*-> The Detroit Red Wings have re-signed superstar foward Henrik Zetterberg to a whopping 12 year deal worth roughly 7.2$M next year then 7.7$M for the next 9 years then 1$M the following 3 years. The deal is expected to lower the average cap hit. Zetterberg who turns 29 this October most likely wont finish out his contract as he'll be 40 when it runs out. This is an amazing deal for the Red Wings and this will help keep the key members of the squad signed for long term.
*-> The Ottawa Senator's owner Eugene Melnyk held a press conference today to tell the fans to be patiant and hold on because it's going to get better from here on out. Melnyk doesn't want the fans to give -up on the team and promises this is only a small stumble for the once mighty organization. It was apparent by last nights game agains't the team needs a lot of help and much more effort. The fans consistantly booed the home team throughout the game. Melnyk also went on to say that "anbody who believes this team should be blown up should blow themselves up." He feels they have most of the team and staff in place to succeed. They will not be sellers at the deadline he claims but still expect a few players in and a few players out as he put it. Bryan Murray this week also made a few statements and one of them was he was definatly interested in shopping his UFA's for the right deal. Martin Gerber, Filip Kuba, Chris Neil, and Dean McAmmond all fall under this catagory. Filip Kuba is expected to draw some interest from around the league. The Sens rivals the Montreal Canadiens are slighly interested to bolster their powerplay and the Phoenix Coyotes would also like to add some offense to the backend. Many teams in the West would love to get their hands on Chris Neil. The Anaheim Ducks, the Nashville Predators and the Columbus Blue Jackets would like to add some muscle. .
*-> Martin Gerber's situation has gone from bad to worse as there is next to no interest in him right now. It really looks like he'll finish the season in the minors and will ether take a really hug pay cut or head back to Europe. He may get a second chance before the deadline if another team has some goaltending troubles. Rumor has it is that the Calgary Flames would like to aquire him only if the Sens would take Jim Vandermeer (2.3$MIL/3) or Cory Sarich (3.6$MIL/4) in return. Ottawa's not biting yet.
*-> Nashville has been silently trying to shop Dan Hamhuis for an offensive threat up front. It's been no secret this year that The Pred's haven't had much luck in the goal scoring department. Hamhuis is an affordable 2M$ for 2 seasons so expect a taker. Colorado might be willing to send Marek Svatos in exhange.
*-> Pierre Dagenais of the KHL team Traktor Chelyabinsk has stated he would love to stay with the team and plans to move his family over this summer. Dagenais has said although now there still is a huge gap in the KHL vs NHL quality of play, he says it still blows the AHL out of the water. He expects to see much more NHLer's head over this summer.
*-> The KHL has announced they are debating the possibility of expansion to China and Eastern Europe in the near future. For the time being however the KHL has announced that the Czech team HC Energie Karlovy Vary and Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg from the Russian Supreme League will be joining for the 2009-2010 season. Finland's Karpat, Sweden's Frolunda, and Belarus's Karamin Minsk and Junost Minsk have all been invited to join next season as well. Another piece of big KHL news was revealed Monday which will help the KHL teams develop their players and stop the early loss of prospects to the NHL by adding a junior club to each KHL team. This will greatly help development and help serve as a "CHL" style junior league for the Russians.
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