Rick Nash has one year left on his contract with the only team for which he has played, and the Blue Jackets want to sign him to a long-term deal before he can become an free agent next summer, according to an Associated Press report on Tuesday. One of the top forwards in the league, it?s not just a wild rumor that the Maple Leafs covet the kid who grew up in suburban Brampton.

The Sharks are beginning a roster makeover by declining to make qualifying offers to forwards Marcel Goc, Tomas Plihal and Lukas Kaspar, according to an Associated Press report on Monday. All three forwards played much of last season for the Sharks, who finished with the NHL?s best regular-season record before losing their first-round playoff series to the Ducks.

The Tampa Bay Lightning made qualifying offers to nine players today, Executive Vice President and General Manager Brian Lawton announced. Players receiving offers were C Blair Jones, RW Martins Karums, D Lukas Krajicek, D Matt Lashoff, D Mike Lundin, G Karri Ramo, D Matt Smaby, LW Radek Smolenak and RW Lauri Tukonen. Smaby, a 6-foot-5 native of Minneapolis, Minnesota, played in a career-high 43 games with the Lightning last season, averaging 19:05 in ice time per contest, also a career best. He ranked fourth on the team in hits with 122 and blocked shots with 68. Smaby has played in 57 career NHL games, all with Tampa Bay, recording four assists and 35 shots on goal. Lashoff, a 6-2 native of East Greenbush, New York, played in 12 games with the Lightning last season after being acquired from the Boston Bruins with Karsums in exchange for Mark Recchi and a second-round choice in 2010. He set career highs in games played with 28, assists with eight and points with eight with Tampa Bay and Boston combined. Lashoff averaged 23:46 in ice time with the Lightning after being acquired, a significant increase after averaging 13:06 with the Bruins. He has played in 58 career NHL games, recording a goal and 15 points. Krajicek, a 6-2 native of Prostejov, Czech Republic, played in 71 games with the Lightning last season, recording two goals and 19 points. He led all Tampa Bay defensemen in assists and points. Krajicek was second on the team in blocked shots with 90 and second among defensemen with 22 takeaways. He established career highs for assists, points and average ice time with 19:37. Krajicek has played in 278 career NHL games, registering 10 goals and 69 points. Karsums, a 5-10 native of Riga, Latvia, played in 18 games with Tampa Bay after being acquired from the Bruins in the same trade as Matt Lashoff. He tallied a goal and five points with the Lightning, averaging 11:40 in ice time. Karsums finished the 2008-09 season strong with a goal and three points in the final five games. He has played in 24 career NHL games, all last season, with a goal and six points. Lundin, a 6-2 native of Burnsville, Minnesota, played in 25 games with the Lightning last season, recording two assists. He also played in 51 games with the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League, registering four goals and 29 points. A participant in the 2008 NHL Young Stars Game, Lundin has skated in 106 NHL games, tallying eight points. Jones, a 6-2 native of Central Butte, Saskatchewan, played in 80 games with Norfolk last season, registering 20 goals and 54 points. He was second on the team in assists and points. Jones? 20 goals were a professional career high. He has played in 24 career NHL games, recording a goal and three points. Tukonen, a 6-2 native of Hyvinkaa, Finland, was acquired by Tampa Bay from Dallas on November 30, 2008 in exchange for Andrew Hutchinson. He played in the Finnish Elite League last season with Llves Tampere and Lukko Rauma, totaling eight goals and 21 points in 35 games. Tukonen has played in five career NHL games, all with the Los Angeles Kings in 2006-07 and 2007-08. Ramo and Smolenak?s rights were retained despite their having signed European contracts.

Red Wings general manager Ken Holland has admitted that it will be tough for the team to re-sign winger Marian Hossa. "We've got a limited amount of cap space to play with or determine how we're going to spend it," Holland said. "Obviously for us to bring Marian back, we're going to have to let people go. "I've sat with [agent] Ritch [Winter] here and told him to what cap level we're prepared to go. The only way we can make it work is to offer a long-term deal. I would say to you they were hoping to do better. At the same time, they understand the challenges we've got and understand that probably in order to be where they want to be we can't get there."

Sergei Fedorov is leaving the NHL to play in his homeland, according to an Associated Press report. The 1994 league MVP and three-time Stanley Cup winner with the Red Wings has signed a two-year deal with Russian club Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the Kontinental Hockey League. Fedorov?s agent, Pat Brisson, called the Capitals on Thursday to inform them of the 39-year-old forward?s decision. Fedorov was set to become a free agent next week after helping the Capitals make the playoffs the past two seasons.

The Sabres are negotiating with Jaroslav Spacek in an attempt to re-sign the veteran defenseman before he?s eligible to become a free agent next week, according to an Associated Press report on Monday. GM Darcy Regier said he?s made Spacek an offer and plans to have further discussions with the player?s agent, Stephen Freyer, before the start of free agency on July 1.

Red Wings general manager Ken Holland is expected to meet with defenseman Chris Chelios in the next few days about his future. Chelios, 47, declined to talk about his future during the playoffs.

The Maple Leafs definitely will not bring back veteran goaltender Curtis Joseph for the 2009-10 season. General manager Brian Burke will come up with a Plan B if Swedish free agent Jonas (The Monster) Gustavsson decides not to sign with the Leafs this summer. But even if the big Swede goes elsewhere (Dallas seems to be the other leading destination), and the Leafs begin looking for a legitimate backup for Vesa Toskala, it won't be the 42-year-old Joseph. "Great service as a Leaf," Burke said this week of Joseph. "But we are moving on."

The Flyers will announce an agreement with free-agent goalie Ray Emery on Wednesday, according to sources. Team sources indicated on Tuesday that Philadelphia reached a one-year, $1.5 million deal with Emery. The deal cannot be signed until July 1, when the NHL's signing period begins. Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren is scheduled to meet the media on Wednesday morning to discuss the deal.

The Flyers are still negotiating with goalie Ray Emery. Emery played in Russia last season, which means an NHL team can sign him before the July 1 free-agent signing period begins. "We're still talking," Philadelphia general manager Paul Holmgren said. "I can't say we've decided 100 percent yet." Holmgren added that he has talked with potential free agent Marty Biron and his agent "at length," and he was not ready to close the door on signing him.