From Tom Gulitti at NorthJersey.com (Link):

“It appears defenseman Vitaly Vishnevski, who signed a three-year, $5.4 million contract last summer, is on his way out. If the Devils can’t find a taker in a trade, they could place Vishnevski on waivers and, if he’s not claimed, send him to the minors, which would clear $1.8 million in cap space.

When asked if Vishnevski would be on the team next season, Lamoriello replied, “I can’t answer that.”"

If this is true, then I for one am surprised.  Vish is a bit of a mixed bag for me: He hits like a truck and is a great punisher on the blue line, but he also gives up his positioning to make these hits work.  His contract is a bit large, but he played within my expectations.

But my surprise comes from the fact that few teams would like to pick up a defenseman like him.  With players like Jeff Finger getting $3.5M per year, who wouldn’t want a player like Vish with his cap hit for 2 more years?

From the sound of things, this might be part of a bigger overall plan.  Obviously, nobody wants Vishnevski by himself (especially after hearing that he may be placed on wavers anyways), but as part of a larger package… possibly one for a defenseman, it might be do-able.  It’s pretty obvious that Lou is not done for the summer, and that the Devils need to improve their D.  With $1.35M in cap space left, the only way to achieve this is through a trade.

Which brings us to this new report from The Insider on Pittsburgh Sports (Link):

“The New Jersey Devils are having trade discussions with the Calgary Flames and Carolina Hurricanes. I’m hearing the Devils are looking at Hurricanes defenseman Frantisek Kaberle and Flames defenseman Robyn Regehr. Calgary is very interested in Brian Gionta.”

I don’t know how much truth this report holds, but if true, it would be a great deal.  Frantisek Kaberle had 0g, 22a, and was a -4 over 80gp.  Robyn Regehr put up similar numbers with 5g, 15a, and was a +11 over 82gp.  In playoffs he garnered 2 assists over 7 games.

Carolina currently has $8.358M free in cap space.  However, their needs are not as clear as Calgary, who recently signed Todd Bertuzzi to a 1 year, $1.95M contract.  Their current cap space is: -1.449M, which means they need to make room.  Furthermore, a cursory look at their current lineup shows a deficiency in RWs.  The big question is:  While trading Regehr for Gionta helps add a great winger to the organization, what does it do to solve their current salary cap woes (a $4M per year hit versus a $4.02M hit)?

So until Calgary clears some additional space, a straight up trade involving Gionta just won’t happen.  The only twist on this situation is that the Flames have dealt with the Devils in the past, taking in David Hale (and a 5th rounder) in 06/07 for a 3rd Rounder in the 07′ Draft, who was recently signed by the Phoenix Coyotes. Furthermore, Flames GM Darryl Sutter is brother to Devils coach Brent Sutter.

But, knowing Lou, he will surprise us all and get… oh… I don’t know… Kevin Bieksa from the Canucks.

Stay tuned.

UPDATE: It appears Regehr has an NTC with Calgary further closing the door on that trade rumor.

Chris Drury is known as Mr. Clutch. Lately, the first-year Ranger has been exactly that notching his club-leading sixth game-winner to help lift the resurgent Original Six club to its third consecutive win by a count of 4-2 over the Hurricanes Thursday night at the RBC Center.

With his team out in front by two on the strength of first period tallies courtesy of red hot rookie Brandon Dubinsky and the sizzling Sean Avery, the 31 year-old Trumbull Connecticut native continued his torrid play by picking up the loose change of a Marc Staal shot and depositing it past a frustrated Cam Ward to make it 3-0 just 2:14 into the second.

At that juncture, the Blueshirts were dominating their shorthanded opponents, taking full advantage of a team without captain Rod Brind’Amour, Justin Williams along with top defender Tim Gleason. Shots at one point were 22-7 New York.

However, the Canes got back in it thanks to left wing Erik Cole’s first of two on the night 5:25 later. Jaromir Jagr lost an edge in the defensive zone failing to clear the puck. Cole was the beneficiary taking a Bret Hedican pass and firing a tricky shot which looked to deflect past Henrik Lundqvist to get his team back in the contest.

Carolina carried that momentum forward as they started to dictate the play with their aggressive cycle forcing Lundqvist to make some tough saves with traffic in front. Early in the third, the Rangers ran into penalty trouble. A dubious high stick on Marc Staal (really Ranger newcomer Christian Backman) which drew blood led to Cole’s second of the night.

It came via the odd variety again. After getting past Dan Girardi, Cole was backchecked by Blair Betts, who managed to get a piece of the puck but the kid from Oswego, New York stuck with it and got his stick on it to push it past Lundqvist for his 17th to cut it to one with 15:06 remaining.

Would the Rangers have another Montreal-esque meltdown? It wasn’t a good start for Backman who went to the box for holding giving Carolina another man-advantage. However, thanks to some splendid penalty killing from Drury, Brendan Shanahan, the resurgent Marek Malik and a steadier Michal Rozsival, they managed to keep the Canes at bay.

Not long after the Carolina PP expired, a huge goal by Shanahan allowed his teammates to breathe easier. Off a pair of nice passes from Scott Gomez and improving freshman Nigel Dawes, the 39 year-old veteran finisher knew exactly what to do with a glorious chance on a three-on-two from 15 feet out. Top shelf. Or as legendary Sabres’ play-by-play man Rick Jeanneret likes to say, “Where Mama hides the cookies!”

Shanny’s 21st restored order at 7:28 allowing his team to survive a Carolina onslaught (13-2 SOG). He remained tied with Drury for the team lead in goals.

Notes: Dawes notched two helpers to make it three consecutive games with at least a point going 2-2-4. … Lundqvist was strong finishing with 26 saves to win his 29th of the season. One more victory would make it three straight seasons of at least 30-or-more. … Drury extended his point streak to seven (4-4-8). Since a Jan.31 4-0 shutout win over the Flyers, he’s notched nine goals and six assists for 15 points with a plus-eight rating. … With his 11th goal, Avery now has eight points (6-2-8) in his last seven contests with a plus-seven rating along with 19 penalty minutes. … Phoenix pickup Fredrik Sjostrom debuted on the fourth line logging 11:27 of ice-time registering one shot. Petr Prucha was a healthy scratch.

Some quick thoughts:

-The lines all look really good right now. So, I wonder when Prucha will get his opportunity. He’s coming back from an injury. I’d like to see Tom Renney fit him in on the fourth line with Sjostrom and Betts and see how it looks to have actual guys who can skate and finish around the net.

-Backman had a night to forget twice bringing his stick high at an attacking Cane. He also was turnover prone and looked very tight. Hopefully, he’ll get adjusted to a new system.

-Lundqvist did give up two odd goals but he really played well in this one and was the difference. Especially when the Canes turned it up.

-Sergei Samsonov looked like a different player. It’s no doubt that the Russian who once won the Calder has been revitalized since the Canes took him off the Hawks’ hands. But now, he’s back to being very dangerous. He had all sorts of chances and if not for Lundqvist, easily could’ve had a couple of goals.

-The officiating was very shaky as they missed a few blatant infractions on the Canes, who resorted to dirty late hits including one from new pickup Tuomo Ruutu and rookie D Tim Conboy. Responding to a cheap hit which should’ve been a penalty, Ryan Callahan took on Conboy losing a bout. I liked the character he showed. These rookies will do that.

-Dubinsky has four goals and four helpers totaling eight points and 24 PIM in the last six games since being moved to Jagr’s line. Speaking of No.68, he notched an assist in the win.

-Since returning to the blueline, Malik’s 1-2-3 with a plus-five rating in five games. He really looks like a different player. Instead of sitting back, he’s being much more aggressive and making quicker reads. He’s even playing physical which is nice to see.

-With the Bruins, Flyers and Islanders all winning, the Rangers remained seventh in the conference. Now comes a big stretch against the Flyers on Sunday before a pivotal home-and-home versus the Isles with Boston and Buffalo also on the horizon.

Just gotta keep the formula simple and keep winning.

In case anyone missed it yesterday, the first significant deal came down involving two Eastern Conference teams. The Ottawa Senators acquired forward Cory Stillman and defenseman Mike Commodore from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forward Patrick Eaves and defenseman Joe Corvo.

BONY Analysis: The Senators improve up front with the proven Stillman who’s been an integral part of two Stanley Cup winners (2004 TB, 2006 Car). Adding a player of his caliber to the league’s best scoring line of Alfredsson-Spezza-Heatley makes Ottawa even scarier. How are teams going to match-up? Especially with underrated forwards Mike Fisher, Antoine Vermette, Dean McAmmond and meat and potatoes Chris Neil. The Sens had become more of a one-line team this season. So Stillman’s addition is huge because now Fisher has a skilled player on his line. Commodore is also a solid physical stay at home D who is an upgrade over the offensive-minded Corvo. He also won a Cup with Stillman and has been to two Finals (2004 Cgy, 2006 Car).

Before this move by GM Bryan Murray, there were questions in terms of scoring depth up front and physicality on the back line. Both have been addressed making the defending Eastern Conference champion the team to beat again.

On the Hurricanes’ side, it’s understandable why GM Jim Rutherford made this trade. Both Stillman and Commodore are eligible to become unrestricted free agents at the conclusion of the season. They probably couldn’t afford to re-sign them due to the cap.

They did get two capable players in return. Eaves could still develop into a solid third liner and possibly a second liner in their aggressive forechecking system. It all depends if he’s recovered from last year’s concussion suffered in the postseason. Corvo addesses a need on the blueline as the Canes don’t really boast a point man to run their power play which has allowed a season worst 10 shorthanded goals because they rely heavily on forwards.

It seems that both teams did reasonably well in this deal. For Ottawa, it’s all about delivering a championship this year while for Carolina, they got solid players back who can still help them win the Southeast Division and also stick around for the future.

Trade Winner: When push comes to shove, I have to give the Senators the edge here because of how much they improved for the short-term. The time is now to win a Cup. This is a great trade by Murray which could push them over the top.

Anaheim 2
Detroit 3 (SO)
ANA: Bertuzzi, Getzlaf
DET: Zetterburg, Holmstrom
SHOOTOUT WINNER: Hudler

Montreal 3 (OT)
Carolina 2
MTL: Streit, Koivu (2)
CAR: Cole, Hedican
OT Winner: Koivu (1:05)

Ottawa 4 (OT)
Toronto 3
OTT: Vermette, Alfredsson, Heatley (2)
TOR: Antropov (2), Stajan
OT Winner: Heatley (2:57)

Dallas 3
Colorado 4
DAL: Halpern, Jokinen, Hagman
COL: Stastny (3), Wolski

NOTES:

-Good work turned in from VERSUS. They’re very close to “finely tuned machine” status. The new game recap graphics are ESPN-quality, and Mike Emrick, Bill Patrick, Keith Jones and Daryl Reaugh were stellar in particular.

-This Stastny kid will get 35-40 if he stays healthy this season. He’s a “Flash” type of player, he pops in and out of your TV screen.

-Where did the Hnlika come from?

-Anaheim looked a little lagged tonight.

-Rafalski looked like a completely different player in a Detroit uniform.

Devils tomorrow…cannot wait.

Flyers 5-0 Rangers
Key Goal-Getters: Mike Knuble - 2 Goals, Sami Kapanen, Mike Richards (PHI)

Leafs 4-3 Bruins (Shootout)
Key Goal Getters: Phil Kessel (BOS), John Pohl (TOR)

Blues 3-2 Thrashers
Key Goal Getters: David Perron (STL), Marian Hossa - 2 Goals (ATL)

Senators 2-1 Canadiens
Key Goal Getters: Jason Spezza (OTT)

Red Wings 5-2 Penguins
Key Goal Getters: Kris Draper, Henrik Zetterburg - 2 Goals (DET), Evgeni Malkin (PIT)

Capitals 2-1 Lightning
Key Goal Getters: Alexander Semin (WSH), Martin St. Louis (TB)

Hurricanes 1-4 Predators
Key Goal Getters: Jason Arnott (NSH)

Oilers 5-4 Flames (Overtime)
Key Goal Getters: Jarret Stoll, Shawn Horcoff (EDM), Alex Tanguay, Jarome Iginla, Marcus Nilson (CGY)

Quick Hiatus Break for new jerseys:

Pens

Predators

Canes are available at NHL08.com

On another slow news day for the Rangers, I offer up this speculative tidbit.

With Carolina reportedly seeking a third line center and former Hurricane, Matt Cullen, one of the three most likely Rangers to be traded (along with Marek Malik and Paul Mara) in order to free up cap space, could Cullen be headed back to Carolina? There are no specific rumors out there (other than this one) regarding this potential trade, but depending upon the priorities of GMs Glen Sather and Jim Rutherford (who apparently is shopping a defenseman to acquire the center), it could make sense for both of them.

Sam Weinman, the Rangers beat reporter for The Journal News, expects the Rangers “to close in on something fairly soon”. However, it remains anyone’s guess as to which one of the known “somethings” is closed first.