Friday Followup: Rumors and Rumblings

Yet another week spins down here at the Cannon, with the NHL draft looming ahead for next week, it seems like the whispers and questions we've been hearing around the league since the end of the season have started to get louder and louder as everyone tries to predict who might be taken, who might be dealt, and who might be left crying at the altar.

Here at the Cannon, we offered a smörgåsbord of speculation for you this week, ranging from Mike's Mock Draft, the possibility of Columbus going after Florida's Stephen Weiss, participating in SBNation's Mock Draft, and rounding it out with an amuse bouche of actual news dealing with the team releasing assistant coaches Gord Murphy, Gary Agnew, and Barry Brennan. (We even took the pre-season schedule and packed you a nice doggie bag!)

In other matters dealing with the Union Blue, NBC's ProHockeyTalk blog offered up a juicy rumor about Columbus potentially trading the #4 pick in the draft to the Bruins for Marc Savard and Blake Wheeler, and other sites wasted no time in shooting it down, despite PHT standing by their story. (Me? I'm skeptical, but these are the days of Miracle and Wonder...) 

From the Dispatch, we're told they'll have some draft coverage starting this weekend, but for now the last we've heard was Bob Hunter discussing the Jason Spezza rumors.

And just in case the team actually keeps the pick, here's The Pipeline Show's predictions on how the Jackets will draft.

It was a fairly quiet week around the Jackets blogosphere - maybe everyone's saving their energy up for next week? Still, Ten Minute Misconduct did have a few thoughts before he took off for his vacation, and Light The Lamp took the time to talk about why he's "rebooting" his expectations for this coming season. Edit: Also, Eric Smith posted his mock draft for Fox Sports Ohio!

LATE BREAKING: TSN's Darren Dreger reports Claude Noel is the new head coach of the Manitoba Moose. Congratulations and good luck, Claude!

Last but not least in local news, don't forget about The Hockey Writers' Live Draft Webcast from the R-Bar this Friday! 

On to news from the rest of the NHL...

Could the Oilers decide to take Tyler Seguin instead of Taylor Hall? Buzzing The Net seems to think they might, based on the media coverage of Seguin's visit to Edmonton.

It turns out that Chris Mason was as stunned by the Jaroslav Halak trade as the rest of us. (PHT)

Jon Mirasty sees the move to Anaheim's organization as a Fresh Start. Good luck to you, too, Nasty. (Syracuse.com)

The Chicago Gay Hockey Players Association invites the Blackhawks to march in the Chicago Pride Parade. (Puck Daddy)

Could the Dallas Stars move their training camp to PEI? (Defending Big D)

Is it the "year of the goalie"? Sure, as long as you're a General Manager. (From The Rink)

Speaking of free agents, here's a look at the Top 10 Free Agent Wingers. (Puck Daddy)