NHL Trade Deadline News & Rumors / The Day Before The Madness

I will be in and out today (kids school field trip) and may not update the site a quick as I would want. But have no fear my friends, follow me on Twitter for up to date NHL news and Rumors.

These are the guys most likely to be traded or be involved in a lot of action/talk today;

1- Ethan Moreau (The Oilers are trying hard to make a deal to send him away. The Kings and Leafs are interested. The Oilers will take anything in return.)

2- Ray Whitney (A number of teams want his services. But he can be picky as he can decide where he goes. The one place I heard he likes is the Penguins. But are they willing?)

3- Lubomir Visnovsky (The Devils and the Bruins want Visnovsky. I would suspect that one of them will make a deal for him today.)

4- Alexander Frolov (He will be traded before tomorrow's deadline. I keep hearing Montreal and the Rangers as the two main teams interested. But look for the Kings wanting a scoring forward in return.)

5- Paul Kariya (I am not kidding when I say he wants to be a Canuck. He wants to retire in Vancouver and Vancouver needs his skill to get to the "next level".)

6- Teemu Selanne (The New Jersey Devils have shown a lot of interest in Selanne. They could use his scoring touch.)

7- Raffi Torres (He was once dubbed useless, and he's now coveted. The Penguins and the Flyers are after him.)

8- Scott Niedermayer (After his gold medal leading run, teams want him again. I was told the Devils, Flyers and Rangers have been pushing for him. I was also told by my friend in Anaheim, he will be traded. I think I'll trust him.)

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TEAMS THAT WILL BE ACTIVE

The Boston Bruins (The want a defenseman. How far will they go to get one? Is it Visnovsky? Is it Ryan Whitney? Is it Dan Hamhuis?)

The Edmonton Oilers (They need to shed some salary. Moreau, Pisani, Souray, Visnovsky, O'Sullivan, Cogliano, Comrie and Staios are the choices.)

The Pittsburgh Penguins (They would like to acquire a winger for Sidney Crosby) **EDIT** They acquire from Toronto Alex Ponikarovsky for Luca Caputi and Martin Skoula.

The Atlanta Thrashers (They want to add another forward. Is Frolov the guy?)

The Florida Panthers (They have some big time salary to shed. When a team is in rebuild mode they will take just about anything. Horton, Dvorak, Reinprecht and Allen area all expendable.)

The Nashville Predators (Dan Hamhuis is up for sale and I'd expect this team to do some additional wheeling and dealing.)

The Columbus Blue Jackets (The are only looking to add draft picks. Anyone is up for grabs if the other team is offering picks.)

The New York Rangers (Silently waiting for a good deal to come around. I hear it's close, but no one wants Wade Redden and he will be in any deal.)

The New York Islanders (The have an extra goalie and are willing to deal. They are leaning to trading Roloson. He has a higher value than Biron.)

The Montreal Canadiens (They also have a goalie to deal. Carey Price is the odd man out now. Halak impressed the Habs at the Olympics.)

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WAIVERS

Brad Lukowich (Vcr)
Ryan Oulahen (Det)
Enver Lisin (NYR)
Aaron Voros (NYR)
Anders Eriksson (Phx)
Chris Chelios (Atl)
Nick Boynton (Chi)

The NHL Trade Deadline Looms

Once again it's almost the NHL Trade Deadline. Who is going to be traded??? Who is going to be sitting there on a crappy team after it's all said and done???

The guys on this list are, in my opinion, sure fire trades. Don't worry critics, I won't be 100% right. You'll have lots to chop up to throw back at me. ; )

Paul Kariya will be traded to the Vancouver Canucks. My guy there tells me both parties want this deal. Kariya retiring in Vancouver is what builds Stanley Cup stories. The Canucks need a story.

Kyle Turris wants to be traded and I'd expect the Coyotes to fulfill the wish. He's frustrated and he wants out.

Andrew Cogliano to the Coyotes is more than rumor. It's pretty real. The Oilers are just hesitant, but will be willing to deal before the deadline is up.

Keeping with the Oilers, the name Nathan Horton keeps going around the Oilers office. There has been interest there by the Oilers for a long time. With the Florida Panthers fire sale, is this the chance the Oilers were hoping for?

Ethan Moreau and Steve Staios will be traded before the NHL Deadline. The Oilers are adamant to get rid of them. Sheldon Souray and Lubomir Visnovsky are gaining interest, but the Oilers are asking a lot for either of them.

Dan Hamhuis will be traded by the Nashville Predators. No one is really sure where yet. He is getting a lot of interest. I'll keep you posted.

Aaron Ward to Boston is really getting serious. My friend is Boston tells me that they really want his "type" on the team for a playoff push.

Ray Whitney is on the move. Word has it he needs a new contract form the other team BEFORE he waives with the Hurricanes. He better not be a prima donna or he may not go anywhere.

Brooks Orpik has been linked to a number of teams over the Olympic break. But what I know is that the Black Hawks really want him for the playoffs. Can the deal get done?

Andy Sutton is most likely to be traded in the next 24 hours. I keep being told he's going to the Calgary Flames or the Colorado Avalanche. Let's see who the Islanders choose to deal with. **EDIT** Wrong. He was traded to the Ottawa Senators.

Dwayne Roloson is getting a huge pitch from former teammate Chris Pronger. It appears that Pronger is begging the Flyers to make a deal for Roloson. He says if your going to battle in the playoffs, you want Roloson to march along with you.

**EDIT** The Roloson to Flyers is real. When will it get done?

**EDIT** Slava Kozlov to the Bruins is also a real possibility. The Bruins have Marc Savard pitching for him.

**EDIT** Robert Lang to the Capitals may just get done today. A high to mid draft pick is what the Coyotes want.

**EDIT** Lubomir Visnovsky to the Boston Bruins is close to done. From what I heard, Brad Marchand and a 3rd round pick plus some salary to the Edmonton Oilers for Lubomir Visnovsky. The 3rd may turn into a 2nd round pick depending on how desperate Boston is for his services.

**EDIT** Sheldon Souray is rumored to be headed to the New York Rangers. Wade Redden is to be included in that deal. The Oilers don't want Redden.

**EDIT** Maxim Afinogenov will be on the move. It's not when, but where. I'm sure the Thrashers are not asking for a lot.

Today's Musings - Trades/Rumors/News

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Today was a interesting day. Here is what went on.

TRADE: Lethonen for Ivan Vishnevskiy and a 4th round draft pick. Waiting to see if it's true. (via @ajcthrashers) With this tweet, Eklund's Sources was the first to report it in full. Others were close, but we had the 4th round pick added to the deal before anyone else. Search the hashtag #Thrashers if you don't believe me.

- Getzlaf went and had an MRI done on his ankle. Speculation was running wild and I received some info stating that Steven Stamkos, Jeff Carter and Brad Richards are the 3 guys that are the "black aces" for Team Canada. I am told that Jeff Carter is the leading "black ace".  But from what I heard, Getzlaf may just be OK after all. Stay tuned "black aces".

- Jay Bouwmeester to the Penguins really has some legs. My guy in Pittsburgh says that they want a solid puck moving defenseman. JayBo fits that bill. I have also heard that if the Pens can't get JayBo, they will try and cut a deal for the Edmonton Oilers, Lubomir Visnovsky.

- I received this tip but I am not quite buying it. It sounds far fetched. I have been told the Pens are talking Mark Eaton, Ruslan Fedotenko and a 2nd rd pick for Flames Jay Bouwmeester. But Pens need more cap space.

- Then I was told the Calgary Flames would only want to part with Cory Sarich and that JayBo was not for sale.

- I have heard that Tuomo Ruutu from the Carolina Hurricanes is on the block. Not sure yet who wants him.

- From what I know, the Vancouver Canucks want another 2nd line forward and a 2nd pairing defenseman. Who are they looking at? I don't know.

- The more I hear Temmu Selanne's name... the more he's becoming a hot commodity. Saku Koivu, not so much. The Caps, Pens, Devils and the Sens all have interest in Selanne.

- I was also informed today that Kyle Turris wants to be traded. He's tired of wasting away in the AHL when he could be earning an NHL pay cheque on another team.

RANDOMS: Steve Ott to the Oilers, Carlo Colaiacovo to the Lightning, Flyers or Thrashers.


- STUPID RUMOR OF THE DAY: I was told this and almost peed in my pants from laughter. Steven Stamkos to the New York Islanders for a 1st round pick AND John Tavares. This will never happen in a million years.