COMING DOWN TO THE WIRE…

In our first item:

According to all the major news organizations that cover the Rangers, both Enver Lisin and veteran Aaron Voros have been put on waivers by the New York Rangers. Lisin will be on display for potential suitors as the Rangers take on the Ottawa Senators tonight. Both are expected though to clear waivers. It is safe to assume that if he does clear waivers, the Rangers will send Voros to the Wolf Pack to finish the season and create cap space.  Voros has another season at $1mm per on his contract. Lisin, who came to the Rangers in a trade for ex-Pack forward Lauri Korpikoski, is a restricted free agent at the end of the season and has a $790K salary cap hit. It is unclear whether or not Lisin would be sent to Hartford or not. Our guess is that he would be.

Which leads to our second item:

The Wolf Pack have sent Devin DiDiomete and Kenny Roche back to the Charlotte Checkers. Could this move have something to do with the previous item? It’s possible. It’s also possible that the Pack just got Andres Ambühl back from the Olympics and P.A. Parenteau back from a concussion. Howlings does not believe that the organization is done making moves though. The Pack are a team that is really struggling to make any kind of push for the post season. With 19 games left on the schedule they CLEARLY need help. Voros and Lisin would be a good start. When (IF) Corey Potter comes back from New York and Nigel Williams gets back in the lineup, at least one other defenseman could be sent to Charlotte as well. Julien Brouillette will certainly go back. The question is on the other would it be Jared Nightingale or Dave Urquhart. The third option is that just one would go back and the team would keep an extra person around just in case.

Also affecting who stays and who goes could be affected by the fact that the Canadian Juniors leagues and college hockey seasons are coming to a close soon. It is possible that 2010 World Juniors Champions, Ryan Bourque, Derek Stepan and Chris Kreider could all get an Amateur Try Out contract.

Here is the official release:

TWO PLAYERS MOVED FROM WOLF PACK ROSTER

*           *           *           *

Devin DiDiomete and Kenny Roche Returned to ECHL Charlotte

Hartford Wolf Pack general manager Jim Schoenfeld announced today that the parent New York Rangers have reassigned forward Devin DiDiomete from the Wolf Pack to the team’s ECHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers, and that the Wolf Pack have released forward Kenny Roche from his Professional Tryout (PTO) agreement.

DiDiomete, a second-year pro, has two assists and is +2 in 34 games with the Wolf Pack this season, and has accumulated 119 penalty minutes, third-most on the team.  In 107 career games with the Pack, DiDiomete has totaled four goals and seven assists for 11 points, along with 358 PIM.

In an earlier stint with Charlotte this year, DiDiomete skated in six ECHL games, notching two goals and an assist for three points, along with 46 penalty minutes.

Roche appeared in 14 games for the Wolf Pack after joining the squad January 23, contributing four goals and four assists for eight points and serving eight minutes in penalties.  Prior to signing with the Pack, Roche logged three AHL games with the Providence Bruins, posting one assist, and had 16-11-27 in 33 ECHL games with the Checkers.

In regards to the Charlotte Checkers, we have two pieces of news.

The first you are aware of and that is that they are joining the AHL next season as the Carolina Hurricanes affiliate. They announced today the following:

CHECKERS ANNOUNCE TICKET PRICES, COLORS
Team Set To Begin Play In American Hockey League In 2010-11

The Charlotte Checkers have announced today ticket prices and brand coloring for the 2010-11 season when the team will begin play in the American Hockey League as the primary affiliate of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes.

The Checkers have created several new pricing levels to remain the most affordable sports entertainment option in Uptown Charlotte.

The introduction of a new $200 full season ticket package means fans can enjoy watching top Carolina Hurricanes prospects 40 times per season for only $5 per game. Under current pricing, the lowest priced season ticket is $9.25 per game.

Luxury ticket inventories such as Royal Boxes and Terrace Tables have decreased in price by an average of $2.50 per game to become an even more affordable and valuable investment piece for businesses and corporate partners.

The most expensive season ticket package remains the glass section at $1140 per seat or $28.50 per game while front row packages in comparative sports markets can range up to $2400 per seat or $60 per game.

Most season ticket price increases are in the .25 – .75 cents per game range in order to remain competitive in this new era of professional hockey in Charlotte

“It was the promise of Checkers owner Michael Kahn that the team would remain the single best sports entertainment value in Charlotte and our new prices reflect this,” remarked Checkers vice president Shawn Lynch. “The AHL offers a much higher caliber of hockey and we are excited to welcome many new teams to the city of Charlotte while remaining consistent with our current pricing.”

In addition, single-game prices will start at $10 per game with the introduction of a discounted youth ticket for all games while the highest single-game ticket will remain at $35 per game.

The Checkers have also announced that they will change their logo and uniform colors to match those of the Hurricanes. The team went through an entire re-branding before the 2007-08 season and will simply change colors and incorporate the Hurricanes trademark. The details of these changes, as well as the new logo, will be revealed at a later date.

For more information or to purchase season tickets for the 2010-11 season please call 704-342-4423 or visit www.gocheckers.com/ahl.

The second piece of news concerns Howlings.

We are going to continue to cover the Hartford Wolf Pack for our fifth season. There are all kinds of rumors floating around as to where the team is going to be. We will cover them regardless. We will also cover whatever ECHL team the Rangers organization decides to work with.

However, we are VERY proud to announce to our readers now, that we will continue to cover the Charlotte Checkers as they enter the AHL as well. Howlings has a magnificent working relationship with the Checkers organization. We have determined that to throw that simply because they will no longer be associated with the Rangers organization seems awfully petty and would be an awful waste of good material. We also strongly believe that it will invite a lot more readers to the site and also stimulate some good chat as the two teams compete against one another.

So a busy day and a busier one coming tomorrow as the trade deadline is set for 3pm eastern. Keep your eyes peeled here or at www.twitter.com/howlingstoday for complete coverage.