Tag along as we journey up-river into the murky depths of Bruce Garrioch. From Sunday's Ottawa Sun article (link at the end):

Vincent Lecavalier could be headed to Broadway and a reunion with John Tortorella, his coach from the 2004 Stanley Cup-champion Tampa Bay Lightning. A league source said New York Rangers GM Glen Sather — who’s desperate to find an answer to his club’s season-long, goal-scoring struggles — reached out to Lightning counterpart Brian Lawton to spark trade talks.

Sather called Lawton. Check.

A second league executive insisted Lecavalier, who had just 11 goals in 46 games this season entering last night’s action — is on the market.

Lecavalier is not untouchable. Check.

While the centre would have to waive his no-movement clause to be reunited with Tortorella, the talk is

"The talk is" -- that's a good one.

the Rangers are willing to offer up a package

"A package." So, the Rangers are willing to send something to Tampa in exchange for LeCavalier. I see. Tampa won't just give Vinnie to New York. Uh...Check.

to kick-start an offence that had scored 120 goals in 47 games. That whisper is

"That whisper" ? -- Thesaurus fail. "Talk" can include many whispers (or sources) whereas "whisper" is only one, unless he's T.S. Eliot. (Writing rumors in verse is actually not a bad idea.)

I am not without sympathy. I imagine it's hard to come up with infinite variations of "[passive voice non-person non-attributed source] said."

that package would be D Matt Gilroy, D Wade Redden and either C Brandon Dubinsky or RW Ryan Callahan. But the pricey and struggling Redden is a non-starter for the Bolts, who would also want to clear salary room along with Lecavalier.

Oh. Wait. So, the story so far: "Sather called Lawton and might have offered something for Lacavalier that Lawton didn't want." Plus:

Indications are

Hee hee.

it would also be very difficult to get Lecavalier to approve any deal because he’s quite happy with the Bolts.

But you said... oh, I get it, he's "on the market" but "probably not for sale."

That’s not going to stop the Rangers from trying.

..."or me from writing about it."

Vancouver Canucks GM Mike Gillis, who claims he’s never trying to make a deal, actually is doing some talking ahead of the March 3 trade deadline. The word is

:)

Gillis has been sniffing around for a forward to add depth for the playoffs.

A never-before-seen stratagem.

The belief is

see "The word is"

the Canucks were offering D Kevin Bieksa before he was sidelined with a leg injury that will keep him out until early March. Just a guess: Gillis will deny this.

"Just a guess." [insert your own joke here.]

A player who could attract attention at the deadline: Atlanta Thrashers RW Colby Armstrong, a looming unrestricted free agent July 1. The belief is

May I suggest scuttlebutt, view, sentiment, or how about "it may be that" or "prevailing wisdom is" or "all signs point to."

Calgary Flames GM Darryl Sutter is interested. The Pittsburgh Penguins have held contract talks with potential UFA D Sergei Gonchar in what is a big decision for GM Ray Shero...The belief is [!] Gonchar would score a three-year deal worth $6-7 million per season on the open market, but he might be willing to take a little less to stay with the Penguins. As unlikely as it seems, if Gonchar is not signed by the deadline, he could be trade bait ...

I don't think he should be allowed to modify anything with "as unlikely as it seems."

The Chicago Blackhawks have a decision to make before the trade deadline: Can they win the Cup with G Cristobal Huet? The belief is [!] the Hawks, who need to win this season before they’re hit with a salary-cap crunch, are concerned about their goaltending.

He should have just gone on record with the actual name of the source for that one. Since it's basically the phone book. Pick a name.

There are whispers in front offices

I guess he got the memo about "that whisper." However:

"There are whispers in front offices." That one is a little Prufrocky. Keep for poem.

that Chicago GM Stan Bowman will make a big pitch for a goalie before the deadline, but the market is limited.

Usage note: "whispers that Bowman will" is an order of magnitude stronger than "whispers that Bowman might." So this is a really reliable possibly-could-maybe happen front-office whisper.

Montreal’s Jaroslav Halak is available, along with the Isles’ Martin Biron and Anaheim’s J.S. Giguere. There is some talk [!] the Hawks might give Isles GM Garth Snow a call

Somewhere someone is telling someone else that Bowman might make a telephone call to Snow. This is somehow worth mentioning, in light of every GM calling every other GM about a million times a day.

to see if he really wants to keep Dwayne Roloson, who has another year left on his contract at $2.5 million. Trying to get under the cap for next season, Chicago could be ready [!] to move LW Kris Versteeg, C Patrick Sharp, D Cam Barker and, naturally, Huet. The Isles could be enticed [!] if G Rick DiPietro is healthy enough to carry the load....There is plenty of trade talk surrounding Ilya Kovalchuk, but agent Jay Grossman is holding out hope he can get a deal done with Thrashers GM Don Waddell to keep the franchise player in Atlanta...Indications are Kovalchuk and the Thrashers are at odds over the winger’s worth.

I'm trying really hard, but I can't think of a single thing a contract negotiation could be about besides a player's worth.

Original article from Rangers eye Lecavalier | Hockey | Sports | Ottawa Sun.