NHL: Player News and Rumors (Thread finished)

Naslund responds to captaincy questions
Canadian Press
9/6/2006 5:51:47 PM

BURNABY, B.C. (CP) - There's a new coach, 14 players gone from last year's team, and a chance the Vancouver Canucks will even have a new captain this season.

Star forward Markus Naslund led the Canucks with 79 points last year but his 32 goals were the least he'd scored in four seasons. As the team struggled down the stretch, the 33-year-old's leadership abilities were questioned and many people wondered if Vancouver needed a more vocal captain.

With training camp beginning next week, Naslund isn't sure if he will keep the `C'.

"I've said all along I'm honoured to be captain of this team," he said Wednesday after skating with some of his teammates at a suburban rink. "I've also said that if they feel someone is better suited for the role, that's up to them."

By the end of last year Naslund looked drained physically and emotionally. It was the first time in four years Vancouver hadn't reached the playoffs and it was a body blow to a player like Naslund, who knows he has only so many chances left to win a Stanley Cup.

As far as Naslund is concerned, last season was like fire that destroys a building. You can study the wreckage for answers, then rebuild.

"Not making the playoffs is a big failure," Naslund said. "I've decided not to talk about it any more and look ahead and focus on what's ahead."

When the Canucks failed to reach the post-season everyone knew standing pat would not be an option. The housecleaning in the head office and the broom dragged through the dressing room has shown how different things will be this year.

"I think maybe it's a kickstart for this team," Naslund said. "It's always tough to see guys leave.

"Bringing some new blood in is going to give us a different look and different feeling. I know I'm excited."

It's expected new coach Alain Vigneault will demand better defence from his team, a switch from the run-and-gun style favoured by the fired Marc Crawford.

"We're probably going to work things a little differently," said Naslund. "It's fresh for everybody. We know we all have to prove ourselves again here. I think that's a good challenge for us."

The biggest deal Canucks GM Dave Nonis made over the summer was trading right-winger Todd Bertuzzi to Florida in a package that brought goaltender Roberto Luongo to Vancouver. This could result in Naslund being moved to Bertuzzi's wing from his spot on the left side.

"I don't have a problem with it," Naslund said. "I played right all the way until Crow (Crawford) put me on the left side. It might take a little while to really feel comfortable."

The Bertuzzi trade not only brought the Canucks the all-star goaltender they wanted, it took a dark cloud out of the dressing room.

Bertuzzi never regained the 44-goal scoring touch he showed in the 2003-03 season. He also staggered under the weight he carried after his hit-from-behind on Steve Moore that resulted in his suspension, criminal charges and a lawsuit.

Naslund, who remained Bertuzzi's friend, hesitated with asked if the Canucks are better off without the talented but moody winger.

"There was a lot that came with that whole Moore incident," Naslund said carefully. "For a lot of us it was tough to see him (Todd) change after that happened.

"Not only him, but the way he was viewed going into other buildings. It was a tough thing for him. When you see he isn't happy it's tough for other guys too."
 

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Crawford excited about rebuilding Kings
Canadian Press
9/6/2006 8:09:04 PM

Returning the Los Angeles Kings to the playoffs will not only be good for hockey in southern California, but inject some excitement into a league that is struggling to keep its place in the American sports market, says new coach Marc Crawford.

For the NHL to increase its fan base in the United States, the league needs strong franchises in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, Crawford said during a telephone conference call Wednesday. That's why joining the Kings, and working with new general manager Dean Lombardi, was so attractive to him.

"If L.A. is a strong franchise, that not only helps hockey in California and maybe in the other southern States, I think it helps the entire league," said Crawford, who was hired in May to replace the fired Andy Murray.

"That's one of the main, exciting reasons why we've ended up coming here. We love the challenges."

When Wayne Gretzky was the king of the Kings, hockey was the hot ticket in Los Angeles. Movie stars and politicians attended the games.

Struggling teams and three seasons out of the playoffs have taken the shine off the club.

Crawford, who was fired by the Vancouver Canucks after missing the playoffs last spring, knows something about rebuilding a franchise.

When he was hired as Vancouver's coach in January 1999, the team had missed the playoffs the previous three years, had a bloated payroll and was losing both fans and money.

With Crawford behind the bench, and Brian Burke as general manager, the Canucks rebuilt themselves on the ice and grew a devoted fan base.

"I do see some parallels," Crawford said in comparing the Kings and Canucks.

"The challenge at the rink is very similar to the ones that we had in Vancouver. This club has not made the playoffs for the last couple of years. People want playoff action."

When Crawford first came to the Canucks, the aging Mark Messier was the team's captain and first-line centre. The Sedin twins hadn't arrived yet and the line of Markus Naslund, Brendan Morrison and Todd Bertuzzi hadn't been formed.

"That group really developed and kind of grew," said Crawford. "I believe that is going to happen here as well."

With training camp ready to open next week, Crawford said he likes the experience and talent he has in veteran players like Craig Conway, Derek Armstrong and Eric Belanger.

The Kings have also added goaltender Dan Cloutier _ who Crawford coached in Vancouver _ veteran defenceman Rob Blake and forwards like Alyn McCauley, Patrick O'Sullivan, Scott Thornton and Brian Willsie.

"We have some very good experience in our forward group," said Crawford. "How our young players develop and emerge really will dictate if we are able to have those types of lines as Vancouver had."

Lombardi also is no stranger to team building. He took over a San Jose Sharks team in 1996 that had won more than 20 games only once in five seasons, then transformed them into a club that won one division tile and twice reached the second round of the playoffs.

Lombardi isn't sure if he'll be able to follow the same slow-and-steady approach in L.A. that worked in northern California. Instead of relying on the draft to develop talent, Lombardi said he may have to use the free-agent market to bring in proven players.

"I am perfectly cognizant that some of the rules I followed in San Jose are probably not applicable," he said. "In this market, I don't think L.A. can afford to fall off the map and pick in the top three (of the draft).

"We have to be competitive (and) allow Marc to take his team as far as we can."

Lombardi said Anschutz Entertainment Group, the Kings' owners, have given him the green light to spend money on players.

Crawford heads into the season confident his team can improve on its 42-36-6 record from last year that left the Kings 10th in the Western Conference, six points out of a playoff spot.

"We're going to have to find ways to be better offensively than this club has been in the past, especially in the area of our power play and penalty kill," he said. "I think we've got a good base of talent and some good leadership."
 

From Sportsnet.ca!

Hockey Hearsay
September 07, 2006

Clarke goes public with details
Philadephia Flyers GM Bob Clarke has divulged that Simon Gagne's agent, Bob Sauve, had turned down two offers for $5 million a year.

"We offered Simon $5 million a year for four years and $5 million a year for five years," Clarke said in the Philadelphia Inquirer. "We haven't been unfair to Simon Gagne. The statistics and everything else back it up. We didn't just pull these numbers out of the air. We did it professionally."

Sauve said Tuesday he would prefer three years and indicated there was mutual agreement there. Clarke said otherwise.

"We have not talked three years," Clarke said. "Would we go three? We might but not for $5 million. If we're going to go that high [in dollars], we need to get some years out of it."

Sauve was unhappy that Clarke went public with his two offers. Gagne was reportedly upset, as well.

No rushing Malkin decision
A hearing to decide whether Evgeni Malkin breached his contract with a Russian club by signing to play for the Penguins has been pushed back.

The three-member Russian board postponed the case until Sept. 15, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has reported.

On Tuesday, the same board ruled that two other players, Alexei Mikhonov and Andrei Taratukhin violated their contracts with Lokomotiv Yaroslavl by signing with Edmonton and Calgary, and said those two cannot play in the NHL until their Lokomotiv deals expire.

A Russian newspaper, Sport Express, reported that the panel made its judgments against Mikhonov and Taratukhin after applying a provision of the Russian Federal Sports Law rather than Article 80 of the Russian Labor Code to their cases.

Article 80 allows employees to sever ties with an employer by giving at least two weeks' written notice, something Mikhonov, Taratukhin and Malkin did before signing in North America.

It is not clear why the panel declined to pass judgment on the Malkin situation or how much, if any, authority it has to enforce its decisions outside of Russia.
 

Morrison looks to increase scoring
Canadian Press
9/7/2006 4:19:38 PM

BURNABY, B.C. (CP) - Centre Brendan Morrison thinks subtracting Todd Bertuzzi from the Vancouver Canucks could result in an addition to his scoring totals this NHL season.

For most of the last five years Morrison has been the setup man on the Canucks' high-scoring top line along with wingers Markus Naslund and Bertuzzi.

Both Naslund and Bertuzzi wanted the puck as much as possible. That meant Morrison's job was pass first, maybe look for a rebound, then make sure he got back on defence.

Bertuzzi's trade to the Florida Panthers this summer means Morrison may find the puck on his stick more often.

"When you play with those guys, the tendency is just to get them the puck," Morrison said after skating with some of his teammates at a local arena. "Now I might have the puck a little more, get the chance to create a little more and definitely shoot the puck more. That should lead to more production."

Naslund said Morrison may get more of a chance to demonstrate the goal-scoring skills he showed at the University of Michigan where he was a Hobey Baker award winner as the top U.S. college hockey player.

"I think Brendan plays his best when he's forceful and confident," said Naslund. "Maybe it was difficult for him to play with me and Todd who both really want the puck all the time.

"There wasn't enough puck to go around for all of us. He's definitely going to have a bigger role this year."

New Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault hasn't indicated who will replace Bertuzzi on the first line. It could be Jan Bulis, a free-agent signing from the Montreal Canadiens, or grinder Matt Cooke, who filled in while Bertuzzi was suspended for the rest of the 2004 season following his hit-from-behind on Steve Moore.

The Canucks won't miss the black cloud Bertuzzi sometimes brought to the dressing room, but there's no denying the talent the big winger showed some nights.

"Todd was a pretty dynamic player," said Morrison. "When he was at his best he was one of the best guys in the league.

"I think (this) is an opportunity for not just one or two guys to fill that void but an opportunity for a lot of different guys to step in."

Both the Canucks and Morrison struggled last season. Vancouver missed the playoffs, resulting in coach Marc Crawford being fired and 14 players being moved off the roster.

Morrison's 19 goals and 37 assists were the least he's had since his first full season in Vancouver in 2000-01. He also had a career-high 84 penalty minutes.

Like the rest of the under-performing Canucks, Morrison heard a lot of criticism during the year, but he didn't mention he played the second half of the season on a damaged hip.

The Pitt Meadows, B.C., native underwent surgery in May and spent the next six weeks on crutches.

"It feels good," said the 31-year-old. "I expect to feel it for some time.

"Skating wise, the last three weeks it's starting to loosen up every time out. I haven't done any contact yet (but) I don't anticipate that being a huge problem."

Morrison has been one of the NHL's iron men. He hasn't missed a regular season game in five years. While he plans to keep that streak alive as long as possible, he may consider skipping some practices this year to rest the hip.

"In the past I've missed only two practices in my entire career," he said. "Maybe at the start of the season, if it's feeling tired or fatigued, then maybe I'll have to miss some time. I don't anticipate it being a problem."
 

Thrashers agree to terms with Lehtonen
Canadian Press
9/7/2006 6:24:52 PM

ATLANTA (CP) - The Atlanta Thrashers have re-signed starting goaltender Kari Lehtonen to a US $3.7-million, two year deal.

The 22-year-old rising star will earn $1.5 million this season and $2.2 million in 2007-08.

''It was critical for us to get this done for two reasons,'' Thrashers GM Don Waddell told The Canadian Press on Thursday. ''Kari missed a lot of time with injuries last year so for him to miss any time in camp (which opens next week) would have been disastrous on both ends. Secondly, we have everybody signed now, which is huge. Last year we didn't have (Ilya) Kovalchuk signed and that was obviously a distraction.''

Lehtonen went 20-15-0 with 2.94 goals-against average last season and two shutouts in 38 games. He led the team in wins, games, save percentage (.906) and saves (1,020) despite being sidelined for 41 games due to injuries. He also set franchise records with 28 consecutive starts and appearances, recording a 14-13-0 record and a .906 save percentage in that span.

The 6-4, 195-pound Finnish native has appeared in 42 career NHL games, going 24-15-0 with 2.77 GAA and .910 save percentage.

He was Atlanta's first pick, second overall, in the 2002 NHL entry draft.
 

Report: Canucks ink Burrows
TSN.ca Staff
9/8/2006 2:28:43 PM

The Vancouver Canucks have signed forward Alex Burrows to a three-year, one-way contract worth $1.5 million, according to CKNW 980 in Vancouver.

The 6'1'', 190 lb, forward from Pincourt, Quebec, spent the 2005-06 season bouncing back and forth between the Canucks and the club's AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Mooses. With Canucks forwards Richard Park and Matte Cooke temporarily off the Canucks roster, Burrows was brought up to play 43 games, notching seven goals and five assists with 61 penalty minutes in that time.

In other news, Canucks prospect Jason King walked out of camp on Friday after rejecting a contract offer from the club.

King spent the 2005-06 season with the Manitoba Moose, recording 33 points (19-14) in 36 games. King has played in a total of 55 NHL games, recording NHL career totals of 12 goals, 11 assists (23 points), and eight penalty minutes.

Prior to joining the Canucks, King spent three seasons as a member of the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL. His final season in Halifax saw him lead the entire Canadian Hockey League in scoring, with 63 goals. King completed the season as the all-time leader in goals for the Mooseheads with 114.

This Cornerbrook, Newfoundland-native was selected 212th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2001 Entry Draft.
 

Blues goaltending job up for grabs
Associated Press
9/8/2006 3:09:08 PM

It stands to reason that one of the more interesting training camp battles in the NHL begins next week in the Show Me State when the St. Louis Blues open training camp.

Manny Legace, Curtis Sanford and Jason Bacashihua have been given no promises as to who will be the starting goalie.

''When you look at it all three of our goalies, they have a lot to prove, and the spot and the opportunity is there for somebody to jump up and be that No. 1 guy,'' Blues GM Larry Pleau said this week. ''So the competition has got to be key for us . . . I think they all understand, there's really no promises, it's wide open. Come and show everyone in the hockey world that you're the No. 1 goalie.''

Added team president John Davidson: ''We feel that the competition level is going to be very good in camp, and, you know, if somebody plays well, they are going to play. And if not, somebody else will have a shot at playing, so it's a good situation for us.''

Legace is the veteran of the group, a 33-year-old Toronto native who came over as an unrestricted free agent, having been handed a ticket out of Detroit after the Red Wings' first-round exit to Edmonton last spring. Despite a 37-win season that ranked fifth among all NHL goalies, never mind a 2.19 goals-against average that was third-best, Legace was given his walking papers because of his disappointing playoff.

With few interested teams in the mix, the Blues got a real bargain when he signed a US $1.4-million, one-year deal.

''Frankly, he had a terrific regular season in Detroit and when it didn't work in the playoffs, people pointed to goaltending which is understandable but I think there was more to it than just that,'' said Davidson, who joined Pleau on an NHL conference call. ''I think Manny's kick in the playoffs was something he learned a lot about. He's really got an outstanding attitude.

''He just wants to play. He wants to win and wants to prove to the whole hockey world that he could do that. Now we, frankly, love the attitude and that's why he's here.''

Added Pleau: ''When you look at a Legace in his career, that's what he wanted is the opportunity to show everybody in this league that he's No. 1, and one thing we could offer is the opportunity for that.''

The Blues had a tough call to make before finally signing Legace because both Sanford and Bacashihua impressed at different times last season. Sanford, 26, went 13-13-0 with a 2.66 GAA and .908 save percentage in 34 games before getting hurt. The 23-year-old Bacashihua, who likely will be the odd man out behind Sanford and Legace, went 4-10-0 with a 3.23 GAA and .899 save percentage.

''We saw how well at times Sanford played and Bacashihua played, and Curtis suffered the knee injury and we didn't want to be in a position where if an injury happened again, we would be hanging and we'd have a problem,'' said Davidson. ''So we've got depth.''

Throw in 20-year-old Czech Marek Schwarz, whom the Blues feel may be their NHL starter one day, not to mention 22-year-old Russian Konstantin Barulin, and St. Louis feels it has more depth than ever between he pipes.

''Schwarz is going to play in the American Hockey League in Peoria,'' said Davidson. ''(Signing Legace) gives a depth where if something happens along the way here, we don't have to force (Schwarz) into something he shouldn't be doing, unless he earns it.

''With the three goalkeepers that are the main ones, the internal competition is terrific. We now have depth there, and at the same time in signing Manny, it put us in a position where we didn't have to make a trade where we lose a significant draft pick or at least maybe a significant prospect.

''So we've helped ourselves for the immediate season, and we've helped ourselves hopefully for the long term, also.''
 

Flames rookies reported to camp today. Almost time to start a new "training camp" thread, KF.

Soon be pool time, too. And I plan on keeping my enormous lead this time around. ;)
 


Agamon said:
Flames rookies reported to camp today. Almost time to start a new "training camp" thread, KF.

Soon be pool time, too. And I plan on keeping my enormous lead this time around. ;)
Click to expand...

Acutally, there are still some re-signings to come, like this one...

Sabres, Ryan Miller agree to terms
Canadian Press
9/8/2006 5:14:23 PM

BUFFALO, N.Y. (CP) - The Buffalo Sabres re-signed Ryan Miller to an $8-million, three-year deal Friday, ensuring that their No. 1 goalie won't miss the start of training camp next week.

The 26-year-old will earn $2 million this season, $2.5 million in 2007-08 and $3.5 million in 2008-09. He was the third starting goalie and restricted free agent to sign this week following Ilja Bryzgalov in Anaheim and Kari Lehtonen in Atlanta.

''Ryan was very clear that he was very concerned about being ready for training camp,'' said Miller's agent Mike Liut. ''He didn't want a prolonged situation affecting the team. And that says a lot about Ryan Miller.''

Miller was 30-14-3 with a 2.60 goals-against average in 48 regular-season games for the Sabres last season when he earned $501,600. Despite missing 18 games with a fractured thumb, the native of East Lansing, Michigan, finished among the league's top 10 in wins, GAA and save percentage (.914). Miller's 30 wins tied him with Henrik Lundqvist for most among rookie netminders, and were the second-most by a rookie in Sabres history behind Don Edwards' 38 in 1977-78.

Miller also backstopped Buffalo to within one game of the Stanley Cup final, posting a record of 11-7 with a 2.56 GAA and .908 save percentage in 18 games.
 

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