Free Agent Frenzy Signing

Well its been a long day and a lot of signings so far. Still a ton to go still some big names out their such as Martin Havlat, Marian Gaborik, Maxim Afinoganov, Mark Recchi, Saku Koivu, Alexei Kovalev, Alex Tangauy, Brendan Shanahan, Nik Antropov, Mike Comrie, Chris Neil, Francois Beauchemin, Todd Betuzzi, Adrian Aucoin, Jason Williams, Joe Sakic, Brenden Morrison, Sergei Zubov, Chris Chelios, Ales Kotalik, Jeremy Roenick, Mats Sundin and many more.

*-> Steve Begin another former Canadian has been signed by yet another Montreal rival the Boston Bruins to a 1 year deal worth $850K.

*-> Steve Sullivan isn't going anywhere for the next 2 seasons. He'll stay in Nashville and make $3.75 Mil for the next 2 years.

*-> Vernon Fiddler has signed with the Phoenix Coyotes for 2 years at $1.1 Mil.

*-> the Columbus Blue Jackets have just signed defensive specialist Samuel Pahlsson to a 3 year deal worth $2.65mil a season.

*-> Adam Pardy resigns with the Calgary Flames.

Well thats it for me since after all it is also Canada Day and I feel like getting out and doing something. Also being a Habs fan I feel the urge to drink haha. If I hear anything I will blog otherwise espect a full update tonight or early tomorrow morning. Thanks for choosing Ice Scoopz for the frenzy!

Ice Scoopz: Saturday Night *-> Guerin Gone In 48 Hours?

Well you can tell it's only days till the trading deadline! Every little sign or hint gets analyzed to the fullest and every name in the book gets mentioned. This is a scouts busiest time as they get to spend a frantic month watching potential trade players. I love the deadline because it's almost like Christmas. The whole month you get to be in Deadline spirit and it gets more and more exciting as it leads up to the big day. Deadline day eve you cant sleep tossing and turning thinking about what you might get. Then you wake up at ungodly hours of the morning to open your presents. After Deadline day you get left with that "as if it's over" feeling and you have to wait another 12 months again. Anyways that's my rant and there is a ton of rumors to report. I know my whole trade deadline review isn't even close to being done but I'm trying my hardest to try and get this finished by Wednesday. I've been extremely busy with my scouting course, and I also work full time. I'm trying to make this site the best possible hockey site and obviously it isn't going to happen over night. Please be patient and stick with it cause although it hasn't been the best I haven't missed a beat with rumors and am putting my heart into this! As for the deadline day texting service my sign up is going up after this post so sign up! Thanks!

*-> Well I'll start with the headliner with Bill Guerin on the move. The Islander's have a deal in place for veteran winger Billy Guerin. Before tonight's game in which Bill Guerin is listed on the roster was pulled off the ice in the pregame warm-up by Garth Snow and the Islanders played a man short all game. This is a major trade sign as not many times does your GM pull you from a game especially during the warm-up. Many sources have reported it's not the Bruin's but IS an Eastern Conference team. Some names mention have been the Washington Capitols, The New Jersey Devils, The Montreal Canadians and the Buffalo Sabre's. I really believe it may be the New Jersey Devil's or the Sabre's. Guerin started his career with the Devil's and they have an amazing chance at winning the cup this year. They are already a veteran laden team already though. The Buffalo Sabre's need that extra veteran presence for the push and they could use leadership, something the club has been missing since Chris Drury. Keep an eye on this one!

*-> In Phoenix a similar situation has arisen as well. Defenseman Derek Morris has been told to stay at home and wait for a trade. Derek Morris who has a no-trade clause has said he'll waive it for a trade and is expected to move by Wednesday as the Coyotes try and cut costs. Morris is also an UFA this summer so a deal makes sense. The Buffalo Sabre's were the leaders in the hunt for Morris has been joined by several other teams this week. The Boston Bruins are considering bolstering their defense. The Calgary Flames are also expected to make a deal for Derek Morris so they can rekindle their powerplay.

*-> The Pronger sweepstakes have started although the Anaheim Ducks are still in a playoff hunt. Chris Pronger has announced he doesn't want to be traded but the Anaheim Duck's want to try and do a quick rebuild. Adding Ryan Whitney to the fray indicates that Chris Pronger may not be in the teams future and if he were to be shopped he would bring in a great haul. Many teams have shown interest and made calls to Anaheim but there still is much doubt to whether or not he'll be traded. St. Louis has reportedly made a big pitch to bring Pronger back to the Blues. The Blues are almost done rebuilding and could afford to loose a pick and prospect to add that grit and experience. CBC reported this rumor also and made a big connection to this deal as Pronger's wife is from St. Louis and we all know how Pronger's wife makes the call. I.E Edmonton. Don't count any other teams out though as the Sabre's and the Bruin's want his services badly. The Bruin's are the headliners and expect to make a huge bid to secure the deal including shopping prospect Joe Corborne and Mark Stuart as bait.

*-> In other Anaheim rumors, defenseman and future hall of famer Scott Niedermayer whose name has been mentioned several times most likely wont be going anywhere. Niedermayer has been told by Anaheim that they will not trade him before or on deadline day and not too worry. The management won't break this agreement out of respect for the vet unless he is 100% willing to accept the trade. The only name that still remains is New Jersey who Niedermayer once played for.

*-> A Florida defenseman is grabbing rumor headlines this week and his first name isn't Jay for once. Nick Boyton has caused a stir after a huge war of words with Florida coach Peter DeBoer. The dispute was over Boyton's decreasing role with the team which Boyton feels he should have a lot more ice time. The result of this was Boyton having some time off from the team at home. The Florida Panthers most likely will try and shop the disgruntled defenseman at the deadline. This however depends all on the number one rumored name out of Florida Mr. Jay Bouwmeester. A deal all depends on whether or not the Panthers get a good enough deal for Bouwmeester. The Cats are expecting a high calibre defenseman, a forward who can help the team out now and a 1st round pick or prospect. The Vancouver Canuck's Alexander Edler and Alex Burrows have come up. The Canucks have a lot of defensemen to spare and Burrows is an UFA this summer that the Canucks expect to leave.

*-> Columbus Blue Jacket's general manager Scott Howson was seen at the Ottawa - Toronto game tonight in a sky box. The further adds to the rumors that ether Ottawa's Antoine Vermette or Toronto's Nik Antropov could be headed to the Blue Jackets. Columbus hasn't been shy about their intentions to sign a playmaking center to compliment franchise player Rick Nash. Both Vermette and Antropov fit that description and could be targets for Columbus this Wednesday.

*-> Philadelphia's hunt for a number one goalie could be ending this Wednesday as the Flyer's are expected to make Atlanta an offer for goaltender Kari Lehtonen. The Flyers who have been unhappy with their goaltender tandem this season feels that Kari could be the guy to put them over the top. James Van Riemsdyk is being dangled as well as a high pick. The Flyers would need to trade a player or two in order to gain more cap space though. Antero Nittymaki would also have to go to the Thrashers in return as Martin Biron has a no-trade.

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.