Longtime Red Wings forward Kirk Maltby will sign a two way contract to remain in Detroit later today. His one year deal will pay him $525,000/$105,000(AHL) not including games played and playoff bonuses that could take his salary higher.
It was important for Maltby to put himself in position to finish his career with the Red Wings which is why he was willing to take the two-way deal. This way he will not be subjected to recall waivers if the club elects to send him to the team’s affiliate in Grand Rapids. If he was on a one way NHL deal and was obviously making more than $105,000 in the minors he would be subjected to reverse waivers which is something he was looking to avoid. If he were to get sent down on a one way deal he would basically be staying the AHL until the playoffs at the earliest as the team feels he would be attractive to another club at half of his $525,000 salary. Not to mention Detroit’s cap situation, if Maltby were to be picked up on reverse waivers the club could not afford to take on half of his salary while he plays for another organization.
Told former Calgary Flames and NY Rangers forward Nigel Dawes will sign with the Atlanta Thrashers sometime in next 48 hours
The Edmonton Oilers and forward Andrew Cogliano remain a ways apart as they try to reach a deal to get the skilled forward signed. Word is the Edmonton offer to Cogliano is significantly less than the $2.275 the team is paying forward Sam Gagner. If you compare both Gagner and Cogliano some may be surprised that Cogliano leads Gagner in several important statistical categories including Hits, Blocked shots, game winning goals, and overtime goals. Gagner does have 42 power play points compared to Cogliano’s 19 pp points but you can argue former Head Coach Pat Quinn didn’t provide Cogliano with the same PP opportunities. Cogliano actually has more even strength points than Sam Gagner.
I’ve spoken to a few players skated with Cogliano this summer and they rave about his skill level and his character.
Blues forward Alex Steen skated several weeks this summer with many Swedish players including Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Victor Hedman, and a guy named Petr Forsberg who continues to recover from a recent foot surgery. Word is Forsberg wants to return to the NHL and has looked good over the summer. Steen tells me he could easily walk into an NHL dressing room and be one of the best players immediately. For me it comes down to not only health but how committed he is to playing. If he can’t be counted on to play every night does it make sense for a team to take a shot? He’d look good in a Blues uniform and maybe even more important he’d help a team in financial need sell some tickets.
It’s not too often the Blues roll out the red carpet when they introduce a newly acquired player. Outside of some high draft picks the only player I can think of is Paul Kariya. Come to think of it they may have done the same with D-man Jay McKee. Regardless they are inviting fans to join in as the team introduces goaltender Jaroslav Halak. Word is the autograph line at the mall in Quebec is expected to die down in time for Halak to make it into St. Louis.
Billy Guerin continues to skate with Flyers players as he visits his Father in law who lives in the Philly area. There is a chance something materializes with Philadelphia but nothing is close to being done as we sit. There are still a few other teams that continue to show some level of interest in the veteran sniper.
You know it’s rough out there when veteran forward mark Parrish can’t even land an AHL gig.
Congrats to St. Louis native Sean Dolan who's been named Captain of the University of Wisconsin hockey team. Great honor for a great kid. Dolan grew up with the AAA Blues organization.
Another great kid and AAA Blues Alum Jimmy Martin has been named Captain of Yale University's hockey team.
Reminder....I will have an announcement next week on some exciting news in regard to where I can be read this coming hockey season.
Yesterday story...
Blues Gm Doug Armstrong said today that there is no debate, Eric Brewer is the Captain of the St. Louis Blues. This is a smart move by Armstrong that will earn him some points inside the dressing room. Brewer is a quality pro who doesn't deserve the embarrassment of being stripped of the "C". Management was in full support of Andy Murray giving Brewer the "C" three years ago and it would make little sense to take it away now. I hope Brewer makes a little more of an effort to open up to the media and fans this season as he's a very interesting person once he lets his guard down.
The Blues will formally introduce Jaroslav Halak to the fans and media during a press conference Thursday morning.
I’ll have more on the Blues later.
The Phoenix Coyotes are interested in signing Center Kyle Wellwood. Look for Wellwood to begin skating with Coyotes players in Phoenix in the next couple of days. Word is Wellwood would entertain going to Coyotes camp on a PTO. (Professional tryout)
Anyone who paid attention to this summer is well aware there’s been a very small market for centermen.
Veteran forward Darcy Tucker remains without a contract to play NHL hockey this season. I’m told he has no interest in attending a training camp with on a tryout and will not go to a camp without a contract. He remains hopeful to play.
When looking at the New Jersey Devils cap situation people must realize the team must move over four million dollars as they still need to sign players to fill out the roster. I keep hearing $3 milllion as the number which is incorrect. Plus New Jersey will still want to leave around $1-2 million of cap room for injuries so the actual amount of money GM Lou Lamoriello may need to move could be closer to $5-6 million when it’s all said and done.
The entire Ilya Kovalchuk saga seems so out of characteristic for Lamoriello that it’s pretty obvious the signing was driven by Devils Ownership. I just can’t see Lou going through all this hassle for one player, it’s not his style.
The NY Rangers have shown some interest in Ruslan Fedotenko and could invite the veteran player to camp on a tryout.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
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