I’m told Islanders GM Garth Snow is targeting two former NHL Head Coaches to fill the vacancy left behind by recently fired Ted Nolan.
Snow is apparently telling people inside the Islanders organization of his desire to hire former Thrashers Head Coach Bob Hartley.
The two have a relationship going back to the mid 1990’s when the two were in the AHL with the Cornwall Aces.
Former Tampa Bay Head Coach John Tortorella is also being given very strong consideration.
Some believe Marc Crawford who coached Snow in Vancouver could get a call.
With this being said you never know what good ole Charles Wang has in mind!
As I reported earlier Terry Murray is expected to be named the new Head Coach of the LA Kings. Kings GM Dean Lombardi has been very secretive the last several days as he turned up the heat in search of a coach to replace Marc Crawford. I'm told he was interviewing candidates in a remote location away from the Kings offices.
Other candidates Lombardi apparently had interest in include Mike Sullivan, Kevin Dineen, Randy Cunneyworth, and current Kings assistant coach Mike Johnston.
Rink Rats!
The Vancouver Canucks still believe they have a strong shot to land Mats Sundin. The club has told Sundin that he would step right in and be the Captain of the Canucks plus the Olympics will be held in Vancouver in 2010 as selling points. The club is loaded with Swedes even after the departure of Marcus Naslund.
Did you know the Canucks had exclusive negotiating rights with Michael Ryder for several days leading up to July 1st? The Canucks were obviously outbid by the Boston Bruins.
Former NHL agent David Frost lost his bid in an Ontario court on Monday to have several sexual exploitation charges dismissed. Frost will next appear in court in Late August with a trial expected to get underway in October.
If you’re a hockey fan you’ll love a new company New Jersey Devils D-man Bryce Salvador has started with former NHL D-man Jason Wooley and his company Wooley-Martin. Former NHL player Steve Dubinsky is also involved.
Check out www.fan-tasticsports.com to learn about this incredible concept. They recently teamed up with Hockey Canada and are setting up hockey fan fests in various locations throughout North America. They debuted at the recent Calgary Stampede and the fan fest was a huge success. They hope to eventually set up these fan fests in several NHL buildings and become a staple at annual events such as the All-Star Game, the Winter Classic, and the Stanley Cup Finals.
An exhibit will be set up this weekend in Chicago at the Blackhawks fan fest which will include several marquee players from the current NHL roster as well as past greats such as Bobby Hull.
Look for another Hockey Canada Fan fest to appear in Saskatoon very soon as well.
Toronto forward Jamal Mayers recently phoned Maple Leafs legend Borje Salming over in Sweden to tell him how excited and honored he is to wear his #21 this coming season in Toronto.
Mayers grew up playing hockey with Salming’s son and spent many nights as a kid hanging out at the Salming household.
Congratulations to Dallas Drake on his recent retirement. This guy has truly earned everything he's ever had when it comes to hockey. He's an awesome person who is living the dream on Wednesday when he hosts the Stanley Cup on his parents farm near Trail, British Columbia. There will be a parade on wednesday in honor of both the Cup and Drake. He will also host the Cup for a day in Traverse City, Michigan in early September.
Blues Clues!
The Blues are expecting to receive about eight million dollars in league revenue sharing from this past season. NHL clubs don’t receive the money until October.
Some inside the organization believe it is possible the team could break even this coming season. That would be quite an achievement when you consider the Blues lost a whopping $27 million just a few years back in 2005-2006.
You can expect the Blues to have a cap number of around $49-50 million for this upcoming season.
Blues Ownership (SCP Worldwide) is moving forward with their plans to renovate the historic Kiel Opera House. It will cost around $50 million to fund the project which they expect to open in April 2010.
Blues training camp is expected to begin on September 18th.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
[email protected] 
St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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