Archive for the 'Trade Rumors' CategoryPage 2 of 2

2/10 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 10, 2007
in Danny Markov, Dominik Hasek, Flyers, Henrik Zetterberg, Jiri Hudler, Joey MacDonald, Nick Lidstrom, Niklas Kronwall, Pavel Datsyuk, Peter Forsberg, Tomas Holmstrom, Trade Rumors and Valtteri Filppula
. 2 Comments

Update (4:00 PM): Taking a page from James Mirtle’s book, I’ve added a section the sidebar (”Other reading”) that will display links to hockey-related items of interest that don’t get blogged here (or that I haven’t yet had time to mention). It’s through Google Reader and is something I’ve wanted to do for a while, but it wasn’t very easy to implement on WordPress blogs until recently. - Matt

… Chuck Gormley continued his “Forsberg watch” for the Courier Post yesterday with another installment. Nothing very new, though Gormley expands on his idea that Forsberg would like to come to Detroit, saying that it’s because

“two of the Red Wings’ top four scorers, defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom and left wing Tomas Holmstrom, are from Sweden.”

I see your point, Mr. Gormley, but three of their top four scorers are from Sweden. Not sure how you missed Henrik Zetterberg.

Anyway, he goes on to say that the Wings may be interested in dealing either Andreas Lilja or Niklas Kronwall as part of the package. Personally, I think that if the Flyers are dumb enough to take a Lilja package (perhaps with Williams), it wouldn’t be such a bad deal. But if they demand someone like Kronwall or Hudler, I’d hope they’d say “no.” There is little use in throwing away two key pieces of the future for a player who may only be with the team until July 1st.

The story that was being reported earlier in this saga was that the Wings would demand that Forsberg sign a contract with them as part of any deal, and that may still be one of their stipulations. However, it doesn’t look like Forsberg would be willing to do so, as there is talk that he’d look to return to Philadelphia after a playoff run with another team. The Wings may decide Forsberg is worth the short-term benefit and hope that they could convince him to stay afterwards, but I think it would be foolish to give away one or more of their future stars in exchange for a player that could retire (if he does sign a long term contract) or bolt (if he doesn’t) at any moment.

Peter Forsberg certainly has the ability, if healthy, to make a huge impact on the team, as Nick Lidstrom told Ted Kulfan yesterday, but, given the likely asking price, it doesn’t seem to me that the Wings have the organizational depth to pursue a deal without really hurting their future.* Now, if Forsberg works out some kind of Hasek-like deal with Philly (”Don’t take too much from them, I want to be able to win.”) or the Flyers get conned into taking Lilja and Williams, it’d be worth it, if he were healthy. That’s a pretty big “if,” in my mind, even though he seems to have found a solution. My question is: will it last or will it be like the other “solutions”?

… George Sipple reports that Joey MacDonald will get another start in the coming back-to-back series. It will almost certainly be Monday night in Philadelphia as Dominik Hasek ough to be in net tomorrow against Calgary. Joey is still looking for his first NHL win and hopefully his teammates will show up to play this time around. He’s played extremely well in almost all his games this season, but hasn’t gotten the support he deserves from the skaters.

… Sipple also says that the Wings are concerned about their slow starts in the last nine games. I am too, though I have been impressed by their comeback ability and determination not to give up. Still, they’ll have a much harder time pulling off such comebacks in the playoffs, so hopefully they’ll find motivation to play hard from the first drop of the puck to the buzzer at the end.

… There is some variety to the reports on the nature of Danny Markov’s injury: The Freep calls it a “contusion in his middle back” and claims Piet Van Zant’s authority; the News calls it a “sore shoulder, ribs”; and TSN just calls it a shoulder injury. All three say he’s listed as day-to-day.

*There are those fans who dislike Niklas Kronwall, Jiri Hudler and even Valtteri Filppula for mistakes they make and for their lack of production. This is because we were spoiled by Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg making an immediate impact. We have forgotten that most young players need years to develop and that they aren’t likely to be stars right off the bat. Kronwall, Hudler, and Filppula are very likely to be big names in the League in years to come, but they aren’t going to be that immediately, though I personally think they’re pretty good even now. So, that’s why I say the Wings would be mortgaging their future if they trade any of them away, even though they might not seem so valuble now.

2/9 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on February 9, 2007
in Blues, Chris Chelios, Henrik Zetterberg, Hockey Media, Joey MacDonald, Leafs, Manny Legace, Mark Messier, Peter Forsberg, Selke, Todd Bertuzzi and Trade Rumors
. 2 Comments

Update (10. Feb, 12:45 AM): Over at KK, Chuck Gormley has some more on the Forsberg situation. He believes that if Forsberg decides to ask for a trade to one of a list of teams, his preferences, “would probably be, in order, Detroit (Lidstrom), Vancouver (Naslund), Anaheim and San Jose.”

I’ve heard the Forsberg-Naslund connection talked up a lot (i.e., they’re childhood friends and used to hope to play together again for their hometeam, MoDo - which they did during the lockout), but not one with Lidstrom so much (it must be from their time together on national teams as they’ve never played together professionally). Interesting that Nick may be a bigger pull than Naslund, thought it could be more because of the Wings’ chances than anything else. If it’s true. - Matt

Update (2:50 PM): ESPN’s Scott Burnside has a take on the Mark Messier GM story that’s similar to my reaction, though his commentary is quite a bit less inflammatory than my knee-jerk rhetoric. - Matt

… The Wings were shut out for the first time in 176 games last night as the Blues beat them 1-0 in St. Louis. It looks as though they had another slow start to the game and never really recovered, despite strong goaltending by Joey MacDonald. Joey gave them a chance to win by stopping everything except for a freak goal that went in off Chris Chelios.

For Blues fans, the bad news is that Manny Legace was hurt during the second period in a collision with Thomas Holmstrom.

The Wings play Calgary at home next, on Sunday at 6:00 PM ET.

Since I did not see the game and cannot provide a first-hand account, I suggest going to Gorilla Crouch, where Dave will probaby publish one soon, and No Pun Intended, where Steph already has.

… Unfortunately for the Wings, the Predators did not lose last night. They beat the Leafs in a penalty-filled affair in Nashville and are again in the lead by three points. They can go up by five with a win over the Kings on Saturday.

…. Ted Kulfan suggests that Henrik Zetterberg could be in the running for the Selke Trophy this year. I agree, and thought the same thing last year. It’s the young stars in the East that get all the attention, and though they obviously deserve a lot, I’m with Wayne Gretzky in saying Zetterberg is flying under many people’s radar.

… Kulfan and George Sipple of the Free Press both mention the rumor that the Wings are interested in Todd Bertuzzi. I’ll be frank: I would be absolutely appalled if they do end up going that route. You know may recall my opposition toward acquiring Peter Forsberg due to the uncertainty about his health. Well, I’d take Foppa any day over Bertuzzi, ankle problems and all (even more so now that he’s found some kind of workable solution). Ugh. There is no reason to bring Todd and his baggage into the lockerroom. Please Kenny, no Bertuzzi.

Oh, and by the way, the Forsberg rumor is heating up slightly, with the story currently being that he would be willing to waive his no-trade clause for three teams only: Detroit, Anaheim, and Montreal.

11/05 Notes

Published
by
Matt Saler
on November 5, 2006
in Dan Cleary, Notes, Peter Forsberg, Trade Rumors and Valtteri Filppula
. 0 Comments

… The Wings beat the Blue Jackets last night 4-1, extending their win-streak to six while at the same time opening up their offense a little. The Wings now have a couple days off before they host Edmonton on Wednesday at 8:00 ET.

… Daniel Cleary scored twice, including a great shorthanded breakaway goal in the second period. It’s hard to believe now, but Cleary was an offensive force in the OHL before he was drafted by the Blackhawks. Obviously, he’s fulfilling a different role now, but it’s good to know he has that burst of speed and a finishing ability.

… The other goals came from Henrik Zetterberg and Mikael Samuelsson. It’s good to see those two scoring. Hank’s was a blast from the left circle and hopefully signals more to come.

… Dominik Hasek didn’t get a ton of work, facing only 17 shots, but the goal he did allow looks like it was through a screen. It seems Dom’s getting on track as well.

… One thing that’s not getting on track, however, is the power play, which George Malik says is still in “‘decline the penalty’ mode.” The Wings were 0-for-7 last night, prompting Mike Babcock to say to the News,

“We’re going to talk about this every day until we get it fixed.”

I hope so. The special teams aren’t all bad, though. The PK unit killed off eight of nine Columbus power plays.

… Valtteri Filppula had a great game last night, according to Helene St. James. He played 13:45, of which 3:10 was power play time. He assisted on Mikael Samuelsson’s goal with a nice play from down low to Nick Lidstrom, who’s shot resulted in the scramble for the puck on which Sammy scored.

Although the Wings could use size and toughness, it’s easy to see why they’re taking Filppula over Brad Norton. Fil is just too good a player and can contribute offensively, something the Wings need probably more than they need what Norton can give. The Wings are a four-line team again, as St. James points out. Couple that with the team’s strong defense and they are still going to be tough to beat.

… Lastly, there’s a rumor floating around that has the Wings looking at Philadelphia captain Peter Forsberg. An earlier rumor had the Flyers interested in Andreas Lilja and Mathieu Schneider, and though the rumor mills haven’t officially connected the two into one coherent story, the idea seems to be that a Forsberg-for-Lilja-and-Schneider dea is likelyl. I say: “Bull!” George Malik puts it best:

Maybe I’m crazy, but I find it hard to believe that the Wings would trade their #1A defenceman for a fragile forward.

Malik also points out that even if the Wings traded both Schneider and Lilja, their combined salaries still woudn’t leave space for Forsberg’s, meaning the team would be right up against the cap. That might not be such a big deal if you’re of the persuasion that Floppa would fill in the sniper slot the Wings are supposed to eventually fill this year, but it would mean it’d be a lot harder to get a goalie, should the need come up.

Basically, I can’t see something like this happening. The days where Forsberg would have been an attractive acquisition are long gone. He’s still a great player, but far too injury-prone. Why trade away our best offensive defenseman for a guy who may or may not be able to play a full season? Besides, the Wings already have the next Peter Forsberg in Henrik Zetterberg.

If a Lilja-for-Forsberg trade would work under the cap, I’d say “Do it, Kenny!” but I doubt the Flyers would go for it. They have enough pylon-imitating defensemen as it is.

Khan: Datsyuk-Luongo rumor bogus

Published
by
Matt Saler
on June 13, 2006
in Pavel Datsyuk and Trade Rumors
. 0 Comments

Has it straight from Ken Holland: “I can nix (the rumor) in two ways: No conversations with Florida and I don’t have any plan to trade Datsyuk.’’ But Ansar still thinks the Wings will pursue Luongo.

Link