This whole Kovalchuk thing is getting ugly. A few weeks ago I reported on here that Kovalchuk had signed with New Jersey only for that report that I had taken to be close to fact, to turn out to be nonsense. Kovalchuk was still pimping himself out to Los Angeles as well as New Jersey to see which city on either side of the country would give him the best deal. Either that or he was just taking his time to see whether the water was warmer in the Atlantic or over in the Pacific.

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So after live blogging throughout the 1 July on the NHL free agency in what turned out to be a very busy day but also in the hope of breaking live where one of the biggest names in NHL free-agency history, Ilya Kovalchuk ended up we had to wait five full days for the Russian to make up his mind. Lucky I wasn’t patient enough to live blog until then for I’d be out of a job by now if I did sit waiting. According to reports yesterday the Russian sniper second only to Alexander Ovechkin in goals since the lockout signed a seven-year, $60 million contract with the New Jersey Devils were he finished last season after a trade deadline deal from Atlanta on 4 February 2010.

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NHL legendary fighter and enforcer, Bob Probert died today, aged 45, after he collapsed on his boat on Monday afternoon on Lake St. Clair and was declared dead at hospital. Probert scored 163 goals and 221 assists, and an incredable 3,300 penalty minute in his 935 career games in the NHL.

The best way I can sum up Bob Probert is with the words I posted on Facebook upon hearing of his death this afternoon.

“RIP Bob Probert. Greatest fighter in the history of the NHL. Died aged 45. A guy that epitomised the other side of the beautiful game of hockey.”

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The NHL free agency window opens today – 1 July 2010 – and everyone out of contract is not eligible to sign wherever they like. For that reason it’s likely to be one of the busiest days in the NHL calendar. Follow live updates from myself and various other NHL big hitting analysts and jouros on Twitter, right here.

So as expected Taylor Hall beat out Tyler Segun for the first overall pick in the NHL this year as Hall was selected by the Edmonton Oilers to be their face of the future. An awful team last year, hampered in parts by injuries to their best players, came in dead last in the NHL standings and got the first overall pick. Hall was the big favorite to go number one but with a real need for a good young centre man there was rumors that the Oilers might yet go for Seguin. As it turns out they did what you’re supposed to do when drafting teenagers – go for the best available player and ignore the positional need.

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Trades, coaching changes, draft talk, retirement of a legend, CBA news and other rumors. Not quite your average week in the NHL. Still, this week can be busy what with the draft just a few days away and teams looking to sort out their rosters ahead of both the draft and the pending free agency season. Today though seemed like one story after another. I know I’ve been in World Cup lockdown but I do keep an eye on NHL goings on and it’s been pretty quiet of late – if you discount the news that the Boston Bruins will play the Belfast Giants in an exhibition game next October – until today when Twitter got very busy with news stories being reported all over the place. So what was the biggest story of the day? I’d have to go with the Hall of Fame selections – at the very least that was the news story that got the anger of many NHL fans, writers and tweeters.

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As you may or may not know I’ve been a Belfast Giants fan since their inception in 2000 and was a season ticket holder until my move to Canada at the end of the 2008 season. I run a site on the history of the club and have had some great times watching them at home, on the road and even in Switzerland for the Continental Cup in 2003, so when I heard the news today that the Giants would be hosting the Boston Bruins in a friendly game next October I exploded with excitement.

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