Is it still possible that Sundin move before the deadline.

Toronto Maple Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher might still be able to persuade Sundin to waive his no-trade, news out of Toronto is that Sundin won’t waive it, so unless a team like Anaheim offers Bobby Ryan, Edmonton’s first pick which they have rights to, and a roster player to the Leafs which would be an incredible offer. News of Sundin saying he won’t waive it is an astute move by an exceptional General Manager in Fletcher, who can now drive Sundin’s price sky-high in the trade sweepstakes. There’s a chance although a small one Sundin will be traded, it all hinges on the other team to come up with an incredible trade offer to GM Cliff Fletcher.

Meanwhile, Bill updates us on what’s happening with the Minnesota Wild. Apparently not a whole lot, and Wild fans aren’t too happy about it.

It is totally quiet here in the Twin Cities. Mark my words…Doug Risebrough will not part with young talent. Falling into 2nd place behind Calgary…don’t be surprised if the Wild are sellers, not buyers (which, by the way, is starting to anger season ticket holders). If they sell or do nothing before tomorrow’s deadline, the sports pages and sports radio shows here will be noisy for sure.

That would definitely be an unexpected move by Risebrough. I was sure the Wild would try to bolster their roster before the deadline.

Svitov, who was to earn $1 million this season and $1.25 million in 2008-09 after signing a two-year deal with the Blue Jackets this June, has signed a multi-year deal with Avangard Omsk of the Russian Super League.

“We were informed by Alexander’s agent today that he has signed a contract to play with Avangard Omsk this season,” Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson said in a statement Friday.

“We will explore the situation in greater detail with respect to Alexander’s contract status and will make a decision after reviewing our options. While this news comes as a disappointment, it creates an opportunity for other players when we open training camp next month.”

In 76 games for the Blue Jackets, the 24-year-old Svitov registered career-highs in goals (7) and assists (11).

According to his agent, Brian Lawton, the deal will pay Saprykin more than $1.5 million per season and contains an out-clause that will allow him to “return to the NHL after each year of the deal.”

“In reality, it’s a one-year deal,” Lawton said. “Oleg wants to play in Russia, have a big offensive year and then have a chance to be a top six guy in the NHL.”

Saprykin became an unrestricted free agent when the Senators managed to void the $1.064 million qualifying offer tendered to him by former GM John Muckler before he was fired in June.

“John made him a qualifying offer, but [current Senators GM] Bryan [Murray] basically released him,” Lawton said.

Murray wanted nothing to do with Saprykin.

“He thought he should have been considered a higher level of player than we did,” Murray said.

The feeling was mutual, apparently, as Saprykin did not have a great time in Ottawa either.

“His experience soured him on Ottawa,” said Lawton from his office in Minnesota.

“While he was pleased to get another chance to play in the final, he would’ve liked to have contributed more.”

Craig’s arbitration hearing was held on Friday in Toronto, where it is believed that he was seeking a one-year, $1.2 million deal. The Lightning were offering the same term, but at $650,000 per season.

“We appreciate the fact that the Arbitrator weighed all the evidence presented and awarded what we believe is a very reasonable contract for this player,” said Lightning general manager Jay Feaster said. “We had consistently discussed a negotiated arrangement with Ryan that always had us starting at the $750,000 mark and we believe the award in this case is consistent with our thinking. The good news is that Ryan will now be under contract for the 2007-08 season and the amount of the award will not force our hand in terms of having to move the player.”

Craig, 25, has scored 29 goals and recorded 55 points in 120 NHL games. In 2005-06, he tied for second most goals by a rookie in Lightning history with 15.

The Kings’ leading scorer will earn $3.1 million this season and $3.6 million in 2008-09.

That is a substantially lower salary than the $6 million per season Cammalleri was asking for during an arbitration hearing was last Thursday in Toronto. It’s believed that the Kings were countering Cammalleri’s demands with a $2.6 million per season offer.

“We got there the hard way,” Kings GM Dean Lombardi told the [Los Angeles] Times. “Nobody wins at these things. I think it is safe to say it came out closer to our end. But these situations aren’t for winning and losing.”

“The challenge for him and the team is to go to another level,” Lombardi told the Times. “He had a good year last year, but it’s one year and the team still has not had success.”

“Patrice is a seasoned veteran who brings a vast experience at the NHL level. His presence adds depth to our group of defensemen,” said Bob Gainey.

While no financial terms have been released yet, reports surfaced last week that the Canadiens were interested in bring back Brisebois and had offered $700,000 per season.

The 36-year-old blueliner spent the last two season with the Colorado Avalanche, where he scored 11 goals and recorded 38 assists in 113 games. Prior to that, Brisebois spent the first 14 seasons of his career with the Canadiens.

The Islanders now have 48 hours to accept or decline the arbitrator’s decision. If the club decides to walk away from the ruling, Hunter will become an unrestricted free agent.

However, it’s expected that the Islanders — who have plenty of salary cap space to work with — will accept the ruling.

The 27-year-old Hunter scored 20 goals and recorded 15 assists last season, while earning $1 million.

The Anaheim Ducks have decided not to match the five-year, $21.25 million offer tendered to Penner last Thursday by the Oilers.

As compensation, the Ducks will receive the Oilers’ first, second and third-round picks in next summer’s NHL Entry Draft.

That is $700,000 less than the restricted free agent asked for in his arbitration hearing last Monday in Toronto, and $600,000 more than the Rangers were offering. Avery earned $1.1 million last season.

While the Rangers harshly criticized Avery in their arbitration brief, the club appears to be in good spirits about the decision handed down.

“We are pleased to have Sean under contract and are looking forward to him returning with the same passion and enthusiasm he brought to our team last year,” Rangers general manager Glen Sather said in a release. “He is a terrific competitor, who we expect to play a significant role in a successful season.”

The only question remains whether the bitter words used by the Rangers to describe Avery in this ugly process has soured the feisty forward on the Blue Shirts.

Markkanen has reportedly signed a one-year with Jokerit of the Finnish Elite League.

In 22 games with the Edmonton Oilers last season, Markkanen compiled a 5-9-1 with a 2.15 goal against average.

“It was always in the back of my mind that it would be interesting to play overseas near the end of my career,” said McLennan via e-mail, “so, when the opportunity was there, I looked at it.”

The reason that the opportunity presented itself — for McLennan to play in Russia — is because NHL teams had no interest in signing the 10-season veteran.

“My agent had conversations with (NHL) teams,” he said, “but nothing concrete came about, so it was tough to wait. There (are) a lot of great goalies still available. As far as the Flames, it’s a great opportunity for one of the young guys (either Brent Krahn or Curtis McElhinney) to step up and show their stuff. When you have Kipper, it will be nice for a young guy to learn from him.”

Still, the 36-year-old native of Edmonton admits he would have loved to remain with the Calgary Flames.

“It is sad in a way,” he said, “because with the hiring of Mike (Keenan, for whom McLennan worked in St. Louis and Florida), he along with Darryl (Sutter) are two of the people I respect and admire most in the NHL. He’s a great coach, and the guys will find out what he brings to the table right away. Hands down, along with Jimmy (Playfair), Rich (Preston), Wayne (Fleming), Cookie (Rob Cookson) and Dave (Marcoux), that is the best coaching staff in the league, so not being a part of that will be sad.”

The three-year deal will pay Stempniak $1.5 million next season, $2.5 million in 2008-09 and $3.5 million in 2009-10 for a total of $7.5 million.

The 24 year-old forward scored 27 goals and accumulated 52 points in 82 games for the Blues last season.

Stempniak had filed for arbitration last month, and was scheduled to attend a hearing on July 31. However, with a new contract under his belt, that has been averted.

In an attempt to replace former assistant general manager Don Maloney (now the GM in Phoenix), the Rangers named Schoenfeld assistant GM in charge of player personnel. Schoenfeld will also retain his title and duties as the GM of the Rangers’ AHL affiliate.

“Jim has done a great job developing our young talent and prospects,” Rangers GM Glen Sather said in a statement. “Our organizational philosophy is to build within, and Jim’s keen eye for talent at every level has proven successful in building our organization.”

The Rangers have also promoted Cameron Hope, the club’s former vice-president of hockey administration, research and development. Hope now becomes assistant GM in charge of hockey administration.

In other moves, Gordie Clark “goes from head amateur scout to director, player personnel,” while Jim Hammett, a former head scout with Canada’s men’s programs, will take over Clark’s role as head amateur scout. PR man John Rosasco becomes vice-president, public relations and player recruitment. Ken Gernander was named head coach of the Rangers’ AHL team.

The deal will pay the career tough guy a base salary of $475,000 and $325,000 in a games played bonus.

“I take a lot of pride in being an Islander and I didn’t consider playing anywhere else this season but on Long Island,” said Simon. “Everyone knows the respect I have for Ted Nolan but it goes well beyond that. Everyone connected with the Islanders, from the owner to the fans, have been first-class. I cannot wait to get the season started.”

Simon, who is still to serve five games of a 25-game suspension stemming from an incident last year, has a lot of support within the organization.

“Our staff was unanimous in wanting to bring Chris Simon back,” said general manager Garth Snow. “He’s an outstanding leader and year after year he contributes on the offensive end.”

Those sentiments were echoed by the club’s head coach.

“Chris is just one of those old school guys who gave our team a little bit of everything last season,” said Islanders head coach Ted Nolan, who coached Simon in junior hockey with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. “We can’t overstate Si’s leadership. He’ll have a big role with our team, just like last season.”

Going the other way is Swedish forward prospect Carl Soderberg, who played 31 games for Malmo IF of the Swedish Elite League.

“This is a very good player,” [Bruins GM Peter] Chiarelli said. “He’s fallen under the radar a bit because he was expected to make the Blues last year but was suspended, went back (to Sweden) and got hurt. But he’s got good size, good puck awareness. He had a good year over there, and that’s a good league.”

“I expect him to come here and contend for a big league job,” Chiarelli said.

Last season, Toivonen split time between the NHL and Boston’s AHL’s affiliate the Providence Bruins. In 18 games with the big club, Toivonen went 3-9-1 with a 4.23 goals-against average. He was primarily used as the back-up.

“Hannu was caught in between a little bit in what I call our succession plan, with Tuukka for the future and Manny [Fernandez] and Tim (Thomas) in the present,” Chiarelli said. “But Hannu is a good person. We felt he would be better suited to develop somewhere else. We felt the duo of Manny and Tim would be a highly competitive, experienced duo.”

The two sides agreed to a three-year deal worth $9.5 million moments before they were supposed to head into a salary arbitration hearing.

“It was a difficult negotiation,” Emery’s agent J.P. Barry told The Canadian Press. “Senators GM Bryan Murray and I started pretty far apart but we worked hard to close the gap and were able to do so this morning after Bryan was able to speak with [Senators owner Eugene Melnyk].”

Hugh Adami of The Ottawa Citizen reported before the signing was announced that Barry was trying hard to avoid heading to arbitration. Barry was exploring a variety of options with Murray, including a two-year, three-year, and four-year contract for Emery.

In the end they settled on a deal that will pay Emery $2.75 million next season, $3.25 million in 2008-09 and $3.5 million in 2009-10, for a salary cap hit of $3.16 million per season. The contract will take him right into unrestricted free agency.

As the Senator’s starter last season, Emery led the team to a Stanley Cup final appearance. During the regular season, he compiled a 33-16-6 record with a 2.47 goals-against average and .918 save percentage. In the post season, Emery went 13-7 with a 2.26 GAA and .907 save percentage.

“Alexei has a history with Yaroslavl, having played several games for them during the lockout,” Todd Diamond, who represents Yashin along with Mark Gandler, told CP on Friday. “He feels comfortable with them, having a North American coach (Paul Gardner) and a former teammate, Randy Robitaille, being there as well next season.”

According to his agent, Yashin choose to play for Yaroslavl because the club put forth a strong effort in getting him signed. And while NHL teams did inquire about his client’s services, it’s believed that many of them made low-ball offers, something that the Russian forward was not interested in pursuing.

“They came after him very strongly,” said Diamond.

“Right now the city is electric, everyone is excited, the arena will be packed and Alexei will play hard.”

So, it appears that Yashin’s NHL career will be put on hold for now. According to The Canadian Press, the contract signed by Yashin “does not include an out clause to return to the NHL next season.”

“He’s going to go there and have a great year… We’ll see where we are 10 months from now.”

Yashin was bought out this off-season by the New York Islanders with four season remaining in a 10-year, $87.5 million contract signed in 2001.

The unrestricted free agent has agreed to a one year deal with HC Sparta Prague, the Czech Republic’s club champion.

“Petr will be a huge draw for our fans, and due to many years of experience in the NHL we also expect him to take a large share of responsibility (for the team),” Sparta manager Petr Briza said in a statement.

In 42 games with the Philadelphia Flyers and Edmonton Oilers last season, Nedved only scored 12 points (2 goals and 10 assists). Throughout his NHL career, the Czech native has accumulated 310 goals and 407 assists for 717 points in 982 games.

The move is essentially a salary dump by the Senators, clearing about $1.175 million in salary cap space. Schaefer has a $2.1 million, while Donovan counts for $925,000 against the cap.

However, the trade also gives the Senators cap relief long-term. Schaefer’s contract expires after the 2009-10 season, while Donovan becomes an unrestricted free agent at the end of the upcoming season.

“I think it’ll be just like jumping right back in, picking up where I left off,” the veteran centre told The Canadian Press on Tuesday after rejoining the Carolina Hurricanes in a trade from the New York Rangers.

In exchange, the Rangers will receive defenseman Andrew Hutchinson, forward Joe Barnes and a third-round pick in next year’s NHL entry draft.

“[Hutchinson is] not a player that I was excited about letting go,” said Rutherford. “He serves a good purpose for us. But at the same time, he doesn’t play in our top six defence, so with the addition of (Dennis) Seidenberg and as long as we stay healthy, it made him expendable.”

Cullen found himself on the trade block after the Rangers signed forwards Scott Gomez and Chris Drury on the first day of free agency. And that’s when Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford swooped in.

“Once they made the deal for the two centres, I made the call to see if they would consider doing that and we’ve worked on it since then,” Rutherford said Tuesday.

“Certainly after they signed Gomez and Drury I thought there might be a chance of me being moved,” said Cullen. “And if I was going to be moved I really wanted it to be back to Carolina. So I’m thrilled.”