Penguins Hoist Cup; Off-Season Officially Begins

by Carlos Figueiredo

There are less than 9,580,000 seconds to go until the puck drops on the ‘09-’10 season, so let’s get going with some off-season fun!

Oh yeah, congratulations to the Penguins, who won the Stanley Cup last night. Enough celebrating already, we have work to do.

It’s also worth mentioning that Marian Hossa turned down a 7-year, $50 million dollar offer from the Pens, whom he played with and lost in the finals to Detroit last season, for a 1-year, $7.4 million dollar offer from the Red Wings. In the history of fail, this is an epic one. Hossa is again an UFA this off-season. Good luck with that Marian. 

                                Epic Fail!

The off-season NHL calender looks a little something like this:
June 18- NHL awards show – Las Vegas (Versus)
June 26-27 – NHL Entry Draft – Montreal (Versus/NHL Network)
July 1 – Free agency signing period begins
July 5 – Deadline for player-elected salary arbitration
July 6 - Deadline for club-elected salary arbitration
July 10 – Deadline for eligible players to elect Group 5 free agency
July 20-August 4 – Salary arbitration hearings held
August 6 – Deadline for salary arbitration decisions to be rendered

Before we get into some news and rumors, there are new blogs being added every day to the Fanball Blog Network. Check out your other favorite teams by clicking on the links at the top right of this page.

As we get closer to the draft and free agent signing period, I will be following all the latest news and rumors in the NHL. Besides, who doesn’t like a good rumor?
This will also help up get to know some players’ situations a little better, and the chances of each player becoming a Devil.

- The Bergen (NJ) Record has an article about the extent of Jacques Lemaire’s interest in the Devils head coaching job. Whatever direction the Devils go in, It would be nice to see them make a decision soon. The Draft is only 13 days away.

- While Jay Bouwmeester will probably be the best defenseman available this summer, that might change. A report in the Toronto Sun says that Florida is looking to trade Bouwmeester before the entry draft, instead of losing him to free agency and getting nothing in return. The Flyers appear to be the front-runners.

Some other stories from the Toronto Sun:
-”It would appear C Saku Koivu’s days with the Canadiens are finished. The Habs’ captain will likely test the UFA market, although talk has resurfaced that he’s going to pack his bags for Minnesota to play with brother Mikko. The Habs, meanwhile, are trying to sign D Mike Komisarek and RW Alexei Kovalev. Komisarek is expected to test the market, while Kovalev is expected to stay in Montreal”

-”The Rangers are shopping C Scott Gomez, who has a limited no-trade clause in which he can submit a list of 10 teams to which he’ll consent to be moved. The Rangers want to clear cap space — Gomez’s salary will stay at $8 million next season — so they can go shopping”

-”The Kings have told anybody willing to listen they are ready to move D Jack Johnson, a looming restricted free agent who wants a huge raise from $850,000 to $5.5 million per season. They’d like to ship Johnson East. There was no substance to the rumour that had Johnson going to Anaheim for D Chris Pronger”

-”Talks are about to get serious between Canucks GM Mike Gillis and J.P. Barry, the agent for potential UFAs Daniel and Henrik Sedin. The discussion could go down to the wire with the Canucks already committed to $33 million in salaries next season.”

- Dany Heatley has requested a trade out of Ottawa, and it seems more and more likely that GM Bryan Murray will have to find a trade partner. Heatley’s agent has said that attempts to resolve any differences between the player and team have already been made.

There should be plenty of news in the coming days and weeks as we lead up to the NHL Draft, and the fun really gets going once the free agency period begins on July 1st.
Check back often for some more rumors, news and notes while we await the start of the ‘09-’10 season!

Tags: Draft, Jack Johnson, Jacques Lemaire, Jay Bouwmeester, Marian Hossa, Mike Komisarek, New Jersey Devils, NHL, Pittsburgh Penguins, Saku Koivu, Scott Gomez