NHL Rumor Wire – May 6th, 2011

Philadelphia Flyers‘ Ian Laperriere was injured while blocking a shot in last years playoffs, after being struck with the puck on his eye. It seems the injury is going to force him to retire.

From QMI (Canoe.ca)

"Currently inactive, injured his eye and a victim to various injuries, Laperriere told in an interview with the show The Game on Thursday on the LCN and TVA, the state of his eye has not improved.“I think it’s over,” he said. I have nothing to regret because I had a great career. “"

Montreal Canadiens‘ Andrei Kostitsyn will become a restricted free agent on July 1st. If the Canadiens choose to qualify him, he is entitled to a one-year qualifying offer equal to his current $3.25 million salary. He can also take it to arbitration if he does not like the offer.  Would Kostitsyn take the Canadiens to arbitration, if the opportunity arises?

From Arpon Basu (CTV.ca)

"The best comparable I can find for Kostitsyn is Kris Versteeg, who had 21 goals and 25 assists at a salary of just under $3.1 million. Kostitsyn had 20 goals and 25 assists. Dustin Brown is in the same salary range at $3.175 million and produced 28 goals and 29 assists, while Alex Frolov was paid $3 million and produced just 16 points in 43 games.But really, I doubt Kostitsyn would choose arbitration if the Canadiens were to qualify him, because having another year to prove himself at that salary number would probably be pretty appealing to him with unrestricted free agency awaiting him in the summer of 2012.So the question is do the Canadiens give Kostitsyn a qualifying offer for $3.25 million, or do they let him walk as an unrestricted free agent this summer for nothing?"

Nicklas Lidstrom signed a one-year contract last summer to play his 19th NHL season with the Detroit Red Wings. Now at the age of 41, the question to be answered is, will he back back for his 20th season?.

From Jeff Sanford (DetroitRedWings.com)

"DETROIT – Could the moment Detroit’s fans have been dreading finally be here? Will Friday’s Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals be the last time we see Nicklas Lidstrom skating at Joe Louis Arena?It’s possible, since the Wings are in a 0-3 series hole to the San Jose Sharks, and Lidstrom signed a one-year contract last summer to play in a 19th NHL season in Detroit.After Thursday’s Red Wings practice, the 41-year-old Lidstrom contemplated his future. But for now, the Wings’ captain and Hockeytown legend wants to focus on the series at hand."

Surprise!, The Philadelphia Flyers are having goalies issues again. Adam Proteau of The Hockey News, has a solution. The solution? Pay for a goalie…..

From Adam Proteau (The Hockey News)

"But that’s no excuse. If freeing up enough money for a top-shelf goalie means the Flyers must cut in to some of that built up roster depth at forward or on the blueline, if it means saying goodbye to a beloved, but ultimately expendable guy such as Scott Hartnell, Jeff Carter or Matt Carle, so be it. The alternative, the status quo, is simply unacceptable.Even if Holmgren decides he doesn’t want to spend upwards of $6 million a season on an unproven playoff goalie like Bryzgalov or Vokoun, there are other options the Flyers can pursue. Maybe Holmgren has to bowl over Vancouver counterpart Mike Gillis with a can’t-be-rejected offer for Canucks No. 2 Cory Schneider. Perhaps the Predators can be persuaded to part ways with backup Anders Lindback, or maybe Buffalo would listen to an offer for Ryan Miller’s understudy, Jhonas Enroth.None of those options are bulletproof, but at this point they’ve all got far fewer bullet holes in them than the Flyers’ current setup. After so much heart-wrenching agony watching the current trio flail and fail, Flyers fans realize it is high time for a change in their team’s goalie-comes-after-everything-else philosophy."

Defensman James Wisniewski enjoyed his time with the Montreal Canadiens. He will be a free agent on July 1st and knows that it will be tough for Canadiens to re-sign him.

From Marc Antoine Godin (Cyberpresse.ca) (Roughly Translated)

"“I do not think the Canadian is so close to the salary cap and it will still much money to spend, first asked Wisniewski. But does that mean they will want to keep me?“You could say that the team may have to choose between me and Andrei Markov. There is no doubt that I would really like to play with a defender the caliber of Markov, but we must not forget that PK Subban will be entitled to a sharp increase after next season and the salary of Carey Price will also inflate .“Everything depends on the path that the Canadian account borrow.” However, Markov’s agent, Don Meehan, said at The Associated Press yesterday that he would discuss his client’s case with Pierre Gauthier by the end of the month May."

Detroit Red Wings‘ Mike Modano, may have played his final NHL game. He postponed retirement last summer to sign with his hometown team, for another chance at the cup.

From Ansar Khan (MLive.com)

"Being a healthy scratch on a team that will try to avoid being swept out of the second round of the playoffs is not how the future Hall-of-Fame center envisioned ending his career.Modano doesn’t know if he’ll be in the lineup Friday night in Game 4 against the San Jose Sharks. If the Red Wings lose, it might be Modano’s final game. Or, he already might have played his last game.“It certainly crossed my mind after (Game 3) and today that this could be it,” Modano said. “It came quick, but you hate to think this scenario and maybe we can extend it a little longer.”"

The Minnesota Wild are still in search of a new head coach. According to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune, Craig MacTavish has emerged as a strong candidate.

From Michael Russo (Star Tribune)

"With the Wild in the early stages of its deliberate search to find a replacement for Todd Richards, veteran coach Craig MacTavish has emerged as a strong candidate.According to multiple league sources, the former Edmonton Oilers coach has had a handful of conversations with Chuck Fletcher and was recently interviewed by the Wild general manager at a Toronto hotel.The 52-year-old MacTavish, who coached the Oilers from 2000 to ’09, has been unwilling to talk about any of the NHL coaching vacancies other than to say he’s “recharged” and ready to return to coaching."

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