Lupul Agrees To Terms With The Flyers

Joffrey Lupul has agreed to terms on a new contract with the Philadelphia Flyers. Edmonton 1260 radio station is reporting that it is a 4 year contract. The contract signing is expected to be announced tomorrow.

Toews Named 34th Captain Of The Blackhawks

The Chicago Blackhawks has named young gun forward Jonathan Toews the new Captain of their team. Toews will become the 3rd youngest captain in NHL history behind only Sidney Crosby and Vincent Lecavalier(Lecavalier's captaincy has been stripped since he was named). Toews will be the 34th captain in history of his team. Toews will be learning from coach Savard more and more as Savard was a captain of the Hawks once in his playing career.

My Take: Great Job BY THE HAWKS! They have a young team based on speed and skill and guess what....Toews is the prime example. Toews was born a leader hes a natural. This is a great move in my opinion by the Blackhawks by doing this now it lets Toews grow into more and more of a leader as he gets older.

Pens Extend Therrien

The PIttsburgh Penguins have given a contract extension to head coach Michel Therrien. The contract is for 3 years. This contract is rightfully deserved as in my opinion any coach that takes his team(regardless of the teams skill level) to the Stanley Cup Final win or lose deserves a contract extension but that just my opinion.

Filatov Suspended From International Events

It seems that Filatov will be under investigation regarding the supposed signing of his contract with CSKA. According to the IIHF president Rene Fasel, Filatov will be suspended from international events but we must keep in mind that this suspension is only for the duration of the investigation. If it points to the fact that Filatov still legally as a commitment to CSKA then he will have to honor his contract and play in Russia. There is a liaison to the Radulov situation where if this investigation deprives the BJ’s from Filatov ,then this might mean the Preds will keep Radu.

Angelo Esposito signed by the Thrashers

The Atlanta Thrashers have come to terms with Montreal-native forward Angelo Esposito on a three-year contract. The terms of the deal are still unknown.

The 19-year old Esposito was acquired by Atlanta from Pittsburgh at the trade deadline deal last year along with Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen and a first-rounder in the 2008 draft for Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis.

My take: I had the chance to see Esposito play a lot in Quebec City and he's not ready at all to play in the NHL, even for the inept Thashers. Barring a very strong training camp, he'll be back in the QMJHL with the Montreal Juniors as a 19 year-old.

Ryan Miller with the Sabres until 2013-2014

The Sabres resigned goalie Ryan Miller to a five year extensions, the other terms are not known.

Last season,Miller won 36 games while having a 2.64 GAA and a .906 save percentage.

Holmqvist heads to Sweden, Zyuzin to Russia

Goaltender Johan Holmqvist has decided to sign a two-year deal with the Frolunda Indians of the Swedish Elite League. The Swedish goalie, 30, played for the Lightning and the Stars last season. He recorded 21 wins in 47 games, registering 2 shutouts. Holmqvist was part of the deal that sent Brad Richards to Dallas for Mike Smith and Jussi Jokinen to the Bolt.

Rearguard Andrei Zyuzin has agreed to a deal with SKA of the Russian League. The 30 year-old Zyuzin played 32 games with Chicago last season, notching 2 goals for 5 points. The terms of the deal are still unknown.

Under Investigation

The IIHF has suspended the following players: Alexander Radulov, Nikita Filatov, Jason Krog, Thomas Mojzis, Fedor Fedorov and Viktor Tikhonov. The reason for the suspension is that these players and the teams that they recently signed with this summer are under investigation. WHY? Because of that new verbal agreement between the NHL and the KHL (Russian hockey league). Theres a couple I don't understand though like Jason Krog he played with the Atlanta Thrashers AHL team last year and was property of them and then signed with the Canucks this offseason and then signed again with a Russian team. Another one is Filatov because the deal has been approved and he did give his Russian club like a 1 month notice or something like that that he would be leaving for North America. Anyway we will see what happens but right now these guys are......

UNDER INVESTIGATION.

Scotty

Curtis Brown heading to Switzerland

Brown signed a two-year contract with the Kloten Flyers of the Swiss NLA League.
The 32 year-old left wing played 33 games last season with the Sharks, notching 9 points. Brown was drafted 43 overall by Buffalo in 1994.

Lightning Speculation: What's Taking So Long?

By now loyal Lightning followers are well aware that a trade intended to bolster the blueline is on the way. The question is: What are they waiting for? Although I could be way off on my analysis, and a trade could happen tomorrow, this is my take on what is holding back the Bolts from reeling in some back-end help:

For starters, the Bolts are well aware of the assets they have to trade. A plethora of forwards including Jussi Jokinen, Michel Ouellet, Nick Tarnasky, and Jason Ward are all at the top of the list of trade bait. Which brings us to our first speed bump. The Lightning aren't the only team looking to improve their defense. The Senators as well as the Flyers have been rumored to be shopping as well. The problem for the Bolts is that Ottawa and Philly seem to have more attractive forwards to deal. With the Sens offering up the likes of Vermette and Neil, and Philly having possible candidates in Knuble, Upshaw, and Lupul; the underachieving Jokinen and Ouellet take a back seat. This means the Bolts will have to wait and take a back seat in any trades involving a team (Chicago, Florida, Nashville, Vancouver) looking to improve their offense.

Then there is Sundin. It is no secret Vancouver is looking for front-end help. And with the Canucks offer of $10mil still on the table, Vancouver will most definitely wait to make any trades until after Sundin makes a decision. If he goes elseware, then the Canucks will be shopping for forwards. But, if Sundin does sign, there is the possibility of the Canucks trading a defensemen to dump salary.

The Lightning's other tradeable assets are their pair of 1st and 2nd round picks in the 2009 draft. The only problem here is the owners have made it no secret that they covet these picks and have vowed to improve the depth of their prospect pool. If the Bolts plan on bringing in a top pair defensemen it will most likely cost them a 1st rounder. So the Bolts will most likely take their sweet time making sure it is the right move.

So everyone just sit back. There will probably be some dominoes that fall before the Lightning make a significant move. But who knows? I hope I'm back on here tomorrow posting about a trade.

RFA Brett Sterling resigned to a 2 years contract

24 years old forward, Brett Sterling resigned with the Atlanta Trashers. We know that he accepted a 2 years deal, but the money involved is still unknown. In 13 games with the Trashers last season, Sterling scored 1 goal and 2 assists, he was a point per game(38 goals,32 assists) in the AHL in 70 games.

Penguins/Chicago minor trade

The Pittsburgh Penguins and the Chicago Blackhawks made a minor move today, swapping the right of prospects. The Hawks traded the rights of defenseman Danny Richmond for the rights of forward Tim Brent. Richmond played 3 games with the Hawks this season, but did not registered a point and he scored 14 points in 40 games in the AHL. While Brent notched 18 goals and added 43 assists in 74 games with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.