Ek's RUMOR TIP> Trade Deadline is Coming Fast!You should FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER HERE to find out when I have posted a new blog AND get "Quick Hit Rumors" between blogs
Rumor....
Jim Vandermeer to the NY Rangers (e3)
On the TOP 50...
There are many considerations when I set out to do the next Trade Rumor Chart. Below are the players who I have heard the most about as of January 10th. I have put these players in order of how desirable they appear to be based on the market out there currently. This list is a only a starting point however, and players can be moved up or down...and will be.
Currently, I actually have notes on close to 90 players, but these 50 are the most discussed. (FYI, Jamie Langenbrunner was 12th on my list at the time he was dealt.)
So how does a player make this list?
*It's important to remember that often the early rumors I get are contingency plans and generally one of the biggest contingencies is "Does our team have a shot in the playoffs?" Teams like Carolina, Florida, Ottawa, Calgary, Anaheim, and Minnesota are teams I would say have big decisions to make. They have some value they are holding onto should they decide to sell. It's always a tough call, but should one of those teams decide they have a shot....their players on this list can fall off fast. Unfortunately, sometimes we don't know those plans until 3pm on the deadline passes.
*Some players, like Roman Hamrlik or Ponikarovski, are on this list because of the cap space they possess and because I have heard it mentioned these players could be used in a swap of sorts. (not unlike what we saw today between the Rangers and the Coyotes.)
*It's also important to remember this list in no way implies these players are being shopped, but rather their inclusion should be viewed as a "meter of interest."
*Some players may appear to be too high or too low. Some players may be question marks due to health but could be activated and moved I am told by February 28th. I listed the cap hit of players this year, because this number also plays into how high 9 (or low) they are ranked. A reasonable cap hit helps a player's value, but that is not to say a high cap number can't or won't be moved. I am always amazed how teams find ways to make the numbers work.
*Many of these players are also UFA's.
When will the Chart be Live?
God willing in the next 72 hours. At that point, quite a few of these players will be listed with possible destinations...
Rumors are fast and furious right now and I am working as fast as I can to make sense of it all so that I can launch it. Last year it launched on January 18th.
Do I believe these players will be moved?
I wish I could say I knew for certain, but again all I can go upon is what i am hearing....
(enough disclaimers already!)
Eklund's Top 50 Players To Watch Come Trade Deadline (cap hit)
1. Brad Richards 7.8
2. J.S. Giguere 6.0
3. Alex Semin 6
4. Joni Pitkanen 4
5. Kevin Bieksa 3.75
6. Tim Connolly 4.5
7. Tomas Vokoun 5.7
8. Bryan McCabe 5.75
9. Curtis Glencross 1.2
10. Jussi Jokinen 1.9
11. Tomas Kaberle 4.25
12. Andrew Brunette 2
13. Tomas Fleischman 2.6
14. Chris Phillips 3.5
15. Craig Rivet 3.5
16. Alexei Kovalev 5
17. Teemu Selanne 3.25
18. Matt Moulson 2.45
19. Ed Jovonovski 6.5
20. RomanHamrlik 5.5
21. Jim Vandermeer 2.3
22. Jason Arnott 4.5
23. Ian White 3
24. PeterBudaj 1.25
25. Antti Miettinen 2.3
26. Michael Ryder 4
27. Brendan Morrison .725
28. Steve Staios 2.7
29. CoryStillman 3.5
30. Milan Hejduk 3
31. Alex Tanguay 1.7
32. Erik Cole 2.9
33. Andreas Lilja .750
34. Alex Ponikarovski 3.2
35. Chris Clark 2.6
36. Chuck Kobasew 2.3
37. Ethan Moreau 2
38. Maxime Talbot 1
39. Nic Zherdev 1.5
40. Radek Dvorak 1.7
41. Sergei Samsonov 2.5
42. Paul Mara .750
43. Chad LaRose 1.7
44. Chris Higgins 1.6
45. John Madden 1.25
46. Simon Gagne 5.25
47. Rob Niedermayer 1.25
48. Johan Hedberg 1.5
49. Doug Weight 1.1
50. Patrick Rissmiller 1
more to come...
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