NHL Buzz: Friday, August 20

Alex Semin was in a car accident last night, several reports suggest that he is all right.

Dmitry Chesnokov of Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Ilya Kovalchuk's Russian agent has received no indication that Kovalchuk will even consider the KHL. As a Devils fan that is good news as that shows that he is committed to playing in the NHL and would like to sign in New Jersey.

Antti Niemi is still looking for work. While several teams are interested, he has not received an offer yet. Niemi will continue to wait it out as he does not want to go play in Europe.

Dmitry Chesnokov is also reporting that "Viktor Tikhonov father said the player requested a trade from the Coyotes, said about 15 teams are interested." You have to believe if this is true that the Maple Leafs are among the teams interested.

Peter Adler of the Edmonton Journal is reporting that the Washington Capitals are in talks with the Oilers about Sheldon Souray and the Canucks about Kevin Bieksa. All the trade details are unknown but it is believed the Capitals are offering Tomas Fleischmann.

The Anaheim Ducks continue to be in the market for a defenseman. Their main target appears to be Kevin Bieksa but that may be a little far-fetched now as I doubt they will offer a bigger package than the one the Capitals are offering with Tomas Fleischmann.

The New Jersey Devils would like to add a puck-moving defenseman if possible. This is just pure speculation, but you have to believe they would be interested in Marc-Andre Bergeron as he is a cheap and productive option.

The Maple Leafs are expected to reach an agreement with Christian Hanson in the near future.

In the meantime, Brian Burke is continuing his search for a top-six forward.

This concludes today's edition of NHL Buzz, enjoy.

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