Attention to all Season Ticket Holders...We have heard you and we invested in and upgraded the Hockeybuzz chatroom! Besides running much smoother, the new chatroom has private messaging and many other cool features that will make moderated chats work better. But the main reason we made the switch is we know the incredible volumes of chatters we will have in the coming days leading up to and including the deadline.
I will be holding a chat at 2pm where you all can ask me questions regarding the deadline...Visit the chatroom HERE
Ok, so here is where we are at this point on Jay Bo and Vinny...
Reports are swirling that Bouwmeester decision day is just about upon us. Martin continues to be non-committal regarding it all, but talking to a GM just now from a Western Conference team told me all that I needed to know.
"He can't not trade him, but he also can't say that."
There is history here as well.
There are essentially two open seasons for trades...Before the deadline and before UFA Day.
Martin has a history of talking to teams about one of his players in the open season before he moves him. He does this to get a sense of what he will be worth when he really wants to move him. He did it last trade deadline with Jokinen.
And this past summer he did it with Bouwmeester.
So much so, that I have text messages that almost target the exact minute he told GMs this during the summer.
I still believe that Jay Bo is moving, but I think that because I have heard that there are at least two offers that are very serious. One that is plenty. Teams will have to get him signed however before they commit as much as I am hearing...
As for Vincent Lecavalier it is getting more and more interesting. Yesterday Brian Lawton, the team GM had some fascinating (almost bizarre) quotes regarding the situation. It is obvious that Lawton is frustrated with the constant craziness of the Vinny talk, but let's face it. This is Vincent Lecavalier and enough people are aware of the talks that have occurred that the questions are going to come.
Remember that Brian has a tricky fence to walk on here. Quotes like the one below are very good at easing the pressure.
In an article on TBO.com Lawton said "We're not going to trade Vinny Lecavalier...I'm going to say, 'never,' so I don't have to deal with it....I'll say never right now...You can usually say you should never say never, but because people have taken such liberties with that whole deal, we never shopped Vinny Lecavalier. Did people ask about him? Of course. Who wouldn't? Were we actively calling teams? No. We never did and we never will...Let's leave it at that, so I don't have to answer any questions.''
Don't be shocked if there is a "deal that comes in suddenly that was too good to refuse. we have to consider what's best for our team's future."
One player that Brian is talking about is Jeff Halpern. I am told almost a dozen teams are interested in Halpern including Chicago, Buffalo, Dallas (again), Vancouver, and Edmonton.
Finally, I wanted to thank the folks at Amazon for sending me a Kindle 2 today. I did a video unboxing of it below.
This is a new segment that I will call:
Cool Gadgets for Hockeyfans.
Win an XBOX 360 and NHL 09...(and whoop my ass once you get it set up)
That's right. The Trade Deadline Game is Back and it's a ton of fun. It is free to play for all Season Ticket Holders. Just predict where the players will be traded to (or if they aren't going to be dealt at all)
Thanks to many of you who are becoming a SEASON TICKET holder of hockeybuzz. If you are still on the fence, not only does your twenty bucks support the site, but you get no more video auto-play ads, full access to The NHL Trade Rumor Chart, Eklund Exclusive Chats, Special edition podcasts, free entry and better prizes in the fantasy games, insider emails and more. Thanks, Ek.
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