Buffalo Sabres trade captain Jason Pominville to Wild for prospects, picks

Buffalo Sabres trade captain Jason Pominville to Wild for prospects, picks

Apr 3, 2013 Written by Kevin Oklobzija

Even though Buffalo Sabres general manager Darcy Regier refused to use the word “rebuilding,” Wednesday’s trade of captain Jason Pominville to the Minnesota Wild said it for him.

Hackett and Larsson will be assigned to the Rochester Americans and presumably be available for Friday’s home game against the Lake Erie Monsters.

For procedural purposes, the Sabres also sent right winger Brian Flynn, center/left winger Luke Adam and defenseman Mark Pysyk back to the Amerks and then immediately recalled them. Players in the NHL needed to be, at least on paper, assigned to an AHL team by 3 p.m. Wednesday in order to be eligible for the Calder Cup playoffs.

The Sabres have stockpiled draft picks since the weekend. They traded defenseman Jordan Leopold to the St. Louis Blues for a second-round and conditional fourth- or fifth-round pick in June, and then obtained two second-round picks from the Los Angeles Kings (in 2014 and 2015).

“It allows us to get a process — I’m not going to use the R word — but it continues to allow us to draft and develop players,” Regier said.

In other words, to rebuild the roster through the draft.

“Probably last time we did this: Jason Pominville’s draft (2001),” Regier said. “It really is the lifeblood of the organization and it is the surest way to get back up and running.”

In Regier’s words, draft picks “represent the currency we use in the National Hockey League. Younger players can have an impact at an earlier age than they used to. You need those star-quality players as part of the process to win the Stanley Cup.

“It’s no fun being where we are (in 12th place in the Eastern Conference). But there is an opportunity (to improve through near-future drafts) and what we’re going to do is seize the opportunity.”

Pominville is fourth on the Sabres in scoring with 10 goals, 15 assists and 25 points in 37 games. He has been with the organization his entire 10-year professional career, including three-plus with the Amerks.

“Everything he represents as a player you can multiply by a big number as a person,” Regier said.

While Larsson and Hackett come to the Amerks, defenseman Adam Pardy and forwards Marcus Foligno, Cody Hodgson and Kevin Porter were not returned.

Regier said because NHL teams are limited to four recalls after the Wednesday trade deadline, three immediately were used to send back, and then call up, Pysyk, Adam and Flynn.

They saved the fourth to allow themselves flexibility over the final 22 days of their season.

Porter required waivers, so when he was not exposed to waivers on Tuesday the Amerks knew they would not be getting him back.

To avoid the recall barrier, Regier said he asked the Wild to reassign Hackett and Larsson to Minnesota’s AHL team in Houston before the Pominville trade became official. That way, both can be transferred to the Amerks without any recall implications.

Even though the Sabres have just six defensemen, Regier said they could not term Pardy an emergency recall because their own actions — the trading of Leopold and Regehr — and not injuries created the shortage.

“You can’t create your own emergency,” Regier said.

Without Pardy, and because of a Brayden McNabb’s season-ending knee injury suffered on March 23, the Amerks defense is a major question mark. Teams have until April 10 to make loans within the AHL and the Sabres say they will address the Amerks D-corps.

“We’re working on it now,” Regier said.

Democrat and Chronicle LOADED: 04.04.2013

667715 Calgary Flames

Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff to stay in Calgary: sources

Calgary Herald April 3, 2013

With the National Hockey League’s trade deadline only hours away, early reports indicate Miikka Kiprusoff is not going to be moved by the Calgary Flames.

According to several sources, the Flames’ No. 1 goalie has decided not to leave Calgary. So the Toronto Maple Leafs will not get their hands on Kiprusoff.

Kiprusoff, 36, has been the team’s starter since November 2003 when he’d been acquired from the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a 2005 second-round draft pick (which turned out to be Marc-Edouard Vlasic).

Calgary Herald: LOADED: 04.04.2013

667716 Calgary Flames

Flames flattened by Oilers in embarrassing defensive display

Calgary’s leaky defence struggles in 8-2 defeat

By Scott Cruickshank, Calgary Herald April 4, 2013 1:04 AM

Before the game, the men in charge had been in agreement.

General manager Jay Feaster noted that his employees, with the National Hockey League’s trade deadline finally behind them, are likely to play better.

“We should see that on the ice sheet tonight,” Feaster said Wednesday afternoon, “that there are some guys who are feeling good about the fact that they weren’t moved.”

Coach Bob Hartley, too, pointed out that the distractions are gone — clear sailing to the finish line now.

“There’s no more hurdles,” said Hartley. “During the season, there’s the Christman break when sometimes . . . you lose a couple of guys (who) go into the Christmas break a little too early. Then you get the all-star game, same thing. The trade deadline. They’re all hurdles in the regular season. This year there has been only this trade deadline.”

Free of disturbances, free of pressure, it had been assumed that these Calgary Flames would thrive. That, unburdened, these Flames were ready to get back to the business of playing hockey.

How very wrong everyone was.

Beyond the brute force of the fourth line, beyond two early goals from Matt Stajan, the Flames had precious little to offer.

And that, in the face of the high-flying Edmonton Oilers, turned out to be a joke.

The Oilers, in bagging their fifth straight win, merrily mashed the Calgarians 8-2 in National Hockey League action Wednesday at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

“That was embarrassing for us as players,” said Mark Giordano. “For us guys who have been around here and want to call ourselves veteran guys, that’s disappointing. Myself, I feel embarrassed of my own play and, obviously, of that loss.”

Giordano didn’t want to hear about the effects of the trade spotlight anymore.

“That’s a terrible excuse,” he countered. “The deadline is a business. It is what it is. We’re still playing a game for a living. You have to prepare and be better. That was just . . . there’s no way to explain that. I know it’s obviously frustrating for everyone else. But for us as players, it’s got to come from within. The pride thing. Just being a professional and making it hard.

“In our own zone, it’s far from good enough.”

The Flames, outshot 39-21, allowed three power-play goals — all in the second period, which wrenched what had been a close game into the travellers’ favour.

“Teams aren’t going to let up on you,” Giordano continued. “They’re a rival of ours and they just took four points from us in the last two games, which helps them push for a playoff spot. It just seemed like we were giving away too many chances, which we were. But when we got down, we tried to press and you create worse things for yourself when you try to make plays through the neutral zone and at their blue line.

“As players, you’re frustrated and all that stuff. But even though you’re down, you have to play the same way. And we didn’t. We played a soft game.”

And if ever there was a team designed to excel in a soft game, it is these speed-merchant Oilers.

The outburst from Stajan — goals at 2:35, 5:18, of the first period — seemed substantial at the time, seemed like a great sign for the Flames.

It’s hard to say if the Oilers even noticed.

Because before the first-period buzzer could sound, the game was tied thanks to tallies from Sam Gagner and Ryan Whitney.

Then three straight man-advantage conversions — by three first-overall draft picks (Nail Yakupov, Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins) — turned the night into a laugher.

The chuckles continued in the third period as Jordan Eberle counted twice and Yakupov scored again.

“They got a couple of goals early and, credit to us, we really didn’t change our game,” said Hall. “We didn’t panic. We just stuck with things. That’s what you have to do. That’s us maturing as a team.”

The damage toted up?

Five points for Hall. Four for Nugent-Hopkins.

“To be down 2-0 and win 8-2 is pretty cool,” said Hall. “Most important, we’re continuing our streak and we’re in a playoff spot now. We’re right where we want to be. When you win five in a row, you want to keep it going. No better time than (Thursday in Vancouver).”

Calgary Herald: LOADED: 04.04.2013

667717 Calgary Flames

Johnson: Flames won’t be content with a lengthy rebuild

Even though the trade deadline has passed, GM Jay Feaster will remain in evaluation mode as he prepares club for next season

By GEORGE JOHNSON, Calgary Herald April 3, 2013

Another deadline has come and gone. The tremors, the aftershocks, to the jarring seismic activity registered hereabouts over the last week, were, as it turns out, mild.

Blake Comeau to Columbus? Nice fella. Hard worker. But not exactly off-the-Richter-Scale, earth-shaking stuff.

So with the 1 p.m. MDT trade moratorium passed, auditions to inhabit this post-Iginla, post-Bouwmeester, post-apocalyptic world of the Calgary Flames began last night against those whippersnapper Oilers. And, no, not only for the grass-green, dewy-eyed kids they’ll be plucking out of Abbotsford for a look-see, either.

The big-ticket guys. The remaining marquee names.

They’ll be specimens wriggling under a microscope, too.

The effort level from the young ’uns, looking to make a mark, leave an impression, gain a foothold, is a given. Energy and enthusiasm being, after all, their stock in trade. They’ll make mistakes, sure, but they’re going to be busting their fannies regardless of the famous names that have departed, the growing sense of playoff hopelessness.

They have no reputations to sit on, no sense of entitlement to surmount, no time for dissatisfaction or personal pity parties.

“They know where I am,” Feaster countered when the possibility of veteran malaise was brought up during Wednesday’s post-deadline availability. “They know where I am and if that’s their attitude I wished they’d come and seen me before 3 p.m. Eastern time.

“If you want out, I’m a pretty available guy.

“Seriously, if that’s the case, if there are veteran players who are ‘Woe is me!’ and ‘I lost my dog and my best friend!’ and ‘My wife ran away with the lawn-mowing guy!’ then come see me.”

There’ll be no need for anyone to bother knocking on the GM’s door.

The guilty parties will be easy to spot.

For as undeniably difficult as this current situation is, the compounding frustration of playing out the string, watching cornerstone players dealt away with nothing immediate in the way of aid coming back in return, the worst thing any of them can do is now is the minimum.

Rebuilds are hellish enough beasts to try to sell to a paying public without piling on the problem with an unmistakable lack of try.

“We recognize that we have a job to do,” emphasized Feaster. “The preparation and the approach of the coaching staff is: We’re professionals and we have an obligation. We have an obligation to our fans, first of all. We have an obligation to our ownership. And, candidly, we have an obligation to each other. Every one of us, we all have a job to do, and we need to do it professionally and with pride.

“And that’s how we intend to see it out.”

He spoke again Wednesday of the 180-degree switch in philosophy, of the importance and quality of this upcoming draft and the very real possibility the Flames will have three first-round selections. Of how he considered few of his assets “untouchable” as he worked the phone and the deadline approached. Of how, despite erroneous — and he felt irresponsible — reports to the contrary, he had, never, ever put Curtis Glencross on the NHL’s version of the Home Shopping Channel.

Yes, Jay Feaster, who for the last month and half looked like a guy who actually had just lost dog or his best friend seemed a revitalized spirit Wednesday.

A recent vote of confidence from on high, perhaps? A sense of blessed relief that the long-neglected overhaul had finally been given organizational benediction? Whatever, the man seemed to have his money pitch, his fastball, back.

And considering he remains in charge of the show, however you may personally grade his performance since taking the big job and/or over the past week, that’s a good thing.

And he made it perfectly clear that in these troubled times, he simply will not stand for half-hearted efforts, petulant pouting or any lazy, easy ways out.

Any player that’s of a mind to roll over and wait for a tummy tickle had best prepare for a change of address come summer. No matter what their standing within the dressing room.

“We lead a pretty charmed life, I think,” he said, with welcome candour. “We have a lot of people that come here and pay good money to enable use to live the life that we live. And we have owners that support us and allow us to do what we want to do, spend to the cap and commit the resources.

“And as I said earlier, every one of us, from me right on through to the assistant medical trainer — and that counts every player in that room — we have an obligation to be the best we can be, to make sure we’re giving our fans and our owners good value.

“That’ll get me on Sports Centre tonight, I guess. And I don’t mean to be flippant about that. But honestly, the veterans . . . let’s start playing.

“Let’s go.”

There are 13 games remaining. The organizational gaze has shifted, of course, off towards the horizon. But the challenge of the here and now for any player is to make plain beyond a shadow of a doubt their desire to be a part of that horizon.

“There are guys in that room . . . the consternation and concern that they’ve shown over whether they were going to be moved or not,” said Feaster. “We’ve had a number of guys tell the coaching staff ‘I’ll feel so much better at one o’clock Mountain Time today.’

“Candidly, I expect that we’re going to see that translated on the ice sheet tonight. We should see that translated on the ice sheet tonight.

“There are some guys who feel good that they weren’t moved.”

Easy to say, of course.

No time like the present to go out and actually prove it.

Calgary Herald: LOADED: 04.04.2013

667718 Calgary Flames

Veteran not overly surprised by the deal, given that his contract was expiring

By Scott Cruickshank, Calgary Herald April 3, 2013

It had been just another game-day lunch with chums.

Lee Stempniak was there. Chris Butler and Derek Smith, too.

Blake Comeau, multi-tasking, had also been having an innocent text exchange with his agent, Denver-based Kurt Overhardt. Maybe, Overhardt was suggesting, they could break bread next week when the Calgary Flames visit the Colorado Avalanche.

Then. Suddenly.

“He texted me back five minutes later and said, ‘You might have been traded. Stand by,’ ” Comeau said. “Didn’t hear anything for 15, 20 minutes, then I got the phone call from him saying that it was probably a done deal.”

Did your lunchmates immediately become glued to their own phones? Comeau laughed.

“I think everyone was uneasy,” he said. “Who knows who was going to get traded? Or who wasn’t? I think guys are happy that the day’s over with. Now you can just move on to playing hockey.”

Comeau, one of the good guys, eventually learned the specifics of the NHL trade-deadline deal — that he’d been shuttled to the Columbus Blue Jackets for a fifth-round pick. Which came as a mix of good news — joining a team only a single point out of the Western Conference’s eighth rung — and bad news.

“A little bit bittersweet, I think,” said the 27-year-old. “Being out west, having my parents here, my wife’s family here, getting to know the guys over the last year here, it’s always tough leaving.

“That being said, with my contract being up and us not being in the playoff picture right now . . . in the back of my mind, I knew there was a chance that I could be traded.”

Salvaged off the waiver wire last winter — goalless, he’d been struggling mightily with the New York Islanders — Comeau was re-signed in the summer.

The player responded with an earnest effort, collecting seven points in 33 appearances while operating anywhere from fourth-line wing to first-line centre.

“I think I can bring some things to (Columbus) with my physical play and my speed,” said Comeau. “Speaking with them on the phone, that’s what they’re excited to have. I feel that, as my ice time grew with the Flames, my numbers started to grow and I started to gain confidence. Hopefully, that can continue. It’s going to be fun to join that playoff push.”

Comeau went on to describe the landscape over recent days with the Flames, watching the likes of Jarome Iginla and Jay Bouwmeester shipped.

“It’s been a bit of a different atmosphere in the room,” said Comeau. “You never know who’s going to be traded and who’s not. You hear rumours. You hear names. Then you see guys like Iggy and Bouw being traded — they’re such big parts of this team, big presences in our locker-room.

“I don’t think it was easy for anyone to see those guys gone. But when you don’t win games and you’re not living up to the expectations, there’s going to be changes. That’s what happened this year.”

Calgary Herald: LOADED: 04.04.2013

667719 Calgary Flames

Feaster rebuffs nearly every team on the Curtis Glencross front

GM calls feisty winger one of his untouchables as Flames move forward with rebuild plan

By Scott Cruickshank, Calgary Herald April 3, 2013

He didn’t keep track, but the number was big. Like, really big. Nearly every team, in fact.

Calgary Flames boss Jay Feaster figures he fielded calls from 25 — “and maybe more” — general managers, all curious about the availability of Curtis Glencross.

Those inquiries, however, were fruitless.

Because No. 20 is not going to budge, despite the keen interest.

Nor is Mark Giordano.

Ditto T.J. Brodie and Sven Baertschi.

Beyond the aforementioned four skaters, Feaster declined to offer the identities of those considered untouchable by the Flames. But it’s hard to imagine there are many more. If any.

“It’s a small list, it’s a small list,” Feaster acknowledged an hour after the expiration of the National Hockey League’s trade deadline. “We’ve made a decision that we need to go in a different direction. Every guy’s in a different situation, in terms of what their contracts look like, how much money is on the contract, how term is left . . . but clearly that list of guys that we wouldn’t consider (trading), it was shorter than in years past.”

Nevertheless, as eager as the local manager had been, Wednesday turned out to be relatively peaceful.

After a week in which the Flames hocked Jarome Iginla and Jay Bouwmeester, the day produced a single swap in Calgary — Blake Comeau to Columbus for a fifth-round pick.

Feaster was asked if he had expected to get more accomplished before the 1 p.m. horn.“You know what? You never know,” he replied. “Certainly, I thought that there were some things that we put out there, some players that we put out there, that I thought might be attractive, depending on how things went down for some other teams. I’m at the point now where I don’t know if I ever have an expectation one way or another. We just see where it’s going to go.”

Not surprisingly, with the Flames very publicly in sell-mode, there had been no shortage of (potential) action.

Vultures were circling.

“We made a lot of phone calls, we took a lot of phone calls,” said Feaster. “Would it have been nice if we could have done other things and wheeled a couple more second(-round picks)? Sure. When you’ve made the decision that we’ve made, stockpiling assets is an important thing. Yet, as we know, it takes two teams to get a deal done. Sometimes, you just don’t have a trading partner.”

Discussing the difficulties of doing deals these days, Feaster pointed to Wednesday’s quip from Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo, who, still untraded, had announced that his “contract sucks.”

“That’s just a great comment from a player as to what’s going on,” Feaster said. “I don’t think it’s an indictment of talent that nothing more happened (on deadline day). I think with every one of these, it’s no longer just about the player and the talent of the player. But it’s about contract situations. It’s about term. It’s about money. It’s about cap space.”

Lack of fireworks, yes, but this is only one day.

The teardown, freshly started, surely continues.

Even if pressure from the top remains the same.

“(Owner) Murray Edwards told me that he expects to be in the playoffs next year — so there’s my marching order,” said Feaster, whose club is on the brink of its fourth straight post-season absence. “It’s a process. We understand where we are. We understand what’s ahead of us. But from the standpoint of the organization, the expectation, this is not one where you say to the players, ‘Well, we’re in some full-blown rebuild model. Don’t worry about it. Don’t worry about winning. Don’t worry about improving. Don’t worry about competing.’ Again, no excuses.

“We have players we need to sign. We have guys that we’ve acquired that we want to sign. We’re in the process of signing some of our draft picks. We’ll be working hard in the off-season to plug the holes.”

C-NOTES: Flames prospect Johnny Gaudreau, after a sensational sophomore season at Boston College, is a Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalist. Which begs the question — is it time for the wee winger to turn pro? “I don’t believe that we should ever be in a situation where we’re dictating to the player, ‘This is what you have to do,’ ” said Feaster. “I believe that that’s an important family decision. The athlete has to feel comfortable. The parent has to feel comfortable. And what I’ve always said is, ‘We’ll always be there supporting.’ ”

Calgary Herald: LOADED: 04.04.2013

667720 Calgary Flames

Kiprusoff nixed trade to Leafs after experiencing ‘doubts’ he should leave Calgary

Goalie remains with Flames, will sit down after season to decide whether to keep playing or retire

By Vicki Hall, Calgary Herald April 3, 2013

For nine years, Miikka Kiprusoff brought Calgary Flames fans out of their seats with jaw-dropping saves that left people wondering how in the world that just happened.

For nine years, the sensational play of Miikka Kiprusoff perhaps too often camouflaged the sins of the 18 guys in front of him.

But in these the twilight days of his storied career, questions loom large in these parts over the legacy of No. 34.

Is he a hero after (literally) saving the day for the better part of a decade on a team with serious defensive deficiencies?

Or is he a villain for spurning a trade to the Toronto Maple Leafs that would have seen the Flames receive at least something in return for the former Vezina Trophy winner?

Did the love affair between an all-star goalie and a city cease Wednesday at 1 p.m. MT as the NHL trade deadline passed for another season.

“I sure hope not,” says general manager Jay Feaster. “If you take a step and look back and say, ‘this guy has been pretty good for this organization.’ And I think the world of him. I love the competitor that he is.