NHL: Player News and Rumors (Thread finished)

Kings ink Cloutier to two-year extension
Canadian Press
9/27/2006 6:42:16 PM

LOS ANGELES (CP) - The Los Angeles Kings have signed goalie Dan Cloutier to a US$6.2-million, two-year contract extension.

Cloutier will earn $2.55 million this season, the last year of his old deal signed in Vancouver, before his new contract kicks in and pays him $3.1 million per season in 2007-08 and 2008-09.

The 30-year-old would have become an unrestricted free agent next July 1.

''That was one of the issues,'' Kings GM Dean Lombardi told The Canadian Press. ''But the main thing is that once his health is established, we know this guy is a good goalie. He's a real competitor.''

Cloutier was acquired from Vancouver on July 5 in exchange for a second-round draft pick in the 2007 NHL entry draft and a conditional selection in the 2009 entry draft. The 6-1, 195-pound native of Mont-Laurier, Que., was limited to 13 games last season due to a knee injury.

The first goalie in Canucks history to post three consecutive 30-win seasons (2001-04), Cloutier set career highs for minutes played (3,539) and goals-against-average (2.27) and tied career marks for wins (33) and save-percentage (.914) during the 2003-04 season while leading his club to the post-season for a fourth consecutive year.
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cloutier_62680.jpg

Dan "King" Cloutier.
New team, new uniform,
and a new contract
extension!
 

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Knightfall1972 said:
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cloutier_62680.jpg

Dan "King" Cloutier.
New team, new uniform,
and a new contract
extension!
Click to expand...

And new helmet style.

I like Dan Cloutier. I'll never forget the butt whooping he laid on Tommy Salo, and then challenged the entire Islander bench. It was awesome. That being said, I think the Kings management is listening a little too closely to Marc Crawford.

Cloutier has never shown he can stay healthy and has never proved he can win in the playoffs. The Kings should have evaluated him this season, before committing to him with an extension for over 3 mil a year.
 

Canadiens claim Traverse off waivers
TSN.ca Staff
9/28/2006 1:07:02 PM

Patrick Traverse will don the colours of the Montreal Canadiens once again.

The Canadiens claimed the defenceman off waivers on Thursday.

Property of the San Jose Sharks, Traverse spent the majority of the 2005-06 season with the Iowa Stars of the American Hockey League where he totaled 24 points (3-21+24) in 40 games.

He also appeared in one game with the Dallas Stars without recording a point or penalty minute.

Drafted by the Ottawa Senators in the third round (50th overall) in 1992, Traverse joined the Canadiens in the 2000-01 season before being signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Dallas Stars in 2004.

Traverse has recorded 65 points points and 113 penalty minutes in 279 career NHL regular season games with Ottawa, Anaheim, Boston, Montreal and Dallas.

Also today, Canadiens forward Jonathan Ferland cleared waivers. Ferland was a seventh round draft pick by the Canadiens in 2002. Last season, the right winger played in seven games with the Habs, collecting one goal and two penalty minutes.
 

Jackets sign Zherdev to three-year deal
TSN.ca Staff
9/28/2006 2:23:46 PM

The Columbus Blue Jackets re-signed right winger Nikolai Zherdev to a $7.5 million, three-year deal on Thursday.

He will earn $1.75 million this season, $2.5 million in 2007-08 and $3.25 million in 2008-09.

''Nikolai is a supremely talented player with the ability to bring fans out of their seats every time he steps on the ice,'' said club President and General Manager Doug MacLean. ''I think this agreement shows the commitment the Blue Jackets have to him and also the commitment he has to our organization and fans. We think this season is going to be our best yet and Nikolai will be a big part of any success we have moving forward.''

Zherdev, 21, has tallied 40 goals and 48 assists for 88 points with 104 penalty minutes in 130 career NHL games with the Blue Jackets. In 2005-06, he notched 54 points and 50 penalty minutes in 73 games. He led the club in shots on goal with 194, ranked second in goals and points and was third in assists, power play goals (10) and multi-point games (14). In addition, he collected 37 points in his last 39 outings, including 20 in his last 22 appearances.

''I am very happy to remain a Blue Jacket and want to thank the organization for their commitment and support,'' said Zherdev. ''I am excited about our team and look forward to joining my teammates in Columbus as soon as possible.''

Zherdev was the club's first pick, fourth overall, at the 2003 Entry Draft. He made his Blue Jackets debut in December 2003 and went on to record 34 points and 54 penalty minutes in 57 games as a rookie in 2003-04. He ranked among rookie leaders in assists (5th), points (6th-tied), power play goals (6th-tied, 5), shots (6th-tied, 137) and goals (9th-tied) and was selected to play in the NHL YoungStars Game during All-Star Weekend.

A native of Kiev, Ukraine, Zherdev has represented Russia in several international tournaments, including a pair of World Junior Championships. In 2003, he helped Russia capture the gold medal at the tournament held in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 2003, he was a member of Russia's silver medal-winning squad.
 

Niittymaki may not need surgery
TSN.ca Staff
9/28/2006 2:36:27 PM

Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Antero Niittymaki may not need surgery on the torn labrum in his left hip, Flyers athletic trainer and strength conditioning coach Jim McCrossin announced Thursday.

Niittymaki had an MRI done by hip specialist, Dr. Thomas Byrd, on Wednesday, and while he will eventually need surgery, it could possibly be delayed until the offseason with a series of cortisone injections.

''What Dr. Byrd found on the MRI is that at some point Niitty is going to need surgery,'' said McCrossin. ''But, he did give us another option about having a (cortisone) injection, calming down the hip and keeping the hip strong and allowing Niitty to play throughout the season and having the surgery done in the offseason.''

That would be the route Flyers GM Bob Clarke, Niittymaki and McCrossin would like to pursue.

''That's the direction we'd like to take. We truly believe we can keep Niitty's musculature strong in that area,'' McCrossin said. ''With the injection, if it does take, that would be great. On the other side, if it doesn't take, then we'd have to obviously look at surgery. But, let's not go that route.

''We'll keep our fingers crossed that the injection and the rehab will keep him healthy all through the season and we'll do the surgery in the offseason.''

If Niittymaki opted for surgery, he could be out for a possible six to eight weeks.
 

Flames: Enough offense to compete?
Canadian Press
9/28/2006 5:54:56 PM

CALGARY (CP) - The time is ripe for the Calgary Flames to win a Stanley Cup.

Once the NHL's doormats, the Flames have emerged as one of the teams to beat in the Western Conference because of a combination of talent, experience and stability.

After a surprising run to the Stanley Cup final in 2004 and winning the Northwest Division before a disappointing first-round playoff exit last season, expectations are high inside and outside the Flames' locker-room.

"I think we have a shot at it," captain Jarome Iginla said. "We've been through a lot of lean years here. The last couple have been a lot better. I think we're going up."

The Flames open their 2006-07 season on the road against the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.

The window to build and maintain a Stanley Cup contender is narrow under the new collective bargaining agreement.

Under the salary cap, player movement is no longer limited to the richest teams and the league's superstars.

Iginla, goaltender Mikka Kiprusoff, defenceman Robyn Regehr, forward Daymond Langkow and defensive forward Stephane Yelle become unrestricted free agents and defenceman Dion Phaneuf and winger Chuck Kobasew enter restricted free agency following the 2007-08 season.

"I think we realize in this dressing room that the core group of guys here are under contract for another two years and we have to do something within that two years and by that I mean win the Stanley Cup," Regehr said.

"After that, it's going to be some very difficult decisions by ownership and management on who is staying and who is going."

Calgary was the best in the league on defence last season, but third-worst offensively. The Flames came into this campaign in need of some offensive creativity.

General manager Darryl Sutter, who handed the head coaching reins over to assistant Jim Playfair in the off-season, addressed that shortcoming by dealing defenceman Jordan Leopold to Colorado for talented winger Alex Tanguay.

Tanguay later signed a $15.75-million US, three-year deal.

In addition to putting some zing in the offence, Tanguay's arrival is designed to take the pressure off Iginla and help restore him to the form that won twice won him the NHL's goal-scoring title.

Under the NHL's new rules, Iginla felt speed has become more important that power and lost about 12 pounds of bulk over the summer to improve his mobility.

The Flames also added veteran winger Jeff Friesen on a one-year contract and speedy defenceman Andrei Zyuzin early in the off-season.

Kiprusoff has been and will continue to be the cornerstone of Calgary's success. The soft-spoken Finn, acquired from San Jose for a draft pick in 2003, is agile and quick and the main reason for Calgary's appearance in a final that went seven games against Tampa Bay the following spring.

In Regehr, Phaneuf, Zyuzin, Roman Hamrlik and Andrew Ference, there is a cross-section of skill, speed, power and toughness on the back end.

Phaneuf, a nominee for the NHL's rookie award last season, is expected to start the season paired with Regehr following Leopold's departure and they will log a ton of ice time.

Rhett Warrener is currently sidelined with a knee injury and Mark Giordano is the frontrunner to take his place on the blue-line to start the season.

Playfair's task will be to find a centre to complement Tanguay and Iginla on each wing and Matthew Lombardi is a candidate.

Moving Tanguay to centre is an option as is splitting he and Iginla onto different lines to keep opposing defences guessing.

Down the centre, Calgary has Lombardi, Yelle and Langkow with Jamie Lundmark, Dustin Boyd and Russian Andrei Taratukhin battling for a job.

The Flames have experience on the wing in Kobasew, Darren McCarty, Marcus Nilson, Tony Amonte and Kristian Huselius.

Calgary's lone Stanley Cup win was in 1989. The Flames missed the playoffs seven straight years before reaching the Stanley Cup final in 2004, so the position of being a favourite is still fairly new to many of the younger players.

"I think it was something we faced for the first time last year and we struggled with it a little bit in the playoffs," Regehr said. "We didn't handle it as well as we'd hoped. It's something I think we've learned a lot from."
 

Hockey Hearsay

Clarke looking at Toskala
September 28, 2006
With incumbent goalie Antero Nittymaki out for an extended period, Flyers GM is looking at Vesa Toskala to back up Robert Esche.

According to the Ottawa Sun, Toskala, who is making $1.375 million this season, is battling Evgeni Nabokov for the No.1 job in San Jose.

The price to acquire may be steep though, as the Sharks would want a roster player, a prospect and top draft pick for Toskala.

Malakhov already retired
September 28, 2006
If the New Jersey Devils wanted Vladimir Malakhov back, it's news to him.

In an interview conducted by the Russian newspaper Sport Express, Malakhov said he never intended to go to training camp and is happy to forfeit his $3.6 million salary this season, reports the New Jersey Star-Ledger. Malakohv insists he was never asked to attend camp despite Devils GM Lou Lamoriello saying he hoped the Russian defender would attend.

"That's news to me," Malakhov told Igor Larin of Sport Express. "In any case, I have not received anything, and nobody from the team has called me in a long, long time. Everyone is looking for me on the ice in New Jersey, but in reality I am playing tennis in Miami at the present moment. The theory of my disappearance was conjured up by American journalists or by someone from the Devils."

Daze ponders retirement
September 27, 2006
Neither Eric Daze nor the Blackhawks have made a decision about the future of the former star winger, but a return to the NHL appears to be more unlikely with each passing day.

Daze showed up at Hawks training camp Tuesday to meet with senior vice president Bob Pulford, then left before the full-squad workout.

Daze has had three surgeries in a five-year span to correct herniated discs and didn't play last season after suffering pain in the first game. He appeared to be on the road to recovery during the summer but felt pain during an on-ice workout two weeks ago.

"I tried reaching for a puck and got hit," , Daze told the Chicago Sun-Times. "That tweaked it again, and I didn't go back on the ice."

And he might not again.

"I'm still pondering my decision," Daze said. "A decision has to be made, but I haven't talked to my family yet. The last two weeks, I've been resting and being patient with myself. There's nothing surgical that can be done anymore. My back is past surgery."

Schremp likely headed to minors
September 27, 2006
Nobody has said it outright, but Rob Schremp will likely start his pro career in the AHL.

According to the Edmonton Sun, Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish is leaning towards sending the OHL scoring standout to the American League. Historically, MacTavish has always preferred to have his rookies start in the minors.

"The jury is still out on him, we're going to see how he plays in the remaining three games," MacTavish told the Sun. "But I don't think it would be hurtful in any way, shape, or form for anybody to start the year in the American League. Not that he's going to, but that's obviously one of the options we have."
 


Poor Ty...

Blue Jackets place Conklin on waivers
TSN.ca Staff
9/29/2006 12:19:40 PM

The Columbus Blue Jackets placed goaltender Ty Conklin on waivers Friday, opting to go with Pasacl Leclaire and Fredrik Norrena in goal this season.

Conklin signed with the Blue Jackets as an unrestricted free agent in July after being waived by the Edmonton Oilers, where he signed as a free agent in 2001.

In 18 games with the Oilers in 2005-06, he went 8-5-1 with a 2.80 goals against average, .880 save percentage and one shutout.

In 60 career NHL games, spanning three seasons with the Oilers, he went 27-19-5 with a 2.49 GAA, .905 SV% and two shutouts.
 

Morrow named Stars' captain
Canadian Press
9/29/2006 12:24:49 PM

DALLAS (CP) - It's the start of a new era in Dallas.

Brenden Morrow was named the newest captain of the Stars on Friday, taking over the role held by Mike Modano since 2003.

The 27-year-old has spent his entire career in Dallas after being taken by them in the first round of the 1997 draft.

Morrow was the only player in the NHL last season to score more than 20 goals and serve more than 125 penalty minutes. He scored 23 times and assisted on 42 for a career-best 65 points, and his plus-30 rating was the best on the team.

It earned him a US$24.6-million, six-year contract extension this summer that will keep him in Texas until 2013. The native of Carlyle, Sask., said at the time that he loved being a member of the Stars.

''I really believe in this organization and the commitment they've made to me and to winning,'' he said.

In 451 career NHL games, Morrow has 120 goals and 149 assists for 269 points and 748 penalty minutes. He is the only current Dallas player who has posted three straight 20-goal seasons.
 

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