit but other clubs will also come calling Saturday.

"I've talked to Bertuzzi every day since the trade," Jovanovski told the Palm Beach Post. "He's a good friend of mine, and we've had some good years together. At the end of the day, if there's an opportunity to come back and play (for Florida), great.

"It's what suits my family the best. I just want to be treated fairly."
 


Blues re-sign C Johnson, D Walker
Sports Ticker
6/29/2006 12:53:35 PM

ST. LOUIS (Ticker) - The St. Louis Blues re-signed center Ryan Johnson and defenseman Matt Walker on Thursday.

Terms of the deals were not disclosed. Johnson, 30, had three goals and six assists in 65 games with the Blues this past season.

"Ryan has evolved into one of the better penalty killers with his puck pursuit and his blocking of shots," Blues coach Mike Kitchen said.

"We expect him to be one of our leaders in the penalty killing area next season." Johnson has 22 goals and 51 assists in 409 career NHL games. Walker, 26, played in 54 games this past season and recorded a pair of assists along with 79 penalty minutes.

"Matt was able to gain confidence as a player and we are looking for him to have a greater impact on the ice next season," Kitchen said.
 

Roberts seeks a return to Toronto
TSN.ca Staff
6/29/2006 9:28:03 AM

Gary Roberts could be back with the Toronto Maple Leafs after one season in Florida.

Panthers general manager Mike Keenan tells the Palm Beach Post that the veteran left winger has asked to be traded this off-season so he can be closer to his teenage daughter.

"We put it on hold while working through last week," said Keenan. "But I'm planning to address it in the very near future."

Keenan says he brought up the request with Maple Leafs GM John Ferguson Jr., but talks have not gone beyond the preliminary stages. He added that it likely wouldn't take much to re-acquire the 40 year old, likely a draft pick or minor-league player which would not impact heavily on the team's salary cap.

Roberts signed a two year, $4.5-million deal last August with the Panthers. However, he only appeared in 58 games after groin problems and a sprained knee kept him out of the lineup. He finished with 14 goals and 26 assists.

Roberts spent four seasons with the Maple Leafs from 2000-2004, scoring 83 goals and 74 assists.
 

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