Friday, June 20, 2008

HABS Free Agent News...Starting The Waive... Trade + Rumours!

Busy morning/afternoon, and likely to stay that way through tonight with the draft at 7 p.m.

The Canadiens continue to negotiate with restricted free agent winger Andrei Kostitsyn. They will NOT buyout Mathieu Dandenault. Defenseman Mark Streit, on the other hand, will hit the open market, July 1, without a contract from the Habs. Streit wants to stay in Montreal, but Gainey claims the team is keeping its options open.

"Because he's in the unrestricted free-agent market and we want to play in that market, we don't want to arrive on July 1 and not have enough space in our budget or our cap to attract a player that's available," Gainey said.

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Alright everyone, it's time to start the wave!!

As for Ottawa and L.A., they're starting the waive.

The Sens have placed goaltender Ray Emery on waivers, which is believed to be the first step of buying him out. To be bought out of a contract, a plaeyer must first be placed on waivers; then, if unclaimed, a team may buy out his contract for a percentage of the remainder. Emery signed a three-year, $9.5 million contract in July of 2007 and has two years and $6.75 million remaining on his contract. Under CBA rules, the Senators are on the hook for one-third of Emery's remaining salary, $2.25 million. That amount will be spread across twice the length of the remaining years of the contract, resulting in a cap hit of slightly less than $600,000 for the next four years.

The L.A. Kings have done the same thing with goaltender Dan Cloutier.

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The Preds made two transactions today, significantly clearing up the goaltending picture.

Dan Ellis had a very happy birthday yesterday. Ellis signed a multi-year deal with the club, financial terms undisclosed. The Preds have since moved goaltender Chris Mason to division-rival St. Louis for a 4th round pick in tonight's draft. The Preds now have 9 picks this draft, with multiple 1st, 2nd and 4th round selections. Ellis, who turned 28 yesterday, led the NHL in save percentage (.924) and established a franchise record in shutouts (6) in his first full season with Nashville in 2007-08. The Blues acquire a bonafide starter in Mason for a pretty low cost, and the duo of Legace and Mason should help the team improve from the back out.

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RUMOUR OF THE DAY:

The Leafs are planning something HUGE, with the name Mike Cammalleri being involved.

Sabres dangling Afinogenov; Washington, Chicago and Carolina showing interest.

Also, one sites headline: JOKINEN TO BE TRADED TODAY

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