A quick look at the Wild Roster

Michael Russo of the Star and Tribune posted a depth chart of what the Minnesota Wild cold look like this season with their new additions. With the big free agent signing yesterday the Minnesota Wild look to have improved their formally depleted line up.

It would also appear that the Minnesota Wild have a few extra players that they could trade as well if they need to shore up a position.

FORWARDS

Left wing-Center-Right wing

First line: Zach Parise-Mikko Koivu-Dany Heatley
Second line: Devin Setoguchi -Mikael Granlund- Pierre-Marc Bouchard
Third line: Matt Cullen-Kyle Brodziak-Cal Clutterbuck
Fourth line: Darroll Powe-Zenon Konopka- Torrey Mitchell
Extra: Matt Kassian
Potential other extra: XXXXXX


Vying for spots: Stephane Veilleux, Jake Dowell, Charlie Coyle, Johan Larsson, Brett Bulmer, Jason Zucker, Zack Phillips, Nick Palmieri, Chad Rau, Jarod Palmer, David McIntyre, Carson McMillan, Kris Foucault, Justin Fontaine, Joel Broda

DEFENSEMEN

Left-Right

First pair: Ryan Suter-Tom Gilbert
Second pair: Marco Scandella-Jared Spurgeon
Third pair: Clayton Stoner-Nate Prosser
Extra: Justin Falk
Potential other extra: XXXXXX

Vying for spots: Falk, Prosser, Jonas Brodin, Matt Dumba, Steven Kampfer, Tyler Cuma, Chay Genoway, Drew Bagnall, Kyle Medvec, Josh Caron, Colton Jobke

GOALTENDERS

No. 1: Niklas Backstrom
No. 2: Josh Harding

In the wings: Matt Hackett, Darcy Kuemper

Note: XXXXXX signifies open spot.

More bad fan behavior - Parise draws the ire of the moronic fans

This is my second installment of morons of the twitter-verse. One of my favorite Twitter feeds is the Angry NHL fans @LOLVancouver  I am going to apologize for the coarse language right off of the bat - most of the stuff that I posted here is down right moronic - some of it borders on the realm of what I would consider anti-social behavior. Reading these posts  you have to really question some of these people's their sanity. Some of the tweets I read were silly as well.

You have to wonder if some of these people realize that everything that you put on the internet is out there for all to see? If I was in human resources and one of these people were one of my potential recruits I would think twice about hiring these people. These are just a sampling of some of the worst ones that I have seen today.

Here are a few that twitter poster that don't know how to spell the word traitor... I didn't know that Zach Parise was a trader?

If anything Zach Parise has been loyal and was a New Jersey Devil for seven seasons. Actually, if we are counting the lockout season, it would be eight seasons in the the seasons in the New Jersey Devils organization. I am not sure how this clown and others came to this conclusion.

Wow! You want a sports figure to die because he didn't sign or resign with your favorite team. I am sure this guy's mother would be proud.

The Minnesota Wild welcome Ryan Suter and Zach Parise

The dawn of a new era is upon us..... One could say that today was a historic day in Minnesota Wild History.

Here are some quotes from today....

Parise: "Every kid who’s grown up in Minnesota would love to play for the Wild. That’s the way it is."

Parise on Koivu: "They've already got a captain, and they've got a great captain.

Suter says toughest call he's ever had to make in his life was to David Poile. "It was so hard"

Parise says, "It was between New Jersey and Minnesota. I'm a loyal person, I love playing [in NJ]."Parise says, "Just the opportunity to play at home, it really meant a lot to me and my family. My parents were so excited, ..."

Parise on playing at home being a part of his decision: "It was a very big part of it."

Suter says they were texting each other back and forth where "we can both work. Last night into this morning it became realistic."

Parise: Ryan and I had talked throughout the year. 'Wouldn't be great to have a chance to play on the same team?'

Parise said that he and Suter talked "throughout the year," in case this didn't already feel enough like the Heat.

Lamoriello confirms Ryan Suter had no desire to play in Eastern Conference.

“I was just waiting to hear the news,” Cullen said a couple hours after the deals were announced. “It was a pretty exciting time just waiting to see what would happen. … I had a really strong idea that we were right in the mix.”

Matt Cullen on today's trade. ”I was ecstatic,” he said. “It’s pretty exciting when you get one guy of that caliber. To get two is pretty unheard of. Strictly from the standpoint of a Minnesotan, it’s unbelievable. We haven’t had a great deal of players at this level. To get two, it changes the look of our team.”

"If we work hard and get some breaks," Fletcher said, "there's no reason we can't be pretty good."

Finally, it can be told: Zach Parise pronounces his name "pah-ree-SEE." Says you'd have to ask his dad how he pronounces it.

Suter: "Nashville is on the rise, but it came down to Zach had a big part in the decision, and my family."

According to Pierre LeBrun, "for Suter, it came down to Nashville, Detroit and Minnesota."

Zach Parise is coming home - Wild sign Suter and Parise

Getty Images

Here is the press release from KARE 11 out of the Twin Cities. While I don’t like to use profanity on the blog, I do think a loud boisterous F-BOMB yeah might be in order for this big signing by the Minnesota Wild. This is definitely a coup d'état for the Minnesota Wild.

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Minnesota Wild appear to be making a splash in the free agent waters.

ESPN's Pierre LeBrun tweeted "Zach Parise has agreed to terms with the Minnesota Wild."

Parise was seen as the top free agent in this summer's NHL class. The 27-year-old forward scored 31 goals and added 38 assists last season for the New Jersey Devils.

A source told LeBrun Parise's deal is worth $98 million over 13 years.

LeBrun also tweeted the Suter signing.

Suter, a native of Madison, Wis., spent seven seaons with the Nashville Predators. Last season, Suter posted a career high in points with 46 (7 goals, 39 assists) in 79 regular season games.

Earlier in the year, I said, "I think that Zach Parise would sign with the Minnesota Wild." I was told by various fans that there was no way that Parise would sign with the Wild. Yeah! Looks like the nay sayers, Debbie Downers, Negative Nellies or whatever you want to call them, were flat out dead wrong this time. Vindication, maybe. It's really not a mystery, that Parise owns a house in Orno, Minnesota so now Zach can sleep in his bed at night when the Minnesota Wild are playing at home.

I said on twitter last night, that the Wild now have more former Badgers (Ryan Suter, Tom Gilbert, Jake Dowell and Dany Heatly) and Sioux (Chay Genoway and Zach Parise) than ex-Gophers on the Minnesota Wild.

The Minnesota Wild just a few short years ago under Doug Risebrough, didn't have many college hockey players now have a good mix on their roster, add to the Badgers and ex-Sioux players that I have already mentioned, you have Jason Zucker Denver University, Nate Prosser and Chad Rau Colorado College, Stephen Kampfer Michigan, Jarold Palmer Miami University (Ohio) and Matt Cullen Saint Cloud State University.

Links to the Story

NHL Free Agency 2012: Minnesota Wild Sign Zach Parise and Ryan Suter [Hockey Wilderness]

Wild Fireworks on the Fourth of July [Russo's Rants]

Report: Zach Parise, Ryan Suter Each Sign 13-Year Deal With Minnesota Wild [NESN.COM]

Wild agree to terms with free agents Suter and Parise [TSN.COM]

Free agents Suter and Parise choose Wild [Flyers Insider]

Minnesota Wild getting both Parise, Suter [Pioneer Press]

Zach Parise, Ryan Suter to Wild [ESPN.COM]

Kitchener Rangers irate over Jacob Trouba report

Apparently, the Kitchener Rangers are none too pleased with the accusations that the Rangers have offered Michigan recruit Jacob Trouba $200,000.00 to sign with the Rangers and forego his commitment to the Michigan Wolverines.

Sunaya Sapurji, Yahoo! Sports --- Steve Bienkowski, the Rangers’ chief operating officer, flatly denied the report and any kind of payment offered to the Trouba family. In addition, Bienkowski said the team has retained a lawyer and will purse the matter legally.

“We’re going to look at every legal remedy we have against the newspaper, the reporter and these so-called unnamed sources in the OHL who need to be held accountable for basically saying lies against our organization,” said Bienkowski in a phone interview from Halifax.

Unlike most OHL teams, the Rangers are community-owned and not a privately held company. As such, an external accounting firm audits their financial statements and those accounts are presented to season-ticket holders each year.

“The reality is there’s nowhere to hide the kind of money people are accusing us of paying,” said Bienkowski, who is a chartered accountant himself.

“But it is what it is, we’ve been targeted before and I’m sure we’ll be targeted in the future.”

This is not the first time an OHL team – or the Rangers – have been accused of paying players large sums of money to play for them. Last summer Paul Kelly, the then-executive director of College Hockey Inc., an arm of NCAA hockey, accused teams of paying players though no proof was ever produced.

I do think it’s funny that the Kitchener Rangers are going to go after a the student run newspaper "The Michigan Daily- I have a hard time believing that the editor of the newspaper would let that story go if the rumor hadn’t come from a reliable source, specially when the author of that story is working at a major newspaper as an Intern at The Baltimore Sun during the summer, I can’t see him jeopardizing his future journalism career with a story that can’t be substantiated.

Somewhere out there is the truth; these stories don’t just present themselves out of thin air. I am sure we will find out more in the coming days.

That being said, the statement from the Trouba family denies that any money was offered and went on to say that Jacob Trouba will honor his commitment to the University of Michigan.

“There is absolutely no truth or merit to the recent media reports that the Kitchener Rangers have..."

"...offered Jacob any remuneration. We have the utmost respect for the Kitchener Rangers and those that choose the CHL as an option..."

So as college hockey fans we wait on pins and needles to see if there are any more stories like this emerge – especially the teams that recruited players from the USNDT.

Make no mistake; the CHL teams isn’t going to back off, commitment to NCAA teams mean nothing to them and they will attempt to lure more of the best blue chip American hockey players with promises that the CHL is a quicker route to the NHL than the NCAA route.

Again, I am not here to say one route is better than the other – in the end both routes are good routes to making the NHL. Also, the college hockey route has proven to be a very good route to the NHL – if you don't believe me – all you have to do is look at the top free agents available during the free agent signing period – a good number of them played NCAA Division I hockey before they made it to the NHL – examples of note- Zach Parise, Jason Garrison, Erik Johnson, Matt Carle and Ryan Suter just to name a few off the top of my head.

Jacob Trouba will attend the University of Michigan

The big story to emerge the past couple of days was that Jacob Trouba was offered 200,000.00 to de-commit from the University of Michigan and play for the Kitchener Rangers who drafted him in the third round of the OHL's 2010 draft. The story cause quite a stir and has since been refuted by Trouba’s family.

Matt Slovin, The Michigan Daily --- "Statement from the Trouba family: 'We have the utmost respect for the Kitchener Rangers and those that choose the CHL as an option ... but Jacob will be attending the University of Michigan next fall as a student athlete.'

Good for the Michigan Wolverines that they aren’t going to lose their 22nd recruit to the CHL, but I get the feeling that more is going to emerge from this story eventually.

P.A. makes his pitch to Zach Parise

KFAN 100.3 out of the Twin Cities is one of the best sports talk radio channels in the upper Midwest. During the past year they decided to take the last hour of their show to the FSN. If you haven’t seen this or heard this on the radio today this is Paul Allen’s sales pitch to Zach Parise, pretty good stuff by Allen on the nine to noon show today.

Suter's agent responds to critics of his client

MLIVE.COM

Looks like Ryan Suter ‘s agent Neil Sheehy has seen and heard enough – Neil does have a point – if we were in the same situation we wouldn’t be rushing through these decisions.

NHL.COM --- Ryan Suter and Zach Parise are in Day 3 of NHL free agency with some wondering why they haven't made a decision on where to play.

Suter's agent, Neil Sheehy, has heard enough. He tells The Associated Press: "When a young man is asked to commit for 13 years, why is it considered extraordinary to take a few days to make a decision?. A deal will happen when it happens."

Parise told reporters on Monday that he was getting closer to a decision, saying he hadn't set deadlines.

The two free agents are both 27.

Is another college prospect being poached by an OHL team?

I wonder if college hockey teams will reconsider taking blue chip athletes from the USNDT it appears that another players from the Under 18 team is considering de-committing from his college commitment and going to the OHL. It appears that this college recruits might have some financial incentive to join said OHL team.

Matt Slovin, Michigan Daily --- An Ontario Hockey League source told The Michigan Daily on Thursday that Jacob Trouba may not be as set on coming to Ann Arbor in the fall as he has stated publicly. The source, speaking on condition of anonymity, placed the chances that Trouba, the ninth pick by Winnipeg in this year's NHL Entry Draft, honors his commitment to Michigan at “50/50.”

Trouba's OHL rights belong to the Kitchener Rangers who drafted him in the third round of the OHL's 2010 draft.

Regardless of where Trouba ends up, Kitchener or Michigan, the source says the defenseman will spend two years before progressing to the NHL, where he will be an “elite player.”

Monday night, a different OHL source informed the Daily that Kitchener has presented the Trouba family with a “huge offer” that remains on the table. The source added that he “believes it will happen.”

In place of an education package, the source said Trouba could be compensated to about $200,000.

Prior to last week's NHL Draft, the original source said the odds were stacked heavily in Kitchener's favor. But Trouba's promise that he will be playing for Michigan this season makes it a coin flip.

Based on this Daily Michigan article there is no way that the Michigan Wolverines can match the Kitchener Rangers generous offer – if they did Michigan would end up on NCAA sanctions.

According to The Wolverine, this is would be the 22nd player that the Michigan Wolverines have lost since 2000. This past week the Wolverines lost defenseman Connor Carrick to the Plymouth Whalers. According to Carrick, “it wasn’t about the money.” Yeah, I am sure all of us believe him after reading that the Kitchener Rangers have offered Jacob Trouba $200,000.00 one has to wonder what kind of money he was offered as well.

Since the Matt Slovin article came out Kitchener Rangers president Craig Campbell posted on his twitter page that the Trouba article is, "Utterly false."

Just for the record – OHL teams paying money under the table to incoming recruits is also not legal.

All Parise all of the time...

Today, NHL hockey fans from Pittsburgh, Minnesota and New Jersey are wondering where Zach Parise is going to sign. It looks like it's going to be another night before we find out where he is going to go.

Like most fans, I have been hovering by the computer all day long, waiting on the edge of my seat wondering where former Fighting Sioux All-American and New Jersey Devil Zach Parise is going to land, after Zach signs a new contract, he is going to need to buy a wheel barrow to take his money to the bank.



According to Russo, "the Wild are still in it."

I had a few people ask me what I think of Parise flying back to Minnesota tomorrow and I am not sure what we would even make out of it. I honestly don't feel all of that confident that Parise is going to sign with the Wild and that the Devils could have put a lot of pressure on Zach and that he is torn and having a tough time with the decision.

According to Lou Nanne, "he [Parise] is not going to Jersey, there is no possible way that they're in.



Here is what Lou Nanne had to say about the whole Zach Parise story. I always take what Lou Nanne says with a grain of salt.
"A signing of this magnitude should takes place in the area where he is going to play and the team would want him there," Nanne said. "I just can't fathom that he coming home to Minnesota to tell us that he is going to Pittsburgh."

Ranger re-sign slow footed Bickel to contract

Looks like the New York Rangers plan on holding on to the NHL fighting Major total this season again. The New York Rangers have re-signed former Gophers hack defenseman Stu Bickel to a modest contract.

NEW YORK (AP) --- The New York Rangers have added grit and experience to their lineup by reaching a deal with forward Arron Asham on the first day of NHL free agency.

A 13-season NHL veteran, Asham spent the past two years with Pittsburgh. He had five goals and 11 assists in 64 games last season. Overall, he has 92 goals and 206 points in 756 career games split between five teams.

Asham broke into the NHL in 1998 with Montreal, and has also played for the Islanders, New Jersey and Philadelphia.

Earlier on Sunday, the Rangers agreed to re-sign defenseman Stu Bickel, who had nine assists in 51 games in his first NHL season last year. New York had acquired Bickel in a trade with Anaheim in November 2010.

It’s no mystery why Bickel is playing with the New York Rangers - the slow foot defensman Bickel played minuscule minutes during the Rangers playoff push and was seen as a defensive liability at crucial times.

One of Bickel’s redeeming strengths is that he is willing drop the gloves and be a punching bag is probably the main reason Bickel was inserted into the Rangers line up this past season. Bickel was third on the Rangers in fights and dropped the gloves 12 times during 51 games for the New Yorks Rangers. Brandon Prust lead the Rangers with 20 fights but signed a contract with the Montreal Canadians.

Gary Bettman reduces Raffi Torres suspension

s/t to George Malik of Kuklas Korner. This action by Gary Bettman really makes my blood boil. Raffi Torres is a multiple time offender and was given the correct number of games, now Bettman decides to reduce the Torres Suspension by 4 games.

From TSN’s Darren Dreger: It appears that Raffi Torres won’t serve the 25 games he was slated to sit out for concussing Marian Hossa:

Sources say Gary Bettman has reached a decision on Raffi Torres suspension appeal.

Expected to reduce suspension by 4 games. 12 down to 8. ... Torres was suspended 25 games after a hit on Chicago’s Marian Hossa in game 3 of 1st round of the playoffs. ...

To be clear, my math shows Torres had 12 games remaining in suspension. Reduction by 4 and 8 games remain next season

So the NHL is saying by reducing this suspension that they don’t care about “Player Safety.” If not, what statement are they trying to make? You have a player in Raffi Torres that is the poster boy of what is wrong with the NHL. Torres is a dirty player that skates all over the ice taking runs at players and many times making contact with the head.

$925,000 question answered - Schultz to the Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers have won the Justin Schultz sweep stakes and have signed him to a two year entry level deal.The former Wisconsin All-WCHA defender was one of the most sought after free-agents this year.

Chris Johnston, Edmonton Journal --- Justin Schultz was able to pass the baton off to Zach Parise.

After being courted by NHL teams at the Newport Sports offices in suburban Toronto for much of the week, Schultz agreed to terms with the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday afternoon. The first big free-agent decision of the summer came several hours before the floodgates were set to officially open at noon ET Sunday and left Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini in a celebratory mood.

"What a way to start the free-agent period," Tambellini told reporters in Edmonton.

It gave Schultz plenty of time to clear out of Don Meehan's high-powered agency before Parise's expected arrival on Sunday. The former University of Wisconsin defenceman took advantage of a loophole in the collective bargaining agreement to become a free agent and garnered plenty of interest.

So you say that there's a chance...

According to Michael Russo, Beat writer of the Minnesota Wild for the Star Tribune, the Wild are still in the mix for teams he New Jersey Devils and former Fighting Sioux All-American forward Zach Parise could sign with.

Zach Parise's agent Wade Arnott says that his client has narrowed his list of teams to a "select few," and according to sources, Wild GM Chuck Fletcher has been informed the Wild is on that list.

Summer dreaming

It's 90 degrees today and I am wondering like many other hockey fans - where is Zach Parise going to sign and for how much? Zach's decision on where he is going to sign, isn't going to happen today, according to Michael Russo.  Also, it sounds like the Penguins are Zach's front-runner, I suppose none of us should be shocked with that because they cleared a bunch of cap space. If you're a Wild fan I am sure you're hoping that Parise changes his mind.

 Sounds like free agent players like Jason Garrison, Florida and  Matt Carle, Philadelphia are also going to wait and see where Ryan Suter, Nashville goes before they make their decisions as well.
 

Is the NCHC lacking name-recognition?

Chris Peters of the United States of Hockey has this little blurb on his blog today – it’s worth a look. I sure there will be NCHC fans will take issue with some of the things that he said. Or not!

In all honesty, the league didn’t have to do terribly much to seemingly come out ahead on realignment. By just letting things play out and adding Notre Dame, largely due to the league thanks to the National Collegiate Hockey Conference’s (seriously, that’s as hard to type as it is to say) lack of foresight and possibly arrogance, Hockey East took another significant step forward by attracting UConn.

Meanwhile the NCHC has very little name-recognition, and therefore a second-rate TV deal, a second-rate tournament venue, but a high level of on-ice competition. From a hockey standpoint, it’s a fantastic league, but that’s where it ends. That might be enough for you as a fan, but it’s not enough to lead me or anyone else to believe it’s going to be a great business long term.

The Big Ten Hockey Conference will have good exposure on the Big Ten Network, but it’s still merely a six-team league. Until a few more Big Ten schools step up for hockey, and there’s nothing to indicate that will happen anytime soon, the conference’s size doesn’t make for a lot of variety and excitement, though the rivalries should remain intense. Still, the exposure and brand recognition resonates with the casual fan.

First off, is Chris Right? For disclosure – Chris was not a big fan of the re-alignment that took place last summer, he isn’t alone there are a lot of people that weren’t fans of last summer's re-alignment plan as well. It's not like we had a choice in the matter, said schools pursued this venture without any input from the fans.

That being said, do you agree with what he said? Right now, I am more concerned with what NCHC fans think than the B1G fans. It's obvious that the B1G has name-recognition.

Does the new NCHC has very little name-recognition? In my opinion; no! I am also not so sure how you can say that there is little name recognition with the teams that make up the NCHC. Teams like UND, DU, C.C. UMD have all won NCAA titles and have storied histories.

Add to the mix up and coming teams like Miami University and Western Michigan from the soon to be defunct CCHA and UNO and SCSU and you have the making of a very well balanced hockey league. The NCHC brings to the table 16 NCAA titles, only the B1G will have more NCAA titles (20), so were not talking about a second rate bunch of pathetic cupcakes here. We already know the title counts of all three leagues involved.

Let's take a look at the financials. Historically, the NCHC teams have been successful on the ice as well as financially; if you look you will see that five of the future NCHC teams make about 3.2 million off of their Division I hockey programs as opposed to the reconfigured Hockey East which loses about $395,000 a year of their hockey programs. Only Denver and Western Michigan have lost money with their hockey programs.

I am not here to disrespect Hockey East or (Chris for that matter) because Hockey East is a very good hockey league and has piled up an impressive four NCAA titles during the 2000’s, however, it’s only been two teams that have won the NCAA titles during that time period ( BU and B.C.) – besides the three power schools currently in the Hockey East no other really stands out in that conference, except maybe the University of New Hampshire.

If anything I think that the two leagues are on equal footing as far as name recognition goes in college hockey.

I think historically speaking people are just as familiar with BU and B.C. as they are with DU, UND when it comes to college hockey.

Adding Notre Dame to the Hockey East was a good move but what exactly have they accomplished during their hockey existence? Yep! You will be able to watch your team play Notre Dame when they play their Hockey East foes, but the rest of the league is not going to benefit financially from that television deal.

Breaking it down further – outside of the power schools Boston College, Boston University, Maine and UNH who else in the current Hockey East stands out and packs fans in the stands? Maybe Notre Dame when they get to Hockey East in 2013-14.

Are University of Connecticut hockey fans going to suddenly realize that they have a college hockey team and fill the XL center when it’s 30 miles from their campus? This isn’t the UCONN Men’s or Women’s Basketball teams.

This is a very different animal, the UCONN Huskies hockey team with very little history that is currently a member of the AHA conference, that’s not to say that they can’t evolve into a power house hockey team. Let’s call UCONN a work in progress.

Here is the part that I do agree with Chris with. If the Target Center which is exclusively a Basketball venue doesn’t improve after the 100-150 million dollars improvements Target Center is going to be a second rate tournament venue. That’s really not debatable; the Target Center has its work cut out for it.

The central location of the Target Center does make it an attractive venue and the majority of the fans that have the most rabid fan bases are all driving distance away.

Finally, I am not so sure we can call the deal with CBS Sports a second-rate TV deal, before we even see how it turns out.

Besides the Notre Dame TV deal with NBC Sports Net, how is the rest of Hockey East doing when it comes to games being televised? I have watched a few of the games on NESN via my DirecTV Satellite Dish but I don’t see a lot of UMASS Lowell or Amherst games on the dish.

There are a lot of unknowns going forward – no one knows how this deal is going to shake out – I would say at least give the NCHC a chance before we bury them and kick dirt on a conference that hasn’t even played a collegiate hockey game as of yet.

I also think that it’s too early to declare winners and losers – with college athletics none of this stuff stays static – things change constantly. Who knows, maybe there are more moves in the re-alignment phase before the 2013-14 season kicks off.

Lastly, I know there are a lot of unhappy people with the NCHC Television deal, I gathered this by reading the reactions of the fans over on Brad Schlossman’s blog. Due to the size of UND’s fan base there are a lot of fans that live outside of the Midco.net foot print and watch UND hockey on DirecTV or FTA Satellite dishes. After the upcoming season, many of them are worried that they will no longer be able to watch all of UND’s home games. I too wonder if I need to re-subscribe to Midco.net myself?

In conclusion, there is also no reason to panic just yet because there is a whole year left to work out the details. As we get closer to the kickoff of the NCHC more details will emerge and we will get a better idea what is going to transpire. I also don't think that the NCHC will lack name-recognition.

Canucks interested in signing Schultz

Getty Images

The most unlikable team in the NHL is also interested in signing former Wisconsin Badgers All-WCHA defenseman Justin Schultz.

Brad Ziemer, Vancouver Sun - Canuck general manager Mike Gillis and assistant Laurence Gilman are in Toronto and it's not to chat with Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke about a Roberto Luongo trade.

Gillis and Gilman instead headed east in the hope of meeting with hockey's hottest free agent not named Zach Parise or Ryan Suter.

The Canucks are one of a reported 26 NHL teams said to be pursuing collegiate defenceman Justin Schultz, who just completed his junior year at the University of Wisconsin.

This is one free-agent negotiation that won't be all about the money. Everyone is prepared to offer Schultz, a soon to be 22-year-old Kelowna native, the maximum $925,000 a year, two-year entry level contract (plus bonuses) to which he is entitled under the current collective bargaining agreement.

What Schultz is said to want is ice time and there have been suggestions that he also has a preference to play in Canada.

While I follow and write about UND hockey, Justin Schultz is one of my favorite opposition players. In my opinion, Schultz is "one" of the best players that I have ever watched play the college game at the defense position.

Let me preface this by saying, this is not a slam against other WCHA players and or former Fighting Sioux hockey players, because I have watched some great players over the years.

The reason I think that Schultz is that good and close to NHL ready – he the ability to dazzle you with his offensive talents and he brings the fans out of their seats –he is also like having a fourth forward on the ice. That being said, I hope Schultz signs with anyone other than the diving, whining Canucks hockey team.

Parise could still sign with the Devils

July first at 12:00 eastern time the NHL teams can start negotiating with Unrestricted Free Agents. Former Fighting Sioux All-American and current New Jersey Devil forward Zach Parise is set to make a lot of money.

Rich Chere/The Star-Ledger The Star-Ledger --- Days from unrestricted free agency and the chance to be romanced by other NHL clubs willing to pay big bucks for his signature on a contract, Zach Parise insisted the Devils are still very much in the picture.

Parise said today that his agents, Wade Arnott and Don Meehan, have been talking to Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello the last few days. However, he acknowledged it is very possible there will be no deal before Sunday’s noon (ET) deadline for the start of free agency.

“If that does happen, my agents have done a really good job of doing the best they can to prepare me for it. But first and foremost, we want to try to get things worked out with New Jersey,” the 27-year-old left winger told The Star-Ledger.

Michael Russo said on KFAN this past week that the Minnesota Wild are going to offer Zach a lot of money maybe even in the ‘ridiculous money range.’ Also, don't count the New Jersey Devils out just yet but if Parise signs with the Devils it would probably be after the July 1st.

You can listen to what Michael Russo had to say on Tuesday's P.A. show podcast – it sounds like the Wild are going to have their work cut out for them if they are going to do a successful sell job if they’re going to convince Parise to sign with the Wild with the Pittsburgh Penguins being in the mix.

Tuukka Rask resigned by the Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins have signed their heir apparent to Tim Thomas - Tuukka Rask signed a one year contract worth 3.5 million dollars. It will be interesting to see if the Bruins pick up a back up goalie or go with former Wild goalie Anton Khudobin who played a majority of his games with the Houston Aeros before coming to Boston where he played with the Providence Bruins.

TSN.CA --- The Boston Bruins have locked up next season's No. 1 netminder, agreeing to terms with Tuukka Rask on a one-year, $3.5 million contract.

Rask, 25, played 23 games with the Bruins last season, going 11-8-3 with a 2.05 goals-against average, a .929 save percentage and three shutouts.

He was set to become a restricted free agent on Sunday.

Related articles

• Tuukka Rask Begins Contract Negotiations to Officially Replace Tim Thomas (Video)

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• Tuukka Rask Ready to Handle Bigger Role for Bruins in Tim Thomas' Absence (Video)

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• Tim Thomas' Confusing Decision Puts Bruins in a Bind, But Tuukka Rask is Ready to Shoulder the Load

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Link around on Thursday

CBS Boston

This weekend the free agent signing period will kick off on Sunday July first. There are some big name former WCHA players out there on the market looking to sign new deals. With all of the negative news stories making up today’s news cycle I thought I would focus on the positive, NHL Hockey.

SCSU forward Drew LeBlanc has been invited and will attend the Minnesota Wild’s Development Camp. [St Cloud Times]

Apparently, former Fighting Sioux forward Jonathan Toews is trying to get Phoenix Coyotes forward Shane Doan to sign with the Blackhawks. [Rant Sports]

According to Darren Dreger of TSN – Penguins star forward Sidney Crosby Penguins will sign a new long-term contract extension worth than $9 million and a total value over $100 million. [ESPN.COM]

According to NESN, the Boston Bruins are close to re-signing Tuuka Rask. [NESN.COM]

While I am not a fan of Montreal Canadians defenseman P.K. Subban or his bush league antics – I am quickly becoming a big fan of his little brother Malcolm Subban, who was drafted in the first round by the Boston Bruins. Get those recorders rolling – Bruins first-round pick Malcolm Subban is already on record as saying that he hates the Montreal Canadians. [CBS Boston]

According to Michael Russo - the oft injured power forward - Guillaume Latendresse's playing days with the Minnesota Wild are now over - Latendresse will test the free agency market starting on July first.

From the Same article Russo says that, "The Wild's contract offer to Parise on Sunday will be, let's just say, absolutely colossal." As a Wild fan this makes me happy.

According to the AP - A judge has upheld the Glendale City Council's vote on an arena lease agreement with a prospective owner of the Phoenix Coyotes.

Former Fighting Sioux defenseman Brian Lee has been resigned by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Lee’s contract is a two year deal, and also a one-way contract.

Former Fighting Sioux All-American Forward Zach Parise is listed as one of the top dozen free agents [NHL.COM]

Also, from that same article linked above – former WCHA alumni Ryan Suter (UW), Nashville, Jason Garrison (UMD), Florida, Justin Schultz (UW), Anaheim and Matt Carle (DU), Philadelphia – are also included in that dozen. Impressive fact is that five out of the top 12 available free agents that also have ties to the WCHA. That speaks volumes on what kind of league the WCHA is. [NHL.COM]

Justin Schultz has given his list of teams that he will sign with, they are as follows the Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators and Edmonton Oilers. [TSN.CA]

Former Boston College Eagle goalie Cory Schneider doesn't seem all that worried about not having a new contract as of yet. [TSN.CA]

Here is the latest from the CBA front - Donald Fehr, ‘says season could start on time even without agreement.’

Blue & white scrimmage will stream live

If you want to watch former Fighting Sioux forward Brock Nelson play tonight during the Blue and white scrimmage the New York Islanders are going to stream it live. There are a few other names that you might recognize as well; Scott Mayfield, Matt Donovan and Aaron Ness. Just to name a few.

Courtesy of the SoundTigers.com ---- The New York Islanders announced today that tickets for their intrasquad Blue & White Scrimmage on Thursday, June 28 at 6:30 p.m. at Islanders Iceworks are on sale now. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and warm-ups begin at 6 p.m.

The 2012 Blue & White Scrimmage at Islanders Iceworks has sold out of all available tickets for the game, raising over $5,000 for the Islanders Children’s Foundation. For fans not attending the event, IslandersTV will broadcast a live stream on NewYorkIslanders.com Thursday night, beginning with warm-ups at 6 p.m. for a 6:30 puck drop.

This year’s contest features prospects from this past weekend’s Draft, players from junior hockey, college/university, Europe and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. Blue team members include Kirill Kabanov, Scott Mayfield, Brock Nelson, Griffin Reinhart, Ryan Strome and Johan Sundstrom, while some of the top prospects suiting up in white jerseys this year are Casey Cizikas, Nino Niederreiter, John Persson, Mike Halmo and Ville Pokka.

The annual prospect scrimmage gives fans a glimpse of the Islanders future stars. This year’s contest features top prospects Ryan Strome (5th overall in 2011), Nino Niederreiter (5th overall in 2010), Brock Nelson (30th overall in 2010) and Johan Sundstrom (50th overall in 2011), among others. Also set to take the ice are several prospects who saw time with the Islanders last season, including Casey Cizikas, Calvin de Haan, Matt Donovan and Aaron Ness.

UW and UND to continue series after both teams leave the WCHA

There is some really good news to pass along. According to the beat writer for the Wisconsin Badgers Andy Baggot – UND and Wisconsin will continue their historic and heated rivalry after both teams leave the WCHA for the B1G and the NCHA after next season.

2014-15 -- UW has tentative agreements to host North Dakota.

2015-16 -- UW has tentative agreements to play a series at North Dakota.

2016-17 -- UW has tentative agreements to host a series North Dakota.

2017-18 -- UW has a tentative agreement to play a series at North Dakota.

This is good news for Badger and Fighting Sioux hockey fans, the Wisconsin and UND series is one of the most heated rivalries in all of college hockey. Both programs also have a lot of respect for each other.

During his career at UND, head coach Dave Hakstol has a 12-14-2 record against the Wisconsin Badgers. Wisconsin is one of two WCHA teams that Dave Hakstol does not have a winning record against, the other team is Denver 12-15-1. During his tenure at UND Hakstol has also compiled a 3-1 record against Wisconsin in the WCHA and NCAA playoffs.