Fid.....you answered your own question there.He is 29 year old UFA,i think Burke does'nt plan on carrying anyone who will be too old to help him in 3 or 4 years when the team is competetive.

Ah I see, I didn't realise he was a UFA, that makes all the difference. He'll be a rental then for a contender.

He'll only be 32-33 in 3 or 4 years! That's "too old" to help the Leafs? He'll still be a few years from his prime then!

lol

Point is if Phaneuf is going to play the role of "head hunter" then he shouldn't be wearing the shield to begin with.

Bob Mackenzie is reporting that the following teams are interested in Kovalchuk: Boston, New Jersey, Rangers, Philadelphia, Calgary, Chicago and L.A.

It will be really interesting to see where he goes, what Atlanta will get for him and if the team who gets him already has an extension worked out.

L.A. seems to make the most sense to me, but I guess it comes down to which team makes the Thrashers the best offer.

The Blackhawks would seem to make the littlest sense. I'm not sure why they'd make such a drastic move at this point in the season for a winger, even one as talented as Kovalchuk.

Can the Thrasher's franchise survive this?

no way the devils get kovy. rangers cant afford him either, youd think. nor philly. to me that leaves calgary, boston and la. youd think if calgary were in the running phaneuf wouldve been involved, though.

hitchcock out

Heard that Ray Whitney to the Kings is pretty much almost a done deal. However, Ray wants a 3-year extension in order to waive his no-trade clause. It sounds like they're working out the details (perhaps an extension that is heavily front-loaded?).

isnt he 37? so the entire deal would be guaranteed? thats a tough pill to swallow for a kings team thats gonna have to start paying these kids soon...

The Islanders waived Brendan Witt. I've always been a fan of his, but I really don't think he's worth $3 million a year (signed throug next year).

Any Avs fans here? What's the deal with this Brandon Yip kid and when will he stop scoring goals?

I don't agree with it, but can understand the Hawks thinking a little.

The must move (dump) some players in the offseason. If they are losing say at least 2 of Sharp, Versteeg, and Barker in July, you move them in March for 3 months of Kovalchuk if you think that moves puts you over the top.

Again, I don't agree with it, I think Sharp and Versteeg are the type of secondary players you need in the playoffs, Kovalchuk is not that type. He's redundant on a team with Kane and Hossa.

Finally.

Now, can someone find Craig MacTavish and lock him up until after the Jackets decide on a new coach. Thanks.

No no no, the Oilers need MacT hired somewhere prior to the deadline so we can trade Horcoff to his new team.

Pretty pretty please.

There are rumors swirling around the city that he's having health issues. Don't know what or how severe or even if the rumors are remotely true.

Sounds like something Howson would do.

I'm really hoping for Kevin Dineen, former CBJ player coaching for Portland in the AHL.

Who? Horc, MacT or Hitch? So far I haven't seen any mention of any of those guys from all the talking heads on twitter other than Hitch of course being turfed.

Kind of dumb that HSBC Arena doesn't have an overhead view of the goal nets. It should be mandatory in every arena.

MacT...I've seen a few comments about him being ill on some of the oiler blog sites...again, nothing concrete but he also hasn't been on any of the TSN broadcasts lately (or that I've noticed) so I'm inclined to believe that something's up.

Mr. Hartford Whaler Kevin Dineen!

I cannot disagree.

Yeah, between Dineen, Geoff Sanderson, and Andrew Cassels (don't forget Robert Kron!) the early Jackets had a few former Whalers.

Sadly, Doug MacLean basically made Dineen retire during the 02-03 season, instead of letting Kevin go out on his own terms. I always liked the guy, and remember his toughness during those first two seasons. I think he'd be a perfect fit for this team.

Hiller has just been ungodly since the Giguere trade, 30 save shutout and then a 46 save effort against the Wings tonight to absolutely steal a win. Detroit had 29 scoring chances and only scored one goal, unbelievable performance.

Hopefully this is a great sign that he can handle the pressure of being the undisputed number one. I've said all along he's got the positioning and the agility to be a top 5 goalie (and maybe even better - I've only seen a couple of guys go side to side like he can in the last 15 years I've been watching the NHL), the only bit I had any doubts about was the mental side of the game.

How was Blake?

F'ing Oilers are on a tear!!!

Funny, I was going to post a DOLA about Blake but got distracted.

So far so good, he's hustling and going hard to the net/playing in the corners. Not sure if he'll keep it up but he looks like he's still got something left to me. I think the Selanne-Koivu-Blake line could cause a lot of problems with their pure speed. They looked pretty good tonight but just didn't have the final product, once they gel I'm pretty confident they'll be a decent second line. Not sure Blake brings more than Sexton on the offensive end but he's definitely much more responsible with the puck and a much better all-around player.

Leafs are now the youngest team in the league, apparently.

Oh, he hustles alright. He doesn't pass, or score, or hit, or get off the ice until his shift is 90 seconds old, and his teammates all hate him, but he does hustle. Enjoy your $4M hustler for the next three years.

usa today guy (who is good with atlanta news, apparently) says kovy is getting dealt tonight to an eastern conference team. tsn adds its not the bruins or rangers. any guesses?

It'd be like Waddell to deal him to the East, another idiotic move from the resident idiot.

I mean, it's not as though it matters what they get in return for him, if DW makes the call then they're going to be a bust regardless, so why not at least deal him to the West for a couple of bags of pucks just so the few remaining fans don't have to have it rubbed in their face as often.

But if I had to make a guess based on those parameters, I'll say it's Pittsburgh.

Something like Ilya & Afinogenov in return for Letang, Dupuis, a 1st, and some bodies to make the cap work out.

Of course, this is DW, so ATL will probably throw in Slater and do a 3-for-1 to get Gonchar.

Kovy to the Devils is a done deal according to FSN in NJ. No other details.

fuck me. apparently its the devils.

id guess bergfors, oduya and some picks.

help

That'd be typical DW.

A second liner who hasn't scored a goal since 12/30, a d-man, and some picks to fuck up.

Thrashers ought to have held out to at least make someone take Waddell in the deal but that would have required competent ownership that actually, you know, had any interest whatsoever in hockey.

This move makes no sense for either team. NJ is giving up a decent amount for a rental when you consider Ilya does not fit their system. I know they can change the system but it's their staple.

For Atlanta .. I know he was gonna be a UFA but this is the best you can do .. Really?

mind you, thats a total guess. but bergfors is a rookie, and has promise. oduyas solid, but having a bad year. but hes a smooth skating dman.

also, atlanta really devalued kovy by waiting, and then announcing he wont take a 100m deal. so its a clear rental situation, making him cheaper.

I just heard Oduya plus two guys from Lowell (D Tyler Eckford and LW Alexander Vasyunov). Neither of those two minor-leaguers is going to be very useful down the line, I don't think.

Edit: I have no idea if this is accurate. Internet trashpress insiders, etc.

pumpy, if we made this deal AND kept bergfors.....well, holy shit. thats WAY too good to be true.

Welp, now the rumors are saying Bergfors. Who the hell knows?

H_B's college football recruiting insider >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Pumpy's hockey insder.

help

I heard it was Parise and Brodeur.

I heard Colin White is not involved in the deal.

I heard you can all kiss my ass.

FriedmanHNIC

Believe the deal is Oduya, bergfors, nick palmieri and a first rounder

A very un-Lou like move no?

i nearly called it.

Atlanta Thrashers receive Oduya, Bergfors, Patrice Cormier and a 1st-round pick for Kovalchuk