Ice Scoopz: Monday Evening -> Avery On Re-Entry Waivers

*-> The Dallas Star's have placed super pest Sean Avery on re-entry waivers today after announcing it Friday afternoon. The Dallas Stars are hoping that the New York Ranger's are going to claim him for their playoff run. There has been no secret that the Ranger's want Sean back and having to pay only half his salary should help that cause. If the Ranger's don't claim him it's highly unlikely another team will. Rumors say Avery hasn't been the same player since he got back from his rehab program. My thinking is that he just needs some time to get game ready and that also he's playing soft because he's hoping a team will grab him and he wants to be healthy.

*-> A big rumor out of Ottawa has surfaced today as Bryan Murray continues to work the phones. The Columbus Blue Jacket's interest in Antoine Vermette has increased as of late and Columbus scouts and GM Jay Howson was seen in Ottawa this Saturday night watching the Sens and Leafs. Ottawa has apparently shown interest in goalie Pascal Leclaire and many feel a deal could be worked out between the two sides as a 1 for 1 swap. There is no secret Ottawa still needs goaltending and Vermette hasn't exactly shined in his role in Ottawa. The Blue Jacket's would love to see Vermette playing with Rick Nash. Some pundits have put Jason Spezza as the man the Blue Jacket's want and it could even involve a multi player deal. I doubt they would shop Spezza unless they could get another big name or blue chip prospect in return. anything could happen though it's trade deadline day.

*-> Another Columbus rumor to bring out is that the Blue Jacket's have apparently called the Buffalo Sabre's organization in regards to soon to be UFA and often injured center Tim Connolly. The Buffalo Sabre's are really reluctant in trading Connolly because he has been playing extremely well as of late but they may risk loosing him this summer. The Jacket's feel he would resign with them and he would be a good fit for Nash.

*-> Rumor has it the reason the Guerin deal is taking a lot longer than expected is that there are more suitors than expected. Most teams deny interest or talking to the Islander's but that's just politics. The Montreal Canadian's have stepped into the fray as the Carolina Hurricanes. The leader though still appears to be Washington as they would like to add experience and Bill Guerin's leadership to their young core.

*-> Brian Burke of the Toronto Maple Leaf's spoke out today and squashed all rumors he was working on a deal with the Boston Bruin's for Tomas Kaberle. Burke claims this is not the case and he has never spoken with the Bruins about Tomas Kaberle and nor would as they are division rivals. This doesn't sound like politics to me as it's highly unlikely unless the Bruins were willing to pay over the top for the allstar blueliner.

Ice Scoopz: Monday Afternoon ->Jokinen To Carolina

Well I'm back from a much needed weekend off and I see I have quite a bit of catching up to do from thsi weekend so here it goes. My Deadline day review will continue tonight with Monreal so check it out.

*-> Jussi Jokinen that is has been traded from the Tampa Bay Lighting after being placed on waivers. He now is a member of the Carolina Hurricanes in a deal that sent Josef Melichar F Wade Brookbank and a 4th round pick to Tampa Bay. Brookbank who was played in 27 games this year only has 1 point and 40 PIM's while Melichar has 4 assists in 15 games. Jussi Jokinen who was brought in to play a 2 way role for the Hurricanes has 6 goals and 10 assists in 46 games this year.

*-> Ray Emery has made headlines again, this time Ray is refusing to return to his KHL club Atlant Mystichi after what is being described as a salary dispute. Apparently Emery was not being paid the full amount of his contract because the Russian club was not converting the exchange rate properly. It seams the KHL is having a big of finacial problems during this recession. Emery who now is looking for work elsewhere has hinted that if he is pick-up by another European team he will look to return to the NHL next season.

*-> Manny Legace has cleared waivers and is expected to head to Peoria of the AHL. The Columbus Blue Jackets are extremely interested in Legace still and are expected to make a move for the goaltender. Rumor has it is that the Blue Jackets are trying to work out a deal in which Legace is put on re-entry waivers so that they may claim him.

*-> Sean Avery of the Dallas Stars seams to be headed back to the New York Rangers. The Dallas Stars took the first step of the process by waiving Sean Avery Saturday and then starting negotiaitions to loan him to the Hartford Wolfpack of the AHL. Avery cleared waivers this morning and is expected to finish his rehabilitation prgram this week. Hartford as you may or may not know is the AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers. Expect a New York - Dallas deal fairly shortly that would involve Avery being put on re-entry waivers before the deadline.

*-> Andy McDonald of the St.Louis Blues has agreed to a 4 year 18.8MIL$ deal this morning that should end most of the trade rumors about it. McDonald who has been a key member of the Blues since being traded by Anaheim for Doug Weight last season. McDonald who has 18 points in 16 games this season. McDonald has been sidelined by a fractured leg since Nov 16th.

*-> Last rumor for now is that the Montreal Canadiens are trying to shop Alexei Kovalev. Apparently the Habs are growing tired of his disapearing act. Now this is one I read the other day and I promised myself I'd post most rumors that I heard or saw but this one really made me hesitate. I decided to post it anyways just because its my duty to report any rumors posted by hopefully reliable media sources. Bruce Garioch reported this in the Ottawa Sun on Sunday but I really feel it was ridiculous. Why would the Canadien's give him the "C" while Koivu was out? Why would the Habs keep the "A" on his shirt if they wern't happy? Obviously the guy has been struggling but by saying there actively shopping him is ludicris. He was double shifting on Saturday night agains't the Leafs, he was also playing on the penatly kill. I highly doubt they would trade him just sinply for the fact the city is in love with him and also they need him til atleast Tanguay gets back. So there might be some truth to this being that the Habs may be willing to trade him or frustrated with his play, I'd definatly say their not actively shopping him.

*->Germany and Norway are the two last teams to qualify for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Germany who beat Slovenia on Saturday to qualify while Norway beat Denmark 5-2.

Ice Scoopz: Friday Evening -> Legace On Waivers

*-> Manny Legace was placed on waivers today by his club the St. Louis Blues after Chris Mason's recent performances solidified Mason's number one status and St.Louis's no need for a back-up at 2.5$MIL. Legace who was really down on the recent slide and was understandably upset when he learned he was waived. Manny said he still will play his heart out and will 100% report to Peoria of the AHL if not claimed. Good thing for Manny he most likely will get picked up it seams as many teams are clamoring for a reliable back-up. The Washington Capitols recently lost Brent Johnson so a 8 week injury and Theodore hasn't played to his usual rate all season. Another team that has reportedly shown interest is the New York Islanders who also have no clear cut back-up no that DiPietro is out for the season. New york has no real incentive though to acquire a back-up unless they feel they could re-sign him as they are already out of the picture and most likely want to keep sliding. Ottawa is another team with goaltending woes, rumor has it that Bryan Murray wont give up on playoff hopes yet and going to keep puching till the very end. Legace could fill that void nicely. The last team I hear is interested is the columbus Blue Jackets who really need to give their young goalie Steve Mason a rest to get healthy. The Blue Jackets are really being pushed by ownership to make the playoffs this year and a really good run down the stretch could do it. Do they have enough faith in Mason that he wont fade down the stretch now that they have learned hes playing with mono?

*-> Another big story is that TSN and the New York Times are reporting that the New York Rangers really would love to bring back Sean Avery. Sean Avery is just about complete the NHL's program and would like to restart his career. Acording to the article the New York management has asked its staff and its players if they thought bringing in Avery could really help the club and apparently the reaction was positive. The Dallas Stars would love to get him off the books in any way possible and most liekly would sweeten the deal for the Rangers if they were willing to take him. The Dallas Stars happen to play the Rangers this weekend so expect talks to begin.

*-> Oilers scout Dave Semenko has been seen watching yet another Bruin game, this leads many to believe that as i reported last night a deal will be close to be done for Erik Cole. Expect a deal sometime this week and from what I am hearing it still involves Vladimir Sobotka and some sort of pick. Brad Marchant's name is also being thrown around as the possible target. I doubt this is the case as Semenko has been watching Bruin's games not Providence so it most likely is Sobotka or someone else off the roster. Michael Ryder could be the target as well, as the Oilers could use his finishing abilities.

That's it for now, there's a few more on the line for later, stay tuned..