Hasek

As you all should know by now, Hasek has signed a one year deal with the Detroit Red Wings.

Carter is apparently down to Toronto and Vancouver, with Toronto his preferred destination. The Leafs are trying to move Antropov i hopes of freeing his money up.

Despite reports saying the opposite, I am still hearing Vitaly Vishnevski will be dealt by the Ducks.

Mike Dunham is closing on a deal that will make him the back up goaltender for the cash-strapped Devils.

Yanic Perrault is still available...I'm hearing Washington, Atlanta, and Phoenix have shown some interest.

Biron to St. Louis rumours are really heating up, while Legace is in talks with the Islanders. I would do this in a second, would really push DiPietro.

Anyone get any extra Dave Chappelle Tickets for Toronto? I missed the boat...

and the site will be updated soon, it's currently not letting me update it, I will look into it...

Vitaly Vishnevski

He gets a $400,000 raise and now the Ducks want to deal him? This surprises me, but with Pronger now in Anaheim, his role will not be as large, so the Ducks feel they can deal him and save a bit of money. Edmonton would love to make another deal with Anaheim to pick him up, but there are several other teams who are interested including Chicago, Atlanta, Buffalo, Vancouver, Nashville, Columbus and Washington. Ottawa is in there as well.

Sebastian Caron has signed in Chicago, where he is likely to either start in the AHL or back-up Khabibulin. Brian Boucher could land in Buffalo once Biron gets dealt.

The Sykora to Edmonton rumours are 100% false according to a very good source. Anson Carter and the Leafs are still very much talking, one report has him going as low as 1.5 million per season for a one or two year deal, just so he can play for his home town. If thats the case, the Leafs need to make this deal, even though it will put them JUST under the 44 million dollar cap.

I'd like to welcome Rick James Dealer to the hockeyleaks.com staff, he has been very important to the forums for the past year, and now he will be posting news stories directly on Hockeyleaks.com. Also, I have re-added everyone's ability to "submit news" on Hockeyleaks.com, so go for it! It's time to bring this place back to life!

New Jersey

So the Devils will accept the $5 million award to Gomez, but the big story in Jersey today is that apparently Lamoriello convinced Malakhov to come back from retirement and expects Mogilny to be in training camp fighting for a position. Not that it makes much of a difference, but if both are playing, at least the Devils are not paying $7 million against the cap for non-playing players.

Yannick Tremblay will sign with Vancouver in the next few days

Leafs and Wings are still after Carter, don't ask me how Toronto can afford it, I don't know, but they've talked to his agent in the last 48 hours, that I can confirm.

Afinogenov could be on his way to Vancouver. Buffalo though needs defense, and Vancouver doesn't have much left to give out. Afinogenov's days seem very numbered in Buffalo.

Looks like Briere will remain in Buffalo, and so he should, he is their best two-way player, and will be a star in this league for many years.

I know updates on the main page have been slow, but I've been super busy the last three weeks. I'm hoping to add a few more staff members, so there is less pressure on myself, because it's hard for me and Cdog to keep up with everything that is going on, and Yick is on Vacation is BC, so it's been a tough few weeks. Hang tight, within the next few days things will be back to the way they used to be!

Gomez Awarded Five Million

Lou's got some decisions to make....

Belfour To Florida (H5)

H scale, isn't that the tornado scale? Lets have some fun and use it.

Belfour to Florida is done. $750,000 base salary, can reach over 1.5 million if he performs.

Martin Rucinsky is still looking like he'll end up in NYR (H3)

Petr Sykora to Washington(H2), Colorado(H1), Toronto(H1), or Atlanta(H1)

Bondra to Washington in the next week or so (H4)

I told you Gomez was looking at 5.85 a few days ago, I think a number very close to that will be announced today.

And I'm hearing Briere is likely to stay in Buffalo, but his friend Max Afiniganov isn't likely to be so lucky. I've been asked a lot about Eklunds rumoured three-team deal. Max would be in there, but all three of those teams need defense, so I don't see that deal going down. Biron and Max would be a package that could get a really good defender back in return. Colorado may be listening, I think they've got about 8 defenseman with the signing of Klee yesterday (1 year, $750,000).

And Mark Bell just signed a three year deal with San Jose, avoiding arbitration, which was suppose to go down tomorrow

Feel free to stop by the forums to ask any questions, and never expect to see the H-Scale again :)

Jan Bulis

Is now a vancouver canuck, does that mean Carter is gone? I don't know! Toronto and Detroit are still in there.

Recchi went to Pittsburgh. I know I said he wouldn't, but that's cause Eklund said so....so don't blame me!!

Briere may be dealt, but Gomez is almost a sure thing. Calgary is obviously interested, but Washington really is making a pitch as well. Montreal, LA, Edmonton, Florida, Phoenix and Colorado are all also looking at both options.

Mike Comrie and Ladislav Nagy may be the two toughest arbitration cases to deal with, expect Phoenix to listed to a lot of trade offers over the next 2 weeks for these players. Both hearings are August 4th.

Briere

One year, $5 million...thats what he has been awarded.

Buffalo tried to get a long term deal, but Briere is not having it. For that reason, it is now being highly believed that Briere is about to be part of a "sign and trade". Montreal, Atlanta, Calgary and LA have all apparently inquired about the center....

the fun of arbitration is just getting started

Brian Leetch and much more

New York Rangers are still in front for Leetch, while New Jersey (did they forget they are in cap-hell?), Nashville, Ottawa and Edmonton are also in this mix. Leetch is looking for a one year deal between 3-4 million I'm hearing.

Belfour's next tryout could come in St.Louis, but nobody seems to want to give the guy more than $500,000, and rightfully so.

Anson Carter is still out, and at this point it looks more and more like Vancouver will find a way to keep him. Detroit is very much still involved but that won't happen until the Wings find themselves a goalie. One team to watch for is Buffalo, as they seem to have strong interest in him, but are waiting to see what happens with their arbitration cases.

Early word from good sources has Scott Gomez getting awarded 5.85 million and a one way ticket out of New Jersey. Thats just an early number, we should know for sure what he gets tomorrow or Monday.

Mark Recchi isn't going back to Pittsburgh after all. The Red Wings seem interested, but once again they are waiting to grab a goalie. Other teams with interest in Recchi are Boston, Calgary, Phoenix and Atlanta. A few whispers of Florida and Colorado have also been heard.

As I told you before the UFA season even started, Peter Bondra is very likely headed back to Washington.

Kari Lehtonen's agent is in Atlanta today and apparently the two sides are close on a two or three year deal.

Andy Murray has turned down the coaching job of the Toronto Marlies, but Greg Gilbert is still in the mix. Wouldn't it be funny to see Pat Quinn coaching the Marlies? Why not I say...

Manny Legace to Buffalo rumours are false. The Sabres are currently trying to solve an overcrowded crease, not make it worse. Legace could end up in Long Island though, DiPietro could really use the pressure.

More Gomez Talk

While Calgary should be looked at as the front-runner, Phoenix is also very interested in him. Gomez meets arbitration tomorrow...

Belfour to Florida is almost a done deal

Biron could be headed to the Wings once Miller signs a new deal, but I'm hearing it could be a package deal should Buffalo run into arbitration situations they are not fond of. Lang and Kronwall are two names I'm hearing on Detroit's end.

Carter would like to sign with Toronto, but the Leafs are still looking at ways to shed some salary. Carter will not commit to Detroit until they have resolved their goaltending issues.

Long Island Troubles

I've been digging all day, and nobody is really willing to tell me exactly what is going on. It's not a situation that anyone is really speaking about internally, but from what I have heard, Smith and Lafontaine had issues with each other. Once Smith was let go of this morning, Lafontaine held himself accountable and stepped down himself. That is the story I am getting right now, but it's too early to confirm such thing. I will continue looking into it...

As for Garth Snow....there has to be someone else out there who is a better replacement. On XM today (if you don't have XM, check it out, it's great), they were discussing how Pat Quinn maybe would have been a good replacement. Compared to Garth Snow, I would have been a good replacement. I like Smith's offseason moves, and when I first heard of the firing early this morning, I wondered whether not signing Mike Peca was part of it (NYI offered Peca a three year deal worth quite a lot of money).

More as it develops...

Gomez

Looking 90% like he's going to be traded, and at this point it's looking like Calgary wants him.

Rucinsky should be a Ranger again by the end of this week as well...

for the latest check Hockeyleaks.com, as well as our forums

Peca To Toronto

One year, 2.5 million. The club will announce it tomorrow.

Anson Carter could be next to go to Toronto, as he was very interested in the fact that Peca was possibly coming to Toronto. Carter was thinking about Detroit because of the quality centers he would get to play with. In Toronto, if he didn't stick on Sundin's line, he would be forced to play with Antropov, Pohl, Wellwood, etc. Now with Peca coming to Toronto, Carter will get to play with two of the best centres in the NHL, and Carter really believes Sundin and Peca can improve his numbers. I think Carter will end up in Toronto, though LA and Detroit are still pushing hard, and Vancouver can't be counted out just yet.

How many teams are willing to take a big-money goaltender? If nobody wants Legace for two million per season, then it is doubtful anyone is going to take Giguere or Nabokov. Yes, these two are better than Legace, but they are in the same boat. Teams generally have a number one goalie. Here is a look at who each team has starting in goal at this point

Anaheim - Bryzgalov (Extra : Giguere)
Atlanta - Lehtonen
Boston - Thomas/Toivonen
Buffalo - Miller (Extra : Biron)
Calgary - Kirpusoff
Carolina - Ward
Chicago - Khabibulin
Colorado - Theodore
Columbus - Leclaire
Dallas - Turco
Detroit - Osgood?
Edmonton - Roloson
Florida - Auld
LA - Cloutier (extra : Garon)
Minnesota - Fernandez
Montreal - Huet
Nashville - Vokoun
New Jersey - Brodeur
NY Islanders - DiPietro
NY Rangers - Lundqvist
Ottawa - Gerber
Philadelphia - Esche/Nittimaki
Phoenix - Joseph
Pittsburgh - Fluery
San Jose - Toskala (Extra : Nabokov)
St.Louis - Sanford
Tampa Bay - Denis
Toronto - Raycroft
Vancouver - Luongo
Washington - Kolzig

As you can see, there are plenty of "extra" goalies, but no team really needs an upgrade at this point. St.Louis, Columbus, Detroit and Florida can all be considered "weak" in goal, but aside from Detroit, these teams seem happy heading into the season with what they have. These teams with holes to fill want to move their goalies to improve their team, and they want to do that ASAP. Unfortunatly for them, it doesn't look like more than one of them will be moved by the start of the season. Expect Detroit to get one, most likey Biron, but as for Giggy and Nabokov, I see them staying where they are until November.

Back Home

After a weekend away, I am back!

Lindros is not signed by Dallas, but should be today. The Stars wanted to get clarification from the league as to exactly how bonus' work. That deal should be finalized today.

Looks like the Carter sweepstakes are down to Toronto and LA, with Toronto having a slight advantage. Detroit is still in this as well.

The Mika Peca game is getting confusing and has gone on a lot longer than anyone expected, even Mike. It'll finally end this week, but it's anyone's guess where he ends up.

Finally for this morning, with Arbitration this week, it'll be interesting to see if any of the big names get dealt (Max for Buffalo, Simon from Philly are the biggest). Will any recieve an offer sheet? If I was a GM, I would, especially if I was a team looking to win the cup. Is Gagne worth a few first round draft picks, especially if you can lock him up long term? I say yes

Montreal/LA deep in talks?

Montreal is not finished yet, or at least that is how it seems. David Aebischer and Sheldon Souray are both being shopped, and according to one report, they may be packaged together and on their way to LA. No word on who could be coming the other way just yet, but I will keep my ear open and hope to get more information on this before I leave for the weekend (I'm leaving tomorrow, will return Sunday, but the site will still be updated so do not worry!).

Leafs and Carter are closing in on a deal, though LA and Detroit are both still in the mix as well. Leafs current offer I'm hearing is a two year deal worth 2.5 a season. Detroit is offering a two year deal worth 3 per season I'm being told. Don't count out the Flyers at this point either...

Mike Peca and the Leafs are in talks, and while I can not confirm if the Leafs have or have not made an offer to Peca, I am hearing the Rangers have offered him a one year deal worth 2.5 million. The Islanders are said to be sniffing around as well, as are Calgary, Atlanta and Columbus.

Eric Lindros has been cleared to play, so now the question is where will he end up? He was in Edmonton today and apparently is now seeking 2 million on a one year deal. The Leafs will not go higher than 1 million, while Edmonton may be willing to accept the 2 mil demand. Calgary also has some interest, Atlanta and Phoenix as well.

Greg Johnson and Ottawa are very deep in talks, I'm hearing that could be done by Monday.

Detroit is really holding out on Belfour, as they are really trying to pry Giguere out of Anaheim. Lang isn't getting this done.

Manny Legace is still out there, and St. Louis is the front-runner. Florida is there as well, while a report on Hockeybuzz.com suggests an un-named team will take Legace if they can deal their current number one goalie. I made a few phone calls, and I actually got three teams back, not just the one. From good sources : Buffalo would be interested in Legace if they can deal Biron, Philly would like Legace if they could deal Esche, and Anaheim would take Legace if they can deal Giguere. At this point I see Legace in St. Louis, though Pittsburgh is one other team to watch.

The Gary Roberts to Toronto trade rumours are dead, as most of you already know, however one source told me that the Leafs would be interested in bringing in Roberts at the trade deadline if they feel Roberts could improve them at that point, and Florida was willing to take a little cap back.

Devils are no closer to fixing their cap problem, while they are interested in bringing Ken Klee back. Washington is another team who has given Mr. Klee a phone call.

Habs Sign Samsonov

I take my garbage to the curb, come back, and boom! Samsonov is off the market...Montreal fans have been complaining for the last few weeks, but I bet they're quite content now, with a much improved offense in Samsonov and Johnson. I guess this makes Carter the best UFA left?

Habs Make Their Move

After signing Aebischer earlier in the day, the Habs have now added a winger, and traded another.

The Habs have acquired Mike Johnson from the Phoenix Coyotes for the Canadiens' fourth round draft pick in 2007 and traded forward Richard Zednik to the Washington Capitals in return for the Capitals' third round draft pick in 2007.

The Habs have got a really underrated player in Johnson, while Zednik will be allowed every opportunity to resurrect his career in Washington

Darryl Sutter To Step Down

Darryl Sutter will step down as head coach of the Flames tomorrow, Jim Playfair will take over. Sutter will still be the teams GM, while Wayne Flemming will replace Playfair as an assistant coach.

For those who missed it, Luke Richardson signed a one year deal with Tampa Bay today worth $500,000.

I'm hearing the Oilers are deep in talks with Danny Markov

The 2006-2007 schedule will be released tomorrow, and will take on the same format it did last year, with the exception of the outer-conference games switching divisions.

And how about Forsberg, who was suppose to be out until January, announcing today that he may be good to start the season. Thats good news for the Flyers, and even better news for Gagne, who plays at his best when paired with Forsberg. Maybe the Flyers will be more inclined to give him the big bucks he's after.

New Jersey's Plan

Though New Jersey is in what I like to call, "Cap Hell", there may be a way out of it. It will cost them, but rumours this morning are all about the New Jersey Devils.

First, the Devils are pushing hard to deal Mogilny, who still has something left to prove. At 3.5 million dollars, some teams may still be willing to take him, especially if a 2nd or 3rd round draft pick is included in the deal. Washington and Columbus are two teams with enough cap room to take him, while Pittsburgh and Chicago could both be in this mix as well. If Mogilny is dealt, expect the deal to be lopsided against Jersey. Example : Mogilny and a 3rd round pick for a low-grade prospect and a 6th round pick. New Jersey wants to keep Gomex, Gionta and Martin, and this is what has to be done to accomplish this.

A lot of NJ/Edmonton rumours going around, however most going around involve Gomez or Gionta. I'm hearing something different, as Edmonton is interested in acquiring either Rafalski or Martin. Jersey really wants Andrew Cogliano, while Kevin Lowe would rather deal one of his many draft picks. This is something to watch over the next little while.

The Leafs apparently have a deal on the table to acquire a first line winger to play with Sundin, and quite a good one. That being said, the Leafs apparently are waiting to pull the trigger, as they want to see if any of the RFA's going to arbitration are let go of, or can be had at a cheaper price. The Leafs are not done.

Chris Simon signed a one year deal with the New York Islanders today.

Ed Belfour should sign with Detroit in the next 24 hours, though despite what other blog sites are saying, this deal is not done.

Brian Leetch is deep in talks with the Rangers, as is Martin Rucinsky. I'd put Leetch at 75% a Ranger, while Rucinsky is 90%.

I am hearing Ottawa has no plans to get another big name free agent, and will likely use a prospect to fill Havlat's void. I bet they wish they still had Bochenski...

Whats Next And Who's Left

The Vancouver Canucks have signed center Marc Chouinard to a year two year deal worth 1 million dollars per season.

The Rangers are not quite done, and there is serious talk this morning that Brian Leetch could return to Broadway.

Though the Wings have yet to sign a goaltender, Ed Belfour could be offered a contract as early as today.

Is Martin Havlat worth $6 million a season? Chicago thought so, but then again, this is the same Chicago team that has offered Samsonov $7 million. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Lets take a quick look at who's left in the free agent market, in alphabetical order!

Jason Allison - Put up pretty good offensive numbers for Toronto, but was slow and had defensive problems. Still could be a number one center on a few teams, but likely will land somewhere as a number two. Toronto and Calgary are two teams I've heard.

Ed Belfour - Old and injury prone, but Florida and Detroit seem to both have interest.

Peter Bondra - Getting older, but can still provide offense. Could probably be had for around two million dollars a season, though there has been talk that he may retire.

Jan Bulis - Coming off his best offensive season (20 g,40 pts), Bulis is getting some attention, and could be had for less than 2 mil.

Anson Carter - Coming off one of his best ever seasons, Carter is looking for a longer term deal worth around $3 million per season. Many GMs feel that Carter only fed off the Sedin twins. Likely he'll return to Vancouver at this point, while Detroit and LA are still in there, and Toronto still remains as well.

Eric Daze - Injury prone winger who if healthy could return to previous form (70 points in best season). Daze has played in 20 games over the past two seasons, and will not be signed to anything more than a one year deal.

Brad Isbister - Still has lots of potential, scored 23 points in 58 games last season

Mike Leclerc - Has shown a lot of bright spots, but has not been as consistant as teams have hoped he'd be. Still worth a shot on a third line somewhere, maybe second.

Manny Legace - Some thought he was the best UFA goalie available (and his stats from last season agree), yet he says he has not recieved an offer from any team. St. Louis and Florida are both said to have some interest.

David Legwand - Injuries slowed him down last season, however, he's still a good center who is capable of putting up 45+ points per season.

Brian Leetch - Missed 21 games due to injury last season, but proved he still has a lot of offensive upside. Rumoured to be going back to NYR, while Boston is also possible.

Eric Lindros - Though he's battled injury problems the past 5-6 years, when healthy he's shown he could be as dominant a player as any. Toronto is most likely, while I feel Lindros could be this years comeback player of the year.

Danny Markov - Though his offensive production has declined over the past three years, he's improved his defensive game a lot. He is one of the best d-men left on the market, though a return to Nashville is unlikely.

Yanic Perrault - One of the best faceoff men in the league, Perrault is still a very valuable commodity.

Mark Recchi - A veteran who can still produce on the ice. Though Pittsburgh is still the most likely of places he'll end up, anything is possible. Any team looking for leadership should give Mark a call, just ask the Carolina Hurricanes.

Martin Rucinsky - 55 points in 52 games last year, I'm very surprised he's still available. The Rangers don't seem to keen on having him back, while I can confirm that Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Boston and Columbus have all inquired about him. Asking price is somewhere between 2-3.5 million per season, two or three year deal.

Sergei Samsonov - Maybe the best UFA available, Samsonov was built for the new NHL. Rumoured salary offers range from $3-$7 million, while many teams have been rumoured to be after his services. Detroit seems most likely, while Edmonton and LA are in the mix as well, as are at least four other teams.

Petr Sykora - A very good winger who can still put the puck in the net. Doesn't look like he'll return to the Rangers, and at this point it's hard to predict where he'll end up.

Updates

Sorry for the lack of updates the last few days, things have been very slow! Here is the latest :

In a move that has shocked almost everyone I've spoke to today, Shanahan has signed a one year deal with NYR. Yesterday we learned that Boston and St. Louis were out of the running, and it was down to Detroit and one other team. Not one person I spoke to yesterday felt the Rangers were that team, so this deal is really surprising a lot of people. It's a one year deal, worth 4 million dollars.

Bates Battaglia has signed a one year, two way deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He spent all of last season with the Toronto Marlies.

The Phoenix Coyotes have interest in Kyle Calder and Mark Bell, while according to one of my sources, "Chicago at this point just wants to make a deal". Not one bigger name free agent has had any interest in Chicago, and ownership feels they need to make a move in order to generate some excitement.

Detroit's goaltending still isn't solved. While some rumour blogs are reporting Belfour is a done deal, he isn't. Hasek is said to be close to retiring, while with Shanahan now a Ranger, Robert Lang may not be expendable. Khabibulin would be interesting if the Wings could find the cap room, while they are still interested in Giguere, Biron and Nabokov.

Rupp is back with the New Jersey Devils, he signed a one year deal.

I heard a rumbling that Ottawa and Montreal both have interest in UFA Tie Domi.

Boston may look at Samsonov now that they've lost out on Shanahan. Edmonton, Detroit, and Chicago are all said to have interest, while I'm sure there are a few other teams interested as well.

If you want to write articles for Hockeyleaks.com, just email me them at cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com and I'll throw them up. Enjoy your Sunday

Shanny Close To Deal With Bruins

I'm hearing 2 years / around 5 a season, maybe 4.8 or 4.9, should go down before weekend

Belfour could also sign with Detroit soon, while Lang for Giguere rumours are also circulating around a bit.

Legace is still a UFA, I don't get it....

Another one I don't get is Samsonov, who may be the Wings backup plan should they lose Shanahan

Halpern To Dallas

Four Years / 8 million, done deal

According to one report the Habs are close to signing Poti and Sykora, not sure about this one

Friesen A Flame

1 year / 1.3 million

Lindros is almost certain to remain a maple leaf

Calgary still lacks that center

Edmonton is really shopping draft picks at this point, they need a defenseman in the worst way

Belfour To Detroit?

He's working out with the Wings today, if all goes well he could sign in the next 24-48 hours

Shanahan is still available, and I'm surprised. A lot of teams are interested at this point, the Bruins one of them, the Leafs another (however Shanny is probably out of their spending range). NYR and Montreal are also in this mix.

Sabres are trying hard to deal Biron, while San Jose is in no rush to deal one of their goalies.

Spacek has signed with an unnamed team that isn't the Oilers, hopefully we know who that is today. The Sens wouldn't shock me...

The Pens have interest in Yanic Perrault.

Anyone else surprised that Legace is still available? I still see him in St. Louis, though Florida is another option. Still a lot of goalies available on the trade front as well, but according to many sources, the asking prices are extremely high.

Witt To Islanders

Three Years, still waiting for confirm how much

Guerin To St.Louis

Done deal, no details yet

Shanny is down to Boston, Toronto and one team that I have not been told

How Teams Look So Far...

Rucchin is a Thrasher, and Ward is a Ranger...other than that, it's been slow since the big Pronger blockbuster earlier today. Update : Teppo Numminen has signed a one year deal with the Sabres.

Shanny, Carter, Samsonov are all still available. I was just talking to Ryan, and I have been going on about how each team has done so far this offseason, so right now I'm going to tell you what I think of each team so far, and how I think they would do next year. I'm going to post this in the blog section of the forums, please either agree with me, or rip me to shreds, I want your opinions. We'll start in the East.


East

Ottawa - Chara and Pothier are gone, and have not done much to replace them (Joe Corvo?). Ottawa's defense is not as good, either is their goaltending (remember, Ottawa was unstoppable at the beginning of the season because Hasek was unstoppable. Gerber isn't Hasek, even when Hasek was 40 yerars old). Ottawa is not as good as they were last season, and even with their offense, I currently see them somewhere between 3rd and 6th in the East. Redden will struggle without Chara, and Gerber is a serious risk

Carolina - Ward and Grahame are both huge question marks, while Doug Weight is gone, as are Aaron Ward and Martin Gerber, and Mark Recchi is likely leaving. This team hasn't done much to improve, but when your Stanley Cup champs, do you need to? As of now, I don't think Carolina is as deep as they were last season, and this year there will be a lot more question marks surrounding the team.

New Jersey - The team has no money to sign Gionta and Gomez and a back up goalie, so someone is getting traded...the only big contracts you can deal at this point are Brodeur and, well thats it. It will be interested to see what NJ does, but remember, this is a team that almost missed the playoffs before an unbelievable late season run. If Gomez or Gionta leave, this team will finish somewhere between 6th and 10th.

Buffalo - The same team as last year, except this time there will likely be more pressure on Ryan Miller. Jay Mckee is gone, and that will hurt this team. The Sabres have yet to make their move, but they may be ready to take the next step and surpass the Sens if they can use some of that available cap room to bring in another quality player or two.

Philadelphia - The Flyers have yet to make a splash, and yet they've lost a few key players (Jonsson comes to mind right away). Not much money to spend, and no Forsberg for half the year next year could hurt, but the Flyers are still a threat in the East, and should finish somewhere in the middle.

NY Rangers - Ward and Rachunek improve this teams defense, while for the most part last years Ranger team will be back. If healthy, the Rangers are my favourite at this point to win their division, as I feel they currently have a better team than both NJ and Philadelphia.

Montreal - They haven't really lost anyone, yet they've failed to gain the big names they were after. After watching Toronto and Boston add key players, Montreal needs to make a move or two if they wish to compete in the Northeast.

Tampa Bay - They lost Kubina, which will hurt, but Kuba and Delmore should help balance that out. They finally have goaltending in Marc Denis, but the loss of Modin will hurt. Tampa should be better than last year, unless they run into injuries, because they don't have much cap room to work with should a St. Louis or Richards become unavailable.

Toronto - Toronto currently resembles the team that tore up the league the last three weeks of the season, except now they have better defense. Toronto has a great group of young forwards, and with Sundin finally going to be given a chance to play top minutes, the Leafs shouldn't have a problem making the playoffs. As long as Raycroft refinds his game, and the Leafs use the $8 million they have left to spend on a top line winger such as Carter, Shanahan, or Samsonov, they'll challenge in the Northeast.

Atlanta - Loosing Modry and Savard really stand out, and I don't think Atlanta is as strong as they were last year. That being said, a full season with Lehtonen in net may be enough for the Thrashers to finish in the 7th or 8th spot.

Florida - Loosing Luongo hurts, even if they did get Bert, Allen and Auld in return. Florida is no better this season than they were last, especially since they failed to land Jovonovski. Florida, at this point, is not a playoff team.

NY Islanders - Mike Sillinger isn't enough to bring this team back to life, the Islanders will struggle with their current roster, and there isn't much left on the market to help them either...

Boston - Chara, Mara and Savard are great pickups, but I still don't believe it's enough to get Boston back to the playoffs. Tim Thomos and Hannu Toivonen are both huge question marks in net, while Savard won't put up numbers like he did last season, as he has no skilled wingers to work with. Boston needs to get some offense before we can take them seriously.

Washington - Pothier will improve their defense, but the Caps are still a long ways away from competing with the big boys. The Caps still need a top centre to play with AO.

Pittsburgh - After being the most active team one year ago, the Pens have slept through free agency thus far. They are young, and will be good in say 5 years, but for now, they look poised to struggle.


West

Detroit - Very much the same team they iced last year, except their leader has retired, Shanahan (80+ points last year) has yet to re-sign, they've tied up 7.6 mil on Lidstrom, and they've yet to find a starting goalie. Detroit may have a tough time defending the presidents trophy.

Dallas - Once again, very much the same except now they have Modry and Sydor on the blueline, and no Bill Guerin. The Stars should once again compete for the top spot in the West.

Calgary - With Tanguay, the Flames should be one of the biggest threats in the NHL. They still lack that #1 Centre though, but other than that, this team is very solid.

Nashville - With Jason Arnott now on board, the Predators should feel good about their chances of winning the Central. They still need a little defensive help, but as long as Vokoun is healthy, Nashville is a top five team in the West, if not top three.

San Jose - Though they're not improved, they haven't gotten any worse. What they do with Nabokov will determine how this team does. Dealing the wrong goalie could really hurt this team, and I'd almost suggest they keep them both, at least for half the season.

Anaheim - They've got two all-star goalies, a great group of young talent, the best defensive pairing in the league in Pronger and Niedermayer. There is no where for Anaheim to go but up.

Colorado - They kept Sakic and added Arnason, but Colorado may finally be on the decline. They've lost Blake and Tanguay, and added very little. Theodore is very questionable, and Budaj isn't ready to step in should Theo falter. It could be a very interesting season for the Avs.

Edmonton - I don't even know how to put the Oilers situation into words. They've lost a lot, and gained very little over the last few days. The Oilers appear to be rebuilding, which must make Oilers fans very angry after they were just a couple goals away from winning the Cup just three weeks ago. The Oilers have lost offense, a lot of defense, and have kept their goaltending the same. For a team that finished 8th last season, it may be unrealistic to think they'll finish that high next season.

Vancouver - For years, the goaltending situation has been knocked. The Canucks have fixed that, but now they may not have the money available to fix their defensive and offensive problems. Loosing Bertuzzi and Jovonovski will hurt this team, and if Carter isn't retained, Vancouver could find they're in trouble.

LA - They've lost Demitra, and added Blake and McCauley are nice additions, but they're not enough to transform LA into a playoff team. I doubt the Kings are done, but if they don't address their goaltending situation, I don't see the Kings improving much.

Minnesota - This may be the most improved team thus far. Demitra and Parrish will make great additions to the Wild, and should take a lot of pressure off of Gaborik. Fernandez is a great goalie, and should be even better with the additions of Jonsson and Carney. Minnesota will fight for a spot, and will end up somewhere around 7-9 with their current roster.

Phoenix - Jovonovski and Boynton will both make the Coyotes' defense stronger, though loosing Mara will hurt. This team has a lot of offensive potential with Doan and Nagy right at the top, though I beleive they still need a strong centerman to be considered a playoff team.

Columbus - Taking a gamble on LeClaire will make this team very interesting, while Modin should add more offense to a team already stocked with Nash, Zherdev and Federov. Loosing Denis, however, could prove costly.

Chicago - They've made no improvements, and I currently see them as the last place team in the NHL.

St. Louis - They get new ownership, and all of a sudden they have playoff aspirations. While I think it's too early to start thinking of the playoffs, St. Louis could be a team that finishes 10th or 11th in the West. Adding Doug Weight and Jay Mckee will make this team much better, however, they still need a goalie if they want to avoid another disaster season.

Pronger A Duck

It's official. Lupol, one non-roster player and several conditional high-end draft picks are going to Edmonton

Leafs are one of four teams still in the Samsonov hunt. I'm guessing Edmonton and San Jose are still both in it as well

Shanahan to Boston rumours are false from what I'm hearing, St. Louis is still trying very hard to get him

Pronger To Anaheim?

All signs point to Chris Pronger being dealt to Anaheim within the next few hours. No word on who's going back to Edmonton, but Anaheim has a lot of young talent to deal. Pronger-Niedermayer may be the most dangerous defensive pairing in NHL history...deal is close, we'll see if it goes through...

Steve Yzerman will announce his retirement today at 1 pm. There is another hole the Cap-Strapped Detroit Red Wings have to fill.

Detroit is looking to aquire Nabokov in the very near future. If they fail, they will add Ed Belfour to come in as the backup to Chris Osgood.

Check Hockeyleaks.com for all the latest, including a brand new Q & A, this time with Detroit Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk! Check it out!

Salei To Florida

4 year deal

Could this have anything to do with the Pronger talks? Maybe Florida lost out? Tough call right now

Weight Back To St.Louis

2 Years, 3.5 a season

Straka has also re-signed with the Rangers, not sure on details yet

Sydor Back To Dallas

Tampa traded defenceman Darryl Sydor to the Dallas Stars on Sunday in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick.

McCauley has signed a three year deal with the LA Kings

According to reports Florida and Edmonton are very close to a deal involving Chris Pronger, but it's not done!

Mike Sillinger signed a three year deal with the Islanders, while Jason Arnott will spend the next five years in Nashville.

Elias Re-Signs In Swamp

In case you missed it, Elias has signed a seven year deal with the Devils, worth 42 million dollars (6 a year)

Blake Signs In Los Angeles

Veteran Rob Blake has signed a two-year $12 million deal with the Kings.

ALSO:

-Patrick Lalime signs with Chicago
-Joe Corvo signs with the Senators

Ottawa Signs Martin Gerber

The Senators have signed goalie Martin Gerber. Terms not disclosed.

ALSO:

-Tampa Bay signs Andy Delmore and Andreas Karlsson
-Detroit re-signs Chris Osgood
-The Sharks sign Curtis Brown
-Philadelphia sign Nolan Baumgartner and Lars Jonsson
-The Canucks sign Willie Mitchell
-Washington signs Brian Pothier
-St. Louis re-signs Dallas Drake and signs Jay McKee
-Calgary signs Andrei Zyuzin

Tyler Arnason Signs With Colorado

The Colorado Avalanche have signed forward Tyler Arnason to a one-year deal.

ALSO:

- The New York Rangers have signed Matt Cullen to a multi-year contract.

Thronton To Los Angeles

That's Scott Thornton, who signed a 2 year, $3 million deal.

ALSO:

-John Grahame signs with the Carolina Hurricanes for $2.8 million over two years.
-Toronto signs Hal Gill to a 3-year, $6.3 million deal.

Boston Continues, Signs Savard

Boston Bruins have signed former Thrasher Marc Savard to a 5 year, $20 million deal.

Leafs Ink Pavel Kubina

The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed defenseman Pavel Kubina to a 4-year $20 million deal.

Jovanovski Signs With Coyotes

Ed Jovanovski has signed a 5-year deal with the Phoenix Coyotes.

Chara Signs With Kings

Zdeno Chara has signed with the Los Angeles Kings. Terms not disclosed.

ALSO:

-Scott Mellanby re-signs with the Thrashers, 1 year/$1 million

-Columbus re-signs Kris Russell, Jaroslav Balastik (1 yr/$525,000), Alexander Svitov (1 yr/$450,000), and Anders Eriksson (1 yr/$600,000)

-Rangers re-sign Karel Rachunek

-Washington re-signs Brent Johnson

Check HockeyLeaks.Com for more!

Yick
yick@hockeyleaks.com

Here We Go!!!

After months of waiting, it's here! At 12 noon today, the UFA market begins, and yes we will see players go today, and most likely several in the first couple hours. I'm hearing Jovo (Florida) and Gerber (Detroit) could be the first two to go.

Marc Savard has said he'd like to talk to the Leafs, however, the Leafs feel his 97 point season was thanks to Kovalchuk, and do not have interest in him.

The Rangers apparently are the front runner to land Chara, however, many in the Rangers organization feel they'd be better off signing two players for Chara's price. The Kings are also going to go hard after the very large blueliner.

McKee is very saught after, with NYR, Toronto, Montreal, LA, Ottawa, and most of the other teams interested in his servives. Toronto is apparently in the lead, with the Rangers, Kings and Sens right behind.

Arnott will recieve interest from the Kings, Habs and Leafs right from the get-go.

Roenick is still looking at Toronto and Ottawa, but would also like a shot in Vancouver and Calgary as well. It's still very likely he ends up on a Canadian team.

Anyone remember that Rob Blake is a UFA? The fact that Colorado has yet to sign him, makes him one of the best blueliners availables. He was trying to get his own deal done with the Avs, but since no contract has been completed, he has re-hired his former agents and will look around the league for the best deal possible. Still likely he returns to Colorado, but he's available to all 30 teams today.

Get ready for the collapse of the Oilers. Peca, Roloson, Samsonov and Spacek all hit the open market today, while Pronger is still waiting for a trade. If I was an Oiler fan, I would not be happy with the job of Kevin Lowe at this point.

The Phoenix Coyotes are expected to be very active on the UFA market this summer. They apparently have interest in Jovo, Chara, Arnott, McKee, Mitchell, Elias and McCauley. They are also interested in Chris Pronger.

Montreal is said to be ready to offer Patrick Elias a contract. Many teams are interested in the speedy winger, including the Devils, Leafs, Sens, Wild, and Panthers, among many others.

Montreal and NYR are two teams I've heard interested in newly-made UFA Bill Guerin

Tie Domi is likely to retire, though the Habs are said to have some interest in him, Ottawa as well.

Belfour is likely to end up in one of LA, Detroit or Florida.

One of the most underrated UFA's available this season is Anson Carter. Vancouver and Toronto are the two most likely destinations for him

Two minutes, here we go! I will be around for half today, Yick will do coverage after that. Enjoy your July 1st everyone, it's going to be a fun next couple of weeks