Trade Block

The Following players are speculated to be on the trade block:

**Add in:
Dany Heatley, Ottawa - 5 years left @ $7.5 million, Heatley has asked Ottawa for a trade. I'm starting the Heatley for Marleau rumour right now.

Joe Thornton or Patrick Marleau, San Jose - The most recent rumours on the internet are that the Sharks could move one of Thornton and Marleau. GM Wilson said that 'Thornton and Boyle' are his only untouchables, which leaves speculation about Marleau. I could write a lot of names down from the Sharks but no other specifics have popped up (except Cheechoo). But GM Wilson said changes will come after what he calls their most dissapointing playoffs yet.

Phil Kessel, Boston - RFA. Apparently he's looking for a multi year $5 million deal. Boston is thinking more along the lines of $3.75 million which is what Krejci got. If Kessel's side won't budge he could be moved.

Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay - Don't know if you've heard but he might be on the block. He's been in a lot of trade rumours, most common destinations have been Montreal and LA. The Kings are rumored to be offering up 21 year old d-man Jack Johnson. I imagine they'd have to throw in a little more with that. But these rumours could be true, especially if Tampa drafts Tavares at the #2 spot and decides to go with JT and Stamkos as their centres.

JS Giguere, Anaheim - Makes sense. With the rise of Jonas Hiller, the Ducks might feel that they don't necessarily need the $6 million starter.

Marco Sturm, Boston - missed last year with injuries. The Bruins did pretty great without him. With Thomas' new contract, Kreijci's raise, Phil Kessel still without a contract, Sturm's $3.5 million cap hit could save some space.

Nathan Horton, Florida - I don't know why but his name has popped up all year. Earns $4 million If you believe where there's smoke there's fire then he could move. I remember lots of rumours all last year about Jokinen and Cammalleri and sure enough both were moved on draft day, so who knows.

Alex Frolov, Los Angelas - Here's another guy, like Horton. I don't see the reasoning but his name has been persistant in trade rumours, so watch out for this one as the Kings continue to shuffle their line up that has already dealt big names Visnovski, Cammalleri, and O'Sullivan within the last year. Frolov makes $4 million, but is a $2.9 cap hit, one year left on his deal and has been a pretty solid scorer for the Kings. Maybe they figure he's going to want way too much after this season, or fear he's going to test UFA waters next summer. Could be involved in a Lecavalier trade too as LA is heavily rumoured to be involved there. Jack Johnson's name is also in the Vinny rumours, but he's not on the block.

Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Minnesota - Going onto year two of a 5 year deal that pays him a little over $4 million per season (cap hit). Chuck Fletcher made comments about making some changes and Bouchard's name has come up, but I think the price would be steep.

Jason Spezza, Ottawa Senators - These reports have all been denied by Ottawa. Given their struggles I'm not too surprised, but don't forget they were on a tear at the end of last season, I think Heatley and Spezza will stay put.

Scott Gomez, New York Rangers - Any intelligent fan reading this knows he's overpaid and that the Rangers are most likely stuck with him. Gomez to LA rumours have been floating around recently (If LA can't land Lecavalier or Gaborik). I would imagine the Kings would want New York to take back Handzus and his $4 million in a deal for Gomez.

Daniel Briere, Philadelphia - His name has been off and on in rumours for a while. He'll probably stay put, but you never know. Philly is not a team with a ton of cap space and they played well without Briere. If they could move his $6.5 million salary for a young, affordable player/prospect and use the cap space to get better in other area's then maybe they will.

Josh Harding, Minnesota - Like I've stated in previous posts on my blog, Harding is an RFA and will want more money then Minnesota will be willing to spend on a back up, considering Backstrom's extension. He could be a great pick up, or not, we'll see but I'd like to see him get a chance as a starter somewhere.

Ben Eager, Chicago - With so many RFA's, goaltending situation to take
care of, and lots of guys due for raises, speculation is that this RFA could be
moved depending on his salary demands.

Wade Redden, New York Rangers - Uhhh, good luck. Redden's outrageoud $6.5 million contract won't go anywhere but I recently read somewhere that they could move him to the minors this season to free up room to land a big name in this summers free agency. Sorry to sound so down on the Rangers but they'll probably end up moving Redden down and then giving a big contract to a guy like Gionta or something, and overpay again then be in real trouble next year as a player who is sent down can only be taken off the books for one season, unless they are on LTIR.

Tomas Kaberle, Toronto - According to rumours he has been offered along with the 7th overall pick to Tampa Bay and the New York Islanders for either of their top picks (1st or 2nd overall). Could take a bit more to land those picks, but Kaberle is a good player and would help Tampa's team a lot.

Derek Boogaard, Minnesota - Ya, love him! Boogie man is on the block, his name has been in the paper and on the internet. So what's the price you pay for a top end enforcer? I'm really curious.

Frantisek Kaberle, Carolina - Not sure there will be interest for the
vet d-man. He did clear waivers last year and makes $2.2 million. But maybe a
team with cap space could acquire him and move up the draft, doing Carolina a
favour for the salary.

Brent Sopel, Chicago - Same deal as F.Kaberle. $2.33 million cap hit.

Detroit:
Dan Cleary, $2.8 million/
Tomas Holmstrom, $2.25 million/
Kris Draper, $1.6 million/
Brad Stuart, $3.5 million
- The thinking here is *if* Hossa is re-signed by Detroit to a big money deal, they'll have to move a peice or two to start freeing up some room and give up one or two of these players, then replace them with younger, cheaper players to fill those roles. Draper and Holmstrom haven't been mentioned as much as Cleary and Stuart because of Red Wing loyalty to the two guys who have been there forever (ditto Maltby but he earns under $1 mil so why trade him?)

Mike Fisher, Ottawa - $4.2 million checking centre could be moved to free up cap space for more scoring. There's a belief out there that Ottawa will try to bring in some secondary scoring in free agency with someone like Gaborik or bringing back Havlatt. Moving Mike Fisher to make the room could be a good change for the Sens.

Benoit Pouliot, Minnesota - The Wild might be getting tired of waiting for the former 4th overall pick. He had huge potential but hasn't made a dent in the NHL yet. I would compare any deal being made involving Pouliot with Gilbert Brule of Columbus last year. Brule was also a slumping prospect with high expectations and he was flipped to Edmonton for immediate help in Raffi Torres. If Minnesota could get a Torres calibre player they'd probably move Pouliot.

Okay, that's it for now. I'll keep looking for more and I'm sure more rumours will surface after the Cup final and leading up to the draft.