You know that kid's song that starts with "The wheels of the bus
go round and round, round and round....?" And continues with
"The wheels of the bus go round and round, round and round....?"
And then finishes with a flourish of "The wheels of the bus go
round and round, round and round....?"
No? Well, you're lucky. But for the equivalent mental effect,
just take a minute and go through all the big rumors Islander
fans have heard about "big names" coming to Uniondale over the
last couple of years. Jeremy Roenick, Alex Mogilny, Sergei
Fedorov, and now Pavel Bure.
Not that Islander fans wouldn't like to see any of these players
in white, blue and orange, but after enough false rumors, they've
begun to wonder if the Isles have just been casting out rumors
for the hell of it.
The latest round of these rumors have some substance to them,
though, due to the continuing holdout of three time 40-goal
scorer Zigmund Palffy. With Palffy playing with some girl's choir
team in Slovakia, or some similar quality of play, the Isles have
apparently offered the enigmatic winger to Vancouver straight up
for Bure. ("Enigmatic" being the phrase you call European
players when they do strange stuff. Canadian kids are just
called "whackos.")
The Canucks reportedly turned down the deal, and common
speculation has concerned whether the trade would be expanded to
include such players as Bryan Berard or Zdeno Chara on the Isles
side, or Bret Hedican or others on the Vancouver side.
Not just the Isles are after Bure. At various times, the
Rangers, Kings, Flyers and Devils have led the chase for Bure,
who refused this season to report to the Canucks in an attempt to
bolster his trade demands. It is rumored the Rangers rejected a
Canuck request for Niklas Sundstrom, top draft pick Manny
Malhotra and netminder Dan Cloutier.
"If we get a good deal, we'll pull the trigger," said Vancouver
GM Brian Burke, who would not detail any discussions he has had
with the Islanders for Bure. "If we don't, he's going to sit all
year. There is no time frame."
Islanders coach and GM Mike Milbury declined any comment (a
first, I think) on the talks or a prospective deal.
Burke and Milbury met at a Dallas hotel last week to conduct
those talks, and Burke, scouting the Islanders against the Dallas
Stars on Friday night at Reunion Arena, confirmed that the
Islanders are one of "more than five teams" involved in those
trade discussions.
"I'll take the best package," Burke said. "The trade will take
one of three forms. One is an elite player for Bure. There are
players in the league I'd trade one for one. But, I don't think
it makes a lot of sense -- because the team that trades value for
value is no better at the end of the day. The second scenario is
the team I trade him to gets the best player in the deal and I
take back help at several different positions and some future
considerations. The third scenario is to go with a bunch of draft
picks and prospects."
The Canucks will refuse as part of any deal to assume a
percentage of the $8.3 million Bure is scheduled to earn this
season, Burke said. New York papers have reported that Burke
contacted Palffy's agent Paul Kraus last week, speaking to him
for 10 minutes in an attempt to wiggle out a contract number.
"[Burke] told me he's seen in the newspaper where I've asked for
$7 million a year," Kraus said. "I told [Burke] to check with
[Isles president] David Seldin regarding the three proposals I've
made. He just seemed to be fishing."
Last week, Kraus gave the Isles a third proposal he characterized
as "significantly less" than the two-year, $13.1 million package
that included a third-year option.
It is believed Burke is not willing to go much beyond $5M per on
a two-year deal for Palffy. The Isles also want Bure, a
restricted free agent at season's end, signed to a contract
extension.
And the wheels on the bus go round and round....
