Latest Headlines on OCRegister.com
[x] Close
Ducks blog ~ The latest on the Anaheim Ducks, by the Orange County Register Sports staff
« Previous Post
Next Post »

Speculation heats up on Ducks’ free agents

July 1st, 2009, 11:55 am · 3 Comments · posted by Dan Wood, Staff writer

Three hours into the first day of the NHL’s annual free-agent signing season, Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer and fellow defenseman Francois Beauchemin remained on the market, as did Montreal Canadiens captain Saku Koivu.

Canadian television outlet TSN reported that the Vancouver Canucks, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues and New Jersey Devils, with whom Niedermayer played from 1992-2004, had interest in the former Norris Trophy winner.

TSN also reported that Beauchemin’s asking price is an average of $4.5 million over four years, which is almost certainly too expensive for the Ducks’ taste.

Koivu, apparently being cast aside by Montreal, might be a fit centering the Ducks’ second line, depending on his contract demands. Koivu and Ducks right wing Teemu Selanne are close friends and have played together internationally for Finland.

“That’s probably the best fit for Koivu,” TSN hockey analyst Pierre McGuire said.

The Minnesota Wild, which features Koivu’s younger brother, Mikko Koivu, is also believed to have interest in Saku Koivu.

Related stories:

 

Share this post:
  • E-mail this story to a friend!
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Fark
  • StumbleUpon
  • TwitThis
ADVERTISEMENT

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

 3 Comments

  • Wooster11 says:
    July 1, 2009 at 1:15 pm

    Getting Saku Koivu would be awesome, but I just don’t see how that will fit with the resigning of Wisnieski (sp?) and some other RFA’s. As well as “shoring” up the defense.

  • The Hegemo says:
    July 1, 2009 at 2:19 pm

    Koivu. Make it happen, Murray.

  • Jack says:
    July 1, 2009 at 2:35 pm

    Koivu would be great, but these big names tell me that Jiggy is being shopped. It’s the only way they can fit these guys under the cap. If they can Send Jiggy to Toronto for prospects and draft picks, would they have enough to match Frank’s offer? They need to find a way to keep him!!!