so let the rumor mill start

[HangukMiguk 8]

Well, I guess I'll be the first hockey nut other than Daniel to post a new thread.Well, with the season being cancelled last year, and several players being on the border of retirement last year, how many of those players (and who) do you guys see coming back to play this season?And as an added question, Yzerman (if he returns): Visor or none?

[MarionSauce 0]

Yzerman will probably wear a visor. He said he would after he got his serious eye injury. Don't know for sure now though-its been a while since he said so. I wonder if Hasek will stil play for the Senators? Did they sign him to a 2 year?What will happen to my geriatric Leafs??!

[HangukMiguk 8]

I wonder if Hasek will stil play for the Senators? Did they sign him to a 2 year?

Did they? The last thing I had heard was mid-season 03-04 when he announced he was out for the year, and would probably be back behind the Wings pipes next season.Of course, that was a long time ago.

[vonteego3 0]

I wonder if Hasek will stil play for the Senators? Did they sign him to a 2 year?

Did they? The last thing I had heard was mid-season 03-04 when he announced he was out for the year, and would probably be back behind the Wings pipes next season.Of course, that was a long time ago.

behind the pipes? Dude doesn't even know where to stand anymore, he should hang 'em up.

[HangukMiguk 8]

behind the pipes? Dude doesn't even know where to stand anymore, he should hang 'em up.

wah-wahhhhhhh...well, THIS dude just basically woke up...long night last night.

[MarionSauce 0]

You guys don't remember ? http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=90161How will we have great hockey debates What will the Leafs do about Eddie??! :cry: At least we got rid of Kidd !

[HangukMiguk 8]

You guys don't remember ? http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=90161How will we have great hockey debates What will the Leafs do about Eddie??! :cry: At least we got rid of Kidd !

Aha! Well it does make sense, although I'd rather have Legace than Joseph as of the way things went in 2004.

[InsanityCubed 0]

Aha!  Well it does make sense, although I'd rather have Legace than Joseph as of the way things went in 2004.

You do. Joseph is UFA, and the Wings don't have much cap room, so Legace will probably be the starter.

[UglyJimStudly 0]

What will the Leafs do about Eddie??! :cry: At least we got rid of Kidd !

They'll keep him. He'll do fine this year, then probably split duties with Tellqvist next year, and then retire. I'm more interested to see what they do on defence, whether they keep all three of Klee, Kaberle, and McCabe. Lot of good defencemen are available as free agents.My sentimental favourite defenceman for the Leafs to pick up is Dmitry Yuskevich. No idea if they'll do it, but I always liked that russkie.For other completely unsubstantiated rumours:Eric Lindros has always been interested in playing for Toronto. That might be interesting to see, if he'd be willing to take a pretty dramatic pay cut.Tie Domi is an unrestricted free agent, still a tough guy but skilled enough to contribute, and good friends with Mario Lemieux. I've seen speculation that he might go to Pittsburgh to make sure other teams don't give Crosby a traditional NHL welcome.Brian Burke, new GM of Anaheim, is a good friend of Markus Naslund, unrestricted free agent who's supposedly unhappy in Vancouver. Naslund might be moving south.Joe Thornton was really unhappy in Boston at the end of the 2004 playoffs. Dunno if he still is, but he'd improve a lot of teams.Edmonton might just be able to afford to sign Scott Niedermayer if he doesn't return to the Devils. That'd be neat.The Islanders are probably going to be stuck with Alexei Yashin - it'd cost something north of $25 million to buy him out. I'm sure that'll make them happy.

[vonteego3 0]

What will the Leafs do about Eddie??! :cry: At least we got rid of Kidd !

They'll keep him. He'll do fine this year, then probably split duties with Tellqvist next year, and then retire. I'm more interested to see what they do on defence, whether they keep all three of Klee, Kaberle, and McCabe. Lot of good defencemen are available as free agents.My sentimental favourite defenceman for the Leafs to pick up is Dmitry Yuskevich. No idea if they'll do it, but I always liked that russkie.For other completely unsubstantiated rumours:Eric Lindros has always been interested in playing for Toronto. That might be interesting to see, if he'd be willing to take a pretty dramatic pay cut.Tie Domi is an unrestricted free agent, still a tough guy but skilled enough to contribute, and good friends with Mario Lemieux. I've seen speculation that he might go to Pittsburgh to make sure other teams don't give Crosby a traditional NHL welcome.Brian Burke, new GM of Anaheim, is a good friend of Markus Naslund, unrestricted free agent who's supposedly unhappy in Vancouver. Naslund might be moving south.Joe Thornton was really unhappy in Boston at the end of the 2004 playoffs. Dunno if he still is, but he'd improve a lot of teams.Edmonton might just be able to afford to sign Scott Niedermayer if he doesn't return to the Devils. That'd be neat.The Islanders are probably going to be stuck with Alexei Yashin - it'd cost something north of $25 million to buy him out. I'm sure that'll make them happy.

Domi to Pittsburgh? Forget it, the Pens brought in Ryan Vandebussche for that purpose. Look for the Pens to make a run at Neidermayer, Kovalev, Palffy, and possibly a veteran goaltender (like Mike Dunham).

[WestcoastCanuck 0]

John Leclair, Tony Amonte and Brian Savage have already been released.Rumoured to be released are Pierre Turgeon, Bobby Holik, Doug Weight and or Keith Tkachuk, possibly Mike Modano and Owen Nolan (if his injury is not deamed serious).I know there has been a lot of talk of Kovalev or Palffy going to Pittsburgh, but if he could stay healthy wouldn't John Leclair be a perfect fit?

[WestcoastCanuck 0]

I forgot to add, Markus Naslund, Petre Forsberg and Scott Neidemeyer are the three players that ANY team with cap space would be interested in. How much they get will go a long way determining what any future elite free agent will get.Hopefully the Canucks will pony up and keep Naslund.*Edited to also include Petre Forsberg

[vonteego3 0]

John Leclair, Tony Amonte and Brian Savage have already been released.Rumoured to be released are Pierre Turgeon, Bobby Holik, Doug Weight and or Keith Tkachuk, possibly Mike Modano and Owen Nolan (if his injury is not deamed serious).I know there has been a lot of talk of Kovalev or Palffy going to Pittsburgh, but if he could stay healthy wouldn't John Leclair be a perfect fit?

LeClair has never done a thing without Lindros centering his line, and besides that, he's well past his prime, and an injury prone floater... meanwhile, in his final 3 seasons in Pittsburgh, Kovalev averaged well over 1 PPG, and the fans absolutely LOVE him... second only to Lemieux all time in popularity in the city (well, pre-Crosby at least). Kovalev has never had the sort of success he had in Pittsburgh anywhere else... he's an absolute PERFECT fit for the 2nd line in Pittsburgh, and playing the point on the PP. Kovalev to Pittsburgh is about as certain a lock as anything.

[WestcoastCanuck 0]

John Leclair, Tony Amonte and Brian Savage have already been released.Rumoured to be released are Pierre Turgeon, Bobby Holik, Doug Weight and or Keith Tkachuk, possibly Mike Modano and Owen Nolan (if his injury is not deamed serious).I know there has been a lot of talk of Kovalev or Palffy going to Pittsburgh, but if he could stay healthy wouldn't John Leclair be a perfect fit?

LeClair has never done a thing without Lindros centering his line, and besides that, he's well past his prime, and an injury prone floater... meanwhile, in his final 3 seasons in Pittsburgh, Kovalev averaged well over 1 PPG, and the fans absolutely LOVE him... second only to Lemieux all time in popularity in the city (well, pre-Crosby at least). Kovalev has never had the sort of success he had in Pittsburgh anywhere else... he's an absolute PERFECT fit for the 2nd line in Pittsburgh, and playing the point on the PP. Kovalev to Pittsburgh is about as certain a lock as anything.

While Leclair is nowhere near as effective as he once was, he has had many good seasons since playing with Lindros. I suggested him going to Pittsburgh because 1.) he would come cheap for someone with his potential (even if only for a season) and 2.) he plays a style of game very similar to Kevin Stevens, a player who enjoyed a lot of success with Lemiuex. I'm not saying it has any chance of happening, I was just making a suggestion.Obviously Kovalev would be the ideal person for the Penguins to get. The season he had when Lemiuex first came back was awesome. I don't think it is a complete lock he will go back to Pittsburgh because Montreal is still interested in him. It would seem very likely though.

[vonteego3 0]

John Leclair, Tony Amonte and Brian Savage have already been released.Rumoured to be released are Pierre Turgeon, Bobby Holik, Doug Weight and or Keith Tkachuk, possibly Mike Modano and Owen Nolan (if his injury is not deamed serious).I know there has been a lot of talk of Kovalev or Palffy going to Pittsburgh, but if he could stay healthy wouldn't John Leclair be a perfect fit?

LeClair has never done a thing without Lindros centering his line, and besides that, he's well past his prime, and an injury prone floater... meanwhile, in his final 3 seasons in Pittsburgh, Kovalev averaged well over 1 PPG, and the fans absolutely LOVE him... second only to Lemieux all time in popularity in the city (well, pre-Crosby at least). Kovalev has never had the sort of success he had in Pittsburgh anywhere else... he's an absolute PERFECT fit for the 2nd line in Pittsburgh, and playing the point on the PP. Kovalev to Pittsburgh is about as certain a lock as anything.

While Leclair is nowhere near as effective as he once was, he has had many good seasons since playing with Lindros. I suggested him going to Pittsburgh because 1.) he would come cheap for someone with his potential (even if only for a season) and 2.) he plays a style of game very similar to Kevin Stevens, a player who enjoyed a lot of success with Lemiuex. I'm not saying it has any chance of happening, I was just making a suggestion.Obviously Kovalev would be the ideal person for the Penguins to get. The season he had when Lemiuex first came back was awesome. I don't think it is a complete lock he will go back to Pittsburgh because Montreal is still interested in him. It would seem very likely though.

Lemieux is going to play with Recchi and Crosby, so LeClair would be at best a 3rd liner... he wouldn't be successful in that situation. And besides, the Penguins have a young version of Kevin Stevens, but with more scoring touch, already... Ryan Malone.

[MarionSauce 0]

Yo, lets talk goalies. We all realize that if ANY of the forementioned players join Pittsburg, they will be a force. How about Marc-Andre Fleury? I don't know much but I would assume he'd be playing for the AHL team and obtaining experience. Will he be so improved that the Penguins can become a force? What is their defense like? I realize that Eddie might remain our #1 goaltender, but I question the ability, and am skeptical of Tellqvist's skills to take on this role in the future. This can possibly be due by Pat Quinn's large favouritsm for veterans and us fans not seeing much of Tellqy.

[WestcoastCanuck 0]

I never said he was going to go to Pittsburgh, I just suggested it. This is a thread about rumours. The penguins need a defenceman and a goalie more than Leclair anyways. I was just throwing Leclair's name out there because the Penguins are one of the few teams with lots of cap space and an apperent willingness to do some spending (for once).Do you think the Penguins would consider making a run at the newy released Hatcher, or maybe Scott Neidemeyer?

[Guest Frebz]

Rumors in Swedish newspapers says that Forsberg will join Sundin in Toronto. Would be fun to see!!!!

[ajs510 122]

Yo, lets talk goalies. We all realize that if ANY of the forementioned players join Pittsburg, they will be a force. How about Marc-Andre Fleury? I don't know much but I would assume he'd be playing for the AHL team and obtaining experience. Will he be so improved that the Penguins can become a force? What is their defense like? I realize that Eddie might remain our #1 goaltender, but I question the ability, and am skeptical of Tellqvist's skills to take on this role in the future. This can possibly be due by Pat Quinn's large favouritsm for veterans and us fans not seeing much of Tellqy.

I think the fact that the Pens will have the #1 draft pick this year and the #2 draft pick from two years ago playing on a line with Mario Lemieux in front of the first goaltender ever selected number one will make the team a force all by itself. Unless Sidney Crosby can't hack it in the NHL (Jason Bonsignore, anyone?)

[UglyJimStudly 0]

I realize that Eddie might remain our #1 goaltender, but I question the ability, and am skeptical of Tellqvist's skills to take on this role in the future. This can possibly be due by Pat Quinn's large favouritsm for veterans and us fans not seeing much of Tellqy.

Tellqvist's decent; probably not on the level of a Belfour or Joseph, but good enough to be a number one goalie in the NHL - I think playing the full season in St. John's last year helped him a lot. His long stay in St. John's is about half caution (the Leafs have a long history of burning out young goalies by moving them up too fast) and half economics - neither of the other contenders had two-way contracts. Economics still dictate that Belfour get the number one spot, can't waste that much cap space on a backup, but Tellqvist is pretty clearly either the future, or the guy the Leafs will trade for the future, and either way that means he needs some NHL games this season.The Leafs have a couple of younger goalies in the system - Justin Pogge and Todd Ford, both out of the WHL - but neither is likely to be ready for the NHL for a few years. There's an outside chance that they'll pick a goalie on Saturday, too, if Tuukka Rask is available at 21.

[UglyJimStudly 0]

Just saw that the St. Louis Blues have said they're not going to buy out Doug Weight or Keith Tkachuk. That means Chris Pronger might also be available on the free agent market. Wonder where he'll end up?

[WestcoastCanuck 0]

Just saw that the St. Louis Blues have said they're not going to buy out Doug Weight or Keith Tkachuk. That means Chris Pronger might also be available on the free agent market. Wonder where he'll end up?

This really surprised me that they would keep both of these guys. I can't see how they could possibly hold onto Pronger, unless they sign him and get a bunch minimum salary players to fill out the rest of the team. It seems strange to keep the aging core of a 7th place team together.The only explanation I can think of is the owners didn't want to pay them millions of dollars to NOT play on their team.

[UglyJimStudly 0]

The only explanation I can think of is the owners didn't want to pay them millions of dollars to NOT play on their team.

The Blues are actually for sale, so the current owners almost certainly don't want to pay any more to those players than they have to. Of course, this'll probably make it harder to sell the team since it'll be a couple of years before the new owners have much cap room to work with.

[vonteego3 0]

Yo, lets talk goalies. We all realize that if ANY of the forementioned players join Pittsburg, they will be a force. How about Marc-Andre Fleury? I don't know much but I would assume he'd be playing for the AHL team and obtaining experience. Will he be so improved that the Penguins can become a force? What is their defense like? I realize that Eddie might remain our #1 goaltender, but I question the ability, and am skeptical of Tellqvist's skills to take on this role in the future. This can possibly be due by Pat Quinn's large favouritsm for veterans and us fans not seeing much of Tellqy.

I think the fact that the Pens will have the #1 draft pick this year and the #2 draft pick from two years ago playing on a line with Mario Lemieux in front of the first goaltender ever selected number one will make the team a force all by itself. Unless Sidney Crosby can't hack it in the NHL (Jason Bonsignore, anyone?)

Pens arent likely to put a line out there with 3 centers... Mario can play LW, which he'll do with Crosby centering, but Malkin will be centering the second line with Ryan Malone and most likely Kovalev.

[vonteego3 0]

I never said he was going to go to Pittsburgh, I just suggested it. This is a thread about rumours. The penguins need a defenceman and a goalie more than Leclair anyways. I was just throwing Leclair's name out there because the Penguins are one of the few teams with lots of cap space and an apperent willingness to do some spending (for once).Do you think the Penguins would consider making a run at the newy released Hatcher, or maybe Scott Neidemeyer?

Yes, like I already said above, the Pens will make a run at Neidermayer... and rumor has it, Neidermayer would LOVE to play with Mario. MAF will be the go to guy in net, but they'll probably bring a vet in to at least push MAF, Caron, and Chiodo. The Pens don't have a solid #1 d-man (until Neidermayer signs, anyways) but they've got tremendous depth... the Ric 'n Dick connection, Josef Melichar, Michael Rozsival, and a slew of top prospects led by Ryan Whitney, Noah Welch, and Paul Bissonnette.