Tight Sched Ahead & a few notes

According to ESPN the NHL will have a lot business to take care of in order to get ready for the free agent frenzy...

The schedule that teams will follow after the expected ratification:

Saturday, July 23

• Period for initiating compliance buyouts begins
• Period to negotiate and sign 2003 draft picks begins
• Period to extend qualifying offers begins
• Period to negotiate with own club's restricted and unrestricted free agents begins

Thursday, July 28

• Deadline to exercise club and player options for the 2005-06 season
• Deadline to sign 2003 draft picks (if not signed, 2003 draftees will re-enter the 2005 draft)
• Deadline to make required bona fide offers to 2004 draft picks

Friday, July 29

• Deadline for initiating compliance buyouts

Saturday, July 30

• Entry draft

Sunday, July 31

• Deadline to extend qualifying offers

Monday, Aug. 1

• Free-agent signing period begins

Surprisingly, no details of the new CBA have been leaked despite the GM orientation session that took place over the weekend. You would think that some details will begin to emerge this week...

Other notes...

Don Cherry will be back on Hockey Night in Canada. Unfortunately the same can't be said for Chris Cuthbert, once thought of as the heir to Bob Cole. If the CBC was smart(oxymoron?) they would hire Jim Hughson to take over for Cuthbert.

As it stands now the NHL will not be televising the draft lottery and they will have a "scaled back" draft. Talk about a squandered opportunity. You have the best prospect to come along in a generation and a draft lottery where every NHL team has a shot at him... this just screams GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY. If the NHL was smart they would hold the lottery the same day as the draft, preferably minutes before the draft, live on TV. Of course the NHL won't do that. They'll hold the lottery behind closed doors and send out a press release saying the NY Rangers have won the 1st overall pick...

Canuck notes...

Brian Burke has poached former director of player personnel Bob Murray away from the Canucks. Murray will be Anaheim's senior vice-president of hockey operations.

Murray was not the only Canuck staffer on Burke's shopping list. According to the Vancouver Sun the Canucks have denied permission for Anaheim to speak with Manitoba Moose coach Randy Carlyle. Unlike Canucks assistant coach Mike Johnston, Carlyle does not have a window of opportunity to persue a head coaching job with another NHL franchise.