Calm Before the Storm

The news wire is eerily quiet. Tuesday brought news of the Hall of Fame inductions, which a congratulations to Igor Larionov is in order, I think. It was sure good to see the highlights of his brief time in Vancouver again. I never was a big Glenn Anderson fan, but after the praise that the Great One gave him for his induction is worthy of praise. To Ray Scapinello and the late Ed Chynoweth, both are well deserving members due to their hard work.

ESPN.com has now added their mock draft to the mix. There was a few notable picks that were very similar to the Sherpa's. That kind of takes away from the fun. To no surprise, Steven Stamkos was the number one pick there as well. At least every mock draft should get one right this year. There are a few more mock drafts I am looking forward to seeing, so the compare will be on.

Trade and free agent rumours are running wild through the news wires at the moment. The Pittsburgh Penguins are stuck in the middle with Ryan Malone and Marian Hossa taking centre stage, when it comes to where they'll sign for next season. Malone is looking likely that he'll become an unrestricted free agent come July 1st, which should open the door for Hossa to sign with the Penguins for less than market value (not by much, mind you). Malone has garnered a lot of interest from Columbus, Vancouver and a couple other teams are in the mix.

Interest is picking up on goaltender Dan Ellis, as he's having a tough time negotiating a deal in Nashville, as the rumours point out. Ellis could take the Bobby Holik award for this summer as the highest paid bust as a free agent signing. Ellis did have a respectable season with the Predators and earned himself the number one role heading into the first round of the playoffs, but is that really enough to be considered established and therefore be a jerk when it comes to negotiating a deal with the team that gave you a shot? If Ellis wants to be a number one guy in the league, he should at least give the Predators one more season, if not for the Preds, for the future team that would like him in their fold.

The trade rumour winds swirling around Mike Cammalleri are intensifying in Edmonton, it seems. The deal that would send the winger to the Oilers for defenseman Joni Pitkanen continues to have merit around the mill. I would have to believe that the Kings are balking at this deal, because it would give a Conference opponent a piece of the puzzle that would fit nicely, while they get a potentially fitting blueliner, who comes with some baggage and some niggling doubts.

There is plenty of merit to a lot of potential deals this weekend, if not this week. The outlines of quite a few teams are pointing in the direction of movement. Almost equally, there are teams who are sellers to teams who are buyers, which makes it all very interesting.