Three days after a conference call with Packers team officials in which quarterback Brett Favre vehemently expressed his desire to play in 2008, on Friday Favre officially asked by letter for his unconditional contractual release, a source close to Favre and the team said. Favre, expressed a desire to have an friendly parting, as the Packers have been hesitant to embrace his return. Favre has three years left on his contract at a total of $39 million. He currently is on the reserve-retired list.
The Columbus Blue Jackets traded forwards Nikolai Zherdev and Dan Fritsche to the New York Rangers for blueliners Fedor Tyutin and Christian Backman. Columbus also signed free-agent forward Kristian Huselius for $19 million over four years.
The New York Islanders added 37-year-old centre Doug Weight for one year at $1.75 million.
The Ottawa Senators signed Penguins pest Jarkko Ruutu, an unrestricted free agent, for three years.
The Vancouver Canucks signed free-agent forward Ryan Johnson and free-agent defenceman Nolan Baumgartner.
Carolina signed defenceman Joni Pitkanen, acquired on Tuesday from Edmonton for Erik Cole, to a $12 million, three-year contract.
Calgary stole forward Curtis Glencross from the rival Oilers, signing the unrestricted free agent to a three-year deal; signed brothers Jim and Peter Vandermeer.
The Atlanta Thrashers signed free-agent defenseman Ron Hainsey, adding size and youth to their blue line — and making him the team’s highest-paid defenseman (five years, $22.5 million). He spent the last three years with Columbus.
The Minnesota Wild re-signed injured defenseman Kurtis Foster to a one-year, $1.025-million contract.
The New York Islanders and Center Doug Weight agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.75 million plus incentives.
The Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin signed a five-year extension worth $43.5 million. His deal is the same as the one signed by Sidney Crosby that begins next season.
The Maple Leaf’s Mats Sundin got an offer from Vancouver, which is set to make Sundin the highest-paid player in the league. The Canucks’ bid was for two years, and the price is believed to be $20 million.
The Milwaukee Bucks have agreed to trade Yi Jianlian to the New Jersey Nets for Richard Jefferson. They are also are sending Bobby Simmons to the Nets. He has $20.5 million left on a contract that expires in the summer of 2010, when LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh would become free agents.
This trade might be considered a sign that the Nets are looking to get involved in the LeBron sweepstakes, based in no small part on his close friendship with Nets minority owner Jay-Z. As a result of this trade, the Nets are no longer committed to paying Jefferson $15 million in 2010-11.
Yi’s camp was said to be thrilled about going to the re-structuring Nets and playing in a major market, which was one of the original concerns when he was drafted by the Bucks last year. Yi threatened to not sign with Milwaukee in hopes of forcing a trade to another team. The Bucks will keep their No. 8 pick in the draft to further spruce up their team. The Nets hold the No. 10 pick.
The Bucks, meanwhile, are providing new coach Scott Skiles with a veteran player who can help him win. Jefferson averaged 22.6 points a game last season.
Trevor Linden ended his NHL playing career Wednesday as the Vancouver Canucks‘ second-leading scorer and one of the more popular players in franchise history. He is the Canucks’ all-time leader in assists (415) and games played (1,140) and is just behind Markus Naslund in goals (318) and points (733).
“It’s been fantastic for me,” Linden said at a news conference Wednesday. “I’ve been able to be a professional athlete for 20 years. It’s the right time.”
Linden totalled 375 goals and 492 assists for 867 points in 1,382 NHL games with the Washington Capitals, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders and Canucks, who drafted Linden second overall in 1988. He is expected to leave the game for a period to concentrate on a current real-estate project in Victoria.
A source has told The Associated Press that Detroit Red Wings goaltender Dominik Hasek is expected to announce his retirement from the NHL. The Red Wings have scheduled a press conference for Monday for today. Over the course of 16 NHL seasons, Hasek posted a record of 389-223-82, with 81 shutouts and a career goals against average of 2.20. At 43, he is the NHL’s oldest active goalie.
Hasek has won six Vezina Trophies as the NHL’s top goaltender, two Hart Trophies as the league’s most valuable player and an Olympic gold medal with the Czech Republic at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.
Hasek leaves the game after a rough and cut short run to his second Stanley Cup this season. He lost his starting role in Game 4 of Detroit’s first-round series against the Nashville Predators to Chris Osgood, who remained the starter during the team’s run for the Stanley Cup.
The Stanley Cup is back in Hockeytown once again. For the fourth time in eleven seasons, the Red Wings are the Stanley Cup champs. They used experience to knock out the younger, less experienced Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night with a 3-2 victory in Game 6 of the Final. Following in the iceskates of Gordie Howe and Steve Yzerman, captain Nicklas Lidstrom strongly led the Red Wings to the title. Detroit’s 11th NHL championship team is the first in league history to be captained by a European.
Just like in Game 5, things got a little too close for comfort for Detroit, who allowed Marian Hossa’s power-play goal with 1:27 remaining that got the Penguins to 3-2. Pittsburgh had already pulled Game 5 star Marc-Andre Fleury to create a 6-on-4 skating edge, but they couldn’t pull off another goal, although they came close. In the final seconds, Sidney Crosby put a backhander on goal that Hossa just missed with a tip at the right post.
The Red Wings won their fourth straight series on the road in these playoffs. Detroit is third in NHL titles, trailing fellow Original Six clubs Montreal and Toronto.
The Detroit Red Wings were trying to close out the series at home with a 3-1 series lead, wanting to make an easy win of their fourth Stanley Cup in 11 years. It became clear early in this game that the Pens were not going down without a fight. Battling nerves and falling behind 2-0 in the first period, Detroit had a jerky start. The Pittsburgh Penguins are trying to become the first team since the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs to come back from a 3-1 deficit in the Stanley Cup finals. Toronto did it against Detroit. The last triple-overtime game in the finals was in 2002, when Detroit won Game 3 with a goal by Igor Larionov.
The game lasted nearly four and a half hours. The Penguins took control while the Red Wings in spurts, only to have the Red Wings rush back with a barrage of offense. In the fifth-longest game in Stanley Cup final history, Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stole it for his team, making 55 saves in a career performance.
Luc Bourdon died today in a motorcycle accident near Shipagan, N.B.
This is sad news. Ourthoughts are with his family, friends, and the Vancouver Canucks organization.
Eve Bourdon, Luc’s sister confirmed his death, but declined further comment. His agent, Kent Hughes, was unaware he rode motorcycles. Also, according to the report Luc just purchased his motorcycle two days ago.
The Conn Smythe Trophy is awarded every year to the player judged most valuable to his team during the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs. The Conn Smythe Trophy has been awarded 42 times to 36 players since the 1964-65 NHL season. And while there’s always been an underlying myth that amazing goaltending in the playoffs make championship winners and MVP honours, Marc-Andre Fleury and Chris Osgood aren’t the clear favorites for their teams.
Fleury, who struggled early in his career, was in danger of giving up the No. 1 job earlier this season to teammate Ty Conklin. The first overall pick in the 2003 draft elevated his play down the stretch with a 12-2 postseason record, a 1.70 goals-against average, a .938 save percentage and a playoff-leading three shutouts. Osgood, who replaced a struggling Dominik Hasek in Game 5 of the first round against the Nashville Predators, has been equally impressive with a 10-2 record, a 1.60 goals-against average and .931 save percentage.
As both netminders have been this spring, it’s hard to ignore the other candidates that are playing on the rest of the ice . For Pittsburgh, Evgeni Malkin has a very good chance to capture the Hart Trophy and playoff MVP honours in the same season. The forward has also shown the tough side of his game.
Captain Sidney Crosby is also a major contender, sharing the league lead the postseason scoring with 21 points in 14 games. While his goal total (4) is rather low, the 20-year-old has proven his worth as a top playmaker. He leads the league in playoff helpers with 17 assists and is averaging a point and a half a game.
The Red Wings’s Henrik Zetterberg is the other player who shares the league lead in postseason scoring, and another solid pick for MVP. The 2008 Selke Trophy is second in goals (11) and game-winning goals (3), and also leads in plus-minus with a plus-15 rating. The Red Wings’ other Selke finalist is Pavel Datsyuk. He has been Detroit’s on the road charm, with 14 of his 19 playoff points (nine goals, five assists) scored while not on home ice. Johan Franzen’s contributions should also be considered. He was arguably the MVP-favourite through the first two rounds, and still leads the postseason in goals and game-winners despite missing five games.
The other dark horse for the Conn Smythe Trophy is Pittsburgh’s Marian Hossa. The Penguins paid a steep price for his at the trade deadline, and the soon-to-be-free agent has certainly not disappointed. With 11 points in his last six playoff games, he could continue his hot streak into the final and potentially take over the postseason scoring lead.
Still, there are four-to-seven games remaining in the Stanley Cup playoffs and the race for MVP should be wide open right to the last minute.
