Commodore doesn't think he's is that overpaid

From Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch:

Some critics, however, say the Jackets overpaid for a defenseman with 14 career goals and 49 assists in seven seasons spanning 296 games. The Hockey News labeled it the fourth-worst signing of the summer.

"I'll be the first to admit I got a very good contract for myself," Commodore said. "I know (NBC and TSN analyst) Pierre McGuire ran his mouth up there, which is no shocker. I don't set the market. If you take what I've done in the last three years and take my comparables ... I don't think by any stretch of the imagination it was an unfair contract."

Read the entire story here.

Say what you want about this contract, but Commodore will bring strong leadership skills, a willingness to compete and playoff experience to a young squad.

Torres is eager to get back on the ice

From Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch:

Raffi Torres needs a little time each morning for his surgically repaired right knee to "get loose," and he's anxiously awaiting Wednesday or Thursday, when he'll skate for the first time in six months.

But Blue Jackets fans need not worry, said Torres, acquired in a July 1 trade with Edmonton for Gilbert Brule.

"When I'm healthy, I'm definitely going to let Columbus know when I'm on the ice," Torres said. "I'm going to put it all on the line. People are going to know when I'm out there. That's just how I play.

Read the rest of the story here.

Torres should a nice physical element to the Blue Jackets' forward corps. His willingness to play the body and get into the dirty areas should be a welcome addition for this Ken Hitchcock led team.

Signing Hitchcock to an extension is a smart move

From Rob Oller of the Columbus Dispatch:

This is the guy the Jackets are pinning their hopes on? Yes, and it's hard to argue against them. Ken Hitchcock, who signed a threeyear extension yesterday to coach the Blue Jackets through the 2011-12 season, is more important to the team than any recent free-agent signing or draft pick. Taking it a step further, Hitch is the single most critical piece the Jackets have in place. Some franchises fit their philosophy to a player. The Blue Jackets are focusing everything on their coach, a decision that general manager Scott Howson has made perfectly clear.

Read the entire article here.

I agree with what Oller is saying. Hitchcock brings all the qualities to the Blue Jackets that the organization was lacking for so many years. His coaching ability and work ethic should eventually lead this team into the playoffs.

Ken Hitchcock signs extension

From Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch:

The Blue Jackets have signed coach Ken Hitchcock to a three-year extension that will keep him under contract with the club through the 2011-12 season, The Dispatch has learned.

Read more from Puck-rakers here.

No brainer for the Blue Jackets. Hitchcock is one of the best hockey minds in the business and will be an instrumental part in getting the Blue Jackets into the playoffs for the very first time.

Peca re-signs with Blue Jackets

From Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch:

Free-agent center Michael Peca has agreed to terms on a two-year contract, The Dispatch has learned.

A deal could be announced as early as today.

Read more about the Blue Jackets from Portzline here.

Peca fits in with what the Blue Jackets want to stand for and is a solid signing. The rugged two-way forward should be a solid third-line center for Ken Hitchcock.

Howson gives Jackets new look

From Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch:

The Jackets are bigger and better, tougher and stronger. They have an edge. It is their new identity.

The softest team in the league has been remade. Howson was patient enough to wait until he could do it right.

Read the entire article here.

Arace is on point when he writes that the Jackets now have a whole new look. The team has solidified their defense and now look far more like a Ken Hitchcock team than they did before July 1. Give Scott Howson credit for being bold in his maneuvers.

NHL Morning Papers--Western Conference (Sunday Edition)

Here are the Pacific Division morning papers:

• As a reward for winning the Pacific Division on Friday, Sharks coach Ron Wilson cancelled practice on Saturday. The Sharks get back on the ice today when they face the Coyotes at the HP Pavilion.
• In Saturday's 7-2 loss to the Stars, the Kings tied an NHL record by playing their seventh goaltender of the season.
• Ryan Getzlaf and J.S. Giguere feel they are healthy enough to play but the final decision lies with the coaching staff, writes Damien Dottore.
• When you have a six goal lead, late-game goals don't really hurt as much, writes Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News.
• The Coyotes are not going to make the playoffs, so the team's focus is on finishing the season strong, writes Jim Gintonio.

Here are the Northwest Division morning papers:

• "We played a good game, but we didn't play with an edge, and that's what it took tonight," said Flames coach Mike Keenan after his team's 2-1 home loss to the Oilers. Off the ice, Robyn Regehr is going to take a trip to Africa to see what he has been reading about.
• "We have four games left. We have them all at home. We have to take all four," said Canucks winger Daniel Sedin. Meanwhile, Alexander Burrows escaped without suspension for his apparent spear on Pierre-Marc Bouchard on Friday night.
• The Wild was thoroughly entertained when Pierre-Marc Bouchard dropped his gloves for his first career NHL fight on Friday. Here is Michael Russo's final Q and A of the season.
• The Oilers pulled out yesterday's must-win contest versus the Flames last night, writes Joanne Ireland. The Oilers just don't know how to quit, writes Terry Jones.
• Peter Forsberg apparently ran "out of gas" on Friday night versus the Oilers and that is why he did not play in overtime or the shootout. Here are the opinions of the Denver Post writers about the Avalanche.

Here are the Central Division morning papers:

• If the Wings clinch the President's Trophy today, Mike Babcock says he will rest his star players for the playoffs. Dominik Hasek is expected to get the start in net today for the Wings.
• If the Predators want to defeat the Red Wings today, they are going to have to stay out of the box, writes John Glennon. In injury news, the Predators will be without enforcer Darcy Hordichuk for at least the next two games with sprained MCL.
• Ken Hitchcock is having a difficult time dealing with missing the playoffs, writes Tom Reed.
• It was a physical game as fans expected but the Blues continued their losing ways last versus Chicago.
• The Blackhawks defeated the Blues last night and kept their very slim playoff hopes alive.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

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

NHL Morning Papers--Western Conference (Thursday Edition)

Here are the Central Division morning papers:

• The long-awaited return of Darren McCarty to the Red Wings line up is going to take place on Friday. In more roster news, Dallas Drake (sternum) is a maybe for Friday, and Dominik Hasek (flu) is still expected to be out.
• The Blue Jackets responded to Ken Hitchcock last night with a 4-0 shutout of the Blackhawks. "To me, he's not a relevant player," said Hitchcock in reference to Jordin Tootoo and his antics on Tuesday versus the Jackets.
• There will be no cruising into the playoffs this season for the Predators, writes John Glennon.
• With no morning articles in the Post-Dispatch, I ventured over to beat writer Jeremy Rutherford's blog to find out that Scott Young was the last Blues player to score 40 goals. (Writer's note: How bored is Jeremy Rutherford???)
• In Chicago, it looks like any talk of a miracle run to the playoffs has fallen by the wayside, writes Chris Kuc.

Here are the Pacific Division morning papers:

• Shane Doan does a lot of things that fans may not notice, but his teammates sure do.
• With last night's 2-1 shootout victory over the lowly Kings, the Ducks clinched a playoff spot.
• Jonas Hiller saved the game last night for the Ducks, as he robbed Alexander Frolov on a breakaway with fifteen seconds remaining in the third period.
• People may think Christian Ehrhoff is having an off season, however, his point totals do not tell the whole story, writes David Pollak.
• While it may sound strange, the struggling Stars are looking forward to their visit to the HP Pavilion tonight, writes Mike Heika.

Here are the Northwest Division morning papers:

• "Today, we made sure we didn't give them any chances for free," said Wild defenseman Martin Skoula after his team's 3-1 bounce back victory over the visiting Oilers. If you thought Jacques Lemaire was kidding when he said he'd take away the "optional" skate, he wasn't, writes Michael Russo.
• The Oilers felt like they deserved better last night in Minnesota, but they did not dwell on the loss, and are now looking ahead. The Oilers are heading to Denver next, and the last thing they can do is feel bad for themselves.
• The Avalanche line of Stastny-Hejduk-Forsberg found instant chemistry, and led the team to a 6-3 dominating victory over the rival Canucks.
• Vancouver was handed their lunch last night in Denver, writes Iain McIntyre. The Canucks' playoff chances are not very secure right now, writes Ben Kuzma.
• The Calgary Herald does its best to hype Dion Phaneuf for the Norris Trophy. Meanwhile, one of the Flames' more unheralded players, Stephane Yelle, has more of an effect on his teammates than you might think. Finally, Bruce Dowbiggen figures it is time to stir the pot again, telling readers that this year's version of the Flames should have won the division in a walk.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

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

News You Can Use Late in the Day

1. Chris Simon is (justifiably) upset with the suspension that Chris Pronger received.
2. Marty Brodeur sets a record by recording his 7th 40 win season.
3. Scott Burnside with his thoughts on how to fix the NHL's Justice Dept.
4. The CHL Hot or Not List.
5. Pierre Lebrun notes that there are many deserving candidates for the Jack Adams award.
6. Check out this old clip of Brendan Shanahan.
7. A St. Patrick's Day themed post from Japer's Rink.
8. Scott Mellanby has a simple solution to increase scoring. In my day all it took was some Jag shots and lots of Molson Ice.
9. Would the Pens trade Crosby?
10. Brian Costello discusses the trend of fast tracking young stars to the NHL.
11. Wayne Gretzky thinks AO can score 90.
12. Gary Peterson writes that the playoffs could determine Patrick Marleau's future with the Sharks.
13. Larry Brooks notes that the Rangers are still in danger of missing the playoffs.
14. Jim Matheson's Hockey World article.
15. Interesting post on the Lincoln Star's David Reekie.
16. Is this Jarome Iginla's last shot at the Hart Trophy?
17. Expect to see Sami Lepisto up with the Capitals sooner rather than later.
18. An open letter from Ken Campbell to Chris Pronger.
19. Spector tell us that re-signing Lecavalier is Tampa's top priority.
20. Ken Hitchcock is happy with what Jared Boll brings to the table.
21. Puck that Hit compiles team shooting percentages.
22. Its the 53 year anniversary of the Rocket Richard Riot.
23. Colin Campbell responds to Chris Simon.
24. North Dakota drops out of the #1 position in this week's college hockey rankings.
25. Andre Roy has resumed skating with the Lightning.

NHL Morning Papers (Friday Edition)

Reader's note: To our regular readers, I have exams coming up which will not allow me to post the NHL Morning Papers for the next few weeks. As of now, the Morning Papers will return on December 13th. However, if someone at Illegal Curve decides to undertake the Morning Papers duties during this time, I will be sure to let you know.

Here are the national morning papers:

• As Eric Duhatschek of the Globe & Mail tells us, after firing Glen Hanlon on Thursday morning, the Capitals are hoping for a Thrashers-esque turnaround.
• Wayne Scanlan of the National Post wonders if the referees are hurting the game by calling too many chincy penalties.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• Former Anaheim and current Phoenix netminder Ilya Brygalov takes to the ice against his old team this afternoon for the first time.
• Not only has the Flames' power play been struggling, but last night the unit gave up two short-handed goals in the team's 2-1 loss to Chicago. While their special teams play has been lacking, the Flames did dominate play at even strength last night but could not put more than one puck past Nikolai Khabibulin.
• With injuries and the flu bug limiting the Blackhawks' line combinations, the team showed a lot of heart edging out the Flames in the Saddledome.
• The Avalanche are taking solace in the fact that they ended their disappointing four game road trip on a positive note, with a 3-2 win in Edmonton last night.
• Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch has an interesting article about the role Ken Hitchcock has played in the franchise's turnaround.
• While the perception is out there that the Stars are struggling, if you take a closer look, Dallas is only one point out of first place in the Pacific Division writes Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News.
• The Red Wings are coming to the realization that the Central Division is a lot stronger this season than in years past writes George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press. The Wings lost 3-2 to the Predators last night, but Brett Lebda thinks the team shouldn't even have been playing on Thanksgiving.
• The Oilers took too many penalties last night in their 3-2 loss to Colorado writes Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal. Meanwhile, John MacKinnon of the Journal has it right when he tells us he's sick of the same division match-ups over and over again.
• The Wild made a number of roster moves yesterday, and there may be even more in the offing writes Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
• The Predators got the winning goal last night from Radek Bonk on what had been their struggling power play writes John Glennon of the Tennessean.
• Coyotes' winger Daniel Winnik is back from injury and fitting in great on a line with Peter Mueller and Radim Vrbata.
• As Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Dispatch explains, the Blues have an abundance of depth on defense but inevitably that ends up leading to some bruised egos.

Note: If you are wondering why the Canucks don't seem to be in the morning papers much, it is because both the Vancouver Province and Sun websites are extremely slow updating their morning content and I have usually posted my article prior to them posting any Canucks coverage from the night before.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• Kevin Paul Dupont has a terrific article about the life of Hall-of-Famer Tom Johnson who passed away on Thursday.
• Red Fisher has a touching article about the same Tom Johnson in this morning's Montreal Gazette.
• Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post has the details behind the dismissal of Glen Hanlon by the Washington Capitals.
• According to Fluto Shinwaza of the Boston Globe, Manny Fernandez will be out of action this weekend because of back spasms. Bruins' coach Claude Julien expects a playoff-like atmosphere this afternoon as the Bruins take on the Isles in the first of a home-and-home series.
• The Hurricanes host the Lightning tonight and apparently they are only concerned with very few Lightning players. "If we shut down those two or three guys, they got nothing," said Carolina defenseman Tim Gleason in reference to the Lightning's attack.
• Kamil Kreps has impressed the Panthers' brass with his most recent stint in the NHL and maybe this stint will turn out to be permanent writes Steve Gorten of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. The last thing Noah Welch has been doing since he injured shoulder, is taking time off.
• As Pat Hickey tells us in this morning's Montreal Gazette, Carey Price is about as even-keel as they come, and there may be no better quality that a goalie can possess.
• The Devils are slowly making progress after a rough start to the season writes Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Ledger. The Devils are going for their third straight victory tonight versus the streaking Thrashers.
• Larry Brooks of the NY Post thinks that opening the 2008/09 season in Prague is a bad idea for the Rangers.
• Islanders' coach Ted Nolan benched his first line for most of the second period in the team's last game in order to give them a much-needed wake up call.
• Martin Gerber had maybe his weakest game of the season last night in a 6-5 shootout loss to the Penguins. Daniel Alfredsson hurt his groin during overtime last night and that is why he was unable to partake in the shootout.
• The Flyers have many things to be pleased about so far this season, but at the same time, they also have much to work on writes Tim Panaccio of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• The Penguins finally validated their effort last night with a win over arguably the NHL's best team. Coach John Paddock of the Senators knows the Penguins will be in the mix come playoff time.
• Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune has an article about super-fan Steve Williamson who is seeing 30 NHL games in 30 days.
• The Leafs are on the road in Dallas and are enjoying being out of the fishbowl for a short time. (Writer's note: Who can blame them?) So much for the all the John Tavares plus Leafs hype earlier this season as his agent says it is now a dead issue.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

NHL Morning Papers (Saturday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• Dave Shoalts of the Globe & Mail compares and contrasts the managing success (or lack thereof) of Toronto's John Ferguson Jr. with Montreal's Bob Gainey.
• Eric Duhatschek discusses the upcoming Hall of Fame class and their inability to get away from the game they love in his Saturday notes column.

Here are the Western Confernce morning papers:

• Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun profiles Al MacInnis just prior to his induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday.
• The Blackhawks defeated the Blues 4-2 last night in Chicago and one of the reasons for the Hawks' success can be attributed to their defense's offensive output. Ed Sherman of the Chicago Tribune explains the expectations that Comcast has for its home broadcasts this season.
• "They're the measuring stick and we're trying to catch up," is what Ken Hitchcock said about the Red Wings after they defeated the Blue Jackets 4-1 on Friday night. Meanwhile, the Jackets face the Predators on Saturday night and coach Hitchcock says the Jackets won't have a rivalry with the Predators unless they stop losing to them all the time. Here are the Jackets' probable lines for tonight's game.
• The Stars are striving to be more consistent writes Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News.
• Both the Red Wings and their star forward Henrik Zetterberg kept their streaks going last night in Detroit as they defeated the Blue Jackets 4-1. Wings' youngster Jiri Hudler appears to be on a similar career course as current Detroit first-liner Tomas Holmstrom.
• Sheldon Souray thinks he will be back in the Oilers' lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Canucks writes Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun. Oilers' defenseman Alan Rourke will make his team debut on Hockey Night in Canada tonight versus the Flames.
• Flames' center Daymond Langkow will not dress for tonight's game versus the Oilers due to a concussion he suffered at the hands of Matt Cooke on Thursday night. Asked yesterday whether he would share his beliefs of why the Flames had been struggling, coach Mike Keenan responded, "I think that's information that should stay in the locker-room. It's something you try to protect with the team and deal with them."
• Marian Gaborik has joined his teammates on their trip to Colorado for Sunday's game against the Avalance, but his linemate Pavol Demitra was left behind due to his more serious groin injury.
• The Kings are hoping to have enforcer Raitis Ivanans back in the lineup next week, however, Kyle Calder is still a couple weeks away from a return to the lineup.
• The Predators have to make sure they are prepared for tonight's game versus Columbus because the Jackets were beat by Nashville in all eight meetings last season and are very much stressing the importance of beating the Preds this season.
• While the Sharks are not where they want to be in terms of their play, they feel like last night's 3-2 shootout loss to the Ducks was a step in the right direction.
• "It's difficult for us to win a hockey game when, in our opinion, I don't know if we had five of our forwards play average or above," said Blues' coach Andy Murray after the team was defeated by the Hawks 4-2 at the United Center. Meanwhile, the Blues' face-off percentage has been falling off for the past couple weeks writes Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
• The Canucks got their third win in a row last night and are now back at .500 after they defeated the Avalanche 2-1 in overtime. Jim Jamieson of the Vancouver Province has a feature on Paul Stastny.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• Don Waddell improved his record to 7-3 behind the bench this season for the Thrashers as they defeated the Panthers 4-1 on Friday night. Ilya Kovalchuk is arguably playing the best hockey of his career right now and is maturing into a leader writes Craig Custance of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
• Bruins' defenseman Aaron Ward will be out of the lineup indefinitely with a concussion. It is going to be a battle for the Bruins to fill Ward's void in terms of leadership and minutes-played writes Rich Thompson of the Boston Herald.
• The Sabres offense is struggling so much right now that they couldn't even breakout versus the lowly Leafs' defense as they were defeated by Toronto 3-0 on Friday. The breaks just aren't going the Sabres' way right now writes Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News.
• Lorenzo Perez of the News Observer previews the Hurricanes' game at Atlanta tonight.
• The Panthers outplayed the Thrashers last night but couldn't bulge the twine and it cost them as they were defeated by Atlanta 4-1 at home. "We're in a big hole now. There's no question about it. We have to be better, no doubt about it," said goaltender Tomas Vokoun after the loss.
• This season's version of the Flyers are definitely not on equal footing with the Broad Street bullies writes Red Fisher in this morning's Montreal Gazette. Francis Bouillon of the Habs said his collision with Bruins' defenseman Aaron Ward was completely by accident and that he didn't even see Ward coming.
• For the first time since last season, the Devils had their full healthy roster at practice yesterday. Both Colin White and Jamie Langenbrunner are now able to practice but they won't be in tonight's lineup versus the Islanders.
• Former Ranger Mark Messier will be watching from the stands as the Rangers are in Toronto tonight to face-off against the Leafs in the Hall of Fame game. The Blueshirts will attempt to secure their first road victory tonight.
• One of the keys to the Islanders' success is the goal-scoring of veteran Miroslav Satan writes Mark Hermmann of Newsday.
• With the way things are going for Martin Gerber, the netminder is not about to change to his new helmet anytime soon. According to Bruce Garrioch, the Senators may open the 2008/09 regular season in Sweden. The aforementioned Gerber will get the start this afternoon versus the streaking Habs.
• It looks like Simon Gagne may have returned too soon from his concussion, so don't expect him or the Flyers to make that same mistake twice.
• Ray Shero made it clear yesterday that he is not replacing Michel Therrien with a new head coach and he is not replacing Marc-Andre Fleury with a new number one netminder. Ryan Whitney is slated to return to the Penguins' lineup tonight after missing the last four games with a sore groin.
• Both Bryan McCabe and Andrew Raycroft got redemption last night in the Leafs' 3-0 win in Buffalo. With all the panic and outcry over the Leafs' play, the team reached the .500 level after Friday's win over the Sabres.
• Carter Gaddis of the Tampa Tribune has an interesting piece on the relationship between Tampa coach John Tortorella and GM Jay Feaster

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Morning Musings: Are the Flames better?

When Johan Franzen scored the OT winner for Detroit in the sixth game of a series that really shouldn't have gone past a fifth game, many believed that changes were in store for the 2004 Stanley Cup Finalists. With expectations of change high, the team went out and acquired defensemen Adrian Aucoin, Cory Sarich, Anders Eriksson and forward Owen Nolan.

What do the team's four main acquisitions bring to the table?

Aucoin can play a ton of minutes and quarterback the team's powerplay but his problem has always been health. During his two year stint in Chicago, he only played 92 games total.

Sarich was brought in right after the free-agency period began and was given a hefty deal that will pay him $3.9 million during the 2007/08 campaign. Sarich is a warrior who plays every game and plays a physical game. In addition, he is strong on the penalty kill and should improve the Flames' special teams play.

In Nolan, the team is adding a power-forward whose best days are most obviously behind him. Nonetheless, the Flames are only asking Nolan to play a second line scoring role and he should be able to contribute the 20-25 goals that teams like to receive from that spot.

Eriksson, while the most unheralded of all the off-season acquisitions, was an extremely solid pickup. The puck-moving defenseman improves the team's defensive depth and was an extremely impressive +12 on a terrible Columbus squad last season.

With all the additions this off-season, the Flames were not without their fair share of departures. Out went Jeff Friesen, Tony Amonte, Brad Stuart and Roman Hamrlik.

What did the team lose with these departures?

While the losses of Friesen and Amonte won't be felt at all, the losses of Stuart and Hamrlik could be significant.

Hamrlik played an unheralded game but meshed well with Dion Phaneuf and did a good job of bringing the youngster along during his first two seasons in the NHL.

Stuart, admittedly not a favorite of mine, does skate well, makes a nice first pass and can log plenty of minutes on the back-end.

What about the coach?

After mentioning all these transactions, I have yet to mention arguably the biggest off-season move by Flames' management and that was the hiring of Mike Keenan. Keenan has a reputation that precedes him as a tough, manipulating head coach who runs out his welcome quickly in all the cities he coaches in. Sutter obviously believes his team needs extra motivation and is not worried about the ramifications of a Keenan hire and the disaster that could come along with it.

So is the team any better?

All in all, the Flames are not substantially better than they were last season; however, they are not substantially worse either. The team needs to address its awful play on the road, and I think Keenan will actually help in that regard. Nonetheless, my main concern lies with the team's forward speed. Keenan, like his protege Sutter, likes to play a high-pressure, high-forecheck game and the Flames lacked enough speed last season to be able to mount an effective forecheck. The addition of Owen Nolan will not do much to change that speed deficiency. It will be interesting to see if the team changes its game plan to fit its personnel, or vice versa.

The Flames are most likely a five or six seed in the Western Conference this year but are they substantially better than they were last year? On paper, maybe slightly. However, with Iron Mike in the picture, just about anything can happen in 2007/08. This will be one team that will be exciting to follow all year long.

On to the morning papers:

• Eric Francis has a 1-on-1 interview with the aforementioned Mike Keenan in this morning's Calgary Sun.
• President of Les Habitants Pierre Boivin took exception to a report that Daniel Briere chose not to sign with the Canadiens because he wasn't assured a spot on the top line alongside Michael Ryder and Christopher Higgins.
• Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette discusses the pressure that has already begun to mount on the shoulders of Carey Price at Habs' camp.
• The Flyers' rookies are at camp, but they shouldn't get their hopes up about making the team this season writes Tim Panaccio of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• Jonathan Filewich is hoping to makes the Penguins this training camp after maturing in the AHL. Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has the story.
• Carter Gaddis of the Tampa Tribune has a very interesting piece about the NHL below the 49th parallel.
• Damien Cox's tackles just about every question a fan might have going into the 2007/08 season in this morning's Toronto Star.
• Having watched the Manitoba Moose in person many times last year, I share the sentiments that Alain Vigneault has about Mason Raymond, Alexander Edler and Jannik Hansen. All three are said to be a cut above the rest at Canucks camp thus far.
• In one of the more interesting reads this morning Fluto Shinzawa takes a look around the NHL in his Sunday morning piece for the Boston Globe.
• Phil Kessel cut out ice cream, candy and soft drinks from his diet and is in much better shape entering camp this year than he was last year.
• While the Sabres are entering camp without a captain, the team is not the least bit concerned about a leadership gap writes Tim Graham of the Buffalo News.
• Adrian Dater of the Denver Post says the Avalanche have been extremely impressed with the play of prospect Chris Stewart at the team's rookie camp thus far.
• Ken Hitchcock told GM Scott Howson he wanted to change the atmosphere in the Columbus dressing room and Howson has taken him up on his request. Doug MacLean's office (why did he have an office in the dressing room?) has now been replaced by a meetings room.
• The Jackets have been extremely impressed with first round pick Jakub Voracek so far at rookie camp writes Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch.
• As Mike Heika writes in the Dallas Morning News, Dallas prospects, and brothers, Michael and James Neal would like nothing more than to one day play on the same NHL team.
• The Detroit Free Press tries to answer five key questions about the Red Wings heading into training camp for the 2007-08 season.
• The Predators may be playing without Forsberg, Kariya and Vokoun this season, but they won't be playing without their fair share of distractions, writes John Glennon of the Tennessean.