The Oilers have done the NHL arbitration-watching part of the world a huge favor and came to terms with goaltender Jeff Deslauriers on a one-year one-way deal. Deslauriers was set to be the last arbitration case to be heard, but now that won't go down, leaving the Blackhawks decision on what they'll do with goaltender Antti Niemi as the last piece of arbitration-related business left to be handled. Terms of Deslauriers contract were not immediately known, but we'll update this post later once they're released.

Deslauriers was pressed into heavy action last year in Edmonton with Nikolai Khabibulin out with an injury and did... About as well as you could expect a lifetime backup goalie to do when playing for the worst team in the NHL last year. He went 16-28-4 last year with a .901 save percentage and a 3.26 goals against average while splitting the post-Khabibulin workload with Devan Dubnyk. Those three goalies are all under contract with Edmonton again next year and all under one-way deals.

Should Khabibulin avoid jail time in his DUI trial at the end of August, and should he be healthy enough to play, the Oilers are facing a rather crowded crease next year. While Dubnyk and Deslauriers aren't stars by any means, the aging Khabibulin could stand to use as much backup help as can be mustered and giving up a goalie won't be enjoyable for the organization. Then again, potentially being stuck paying for a goalie while he serves a short jail term doesn't sound appealing either. I guess having perspective like that helps out.

The sale of the Dallas Stars has been getting plenty of attention amongst interested parties in Texas. Current owner Tom Hicks is looking to get out of sports franchise owning in a big way and both the Stars and the Texas Rangers in Major League Baseball are on the block. While Canadian oilman Bill Gallacher and Vancouver businessman Tom Gaglardi have been the two main parties involved in purchasing the team, a report from Dallas says that a third group could be involved looking to purchase the team and this one a bit more familiar to many Americans.

An NHL source confirmed today that the third bidder for the Dallas Stars is News Corp./Fox, which surfaced yesterday as a possible bidder on the Rangers.

The three bidders on the Stars right now are: Calgary Oilman Bill Gallacher, Vancouver businessman Tom Gaglardi and News Corp.

News Corp. owns Fox Sports, and the purchase of the Stars and Rangers would help guarantee contracts for FSN Southwest, as well as ensure future programming if they hope to expand their product. Because the Rangers are in bankruptcy court and the Stars are not, the two purchases would have to be made separately. There is a chance News Corp. could end up with one team and not the other, or it could end up with both teams or no teams.

Hang on to your hats, political conspiracies and glowing pucks kids this new contender for the Stars brings a dump truck full of attention. One thing about News Corp. is that they're swimming in cash, they're also swimming in vast amounts of controversy, something which the NHL's Board of Governors are extremely wary of. Of course, money often does the talking and the team is locked in in Dallas so it's not as if Rupert Murdoch will be picking them up and moving them home to Australia.

Obviously News Corp.'s politics have absolutely nothing to do with sports or franchise ownership or anything else of the sort, but if they managed to buy the Stars, just be prepared for all kinds of outside attention from anyone and their political pundit brother or sister.

Ideally they'd be wise to keep any politics away from the rink as back in 2008 the Philadelphia Flyers (as well as the St. Louis Blues) showed that helping out a political campaign can sometimes cause a ruckus when they invited then Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin to drop the ceremonial first puck only to have her get booed out of the building. Just call me when Bill O'Reilly bobblehead night is slated to happen.

 

When the Boston Bruins chose to honor Blake Wheeler's $2.2 million salary arbitration award, speculation began regarding how the team would clear up salary cap space. Shortly after the Bruins honored the deal, rumors began to circulate that the Los Angeles Kings might be interested in trading for playmaking center Marc Savard.

Now, it's important to note that this is just a rumor and there aren't even any specific details about who would go Boston's way. That being said, there are a few reasons why a deal could make sense.

Pardon me as I get hypothetical for a bit.

Why the Kings should send a defensive prospect (or two ... or a draft pick) to the Bruins for Marc Savard

LA lost out in the Ilya Kovalchuk sweepstakes and has some money to burn. They can spin things any way they want, but it's hard to imagine that they're satisfied with Alex Ponikarovsky, especially since he might only take up Alexander Frolov's spot on the roster. While Jarret Stoll is a solid center, the team needs a strong number two center behind Anze Kopitar and a reasonably healthy Marc Savard would fit the bill. His bargain $4 million cap hit would also make it easier for the Kings to wrap up future pieces Drew Doughty, Jack Johnson and Wayne Simmonds.

From Boston's perspective, the Kings have a treasure trove of prospects that GM Peter Chiarelli could stash in the Bruins' minor league system. Kings GM Dean Lombardi seems a bit obsessed with stockpiling young defensive talent, but my guess is that they can part with someone after looking at a list of their young blueliners (Colten Teubert, Thomas Hickey, Vyacheslav Voinov, Davis Drewinskie, Johan Fransson, Derek Forbort and more).

Obviously, the Bruins and Kings would have to find a happy medium to make it work, but look at the pluses for both sides. The Bruins would bolster an already improving farm system and save most (if not all) of that $4 million hit for Wheeler and Tyler Seguin to boot. The Kings wouldn't have to sacrifice an NHL-level talent to get a guy who - if healthy - could bring All-Star playmaking skills to the table.

After the jump, I'll add a brief counter-argument

It might be hard to believe, but one of the league's best fighters in ages retired to a life that some might describe as cuddly. Some might even call him a "tree hugger."

Georges Laraque retired from hockey after being bought out by the Montreal Canadiens and the politically active pugilist was just named the deputy leader of the Green Party of Canada.

Elizabeth May has named former Montreal Canadiens enforcer Georges Laraque as the Green Party's deputy leader, in an apparent move to boost the party's political presence in Quebec.

Laraque, 33, replaces Jacques Rivard, who left the Greens for the Bloc Quebecois last month.

Laraque is known for being politically active. He became a vegan in 2009 to protest the treatment of animals in the food industry, and explained his decision in a lengthy post on his website, GeorgesLaraque.com.

"I love animals, and I don't believe humans can treat them as commodities and cause them harm," he wrote.

Laraque is an example of an enforcer whose off-ice demeanor breaks character. Fighters and bruisers can be some of the kindest, gentlest hockey players around even if they beat the bejesus out of each other for a living. It's refreshing and kind of amusing to read Laraque give the kind of quotes you'd normally read from a teenage celebrity who weighs 80 lbs. (not 260 lbs. like Laraque).

Congratulations to Laraque. Might he follow fellow former-Canadien Ken Dryden and pursue a high-profile politician in Canada? We'll have to see about that one.

Casual fans might not be familiar with Patric Hornqvist, yet he is one of the highest impact players waiting for a new contract via restricted free agency. We've debated whether or not he'll make good on his breakthrough 09-10 season already, but the bottom line is that he managed to score 30 goals next season. Hornqvist and the Nashville Predators must find common ground this summer.

Thanks to some digging by George Malik, Dirk Hoag of the great Nashville Predators blog On the Forecheck notes that the team is close to coming to terms with Hornqvist.

Nashville fans are eager to see this get done, at a salary that won't jeopardize other elements of the roster going forward. Comparable players have signed contracts over the last week or so, allowing the market to sort itself and make it easier for both sides to agree on a salary. That way, we can get back to important matters, like debating how many goals Hornqvist might score next season ...

Hoag made an apt comparison between Hornqvist and Vancouver Canucks forward Mason Raymond, who avoided arbitration and signed a reasonable two-year, $5.1 million contract on Monday and ultimately suggested that the team should give Hornqvist a bit more. Hornqvist doesn't have much of track record - he's only played 108 regular seasons during two campaigns - so giving him more than two years would probably be risky.

At a Raymond-like compensation and term, Hornqvist would be rewarded nicely while the shorter term would give him added incentive to duplicate his previous efforts. We'll let you know when the team signs him to a deal.

The Montreal Canadiens signed defenseman Alexandre Picard (not to be confused with the Phoenix Coyotes version*, who is a left winger) to a one-year, two-way contract, according to Brian LeBlanc.

* - Jeez, the two guys were born and drafted in the same year. I probably made identical "Star Trek" puns about them without even realizing it. This is worse than the Nicklas/Niklas Backstrom mess, I tell you.

Anyway, as usual, financial terms were not disclosed. Picard was traded to Carolina by Ottawa for a second round draft choice in the Matt Cullen deal during the trade deadline. Oddly enough, none of the elements of the deal remained with their original teams; Cullen departed Ottawa for Minnesota this off-season, Picard will be a Montreal Canadien and the second round pick ended up in Edmonton's hands.

Picard scored 4 goals and added 11 assists for 15 points in 54 games for the Senators and Hurricanes last season. He's a pretty big player at 6'3", 215 lbs. so we'll see if he can buck the trend of pint-sized players in Montreal.

It's one of those debates that sports fans have from time to time: is it better to root for a cellar dwelling team that never gets your hopes up or a strong team that falls short of the mark each year? Both are pretty crummy situations, but you'll have to ask of fans of teams like the San Jose Sharks or the 90s St. Louis Blues if the peaks are worth the valleys.

Sharks GM Doug Wilson strongly believes that the team has been a success in the past and is set up for a great future. He discussed the subject with Edward Fraser of The Hockey News.

"Our failures are higher than most teams' successes," Wilson said. "We don't really worry about the outside noise. We went to the final four last year and we played very well. We're going to build on that this upcoming year; last year is over and done with.

"Perception versus reality...how many teams have accomplished what we've accomplished the past six or seven years?"

One of the ways Wilson gauges success is by counting how many playoff rounds a team has played in recent years and since the end of the lockout, only Detroit, Pittsburgh and Anaheim have participated in as many post-season showdowns as San Jose. The Sharks are also one of only three teams (along with Detroit, 19, and New Jersey, 13) to have made the playoffs for six straight seasons.

(Good thing he doesn't rate success by cumulative broken hearts though.)

Snark aside, the Sharks have survived what I thought would be a treacherous salary cap situation this summer. It's probably minimal to say that the Sharks "only" lost Evgeni Nabokov and retired defenseman Rob Blake, but if the Antero Niittymaki experiment succeeds then maybe the team won't miss a beat.

You cannot help but read a little defensiveness into what Wilson is saying, but he's not all wrong. The Sharks might not be able to translate their regular season dominance into playoff success, yet let's not forget that a seven-game series is a blip on the radar compared to an 82-game season.

As a general manager, you can only control so much. Wilson has done a great job in San Jose, but the team will be remembered as a letdown if they never win a Stanley Cup. It might not be fair, but that's the bottom line.

Update: Nick Kypreos reports that Setoguchi's deal is worth $1.8M. That means the Sharks will pay him $400K less than Boston will give Blake Wheeler. Very, very nice signing by GM Doug WIlson ...

As was discussed yesterday, the San Jose Sharks signed forward Devin Setoguchi to a one-year contract. The team did not share financial details on the deal.

Here's a little more from the Sharks' press release.

The 23-year-old Setoguchi finished the 2009-10 campaign tied for fourth on the team in goals (20). He set a career-high with four game-winning goals and recorded 36 points in 70 games.

During the postseason, he finished third on the team in goals (5), including the overtime game-winner in Game 2 of the Western Conference Quarter Finals vs. Colorado. He also chipped in with four assists and was a +3 in 15 games.

"We're happy to have Devin under contract for next season," said [GM Doug] Wilson. "He is an important part of our team and we are looking forward to his on-going growth as a player. We have very high expectations for him."

The Sharks now have their top-six forwards wrapped up, with Setoguchi, Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Dany Heatley, Joe Pavelski and Ryan Clowe under contract. Overall, the team has 11 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies under contract, according to CapGeek.com.

That covers the teams' major free agents for this summer. Without knowing Setoguchi's salary cap hit, the team has a little more than $5.5 million in cap space accounting for 19 players. Depending on his salary, they'll either have enough room to add another small piece or will only be able to add minimum wage players.

The wait to find out Antti Niemi's salary arbitration award is over. Chris Kuc reports that the Cup-winning Finnish goalie received a one-year, $2.75 million ruling. Please note that this isn't a binding contract, though; Niemi's fate with the Balckhawks has not yet been decided.

In case you haven't been following arbitration situations, the Blackhawks have a few options. They can honor the award and sign Niemi to that contract, walk away and allow him to become an unrestricted free agent or trade away his deal to another team. Chicago will have 48 hours to make a decision and will have an opportunity to buyout a contract in that two-day window of time.

Our previous stories indicate that the Blackhawks wanted to pay him $2 million while Niemi was asking for $3 million. While that $2.75 million reward is close to what the Niemi camp wanted, that's not a bad deal when you consider the scant amount of NHL goalies with Cup rings making under $3 million. On the flip side, there isn't much to say that Niemi will be able to replicate that performance since he hasn't even played a full season as a No. 1 starter.

Will the Blackhawks bring back Niemi or move on to another option, such as free agents Marty Turco or Jose Theodore? Perhaps they'll buyout someone else or ship Cristobal Huet's massive $5.6 million contract to the minors? The team has two days to make a decision. We'll keep you updated as they mull over their options.

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced that they hired Todd Reirden as their assistant coach. Reirden was the head coach of the Penguins' AHL team in Wilkes Barrie/Scranton before GM Ray Shero and Dan Bylsma decided to give him a promotion.

Here's more from the team.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach Todd Reirden, who spent the previous year and a half coaching the Baby Penguins following Bylsma's promotion to Pittsburgh on Feb. 15, 2009, was hired by Bylsma and general manager Ray Shero on Saturday to fill the void that opened earlier this summer when Mike Yeo left to become the head coach of the Houston Aeros of the American Hockey League.

"We interviewed between 10 and 15 candidates and conducted an extensive search, and the most qualified coach was in our organization the whole time," Bylsma said. "Todd and I have developed a strong working relationship, which started when we played college hockey together at Bowling Green and continued in our time together in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He's a valuable asset to our coaching staff."

For Reirden, this promotion marks his first National Hockey League coaching assignment. The 38-year-old Deerfield, Illinois native began his coaching career as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Bowling Green, in 2007-08, before spending the past two seasons in WBS, where posted a head coaching record of 55-43-8 in 106 games.

One reason the Penguins promoted Reirden was to help manage their young defensive group. He played five seasons at the NHL level with high-end guys like Chris Pronger but - most importantly - worked with many of the young D-guys in training camp and at the AHL level.

Of the Penguins' projected top-five defenseman, Reirden has worked with Brooks Orpik and Kris Letang in Pittsburgh, while Alex Goligoski was Reirden's top defenseman in WBS in '08-09. Reirden is also familiar with newcomer Zbynek Michalek after the two spent the '04-05 lockout season playing together with Houston in the AHL.

[snip]

"The only defenseman among those who will be competing for roster spots that I haven't been around is Paul Martin, but I've seen him play at a high level for a while. He makes our group that much better and makes it a core that I can't wait to get to work with."

Reirden definitely held the familiarity advantage over other candidates. Who knows how much of a difference that will actually make, but at least Penguins fans won't be able to blame everything on former assistant coach Mike Yeo anymore.

With all the Chicago Blackhawks Doomsday talk in the air, it's easy to forget that the team still has some major talent in place. In fact, if the team is able to retain goalie Antti Niemi, you could make the argument that the core is still intact.

Seriously, just take a look at who's left. At the forward position, they still have their very best players: Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp remain while a few leftover support players include Troy Brouwer and Dave Bolland. Their defense features important pieces such as Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson and even highly paid Brian Campbell. The team needs to either retain Niemi or find a suitable replacement, but if they indeed ship Cristobal Huet to the minors they might be out of the salary cap abyss.

NHL.com looks at how the Blackhawks still might be one of the Cup favorites, even with all those changes.

Jack Skille doesn't have to go far to hear about there being "no way" the Chicago Blackhawks will defend their Stanley Cup title after saying goodbye to multiple key players this summer.

All he has to do is answer his phone.

"I've got my own buddy saying that to me," said the 23-year old Skille, a winger who will get his first shot to play a full NHL season in Chicago after being drafted in 2005. "I've got my best buddy since I was 6-years-old saying that to me. He's like, 'Nah, there's no way. There's no way.' I get into arguments with him. I'll say 'Yeah ... we will.'"

That's because Skille, like his soon-to-be Hawks teammates, genuinely believes there is still enough talent left behind to remain one of the NHL's top teams again. Judging by the noise level in the Chicago Hilton Friday during the opening ceremony of this year's Blackhawks fan convention, many fans also are believers.

When you look at the list of players who were jettisoned, most were depth guys. Sure, Dustin Byfuglien rocked it on the first line with Kane and Toews during the playoffs, but he shuffled around the lineup plenty of times over the last couple years. Kris Versteeg possesses some solid offensive talent, but can you really say he was an essential player to Chicago?

Losing players such as John Madden will hurt, but it more or less makes the Blackhawks a "normal" NHL team instead of an embarrassment of riches. They won't be able to bludgeon you with their absurd depth anymore, but Chicago still brings plenty to the table as a top-end team too.

In other words, don't count out the 'Hawks next season.

While one can assume that things might be different at higher levels of the sport, the Montreal Gazette published notes on a study that concluded that hits produce only 34 percent of injuries at the youth level of hockey. The remaining 66 percent happen thanks to players getting hit by pucks, colliding into teammates or other on-ice accidents.

Accidents are more commonly to blame for on-ice amateur-hockey injuries than bodychecking, suggests a study recently published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

The findings were based on a five-year study of 3,000 boys age 4 to 18 in a youth hockey program in Burlington, Ont.

It found that 66 per cent of overall injuries were the result of such accidents as colliding with teammates, sliding into the boards or posts or getting hit with the puck. The remaining 34 per cent of injuries were attributed to players checking each other.

The researchers, from the University of Buffalo, took into account only injuries serious enough to cause players to be off the ice for at least 24 hours.

The report took into account three levels of hockey, including one that didn't allow body checking.

Researchers suggested that coaches teach players to keep their heads up (sorry Eric Lindros). Hockey Canada's Todd Jackson responded to the study, saying that injuries will always happen but there are steps that can be taken to reduce the number of problems.

"A big part of preventing injuries is how the game is played," he said. "There needs to be a rules and respect factor by both players, coaches, everyone involved -even the parents."

While the NHL and Players Association refused to go on record regarding who, exactly, will be the arbitrator for the Ilya Kovalchuk contract dispute, someone found out anyway. Sportsnet.ca has the word.

The National Hockey League and its Players' Association have agreed on an arbitrator to settle the Ilya Kovalchuk case, Sportsnet has learned.

Richard Bloch, who has heard CBA grievances in the past, will arbitrate the case which could start on Wednesday and possibly conclude by Thursday.

If you're looking for detailed analysis on who Bloch is - his preferences, previous decisions, astrological sign - you've come to the wrong place. All I know about the man is that he "has heard CBA grievances in the past."

Update: Low and behold, Gulitti came up with a few details about Bloch.

Bloch, a longtime Wash. D.C. resident, was born in East Orange and graduated from Livingston H.S. before attending Dartmouth and U.Mich Law

Tom Gulitti did confirm with Bloch that he would be the system arbitrator and that the hearing would take place on Wednesday. Bloch would not reveal the location of the hearing, though.

All indications point to this case being resolved by late next week, thank goodness. Raise your hand if you thought Kovalchuk wouldn't have a new contract until August ...

Extra update: Gulitti shares more tidbits about Bloch, from ruling on European players "defecting" to a case regarding NFL player (and sit-up enthusiast) Terrell Owens.

Even in the depressingly hockey-free summer, we expect to be a productive bunch here at Pro Hockey Talk. Sometimes it might be difficult to follow our pace. We understand that. For that reason, whenever we can, we'll put all of the day's stories in one convenient post called the PHT Nightcap. Enjoy, hockey fans.

Blackhawks lose money despite winning the Cup - Evidence that owners should probably expect their other properties to make money, rather than sports teams.

Flames re-sign Ian White

Bruins accept arbitrator's design on Blake Wheeler - They'll have some cap troubles, but $2.2 million is reasonable for the young forward.

Abdelkader takes boxing lessons - Much better than [insert your least favorite player] doing "boxercize" classes.

Oilers name Ralph Krueger their assistant coach - Amazingly, Joe made a "Nightmare on Elm Street" reference. It's almost as if he knew I'd make a Freddy Krueger joke here otherwise.

Islanders put Brendan Witt on waivers - Good thing he's the kind of resilient guy who can bounce back from that ... and getting hit by cars.

Are the Kings interested in Savard? - I said I'd discuss this tonight, but I lied. Instead, it'll happen Saturday.

Kovalchuk contract grievance to be settled next week - Thank goodness.

Signing roundup

Taylor Hall and Cam Fowler skip WJC camps - Could they both play in the NHL next season? Hmmm ....

How could the Bruins clear up cap space? - Discussing the most popular ideas for making room.

Ducks trade James Wisniewski to Islanders for conditional third rounder - Even if Anaheim adds a defenseman, I wonder how effective their D-corps will be next year.

Lightning might expand Phil Esposito's role - If they did that, it would be another sound move by Tampa Bay.

Canadiens pick Louis Leblanc will leave Harvard - Well, it's not like he's going to make any money with a degree from that dump.

Flames hire a 'mental development coach'

Sergei Fedorov's money troubles continue - Poor Sergei Fedorov. Literally.

Former Detroit Red Wings legend - and one of the first Russian hockey players to make an impact in the NHL - Sergei Fedorov made a lot of money in his storied NHL career. Unfortunately, it seems that he may have trusted the wrong people because he finds himself in serious financial trouble. In fact, he's still planning on playing in the KHL at the age of 40 and beyond ... out of necessity as much as anything else.

MLive.com's George Malik shares some sad details about the former Hart Trophy winning center.

Former Red Wings forward Sergei Fedorov is owed $43 million by his former business partner, Joseph Zada, but as Zada either can not or will not repay Fedorov, the former Wing sued the Hyman Lippitt law firm--which represented both Zada and Fedorov at one point--in an attempt to actually receive the $60 million pay-off Zada had originally promised to pay Fedorov to settle their differences.

Subsequently, Fedorov's lack of finances yielded three bank foreclosures on two homes in Metro Detroit and one in Florida, and, according to LifeSports.ru, Fedorov received worse news today--and it's news that means that the nearly 41-year-old Fedorov, who played this past season for Metallurg Magnitogorsk, might have to continue his playing career to simply keep paying the bills.

Apparently Fedorov attempted to sue the law firm Hyman Lippitt in hopes of retrieving that $60 million sum but a district court in Michigan dismissed the case. Here's more from the Lifesports.ru story that Malik helped to translate.

Due to the fact that he was the guarantor of Zada's bank loans, collectors are pursuing Fedorov. At the end of last year, they tried to steal the hockey player's luxury Maybach Mercedes Benz, his Maserati, and Ferrari, but the court overturned the decision regarding repossession. Moreover, the forward finds himself in the role of an accused party--an American company recently filed a lawsuit against the player for failing to pay $1 million for two houses in the suburbs of Detroit.

In general, Sergei either needs to find eternal youth in hockey, or better lawyers.

It's a sad story but the worst part is that it isn't that rare in sports. Just look at the cases of $100 million athletes such as Antoine Walker, whose bad moves and excessive generosity resulted in seemingly improbable bankruptcy. Professional athletes are just as susceptible to trusting the wrong people, losing big in gambling (Jaromir Jagr, Charles Barkley) and bad investments.

Hopefully Fedorov will get some kind of relief from his money problems. He was a great player who (to my knowledge) never really had any off-ice issues (aside from dating Anna Kournikova maybe?) and proved that Russian players were worth the risk after the fall of the Iron Curtain.

(If you want to read more about the subject, check out Malik's article.)