Rumor Review

Considering this was such a slow news day, I'd like to take this time to quickly go over what each of the 30 NHL teams still might have up their sleeves.

New Jersey Devils
- re-sign Brendan Shanahan
- trade away an existing Dman for a forward

New York Islanders
- re-sign Blake Comeau
- hold off on acquiring much more before Wang figures out what is going on with his Lighthouse project

New York Rangers
- re-sign Brandon Dubinsky
- walk away from Zherdev after arbitration case
- look for them to sign Jassen Cullimore

Philadelphia Flyers
- trading Braydon Coburn for a prospect and/or draft pick might be their only avenue to drop cap

Pittsburgh Penguins
- will eventually need to drop cap space prior to the return of Max Talbot

Boston Bruins
- may wait until after camp starts to trade Kessel for picks/prospects

Buffalo Sabres
- could be in bidding for Matthieu Schneider, but more than likely will trade for a defender instead

Montreal Canadiens
- expect a meaningful trade for a forward, with Plekanecs and the younger Kostitsyn brother heading out

Ottawa Senators
- eventually trade Heatley to the Oilers (yeah, I know...)
- re-sign Brian Elliot

Toronto Maple Leafs
- trade Ian White to the Wild for a draft pick

Atlanta Thrashers
- could very well stand pat

Carolina Hurricanes
- leave the remaining holes to be filled by their rookies

Florida Panthers
- most likely to land Tanguay
- Marc-Andre Bergeron is another possibility

Tampa Bay Lightning
- we're guessing Todd Bertuzzi lands here

Washington Capitals
- stand pat

Chicago Blackhawks
- stand pat

Columbus Blue Jackets
- might be desperate enough to match Tomas Kaberle's asking price
- could use another forward with leadership qualities

Detroit Red Wings
- sign Jason Williams
- might also be interested in Domenic Moore

Nashville Predators
- in the hunt for Vinny Prospal
- might also look into Andy Hilbert

St Louis Blues
- could take a flyer on Dennis Seidenberg
- look to trade away one enforcer

Calgary Flames
- stand pat

Colorado Avalanche
- may just be the right suitor for Phil Kessel
- could also look towards improving defense

Edmonton Oilers
- my bet is still on Heatley
- re-sign Gilbert Brule

Minnesota Wild
- Sykora would make a nice fit
- trade draft pick for Ian White

Vancouver Canucks
- may look to add one more defender
- may take a chance on Robert Lang

Anaheim Ducks
- if anything, a minor move for depth

Dallas Stars
- could use a lot of things, but ownership turmoil keeping them from spending

Los Angeles Kings
- one more forward would be nice... Mike Comrie if he comes cheap?

Phoenix Coyotes
- lobbying hard for Tanguay
- if not, I'm not seeing a plan B

San Jose Sharks
- Heatley's a possibility
- if not, a major trade could be in the works with the Habs

The Heat Is Off?

Remember a few months back when we were all relaxed going into an offseason where we weren't going to have to put up with the never ending drama of Mats Sundin's indecision reports. Sure, he still hasn't made an official announcement as far as his future goes, but the media wised up and really couldn't care anymore.

Nope, this summer was going to be a smooth transition between hockey seasons where fans could finally concentrate on the hot sun while tuning in every now and then to keep up with the latest UFA signings and arbitration hearings.

Everything was all fine and dandy until the day Dany Heatley decided to rock the hockey world by letting it get out publicly that he wasn't all that fond of his head coach Cory Clouston, or the thought of sticking around the nation's capital any longer. Add to that the Oilers, who were prepared to put forth a package in order to save the poor guy from his "hellish prison", while simultaneously saving the Ottawa Senators from quite a predicament, themselves. The only problem was, Dany didn't exactly think things ahead too much. He didn't realize that a one-way ticket out of Ottawa might have landed him in a two-bit town like Edmonton. And thus, he chose not to put in his approval of the deal and has apparently been hiding under a rock ever since.

For weeks now, fans have had to listen to non-story after non-story, speculating as to what might happen next. And before we knew it, it was like Mats Sundin all over again. In fact, it had gotten so soap opera-like, that we were actually concerned as to whether or not Dany would be showing up at Jason Spezza's wedding... and wondering if Kevin Lowe sent roses along with his complete set of Oiler infomercial DVDs.

Heh.

You'll have to forgive my sarcasm.

This, on the day when Steve Tambellini mercifully called a press conference to announce to the fans of Edmonton, that he has officially accepted Heatley's indirect rejection of his trade offer and walk away from his futile courtship, some have begun to think that this might mark an end to this tragic chapter. Unfortunately, I would have to disagree.

The problem here, is that the Ottawa Senators remain in a corner with very few options. The decision to pick up Alexei Kovalev as insurance for when Heatley departs, has now got the team to less than $300,000 under the cap ceiling. And in the NHL, that doesn't even come close to minimum wage. Given that they still have 2 roster spots to fill (3 if you don't see Heatley being forced in), they've got absolutely no leverage for any possible deals they might have left.

We've already got a taste as to what San Jose's offer looks like. And if the Oiler's offer was Jim Balsillie, then the Sharks would have to be Jerry Reinsdorf. And remember back when Bryan Murray was talking tough the day Heatley's $4 million dollar bonus kicked in, suggesting that his asking price would only increase because of it. But really.... who was he kidding?

Now with Edmonton seemingly out of the mix, Doug Wilson would be wise to lower his offer since he now appears to be the only candidate and therefor has Murray over a barrel. Sure, Bryan could potentially bluff his way leading right into training camp, suggesting that he is is fully prepared to stand pat and force Heatley to either decide to like it and lump it, or take the Yashin route and take a hiatus from the league. But that course of action presents two problems, right off the bat.

For starters, does Bryan Murray want to chance losing his job after possibly allowing more chemistry problems creep into his club's dressing room? And even if he did have complete faith in his employers' understanding of the situation, would he be willing to make the necessary (and perhaps reluctant) player movement(s) in order to get this team back under the cap comfortably with Heatley remaining in the line up?

Until the Sens, Heatley or the Oilers make the first move this summer, I suspect that Murray's ongoing plan will be to somehow get the Oilers back in the picture in order to gain at least a little leverage in all of this. And if I happen to be right about that, this little press conference today will mean very little.

Oiler's fans will continue to put up with this nonsense until the first shoe finally drops.

Collusion Or Confusion?

I read an interesting article from Tom Benjamin this morning. He was discussing a prior article written by James Mirtle, who in turn was discussing a previous topic written by Bruce Garrioch. Apparently an anonymous agent of a player yet to be signed, believes there is collusion among NHL owners trying to keep salaries down. Mr. Benjamin had this to say...

"The real issue for the fans in this story is about the continued deterioration of the quality of the product. Dennis Seidenberg, Martin Skoula and Marc-Andre Bergeron may end up going to Europe to play while the Red Wings poach the 32 year old Andy Delmore from the Hamberg Freezers of the German Elite League.

This is not a good thing, but it is a consequence of the CBA, and not a consequence of collusion."

Personally, I believe the NHL has a place for a player of Delmore's talents. On the other hand, a guy like Marc-Andre Bergeron has been tossed around the league a bit and coincidentally for a 3rd round draft pick each time. But nonetheless, I do understand Benjamin's point and his "rich get richer/poor get poorer" assessment of the new CBA.

Following the lockout, it was my opinion that the new-found importance of player salary would have a substantial effect on goaltending. Generally a team with an upper echelon goaltender these days, is shelling out upwards to 5 million dollars or more per year. Teams stuck with mediocre goaltenders are still paying at least 3 million if that goaltender is considered the starter. Back up goaltenders around the league are now bought on the cheap, typically no more than 1 million dollars per. Understandably, there is little sense in locking up a lot of money to sit on the bench 60% to 75% of the time, when you could use it on forwards or defense in order to improve holes along the way.

Last season we may have seen the last example of a "1 and 1a" goaltending system, aside from the times when a young goaltender can compete for playing time during his entry contract. There are exceptions such as in Detroit, and now on Long Island. But these are nothing more than abberations, in my opinion.

Given that there are fewer goaltending positions to hand out across the league than there are forward and defensive openings, it makes sense that the crunch would be most noticeable with them. But this "squeezing of the UFAs" is not restricted to the one position.

If we looked at the hard cap in the simplest of terms, we could expect that NHL clubs would compete hard for the cream of the UFA crop each summer. Especially, seeing how trades are no longer as easy to complete. And obviously the competition will drive up the salaries of these upper echelon players, leaving less room for the plumbers, and at times leaving them with more holes than just in their bottom six. Year after year as inflation continues to grow, if the hard cap remains relatively the same, more and more of the budgets for each of these teams will be predetermined prior to each passing Free Agent Frenzy. And ultimately that will lead to more players shipping off to Europe as well as more anonymous agents complaining that their clients aren't getting a fair shake.

Ironically in all of this, the NHL appears to be looking at another kind of collusion at the moment. The kind made between GMs and agents.

Currently the NHL has begun investigating, whether Marian Hossa’s new 12-year contract with the Blackhawks was made in good faith. Should there be evidence that both parties have no intention in fulfilling this contract in it's entirety, penalties will be bestowed upon them.

How they expect to find proof in this matter, is beyond me. But from what I've been hearing, Chicago may not be the only franchise under investigation.

I haven't yet had the time to mull over just how these "retirement contracts" may further affect budgets and the survival of the lesser-lights, but I do suspect that it will only make the rich that much richer and the poor that much poorer.

Is This The End For Jim Balsillie?

Given today's report of the NHL's Board of Governors unanimously deciding to turn down Jim Balsillie's bid to buy and relocate the Phoenix Coyotes, it appears that he has successfully ostracized himself from his potential peers in a matter of just 3 years. And while they may or may not mean anything during this current bankruptcy trial, I think it would be safe to assume that if Judge Baum does not decide to rock the NHL boat and rule in favor of a smoother transition to the Reinsdorf group, that the likelihood of Jim Balsillie reappearing for a fourth time would be slim to none.

At the moment we can only speculate as to why the group of men whom we will affectionately refer to as the NHL fraternity, have chosen to do their part in blocking the Blackberry bid soon after ruling in favor of his acceptance back when he was interested in taking over the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2006. Obviously we know a lot more today about Jim Balsillie's motives than we did back then. But what we cannot say for certain is whether this is simply a decision to lockout a relocation bid to Southern Ontario, to preserve the NHL's plans to touch base with the Arizona market, or a mixture of the two. Until this point, it was not clear as to whether there was merely a personal conflict between the League's Commissioner Gary Bettman and prospective owner Jim Balsillie, but now we can see that the entire board is backing the stance of the NHL. And that is not to say that things aren't personal still, as the Board of Governors may see Balsillie's flamboyant actions as a means to look after his own interests while ignoring the interests of the League itself.

As expected, the Balsillie camp is claiming that the reasoning behind the Board's decision today is in question, noting how the same board members voted to accept Jim Balsillie three years ago. And I suspect that prior to a ruling, Judge Baum will be looking for an answer to these claims before deciding to rule in favor of a bid that happens to be roughly 65 million dollars shy of the Blackberry offer. Although I would be surprised to hear anything that we haven't already been told by Bettman or Daly thus far.

In other related, yet currently unsubstantiated news, Jerry Moyes may have just opened a whole new can of worms. I don't have a lot of details just yet, but Jerry apparently is threatening Coyotes Season Ticket Holders, suggesting that they would also be considered unsecured creditors and could potentially lose both their tickets and the money they bought them with.

If true, expect this to be hitting the airwaves very shortly.

Introducing The Arena Report

I suspect that this entry wont get much immediate attention, but it might perhaps be useful as an archive down the road. I wont bore you with many details, but this is my latest attempt at tackling the blogosphere; hopefully with some regularity.

My name is William and I am a thirty-something hockey fan based out of Toronto Ontario. I am also known to some as LeaferSutherland, the Commissioner (administrator) of The NHL Arena.

The Arena franchise is admittedly a brainchild of mine, working toward the goal of combining the vast information of the sport created by a progressive online media and the gathering of a community filled with fans looking for more perspective than your typical home-town crowd could offer. This project, now nearing its third year in existence, has broken a lot of ground and has seen many successes.

The Arena Report is my latest offering to the franchise, hoping to keep a finger on the pulse of the highly reputable Hockey Blogosphere. What I plan to do with future updates, is present to you news around the league through my various outlets and to provide an opinion that is two-fold; offering up both sides to every coin.

Wish me luck.