UBHL

Ottawa beginning to panic?

After last night's disappointing loss to the Montreal Canadiens, another goalie may be on GM Bryan Murray's wish list come trade deadline day.
Ottawa Sun columnist Bruce Garrioch believes the Senators may need to trade for a legitimate No. 1 goalie after Martin Gerber came out with a sub-par performance in arguably Ottawa's most important game of the season.
And then there's Ray Emery...
League sources told the Sun that Bryan Murray has been one of the most active GMs heading up to deadline day.
It's believed Murray has spoken to the Kings, Lightning and Coyotes to see who they will make available should they become sellers. But because of their recent struggles, teams are putting the squeeze on Murray and increasing their asking price.
The Senators might be willing to dangle prospects Brian Lee, Ilja Zubov and Nick Foligno as part of a deal.

Forsberg Update

The Foppa sweepstakes has taken a few more turns this week, as Peter Forsberg's camp has reportedly turned down a handful of NHL teams that have expressed interest in him.
The Nashville Predators are officially out of the running, as the Tennessean reported Wednesday that general manager David Poile said that Forsberg had passed on a deal with the team. Forsberg finished the season with Nashville last year after being acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Dallas Stars are also out of the running. Co-general manager Les Jackson said Tuesday that he spoke with Forsberg's representatives Friday.
"They called back (on Saturday) and said he was going to pursue other options," Jackson told The Dallas Morning News. "I think we made a good effort, but now we move on."

Reports out of Detroit say Forsberg has also turned down the Red Wings while the San Jose Sharks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Calgary Flames have also been told that he won't be playing for their teams.

The Philadelphia Flyers and Colorado Avalanche are frontrunners for Forsberg's services, while the Anaheim Ducks, Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks remain in the hunt.

Ubuntu Ball Hockey League

Oilers sold to billionaire

THE CANADIAN PRESSEDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers have a new owner, pending approval from the NHL.The 34-member Edmonton Investors Group agreed Tuesday to sell 100 per cent of its shares to local pharmacy billionaire Daryl Katz in a C$200-million deal."This is a terrific level of support that will enable us to move forward with the process of securing NHL approval and conclude this transaction," said Katz in a news release.League approval can take anywhere from six weeks to two months.Katz said he also plans to create an advisory board composed of community leaders and former members of the investors group to help steer the team."Having an advisory board lets us capture the best of both worlds. It brings together the vision of an entrepreneurial owner with active and ongoing counsel," said Katz, who will hold a conference call Wednesday to further discuss the deal.His offer works out to $22,000 a share for the 7,492 shares -- an offer that represents a doubling of the original purchase price.
Source: www.sportsnet.ca

Leafs may have no choice but to buyout no-trade contracts

The Toronto Maple Leafs may have no option except to buy out some of the larger contracts if they cannot find a team willing to take them on before trade deadline day.
The Toronto Sun is reporting Mats Sundin is leaning towards playing out his contract and re-signing with the club while Darcy Tucker, Pavel Kubina, Bryan McCabe and Tomas Kaberle have made indications that they will 'dig in their heels' if asked to waive their no-trade clause.
This leaves the club with little option but to buy out some of these contracts as interim GM Cliff Fletcher has said he won't resort to demeaning his players by demoting them or reducing their ice time.
Source: http://www.sportsnet.ca/

Forsberg a Sen?

The longest soap opera of the NHL season may finally be coming to a conclusion as Peter Forsberg has chosen a short list of teams for his return.
The Ottawa Sun is reporting that Ottawa is on the shortlist but the frontrunner is still believed to be Philadelphia.
Despite the list, Flyers GM Paul Holmgren is still unsure of whether or not Forsberg is truly committed to returning to the league.
"I honestly don't have a feeling for what his decision will be and I didn't get to see him skate," Holmgren told the Sun. "From talking to him, I am not sure he is ready in his own mind. He doesn't seem to know if he's okay. When he's ready, he'll make a decision."