And in the 5th draft Andy Bathgate, grandson of HHOF-er Andy Bathgate.

When's Austin Lemieux turn 18?

Ping: Maple Leafs fans...

Burke is in Toronto
Allaire is in Toronto
Jiggy has given a list of teams he will accept a trade to, and (reportedly) Toronto is on the list...

Jiggy to Toronto?

I could see this happening IF The Swede goalie does'nt sign in T.O and Toskola gets moved.

Definitely, but only if Gustavsson says no and the Ducks will take back a salary. Other than that, yeah, it makes too much sense not to happen.

You guys want Toskala?

While I am sure the Ducks would take back salary, the only reason they do it is to clear sal cap space (which the Leafs have). So whatever salary they take back would have to be significantly less than Jiggy's salary and if the salary doesn't take care of a particular need for the Ducks, it would have to be short term, too, so the Ducks don't get in a situation where they already need to turn around and trade said same player off again.

You're probably right - but you know, with Brent Sutter coming to Calgary I can't see him wanting Phaneuf traded given their connection from the Red Deer Rebels days...

... but if Darryl Sutter is trying to trade him, I'm wondering if it is because Brent has issues with his attitude? Which might make some GMs think twice.

Caught on ESPN earlier-

Holland saying he feels it's unlikely Hossa returns now.

Great flame war going down on Ek's site....looks like people are finally fed up with his BS and are asking for refunds...and he is giving them....Talk about losing any credibility he has left.

Which site? Is that the one that Eklund guy runs? I follow him on Twitter and was wondering how credible his information can be. He talks about meeting with sources all the time so I wondered if he knew what he's talking about...I guess that's not the case?

http://www.hockeybuzz.com/boards/thread.php?thread_id=65825&forum_id=1"

In other not at all surprising former-Red Wing soon-to-be UFA news, Ty Conklin is not coming back. It looks like it's going to be the Chris Osgood/Jimmy Howard show!

Hopefully Osgood stays healthy and mentally fit for the vast majority of the season.

Fixed!

There is going to be no Chris Osgood/Vesa Toskula show.

And I will not be tolerating anymore of this Vesa Toskula nonsense.

Watched agame from 86 the other day on Leaf Classics......Det vs T.O.

6-0 leafs win....over 280 min in penalties.....Demers and Brophy almost going at it between the benches......Hanlon in net vs Bester.......and.....PETR KLIMA playing for the Wings.....killing penalties of all things.

I miss those days...

Killing penalties? That must have been a measure of last resort. Everyone else must have been kicked out of the game or too tired.

What do ya mean? Osgood would be a solid replacement for Cujo in Toronto.

.

There is a silver lining here though. With Howard playing for the big club, this will give Larsson a chance to be the starter with GR. I think either him or McCollum is the future goalie for the Wings.

I actually hope the Flyers sign Conklin. Mainly because the guy I work with is really good friends with Conklin, they played hockey together and Conklin stayed with him while playing for Pittsburgh. So if he signs with the Flyers, I'll get great tix to Flyers game and get to hang out with the team!

Consdering the Flyers are slated to play outdoors on Jan 1, I'd say your odds the Flyers hanging with Dr. Sak are looking pretty good.

Too bad they traded Lupul and Upshall...I really wanted to hang with the Legion of Poon.

I wonder if the Pens would sign him to back up Fleury? Don't the Flyers have Emery and Toskala? :D

Question directed at HB or Detox. I thought that Illitch owned the Joe?

Detroit Red Wings want new arena lease from city - ESPN

Joe Louis Arena - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aaah, didn't see the "Operated by" part of the deal before.

FOFC threads are where I get about 95% of my hockey news from, so I just have one question after reading this page of replies...

Who doesn't have Vesa Toskala?

If you're going to clone a goalie and ship him off to every team in the league, aren't there better choices? Craig Billington can't be doing much these days.

:eek::eek::eek::eek:

And then lose in the Finals. The old Ty Conklin hat trick...or something like that.


I'd welcome Conklin back, provided it was a 1 year deal worth the same $750K he made last year.

He was pretty instrumental in Fleury learning how to play the puck behind the net. And then Fleury forgot it all as soon as Conklin left.

Well, I used to get my hockey news from fake Brian Burke, but for some reason, he fell off the face of the earth.

Nah, he just went to Toronto...;)

Dola

Gotta love these old school hockey boys.

Brian Burke: 'I Don't Give a Rat's Ass What They Do in Pittsburgh or Detroit' -- NHL FanHouse

Heh, I don't remember this quote, but it made me laugh.
On Alex Auld making the team: "There is no way Alex Auld was going to be on this team this year, unless he flew to France during the summer and bathed in the holy waters at Lourdes."

You couldn't make this up: Ottawa Senators brand baby pacifiers have been recalled, because they present a choking hazard.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Busines...459/story.html

In all fairness, the article does state the following:

Carolina signs their first RFA of the offseason as Jussi Jokinen is retained for basically $3.4 million over two years ($1.5 this year, $1.9 next year). I like this signing a good deal as Jokinen has proven versatility to play all the forward positions and did well to blend in on any line combination we put him on this year. As Carolina tends to be a playoff bubble team, his abilities in the shootout are something that the Hurricanes really need as well. The team's left a lot of points on the table the last few years because they couldn't win a shootout to save their lives at times.

Pens sign 2

Bill Guerin 1 year, being reported $2.8M

Craig Adams 2 years, $550K per

Guerin is a little higher than I hoped. Tkachuk's got $2.1M to stay in St Louis. But he'll play out this year and retire, really fit in well, and Sid and him seemed to have a great relationship (the anti-Recchi?)

Adams...that is less than the $750K he made this year. He's a perfect 4th line, knows his role, plays the PK and generally keeps his mouth closed and fills a spot. That he does it at $550K for a team up against the cap is even better.

Dola

CR and bhlloy-

no QO to Crusher Christensen? Does that mean we can have him back?

I guess not. Coming off shoulder surgery, I figure he's nice to pick up on the cheap but not worth the qualifying offer.

If the shoulder surgery makes him play any softer I'd rather him not even bother coming back. Brian Burke would have run him out of town by now :D

I'm a little surprised, but if it means we have the money to bring back Beauchemin and pay up on Wisniewski and still find a second line center, I'm down with it.

Handful of others who didn't receive QO's:

Fredrik Sjostrom
Steve Eminger
Anthony Stewart
Marcel Goc
Lukas Kaspar
Dan Fritsche
Peter Olvecky
Ole-Kristian Tollefsen
Jeff Woywitka

Poor Jeff Woywitka...how many stops has he made now without really playing? Philly, Edmonton, St Louis...and probably missing somewhere.


Tollefson intrigues me a little. Turner, or other CBJ fans, any thoughts?
He'd strictly be a 3rd pairing guy in Pittsburgh, with Alex Goligoski. Can he be counted on to stay back while Gogo pushes the puck, or is he too busy looking for the big hit?

Tollefsen would be a great fit for the Ducks also IMO. Defensive minded, can skate and has a nasty attitude. I wouldn't mind seeing him here as the 6th/7th guy next year either.

Cody McCormick is another one the non-QO list

I'd say its more of this. Tollefsen's is probably a 6/7th defensemen, but he's redundant on our roster (LH stay-at-home). He's a tough player, good at sticking up for his opponents, sound player around the net, but he's not a great skater and makes poor decisions with the puck when even slightly pressured. Biggest flaw is 'receiving the rush', he tends to come up and attempt to smash the winger against the boards, rather than staying in position.

I was actually hoping Adams would hit the free agent market and the Flyers would look at him. Like you said he's a good 4th liner and can play the PK.

Guerin might be a little high but its only 1 year. Just hope that he fares better than Gary Robers.

fixed

I was referring to the Pens signing Gary Roberts to a 1 year deal and him getting hurt maybe 10 games into the season. (07-08)

I'd always heard that Dan Fritsche was considered a big prospect but he hasn't done much in the NHL thus far. I don't know that he's had much of an opportunity in Columbus or New York or his most recent stop (forget where) but some team should sign him as a potential upside guy.

Gomez to Montreal for Higgins per TSN.

Is Gainey on crack?

EDIT: http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=283329

Looks like there are some spare parts involved. McDonagh was the Habs first rounder a few years ago...still several years away from making any impact...if he ever does.