Free Agent Frenzy Signings

*-> David Koci has signed with the Colorado Avalanche in an attempt to replace Ian Laperriere. The deal is reportedly worth $525K for only one season.

*-> Defenseman Kent Huskins has resigned in San Jose for 2 years at 1.7$Mil a season.

*-> Chris Neil is listening to offers from the Rangers and Leafs at the moment. The Rangers have a deal thats 4 years at $2.2 Mil on the table at the current time.

Free Agent Frenzy Signing

*-> Career backup Brian Boucher has signed in Philly for 925K$ for a 2 year deal. This most likely means the end for Antero NittyMaki and Martin Biron.

*-> Chris Neil is reportedly close to signing with the Leaf's acording to Spectors Trades.

Ice Scoopz: Tuesday Early Evening

A lots going down currently so heres the latest...

*-> Mike Komisarek of the Montreal Canadians has announced he is heading to free agency tomorow. His agent said Montreal's offers so far have been sub par and he'd like to still remain with the Canadian's but would still like to test the water to see whats avaliable first. This comes as disapointing news to Habs fans as Montreal will most likely not retain his services. The New York Islanders and the Ottawa Senators are rumored to be interested.

*-> The Calgary Flames have solidified their backend for years! Marquee free agent Jay Bouwmeester has officially signed a 5 year deal worth 6.6Mil$ per season. The Flames acquired Jay Bouwmeester's rights at the draft this past Friday from the Florida Panthers for Jordon Leopold, and a 3rd round pick which Josh Berkholtz was selected with. This could be bad news for the Flames free agents as they are struggling with the cap and may need to clear more salary.

*-> Chris Neil has turned down an offer worth 1.7$Mil this evening from the Ottawa Senators. the rugged winger is reportedly asking for a raise of 2.5$Mil for several years which Ottawa is reluctant to put on the table. Neil is a wanted commodity out West and could easily meet his demands through free agency. The San Jose Sharks and Minnesota Wild are expected to make offers come 12pm tomorrow.

*-> Jere Lehtinen the veteran winger of the Dallas Stars has accepted an offer of 1.5$Mil plus over a million in bonuses to keep him in Dallas for yet another year. Truly a steal for the Stars as Lehtinen is one of the best two-way forwards around and if he stays healthy makes an instant impact.

Ice Scoopz: Wednesday Evening -> Jagr Returns?

I'm currently watching the Oilers - Montreal game on Oilers PPV and I have to say that it is embarassingly bad. I cant believe they'd air some of this god awful banter, I mean I understand they want banter but some of this stuff is mindless and is making hockey look awful. One of their personalities literally spent 2 minutes just yelling out what you could wear to a game if you were a montreal fan. "A hat! A jersey! A jersey with a great player! A toque even! My goodness so many things you could use to support the Canandians!". It just confuses me to who would actually pay to watch this dribble. Thank god for Center Ice! Anyways the Habs are being beat 4-1 and they really need a change. Their playing really desperite hockey and it doesn't seam to be working. I think Bob should get on the phone and make a deal already before his club free falls off the map. Anyways on to the rumors!

*-> There has been a recent report out of Edmonton that the Oilers are close to signing Jaromir Jagr. The report claims that now that Visnovsky is out for season that leaves enough room to bring in the veteran winger. The report also claims that Jagr is close friends of Ales Hemsky and Hemsky has been a major influence in trying to bring him to Edmonton. I really don't believe this is true as I recently read an interview with Jagr and he claims he is happy in the KHL and would only consider moving in the summer to a NHL team possibly. Even if he were to leave or get bought opt of his KHL contract he'd have to be cleared on waivers once the Oilers signed him. He would almost certainly be claimed by most teams so I really don't think this report is true at all.

*-> Brian Burke has recently called out Toronto Maple Leaf forward Nik Antropov and suggested that Antropov could use a change of scenery. Unfortunatly for the Leafs Antropov and Brian Burke theres not much interest in the struggling forward although the Chicago Blackhawks have shown a bit of interest. The Blackhawks who have beenn looking for a center since trading Robert Lang to Montreal think that Nik Antropov might be a last option solution come playoffs.

*-> The New Jersey Devils are rumored to be shopping both Kevin Weekes and Scott Clemmenson to make way for Martin Brodeur. After Brodeur's recent injury the Devils need to make some room in the net for the veteran superstar. Although many people would disagree about shopping Clemmenson after his incredible stretch, I doubt the Devils would just sit Martin Brodeur and let the franchise goalie watch from the bench. They could go the route of shopping Kevin Weekes who has barely had a chance to play this season but his value is incredibly low. Clemmenson would bring in a decent reap if he was to be traded and it solves the issue of having him sit after such a good performance. Clemmenson also has an extremely cheap price tag and is affordable for any teams looking for goaltending insurance for the playoffs.

*-> Ottawa's Dean McAmmond is reportedly unhappy with his role on the Ottawa Senators. He recently told the Ottawa media that he would like to be traded if they don't want to play him in an meaniingful role. He also went on to say that if he wasn't in the teams plans then they should go ahead and see what they can get for him. These comments were after being a healthy scratch for a few games last week. These just sound like words from a frustrated player whose team was tanking at the time but Ottawa will most likely move him by the deadline. San Jose scouts were in Ottawa this week so this might be a sign that San Jose is interested in ether McAmmond or Chris Neil.

*->Ray Emery has returned to his KHL Atlant Mystichi after his pay dispute with the clubs. Atlant Mystichi management has agreed to look into the situation and pay Emery any missing amount he has been owed. They have also stated it just was a big misunderstanding.

The I.R: Monday Evening

*-> Columbus Blue Jackets young goalie Steve Mason was placed on the IR Saturday after suffering from a viral infection while suffering from mono. He is expected to be out for atleast 2 weeks giving him time to recover.

*-> The Minnesota wild will happy to know that defenseman Kurtis Foster is almost ready to go. Foster who suffered a broken leg in a race for the puck will attempt to test out his leg in the AHL till hes ready to go. The Minnesota staff would not comment on how much longer he'll be but it is most likely going to be under 2 weeks.

*-> Tomas Vanek's of the Buffalo Sabres will be out 3 to 4 weeks with a fractured jaw suffered from a shot off the jaw. The Sabre's are going to be missing him severly and are expected to look on the market for a replacement so they may stay in the playoff picture. I guess Don Cherry's hockey gods theory was true after he said the hockey gods would get Buffalo for running up the score last week on Toronto while they had a rookie goalie Justin Pogge in net.

*-> Boston's Michael Ryder will be out for a week with a fractured bone in his cheek after being high sticked by Antoine Vermette in boston's shoot out win agains't Ottawa. This isn't a serious injured its just a precaution while they find out what Ryder has to do in order to return to action like wearing a face sheild or visor.

*-> Chris Neil of the Ottawa Senators will be miss 3 to 4 weeks with a blown knee. Chris Neil who suffered the same injury last season suffered it again in a shoot out win over Buffalo Saturday night. Neil whose stock has risen over the past few weeks has once again dropped with this injury. The Sens are hoping to get him back in action before the deadline so they may attempt to get full value for him.

Ice Scoopz: Thursday Evening

Here's a quick post and a few Ottawa\Boston rumors between periods of the Ottawa vs Boston game. It's been fairly slow so far with only Blake Wheeler scoring so far. Watching him in real life makes me really realize how much Phoenix screwed up. Not doing everything in their power to convince him to stay was a big mistake!

*-> Chris Pronger of the Anaheim Ducks has been the subject of many trade rumors in recent news. Rumors such as Pronger to Boston or Pronger to Philadelphia but these however I believe are very untrue. For one both teams are very close to the cap. Also Anaheim would most likely not part with Pronger unless they were out of the playoff picture and Francois Beauchamin 100% not resigning or Scott Niedermyer retiring. I'd say unless Anaheim is done nothing will happen.

*-> Talks for Ottawa's Chris Neil has picked up with many teams interested in his toughness and grit. Phoenix has interest and so does Nashville.Calgary also would like Neil but wants to dump a salary in return. Ottawa hopes to resign him though before the deadline as they have entered talks. If not expect him out the door.

*-> Boston apparently is being reported to be extremely satisfied with their lineup going into the playoffs but would like to add something if the price and the fit was right. Don't expect much except maybe a depth D or a playoff vet.

That's it for now I'll have more later.

Ice Scoopz: Wednesday Evening -> Zetterberg Re-Signs!

*-> 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.