Comment: Ladd signing a great deal for Jets

The Winnipeg Jets have locked Andrew Ladd in to a long-term deal, without breaking the bank.

The team doesn’t officially disclose dollar amounts, but his five-year deal has been reported to be worth $22 million. Ladd will make $4 million this year, and $4.5 million every year after that.

The signing was announced just hours before the deadline to file for arbitration, something Ladd “likely” would have done, according to his agent, had he not been able to ink a deal with the Jets by that time. Even still, both sides would have continued negotiating right up until his hearing — usually held toward the end of this month.

Had the two sides not been able to reach a deal in time, the independent third body would have been called upon to dish out an offer to Ladd, based on similar performances and contracts of other restricted free agents. (Unrestricted free agents — the ones that have been landing huge deals since July 1 — don’t enter the discussion during these hearings.)

One RFA who matches up quite nicely with Ladd is David Krejci. Both are 25, have played 3 full NHL seasons, and have similar point totals in that time. They both have Stanley Cup rings to show for their efforts. Had Ladd gone to arbitration, the judge may have held Krejci’s accomplishments up against Ladd’s to determine his worth. Krejci’s salary for this upcoming season? He’s set to make $4 million — exactly what the Jets have inked Ladd for.

The other key element of arbitration, is that the judge’s offer would only have been a one-year deal. Instead the Jets locked Ladd up for five. And in those four extra years, Ladd’s salary barely climbs at all.

The final beauty of this deal, is that Ladd could have tested the open waters of unrestricted free agency after just two seasons with the Jets. Yes, Ladd had said in the media, prior to the signing, that he’s tired of all the bouncing around he’s done — from Carolina, to Chicago, to Atlanta, and now Winnipeg. He suggested that it might be nice to settle down somewhere for a while. But when you look at the money that has been forked out to UFAs since Canada Day, Ladd’s long-term signing has come at a very reasonable price.

Update: Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff told radio station CJOB that Andrew Ladd will be the team’s captain, and that Blake Wheeler will file for arbitration, and continue negotiations with the Jets.

No NHL to Winnipeg announcement Tuesday

Tuesday will not mark the NHL’s official return to Winnipeg.

Word of the non-announcement came from multiple sources today — including NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly and a spokesperson for the group negotiating to buy the Atlanta Thrashers and move them to the Manitoba capital.

Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger made headlines over the long weekend by suggesting that, “Tuesday could be an interesting day.”

Edmonton journalist Dan Tencer reported this afternoon via Twitter that, “a source points to Wednesday,” as the new date for the press conference. Darren Ford, founder of the Return of the Jets campaign, had an interview scheduled for Tuesday morning on CTV. It has since been moved to Wednesday.

Manitoba Moose moving to St. John’s, confirms NHL to Winnipeg: report

The Manitoba Moose are moving to Newfoundland this off-season, according to a report in the St. John’s Telegram.

Sports editor Robin Short writes that the Moose would continue under the ownership of Mark Chipman’s True North Sports & Entertainment for at least next season. The club is expected to eventually be sold to former Newfoundland premier Danny Williams and Glenn Stanford, who served as director of hockey operations for the defunct St. John’s Maple Leafs, and is currently president and governor of the AHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs.

Short writes that the move is contingent on an NHL team relocating to Winnipeg. He confirmed in his article that a press conference announcing the Moose are moving to St. John’s is scheduled for Friday at 10:30a.m. Central time.

Speaking with a Winnipeg radio station this morning, Short said Glenn Stanford has quietly been negotiating for months to bring an AHL team to St. John’s. Short told sportsradio 1290 that, even more recently, Danny Williams has been in talks with the Manitoba Moose.

“I do know that Williams has been in contact with Chipman and his group — I think it’s Chipman specifically — for the past week or two, which tells me that the whole Atlanta to Winnipeg thing has been a done deal for some time.

“If you’re negotiating to get an NHL team to your city, the last thing you’re going to do is wonder what’s happening to your farm team.”

Short also told the radio station that his source confirming the St. John’s press conference is not anyone involved with city’s AHL-ready rink.

“That’s not coming from the Mile One people — that’s what we’ve been told. I don’t think it’s to announce Mile One’s rollerskating schedule for the summer.”

Neither Williams nor Stanford were available Friday to comment to the Newfoundland newspaper. A spokesperson for the Manitoba Moose this morning denied the St. John’s Telegram report.

The news comes on the heels of a Hockey Night in Canada report last night that the Moose would be the farm team of a new Winnipeg NHL franchise. The Vancouver Canucks would then be left to look for a new AHL partner.

St. John’s was previously home to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ farm team for 14 seasons. They moved to Toronto’s Ricoh Coliseum in the fall of 2005.

MTS Centre ready for NHL press conference: source

Winnpeg’s downtown arena is set for a press conference to announce the return of the NHL.

Space in the MTS Centre has already been prepared for the event, a reliable source confirmed this morning.

Most major hockey press conferences held at the MTS Centre have been staged using the ice, scoreboard and digital power ring as the backdrop.

That is not the plan at present, says the source.

A room has reportedly been set aside, and prepared, in part of the arena that is located backstage during concerts.

The Globe and Mail reported last night that a deal had been reached to sell the Atlanta Thrashers to True North Sports & Entertainment (TNSE) and relocate the team to Winnipeg.

According to the report, “sources confirmed Thursday night that preparations are being made for an announcement Tuesday.”

A concert featuring Kid Rock is also scheduled for Tuesday at MTS Centre.

The NHL, TNSE, and the Atlanta Spirit Group, who own the Trashers, have denied the Globe and Mail report to other media outlets across North America.

The Winnipeg Free Press is reporting that, “a high ranking True North official involved in negotiations to buy the Thrashers said the Globe story was ‘100 per cent untrue.'”

Manitoba Moose: New look first line lights up IceHogs

Call it spring thaw: hockey style.

The Moose’s shiny new first line of Matt Pope, Marco Rosa and Peter Olvecky wasted no time getting to know each other and put some heat into their club’s frigid offence, to the tune of a 6-1 drubbing at the hands of the Rockford IceHogs.

The top line combined for four goals and four assists — not too shabby for a trio who first played together this morning for less than half an hour.

Pope — who potted a pair of goals in a two minute span late in the first — had nothing but praise for his new linemates.

“Olvecky works hard, he’s a big kid, and I’m a big kid,” noted Pope. “And Rosa’s got tons of skill.”

The offensive outburst melted away a shaky start for the home side. The ice in the Rockford zone was barely scratched some seven minutes in — the only Moose chance a weak effort which was easily deflected up into the protective mesh above the glass — while Cory Schneider faced half a dozen shots in that span.

“Cory’s always a difference maker. Cory kept us in it,” Moose coach Scott Arniel told the media scrum following the victory.

On just the second Manitoba shot of the game, Matt Pope had the home side on the board–the puck squirting from behind the net to the waiting winger, who wristed it high stick side on a visibly frustrated Toivonen.

“The first 13 minutes, we were really slow out of the gate,” Arniel admitted. “The first goal really had the bench going.

“We didn’t deserve it, but to see that first one go in, that was a big turning point.”

Not two minutes later, with the IceHogs making a line change, goaltender Cory Schneider fed Marco Rosa at the Rockford blue line. Rosa deked around the only IceHog in sight — former Moose Nick Boynton — before finding Matt Pope for a powerplay marker, his second goal of the night.

The Moose limped into the dressing room after 20 minutes. Despite holding a 2-0 edge, the play was more clearly reflected in the shot total that read 12-6 for Rockford.

“Even though we knew this was coming, we weren’t prepared,” Pope said. “We did come out harder in the second period, and we took more shots, and when you shoot more you’re going to score.”

And score they did.

First Matt Pettinger shorthanded, four minutes into the middle frame, after a Rockford defenceman fanned on a shot. Then Rosa, two minutes later, on an even-strength one-timer.

Yan Stastny and Peter Olvecky both scored their first goals as Manitoba Moose — Olvecky with a wraparound late in the third, and Stastny with a one-timer on the powerplay.

The Moose had scored just 14 goals in their last seven games, but sent IceHogs goalie Hannu Toivonen to the showers early in the 2nd period. He allowed three goals on nine shots in 24 minutes of work. Backup Corey Crawford also gave up 3 goals, and made 17 saves.

Rockford’s Matt Keith scored the lone IceHogs goal with a minute to go in the second period.

SPECIAL TEAMS RENAISSANCE?
Manitoba’s nearly cellar-dwelling powerplay, ranked 28th in the league, went two for four thanks to the Stastny and Pope goals. Meanwhile, Pettinger’s shorthanded marker came on a perfect night (5 for 5) for the 17th ranked penalty kill in the league.

CORY CRAZY
Cory Schneider picked up his 28th win of the season — behind only Worcestor’s Alex Stalock, who has 33 victories to his name this year. The Moose goaltender is near the top of almost every goaltender category tracked by the AHL including wins, losses, minutes played, and saves. He is tied for first in shootout wins with five.

Oiler Nation roars into Winnipeg

You can put the earplugs away for now Winnipeg — Jesse Martin is taking the night off.

The self-proclaimed “ultimate Oilers fan” is primed and ready to watch his team from Edmonton take on the Tampa Bay Lightning.  The two teams face off tonight in an NHL exhibition match at Winnipeg’s MTS Centre.

It’s the only “home game” for this die hard follower.  The rest of the year, the 23-year-old musician has to settle for watching his favourite NHL team on the tube.  He’s found a way to make the most of it.

At first glance, his Oilers Room might seem like that of any passionate fan with some extra cash to spend: logoed merchandise abounds.  Besides the obligatory jersey and hat, there’s an Oilers barstool for sitting on and watching games — a little rickety, but it still does the job.  Within arms reach is a giant, inflatible replica of hockey’s top trophy, with some Oilers stickers added for good measure.  A fragile figurine of defenceman Sheldon Souray sits on the night stand.  The bed is covered with an Oilers blanket, kept perfectly straight and wrinkle-free by the ever-watchful Martin, whose reflexes rival those of the Stanley Cup’s guardians.

Baby, you ain’t seen nothin, yet.

The game is on.  The announcer’s voice, and the roar of the crowd, pour in through 15 speakers and three subs.  It’s 2006, and Stanley Cup fever has a firm grip on the Alberta capital.  The commentator screams to be heard over the constant din at Rexall Place.

The action is beaming into Martin’s East Kildonan home, more than 1300 kilometres away.

“Here come the Oilers forechecking, they go wide.”

Georges Laraque flattens his man in the corner.

“Yeah! Yeah!” Martin roars his approval.

The puck squirts loose along the boards.  Rem Murray jumps on it, sending it to the front of the net.  Laraque is there again — he scores!

“Wooooooo!”

Martin is on his feet, vigourously waving his shiny, silver pompom — known as a Stanley shaker to Oilers faithful — in time with the Oilers home crowd on the screen.

A red goal light comes to life.  A spotlight pulses from under the bed, lighting up an enormous banner marked with every year the Oilers have won the cup.  A rainbow of colours dance across the wall above the TV screen, shining against a custom-made banner, which screams to visitors, in case they hadn’t noticed:

“You’re in Oilers country.”

The goal horn you hear — piercing through the already teeth-rattling noise — isn’t coming from the TV.  It’s an authentic recording of what the Oilers use, with Gary Glitter’s Rock n Roll Part 2 spliced in by Martin.

The celebration peaks at over 100 decibels.  It’s as loud as standing next to a jet engine.  And just as loud as being at the game.

“The whole city knows they score when I’m here.”

Some of Martin’s neighbours aren’t amused.

“The cops came nine times during the cup run,” he recalls.  All were noise complaints.

Such is life for a superfan.  Even Martin’s hallowed Oilers gear wasn’t immune to errant limbs during post-goal cheers.

“I almost broke my light on that goal.”

The light is, you guessed it, a mock-up of an Oilers scoreboard.  Regrettably, it’s not the newest model.

“I went back to the store the other day, and they have one that’s more rounded at the bottom — and I just got this one!  Now I want the new one so bad!”

The one-man arena experience has set Martin back about $2,000.  He’s still looking to make some upgrades.

“Oh my God, I have about 100 things on my list.  I can’t even afford it all.”

Even the most subtle additions find their way into Martin’s collection.

“I don’t even smoke, I have nothing to do with lighters, but I have an Oilers lighter,” he says, gesturing to the dresser.

Tonight, Martin’s room will be dark and strangely silent, as he takes his act downtown.  With anywhere up to 15,000 fans joining him in the stands, he promises to be a bit more subdued.

“It’s only preseason,” he reasons.

And while Rem Murray and Georges Laraque have moved on, there should be some familiar faces present for the Oilers.

Dustin Penner, Ethan Moreau, Steve Staios, Sam Gagner, Zack Stortini, Jordan Eberle and Tom Gilbert
are all expected to suit up for the blue and cooper.

Meanwhile, the Lightning’s Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Steven Stamkos have all been “guaranteed” to be in the lineup.  Mattias Ohlund may see some action as well.

For those Winnipeggers who normally depend on Jesse Martin’s arena-style celebrations to know when the Oilers have scored, take heart, you may still have a chance to join him in the crowd — about 1400 tickets were still up for grabs this morning.

Balsillie lawyer wanted Senators in Hamilton: owner

Touches on NHL’s possible return to Winnipeg on radio show

A prominent lawyer for Jim Balsillie offered to purchase the Ottawa Senators out of bankruptcy and move them to Hamilton, says the team’s owner.

Sens’ owner Eugene Melnyk told a Toronto radio station last night that “the same cast of characters” trying to outbid the NHL for the Phoenix Coyotes made a similar offer for his team in 2003.  He specifically named lawyer Richard Rodier, who was also a major player in Balsillie’s failed 2006 and 2007 bids for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators.

“It took me 48 hours to think about it, and then I said, ‘No, this is not the way you bust into a party,'” he told The Fan 590.

Melnyk, who purchased the bankrupt NHL team and its arena in August 2003, said that Jim Balsillie was not mentioned by the group proposing the Hamilton move.  Melnyk told the radio station he had met with Balsillie more recently — having taken him to dinner and a Maple Leafs game two or three years ago — but Balsillie never asked for pointers on how to put a team in Hamilton.

Melnyk appeared confident the Steel City could have landed an NHL franchise by negotiating through the right channels.

“I would have given him a ton of advice on how to do it properly, and one of them is not taking a bulldozer and going through the door.  It would have been so easy.  But, you know, mistakes are made, and now everybody’s gotta live with it.”

He made reference to the city that lost its NHL team to Phoenix in 1996.

“If somebody came and said, you know, Winnipeg — I’d love to buy a franchise and start a team up in Winnipeg.  You know what?  They’d listen.

“They’d say: ‘Okay, what are we gonna do about the stadium?  It’s only 15,000 seats.  Can we expand it?  Can we do this?’

“You work the problem that you may have, and you have to have the financial wherewithal.  You definitely have a fanbase out there.”

The Manitoba capital made headlines in May, when the Globe and Mail reported that True North Sports and Entertainment Ltd. — which owns the American Hockey League’s Manitoba Moose, and a downtown arena constructed since the Jets departure — were in talks with the NHL about getting a team.

“We take a wholly opposite approach to Mr. Balsillie,” communications director Scott Brown told the newspaper. “We’re pretty sure it’s the right approach.”

The following week, an internal league memo seemed to confirm that notion.  Among the mountain of court documents submitted as part of the Coyotes’ bankruptcy hearing was an email sent by league commissioner Gary Bettman.  He wrote:

“If this team had to move, it should first be offered to Winnipeg.”

The intended recipients of that message were NHL vice president Bill Daly and David Zimmerman, a lawyer with the league.

Then came June rumours from ESPN and the Montreal Gazette that a Winnipeg group was looking into relocating the Thrashers.

As far as Hamilton’s NHL hopes are concerned, Melnyk would not speculate on how the city might have landed a team without stepping into bankruptcy court.

“Money talks, I can tell you that.

“There’s a lot of cash that is thrown around.  You don’t know where it could have gone.”

RDS: Kessel traded to, signs with Leafs

Phil Kessel has been traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for draft picks, according to RDS.  The French language sports network reported on its website that Kessel immediately signed a 5-year, $27 million contract with his new club.  The news was also announced during its broadcast of the Senators-Canadiens preseason game.

Damien Cox (Toronto Star) reports the draft picks are two first rounders and a second rounder.

Then again…

Here’s a treat from Habs Inside Out.

Read the first sentence of this article, then take a look at the picture.

Oops.

If that’s not bad enough, the gaffe, published Thursday, still hasn’t been caught by editors in Orange County.  It was brought to our attention Friday around 3:30pm Pacific time.  Hockey fans north of the border have been chuckling over the mixup since this morning, when it was noticed by someone at the Montreal Gazette.  The newspaper publishes the Habs Inside Out blog.  In the event the picture eventually gets corrected, or pulled altogether, here’s a screenshot captured by Habs Inside Out.

Quick Hits from Terrace: Canucks 2, Islanders 1

Vancouver’s Nolan Baumgartner left the game in the third period and did not return.  No information was made available on his condition during the game.

Sergei Shirokov showed off some soft hands, netting both Canucks goals.  The young Russian rookie popped in a couple rebounds from the same spot on the ice, in deep on the left wing — one on the forehand, one on the backhand.  His initial goal was the result of a hard-working play.  Shirokov hit his man along the side boards, resulting in an Islander turnover.  Following some nifty passing, the puck found its way back to Shirokov off a rebound.

The powerplay units for both clubs looked particularly sharp, with some solid passing catching the defence out of position.

Rick Rypien is making a case for more ice time with the big club this season.  He had a couple of big bodychecks to add to a pair of good fights.  His second tilt of the night was an all-out battle with Andy Sutton.  Rypien came flying into the Islanders zone late in the game, and gave goalie Nathan Lawson enough of a bump to knock him over.  Rather than waiting for a reaction, Rypien immediately dropped the gloves with Sutton, sending him to the ice quickly.

The best brawl of the night was between Rypien and Jeremy Reich.  The two put on a slugfest, exchanging both rights and lefts with under 30 seconds to go in the 2nd period.  Give Reich credit for sticking in there.

Andrew Raycroft looked every bit as stellar as his career season from 2003/04 with the Bruins.  His first highlight save came off a Matt Moulson wrap around.  He then robbed Jeff Tambellini, who let one rip from the faceoff circle, and bailed out the Canucks as they appeared to be caught looking for an offside call.  Speaking of Tambellini, he showed great speed and confidence in his play-making abilities.  Could this be the year he stays up with the big club?  Hard to believe he’s a projected third-liner.

Similarly, Jon Sim‘s play may keep him away from Bridgeport if he keeps up the hard work in the offensive zone.  He had a nice feed to Tim Jackman in front of the net, who wasn’t able to tip it past Cory Schneider.  With six seconds left on an Islanders powerplay, Jon Sim found himself on the receiving end of a gift, which he got by hanging around the Canucks net.  Capitalizing on a failed clearing attempt by Mario Bliznak, Sim tied the game up near the midway point.

As expected, both teams changed goalies at that point, and the game was stopped to provide each netminder with a few warm-up shots — technically against the rules, but hey, it’s the preseason.

Cory Schneider put on quite a show — demonstrating the same goaltending prowess he used to help backstop the Manitoba Moose to the franchise’s most successful season last year.  He loves to use his long legs to his advantage, getting them flat down on the ice, and leaving the shooter with next to no open space along the goal line.  He was perfect in his half of the game.

In the third, sloppy play seemed to take over for a while, on both sides.  Canucks defenceman Shane O’Brien dumped the puck in from the wrong side of centre, but the Canucks were able to touch it first and avoid the icing call.  Not long after, Islanders’ goalie Nathan Lawson put the puck dangerously up the middle.  Fortunately for him, it went the length of the ice untouched.

After the game, 40 fans chosen at random were invited on to the ice, where each person was presented with an autographed Canucks or Islanders jersey, personalized with “Hockeyville” and the number 09 on the back.  The Islanders raised their sticks in salute to the crowd as the two teams exited the ice surface.  Both teams were scheduled to leave Terrace immediately following the game.