Latest on Dion Phaneuf, Phil Kessel, Cam Fowler, Antoine Vermette, Justin Williams and more.
Collection of rumors from the Ottawa Sun.
Who move first, Phil Kessel or Dion Phaneuf?
OTTAWA SUN: Bruce Garrioch reports concerns over a possible flat salary cap for next season adversely affected trade activity leading up to the March 2 deadline…There was talk the Columbus Blue Jackets attempted to acquired forward Lars Eller from the Montreal Canadiens…Several teams were scouting defenseman Cam Fowler but the Anaheim Ducks opted to keep him…The St. Louis Blues made a push for Washington Capitals forward Jason Chimera…Garrioch still claims the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings had serious discussions regarding Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf. It’s believed Wings GM Ken Holland prefers to revisit this in the offseason. The Ducks and LA Kings also had interest in Phaneuf…The New Jersey Devils tried moving fading winger Michael Ryder but received no interest…The Arizona Coyotes could try to bring back Antoine Vermette and Zbynek Michalek via free agency this summer…The Blue Jackets received offers on winger Cam Atkinson (whom they re-signed to a new contract) and center Artem Anisimov, who has a year remaining on his deal…There was talk the Calgary Flames tried to acquire Colorado Avalanche defenseman Jan Hejda before the trade deadline.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The league believes the cap could come in at between $71-$72 million despite the reduced value of the Canadian dollar. However, if the NHLPA votes against employing its five-percent escalator clause (given the players’ current unhappiness regarding 16 percent being clawed back via escrow payments this season), the cap will actually drop to $68 million…Eller’s performance down the stretch and in the playoffs could determine his future in Montreal. While improved play could entice the Habs to retain him, it could also boost his trade value…Ducks GM Bob Murray denied Fowler was available last month but the rumors just won’t go away…The Wings could find more affordable options than Phaneuf via free agency this summer, including Mike Green, Paul Martin, Christian Ehrhoff or perhaps Johnny Boychuk, though I expect the Islanders to re-sign him to a big raise…No surprise there was no interest in Ryder, his stock has plummeted the past two seasons…The question is, do Vermette and Michalek want to return to the Coyotes? And can the ‘Yotes afford to sign them?…Atkinson’s not going anywhere and the Jackets seem keen to retain Anisimov, though that could change depending on his performance, and that of the Jackets, next season.
Latest on the Leafs.
TORONTO SUN: Steve Simmons wonders if Dion Phaneuf or Phil Kessel become the first Leafs to be dealt this summer. Simmons believes a hockey trade involving Kessel is still possible, but less likely for Phaneuf…Before trading David Clarkson to Columbus, the Leafs attempted to deal him back to his former club, the New Jersey Devils. It was believed the deal would’ve involved the Leafs taking on concussed winger Ryane Clowe.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: There’s some talk in Toronto suggesting the Leafs will trade Phaneuf and try to build around Kessel. Should make for a very interesting summer in Leafs Nation.
Williams to the Panthers?
EDMONTON JOURNAL: Jim Matheson wonders if the LA Kings would’ve traded pending UFA winger Justin Williams at the trade deadline if they hadn’t recently reeled off an eight-game winning streak. He believes the Florida Panthers could be a destination with ex-Kings defenseman Willie Mitchell playing there.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Can the Kings afford to re-sign Williams this summer? Is he willing to accept a hometown discount to stay put? If not, there’s no guarantee he’ll want to go to Florida.
Kessel should NOT be the player to build around he is the last player that the leafs should keep in the fold …Id keep Phaneuf first before Kessel just on commitment and work ethic alone….
The big mistake that Shannahan is making is keeping Dave Nonis in the fold as GM as he has emotional attachment to (some) players and this is clouding the overall vision in the rebuild….Kessel HAS TO GO !
This should tell the tale of the ticker …Why Nonis needs to go !!
Trade Kessel get the BEST you can in prospects and move beyond this sorry state of B. S .
The salary cap floor is at $51 million. The Maple Leafs are paying $51.5 million to players not in their lineup: Nathan Horton ($26 million), Mikhail Grabovski ($14.3 million), Tim Gleason ($5.3 million), Mike Komisarek ($2.3 million), C0lton Orr ($925,000), Matt Frattin ($800,000), Frazer McLaren ($700,000), Troy Bodie ($600,000), Carl Gunnarsson ($400,000), Daniel Winnik ($160,000). Coming off the books this offseason are: Komisarek, Orr, McLaren, Bodie and Winnik.
@holy puck, would you tell me where your getting your info from. I use to go to capgeek before don’t know where now. thks
War on ice is a good one Caper. Buy out calulators and all.
Nhl numbers is another. No buy out calc or cap recapture with that tho.
So I now seen a few comments now about how the Leafs are paying X amount of dollars not to have players play for them… I was just wondering a few things about this exaggerated number…first is, are we gonna count all non-NHL players from other teams too or are we counting those players just cause they are ex-leafs?
Second explain why if you try and dont succeed, ie pay x amount of dollars for a service(player) and when it doesn’t work out (player just not good enough) you should stick with it even though you know it’s not working…isn’t it better to dump it (in the AHL) and try again without hopefully costing you too much (cap space). Yes it’s not the greatest outcome but it’s much better than (what people making this point are implying) sticking with a player that is not quite NHL capable on the roster taking up ice time from players you need to give ice time too and valuable limited cap space. I guess that’s a better solution than demoting said players to a lesser league where even in that league, these players are not showing they deserve to be in the NHL.
This idea of paying players not to play is such an insult to those players and the insult is not the treatment by the team but by the media proclaiming they are being paid not to play on the NHL team. The only thing that should be counted is stuff like the two retained salaries so far plus the buyouts that in some cases unwarranted. Everyone is quick to jump on the Leafs about money matters or contact/cap issues but looking around the league for example we see poor cap management from the Kings, Burins, Hawks, etc, players buried in the AHL from LA to Toronto, tanking teams like the coyotes already at the limit of retaining salary of 3 contracts this year, and so on. Making mistakes is common place as we all see time and time again in the NHL, fixing those mistakes with minimum backlash is paramount and how it’s fixed doesn’t matter if it itself doesn’t cause another adverse affect.
to : Ron M.
You are correct, the funny thing is it was the owners who have tied the GMs hands, its guys like Jeremy Jacobs who was the biggest proponent and ring leader in the last CBA that created the situation that has resulted in cap difficulties.
The biggest problem that has now come to fruition is that the CBA was now a few years ago …they thought they would have time to figure it out , but what they didn’t count on was ALL the teams that were built to win the Cup NOW , like L.A Hawks Bruins were all ready built to the cap to win now.
They didn’t know a few years along they would be HARD to the cap and the franchise players that were on the cusp are now to old and have long term contracts and are hard to move.
The owners screwed themselves by creating the cap and fighting for limited contracts and term …they forgot that they still need to build a team not just make money.
Owners and Gms are now trying to screw the system they just created…..all in the name of taking more money away from the players ! LMAO
Ask any GM or Owner today if they would spend well over the cap to solve internal team money issues or win a cup or get that player they have always wanted and they will tell you.. YES …
I would do what every I could or spend what ever amount I could …..to win and not let other teams get that player !
Its politics at its best when it comes back to do you in.
Sad but true!
Hey Ron, I am going to attack your statement of poor cap management by the Bruins, Kings and Hawks. They have excellent cap management everyone of them. Each one of them put together a Stanley Cup championship under this cap the last few years. Yes they are having cap issues now but that is not due to poor cap management. They accomplished their task. To expect a team to be able to easily manage the cap after winning a Stanley cup is quite narrow sighted and overly simplifies the skill of constructing and maintaining a championship under the cap, the fact that LA, Bos and the Hawks are having difficulty under the cap is not due to poor management but speaks to the huge difficulty to maintain a championship roster in the system the league has in place which is suppose to promote parity and obviously you can see from this, does.
As for paying players to not play. Well when the leafs picked up Horton. They are paying him, and he is not playing. That is fact. It is not like they signed him, then he got injured and then he couldn’t play. As you know they moved a player who could play for an Injured player with an injury that not simply puts a player off the ice while he heals the player is not likely to ever play again. He was picked up with the intention to pay him not to play, I fail to see how Horton has been insulted.
oh grow up who cares they can do anything they want if it wasn’t for the leafs there would be no nhl
Who cares how much they owe now? In two years there is a different situation and that will be when a picture of how good the rebuild will be will start to surface. Then a couple more years before cap management starts to become important. Phaneuf is a good player, If his contract is really to high them the Leafs will take back a bad contract. His trade will bring two good pieces while Kessell will bring three or four. That does not mean they have to be traded just that they are good assets that may be past their best before date by the time the team catches up. I bet the Blues were wary last night and did not think he was a handicap either?
Building around Kessel.
Now there’s a solid game plan I haven’t seen/heard before. Building around a 28 year old winger you’ve had for the past 6 years with zero success. When your organization is lacking pieces from top to bottom. Also get rid of your best defenseman ought to really help Kessel as well. Better hope Phil is still in tip top shape at 34/35 with this rebuild plan.
No idea why the Ducks would want to move Fowler. This may be more want from other GMs – they may want Fowler but the Ducks aren’t going to move him.
I was thinking the same thing, numerous times this year its been said he could ne available…seems like they could be cutting the cord a little early on a D man at just 23 years old..be happy if the Leafs did deal Phaneuf to the Ducks if Fowler was part of the package coming back, he would fit well and grow with the young D already here.
I’m sure you would be happy if you could get Phaneuf for Fowler, but in reality where the rest of us reside, it’s not going to happen, move on.
Says the guy who said 29 other teams would be lining up if the Kings wanted to trade Richards.
The Ducks are starting to accumulate a lot of the same style D men and some of them are looking to move past Fowler in the depth charts on skill level alone, most noteable is Vatanen and Lindholm,
(they need to sign these guys long term)
bringing in Wisneiwski $$$ also is another factor. They will need to make a decision on Beauchmin he may take a hometiown discount as he has stated that he does not want to leave. Souray is off the books at $3.3 million
But they will have some room to sign another significant D man if they so choose and move out Fowler and his $4 million for 3 years !
And look to get more physical and bigger and a minute eater !
I believe that Phaneuf is still a possibility at the draft for the Ducks!
there are peices that can be exchanged and a good report between Nonis or Leafs and Murray to get a deal done !
Fowler would look better in teal than navy blue.
H.Puck adds a little more perspective to the situation. Fowler was supposed to be a top 5 pick when he came out, then dropped to the mid teens. Maybe the scouts saw things in him back then that are starting to come to the surface today, especially with the growth of the other young defenseman. Fowler may actually translate into a #4 at best on most good teams, a fact that may make him available if young 5 and 6 d-men show more upside.
Agree, thanks puck for the thoughts.
Agree, always scratched my head when his name comes up.
Then again, i am always scratching my head.
Now Kari misses a meeting and gets sent home. And this is a core player? What a disaster.
He came late to a meeting and was sent home, hardly a disaster.
Have you not been there play since Jan first. I consider their team performance a disaster and embarrassment. For a young player to break the rules after their display last night if not a good thing
Of course I have, and obviously this season has gone horribly wrong. I just don’t think Kadri coming late to a meeting is a “disaster.” As in, he is a humongous problem, that’s what it sounded like to me. I think Kadri should be punished internally by the coach, not chastised by an entire fan base. A stupid mistake by a young player, he’ll learn and be better for it.
Daylight savings time. Happens to people across the board. (I know, i know, they make millions of dollars to entertain me!)
Turning it into media fodder is a really silly decision.
just read Horachek’s (sp?) On sportsnet and he sounds like a clown with the clichés of working hard blah blah blah.
ruining a relationship with your best centreman and embarrassing hin like that for what was probably an honest mistake might end up a disaster for Horachek and his future as an NHL coach.
Just fuel to the fire of the trash heap burning away in leafs media land.
after reading the possibility that a Clarkson for Clowe swap was discussed, can someone please tell me how Lou, signed Clowe, without taking an insurance out on his contract?
I wouldn’t be so certain about boychuck resigning with the Islanders. He turned down a sizeable contract – which I felt was very fair if you can believe the reports. That leads me to think he has his eye on particular teams should they be interested in his services in of the off season.
I don’t expect Eller to be back with Montreal next year. Hes gonna be dealt either at the draft or this summer. His role on the team was somewhat stolen by De La Rose and coach Therrien wants Galchenyuk to be a center eventually which means Montreal would have 6 centers who can play. Eller made it clear hes not comfortable on the wing and wants to play center so hes just gonna get buried down the depth chart behind Galchy, Deharnais, Plekanec and now De La Rose and that’s not even mentioning any prospects Montreal wants to have on the roster next year. So he’s likely gone.