Quiet Morning on Tuesday

It remains awfully quiet on this Tuesday morning, waiting for something inexplicable to happen. Okay, that's not exactly what we're waiting for, but a bombshell of some news would be appreciated. I sure hope the league didn't use up the last of it's gusto with the Bertuzzi signing in Calgary. That would be disappointing.

No, we are waiting for some official news that Brendan Morrison has signed in Anaheim and Mike Peca has re-signed in Columbus. These two bits of news have been floating around the net, but I thought I would wait for some details before I did any team updates or anything like that. It's only fair, I guess.

There have also been some rumours circulating that the Canucks have extended an offer sheet to Red Wings forward Valtteri Filppula, who is a restricted free agent this summer. That could be quite the shrewd move, since the Wings just spent a pile of money on Marian Hossa and only have about $4 million left in cap space for the year for three more players.

The Canucks are also sharing some interest in forward Pavol Demitra, according to some rumoured reports. HockeyBuzz.com is starting to report that the deal is close to being done and we should almost expect an announcement today. That would sure be interesting.

Remarkably, I went back and looked at all the teams and their updates and I had noticed that both Los Angeles and Edmonton, although they've been somewhat busy, they haven't had an official team update (with salary cap figures) done since April. I really wish they'd make a signing of some sorts, so I could do one for them. The Oilers, with all of their trades, I would imagine would look somewhat interesting. The Kings, on the other hand... yikes!

The unrestricted free agent watch has otherwise tailed off completely. The next big bit of news will likely have to wait for a while yet, as Mats Sundin doesn't know if he's coming or going yet. If I was to wager a guess, I would have to say that a return to Toronto is in order. Going out West, even for all that money, doesn't seem terribly likely and his heart is there, which does seem to be a big determining factor for the big Swede.

Other free agents I'm waiting for to land... Brendan Shanahan, Jason Williams and Ladislav Nagy. These three are unrestricted and are likely to make somewhat of a splash in the league, wherever they may end up. Sure, there are plenty of other names on the list, but most aren't as attractive, although their names may be bigger. Players like Joe Sakic, Teemu Selanne and Peter Forsberg all have a great deal of allure, but there is only place they'll end up if and when they return to the league. Their previous team.

I will have to admit, there is a lot of anticipation for more summer trades. Calgary, Chicago and Philadelphia are all straddling the salary cap ceiling like a hobby horse and it can't carry anymore players. Deals will have to be made. Los Angeles, Atlanta, Phoenix, Vancouver, Nashville, Long Island... these are all teams that have a headlamp on looking for more players in the salary cap basement... below the cap floor.

If I was to guess right now, I would say that the Kings could bulk up their roster with some, albeit, pricier players that don't have a great deal of value for money, for next to nothing. I would imagine they could get Rhett Warrener (a likely candidate to move out of Calgary) for a seventh round pick, because the Flames would have to move his salary. The Kings could get a number one goalie in Nikolai Khabibulin out of Chicago for a couple of late round picks... okay, that is a bit of an exaggeration, but you see where I'm coming from. It could be that easy.

Something has to happen though and I'm getting mildly anxious waiting for it.