EXTENDED QUOTABLE
Los Angeles Kings GM Dean Lombardi on the unlikely possibility of re-signing soon-to-be UFA Alexander Frolov, as relayed via LAKingsInsider.com from a radio interview on 1260-AM in Edmonton: “When you talk about building today, it’s certainly different from prior to the lockout. You really get tied in with, `Do you like the player?’ Yes, but do you like him at `X’ price? Because you now have to get the right price, if you’re going to be able to keep your core together.
So would we like to keep him? Yes. But if the price is prohibitive, and maybe would prevent us from filling other holes and making sure we keep Doughty and Johnson and all these kids coming through, then you have to walk away. I think you’re probably right on Fro. He’s a good player. I guess at times, like you say, you think he’s capable of more, but he’s still a productive player. But you still now have to really be astute in how you attach a price tag to that, or you’re going to get yourself in trouble down the road, and then all this building we’ve done makes no sense if we can’t keep these young players that have come through our system.”
He continued. “So I’m not too optimistic, given what he’s looking for. The other thing we’re confronting here, don’t forget, is the KHL, and they’re offering an awful lot of money, tax-free. It’s almost like the WHL days, where the difference in dollars is huge. It’s not like you can accuse the player and say, `Well, he just wants to take the easy way.’ No. We’re talking significant dollars, in terms of the difference. I talked to him at the end of the year, and I said to myself, `This is no different than when Bobby Hull left.’ I’m sure he wanted to stay in the NHL, but when the money is that much different, you can’t blame him. So you’re also confronting this with Fro, so we’ll see but we’re going to keep our options open.”
IGINLA NOT GOING ANYWHERE
The Calgary Herald reports today that Flames president Ken King quashed whatever lingering speculation remained that Darryl Sutter and/or Jarome Iginla will be employed anywhere but the Pengrowth Saddledome this winter.
“We weren’t vascillating on whether or not to keep Darryl,” said King of his embattled general manager.
“It wasn’t a question of, ‘If this happens, he’ll stay,’ or ‘If this happens, he won’t.’ We’ve gone through our evalutions. We’ve made decisions.
”What we want to do here is put an end to the death watch; to other people’s speculation.
“We move forward.”
OFFER FOR AFINIGENOV
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that the Thrashers have made a one-year contract offer to forward Maxim Afinogenov, according his agent. Don Meehan said he and Afinogenov are reviewing the offer.
He escaped a severely diminished role in Buffalo by agreeing to a one-year, $800,000 after making the team following a pro tryout at training camp and he was able to use a steady top-six role to post 61 points (24-37-61) in a highly-successful rebound campaign. At the same time he became a pretty handy addition for poolies looking for a cheap boost on the wing and he should still be a pretty decent bargain in most drafts this fall too.
Meehan also represents gritty Colby Armstrong and it looks like the winger will be headed to unrestricted free agency this summer. He made $2.4M last season in what was mostly an L3/L4 role. The Thrashers liked having him, but not at the kind of money he’d like to earn again for the ’10-11 campaign.
“Colby has been a solid contributor to our club, and we do have interest in him as a player, but after some initial discussions with the agent and our understanding of what he would be looking for, we’re too far apart at this time,” Thrashers GM Rick Dudley told the AJC.
NIEDS/ SELANNE WATCH CONTINUES
The Orange County Register says Ducks GM Bob Murray, as usual, isn’t planning to push either Scott Niedermayer or Teemu Selanne into announcing their intentions on playing another NHL season for the Ducks or anyone else.
“There’s still a month to the draft,” said Murray, alluding to the time when he’d like an answer from the two future Hall of Fame players. “It’s like I said before. We’ll give them time to get rested… We still have time here.”
Murray said that he ran into Selanne recently, adding that “he looks great.”
“He had a long, tough year,” he said. “We didn’t talk about hockey. I’m giving him the space. I said I was going to do that.”
The OCR notes that veteran centre Saku Koivu will also be a UFA again this summer and the announcements from Nieds and Selanne may impact Koivu’s decision to return to Southern California.
Of the importance of knowing by the draft, Murray said, “I think they know that. I know that they know I need to get on with what I’ve got to get on with. That’s fair to both parties.”
BLAKE, HEATLEY AND NABBY
The San Jose Mercury News indicates that Sharks captain Rob Blake is leaning toward retirement at age 40, according to a source familiar with the situation, but he is holding off on any announcement just yet.
“You need time to unwind after the season and different things,” Blake said Wednesday as players cleaned out their lockers for the season. “My kids are in school until June, and I want to meet with Doug (Wilson) and meet with Todd (McLellan) and talk things over and go from there.”
Blake’s cap hit was $3.5M, which would no doubt come down with any potentially new one-year deal with the team.
Dany Heatley only scored twice in the post-season (2-11-13 in 15 GP though), but the Mercury News notes that the sniper still earned his GM’s praise Wednesday for playing in most of the postseason with a torn groin muscle.
“I’m proud of him for pushing through it,” Doug Wilson said. “That’s not an excuse or anything like that. That’s the commitment players make to each other. He brought everything he could.”
Evgeni Nabokov on becoming a UFA July 1st: “Obviously this organization is one of the best organizations in the NHL,” he said as he and his teammates cleaned out lockers for the season. “We took a huge step this year and I hope to be part of the next step. But we’ll see.”
QUOTABLE
“I know fans get frustrated because they want more,” St. Louis Blues President John Davidson told The Post-Dispatch of the progress of the franchise after four seasons under his guidance. “But it comes down to the reality of waiting for our players to mature. You can’t speed up that evolution. We are what we are. And we’re going to continue with this plan. And if that takes a little more time, we’re going to stay with it and hope that our good young players become very good young players and then great players. We have no choice. It’s just the way it is.”
GONCHAR NEXT FOR PENS
The Pittsburgh Tribune Review notes that Penguins GM Ray Shero considers Sergei Gonchar the top off-season priority for his team and Shero is expected to resume talks with the blueliner’s agent this week. Term is a believed sticking point. Gonchar would like at least a three-year deal and he has not publicly indicated a willingness to provide the so-called hometown discount as nearly all members of the Penguins’ nucleus have on long-term deals.
The article also notes that in the back of the team’s mind may be the potential development of offensive defenceman Simon Despres, last summer’s first round pick. He’ll be AHL-eligible for the ’11-12 campaign and it may not take him long to make the jump to the NHL. Still, he’d have to be considered several years away from helping on a noticeable level.
The PTR mentions that Bill Guerin has indicated several times in the past few months that he wants to play one more season and that he’d like to stay with the Pens.
CLEARY’S SURGERY
According to Michigan Live, Danny Cleary had surgery Tuesday to repair two tears in his meniscus.
“They cleaned it up, and it’s a lot better now,” Cleary said Wednesday. “You want to go into the season healthy. It’s tough for me to play my game when I’m hurt.”
He will start lifting weights Monday and begin full workouts in a couple weeks. He expects to be fully recovered well before training camp in September.
Cleary was banged up throughout this season, posting 15-19-34 in 64 GP. He had 14-26-40 in ’08-9, but he expects to return to his 20-goal form of 2006-07 and ’07-08.
“I want to be an important player on the team and have proven that I can be,” Cleary said. “My goal is to get better each season. I’ll train real hard this summer and will make sure I have a good season.”
On returning teammate Jiri Hudler: “He’s real excited, looking forward to coming back. He’s an important player, adds another element.”
On Nicklas Lidstrom, who’s contemplating possible retirement: “He’ll be back. We don’t have to worry about that.”
QUOTABLE
“He’s still young and I think he’s still scratching the surface (of his potential),” Senators assistant GM Tim Murray told The Ottawa Sun of the just-signed Mike Brodeur (one-year, two-way deal), who is expected to be highly-touted prospect Robin Lehner’s mentor in the AHL next season. “Goalies are late-blooming athletes and I think Mike has a chance this year to show us or other teams that he deserves a one-way contract going forward, and we’re going to let him prove that. If we need a goalie to come up here, we’re happy with Mike and we’re confident in Mike.”