Martin Havlat on Block

Martin Havlat is officially on the trade block.

Muckler is looking to deal him and is accepting offers.

Havlat is looking to sign a one year deal, as is Roberto Luongo.

Barnaby bought out

According to numerous sources, the contract of Matthew Barnaby has been bought out by the Chicago Blackhawks.

Curtis Brown has also been bought out.

More to come.

Panthers trade..

Their 2008 6th rounder for Craig Anderson.

Canucks Fire Assistants

The Vancouver Canucks have fired assistant coaches Jack Mcllhargey and Mike Johnston.

Dave Nonis said it was a difficult decision for the club to make and he thanked them for their great work over the years.

Vigneault's new assistants will be named sometime in the near future.

Bouchard Signs

Pierre Marc Bouchard has signed a one year deal with the wild worth 1.85 Million US.

The Latest

The Nashville Predators have offered up Shea Weber for the second overall pick in the draft.

Obviously Nashville would have to throw something else in, but the offer is out there.

The Pens want a defensemen bad, I think they are trying to hold out and get Ryan Suter from Nashville.

I have also heard a trade rumour involving San Jose and Tampa which would involve Martin St. Louis going to the Sharks for Nabokov straight up.

Everything posted here is from various sources.

My thoughts on the Luongo Deal

Wow, what an incredible deal on the part of the Vancouver Canucks. Absolutely unreal.

On Keenan's part, wow. How stupid can one person get?

Luongo is the best goaltender in the entire National Hockey League. Krajicek was up and coming.

I was shocked when I saw this deal, but if Bertuzzi can thrive in a new environment it just may be the deal florida is looking for.

I myself do not like the deal. I like the Panthers and want to see them be successful. Hopefully Bertuzzi comes out flying next year. I think this deal might have been a little more fair if Bourdon was thrown in.

Right now, Vancouver wins the trade. We will see.

Pronger Wants Out

The Oilers roster is about to change significantly.

Chris Pronger has requested a trade because of personal/family reasons.

This leaves cap room for the Oilers and they may sign a defencemen or try and bring back the core of the team, should be interesting to see what they get for Pronger now that teams know he must be traded.

Pronger was a key part to the Oilers cup run and this is a big hit to their defensive core.

Martin Havlat

Today Havlat's agent Allan Walsh said that Havlat is only looking to sign a one year deal with Ottawa this year and will wait and see what teams will offer him next year as a UFA.

With that, I think that the Sens will sign Havlat to a one year deal and possibly trade him during the season and see what they can get. On the other hand I personally would not want to sign a player who does not want to make a commitment to the team. If he does not want to play in Ottawa, let him go. Its a cancer in the locker room.

Leafs and more..

According to te Toronto Star the Leafs have identified their number 1 team need is a number one goalie and they will look to fill that void before July 1.

The Star reports they are looking at Giguere and Nabokov. The Star also says if the Panthers are willing to deal Roberto Luongo, the Leafs would be willing to put a package together.

The Detroit Free Press reports Shanahan wants a two year deal.

Rob Blake is hoping to sign a new deal by next week. He is handling his negotiations by himself, without an agent.

The Ottawa Sun says that John Muckler has not ruled out bringing back Hasek for another season.

Aleksey Morozov has signed a three year deal in Russia, however, he still has the option of returning to the NHL.

More to come..

Daniel Briere

Today Briere recieved a qualifying offer of 1.94 Million. However, his agent says he is going to try and negotiate a better deal the one offered.

Briere can try and negotiate a new contract, but if that does not work out. We could see either the Buffalo Sabres or Briere calling for arbitration.

Briere was a key part of the Buffalo Sabres success this season and they need to lock this guy up.

Players Taking Home Hardware

Award Winners for the 2005-2006 Season.
Congratulations to all winners.

Joe Thornton wins the Hart Trophy.
Pavel Datsyuk wins the Lady Byng.
Alexander ovechkin wins the Calder.
Rod Brind'Amour wins the Selke.
Niklas Lidstrom wins the Norris.
Lindy Ruff won the Jack Adams.
Miikka Kiprusoff wins the Vezina.
Selanne wins the Masterton.
Kolzig wins the King Clancy.

Kiprusoff better watch out for Huet next year :)

Ducks unveil New Logo

Its official, the ducks are no longer Mighty.

They are now called the Anahaeim Ducks. The Ducks unveiled their new uniforms and logos at their press conference today.

In my opinion. these uniforms are the definition of tacky

Signings

Just to get everyone up to date, I have compiled a list of player signings that are up to date as of June 22, 12:00 Et.
Joe Sakic has re-signed in Colorado, 1 year 5.75 M


Kurtis Foster has re-signed with Minnesota, terms of the deal undisclosed.

Kristian Huselius has re-signed with Calgary, terms of the deal undisclosed.

Manny Malhotra resigns in Columbus, 3 year deal, financial terms undisclosed.

Joe DiPenta re-signs a one year contract with the Anaheim Ducks.

Ottawa Senators sign Andy Hedlund to a two year deal and Brian McGrattan to a one year deal


Elsewhere, The Sales of the Blues and Coyotes have been approved by the National Hockey League. However, the deals have not been closed out as of yet.

The San Jose Sharks have declined their option on Scott Thornton.

Introducing RCGP

We now have 2 writers on the blog as I have brought in Conrad, known as RCGP to occasionally add in his thoughts to the site.

Conrad is the greatest hockey fan I have ever met. He is from Calgary Alberta and he knows more about the sport of hockey then any other person I know. He is a great writer and he knows what he is talking about. Conrad is a Florida Panthers fan who is very passionate about his team and the sport.

Welcome to the site RCGP. He will soon post his mock draft on the site.

The site is now known as Cjbhab and RCGP's Blog.

The URL is http://cjbhab-rcgp.blogspot.com

Interesting Ebay Item and NHL Auction

The lucky winner of this auction gets to help chop Commodore's hair.

$760 US, WOW

Clicky


Plus winner gets to keep a lock of his hair.

Whoever paid 760 for this is absolutely brain dead. I wouldn't pay 3 dollars for this.

and a fan selling his beard for charity..

.01 US so far, I wonder why ...

And On NHL.com

the NHL is auctioning off Ovechkin's Escalade, I have a feeling that price is going to be high!

Clicky

NHL Awards

We all know that the National Hockey League Awards night is tomorrow evening.

I thought I'd make a few predictions on who will win each award.

Calder Memorial Trophy goes to...
Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

Frank J Selke Trophy Goes to ...
Rod Brind'Amour, Carolina Hurricanes

Hart Memorial Trophy Goes to...
Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks

Jack Adams Award Goes to...
Peter Laviolette, Carolina Hurricanes

James Norris Memorial Trophy Goes to...
Niklas Lidstrom, Detroit Redwings

Lady Byng Trophy goes to
Patrick Marleau, San Jose Sharks

Lester B Pearson Award goes to..
Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals

Vezina Trophy goes to..
Miika Kiprusoff, Calgary Flames

Mark Messier should win the King Clancy Memorial Trophy.

Note: Joe Thornton won the Art Ross, Jonathon Cheechoo won the Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy. Miika Kiprusoff captured the William M Jennings Trophy.


Congratulations to the Carolina Hurricanes, the 2006 Stanley Cup Champions.

I also extend my Congratulations to the Edmonton Oilers who gave their fans a terrific ride.

Reminder: These are Cjbhab's predictions, If a player does not win the award I have specified he will win, the Awards are rigged. I am always right, everyone else is wrong.

Jack Johnson rumour

Rumour is that Jack Johnson and Carolina's first pick will be shipped to Pittsburgh for their second overall pick. In my opinion, it will not happen.

This is just silly, Johnson is a great player. The Hurricanes did not go out of their way to get Marc Staal, so why would they with Jordan. Pittsburgh needs a defencemen, but In my opinion, They will trade up and draft Erik Johnson.

Kings interested in Luongo

Sources say the Kings are very interested in superstar goaltender Roberto Luongo.

TSN reports that they are discussing a multiplayer deal which would involve frolov, brown, luongo and others.

Luongo could be dealt as early as Saturday. I wouldn't be surprised if it was at the draft.

Cjbhab's mock draft

cjbhab's mock draft

This is only a mock draft, do not get excited if any of the predictions do not come true. Draft selections are very tough to predict. Do not complain, especially if you don't have a mock draft of your own. Actually, now that I think of it, Do, argue all you want, It might give me some sort of sick pleasure. Here goes..


1. St Louis Blues Select Erik Johnson
Erik Johnson is rated number one among North American Skaters. He is a great two way defencemen and he leads by example. I myself believe that Pittsburgh and St. Louis will swap picks. This player could be a franchise player in the future and if I was rebuilding, I would try and build my team around this guy. His skating ability is unreal and he has a great shot. I would be very surprised if he does not go first overall.

2. Pittsburgh Penguins Select Jordan Staal.
A Crosby, Staal, Malkin line would be fabulous. I know they are all centres, but I can dream! Staal may be the best of the four brothers. Staal had a point per game this year in Peterborough and helped lead them to the Memorial Cup. This guy is unbelievable and can only get better here on in.

3. Chicago Blackhawks select : Jonathan Toews:
Toews is a great two way player with tremendous skill. International Scouting Service has him ranked number two.

4. Washington Capitals select: Phil Kessel
Phil Kessel is very exciting to watch. A year ago the 2006 Draft was touted as "The Phil Kessel Draft" Since then Phil Kessel falls to fourth overall and gets the chance to play with a superstar in Alexander Ovechkin. Kessel has great offensive flare and is a sure-fire NHLer.

5. Boston Bruins select: Nicklas Backstrom
Backstrom is the Swedish Elite Leagues rookie of the year. Backstrom has great hockey sense and is the number one Euro in the draft. This guy has the ability to make great plays. He has good offensive skill.

6. Columbus Blue Jackets select: Jiri Tlusty
Jiri Tlusty is a player who gives 100% everytime he is on the ice. This year he played for Kladno in CZE.

7. Long Island selects: Peter Mueller
This guy is unbelievable. He is great offensively and brings amazing skill to the table. In my opinion, Mueller should be ranked higher. He had a great year for Everett in the WHL.


8. Phoenix Coyotes Select: Derick Brassard
Derick Brassard if I am not mistaken scored the most points last year out of anyone in the draft. Brassard is awesome! Brassard is a threat to score everytime he steps out on the ice. Brassard has phenomenal speed and an accurate shot.

9. Minnesota selects: Kyle Okposo
Okposo was born in St. Paul Minnesota, The Wild will draft him in light of him being a hometown boy. He is an awesome 2 way player who is very physical when he needs to be.

10. Florida Panthers Select: Michael Frolik
Frolik has great skill and speed. This guy can make plays. Sure he may not have had the greatest season this year, but do not let that discourage you, this guy is the real deal.

11 LA Kings Select: Bon Sanguinetti
Adds a lot to the Kings blueline.

12. Atlanta Thrashers Select Chris Stewart
Brother of Anthony, good size, a good power forward.

13. Toronto Maple Leafs Select: Bryan Little
Small Centre who isn't afraid to get dirty.

14. Vancouver Canucks Select James Sheppard
Canucks will be pleased he lasted this long, 84 pts in 66 games this year. This guy can score.

15. Tampa Bay Lightning Select: Jonathan Bernier, the best goalie in the draft. His save % has been above .900 his whole junior hockey career.

16. Montreal Canadiens Select:Ty Wishart
Habs add some great defense in to the system with Wishart. Finally.

17. Minnesota Wild Select: Mike Forney
Another Minnesota born player, right out of highschool.

18. Colorado Avalanche Select: Cory Emmerton
Colorado gets the scorer they need. This guy was dominant in Kingston this year.

19. Anaheim Mighty Ducks select: Chris Summers
Ducks get a hard working defensemen.

20. San Jose Sharks Select: Mark Mitera
Sharks get a good defensmen to protect the fort. Just what they need.

21. New York Rangers Select Patrick Berglund
His stock has gone up a lot this year.

22. Philadelphia Flyers Select: Ben Maxwell
This kid has great talent, is a fast skater, makes good decisions and plays a great two-way game

23. Washington Capitals Select: Riku Helenius
They need this guy to come in once Kolzig is done.

24. Buffalo Sabres select: David Fischer
Good speed, great d-man who can log a lot of minutes.

25. New Jersey Devils select: Ivan Vishnevsky
Ivan has a good shot and good speed, He gets involved in the play everytime he is on the ice. A great d-man for the devils.

26. Calgary Selects: Ryan White
White won't ever be a top scorer in the NHL, but is an asset to all teams.

27. Dallas Stars Select: Alexander Vasyuonov
Vasyuonov could be the Dallas Stars next big thing! He can score and make plays but he is inconsistent.

28. Ottawa Senators select Michael Grabner.
Grabner had a great year in spokane playing for a team that is basically a joke. He put up numbers on a terrible team. He was the team.

29. Detroit Redwings select: Ondrej Fiala
Good speed, good size, I project him as a second liner in the NHL.

30. St Louis Blues Select: Nick Foligno
This guy plays hard every night and his numbers show it. Foligno will be a great checking forward in the NHL.

There is my mock draft with some info for each player. Thanks for reading. Nigel Williams falls to the second round.

Welcome to Cjbhab's New Blog!

Today, at the end of the NHL season, I begin my new blog in light of some people failing to believe in my great hockey sense.

Back in November, I was asked by a close friend who I believed would battle for hockey's holy grail, the Stanley Cup. I was able to correctly predict that Edmonton would play against Carolina at the end of the playoffs.

Now, I have created the blog so I can post predictions in advance, so that everyone will see my greatness.

I have one of the greatest hockey minds ever known to be in existence. Before Saturday's draft, I will be releasing my mock draft. Now, we know that the mock will not be 100% correct, but the only reason for this is I myself am more intelligent than most NHL scouts and general managers.

Thats it for now, stay tuned for rumours, trade updates, free agent signings etc. My mock draft will be released tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!