The NHL didn't have any huge stories develop on Monday after the draft weekend, but there's quite a few notables worth mentioning.
Personally, I don't think there's any better way to start an article than this screen cap courtesy of Puck Central. The Edmonton Journal managed to make the elusive double typo in the headline, and I'm sure someone in the office is shaking their head in disgust/laughter right now.
For the record, that probably was supposed to say "Wooing Bonner," in reference to Scott Bonner of Vancouver.
A lot of players hitting the waiver wire today, including Jonathan Cheechoo of the Ottawa Senators, Ales Kotalik of the Calgary Flames, and Petteri Nokelainen of the Phoenix Coyotes, all en route to a probable buyout.
Kotalik and Cheechoo are the two biggest stories here, as both are making a nice chunk of change for doing next to nothing. Kotalik will be making $6,000,000 over the next two seasons, and Cheechoo $3,000,000 on the last year of his contract.
Buying both of the players out will still result in a slight cap hit, but will give the Flames and Senators slightly more flexibility moving forward.
The Philadelphia Flyers are in pursuit of both Evgeni Nabokov and Marty Turco, and have made a contract offer to the latter. Turco turned down a three year, $6,000,000 deal, and stated he did so because he wants to explore all of free agency before making a decision.
According to CSN Philly and PC, Nabokov could be looking for $5M-6M per, which is a tremendously large number for a goalie who hasn't had a ton of post-season success. The Flyers will try and work around that number, but one has to wonder if the Flyers will pull the trigger on such a large contract if forced against the wall.
In case one is wondering, neither situation is considered tampering. The Flyers have been given permission by both San Jose and Dallas to make an offer to Nabokov and Turco, respectively.
Dallas is letting Philadelphia negotiate early in the hopes that a deal can be quietly reached. Dallas can then trade Turco to the Flyers for a conditional pick, and it's a win/win for both parties. The Flyers are really walking the tight rope with this, though, and I'm surprised we haven't heard more.
