Fernandez update, Friday morning
Posted on June 22nd, 2007 – 11:30 AMBy Michael Russo
Wild continues to work on Fernandez trade. Still in contact seriously with what I’m told three teams — Boston, Phoenix and possibly Toronto.
Florida, I’ve been told, is looking at Belfour-Bryzgalov, Belfour-Toskala tandem. Panthers also used to have Chris Mason (great story on how they lost him which I’ll share one day), and they are interested in him (Mason, whom I’m tight with, is the anti-goalie by the way, as in completely sane and cool). Incidentally, contrary to the contradictions out there, I will tell you 100 percent that Tomas Vokoun can be had for the right price.
Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli met with reporters 10 minutes ago. He wouldn’t comment on Fernandez but said prices were high. I was told this morning Risebrough is trying to squeeze as much as he can out of teams prior to tonight’s draft. Also, if the Wild flip picks with Boston, it would wait until before the pick to make the trade to ensure a player it wants is available — possibly Derham Hall’s Ryan McDonagh.
I understand Risebrough trying to squeeze as much out of teams as possible, but he better be careful. Fernandez is still a moody, soon-to-be 33-year-old coming off a knee injury. Teams interested have to still be hesitant about it, so this can easily implode with guys like Bryzgalov, Toskala, CuJo, Gerber (ugh), Auld, Vokoun/Mason, one of the Bruins goalies, being bantered about. And whether the Wild admits it or not, it needs to unload Fernandez just to get a live body in here and a few extra bucks to throw around in July.
Although Toskala should get dealt today, probably to Leafs, which should help Risebrough a little more with Boston and Phoenix.
Stay tuned.
50 Responses to "Fernandez update, Friday morning"
Just to reiterate, Canadian media is reporting that the Leafs are getting Toskala from San Jose, if they can ink him to an extension. They may well still be talking to Minnesota, but probably only as a contingency plan. Looks like its down to Boston and Phoenix…
The Globe & Mail’s story has now been reworded to say that the trade is officially done. The story is here, by the way…
It’s also on the TSN homepage.
Was San Jose’s GM wearing a ski-mask?
Ouch, Toronto, thats weak.
Manny’s impending deal is looking alot greater after giggy signing and now this fleece job.
Wow! Three draft picks for Toskala and a throw-in?!? And now the Leafs have the money tied up in Raycroft, plus they want to sign Toskala to an extension? Ferguson’s a pretty shrewd GM, I think, (he’s the guy that got John Pohl for nothing - literally nothing - from St. Louis) but he’s feeling a little heat in Toronto after missing the playoffs, and this smacks of desperation.
Toskala is a legit number one goalie for a team that needs one badly.
This is suppose to be a weak draft year so the 13th pick does not ensure a great player by any means. Good move Toronto.
Eklund (I know, I know, I know) says it could be PJ Axelsson coming west along with the draft swap if Fernandez goes to Boston. That would square nicely with what Russo said Risebrough’s looking for.
Toskala may be a legit #1 (I think he is,) but word out of Toronto is that GM John Ferguson still likes Andrew Raycroft, and that it looks to be a tandem situation.
yeah, it would square nicely because Eklund is reading this blog for his rumors - Eky, if you’re reading this - hello!
Heh. I wasn’t gonna say it…
Mark Bell isn’t technically a throw-in. He had a REALLY bad year last year with the Sharks. They were really high on him when the acquired him (they gave up Preissing for him). Maybe Toronto thinks they can revive him, but still a really good deal for the Sharks.
My gut tells me the Sharks made Toronto take Bell - to clear up cap space. For what, the word is drury - but I have no clue. But they were certainly looking to clear space - because they could have traded toskala straight up.
I wonder why the sharks are always interested in more scoring. I think they should invest in the D core.
I think they are only interested in Drury because they’re going to get rid of Marleau.
Yeah, why is that, by the way? I love Marleau - why does San Jose think they’d be better off without him?
Looks like Toskola just got traded to Toronto! The plot thickens!!
Sam - Marleau was a no-show in the playoffs, especially vs. Detroit. Wilson wants him out.
Hm. Seems shortsighted to me. Anyone can have a bad month, and Marleau’s been awfully good for that team overall. I’m sure there won’t be any shortage of interest…
Is anyone excited about getting Axelsson? He’s 6′1″, 189, and last year he was 10/18/28 with a -10. Essentially, he’s Radivojevic, except five years older and almost three times the salary. And I’d much rather have Branko going into the corners than a “chicken Swede,” (to quote Don Cherry.) If Toskala’s worth three draft picks, I think we need to get a lot more coming our way.
Excited? No. Satisfied, if the #8 picks nets us Ryan McDonagh? Yes.
And let’s not forget that Phoenix is still apparently in the mix. If Risebrough got either their #3 pick or Keith Ballard, I’d be pretty happy with that.
I’m not a big fan of Axelsson myself. I’d like to get picks and Kalus if we can - then sign a few UFAs for our center needs.
I’m not excited about Axelsson either… he costs a lot for a guy that will be fighting with SRV for the 4th line wing spot, but if it nets us a couple of picks (1st and 3rd maybe?), than I’ll take him.
This is the second time you’ve mentioned Petr Kalus, Zen. Any particular reason you’re so high on him? He’s certainly one of Boston’s top prospects, but that’s really not saying much. Also, they’re a terrible team looking to rebuild from within, so I can’t imagine Chiarella being willing to deal prospects at all…
Kalus plays with an edge. I think he would fit nicely, future powerforward. He’s cheap too. I’m sure it is a pipedream…..
Get a D-man (Ballard, Alberts etc) and a pick for Manny. That’d be cool with me.
I feel if I have to see SRV for another year, fine, also Irmen is lurking ready to be a 3rd-4th liner.
by the way, its good to be back talking hockey, I love the summer but….
C’mon trade!! I have no patience.
If we get Ballard and a high pick for Manny (1st or 2nd), I think Gretzky will make sure his GM is fired before the end of the 2nd day of the draft.
It’s a nice dream to have but we need to be realistic. We’re not going to get Wheeler, Kessel or Bergeron either.
Risebrough will screw it up somehow. He’s a moron.
Mike - nice to have you back. That’s kind of harsh though, even for you.
Harsh or not, I have no faith is Risebrough. Too many pucks to the head. He’s got to go.
Harsh or not, I have no faith in Risebrough. Too many pucks to the head. He’s got to go.
Harsh or not, I have no faith in Risebrough. Too many pucks to the head. He’s got to go.
Whoops! (internet connection is slow today).
Who better fits the “moron” category: The GM of a team that just made the playoffs, or a guy who posts the same thing three times in a row?
So, I’ve read in several places recently that the Mild aren’t going to be players in free agency, prefering to sit on the sidelines and count their money, and are ready to let Skoula walk and are attempting to virtually give away Schultz in a deal for the equivalent of some stale hot dog buns (ostensibly to used at the season home opener?).
More proof that the Mild’s owner(s), management, including the GM “genius”, are a group of cheap suck-asses with absoloutley no intention of ever being a legitimate Cup contender, for ever and ever, amen. So, for the average fan, nay, lemming, what’s the point of it?
Awesome! Mike is BACK!!!
Care to let us in on what those “several places” are? ‘Cause I read just about every authoritative hockey site there is, and I’ve seen more or less no coverage of what the Wild intend to do in free agency beyond what’s appeared on this blog and in various generic roundups on national sites.
As for letting Skoula walk, that can’t happen soon enough for me…
Dude! Russo nailed the Vokoun/Florida rumor!
http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=211566&hubname=nhl
That leaves two legit #1 goalies for Boston and Phoenix. Risebrough’s gotta be salivating…
Oh. Whoops. That’ll teach me not to refresh. Russo put it up almost an hour ago. See, this is why I shouldn’t wander away from my computer on draft day…
Mike, you seem a little bitter. I have to say that watching all these expansion teams and how they build a club I am more then happy with Risebrough! Look we have brought a number of guys along slowly, bouchard, burns, and even koivu(he wasn’t drafted but was brought along in the same way!) We have built a team that has great chemistry unlike teams like the rangers of the past 10 yrs and several other spend big for big names. We have guys who play together and know where each other is on the ice. Right now we cannot say our talent is as high as the red wings but, I can see similarities that make me happy. The NHL is not like the NFL or NBA, it doesn’t happen over night! I agree they need to spend some money, they need to get out from under Manny’s contract right now though and they need to either bring in a top player(not going to happen) or get draft picks. He has set himself up well to do that tonight. He made a big trade to bring in Demitra last year and where would we be with out that? Can you say no records setting season or playoffs?! There is a new thing it is called a salary cap, have you heard of it?! Get off his back, we don’t have huge money to spend and unless we can unload Manny and for draft picks they will have nothing to spend. Schultz has been a player that is supposed to be playing at a higher level. When we went to the playoffs the first time his potential seemed exceedingly high. He hasn’t gotten much better and we need cap relief to bring in some bigger players. We lost to the Champs in the playoffs and other then Detroit we played them the toughest, period! Every game was a one goal game but the final, they simply were too big for us! We need to get bigger and in order to get players like that here we need cap room! Dont be stupid!
Noah - you said Koivu wasn’t drafted - did I hear you right? He was drafted sixth overall by the Wild in 2001.
Excuse me - “READ you right”
You know you are right, for some reason I thought he was a pick up a couple of years ago but, that just makes my point even more valid!
Risebrough is a good GM and with the new salary cap every team has to feel their way through the first couple of years and I think the Wild have set themselves up very well! If they make a few moves correctly this year we could be a top contender come next year. We had high hopes this year but, we just were not quite there. If we played any one other then SJ or AN we would have moved past the first round, those two teams are just too big and like to stand you up at the blue line! We don’t have an answer yet but, that is what the off season and draft is for. Risebrough has proven himself very good the last couple of years!
I agree noah, Risebrough has made some pretty solid decisions and I think holding off on trading Manny to get what he can is smart. If it doesn’t pan out with Boston or Phoenix before they pick, the option to simply dump his salary for a cheap price is still there as a last resort.
The only thing that I am not convinced about is the whether or not the Wild make any aggressive moves in free agency. But here’s hoping…
Yeah, thats some ‘proof’ there Mike. Speculation and rumor always amount to proof. Pfft.
By the way isn’t owning a team the same as running a business? Isn’t the goal to make money? Why are we bashing our team for being a money maker, that just means they are going to be around for a long time and we don’t have to worry about the ‘pour NHL’ contracting us. Soon they are going to need to look at that, the league is getting watered down and some teams are still losing money.
Noah, I agree. Especially about previous drafts by the Wild. It takes time to build a perpetual winner.
It does not occur overnight and there are setbacks along the way.
Also, if the Wild do not make money, we do not get what we want either.
For some reason, everyone looks at an organization that makes money suspiciously and expects them to be entirely philanthropic.
If the Wild do not prosper, nobody gets what they want.
If they do prosper, then we have a successful franchise and the fans get to appreciate great hockey for a long time to come.
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