NHL Rumors Abound in August

James Mirtle is saying that Belanger signed with the Capitals. If this is true, it is a great signing by the Washington Capitals. If this is the case, I don't see why they would have to make another trade before announcing this signing. They are well below the 50 contract limit, and surely Belanger does not eat up the $5.3 million in cap space they have?

Of course if Mirtle is right this means the major trade being done is Alexander Semin being dealt. This would make perfect sense as a player that does nothing but score goals cannot be that well utilized on a team that has Alexander Ovechkin. The only possibility I see is the Capitals adding lots of salary and players so that when they sign Belanger it will be a tight fit. I still don't think that Belanger is going to the Capitals.

One of the main reasons I believe that Belanger is coming to the Leafs is Eklund has said this is false. Also Belanger is a perfect fit on the third line for the Leafs, of course they would have to move Mikhail Grabovski.

Paul Kariya to the Ducks is getting very close. Nothing official as of yet, but I expect Kariya to return for another year by signing a one-year contract.

Ruslan Fedotenko will soon sign with an NHL team. Expect lots of players to sign in the next few weeks as they realize they will not get the money they desire.

The New Jersey Devils are still negotiating with Ilya Kovalchuk. The cap hit will obviously be higher than the $6 million in the 17-year deal, which means they will have to make a trade or two.

Last but not least, Tomas Kaberle will be dealt by Sunday. This is almost a 100 percent guarantee as the offers have gotten really good and Brian Burke has stated he expects to see other teams' best offers tomorrow.