The Comedic Nature of Trade Rumours

This is the season of rumours. The Stanley Cup final is winding down, with the Los Angeles Kings holding the New Jersey Devils by the scruff of the neck. 28 other teams are patiently waiting for the games to stop and the  trade negotiations to start flowing. The draft is upcoming and after that the free agency period.

Before delving into that, I want to temper down the expectations of those that believe everything they read. There is the infamous Eklund, who publishes enough trash to make anyone's head spin. Besides him, there are many more who look to deceive.

Here are a few amusing rumours that I compiled. Sorry, if I missed any classics, there were just SO many to go through!

1) "The Bruins might be on the verge of trying to deal Vezina Trophy Winner Tim Thomas" (Bruce Garrioch)

This particular rumour came from Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch. This audacious rumour was made in February 2010. Bruce, at the time stated he had talked to a few executives who said Tim Thomas was on the way out.

What makes this a horrible rumour? How about the fact Thomas stayed and won the cup with the Bruins, the next year? Thomas had just signed a contract with the Bruins and due to a few iffy months became trade bait in the eyes of journalists. Boy was Garrioch off on this one despite being vague to insure credibility!

2) "Stephen Weiss is being traded by Florida Panthers" (RDS)
     "Details are Sketchy..." (Darren Dreger)

You know you are going to cause a frenzy when a player like Weiss is named. Even more so, when Darren Dreger provides back up to the initial rumour. At that point, everyone was starting to name potential teams and shoving crazy trades down each other's throats.

What ended up happening? The only trade made that day by Florida was Cory Stillman going to Carolina for a pick and Ryan Carter. As for Stephen Weiss, Tallon said there was no trade ever in place. In fact, he's still wearing a Florida jersey in 2012, more than a year later. Yikes.

3) "Cammalleri to be traded for one of Bobby Ryan, Ryan Getzlaf or Corey Perry" (Radio Station: Montreal CKC)

Yeah. Don't have to say much about this beauty. Three top tier players, the so called "big 3" being torn apart to add Micheal Cammalleri of all players? Whatever was being smoked by the people at the radio station must have been good stuff.

What ended up happening? Nothing. Michael Cammalleri wasn't traded until a full year after this trade rumour came out.

4) "Rick Nash + Kristian Huselius for Mikail Grabovski, Luke Schenn, Nazem Kadri & Mike Komisarek" (Bill Watters)

This was a trade announced by Bill Watters as pretty much done. People thought Bill Watters has connections with Columbus, so might be in the know. A reasonable position to hold considering he was a GM at one point (how he got the job, I don't know) so his word held some weight.

What ended up happening? Rick Nash is still in Columbus. Grabovski, Schenn, Kadri and Komisarek are still in Toronto. Brian Burke came out the next day and said he had not even spoken to Scott Howson about  Rick Nash at that point. From what was at one point a done deal, became something that wasn't even talked about between the two GMs. Shocking.

5) "Corey Perry for Cory Schneider + Mason Raymond + Keith Ballard" (Patrice Brisebois)

Yes, another trade rumour involving Corey Perry. I suppose that is what you get for playing in an unappreciated market, Corey. Patrice Brisebois came out with this stunner and said a few Canucks told him "he will be joining us soon".

What ended up happening? None of these players changed teams. I wonder which Canucks, Brisebois was talking to. Must have been yanking his chain or he was pulling these out of his anal cavity.

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As you can see, trade rumours come and go. No one should be fully trusted, not until multiple reliable sources have confirmed a piece of news. They are great for discussions, but please learn to take them with a pinch of salt. Just some advice before happy hour comes around again and we see some more shocking trade rumours.

Evgeni Malkin for Mike Komisarek, anyone? Wouldn't be surprised to see someone pick up on this and post it on twitter. This is the world we live in now.

Lindback? The Forgotten One

Anders Lindback.

The 24 year old, 6' 6'' backup goal tender for the Nashville Predators. A man who has become lost in the shuffle behind one of the finest goal tenders in the league, Pekka Rinne. Sure could use that guy on the Leafs, huh?!

There is enough reason to understand that Lindback won't be sticking around for long. The Nashville Predators won't hold him for long either.

This is where the Leafs come in. Fans will not want to choose this as an option and understandably so. No one wishes to bring in another young goal tender to Toronto. We have had enough dealings with the unseasoned goal tenders of the world, now the fans just want a good ol' veteran. Someone like a Luongo or Vokoun if things don't work out with Luongo.

This blog post stems from Pierre Lebrun's segment on TSN concerning Lindback and the Leafs. This is what he had to say...

Two goalies I believe are on the radar for the Toronto Maple Leafs in their quest to upgrade their goaltending are veteran UFA-to-be Tomas Vokoun and young Nashville backup Anders Lindback (RFA on July 1).

Pierre Lebrun is obviously a trusted source and one who will get people talking. This is why Anders Lindback is the main topic of this post.

The Maple Leafs choosing him as an option would be a dire move. A move out of desperation more than anything else. He is a young goal tender that requires a lot more seasoning, he has only played 22 games at the NHL level.

A lot of question marks surrounding him.

Roberto Luongo to Leafs?

These are the murmurs coming out from  "sources".

BREAKING: can confirm Roberto Luongo will be traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Deal will be completed by draft, if not July 1. #Canucks

This was the tweet made coming from a source that has called trades before.

Unfortunately, with the way Leafs rumour mongering goes, you can't believe anyone except the top sources. It is best to keep calm until the trade is done and delivered because it usually comes back to bite everyone in the butt.

 Roberto Luongo will be a great fit for the Maple Leafs. There is a definite need for an elite goaltender, one that can get the job done in all situations. There are some unwarranted reservations when it comes with Luongo's play. I can assure you, his play will not be the issue, if he is truly being dangled by the Canucks.

 The only issue revolves around his contract. He is already 33 years of age and there are many years left on the contract. This is a negative no matter what a Canucks fan might say. It might not warrant a cheap low ball offer that Leafs fan are accustomed to suggesting, but it won't be CHEAP.

 His contract is laid out like this.

 Annual Cap hit = $5.333 Million 

  2012-13 to 2017-18 - $6.714 million 

  2018-19—$3.382 million. 

  2019-20—$1.618 million. 

  2020-2022—$1 million. 

 The contract has a few years tacked on at the end that might be considered (cap circumventing). This is probably a fair statement on the part of Canuck fans, but it is a hindrance. One that will devalue Luongo's trade value regardless of what anyone says. Those extra years have to be taken into consideration. When Mike Gillis was asked about whether he was mulling over a Luongo trade today, he replied with the following...

“I haven’t contacted anyone with respect to Roberto at all,” said Gillis on Thursday. “I’ve had people call me and ask about him and I’ve told them that we haven’t made any decisions at all about the future of our goaltending. And that’s absolutely the truth. Source: The Province

This is a legitimate statement, now whether he is bluffing or not, only GMs would know. It is only fair to trust his word over that of a source in Vancouver. Will Luongo come to Toronto? No clue, this is going to be a LONG wait. He might even end up staying. Elite goal tenders are not let go of this easily, even if there is a Schneider type back up.

Kessel Rumours Again?

There have been a lot of rumours spreading around saying that we are back in the hunt for Phil Kessel. I think it’s pure rubbish and I just don’t see it happening after the little miscommunication that went on between Burke and Chiarelli at the draft. There was a huge chance that a deal would have been made back then but after the mishap I just don’t see these two getting together to talk about Kessel again.

There is no doubt in anyones mind that Kessel would help our team immensely and would probably make our team extremely good. This is the only reason that would attract Brian Burke to Phil Kessel. I don’t see the problem being from Burke’s end but the reason this deal will not happen is the fact that Chiarelli won’t be willing to deal with Burke anymore on this player at least. Of course if Burke blows his socks off then he will have a deal, otherwise Burke will have to look elsewhere for his top six forward.

Rumours likes these are always spread around to create some excitement especially in Canadian cities where even the slightest of rumours will become national news in a few seconds. This rumour has just lost steam in my eyes and they are basically clutching at straws by drawing up this rumour out of thin air. I hope common sense prevails and people making the rumours stop with this nonsense which is entirely improbable. If I am proven to be wrong then shame on me but I don’t even see them discussing Kessel in trade talks let alone thinking of dealing him.

Also, recently Phil Kessel was asked about the rumours and he clearly seemed a little agitated by all this trade talk surrounding him. It would certainly help to see what his demands are before I label someone the bad guy but right now I think Kessel is in a poor position and Chiarelli is trying to see how the waiting game plays out. The Leafs certainly can’t be the only team interested in trading with the Briuns for Kessel, and this will most definitely factor in the final decision from Peter Chiarelli. I wish Kessel the best with whatever happens cause he sure is a fine player to watch even if he plays for the Bruins.

Patrick Marleau Trade Rumour Analysis

A silly trade rumour has been making the circles recently and I am going to do a little review on it. The rumour was posted on Hockey Bums (not really the most reliable source) and it was released soon after San Jose’s coach decided that Marleau is not worthy of being captain in shark land. It seems that Big Joe will get the captaincy and rightly so, even if he doesn’t have much luck in the playoffs.

The trade is as follows....

To SJS:
Ian White
2011 2nd round pick
2011 2nd round pick
Jiri Tlusty
Mikhail Stefanovich

To TOR:
Patrick Marleau
Derek Joslin/Nick Petrecki

This is a trade that will never go down as it’s a complete rip off and Burke would never let that happen. Patrick Marleau doesn’t exactly love Ron Wilson to actually want to play for the Leafs after their first stint didn’t work out so well. Plus the Leafs will be giving a ton up with not a lot coming back.

To break this trade down... The Leafs will be getting a 1st line left winger and an excellent defensive prospect for an NHL ready defenseman, two excellent offensive prospects and two 2^nd rounders to top it off. This would be a huge steal for the Sharks.

In terms of the financial hit for the Leafs they will basically be adding 6.3 million for one year and then will be looking at having to face the fear of him moving away for nothing. Of course I don’t think the deal would go through anyways unless a contract was set in stone prior to the deal between the Leafs and Sharks. It wouldn’t make sense to sign him for one year as we are not really close to a stanley cup run to be looking for such quick fixes.

Even though the chances of this trade going through are almost nil, it’s always interesting to look through the offers and analyze them and see if we would win the trade or not. Clearly this is a big no no if you are Brian Burke and would reek of desperation if such a trade were to go through.

The Kovalchuk Sweepstakes

Will the Leafs get Ilya Kovalchuk next summer? This is a question that will certainly be contemplated more and more as next summer approaches and the rumours will certainly swirl. Everyone knows that Ilya won’t even look at the contract until he is certain that the Thrashers are heading in the right direction. They have made some decent moves but is it enough to lure Kovalchuk into signing a contract with the Thrashers again? This is the question and one most people would love to have answered by the man himself, unfortunately he’s too smart for that and will wait it out till the end.

Now the Leafs if given the option will have an interesting player to contemplate over. There is no reason why an offer wouldn’t be made even if it isn’t what Kovalchuk wants. It’s a given that every NHL team would love to have him on their team but who can afford him will show up who the real players are in the Kovy sweepstakes. The Leafs will certainly have enough money to throw at Ilya but one has to wonder what the maximum is that they can offer. There were rumours about Atlanta considering giving Ilya the maximum and if they decide to do that then perhaps it’s time for Don Waddell to turn off NHL 09 for a while and snap back to reality. There is no player in the NHL worth the maximum. This is not a one man show where one guy does everything. If Ilya is looking for that kind of money he will only get it from the Thrashers so he better lower his expectations big time.

Brian Burke will certainly show an interest in Ilya who might just be the final piece to this never ending puzzle. A proven 50 goal scorer is exactly what the current team needs but Burke and Nonis will know that if they offer to much then they may be risking the Leafs’ future and that’s never a good thing.

Ilya has been a fantastic player for the Thrashers and his stats from last year show that he’s certainly not lost his touch. The real positive and perhaps a negative is that he can score a ton of goals no matter who you put on his line. Unfortunately that’s a huge negative as well because he basically hogs the puck and I am sure Wilson would have none of that no matter who the guy is. We all know Ilya is probably one of the best pure snipers in the game and he can dangle the puck at will around high calibre defenseman. This is something you love to have on your team.

If you were to ask me if the Leafs will go after Ilya next summer, my answer would be yes. If you were to ask me if they will sign Ilya, I would have to say NO. Simply because some idiot will come and sign him to the maximum and regret it for the rest of his life. If that idiots doesn’t show up then Ilya will certainly get an interesting offer from the Leafs. We all know that Ilya would love to play in a hockey hotbed because he loves the attention, but would he be willing to lower his financial expectations a little bit?

Giguere to Toronto?

Now there are many things to consider before putting any stock in this rumour. One thing to consider is that this is a rumour conjured by Eklund, unfortunately many people still trust his words but that's a whole other topic. 

For one second I am going to put away all the negative thoughts I have about Eklund and analyze his rumour. J.S Giguere is definitely going to leave Anaheim unless his daughter's condition refuses to let him go. There is no doubt in my mind that Giguere will leave because no NHL player likes to be benched the way he has. There are many teams that will be interested in him but will they be able to afford his $ 6,000,000 cap hit? 

The Leafs of course have space for his contract but I am sure that Toskala would have to be shipped away for this possibility to even come close to reality. Toskala had a poor season that I am sure he would like to completely forget, but will Burke forget? 

Toskala's stats were (22-17-11, 3.26 GAA and .891 SV%)

Giguere's stats were (19-18-6, 3.10 GAA and .900 SV%)

This season both of them were basically identical stats wise and it was clear that neither goalie had a good year. What might influence Brian Burke into pulling the trigger is the fact that he has won a cup with Giguere and knows what type of goalie he is. On the other hand Toskala's cap hit is $ 2,000,000 less then Giguere for basically the same stats from last year. 

Now Burke has to ponder with the facts that will Giguere perform better in the spotlight or will he wither away? Also, does he want to try to get Gustavsson instead of Giguere due to the threatening cap hit Giguere possesses. 

In all of this we have to remember that Giguere has a no trade clause and he might even want to bring it into action if he is asked to waive it. I think he will waive it if the Leafs are the ones trading for him because there is a great Sick Kids hospital here in Toronto and his daughter will be in great hands if he waives his no trade clause for Toronto.

My thoughts in regards to this are that we won't go after Giguere because the negatives simply overwhelm the positives and I would much rather see Burke put all of his effort in bringing over the "Monster" from Sweden. Also, I feel Toskala should get a chance to show what he's got one more time before we decide to ship him off to some other city.