As August nears end, some dominoes stand to fall in rapid order as September and NHL training camps approach, leading to a release from the August hockey hot stove doldrums. A brief summary…
Mats Sundin – My colleague The Hac has already bitch-slapped this overrated, egotistical attention whore in a post; regardless, however this clown decides to proceed will affect the decision-making of a number of teams (Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, NYR) as they fill out their rosters in the following weeks. Sundin seems unlikely to return to his former employer the Maple Leafs, much like teammate…
Bryan McCabe – The rumoured Florida trade (for Mike Van Ryn) makes sense for both teams, as it’s clear the Maple Leafs want to blow out their locker room while clearing cap space and McCabe needs a fresh start and still has value. However, even with this trade Florida is still hurting up front, which brings us to the…
Tampa Bay Lighting – With a massive glut of forwards and a questionable blueline, one would suspect they will be moving some bodies in the hopes of better balancing their roster. A deal with the d-man rich Panthers is a possibility, provided they can get over their divisional rivalry. This also might explain the Lightning’s rumoured interest in…
Andrej Meszaros – Ottawa’s lone holdout also represents the only decent puck-mover on their backend. Given the Sens’ lack of roster depth and questionable goaltending, I have a feeling this season will be disappointing for Senator fans. They do have options if Mezaros leaves the capital city, including…
Mathieu Schneider – The veteran offensive defenseman is currently under contract to the Worst Franchise Name Ever, a team roughly $3 million dollars over the salary cap, and rumoured to be returning flaky veteran Teemu Selanne for another go. Schneider would be readily available for a low trade cost, with rumoured interested parties including the…
Los Angeles Kings – With a gazillion dollars in cap space and the need to reach the salary cap floor, the Kings could use a talented veteran like Schneider to help nurture their talented blueline core. Of course, they could also use some help between the pipes, which finally leads us to…
Nikolai Khabibulin and the Chicago Blackhawks – Over the cap and with roughly $12 million tied up in their goaltending, vaunted paycheque player Khabibulin and his $7 million salary remains the most likely candidate to get bounced out of Chicago, whether via trade or waivers.
So, let’s see which domino falls first in the next week, and I suspect we’ll see a Verne Troyer sized flurry of activity as NHL clubs figure out who they want to go to war with. Should be interesting, and let’s hope it makes up for an unconscionably dull August.
JB
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4 comments:
Schneider could potentially have a few suitors in LA and Ottawa. Could his price actually rise for a salary dump?
I see your point, but I suspect the Ducks' return will be limited by their salary cap issues. I suspect they will be stoked if they can get a 2nd round pick back.
Totally agree. I would be surprised to see anything more than a 3rd to be honest, but the potential is there.
A one year contract for a talented veteran like Schneider is sweet if a team has the cap space to pick him up. Frankly, I think he would look great in a place like Boston (if they could clear space) or Buffalo (if they had any interest in spending money).
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