Kristers Gudlevskis increased his brand equity last week at the Sochi Olympics when he made 55 saves on 57 shots in Latvia’s 2-1 los to Team Canada in the semifinals. The 21-year old international man of intrigue will remain with the Tampa Lightning as an injury replacement for Ben Bishop’s back-up tender Anders Lindback, who sustained an ankle injury before the Olympic break. Per the Lightning, Lindback has not been cleared to play yet.
Gudlevskis (fifth round of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft) and split this season between the ECHL and AHL Syracuse Crunch.
Lindback is not cleared to play currently, so Gudlevskis staying with the #Bolts as insurance. #TBLightning
— Missy Zielinski (@Missy_Zielinski) February 24, 2014The Lightning will begin a grueling four games in six nights marathon starting this Thursday. How cool will it be if Gudlevskis makes his NHL debut as a starting goalie when his Team Latvia head coach Ted Nolan and his friend Zemgus Girgensons play in Tampa next Thursday March 6?
Steven Stamkos will make his return to the Bolts next week as well, possibly against the Sabres.
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The NHL trade deadline in March 6 and Buffalo will be a hotbed of activity in the week to come with pending UFAs Ryan Miller, Matt Moulson, Steve Ott, and Hank Tallinder garnering attention from other NHL clubs.
Now that the Olympics have ended and NHL play resumes Tuesday night, Miller’s future will become a bigger topic of conversation than ever before.
A person familiar with discussions told The Associated Press that general manager Tim Murray continues to pursue offers for Miller with the intention of trading him by next week. "Tim is testing the waters as hard as he can," the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because Murray declined to speak to reporters Monday.The person said the team's first option is trading Miller, who is in the final year of his contract and eligible to become an unrestricted free agent. Option No. 2, the person added, would be making a bid to re-sign Miller if a trade can't be completed.
Murray, who took over the Sabres last month, had previously not ruled out trading Miller or anyone else on the roster.
Head coach Ted Nolan, an unabashed Ryan Miller fan, has said since his first day on the job that he’d like the Sabres to re-sign the pending UFA. On Monday, Nolan said that Miller’s future with the Sabres is a matter best left to the GM.
"My thoughts don't really count right now," Nolan said. "Certainly, what Ryan Miller means to this team and this town, no question you'd like to keep him. But it's business. And we have to look forward to rebuilding this organization"
St. Louis, Washington, and Minnesota are the three teams looking to improve their goal tending right now.
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Mikael Granlund is no longer a just an established brand name in his native Finland and in Minnesota. Granlund raised his stock and his profile has transformed from a boy to a man as a result of his stupendous performances at the recently completed Sochi Olympic games. Granlund earned his place on the IIHF All Star Team at the Olympics.
Most Valuable Player as selected by the media:
Teemu Selanne, Finland
All-Star Team as selected by the media Goalkeeper: Henrik Lundqvist, Sweden Defenceman: Erik Karlsson, Sweden Defenceman: Drew Doughty, Canada Forward: Teemu Selanne, Finland Forward: Phil Kessel, USA Forward: Mikael Granlund, Finland
Mikael. Granlund. Get used to hearing his name. He's going to be a star in the NHL for years to come.
Granlund was drafted in 9th overall in the 2010 round NHL entry draft by the Minnesota Wild. The kid has been on a rocket ship to success ever since.
Granlund was a key contributor to Team Finland’s bronze medal win over the Americans. That’s not giving him enough though. The kid played his ass off and proved that he can compete head to head with the biggest and best players in the NHL. Playing alongside his boyhood idol Selanne, Granlund unleashed his fury on the Americans in the bronze medal game on Saturday. Granlund and Selanne combined to create 13 points in six games at the Olympics. Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss, right?
"Teemu played such a great tournament and played a great game again . I'm so happy for him," Granlund said after the bronze medal win. "He got this, too. He has been such a big idol for Finnish hockey players. It's an honor to play with him."
The feelings that Granlund have developed for Selanne are mutual.
Don’t take my word for it. First ballot Hockey Hall Of Famer Teemu Selanne’s opinion is far more important and weight-bearing then my own.
"He's going to have a great career ahead," Selanne said told the Pioneer Press after the bronze medal game. "This is Granlund's business card for the world to show that he is hungry and can't wait to get out there." Finland has earned the respect hockey purists and pundits all over the world for its uncanny ability to impose itself and its iron will on its opponents. Whether its at the U-17s, U-18s, WJCs, World Championships, the Olympics or in the NHL, Finnish players exemplify the blue collar, hard-working, determined, grinding attributes that new GMs are looking for. The Finns augment their immense skill level.
Its as if a whole new generation of Finns have used the great Selanne as their role model for success. Its hard to argue with Selanne’s approach and his professionalism. He was the 10th overall pick in the 1988 NHL entry draft and he is still producing at an extremely high level today.Selanne has inspired a whole new generation of Finnish stars who are about to take the torch from Teemu. Granlund is one of the young Finn stars as is Florida’s Sasha Barkov, Piitsburgh’s Olli Maatta , Buffalo’s Rasmus Ristolainen and Joel Armia.
A small but extremely skilled forward with exceptional hockey sense. Very good and creative with the puck. An excellent passer with a good eye for the game. A reliable scorer with fine hands and stickhandling. A capable skater, although not the fastest around. Added strength would benefit his game further. Good on the man advantage
Granlund's biggest role models have been Selanne and Olli Jokinen.
"I'm just so happy for those guys," Granlund said. "They have done so much for Finnish hockey. That's what we can get something from. We were able to see those guys show an example all the time. It was a dream to play with (Selanne). He had an unbelievable tournament. He's such a great player and person. He has so much respect from everybody."
Granlund started turning heads earlier this season when he took on added responsibilities when injury knocked Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu out of the starting lineup with long term injuries. Granlund has scored 5 goals and chipped in 23 assists for the Wild this eason.
"I've been feeling good and playing with confidence for awhile before the tournament," said Granlund.
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You want to know why the Minnesota Wild likely won’t be trading for Ryan Miller? Chuck Fletcher doesn’t want to trade Mikael Granlund away to Buffalo. That’s why Charlie Coyle’s name keeps coming up in Miller rumors.
The Sabres would love to get their hands on Granlund and reunite him with his good friends Ristolainen and Armia.
Besides, Fletcher will be targeting Thomas Vanek in the next next.
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Christian Ehrhoff is a realist. On Monday, he said that his team is in last place, which means that no player is immune from trade speculation and rumors. Ehrhoff has a limited no trade clause just like Ryan Miller, which means that Ehrhoff reserves the right to say no to a trade to 8 NHL teams.
Ehrhoff’s impressive NHL and international playoff hockey background makes him a prime candidate to be moved to a contending team at or before the March 5 NHL trade deadline. Ehrhoff becomes all the more attractive to teams like say Boston, who has yet to replace their Rock Of Gibraltar D, Dennis Seidenberg who was injured before the Olympic break and will be lost for the rest of the NHL season and playoffs.
In 668 career NHL games, Ehrhoff has scored 67 goals and added 238 assists for 305 points. He’s also scored 7 goals and added 27 assists in 73 career NHL playoff games. He signed a 10-year, $40 million contract in the summer of 2011. He has seven years remaining on his deal at a cap-friendly $4 million annual cap hit. With the NHL salary cap on the rise over the course of the next 3-4 seasons, Ehrhoff’s contract becomes very valuable to not only the Sabres but also would-be suitors.
Thanks, Sabres.com
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Steve Ott is a pending UFA and he knows full well that he may be traded in the next ten days.
Thanks, Sabres.com