Rumors around the NHL
Brodeur's successor in New Jersey: Carey Price?
Martin Brodeur can't stay young forever, and already people are wondering if the 38-year-old's big-game days are over after the Devils were ousted in the playoffs.
There has long been speculation that the Devils would soon land an eventual successor to Brodeur, but GM Lou Lamoriello hardly seems to be in a hurry. He previously told the Newark Star-Ledger, "How can he be aging? He won 45 games!"
Still, Fox Sports' Lyle Richardson wonders if, this offseason, they'll finally go grad a young goalie -- and a perfect fit would be Montreal's Carey Price.
"If Price is the one to be moved he might be a good fit in New Jersey. He'd be away from the harsh spotlight of Montreal, and he'd be learning from the best in Brodeur. It could do wonders for Price's game," Richardson writes.
The St. Louis Blues might also be interested, and they have several young players to deal as assets. The Devils, however, lost several of their assets in their midseason trade for Ilya Kovalchuk.
Ducks will pursue free agent forward(s)
The Anaheim Ducks will likely pursue a free agent forward this offseason, with the uncertain futures of Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu.
The Orange County Register has a handful of guys they might pursue including Ilya Kovalchuk, Matthew Lombardi, Eric Nystrom, Tomas Plekanec, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Shawn Thornton, Tomas Holmstrom, Patrick Marleau, Mike Comrie, Raffi Torres, Marek Svatos, Alex Tanguay and Brad Winchester.
Chances are Kovy and Marleau will be too pricey for the Ducks, while Plekanec and Holmstrom are expected to signed with their own teams.
Otherwise, we could see the Ducks go after some of these other guys.
Jackets relocation talk
With the Columbus Blue Jackets' financial problems, there's been talks of possible relocation. But owner John McConnell addressed these rumors to the Columbus Dispatch.
McConnell said, "Let me be clear, we want to stay in Columbus. It was an important reason why we bought this team. I am committed to resolving the issue and will do everything I can to ensure that the Blue Jackets remain an important part of Columbus for many years to come."
The Jackets lose $12 million a year because of their lease agreement with Nationwide Arena, which is considered one of the venues in the league but costs the Jackets more than they can afford since it is privately owned.
McConnell blamed the financial woes on the arena lease: "Simply stated, if our building arrangements were similar to that of all other comparable markets, the league's model would work here in Columbus and we'd be fine."
So even though he insists he wants to stay, there is still a lot to work through for the Jackets to ensure they stay in Columbus. Otherwise, we'll start hearing guys from Quebec City making up more rumors about the Jackets moving there.