One guy who could come over from Chicago is defenseman Brent Sopel(notes), who Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke apparently liked when they wer together with the Vancouver Canucks. Sopel is getting paid $2.33 million and only getting about 14 minues of playing time a gam.

Part of the problem is that the Maple Leafs aren't quite sure of the value of some of its minor-league talent. Center Tyler Bozak(notes) is apparently just coming off having H1N1 and it's unclear if he can play at the top level or not.

Another rumor has veteran defenseman Tomas Kaberle(notes) getting moved even though he has a no-trade clause, but Kaberle isn't reportedly interested in going anywhere. "Where is this coming from?" he said. "I'm the wrong guy to be asking (about a trade)."

Burke says he hasn't asked Kaberle to waive his clause - yet.

The deal for the 32-year-old is supposedly for seven years and $39 million. That's $5.7 million a year for those of you keeping score at home. He reportedly could have signed an extension worth $6.5 million a year, but that was only for three years.

He supposedly will be back in action on Monday against the St. Louis Blues: "I feel great out there. You've got to put in your time, though," Savard said. "You've got to skate a couple of times. I'd love to be playing ... but I've got to wait a bit."

The rumor is that the Blackhawks would like to keep Keith in town until he decides to hang up his skates years down the road. The extension could be for as low as eight years and as high as 13.

And why not? The 26-year-old All-Star is considered one of the best defensemen in the league and regularly is a leader in minutes played for the team. In 2006-7, he had 31 points with 29 assists and 2 goals and led the team in blocked shots with 148.

Siegel played in college at Penn and apparently still plays a fair amount.

"From what they have said, they are committed to making us a better team," said defenseman Keith Ballard(notes). "It's good that things are settled now. It's one less thing to worry about whether you are signed here for one year or eight.''

The team has supposedly lost $10 million a year since it was bought from Wayne Huizenga in 2001. Last year, that number supposedly went up to around $14 million. These two guys are obviously hoping for a different result.
The league still needs to approve the deal.

The Red Wings are apparently happy to go with their aging goaltender, Chris Osgood(notes). And why not? The guy has 395 wins in his career (50 of them shutouts) and has helped the team to two straight visits to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Meanwhile, the Ducks are left trying to get rid of Giguere, who has been relegated to a backup role to Jonas Hiller(notes). He's lost all three of his starts this year, letting 13 pucks past his blocker on 124 shots. Ouch.

The general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers, Paul Holmgren, supposedly expressed formal interest to Forsberg's agent about bringing him back but then Forsberg had his agent tell Holmgren and everybody else in the NHL that he needed more time before returning to build up some stamina and "feel comfortable skating." Yes, that would be a key ingredient.

This could be it for the 36-year-old Swede as far as NHL teams coming after him. Or, more likely, this will be a game that is played all season long with Forsberg thinking about signing and then backing away.

The Phoenix Coyotes will apparently send general manager Don Maloney to San Antonio this Friday to watch Chelios play with his current team, the Chicago Wolves, according to the Toronto Sun.

The 47-year-old defenseman would love to return to the NHL. "He's there, he's savvy and he's in great shape," Maloney said. "(But) I don't know. The pace of the NHL game is so quick."

No conversations have apparently taken place between Chelios and the Coyotes as of yet.

The word now apparently is that Swedish hockey legend Forsberg could be headed off to play for Russia's Kontinental League. Forsberg is supposedly planning on signing with Ak Bars Kazan for multiple years and megabucks.

The thought in some parts of the NHL is that Forsberg can't keep his right foot and ankle healthy anymore. He told the Colorado Avalanche two years ago that he was healthy. Then he played in 13 games for the team. That cost him a lot in GM offices around the league.

For now, he'll have to stick with the Swedish National Team. Worst case scenario, he'll play again for MoDo, his hometown team.