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To see the most current team speculation on all the possible trade-able players and some comments updated regularly, go to
The Rumor Chart. Players are added and adjusted throughout the days as to what percentages I feel are their most likely destinations based on the hundreds of phone calls, emails, texts, IMs and telegrams I receive. As well as those discussed below I have updated: Suter, Salvador, Ryan, Parenteau, Kostitsyn, Jokinen, Jagr, Hudler, Nash, Luongo, and Parise...
Some Quick Hits:
On Kovalchuk and the Islanders..
The big news we can finally discuss is surrounding NJ today, where there is some wild speculation that the team could sign Parise and trade Kovalchuk to be able to be in a better position to sell the franchise. I was told about this by various sources earlier in the week, but now it's been intensifying...to say the least...Who could take on kovalchuk's contract? Who is interested? I was told four teams...The Wild, the Red Wings, the Islanders and the Canadiiens...
Many will dismiss this as being a crazy rumor...It sounds crazy, it may not happen, but I can assure you...it isn't.
The Wild are going to make a splash and if not Parise why not Ilya? The Red Wings have all sorts of money and NEVER shy away from getting top, elite talent. The Canadiens have a need to get a star player on board, but taxes would take a big chunk from Kovalchuk's salary...however it could possibly be made up for in endorsement revenue...(interesting dilemma here..If Molson were to pay Kovy an endorsement contract to make up for lost money in taxes, would that be circumventing the CBA? And would the Islanders, who have really looked to be a team setting themselves up to sell, take on such a contract?
On Shane Doan...
Like that extra Christmas present your parents would reveal after you opened all of the others, we now have an official BONA-fide top-line forward to track on July 1. Doan is in some ways the perfect UFA as well, in that how often does as complete a player with ZERO question marks come into play? This will be a good bidding war, and good for Doan. And the list of teams interested is exploding...I currently have Pittsburgh(e4) and Montreal(e3) as the co-favorites, but Toronto(e4), LA(e2), Buffalo(e2) and Colorado(e3) are already included with more teams assured to get in (Detroit, Nashville?)
On Ray Whitney....
Unlike Doan, I do believe Whitney is willing to sign a one-year deal and wait out the situation in Phoenix..but remember Whitney was a second team NHL All-Star at the awards a few weeks ago...The strongest competitor for Whitney will be the Preds(e3), who are close to signing Gaustad, but need to add more upfront with the loss of the Russian Lost Boys. Carolina (e1) and Florida (e2) are possible...but long shots.
On Keith Yandle...
Enter the Montreal Canadiens(e3), and Habs fans everywhere should be praying for this one. Yandle would bring an alternative to the injury laden Markov. The Penguins(e3) , Blues (e3) and Flyers (e4) are also in on Yandle.
On Greg Zanon
Zanon flies under the radar unless you are talking to NHL scouts and coaches who all say they would love to have him...Winnipeg (e4), Calgary (e3), and Anaheim (e3) are good bets.
On Mikael Samuelsson...
I have it on good authority that Detroit tried to get Sammy back last year at the deadline. I feel they are going to be the team to beat for this valuable role player. (e4). Florida (e2), Calgary (e2) and Boston (e3) are in on Sammy.
On Travis Moen....
Calgary(e3) is looking to get in on Moen, but so are 5 other teams including his current Habs (e2), I am tracking Edmonton (e2), San Jose (e3), Vancouver (e3), and Tampa (e2)
On Alex Semin...
The KHL is still pushing hard, but there are definitely NHL teams who see Semin as a real possibility...The Caps are still in the mix, but right now I am hearing Detroit (e4) and Chicago (e3) as pretty much in a dead heat up front...
On Schultz...
It sounds as though Schultz news could break today or tomorrow...and I will be tracking this as well..Right now, I would give the slight advantage to Vancouver over Toronto...but it is slight...
Note on the E-System..
Many of you can skip this part, but if you are new the e-system in actuality works differently than many have portrayed it over the year. The system was designed to give the reader more info on the kinds of sources I am speaking to. It IS NOT a predictor of trades, rather only tells you who the interested teams are. With the exception of (e5) the e-system is purely about rumors.
So think of it this way: A player could be an e4 because I am almost certain they team is in on that player having heard the rumor form more than 1 person somehow connected to the deal, and yet still he goes somewhere else.. Just because a team is interested, doesn't mean they can get the deal done..
So what separates and e1 from and e4?
E1 - This is a rumor that comes from a single reliable source not in any way directly connected to the players or teams involved.
E2 - This rumor is simply more than one reliable sources not in any way directly connected to the players or teams involved and not connected to each other. It does not have to equate to two E1's. It could be several E1's.
E3 - This rumor comes from a single source with ties somehow to the players or teams involved.
E4 - This rumor comes from more than one source with ties to the players or teams involved.
E5 - This rumor comes from source telling Eklund the deal is 100% done and just has not been announced yet.
more to come, including the Schultz sweepstakes update...
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