Then the question became, were they ever in serious discussions with other teams about Sharp, “No, honestly, it never went anywhere from there. You can ask the other GMs. They would always ask about him and I would just say, ‘No, we’re not trading him,’ and then move on to somebody else. It never went past that first question from them” Bowman said.

The 5.9 million will be a 2 million dollar raise from Sharp’s contract this year, and into next. Bowman said signing Sharp is a deal at any price, and its not just because of his ability on the ice. He said “There are too many factors outside of just what we see from his play on the ice. There’s a lot of other things that reporters and fans don’t see. He’s a very important player for our group here and for that reason he’s going to be here for a long time.”

Sharp said he had to learn to be patient, and trust everyone was doing the right thing. He also admitted that it was a relief to have this over and done with though. Sharp said “Getting this out of the way clears things up for me and allows me just to show up and be a good player and a great teammate and not focus on the individual stuff. The money is great and there’s no question about that, but I have a lot of faith and trust in my agent Rick Curran. He deserves a lot of thanks. I told him I wanted to stay in Chicago. I had no reason to leave. I let him handle the rest of it.”

Bowman also said that this isn’t one of those decisions that they made this morning, but that they have been planning it for along time. Bowman said  ”In a lot of ways this is a move we’ve been planning for a long time. There is no doubt about the fact that when you’re looking at which players are a big part of your success, we knew Patrick was part of that and we had to find a way to get it done. Sometimes you have to make moves, but we’ve been thinking of this for a while. It didn’t just sneak up on us. We’ve had a plan in place to make sure he would be here.”

Bowman concluded by saying that Sharp is a part of the fabric of the team, and thats something you just don’t trade away or trade for. He said “He’s a very likeable guy, so he fits in with different groups on the team. He’s able to help younger players along, because he was that player who broke into the League and he started off on the fourth line in Philadelphia. He’s kind of worked his way up and played a lot of different roles, so I think he can relate to people that way.”

Sharp will be a Blackhawk for a long time unless the economics go horribly for the Blackhawks, and even then he has a modified no-movement clause in the new deal. That’s the way Sharp wants it, and says he always wants to be a Blackhawk. He concluded “It’s something I thankfully won’t experience for the next five or six years. As players, you deal with a lot of outside distractions and clearly your own contract is one of them. The extension of the contract … when things are said and done, it might be 10 to 12 years as a Blackhawk. To me, that’s a heck of a career and hopefully it goes longer. But I definitely consider myself a Blackhawk and I don’t want to play anywhere else.”

Penguins strength and conditioning coach Mike Kadar is out in Russia working with Malkin. and says he is as committed as he ever seen Malkin. Kadar said “I have known ‘Geno’ (Malkin) for five years now and I have never seen him this committed to getting healthier and wanting to do well. It has been an eye-opener for me with his determination and work ethic. He is committed to it every day, and with no short cuts.”

Malkin 2010-11 season ended on February 4 when he tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee. To make matters worse mentally for Malkin, it was his first game back after missing time due to a left knee injury and a sinus infection. The 25 year old Malkin says he is expecting all the hard work this summer to pay off for him. He said “It feels better every day. It’s good, but not 100 percent yet, maybe 90. I’m skating it hard, but my knee feels good. Soon I will try (full speed). I push it more each day.”

Malkin says he is not only focusing on his knee, but wants to improve his conditioning and strength as a whole. He says he is in the gym twice a day, and most mornings he is running and swimming in Moscow. He also said his main workout partner is former teammate Sergei Gonchar. Malkin said “Kadar gives me drills and two practices a day. Kadar has coached me a long time. He knows my body. It’s hard work by myself and I don’t know all the fitness techniques. It’s more fun with him around. ‘Gonch’ is a big help, too. He’ll help motivate me when Kadar leaves.”

One thing is for sure, Malkin wants to improve on the numbers he has been putting up, and bring home the Cup with his team. The motivated Malkin said “I want to play my best for the team. I want to improve my skating, strengthen both my legs and become a faster skater. I want to be better for the whole year. I want to help my team with the Stanley Cup.”

Without ever having played a game with the Sharks, Burns signed on to what will be a five year deal and reportedly worth $28.8 million. He has one year remaining on a four year deal he signed with the Wild in 2007 worth $3.55 Million and his new contract won’t kick in until next season.

After visiting the city to sign his new contract, Burns said he knew he made the right choice. He said “After the trade went through we went down to San Jose and it was awesome. The city was great and the organization was just unbelievable how they treated us. With that excitement building for our family, it really made getting traded for the first time easier. Having the chance to sign the extension, it was a no-brainer for us. We have a little bit of security for our family and now I can just focus on playing hockey.”

The 26 year old Burns, is coming off of a season full of career highs. he broke his best marks with career highs in goals (17), assists (29), points (48), penalty minutes (98) and shots on goal (170). He has 183 points in 453 games over six seasons since debuting with the Wild in 2005-06.

Sharks general manager Doug Wilson wanted Burns for more than just the remainder of his contract with the Wild, and admitted the extension was the only reason that this move would make sense. He said giving up a top propsect like Stoguchi and a first round pick for one season would have been at the very least short sighted. Wilson said “A contract extension was a major priority and for it to happen this quickly, with this type of contract and structure, I can’t thank Brent enough for being a good teammate and a good part of this organization, His character and his makeup allowed us to get this extension, which really does work well for us now.”

For the time being, Burns said he is going to be renting a home despite knowing he will be in San Jose for at least 5 years. He said he wants to get the lay of the land, and figure out the best place to purchase for his family and his animals. Among other animals, Burns has a large collection of snakes he will be leaving in St. Paul. Burns concluded, “This year we’re going to keep it simple. Just go down, play hockey and enjoy a little bit of a different life for the year. I have a girl here that takes care of everything well. It’s going to be a different move for us. It’s going to be difficult trying to bring the cages and animals down without having a place to settle. We’re going to take our time and we’ll do it later if possible.”

The main rumor going around was that Richards didn’t have any solidarity in the locker room, and that is something he strongly disagrees with. A paper in Philadelphia wrote a story about a pledge that Coach  Laviolette wanted his team to take called ‘Dry Island.’ In short, he wanted the team to stop drinking for a month in the name of camaraderie. The article said that Richards and Jeff Carter scoffed at the pledge, and didn’t want to take part in it over the past two years. Richards implied that it is coming out as an attack on his character, but was quick to point out that it was just a tool in the locker room and not pointed at anyone. In fact he said he was surprised to here it in the press at all,  ”That started out as a friendly, fun thing that you can joke about in the dressing room, just something to bring the team together. I was pretty mad at first. Usually when you have a dressing room, what happens in the dressing room stays in the dressing room. You need that camaraderie to do your best on the ice. I was pretty mad it got out.”

LA Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi said he wasn’t worried about the character of Richards at all, and went on to say he wasn’t even worried when he heard that Richards was upset he was leaving the Flyers. Lombardi said that is the type of emotion and attachment he wants in all of his players. He explained “If I get a guy who wants to be traded, that’s usually not good. I want a guy who has worn that jersey with his heart on his sleeve. My experience is that when a guy is hurt that he’s been traded, it’s a tough first call, but that guy will eventually have that same feeling for your organization.”

Now that Richards has worked out with the team, including Simon Gagne which could become a power house match up for the Kings, he is starting to really enjoy the move. Richards said “You start thinking, ‘This is not a bad place to be, and not a bad place to restart a career.I always used to love coming to L.A. to play. There’s just a buzz in the arena, almost like it is in New York. I can’t wait to feel it from the other side.”

LA Center Jarret Stoll says the moves are making everyone more confident on the team, and outside the team as well. He boasted “I’ve talked to guys on other teams, and they’re excited about our team when they don’t even play for us. They say to me, `Wow, you guys look good.’ And we do, on paper. I think it will be there on the ice, too.”

In a press conference this morning Kris Draper took time to thank everyone who believed in him over the years, and talked about Hockey being a dream come true. Draper said “I loved everything about the game and everything about the Red Wings and that’s why I’m going to miss it so much. I know how fortunate I am to play this game, to live my dream out. I had one dream and that was to play in the NHL. I never thought I was going to last this long, never thought I was going to be with the greatest organization in the world, the Detroit Red Wings.”

Few remember the way that the Red Wings acquired Draper. After playing only a short time with the old  Winnipeg Jets, the Jets decided to let him go. The Detroit franchise reached deep into their pockets and paid one dollar for Draper who would eventually become a key member in the “Grind Line.” Draper thanked them too, “I want to thank Bryan Murray and Doug MacLean for making the blockbuster trade to acquire me from Winnipeg for that whopping one dollar.” He continued by saying that he enjoyed the thought of being traded, but had his doubts that he had to overcome. He said “I remember every time I saw a coach or management, if I was on the bike or in the weight room, I started doing more reps, started riding the bikes. I wanted them to hear how hard I’m working. I didn’t want to go away. I didn’t want to leave this building, I didn’t want to leave this organization. I was motivated. It’s been unbelievable. I consider myself one of the luckiest athletes of all time to be able to play with this organization for 17 years.”

Draper still won’t be leaving the Red Wings, he will stay on with the team and be a part of their front office according to General Manager Ken Holland. Holland boasted about Draper, “Kris Draper has represented the Detroit Red Wings with nothing but class and dedication for the last 17 years. His extraordinary work ethic has provided a great example for all players within our organization and his influence on the young players in our system will be felt for years to come. I cannot thank Kris enough for all he has done for us. He is a true professional.”

Holland said he has mixed emotions about Draper retiring, but knows that he will be apart of the franchize for a long time. He said “On one hand it’s a sad day, but on the other hand it’s an exciting day because Kris is going to stay in our organization. With all his intangibles and all the things that Kris has stood for throughout his career, he’s going to bring that to the rink every day in the front office and I really think he can carve out a tremendous career in the front office.”

Wings Owner Mike Ilitch said acquiring Draper was the best dollar he ever spent in as owner of the club. Ilitch said “I never dreamt that I would get a player like Draper for the cost of a smoothie at McDonalds, but it happened and we’re very, very lucky about it.” He continued by sharing some of things Draper did for the Wings, “Kris is a big asset for the Detroit Red Wings from the standpoint of not only being a great hockey player but a great person and he wants to help everybody. He helped our amateur program tremendously. Gordie Howe, going way back when we got started in the ’60s, he was there and he helped us and gave us a lot of spirit to keep going with the amateur program, and along comes Draper after Gordie is gone, and I finally had to get to my people and say leave him alone, he’s got to have a life. He can’t say no and you’re taking advantage of his kindness and wanting to help.”

Draper doesn’t have an official title yet, but he is already setting goals and being a role model for the club. He said “I talked to Steve Yzerman on the drive in here. When Steve left the game, how he worked with the organization, he brought the passion that he brought every day to the rink as a player, he did that at the next level and now look at him with Tampa. Now I have challenges and there’s goals, and I like being a goal-oriented person, and I’m going to set goals for myself.”

With hockey being a few months away, the rumor mill was in full swing and never let up. However, Stamkos has now said there was no point in time where he even thought of playing for another team. Now that Stamkos and the Lightning have a signed a 5 year extension to his contract he is talking about it. He said “Being from the Toronto area and being back there in the summer, I heard a lot about the rumors, especially when it went by July 1. We said were going to keep things out of the media from both sides, so it was tough trying not to come out and say don’t worry, things are going to get done. At the end of the day, my family and I knew this was going to get done. It was nothing I lost sleep over.”

General Manager Steve Yzerman echoed the same sentiments, and added that Stamkos was committed to playing in Tampa at all points in the negotiations. He said “We started this process back in November. From Day 1, there’s never been anything but honest, good-faith negotiation and at no point was there any concern from either party that the idea wasn’t to get Steven signed to a long-term extension. From Day 1, Steven and his representation expressed that he wanted to play in Tampa. He’s happy here and loves it here and wants to continue playing here. That’s a big reason why we’re here today.” Yzerman concluded “I’m very pleased to be able to do that and get it done relatively early in the summer. That allows Steven to focus on his training and prepare for the upcoming season.”

This whole thing is new ground for Stamkos. He signed a three year deal as a rookie, and this is the first time he has been to the table to negotiate in his career. Stamkos said “Your rookie contract is pretty much set in stone. You don’t have much say. This was a new experience for me. It went relatively smooth. I’ve been able to grow here for three years. The first couple years were tough, but we’ve been able to grow through it. Basically, it was just a matter of getting things done with Tampa. There were no other options explored.”

One thing is for sure, Stamkos is excited about coming back after the season he had last year. He now has plenty of new experiences to draw on, and a new level of confidence. He said “We had a tremendous run last year. I got a taste of the playoffs and being so close, being able to grow with the core bunch of guys that we have here and see the fans and how great they were and the support we got throughout the whole community, there was no other place I’d rather be than here in Tampa.”

Mark Chipman, Chairman & Governor of True North Sports, said it was important that the Jets obtain a new identity. Chipman said “True North Sports & Entertainment felt it was important for the new Winnipeg Jets to develop a strong new identity. We felt it was important to authenticate the name Jets and we believe the new logo does that through its connection to (Canada’s) remarkable Air Force heritage, including the rich history and relationship that our city and province have enjoyed with the Canadian Forces.”

Senior Director of marketing and Brand Management Dorian Morphy said it was an absolute pleasure to continue working with the military. He declared “We have always had a close relationship with 17 Wing throughout the years, dating back to our annual Manitoba Moose Military Night. We are thrilled to be able to continue this relationship in a significant way. The design cues for the plane were inspired by the military jets flown by the Air Force over the years. So not only were we able to establish a new identity for our brand, but we were able to maintain a traditional, time honored look to the logo.”

Chipman also commented on the fact they have 3 logos. Instead of choosing one, he said they felt they had some freedom to use all 3. He said “Unlike the Habs or the Red Wings or the Blackhawks, we didn’t have just one logo that may have been more logical to go back to. We thought we had the freedom to try something new, but also make it very meaningful to the community.”

The Jets will play their first regular-season game on Oct. 9 against the Montreal Canadiens at the MTS Centre.

Dubinsky didn’t want to leave New York, in fact the 25 year old said he never wanted to leave. He said “I wanted to be in New York, it’s the place I live, it’s the place I love and I want to be here forever. At the end of the day, I think it’s a home run for me. I hope the team feels the same way.”

Dubinsky was New Yorks second round draft choice in 2004, and has 71 goals and 108 assists in 316 NHL games. He led the team last year in goals with 24, and points with 54. Since his rookie season in 2007-08 in which he scored 40 points, Dubinsky’s point total has increased each season.

This is the third move for the Rangers in the off season. Earlier in July they landed unrestricted free agents Brad Richards and Michael Rupp. The Rangers face a different arbitration hearing with restricted free agent Ryan Callahan if they don’t sign him by Next Thursday.

As for Dubinsky, he said he has been monitoring the moves being made by the Rangers, and is looking forward to the 2011-12 season. Dubinsky said “I can’t even tell you how much I’m looking forward to the season. With all the guys we have coming back plus the signings we’ve made with Richards and Mike Rupp, I think we’re going to be a contender in the East; I really feel that way.”

Osgood said he was hoping the decision would be become easier over time, but that is not how it played out for him. He said “I wrestled with it every day. It was on my mind and made it difficult for me to even operate some days because it was taking a toll. I thought it would be easier, but it’s been very difficult for the last few months here deciding what I should do. Now I’m looking forward. I can move on and I’m excited about what I’m going to do with the organization.”

Detroit General Manager Ken Holland also announced that Osgood would in fact have a future with the Red Wings. He will be brought on board as a goalie consultant, and he will help mentor the Red Wings goalies.  Holland also said he will be signing another goalie to back up Jimmy Howard by the end of the week.

Osgood even said he considered telling the Wings he was ready to go, but he knew there was a real possibility he could be injured again. He said “I could have told Kenny I was 100 percent ready to go. I have been working out since I came back from surgery, but I couldn’t guarantee I wouldn’t get hurt again. Part of my decision is I didn’t want to put them (the Red Wings) in a situation where come December I can’t play anymore. That wouldn’t look good for me or the team.”

When asked about his favorite memory as a Wing, and Osgood talked about winning his 400th game. He said “It was a late arrival in Denver and we played the previous night (in Minnesota). The guys were exhausted and they played their hearts out. I could tell how hard the guys were working and they would do anything for me. As a player it doesn’t get any better than that. That game was one of the reasons I decided to retire. Beyond winning the Cup again, I can’t do anything better than that game, playing with my teammates and feeling that connection and closeness in competition. It doesn’t get any better than that.”

Holland was very proud of Osgood, and said it was his pleasure to have a player such as him on the ice. He concluded “Any time you’re in the top 10 of anything that’s been around almost a hundred years (like the NHL), it’s pretty special. People would say that Chris played on a good team and use that as a reason why anybody could accomplish what he’s accomplished, and my response is most of the guys that are on that list also played on good teams. If it was so easy, everybody would be doing it. It’s not easy to win 400 games. He’s won two Stanley Cups (as a starter). He has 50 regular-season shutouts. I think Chris thrived in dealing with the pressure of playing on a good team, on a team with high expectations year in and year out.”

Kane said he had an ‘is what it is’ attitude toward it now, but he was initially upset about it when he heard the news of the fracture. He said “Obviously I was sad about the news (at first), but at the same time, from what I’ve heard from the doctors and Stan and Joel, it’s definitely something you want to fix. I’m happy we’re doing it now rather than when we’re coming to training camp and then I’d be out two months after that.”

The number 1 pick in the 2007 entry draft was trying to stay as positive as he could, but admits he is always trying to evolve and improve. Kane said “I feel good. I put a lot of time and effort in this summer to get myself to where I need to be. I told a lot of people that I’m going to try and make that next step next year and that’s something I’m still intending on doing. I’m still trying to become the best player I can be.”

Kane said he wasn’t sure where or when he injured his wrist, but he admitted that it was sore during the playoffs, but the x-rays came up negative. He explained “It’s something that was bothering me in the playoffs a little bit. We checked it out and there was no fracture. I knew something was wrong, so I’m guessing that working out and skating, shooting the puck, those kinds of things where I put a little more pressure on it probably made it a little bit worse.”

Head coach Joe Quenneville was happy with the progress Kane has been making, and said there were many things he still could do to keep training. Coach Q said “He looks good and I still think he can do a lot of other things to prepare as he’s going along. We anticipate him being ready to start the season, so that’s good news.”

With Kane being on the shelf the Hawks have to prepare for the worst, and that means getting a deal done to keep Patrick Sharp on the team. Sharp is trying to be optimistic about the whole thing, and he said its already on the record where he wants to play hockey next season. Sharp said “I really don’t have much to say about it, to be honest with you. I’ve stated that I want to stay here. Hopefully the organization wants me to stay, and besides that I’m not really going to focus on it. I’m just going to try and be the best player I can be and be a good teammate and let those things kind of sort themselves out.”

Chicago’s General Manager Stan Bowman said hockey is the type of sport where you can have a core group of a lot of players, and ominously made statements that they have already locked up the core of the team. “You can’t have a core group of 20 guys. It just doesn’t work that way in the sport of hockey or in other sports, for that matter. We try to identify the guys that are instrumental in being here in the short term and the long term. We’ve done that. We’ve locked those players up and that’s kind of the nature of sports.”