– The Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks are set to face-off for the right to claim the Stanley Cup. For the first time this season, East meets West and the two teams are almost mirrors of each other. This might be the best final we’ve seen in a long time. Game one is Wednesday at 8 in Chicago. This is the first Oringal 6 final since 1979 when the Montreal Canadiens ended their 70’s-era dynasty with a series win against the New York Rangers.
– LOTS of rumors out there involving LOTS of teams. The NHL Draft is set for June 30 in New Jersey. This could very welll be the most anticpated draft day in a long time with a lot of high end names in play.
The Goalies:
– Ryan Miller will most likely NOT be a Buffalo Sabre come draft day. The Sabres are pretty much blowing their team up and Miller will fetch a very large return. The St. Louis Blues are said to be in the running as they were too thrilled with Brian Elliot and Jaroslav Halak’s inconsistency this season. The Penguins are also said to be interested especially with Marc-Andre Fleury’s awful showing this post-season. I think Miller would do well in the West though especially with the Colorado Avalanche and new head coach Patrick Roy. Roy just hired former Canadiens goaltender coach Francois Allaire who helped train Roy and current Avalanche goalie J.S. Giguere.
Courtesy: Pittsburgh Post Gazette
– Marc-Andre Fleury – what a train wreck. His post-season flop might have spelled the end for the former number one goalie. The Penguins have a LOT of thinking to do about the direction of their team and buying out or trading MAF is something they are seriously considering. The Minnesota Wild, Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers would all be very interested, as would the Buffalo Sabres, He is still a very good goalie who may just need a change in scenary, but after the last two post-seasons his stock has fallen.
– Roberto Luongo – here we go again. The Luongo soap opera that has been dragging on for almost two years will come to and end on draft day. The Canucks have played this out for far too long and they won’t get the return they were hoping for. Lou’s contract is still poison and the ‘Nucks could buy him out, but that would leave them with a very large sum of money against the cap for the next 200 years. The Panthers are still very much in play and could use their high draft pick to entice anyone to trade up. The Maple Leafs might be out of the Lou sweepstakes as the James Reimer and Ben Scrivens played very well last year. The Flyers would be a good bet too, especially since they are most likely buying out Ilya Bryzgalov. Interestingly enough, the Washington Capitals keep coming up in rumors and I wonder if perhaps they would dangle the rights to talk to Mike Ribeiro if he doesn’t re-sign. The Caps can trade his rights to any team before his contract expires. However, the Caps have ZERO cap room unless they purge.
– Niklas Backstrom – the guy in Minnesota. The Wild were a little distraught this post season when Backstrom hurt himself in warm-up before game one even started and was out for the duration. They had to turn to back-up Josh Harding, who was back from complications due to his MS medication. The Wild may look else where for their goaltending and Backstrom may be signing with a new team. The New York Islanders may come calling as well as the Flyers.
– Dan Ellis – while he’s not a big name, he’s getting some interest from the Flyers and Flames. He’s a solid back-up and won’t command much against the cap.
– Sergei Bobrovsky – his contract is up and he’s not re-signing until it’s official that he’s won the Vezina. He’s received offers from the KHL for absurd amounts of money and he will get offers from other NHL teams. He’ll probably re-sign with Columbus, but they won’t want to give him too much based on one good season.
– Ilya Bryzgalov – The Bryz experiment in Philadelphia is all but over now. He’ll most likely be bought out and sent on his merry way. Chances are he’ll go to the KHL, but NHL teams might take a chance on him again. He’s a good goalie, but his antics with the media and inconsistent play might scare teams off.
The Skaters:
– Mark Streit – Looks like the captain of the Islanders won’t be back. The Calgary Flames and New Jersey Devils are going to look hard at the Swiss defenseman as will the Detroit Red Wings. He’ll command a good amount of money and could use a much deserved change of scenery.
– David Clarkson – the power foward will probably stay in Jersey, but the Maple Leafs would love to have Clarkson especially if they can’t re-sigh Clarke MacArthur.
– Clarke MacArthur – good seg-way – MacArthur might not be back as the Maple Leafs might be cleaning house a touch and shedding salary. The Flyers would love MacArthur especially since they are re-tooling their roster as well.
Courtesy: USA Today
– Thomas Vanek – one of the big names in play out of Buffalo, Vanek will be a hot commodity come draft day. The Coyotes, Flames, Stars and Red Wings are all interested. He could stay in Buffalo, but I think his time is done.
– Ales Hemsky – new GM Craig MacTavish pretty much said that Hemsky is going to be traded, and it’s about time too. The Senators, Islanders, Panthers and Lightning would be good fits. I wonder if the Capitals would kick the tires if they can figure out their cap.
– Jeff Schultz – He’s asked to be traded and the Caps are more than happy to do so. He’s a nice guy and all, but not that great of a defenseman, especially for $2.75M a year. With Schultz off the books, it still doesn’t help the Caps in the cap department.
– Matt Hendricks – THE CAPS NEED TO RE-SIGN HENDRICKS. But I don’t think they can. The heart and soul player will be sorely missed if he goes to the New York Rangers, who want him bad.
– Mike Ribeiro – Not sure if the Caps will end up signing him. There hasn’t been much news about his situation, and I’m wondering if that’s because the Chicago Blackhawks are interested. They’re a little busy right now, but the Caps could trade his rights to them for the right price. The Coyotes are another team that will look at Ribeiro as are the Canucks, if they can shed some salary, too. Ribeiro is a good guy and a good player, but to keep him would cost the Caps too much.
– Mason Raymond – looks like he’ll be a casualty of the new cap. The Blue Jackets, Sabres, Avalanche and Stars would be interesting. He’s a great utility guy that can play on a top line.
– Stephen Weiss – He won’t be a Panther come draft day. The Islanders would be a great fit as would the Bruins, but the Red Wings will take a good look.
– Derek Roy – his quick stint in Vancouver is over and the Red Wings and Blue Jackets will come calling, however the Sabres might want Roy back after trading him last year for Steve Ott.
– Bobby Ryan – He will be traded. The Ducks just can’t keep him anymore with the cap lowering. The Red Wings will come calling as will the Rangers, but the Flyers want him bad. They’ve been after him for two years now.
– Jarome Iginla – welp that didn’t work out too well, did it? Probably should have stuck with the Bruins, eh? Iggy won’t be in Pittsburgh next year – which is good because I like him – and chances are he could be an Avalanche. Everyone and their mother wants Iginla, but not many teams can afford him.
– Scott Gomez – The Sharks will probably not bring him back, and that’s ok, because Gomez is now free of his awful contract he signed with the Canadiens. He’s still a great player and I think the Devils would welcome him home with open arms.
– Matt Gilroy – Probably not going to be a Ranger. They have a lot of re-tooling to do as well, especially behind the bench. The Flyers would be a great fit but the Jets and Stars are interested too.
– Matt Cullen – The Wild will be re-tooling as well, especailly if they want to bring in a top goalie to replace Backstrom if he leaves. Cullen is a great utility guy and the Panthers are keen on him. The Capitals are also looking at Cullen, which is interesting because if they don’t sign Ribeiro, that frees up a lot of potential space.
More on the Penguins:
The Penguins have a lot of decided to do between now and the draft. I can’t see them keeping Fleury especially since Malkin and Letang are both UFA’s next season. They’re going to command a lot of money, obviously, and the Pens best bet is either buy Fleury out or trade him. Vokoun can handle the load and a backup that could eventually take over the number one role would be their best bet. Michal Neuvirth’s name has been mention in passing.
Dan Bylsma might be out of a job as well. GM Fred Shero wasn’t too thrilled with the way they dropped 4 straight to Boston and he definitely didn’t like Bylsma’s approach with Iginla. Shero would love to re-sign Iggy, but chances of that are slim unless he takes an uber-discount. Matt Cooke needs to be re-signed as does Pascal Dupuis. Dupuis could be the casualty going into next season unless he takes a mild contract, but this was a break-out-type year for him and he’ll get good offers from other teams. Bylsma has a year left on his contract and the Penguins are happy with him overall, but with all the coaching changes in the past few months, ANYONE can be let go especially if the need to win a Cup is dire.
The Rangers:
Torts is gone, so the Rangers need a new coach. They also need to decide on whether or not they want to buy out Brad Richards and re-sign Ryan Clowe. If they re-sign Clowe, they lose their second round pick to the Sharks. With Clowe’s injury problems, it may not be worth it. Mark Messier is still a contender for the coaching gig, but the Rangers are still doing interviews with Dallas Eakins and Alain Vigneault.
LOTS more to come…
