Ottawa needs to win a trade

From Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun:

Ottawa, it appears now, will be in the mix with Tampa, Carolina, Buffalo, Florida, the Islanders and the Thrashers for the eighth spot.

To improve the Senators' chances of making the playoffs, their Murray needs to recreate some magic. He needs to win a trade.

For the Senators to have a shot at winning the Stanley Cup, he needs to reach out and touch another Mike Milbury.

Read the entire article here.

Brennan points out the lack of depth on the Senators' roster; so, precisely how is the team going to make a trade if it lacks the necessary depth to do so?

NHL Morning Papers: Special Pre-Draft Edition

Here are the morning papers from the Northeast Division:

• Sabres GM Darcy Regier is looking to move up in the draft, writes John Vogl.
• The Bruins have a couple of names that they are hoping are available at 16. Meanwhile, apparently Cam Neely enjoys the draft process.
• Bryan McCabe won't waive his no-trade clause and the Leafs won't buy him out, so it looks like he'll be in Toronto. Want advice on how to turnaround the Leafs? Listen to Don Cherry. The Leafs acquired Toronto native Jamal Mayers last night.
• The Habs could look to deal their first-rounder for an accomplished forward, writes Pat Hickey.
• Bryan Murray denies that a trade involving Jason Spezza is in the works. Here are some other tidbits involving the Senators, courtesy of Don Brennan.

News You Can Use Late in the Day

1. Darren Dreger wonders if we have seen the last of Hasek.
2. Bob Mckenzie points out that Ray Emery must go, regardless of whether the Sens' poor showing was his fault.
3. Sam McCaig looks at Danny Briere's hot start to the playoffs.
4. Spezza for Luongo?
5. Memorial Cup 1927.
6. Steve Rucchin considers retirement.
7. Canada finished the Preliminaries with a 6-0 defeat of Slovakia.
8. Larry Brooks writes about an interesting clause in Jaromir Jagr's contract.
9. Judd Zulgad calls out the Wild's annoucers as homers.
10. Evegeny Artyukhin may return to the Lightning.
11. The Rangers will attempt to address anti-gay slurs by its fans.
12. Brantford and Bentley advance to the semi-finals at the Allan Cup.
13. Robert Esche will tend goal for the United States at the World Championships.
14. Check out the video of the Top 10 Shootout goals. I'm not so sure Zach Parise's goal at #10 deserves to be on this list. Thoughts?
15. Rand Simon notes that offer sheets will be a little less risky this summer.
16. Bryan Murray says Ray Emery is not coming back.
17. You stay classy Boston.
18. Brent Sutter talks like my grandma.
19. Mike Rupp miked up.
20. An in-depth look at Ryan Clowe.
21. Tom Cavanagh (he was on Scrubs) blogs for the NHL.
22. A look at draft eligible prospect, Mikkel Boedker.
23. Remember Sami (What's) Kapanen?
24. The ECHL Update.
25. Jim Kelley with his thoughts on Joe Thornton, the Wings' goaltending, and more.

NHL Morning Papers: Playoff Teams (Friday Edition)

Here are the morning papers for the Eastern Conference playoff match ups:

Montreal versus Boston:

• Carey Price had a meltdown in the third period and the result is Game 6 on Saturday in Boston. "We have to forget this game right away," said Canadiens youngster Maxim Lapierre after his team's 5-1 home loss to the Bruins. For all the chances the Bruins have had this series, it was a fluke goal that led to last night's victory. Meanwhile, the Habs have many players on their roster who had great regular seasons, so with that comes bonus payments, writes Pat Hickey.
• The Bruins knew they had 20 minutes to continue their season and with a dominant third period they did just that, writes Fluto Shinwaza. Glen Metropolit's first career playoff goal was sure a big one, writes Kevin Paul Dupont. Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli had a little talk with Harry Sinden yesterday. Meantime, if the Bruins lose on Saturday, that may be Glen Murray's last game as a Bruin.

Pittsburgh versus Ottawa:

• Bob Smizik wonders if the Penguins are that good or the Senators are that bad? While they all want to grow playoff bears, not all the Penguins can. Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette examines the positives and negatives of having a layoff.
• Ray Emery discussed his season with the Ottawa press yesterday. (Writer's note: Why do people give him so much attention? He's an average goalie with an attitude problem. I've read enough about Ray Emery for five years.) In other Senators news, Jason Speeza loves Ottawa and it is the only city he wants to play hockey in. Here are all the Senators' exit interviews.

Washington versus Philadelphia:

• The Capitals put forth their best game of the playoffs last night Philadelphia and still lost, writes Tarik El-Bashir. Mike Wise of the Washington Post wonders if the Capitals turned in their best game a little too late? You can't teach experience, writes Jason La Canfora.
• Martin Biron turned his game up a notch when his team needed it most, writes Sam Donnellon. The Flyers were outplayed during regulation but they took the play to the Capitals during overtime, writes Tim Panaccio. Game 4 was just a terrific hockey game, writes Phil Sheridan.

New Jersey versus New York Rangers:

• Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Ledger wonders when Martin Brodeur is going to steal a game for the Devils? "The message was we don't have to win three games (tonight), just one," said Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner. If the Devils want to slow down the pace of Game 5, the Rangers won't be complaining.
• After predicting the team's exit from the first round a week ago, Larry Brooks of the NY Post is suddenly examining the possibility that Jaromir Jagr could win the Conn Smythe and, as a result, trigger an option for next season. A couple of Rangers have been part of comebacks from down 3-1 in the playoffs so they won't be taking their lead for granted, writes John Dellapina. Bob Raissman of the NY Daily News says that Sean Avery is good for hockey in the big picture.

The morning papers for the Western Conference playoff match ups are soon to follow...

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com

Sens/Canes Trade Analysis

To Carolina:
Patrick Eaves
07-08 Salary: $900,000
RFA next season

Joe Corvo
07-08 Salary: $2.5 mil
08-09 Salary: $2.75 mil
09-10 Salary: $2.75 mil

Carolina finally gets the true powerplay quarterback they have been looking for in Corvo, after employing a forward on the point (sometimes even two forwards) throughout the majority of the season. The initial idea was that Frantisek Kaberle would be the powerplay quarterback, but after struggling out of the gate recovering from off-season surgery, it became apparent that Carolina truly needed a number one defenceman to run the troops with the man advantage. Corvo’s booming shot, accurate outlet pass, and quick feet will surely be a boon to the Canes offense. After a promising rookie campaign, Eaves has had injury troubles the past two seasons. Not known for his aggressive style of play, Eaves is a talented winger with offensive potential who couldn’t really find a comfortable spot in the Sens’ lineup. Projected 2nd line winger.

To Ottawa:
Cory Stillman
07-08 Salary: $1.75 mil
UFA next season

Mike Commodore
07-08 Salary: $1.3 mil
UFA next season

Conversely, the Sens are shedding a good chunk of salary for the next two years, in bidding adieu to Corvo. The Sens will miss his heavy shot from the point, and it surely does shake up their powerplay. The likely result will either be Meszaros or Schubert being paired with Redden on the #1 unit, or Alfredsson filling the void on the point from time to time (a scary thought thinking back to Pominville walking around Alfredsson to score the series clinching goal for the Sabres two years ago). Another possibility may be to put Heatley back on the point, but with his skating being weaker than Alfredsson’s, this doesn’t seem too likely. The thought is that defenceman Brian Lee will be ready for some primetime action next season on the blueline. Acquiring Stillman is a great move, and will give coach Paddock some more options if he wants to break up Alfredsson from Heatley and Spezza come playoff time. According to GM Bryan Murray, Stillman is slated to play with second line centre Mike Fisher. Not known to be too aggressive in the corners to say the least, let’s hope that Stillman’s 34 year-old body holds up. In Commodore, the Sens acquire a physical blueliner with playoff experience winning the Cup with Canes and reaching the finals with Calgary in 2004. Known for having a cult following with his crazy hair and bathrobe, Commodore will fit in nicely as a depth defenceman on the Sens.

The Result:
To quote legendary GM Sam Pollock, the team who gets the best player wins a trade. If that is true, then the Sens are the winners in this deal. Looking more closely, the departure of Corvo will create an offense hole on the Sens’ blueline, but one that can be fixed with a quick shuffle of powerplay duties. What can’t be overlooked is the $2.5 mil vacancy created on the team’s payroll over the next two seasons. Although the Sens likely won’t re-sign Stillman after next season, he will hopefully provide some leadership and Cup experience this year, coupled with a secondary scoring option. Depending on how Eaves progresses over the years, the Sens appear to have won this deal for the short term.

Fantasy Watch: Who's Hot and Who's Not

Stats over the last 7 days

HOT

D Brian Campbell, Buffalo Sabres
1 G, 6 A, +3

Campbell opened up the season assisting on Buffalo's first regulation goal. Since then, the defenseman has scored a point in each of Buffalo's games, including a four point performance in the Sabers 7-3 rout over Washington last Saturday.
Fantasy Take: Campbell has been a fantasy stud over the past two years, scoring 92 points in 161 games played. With already nine points in his first four games, Campbell is slowly emerging as an elite fantasy defenseman, joining the ranks of Nicklas Lidstrom, Sergei Gonchar and Chris Pronger.

F Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings
3 G, 4 A, +7

Zetterberg has been on a tear since the beginning of the season, scoring 12 points in Detroit's first six games. Playing on Detroit's top line, Zetterberg has been clicking on all cylinders with linemates Tomas Holmstrom and Pavel Datsyuk.
Fantasy Take: Zetterberg had a rather disappointing season last year, appearing in only 63 games for the Red Wings, due to a rash of injuries. If the Swede can stay healthy all year, then he is well on pace to eclipse his season high point total of 85 set two years ago.

F Justin Williams, Carolina Hurricanes
1 G, 5 A, +2

After posting career highs in points, assists and goals two seasons ago, Williams' production turned the other way last season, as his point total dipped by nine points. Looking to get back on track, Williams has done just that, as his eight points lead all Hurricanes.
Fantasy Take: Although Williams had an off-year last season, the same can be said for the entire Carolina Hurricanes squad. Starting off the season 4-1-1, it looks as if the Stanley Cup hangover is gone in Carolina, which hopefully will boost Williams' point production back into the 70+ range.

F Jason Spezza, Ottawa Senators
7 A, -1

Spezza has been particularly unselfish this year, dishing out seven assists in his last four games, giving him 11 on the year. With both Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson playing exceptionally well, Spezza could be in for a career year.
Fantasy Take: The only knock on Spezza is his inability to stay healthy. After scoring 87 points in only 67 games a year ago, Spezza should be a lock to pass 100 points, but with his health always a question mark anything can happen.

NOT

F Brendan Shanahan, New York Rangers
1 A

Contributing 29 goals and 62 points in 67 games last year, it appeared as though Shanahan still had a few more seasons left in him. Unfortunately, that might not be the case as free agent acquisitions Scott Gomez and Chris Drury have clearly taken the spotlight. With his only point coming last Friday, Shanahan might be in for a long season.
Fantasy Take: It might be time for Shanahan to ride the bench on your fantasy team, as it doesn't look like he'll be a consistent contributer this season. Start looking for other options.

F Jaret Stoll, Edmonton Oilers
1 A, -5

Drafted with high expectations last season, Stoll turned out to be a huge disappointment, as the forward only scored 39 points. Hoping to get back to 2005-06 form, Stoll has struggled to open up the season, assisting on one goal.
Fantasy Take: With Edmonton having a rather lackluster offense, it might be time leave the once promising forward on your bench.

D Ryan Whitney, Pittsburgh Penguins
1 G, -2

Whitney broke out last year, scoring 59 points in 81 games. Now in his third year as a pro, Whitney has struggled to put up points, as he has only one goal in four games.
Fantasy Take: Still appearing on the power-play, Whitney will be given a ton of chances to get on the scoresheet. Don't expect this slump to last long.

F Miroslav Satan, New York Islanders
0 G, 0 A, -2

Satan's point total was down from the previous year, as the forward only managed 59 points in 81 games. With only one assist in New York's first six games, Satan's total's may take another hit this year.
Fantasy Take: With a short schedule this upcoming week, owners should bench Satan until he can prove to be a reliable fantasy scorer.


For Illegal Curve, Im Jonny Remis

Morning Musings

I don't have time for a preamble this morning, the usual format will return tomorrow.

Here are the morning papers:

• The Bruins almost squeaked out a win versus the Ducks last night, but a late Francois Beauchemin goal gave the Ducks a 2-1 victory at the Honda Center. The Bruins played the contest without Marc Savard who was held out of last night's game with a groin injury. If the Bruins are to breakout offensively, they need Glen Murray to return to old form writes Stephen Harris of the Boston Herald.
• Dan Wood of the Orange County Register details the momentum changing shift that Ryan Getzlaf and Chris Kunitz had for the Ducks midway through the 2nd period. The game was almost second fiddle for most Ducks' fan as the team raised the Stanley Cup banner prior to the game. Scott Niedermayer and Teemu Selanne were both on hand for that celebration.
• The Sabres have been endlessly working on their defensive play in practice since their two early season losses to the Islanders. Just because Ryan Miller's cousin has passed away, it doesn't mean he won't continue to be an inspiration for Miller and those who knew him and his story.
• Kris Draper was admittedly in awe of his teammates Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg after their terrific performance in the Wings' 4-2 victory over Calgary on Wednesday. Sometimes it is an adjustment for European players to come to the NHL and be told to shoot, shoot, shoot writes Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.
• The Datsyuk line thoroughly outplayed the Iginla line admitted Iginla himself in this morning's Calgary Sun.
• As Lisa Dillman of the L.A. Times explains, the Kings kept giving the puck away last night versus the Stars and, as a result, were on the losing end of a 5-1 score.
• Niklas Hagman's promotion to a scoring line was a rousing success as the winger scored twice leading the Stars to a 5-1 victory over the Kings.
• The Wild continued their recent domination over the Oilers last night with a 2-0 victory; Michael Russo of the Star Tribune has the story. Russo also has a great story about the respect and admiration that Oilers' defenseman Sheldon Souray has for his former coach Jacques Lemaire.
• Oilers' head coach Craig MacTavish thought the Oilers played a good road game writes Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun. Shawn Horcoff was a little bit more critical saying, "if we're going to make the playoffs, we have to beat teams like this."
• John Glennon of the Tennessean explains that the Predators fell about nine minutes short of their goal in last night's game at St. Louis. While Predators' coach Barry Trotz was not impressed with his team's defensive performance saying, "We left (goaltender) Mason to the Wolves."
• The Flyers thoroughly dominated the Canucks in every aspect of the game leading to an easy 8-2 victory. Former Canuck R.J. Umberger was awfully excited to defeat the team that he could never agree to a contract with writes Ed Moran of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• Flyers' enforcer Jesse Boulerice cross-checked Ryan Kesler in the face in the 3rd period of last night's game and Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province thinks the repeat offender deserves more than a 15 game suspension.
• Jack Todd of the Montreal Gazette believes that the Habs' great goaltending torch has now been passed to Carey Price after his impressive 3-2 victory over the Penguins last night.
• While the Penguins were impressed with Carey Price's debut, they believe their mental mistakes were the real reason they lost 3-2 to the Habs on Wednesday night. Although nothing has been confirmed, it looks like the Penguins may be opening up 2008/09 in Prague versus the Senators.
• The Leafs are only four games into this young season but there is already a sense of urgency surrounding the club explains Mark Zwolinski in this morning's Toronto Star. Catching nobody by surprise, Leafs' coach Paul Maurice plans on giving his lineup quite the face lift for the team's big game versus the Islanders tonight.
• After Chris Gratton scored both Tampa's goals in their 2-1 victory over the Panthers, Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune wonders if the Panthers now regret trading the big centerman. However, the real star of the game was Lightning goaltender Johan Holmqvist who turned away 30 of 31 shots for the victory.
• Even though they have hardly counted on the scoresheet, the Panthers are taking solace in the fact that they are generating scoring chances. Craig Anderson was in net on Wednesday night meaning Tomas Vokoun will be back in between the pipes tonight.
• Capitals' coach Glen Hanlon is happy with the Caps 3-0 start but believes his team still has "a long way to go," starting with the team's slumping powerplay.
• Even though Blues' President Dave Checketts didn't guarantee a home opener victory this season, the Blues pleased their boss anyways with a decisive 4-1 victory over Nashville. Prior to Wednesday's home opener, Blues' rookie defenseman Erik Johnson tried to beg his way into the lineup, even though he has a hairline fracture in his foot.
• Milan Michalek was happy to be reunited with Steve Bernier and, more importantly, Patrick Marleau for last night's tilt in Chicago. The young winger's happiness was evident as he scored the only two Sharks' goals in the team's 2-1 victory. Sharks' defenseman Douglas Murray was a healthy scratch for last night's contest.
• The Hawks didn't win their home opener but their stud rookie Jonathan Toews opened some eyes with his gorgeous first period goal.
• Coyotes' coach Wayne Gretzky believes his team is letting their opposition dictate the pace at the start of games.
• The Thrashers were beaten by rookie Brian Elliot and the Ottawa Senators 3-1 last night writes Carroll Rogers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
• Daniel Alfredsson was impressed by John Paddock's decision to start Elliot in between the pipes, saying, "the coach looks like a genius." Meanwhile, Jason Spezza's agent Rick Curran tells Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen that negotiations on a contract extension for his client will not be done in public.
• Bryan Berard had quite the return to Long Island scoring the game winning goal in his team's 2-1 victory over the rival Rangers.
• The Rangers have produced nothing on the offensive side of the puck since the season began last week writes Larry Brooks of the NY Post. With so many new faces in town, Jaromir Jagr says the chemistry is not yet there on Broadway.
• Richard Matvichuk has been placed on the trading block by Lou Lamoriello because coach Brent Sutter has opted for a more mobile defense. The GM believes he can complete a deal quite quickly.
• The Hurricanes can roll out three lines that have the ability to score writes Luke Decock of the News Observer.
• Adrian Dater of the Denver Post provides readers with a Q & A with Joe Sakic. Sakic's GM for all his prime years Pierre Lacroix, was elected into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Morning Musings: Is there anything better than a Brian Burke interview?

Last night I had the privilege of watching Brian Burke's interview with James Duthie of TSN and it was anything but a letdown. When asked about his relationship with Kevin Lowe after the summer offer sheet he gave to Dustin Penner, Burke responded, "If I had run my team into the sewer like that I wouldn't throw a grenade at the other 29 teams and my own indirectly." All I can say about that comment is WOW. Burke even went on to say that he wouldn't speak with Kevin Lowe even if he coveted one of his players in a trade; rather, he would have his assistant GM Bob Murray make that call. I am still wondering if the best part of the interview was Burke going off like that or James Duthie's "okay" response as you could see the anchor was in shock by what had just been said. Either way, it makes for good television.

I know Burke gets his fair share of criticism but, to be honest, I'm still not sure why. He does a tremendous job of building teams and fan bases as Eric Duhatschek points out in the Globe and Mail. Additionally, he gives his frank opinion on issues. In my mind that is a breath of fresh air. In this particular interview, Duthie asked Burke a question and regardless of your opinion on his response, you can't argue with the fact that he was being honest. Straight shooters are more rare in the game today than they were, say, twenty years ago and in my humble opinion, the NHL needs more personalities like Brian Burke.

On to the morning papers:

• Alexei Kovalev is making an effort to help his young teammates out this season writes Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette. As far as predictions go, Hickey believes the Habs will finish in the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference and just squeak into the playoffs.
• Radek Bonk has impressed his new coach Barry Trotz with his poise both offensively and defensively. Meanwhile, Preds' forward Martin Gelinas will have stitches removed from his hand before the team's opener on Thursday.
• Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Ledger has a must-read human interest piece on Brent Sutter this morning. In other Sutter news, the new Devils' coach will wait to make a decision on team captain and open the season with three alternate captains. It is interesting to note that neither John Madden nor Jay Pandolfo were named alternates.
• Larry Brooks of the NY Post is unimpressed with Tom Renney's plan to have Scott Gomez on the Rangers' second powerplay unit. It appears Chris Drury will get every opportunity to prove he can mesh with Jaromir Jagr to stick on the team's number one line.
• At Islanders' camp, Jeff Tambellini was demoted to Bridgeport of the AHL on Tuesday, however, a decision has not yet been made on the future of Bryan Berard.
• Due to their playoff success a season ago, the Senators are now a team with a target on their backs writes Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. Chris Phillips is not buying the argument that this may be the Sens' last chance to compete for the Cup.
• Hugh Adami of the Ottawa Citizen suggests that Bryan Murray make Jason Spezza his first priority ahead of signing Dany Heatley.
• You can count Mike Richards as one player who is happy John Stevens is behind the Flyers' bench this season instead of Ken Hitchcock.
• Phil Sheridan of the Philadelpia Inquirer wonders if expectations are too high for the Flyers heading into the season.
• Heading into Thursday's opener against the Blues, Coyotes' coach Wayne Gretzky has finalized his team's lines. After looking at these lines, you can't help but think it is going to be a long season in the desert.
• David Pollack of the San Jose Mercury News provides readers with the line combinations at Sharks' practice on Tuesday.
• For Jordan Staal, adjusting to left wing is not as hard when your linemates are Sidney Crosby and Petr Sykora.
• The Blues' roster is so young that Doug Weight jokes he may have to go shopping for a new wardrobe to keep up with his new, hip, well-dressed teammates.
• John Tortorella never questions Vaclav Prospal's effort and expects a big year out of the winger. Tortorella also announced his starting goalteder for Thursday's opener will be Johan Holmqvist.
• It is time for the Leafs to start playing games that count writes Paul Hunter of the Toronto Star. While Damien Cox of the Star believes the time has come for Mats Sundin to pass the torch on to a teammate. Sundin is fully aware he is nearing the end of his career writes Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun. (Writer's note: There was a brilliant quote by Jason Blake in Paul Hunter's piece this morning. "All three of us have different characteristics. Mats is big and strong. Nik is big and strong. I'm small and weak. Hopefully things will work out." Ummmm, I'm not sure, but I think big and strong and big and strong would be the SAME characteristics!!!)
• Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post examines how the CBA has worked two years after the inception of the salary cap.
• Roberto Luongo believes he is a better goalie than he was last season writes Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province. (Writer's note: Is that even possible?)
• Modest Mike Modano is closing in on becoming the all-time leading U.S. born scorer in NHL history writes Kevin Allen of USA Today.
• As Illegal Curve told you last night, Bobby Holik is the newest captain of the Atlanta Thrashers.
• Milan Lucic, David Krejci and Shawn Thornton were all excited to see cut-down day go by without their names being included writes Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe. Here are the Bruins' line combinations heading into the season.
• The Sabres will use a monthly captain rotation this season with Jochen Hecht sporting the C to begin the season.
• Steve Macfarlane of the Calgary Sun has a Q & A with new coach Mike Keenan. Keenan is the key to the team's fortunes this season writes Eric Francis of the Sun.
• Bruce Dowbiggen of the Calgary Herald provides readers with a preview of the Flames this season IF readers are ready for it.
• The Ducks are back from Europe and ready to renew their rivalry with the Wings.
• Luke Decock of the News Observer does a good job of capturing the optimism that surrounds the Canes heading into 2007/08. (Writer's note: The Canes won't be televising the team's first game. However, fear not Carolina fans, the league is working to get the Montreal feed on the Center Ice package so Canes fans can get the game. Nothing like a sound marketing strategy. I mean there has to be about two people with Center Ice in Carolina and I'm betting they probably don't speak French.)
• Injuries are no longer an issue for the Blackhawks heading into the season opener writes Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune.
• As Adrian Date of the Denver Post tells us, Joel Quenville has strayed away from the team's successful line combinations from a season ago by flip-flopping Milan Hejduk and Andrew Brunette. Meanwhile, Terry Frei of the Post has a great piece on the adjustment to life in the Rockies for Ryan Smyth and his family.
• The Blue Jackets will start the season with a platoon in net writes Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. It looks like Mike Peca may not be ready for the season opener due to back spasms.
• Dave Tippett has become better at realizing when he needs to give his mind a rest from thinking about hockey; Mike Heika has the story in the Dallas Morning News.
• Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press provides readers with a few reasons why the Wings won't win the Cup this season. However, it is clear her article was just for argument's sake because in the Free Press prediction column, St. James has the Wings taking home Lord Stanley's Cup.
• New goalie Tomas Vokoun is the key to the Panthers' fortunes this season.
• Ladislav Smid was pushed to the AHL by the increased crop of talent that was in the big camp this season writes Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal.
• Apparently Craig MacTavish has quite a simple formula for picking the team's next captain.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

The HD Corner - Gord Miller calling Baseball?!

Guess what hockey fans? If you’re having Gord Miller withdrawal this off-season, fret not. Miller has been calling the current Jays – Orioles series on TSN to pinch hit for Rod Black. Ironically enough, the Orioles announcer is none other than NHL announcer Gary Thorne. What are the odds that Bill Clement shows up for a second inning analysis? Let’s hope slim to none. I never thought I’d say this, but Rod Black better come back soon. Actually, does it matter? Who’s going to watch the Jays at this point of the season anyways?

Speaking of Clement, he is the latest addition to the Sportsnet hockey crew. He will provide analysis via satellite as well as in-studio appearances. Sidebar: has anyone seen that ridiculous bug spray commercial with Bill Clement shirtless? Bill, do as all a favour and do a couple push-ups. Maybe hit the bench press now and then. Please! You can check out the youtube clip here, but you have been warned.

In other Sabres news, it appears that TV and radio colour guy Jim Lorentz has decided to hang ‘em up. Maybe he read the last edition of The HD Corner, which included my criticism of his work. Now I’m starting to wish he’d stay on considering Matthew Barnaby, John Tucker and Mike Robitaille will each work beside Rick Jeanerette this week for Sabres exhibition games. No word yet for Lorentz’s full-time replacement, but you’d have to think Rob Ray would get a crack at the job, or at least an interview, since he does have some experience on Sabres MSG telecasts.

Finally, tonight The Score is airing its annual round table discussion (actually on air now as I write this column) about the state of hockey and potential rule changes. Guests include Marty, Turco, Jason Spezza, Colin Campbell, JFJ, Ken Holland, and Stephen Walkom. The panel will be run by Steve Kouleas, who although is quite annoying, usually asks good questions. For some hilghights, check out William Houston’s article here.

Morning Musings

Due to the high number of articles this morning, I am going to skip my usual preamble.

On to the morning papers:

• Shawn Horcoff may not be penciled in on the Oilers' number one line, but he will still play on the top powerplay unit and kill penalties. To his credit, Horcoff is not complaining about being demoted from the team's top line.
• All the youngsters were impressive for the Oilers last night versus the Flames writes Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun.
• Sheldon Souray takes it personally when people put down the city of Edmonton and the province of Alberta.
• As Steve Gorton writes, Olli Jokinen is coming into his own as captain and leader of the Florida Panthers.
• Dan Boyle suffered a freak accident in the locker room and the team will be without his services for 3-6 weeks.
• Injured Mike Van Ryn and Steve Montador both skated on their own yesterday in an effort to get ready for the team's first regular season game.
• After an impressive rookie campaign, sophomore Anze Kopitar is looking to improve upon last season's terrific numbers; Lonnie White of the L.A. Times has the story.
• Most families hate to see their children fight, however, the Boogards are a different breed writes Michael Russo.
• The newest line of Fiddler-Arnott-Dumont is gelling at Predators' camp writes John Glennon of the Tennessean. Meanwhile, the Predators made more cuts on Saturday and have now trimmed their roster down to 28.
• Saku Koivu think that the Habs need to work on their powerplay. The Habs went 0-for-5 on the man-advantage in their 2-1 loss to the Sens on Saturday.
• The Rangers' forward combination of Gomez and Jagr needs more time to click writes John Dellapina of the New York Daily News. The Rangers left much to be desired in their 5-0 defeat to the Flyers on Saturday.
• Sean Bergenheim and Charles Wang have put their differences behind them and Bergenheim is looking forward to a having big season with the Islanders.
• With Sheldon Souray gone from Montreal, Jason Spezza picked a new Habs' defenseman to pick on and that was Mark Streit.
• Christoph Schubert impressed a number of scouts who were taking in the Sens/Habs pre-season game on Saturday.
• Many fans are unhappy with the look of the NHL's new uniforms writes Hugh Adami of the Ottawa Citizen.
• Wayne Gretzky was very happy with the way his team's youngsters performed in a 6-5 victory over Dallas on Saturday.
• Because the new uniforms repel moisture, players are noticing all of their equipment is having to absorb more sweat than before writes Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
• The Pens lost to the Red Wings 5-2 on Sunday.
• The NHL is looking to grow its brand across Europe writes Tim Panaccio of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• There is plenty of competition in Detroit for the final two roster spots writes George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press.
• As David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News explains, there are four players fighting tooth and nail to win the Sharks' sixth defenseman job this training camp.
• The Blues were able to sign Keith Tkachuk and Paul Kariya for the same price it would have cost to sign Scott Gomez writes Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The Blues defeated the Thrashers 3-2 on Saturday night.
• According to Mark Zwolinksi of the Toronto Star, the best case scenario for a Kyle Wellwood return is 3-4 weeks. However, Paul Maurice thinks we should know more about the situation in the next 2-3 days.
• The Leafs are considering lining up Chad Kilger as the team's number two center. The adjustment may not be as significant for Kilger as people thing because, as Kilger points out, he started his career as a center.
• Damien Cox of the Toronto Star opines that the 2005-06 NHL season was the exception rather than the rule in terms of increased offensive hockey.
• Not unlike just about every game last season, the Canucks asked too much of Roberto Luongo as the team was defeated by the Sharks 3-1 on Saturday.
• Patrick Marleau is opting to put last season's playoff struggles behind him and is looking forward to 07/08 writes Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province.
• Mike Modano is only six points from passing Phil Housley and becoming the all-time points leader for American born players.
• Chris Clark has moved from a scoring role, back to his old checking role and is not in the least bit complaining.
• The Columbus Dispatch has a Q & A with the Blue Jackets' owner.
• With Jose Theodore nursing an injury, long-shot candidate Tyler Weiman may begin the season as the Avs' backup goaltender; Andrian Dater has the story.
• As Craig Custance of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution explains, Keith Tkachuk has only good things to say about his time in Atlanta.
• The Hurricanes lost to the Predators 4-1 on Saturday; Luke Decock of the News Observer has the recap.
• While making the Sabres' opening day roster seems unlikely at this point, Patrick Kaleta only has one gear and he is not going to change his style of play just because his chances to make the team are slim at Sabres' camp.
• Kevin Paul Dupont's usual Sunday morning gem of an article can be found here.
• Dupont also provides us with a recap of Saturday's Bruins/Leafs contest and notes from around Bruins' camp in this morning's Boston Globe.
• Newcomer Peter Schaeffer has developed great chemistry with Marc Savard in Boston training camp thus far.
• The youngsters were flying on the ice for the Flames as they took on the Oilers on Saturday night. While the number one line of Iginla-Langkow-Tanguay was put together for the first time this pre-season and didn't disappoint.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.