GLENDALE, Ariz. — So Atlanta general manager Don Waddell will not allow clubs interested in acquiring Ilya Kovalchuk to speak to the winger’s representative about a contract extension before a trade is completed.
We were told a while ago that Waddell doesn’t want agent Jay Grossman to control the process, but we are duty bound to suggest that might not be such a bad idea given the Thrashers’ track record in these matters.
It would be no surprise if canny Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero, who acquired Marian Hossa, Pascal Dupuis and Hal Gill at the deadline two years ago and Chris Kunitz and Billy Guerin in deals late last season, moves sooner rather than later in the trade-constipated NHL.
The Penguins, who don’t appear to have the depth to stay with the Capitals this time, would seem the perfect landing spot for Ray Whitney, the veteran Carolina left wing who will be a rental proposition.
If Paul Kariya, who has spent his entire career in the West, agrees to waive his no-move clause if the Blues so request, he would be a very interesting fit with Sidney Crosby, don’t you think?
If Hurricanes GM Gentleman Jim Rutherford has a notion of moving either Joni Pitkanen or Tim Gleason from his back end, the Rangers would stand on line overnight in order to get an early shot at either defenseman.
Pitkanen has one year at a $4 million hit remaining on his contract following this season, and Gleason has two more at a bargain $2.75M.
The Candy Canes also have Matt Cullen on the market as a rental. A team with a need at the power-play point might want to take a look. Rangers could be interested, but they have Ales Kotalik for that job.
It will not be a giveaway, not at all, but the development of Andrew McDonald and Dustin Kohn would seem to free Islanders GM Garth Snow to move veteran Brendan Witt, just the type of crease-clearing defenseman whose value increases in the playoffs.
Witt, tougher than a truck, has one year remaining on his contract at a cap hit of $3M, with a salary of $2.5M. Two years ago, the Maple Leafs were able to get a No. 2 and No. 5 from the Penguins for Gill. If Snow can wrangle that kind of a return for Witt, who turns 35 next month, the general manager would be advised to make the deal.
If the NHLPA does not have an executive director in place by late June, the players will be left pretty much on their own in making the decision whether to exercise the five-percent bump in next year’s cap.
If the escrow hawks within the union have their way — only those players eligible for free agency would benefit directly from the escalator, while those under contract would stand to lose more through the tariff — the cap will go down next season.
Indeed, if the union had not triggered the escalator last June after an extremely close vote (with executive director Paul Kelly in strong support of that position), this year’s cap would have come in at $53.96M rather than $56.8M.
Is it that difficult for the league to ensure that every Pittsburgh-Washington game is televised nationally, either on NBC or on Versus?
If major league baseball can rig the schedule so that 18 or 19 Yankees-Red Sox games are on national TV (not quite, but it sure seems that way), then surely the NHL can come up with the way to get four Capitals-Penguins showdowns on their two national outlets.
The Rangers’ decision to keep Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival on the roster and in the lineup every day is not only choking the team’s cap situation, is not only costing the team points in the standings, but is quite likely to drive Ilkka Heikkinen back overseas when the 25-year-old Finnish defenseman’s contract expires at the end of the season.
This is emblematic of the irrational thinking that defines a front office (or ownership) that refuses to admit its mistakes and cut its losses, thereby ensuring further losses on and off the ice.
Heikkinen, operating on a two-way contract after signing as a free agent last summer, is earning $65,000 this season in Hartford.
Rest assured the physical defenseman with offensive instincts who received praise from coach John Tortorella during a seven-game trial run in December, will receive offers of substantially more guaranteed money from the KHL, which, of course, he would be foolish not to accept.
And the Rangers will lose a young guy they liked enough to sign without ever really having given him a chance and finding out what he can do.
Makes sense here.
You bet the Flames would move Dion Phaneuf, but why do we keep hearing that many of Calgary’s problems can be traced to friction between head coach Brent Sutter and iconic right wing Jarome Iginla?
Want your up close and personal chance to say “Hit me,” to a Ranger and then see if he obliges or refuses to engage?
Then buy a ticket for next Monday’s Casino Night, the proceeds of which benefit the Garden of Dreams Foundation.
As we reported this week, 10 NHL teams are experiencing double-digit increases in revenue while the same number are experiencing double-digit losses.
Arthur Levitt Jr. is preparing a report on the matter.