Archives › James O’Brien
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Bobby Ryan, Anaheim Ducks contract talks hit a snag because of term, not dollar amounts
Jul 19, 2010, 4:00 PM EDT
3 CommentsNow that the Ilya Kovalchuk saga is (more or less) complete, we can move on to some other contract negotiations. Take, for instance, the somewhat public troubles the Anaheim Ducks have undergone while trying to sign restricted free agent Bobby Ryan. Some more details regarding what, exactly, is slowing down the talks surfaced today. It…
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Tampa Bay trades for Simon Gagne, Flyers receive Matt Walker, fourth-rounder
Jul 19, 2010, 3:00 PM EDT
Here’s an update on the story from earlier: the Tampa Bay Lightning received Simon Gagne in a trade from the Philadelphia Flyers for 30-year-old defenseman Matt Walker and a fourth round draft pick. (Frank Seravalli had that news, too.) On the Flyers side: The last couple moves mean that the Flyers essentially added Nikolai Zherdev…
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Report: Lightning on the verge of trading for Flyers forward Simon Gagne
Jul 19, 2010, 2:25 PM EDT
Comments OffWhen word spread that Ilya Kovalchuk re-signed with the New Jersey Devils, some immediately thought of the other names bandied about this summer. One of them was Simon Gagne, who the Flyers reportedly traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning moments ago. Frank Seravalli broke the news. In an earlier Tweet, Seravalli passed along word that…
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Who can forget the howls of derision from just about every corner of the hockey globe when people got wind of the 15-year, $67.5 million contract the New York Islanders handed to then-franchise goalie Rick Dipietro? Surely, much of that mockery came because of their history of dumb deals (just look at Alexei Yashin’s still-ridiculous…
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2010 NHL Free Agency: Edmonton's loss is Carolina's gain as Canes sign Riley Nash
Jul 19, 2010, 1:30 PM EDT
The Carolina Hurricanes signed former 2007 Edmonton Oilers draft pick Riley Nash to a three-year entry-level contract today. Not to be confused with Columbus Blue Jackets winger Rick Nash, Riley played with his sibling Brendan during a successful college hockey career at Cornell. The Hurricanes have more on the signing. Jason Karmanos, Vice President and…
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2010 NHL Free Agency: NJ Devils report that they re-signed Ilya Kovalchuk
Jul 19, 2010, 12:00 PM EDT
It looks like our long hockey nightmare is over. Less than an hour after Ilya Kovalchuk’s agent Jay Grossman said the winger would make his decision “for sure this time” today, the New Jersey Devils’ official Twitter account announced that he would be a member of their team. Here’s a screen capture of the Tweet…
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Ilya Kovalchuk's agent says he'll make his choice today, 'For sure this time'
Jul 19, 2010, 11:45 AM EDT
Comments OffWe’ve all been lead astray by claims that Ilya Kovalchuk would end what I’ve now deemed “Ilyawn Watch” for quite some time now. It’s difficult not to be a little bit sardonic about it, to be honest. However, such rumors gain a little more steam when his agent Jay Grossman makes a claim. Now, that…
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At the 18 day mark, we may just run out of thesaurus entries for the word “exhausting” when describing the Ilya Kovalchuk saga. Dare someone use the headline “Ilyawn” at this point? The give-and-take between the Russian winger and the Los Angeles Kings/New Jersey Devils has been drawn out beyond well-worn boundaries, not unlike the…
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Picking players in a typical NHL Entry Draft is akin to choosing your child’s future college by throwing a dart at a globe blindfolded. Rarely are such important decisions made with such little genuine, quantifiable information. I stumbled across some interesting reads on the subject of players falling in the draft this morning. As you…
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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. Paul…
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Atlanta Thrashers rebuild in the image of their imposing new GM Rick Dudley
Jul 18, 2010, 11:10 PM EDT
There’s something really appealing about sports teams who forge distinct identities. Off the top of my head, the Detroit Red Wings have earned a reputation for being ahead of the back when it comes to European flair since the Russian-packed 90′s. The Washington Capitals and NBA’s Phoenix Suns are often criticized – but also admired…
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Duncan Keith might be the only Chicago Blackhawk whose 2009-10 campaign was as eventful as that of Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. In one hockey year, Keith shined on a gold medal winning Canadian Olympic team, lost a bunch of teeth in the playoffs, earned his first career Norris Trophy and (of course) a Stanley…
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Tampa Bay's new regime wants to remember the past, particularly the '04 Cup
Jul 18, 2010, 8:10 PM EDT
When you look at the list of the last 10-or-so Stanley Cup champions, there are two teams who stick out for the wrong reasons: the Carolina Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning. Pardon the pun, but the two squads seemed like they just caught lightning in a bottle for a summer when they won their championships.…
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2010 NHL Free Agency: Kings wrap up three more forwards: Elkins, Clune and Lewis
Jul 18, 2010, 7:00 PM EDT
Comments OffWe’ve already covered the signings of Marc-Andre Cliche and Brad Richardson earlier this weekend, but the Los Angeles Kings wrapped up five forwards overall this weekend. TSN reports that the team re-signed Corey Elkins, Rich Clune and Trevor Lewis as well. Clune earned two assists and 26 penalty minutes in 14 regular season games with…
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Is Ilya Kovalchuk holding out for a deal that trumps Alex Ovechkin's contract?
Jul 17, 2010, 5:00 PM EDT
When Alex Ovechkin was entering the league as a rookie, I thought it was unfair when people compared him to Ilya Kovalchuk. Ultimately, the comparisons weren’t fair … to Ilya. At this point, you’d have to be Kovalchuk, one of his family members or maybe his agent to think that he is on the same…
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For a while, casinos seemed like they might have been the “answer” for the Pittsburgh Penguins when they were struggling to keep their team together many moons ago. Now it looks like at least a few people hope that they might help the Columbus Blue Jackets stop their considerable financial bleeding. The Columbus Dispatch has…
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The NHL has plenty of talent among its youngest and oldest players
Jul 17, 2010, 2:30 PM EDT
Earlier this summer, a article that nominated Sidney Crosby as the best athlete in all sports under 25 years old sparked further discussion about the league’s incredible amount of talent in that age group. NHL.com produced two articles that shows the great players in the two largest age extremes in the league. First, NHL.com took…
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The Los Angeles Kings re-signed spirited forward Brad Richardson to a one-year, $900K contract according to Rich Hammond of LA Kings Insider. This allows the Kings and Richardson to avoid the often-painful salary arbitration process. Richardson had a career year in 09-10, benefiting from occasional spot duty alongside Anze Kopitar and Wayne Simmonds. He scored…
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At this point in free agency, the focus shifts from the gems to flawed guys who can still bring some skill to the table. So, going forward, we’ll spotlight individual players who are flying under the radar. Previous Entries: Slava Kozlov, Alex Frolov, Willie Mitchell Today’s entry: Lee Stempniak Name: Lee StempniakHeight: 6-0 Weight: 195Position:…
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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. Is…
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Sources say Ilya Kovalchuk-LA Kings talks are heating up, again. Supposedly.
Jul 16, 2010, 10:40 PM EDT
We’ve heard scuttlebutt about the talks heating up between Ilya Kovalchuk and the Los Angeles Kings before. At this point, it’s like Cold War-era kids getting ready for a fire drill; you know what to do. Take everything with a grain of salt. The latest rumor is that the Kings and Kovalchuk are boiling things…
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The Edmonton Oilers signed forward Ryan O’Marra to a one-year deal today, according to TSN. The Tokyo, Japan native was originally drafted by the New York Islanders in the 1st round, 15th overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. He was acquired by Edmonton in 2007 with Robert Nilsson and a 1st round pick in…
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Los Angeles Kings forward Justin Williams hopes to shake the injury bug
Jul 16, 2010, 9:00 PM EDT
You know what they say: age is just a number. Yet, in the realm of sports, you can seem old even if you’re not yet 30. Take a look at Patrice Bergeron, a 24-year-old player who seemingly experienced a career’s worth of highs and lows already. Los Angeles Kings forward Justin Williams is only 28…
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While Steve Yzerman and the Tampa Bay Lightning announced the signing of new assistant GM Julian BriseBois, the Montreal Canadiens also brought on a new right-hand man for Pierre Gauthier. The team appointed Larry Carrière, formerly of the Washington Capitals and Buffalo Sabres, as their new assistant general manager today. Larry Carrière was a member…
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Starting in July, Alex Ovechkin became an official member of KHL team UHC Dynamo. Is this the NHL/Washington Capitals’ worst nightmare? No, not exactly, because he won’t be playing for the team. Instead, Puck Daddy’s Dmitry Chesnokov reports that the Russian superstar will work in an advisory role with the offspring club of Moscow Dynamo.…
