More photos » Mark Avery - AP

Dude....dude...that 8th Jagerbomb was a mistake.

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DANIEL:
The Daily Herald is reporting that the Blackhawks are trying to reacquire James Wisniewski from the Ducks.  The Hawks might be dangling Cam Barker in order to pry Wiz out of Murray's cold dead hands.  Wisniewski is apparently a fan favorite in Chicago. I for one would be glad to see him gone and would appreciate the more responsible and larger Barker.  But that's just me.  Moral of the story, Chicago might be crazy enough to take Wisniewski off our hands. Maybe we can throw in Todd Marchant and get Dustin Byfuglien too.

DANIEL: 

This is Anaheim Calling to the Hockey World.  Darren Dreger of TSN is reporting that the Toronto Maple Leafs are going to be announcing a major trade in the future.  Brian Burke will be available to the media at 8:30 A.M. PST, so the announcement might come in the next half hour.  Mr. Eklund down at Hockey Buzz, in a leap that can only be considered the intellectual equivalent of taking the first step in a game of hopscotch, believe that Jean-Sebastien Giguere is all but destined to be a Leaf.  While there is of course no guarantee Giguere is on the move, the recent signing of Jonas HIller to 4 year extension seems to lead one to believe that Giguere's days at a Duck are all but behind him.  So far, no one but Eklund seems to be jumping to Giguere conclusions, but we've heard this Jiggy to Toronto rumor before.  This isn't a move I disagree with, but I think a sad one for Ducks fans who will have to say goodbye to a net minder who has provided a lot of really good memories.

More photos » Frank Gunn - AP

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ARTHUR:
USA Today reports that Bob Murray was in the Air Canada Centre press box last night.  That's the news.

The rumor is tied to the fact that last night was Vesa Toskala's first start since Nov. 23rd, and the goaltender came away with a win.  According to Randy Youngman, there were preliminary talks for a Giguere/Toskala trade in early November.  Obviously, nothing has materialized, but the Ducks have since, reportedly, inquired into the availability of other Toronto players, such as Niklas Hagman.  Bob Murray's attendance could mean that a Toronto trade, principally involving Toskala, is still a viable option during Youngman's "long before the trade deadline" timeframe.  

More photos » Gene J. Puskar - AP

Man, I can't wait till we trade you. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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Big thanks to cupie for having this up first in the Fanposts.  

THE RUMOR MILL:
Jason Hendricks of Hendricks Hockey reports that the Ducks are the primary suitors for the Rangers' Christopher Higgins with Marchant likely headed back to New York in the deal.

ARTHUR:

Money-wise, I'm not sure if this deal could happen straight up.  The Ducks have the cap space to absorb Higgins, who comes in at 2.25M (twice Todd Marchant's salary), but they're already over budget.  And yet, there is something to be said for getting Marchant's money for next year off the books (as Higgins is a UFA this summer).  

Logistically, I think this makes a lot of sense.  Carlyle claimed that he had planned on using three scoring lines all summer.  Higgins definitely moves the team closer to that goal.  Anaheim would lose Marchant's defensive skill on the PK, but Farrish has seemed content to let Koivu replace him thus far this season.

DANIEL:

I don't really see this trade happening.  I think even Murray knows his main problems are on defense, so the only way this happens is if he thinks he can flip Higgins for some blue line help sooner rather than later.  Moreover, the Top 6 is pretty full, and we should give Lupul a legitimate shot at being the LW on that Koivu-Selanne line before we start picking up extra talent.

If it did happen, I think it would be a bad trade for the Ducks. We take a struggling forward who can't get it together, and we lose a veteran center who last season did an excellent job putting the opposition's top scoring line in check.  It might allow scoring to expand, but right now I think Murray needs to pay more attention to the blueline.