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After another overtime game last night in Boston, the third OT in four games, one has to wonder if the series could be any tighter? This is such a tough series to call as it now comes down to the best two out of three. And it certainly is entertaining.
Boston seems a bit stronger but Chicago has the home town cooking. It's going to be good coming down the stretch.
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Does anyone think the coaching change in New York will improve the Rangers? Not that I am an expert, but I don't see it. And now Mark Messier is upset he didn't get the job? Don't worry "Mess", as long as Glen Sather is GM, they will probably be needing another coach in a couple more years.
In the meantime, two coaches with actual resumes are still looking for a job, Lindy Ruff and John Tortorella. The Dallas Stars are reportedly thinking about them.
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A day after signing Mark Streit to a four year deal, the Flyers announced that they would be buying out Danny Briere's contract. Briere will probably be able to help out someone, but I don't see a fit in Carolina.
The Hurricanes signed Ray Whitney in the summer of 2005 after the winger had been bought out by Detroit. That deal worked out very well for the Canes, and they will be looking at other buyouts closely this summer.
We will look at possible buyouts around the league soon here on the blog and guess which possibilites might fit.
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Elliotte Friedman recently published an article which mentioned that the Canes had been talking to teams about possibly trading down in the draft, pretty much confirming what Jim Rutherford told local media previously. Rutherford will not give that number five spot away though, make no mistake of that. The price will be steep because the projected superstars are in the top grouping.
The article also said:
Another note about the Hurricanes. Word is that "some players who were previously untouchable may no longer be untouchable," according to one source. Apparently, this does not include anyone with the last name Staal. It is going to be a wild summer across the NHL.
Interesting words, but we will see what happens.