Quick Hits
Giguere Ready to Move On?
“I haven’t been asked, I haven’t waived my no-trade” said Leafs goaltender J.S. Giguere today when asked whether he would be open to a trade. However that is not all he said. The 33-year old Montreal native went on, “If Burkie was to come see me I would owe him the respect to think about it and to talk to my family about it”. Sounds like a situation where it would have to be the right fit. The problem is the list of teams that would want him is pretty short if not non-existent, especially when teams like Tampa Bay and Detroit who were openly looking for a goaltender have already made their moves for Dwayne Roloson and Evgeni Nabokov respectively. Even if a team wanted him they will likely be scared away by his contract. While it is expiring, he is the third highest paid goalie in the league behind Roberto Luongo and Henrik Lundqvist. The emergence of James Reimer in recent weeks and with Jonas Gustavsson being pegged as the starter moving forward makes this an interesting issue to watch. J.S. G. has always been known as a great team player and is great for Toronto’s young players however if a suitor is found, Brian Burke will likely be ready to pull the trigger.
Koivu Heads Back to Montreal
Saku Koivu will once again play hockey in the Bell Centre tonight, but this time with the opposition. Two years after leaving the Montreal Canadiens in free-agency to join the Anaheim Ducks, the Finnish centre will return for the first time to face the team that drafted him 21st overall in 1993. As just the second Captain to lead the historic franchise for 10 seasons, Koivu was named to two All-Star teams and took the Canadiens to five post season appearances. He has a strong history with the franchise and the fans as they stood by him while he fought non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma during the 2001/2 season. Asked of what the response will be when he hits the ice Koivu was obviously full of fond memories for his old home. “I think we were able to build a special bond and relationship with the people of Montreal. They were behind me and supported me throughout my career and I don’t expect anything but a positive reaction.”
Devils Blessed
A match-up of the worst team in the NHL against the third-best in the league just got evened out. Pittsburgh announced that not only will Sidney Crosby continue his stay in the press-box but he will be joined by fellow superstar Evgeni Malkin when the Penguins take on the Devils in New Jersey on Thursday night. While the Pen’s are quiet on the extent or location of the injury, the whispering tells of a nagging left-knee injury that might be causing his 6-game scoreless drought. Crosby is still suffering from a concussion that has kept him out since January 5.
Trading Fins for Wings
Word out of Motown this morning has free-agent goaltender Evgeni Nabokov signing a contract with the Detroit Red Wings as early as late this afternoon. Like the unfortunate St. Louis Blues, who had Maric Svatos and Kyle Wellwood claimed recently, Detroit will have to wait 24 hours for him to clear waivers before they can officially announce his aquisition. In his last season with the San Jose Sharks in 2009/10, the Russian born Nabokov held a 44-16-10 record with a .922 SV% and 2.43 GAA helping lead the Sharks to the Conference Finals where they lost to eventual Cup winners Chicago. Nabokov has been a free-agent since a mutual contract termination with KHL team SKA Metallurg Magnitogorski in early December.
Brady Hurt, Cassel In… Again
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is preparing to have surgery to correct a stress fracture in his foot, after which he will have to recover by laying around his mansion with supermodel wife Gisele to fawn over him, all while awaiting what will likely be his second MVP trophy… poor him. Hopefully he has time to finally get a hair cut. In doing so he will miss the January 30th Pro Bowl in Honolulu, HI and will be replaced by none other than Matt Cassel. The same man who in 2008 took over QB duties at New England for Brady after an injury will be the fourth Kansas City Chief in this year’s event joining RB Jamaal Charles, WR Dwayne Bowe and G Brian Waters.
Hero to Villain
It has been nearly a year since Santonio Holmes was the Super Bowl MVP with Pittsburgh after a miraculous touchdown catch to seal the Steelers win. Traded for a 5th round pick and suspended 4 games for a substance abuse violation, Holmes will walk onto Heinz field this Sunday in a New York Jets uniform and presumably feel the wrath of the black and gold faithful. Don’t expect the Steelers to take it easy on their former comrade either as Holmes’ friend, and off-season work-out partner, CB Ike Taylor has made it blatantly clear what his plan is, “I’m not going to hesitate to lay him out”. Just in case you forgot, here is the catch.
