The Official NHL Thread

[POJO_Risin]

It's a great deal for Toronto...O'Neill was counted on here in NC to carry this team as it's star...

in Toronto...he should be the role player he should be...

[guwapo_rocker]

Originally posted by POJO_Risin
It's a great deal for Toronto...O'Neill was counted on here in NC to carry this team as it's star...

in Toronto...he should be the role player he should be...

Wow he's only 29! It's about time the Leafs pulled off one of

these deals where they don't give up much. We are usually

watching other teams do this.

We have some old guys to cut loose somehow.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Originally posted by POJO_Risin
Christ...Mario looks like his dad...or granddad...

lmfao...the Crosby era...no pressure there...

Well, he is 22 years older than him....

Pretty much towers over him too....

Most people forget that about Lemieux, for as amazingly talented as he is, he's done it at 6'5"....

Unlike Gretzky, at 6 feet even....

[POJO_Risin]

Yeah...Lemieux certainly had a size advantage...that's for sure...

God that picture makes me laugh whenever I see it...

Mario off to check is portfolio...

crosby to a mirror to pick a zit...

lmfao...

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Sure hope they can sign Malkin....

Fortunate thing is, both Crosby and Malkin have the same agent....

They reported that Malkin's Russian coach is saying he thinks he'll stay in Russia...

Duh, of course he's gonna say that...

Show me the rubles !!!!!

[Nickdfresh]

Since when did these RUSSIAN teams start paying big money?:confused:\

I hear the SABRES' MAX AFINOGENOV might stay in his home country as well. Less hitting, longer career. Who wouldn't go for that?

[Matt White]

Originally posted by Full Bug
It aint that simple, saleries going up by 550% didnt help matters....
You can thank Bob for that one, I loved it when the owners won.....

By why did the salaries go up FB? Because the free market allowed it. The owners, after listening to Bettman, thought the League was going to blow up like the NBA & NFL. Remember the skating Robots on FOX?!? THe TV ratings never materialized, leaving the small market teams, once again, holding the bag.
The BIG owners finally got put in thier place by the small market teams: SHARE OR NO NHL.

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Heard some interesting (but very good) news last night on Pittsburgh Sports Tonight....

They may actually have to cut off season ticket sales at the Igloo, so that there will be ample opportunity to buy smaller packages, or individual game sales....

Just amazing what one lucky bounce of the ping pong ball will do for ya...

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Hey Bugger, plenty of room for you on the Penguins bandwagon !!!!

Seems like you Leafs fans are losing abOOt all of your players....

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=132137&hubName=nhl

Panthers sign Nieuwendyk and Roberts

Canadian Press

8/1/2005 6:08:29 PM

The Florida Panthers signalled the NHL's new era Monday by outbiding the Toronto Maple Leafs as the free-agent market opened with more tire kicking than actual signings.

The Panthers kicked off the free-agent period by signing veteran forwards Joe Nieuwendyk and Gary Roberts, long-time buddies who will play together on an NHL team for the third time.

It didn't take long for the Leafs to get their first taste of the new economic order, unable to match the two-year, $4.5-million US deals each player got from Panthers GM Mike Keenan.

"There were parameters with which we were working that didn't meet their needs," Leafs GM John Ferguson said Monday night from his Air Canada Centre office. "They made a decision in their best interest."

Meanwhile, the tantalizing free-agent duo of Markus Naslund and Peter Forsberg began shopping their services. Whether or not they can package themselves together remains to be seen.

"Markus's approach has always been `Who wouldn't want to play with Peter Forsberg?"' Naslund's agent Mike Gillis said. "But there has to be some things that need to come together for that to happen. We'll have to wait and see."

The New York Rangers are believed to be interested in the pairing although they certainly weren't the only team inquiring about Naslund on Monday.

"There's been tremendous amount of interest in him," said Gillis, who added that Vancouver was still in the mix to resign its captain. "We're going to be patient. When it begins to really catch fire it'll go quickly."

The agent for unrestricted free agent Scott Niedermayer was also a busy man Monday, the No. 1 defenceman on the market getting his fair share of calls.

"We've talked to at least 14 teams today," Kevin Epp said from his North Vancouver office. "Some of them are just wanting to see what the market might be.

"Some of them were just tire kicking, no real offers made today. I don't think there's any front-runners at this point. Out of the 14 teams, there's probably 10 legitimate possibilities though."

Other moves Monday:

- The Edmonton Oilers traded winger Brad Isbister to the Boston Bruins in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick in the 2006 NHL entry draft. In 51 games with the Oilers during the 2003-04 season, Isbister had 10 goals, eight assists and 54 penalty minutes.

- The Minnesota Wild signed unrestricted free-agent tough guy Andrei Nazarov. The 31-year-old had 125 penalty minutes in 33 games with the Phoenix Coyotes in 2003-04.

- The Los Angeles Kings signed unrestricted free-agent winger Tom Kostopoulos, 26, to a two-year deal.

The Leafs, meanwhile, were clearly outbid by the Panthers, something that wasn't possible under the old collective bargaining agreement when Toronto was among the biggest free-agent spenders. But the Leafs have about $9 million left of cap room and need to sign about seven players. They simply could not afford what the Panthers gave the veteran duo.

"Our discussions with Toronto were positive and right up until the end it was just as likely that they would be able to stay there," said Rick Curran, the agent for both players. "After the noon starting time (for free agency), I had almost immediately two proposals sitting on my desk from other teams.

"I had a further conversation with Toronto. It reached the point where the boys had to make a decision on what they wanted to do going forward."

And that was Florida, which anted up with $2.25-million salaries.

"It really wasn't a financial decision," Nieuwendyk said on a conference call, although he admitted, "clearly the terms of the deal I'm awfully excited about."

Roberts was slated to earn $3.75 million during the wiped-out 2004-05 season while Nieuwendyk was at $3 million. The long-time friends and teammates in both Toronto and Calgary were unrestricted free agents.

Roberts, 39, played four years with the Leafs and had 28 goals and 20 assists in 72 games in 2003-04.

The 38-year-old Nieuwendyk played just the one year in Toronto, scoring 22 goals and adding 28 assists in 64 games and making a huge impact in the playoffs in which he had six goals in nine games.

Keenan made the first plunge into free agency on a day where agents and GMs burned up the phone lines. Everyone is trying to figure out what exactly is the new market.

"You try to get a feel for what the market might bear," said Keenan. "It's certainly a complete unknown at this time. But you do have relationships with agents. I've known Rick Curran for a long time.

"There's has to be a level of trust when he says there are other offers at a `X' amount of dollars. I have to believe him."

Still, there seemed to be hesitation from both sides Monday.

"A lot of teams are expressing their interest and asking that we call them when it begins to happen," said Gillis, who also represents unrestricted free agents Bobby Holik, Mathieu Schneider and Pavol Demitra, among others. "Which is par for the course, everyone is dealing with a new world out there and no one is eager to make a mistake."

Roberts and Nieuwendyk were the first in a long list of unrestricted free agents to sign.

Among those available are Forsberg, Naslund, Mike Modano, Alexei Kovalev, Demitra, Ziggy Palffy, Holik, Alexei Zhamnov, Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne. The defencemen are led by Niedermayer, Adam Foote, Sergei Gonchar, Brian Leetch, Derian Hatcher, Brian Rafalski, Mathieu Schneider, Mike Rathje, Roman Hamrlik and Adrian Aucoin.

Added to that is an already flooded market because of a large number of players who weren't tendered qualifying offers, therefore making them unrestricted free agents.

That list includes Miroslav Satan, who was cut loose by the Buffalo Sabres, as well as Martin Skoula (Anaheim), Ville Nieminen (Calgary), Bryan Berard (Chicago), Richard Park (Minnesota), Jason Ward (Montreal), Vladimir Orszagh (Nashville), Dan Blackburn (N.Y. Rangers), Martin Prusek (Ottawa), Brian Boucher (Phoenix) and Brad Lukowich (Tampa Bay).

[Va Beach VH Fan]

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=132133

Oilers trade Isbister to Bruins

Canadian Press

8/1/2005 1:42:58 PM

EDMONTON (CP) - The Edmonton Oilers traded forward Brad Isbister to the Boston Bruins Monday in exchange for the Bruins' fourth-round draft pick in the 2006 NHL entry draft.

In 51 games with the Oilers during the 2003-04 season, Isbister had 10 goals, eight assists and 54 penalty minutes.

''Brad is a solid winger who brings good size to our forward lines,'' Bruins general manager Mike O'Connell said in a statement. ''We're happy to have him on our team.''

Isbister, 28, was originally drafted by the Winnipeg Jets with the 67th overall pick in the 1995 NHL entry draft. The 6-foot-4, 231-pound Edmonton native split his first three pro seasons between Phoenix and its AHL affiliate in Springfield. He spent three-plus seasons with the New York Islanders before being dealt to the Oilers in March, 2003.

Isbister has recorded 93 goals and 90 assists for 183 points with 517 penalty minutes in 409 career NHL regular-season games. He has one goal and two assists for three points with 31 penalty minutes in 14 career playoff games.

[Full Bug]

Originally posted by Va Beach VH Fan
Hey Bugger, plenty of room for you on the Penguins bandwagon !!!!

LOL....
Not surprised they didnt get Roberts, but was surprised and dissappointed about Nieuwendyk...

[Nickdfresh]

The LEAFS will being picking up MIRO SATAN I bet. The SABRES just cut 'em loose.

[guwapo_rocker]

Flyers set for 'multiplayer announcement'

TSN.ca Staff



8/2/2005 9:40:49 AM

The Philadelphia Flyers are set to make a big splash in the free agent market on Tuesday.

Amid reports the team had come to terms with defencemen Derian Hatcher and Mike Rathje, the Flyers say a "multiplayer announcement" would be made on Tuesday.

After losing out in the Adam Foote sweepstakes, it appears general manager Bob Clarke has turned his sights to Hatcher, who was bought out last week by the Detroit Red Wings.

"Well, we've got a lot of lines in the water and we'll just have to see how it goes," Clarke tells the Philadelphia Daily News while refusing to specify which players the team is after.

Aside from Hatcher and Rathje, the Flyers are said to have also targeted Adrian Aucoin and Brian Rafalski.

Agent Larry Kelly who represents Aucoin says they are no longer in the mix because their asking price was too high. TSN has learned that Aucoin has signed a four year deal worth $16-million with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Kevin Epp, the agent for free agent defenseman Scott Niedermayer, says he's disappointed the Flyers have not called. It's believed Niedermayer's reported $7-million asking price was just too high for Clarke.

Clarke has reportedly budgeted $6.5-million to try and shore up the Flyers glaring need for a big defenseman.


Link

[guwapo_rocker]

Yzerman signs one year deal with Detroit

TSN.ca Staff



8/2/2005 1:48:23 PM

Steve Yzerman looks set to finish his career where it all began, signing a one year contract with the Detroit Red Wings.

Terms were not immediately announced.

"I'm very pleased to have Steve resign for another season with the Red Wings," said general manager Ken Holland.

"I'm confident that he has a lot of great hockey left to play and his return, along with return of Red Wings hockey to Joe Louis Arena this fall is great news for our fans and our organization."

The 40-year-old, who was scheduled to earn $4.5 million US during the wiped-out 2004-05 season, was said to be contemplating retirement after suffering broken bones near his eye during the 2004 playoffs.

Yzerman, who has helped lead Detroit to three Stanley Cup championships, has a franchise-record 70 playoff goals and 181 points in his 21-season career with the Red Wings. In regular-season games, Yzerman has 1,721 points, trailing only Marcel Dionne, Ron Francis, Gordie Howe, Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky in league history.


Link

[Va Beach VH Fan]

Still lots of Free Agents around, but getting a little antzy....

Where are these signings that the Pens promised ??

The main players they're been targeting haven't been signed, I guess that's a good thing....

Even read one report that says they're going after Forsberg and Naslund (former Pen)....

Plus Neidermayer or Rafalski on Defense... P-Burgh TV is reporting they offered Rafalski 4 Mil a year for 4 years....

Looking at Khavibulin at the Goal...

We'll just see....