NHL Morning Papers (Tuesday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• All teams that are looking to trade some of their star players got a big boost yesterday with the announcement by Peter Forsberg that he won't return to the NHL this season, writes Dave Shoalts.
• Mark Spector of the National Post points out that no-trade clauses are hindering GMs abilities to complete trades. Spector also has some information about players that are available and teams that are looking to trade in Naples.
• Kevin Allen of USA Today says that Mats Sundin is the biggest fish available now that Forsberg isn't coming back.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• Apparently the price for Mats Sundin is extraordinarily high, writes Bruce Garrioch. Damien Cox has the GMs' perspective on what might happen in the next week prior to the trade deadline. Meanwhile, Paul Hunter of the Toronto Star has a feature on Leafs netminder Vesa Toskala.
• Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune opines that goaltending is the new glamour position in the NHL.
• Senators fans are taking their anger out on head coach John Paddock for the team's free-fall in the standings, writes Don Brennan. Ray Emery will start in net for the Sens tonight, marking the first time John Paddock has strayed away from his win and you're in policy.
• The Islanders pulled off a great comeback yesterday as they defeated the Sharks 3-2 on Long Island. Coach Ted Nolan missed the first period of Monday afternoon's game to comfort his son on the shocking death of his OHL teammate Mickey Renaud. (Writer's note: Good for Nolan for having his priorities straight.)
• After Monday's 5-1 victory over the Hurricanes, the Devils joined Ottawa and Montreal atop the Eastern Conference standings. Last night marked the first time the Brookbank brothers were able to play against each other in the NHL.
• The Habs are one of only two teams to have not lost at least four straight games this season, writes Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette. Even with the recent play of Carey Price, Hickey doesn't think the Habs should consider dealing Cristobal Huet.
• The Panthers will be without center Stephen Weiss for the next two weeks, writes Steve Gorten.
• Craig Custance of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution thinks the Thrashers should pursue Tomas Kaberle.
• The Hurricanes were dominated yesterday by the Devils, writes Luke Decock. The Canes have recalled Joe Jensen from the AHL to replace the injured Rod Brind'Amour.
• The Rangers may have a lot of firepower on their roster, but Tom Renney is not straying away his defensive roots. Brandon Dubinsky has Jaromir Jagr's back, writes John Dellapina.
• After reading Sam Donnellon's column in the Philadelphia Daily News, you'll realize that the pressure is on Flyers coach John Stevens. On the trading front, Flyers GM Paul Holmgren is willing to make a deal that makes sense for his team.
• The Capitals were impressed with the play of rookie Sami Lepisto in his NHL debut the other night, writes Tarik El-Bashir.
• The Penguins have been getting offensive contributions from unlikely sources, writes Dave Molinari. However, for all the other contributions the team has been getting, the Pens would be nowhere without Evgeni Malkin.
• Lindy Ruff was happy with the Thomas Vanek's comment that he guarantees the Sabres will make the playoffs.
• Coach Claude Julien understands that there is a balancing act between making the playoffs and developing his young players, write Steve Conroy. On the injury front, Bruins defenseman Andrew Alberts is starting to make progress in his concussion rehabilitation.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• Ducks forward Ryan Carter has been a revelation for the team, and he can thank Ducks assistant GM David McNab for the opportunity, writes Mark Whicker.
• The Blue Jackets are really excited to embark on their three-game Eastern Canada road trip, writes Aaron Portzline. Here are the Jackets' probable lines for tonight's contest.
• The Red Wings ended their losing streak last night, but lost Nicklas Lidstrom in the process, writes Helene St. James. Apparently Wings defenseman Kyle Quincy has quite eventful sleeps.
• Phoenix continued to give the Kings trouble last night as they defeated L.A. 4-0.
• With Peter Forsberg sitting out, the Wild can shift their focus to acquiring other centermen, writes Michael Russo.
• Taking a page from the New York Rangers, the Predators have begun to salute their fans after games. Here are some notes about the Predators/Oilers going into tonight's contest.
• The Sharks blew yet another third period lead yesterday on Long Island, writes David Pollak. The Sharks have placed Patrick Marleau on injured reserve.
• Blues GM John Davidson thinks all this talk about restricting "rental" players from returning to their old team is ridiculous.
• The Flames had the game of hockey put into perspective yesterday with the passing of their recent draft pick Mickey Renaud.
• It's true, Jonathan Toews is that good, writes Chris Kuc.
• The Wings/Avs rivalry got some spice added to it yesterday as Tony Granato and Mike Babcock got into a verbal war on the bench.
• The Oilers need better production out of Ales Hemsky and Dustin Penner according to coach Craig MacTavish. In injury news, the Oilers should get Joni Pitkanen back in their line-up tonight.
• Last night's 4-0 victory at L.A. marked Wayne Gretzky's 100th coaching victory of his career.
• Roberto Luongo has been asked to take the flaps off his pads and he is not happy about it.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock

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

NHL Morning Papers (Thursday Edition)

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• The Thrashers can thank Kari Lehtonen for their 3-2 shootout victory over the Capitals last night because they were outplayed, writes Craig Custance of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. As a thank you to the fans, the Thrashers have raised season ticket prices for next year. (Writer's note: Good move by Atlanta. This should decrease their attendance from 14 people to 12 for next season.)
• The Bruins played a playoff-type game versus Pittsburgh last night and came away with a 2-1 road victory, writes Kevin Paul Dupont. Unfortunately for the Bruins, last night's win came at the cost of a scary injury to Aaron Ward.
• The Sabres only got one last night and it was uncharacteristically from Paul Gaustad, but that was enough to defeat the Maple Leafs 1-0. The Sabres can thank Ryan Miller for last night's win, writes John Vogl of the Buffalo News.
• It appears that Hurricanes center Matt Cullen will be out of the line-up for quite a bit longer as he is still suffering from vision problems.
• Larry Brooks of the NY Post has all the details behind the Henrik Lundqvist contract extension.
• With Braydon Coburn still out for an extended period of time, the Flyers have decided to call-up Ryan Parent from the AHL. With the Parent call-up, the Flyers aren't exactly following their pre-season plan, writes Ed Moran of the Philadelphia Daily News.
• "We played a team that was hungry to play, and we weren't. It's pretty simple," said Pens head coach Michel Therrien after his team's 2-1 loss to Boston. According to Therrien there is a good chance that Dany Sabourin will start between the pipes tonight versus Carolina.
• The Capitals lost 2-1 in overtime to Atlanta last night, leaving them in a three-way tie for first place with the Thrashers and Hurricanes. (Writer's note: I'm sick of having to write first place in that division. None of these teams deserve "first place" beside their team name.)
• The Leafs didn't play a bad game, they just couldn't squeeze on past Ryan Miller and that was the difference as they were defeated 1-0 on Mats Sundin's 37th birthday. If you expected the Leafs to tank the rest of the season, you were wrong. (Writer's note: Who in their right mind tanks a season these days? The draft order for the top picks is done by lottery anyways.)
• Here is some information on the long and drawn out attempted sale of the Lightning, courtesy of Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune.
• Senators coach John Paddock shuffled his lines last night, but that mattered not as the Sens were defeated 3-2 by the Devils in overtime. "I'm still looking around and I'd like to make at least one more move," said Senators GM Bryan Murray.
• Chris Simon is eligible to return to the Islanders line-up next week, writes Erik Boland of Newsday.
• With last night's overtime victory, Devils netminder Martin Brodeur recorded his 30th win of the season, marking the 12th time he's done that in his career. The Devils have scaled down their expectations for the remainder of the season, eyeing the Atlantic Division crown instead of the Eastern Conference leading Senators.
• Here is a nice Valentine's Day story about the Beliveau's, courtesy of Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette. After leading the Habs to last night's 2-1 overtime victory over the Panthers, Pat Hickey thinks starting Carey Price on Saturday is the logical choice.
• The Panthers think they got hosed on the penalty call versus Jassen Cullimore in overtime, and weren't happy about it after their 2-1 overtime loss to the Habs. (Writer's note: I was watching the game at the time of the penalty, and it was an awful call. Sometimes you wonder what game these refs are watching...)

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• Curtis Zupke of the Orange County Register examines Brian Burke's options heading into the trade deadline.
• Last night's 7-2 home loss to the Blackhawks may have been the Jackets most painful loss since the franchise's inception to the NHL, writes Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. Portzline's colleague at the Dispatch, Michael Arace, believes the Jackets playoff hopes have fallen by the wayside. Fredrik Norrena didn't play well last night but at least he manned up and shouldered the blame for last night's loss.
• Here is the newspaper article touching on the Stars' decision to lower season ticket prices that I linked yesterday afternoon.
• Even though he is in the midst of an awful slump, Eric Belanger is continuing to stay positive, writes Michael Russo.
• The Predators enjoy having the luxury of being able to start two goalies with equal confidence, writes John Glennon of the Tennessean. The Predators are hoping to have winger Jordin Tootoo back in the line-up this weekend.
• The Sharks believe they have to change the way they play at the end of games, writes Mark Emmons of the San Jose Mercury News.
• The Blues raised ticket prices yesterday and didn't really explain why in this article by Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. (Writer's note: Don't really understand how this team can justify raising ticket prices...)
• Apparently Mike Keenan is looking towards winning 700 NHL games, writes Scott Cruickshank of the Calgary Herald. Meanwhile, the Flames' fighters have been having trouble finding dance-mates.
• If the Blackhawks are going to make a run at the playoffs, they better continue playing as well as they did in their 7-2 victory over the Blue Jackets, writes Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune.
• The Avalanche can't seem to shake the injury bug, as Brett Clark is now on the mend, and Paul Stastny is now out with a groin injury.
• Ales Hemsky has been playing lately with an injured wrist, which may be contributing to his recent struggles.
• Wayne Gretzky is still confident in his team's ability to turn it round even though they are in the midst of a four-game losing skid.
• The Canucks are calling tonight's game versus the Wild a "must win." The Canucks are excited to get Willie Mitchell back on their blueline for tonight's game.
• Wings GM Ken Holland thinks there will be three-to-four significant deals before the February 26th trade deadline.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

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

NHL Morning Papers (Monday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• Steve Yzerman has once again been named GM of the Canadian men's squad for the World Hockey Championships this spring.
• The NHLPA has hired an accountant to take a closer look at the NHL's books, writes Rick Westhead of the Toronto Star.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• Even though they lost to the Red Wings on Saturday, the Bruins are quite pleased with their 2-1 record since the All-Star break. Stephen Harris of the Boston Herald reminds readers of how far the Bruins have come since all the pre-season predictions.
• After defeating the Habs 5-3 at the Bell Centre on Sunday, the Rangers have now won three straight road games and have undergone an extreme makeover, writes Larry Brooks of the NY Post.
• Paul Holmgren is still unsure of the whether Peter Forsberg will come back to the NHL at all, writes Tim Panaccio of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
• While may not be as heralded as Sidney Crosby, Devils forward Zach Parise has turned into a special player in New Jersey, writes Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Even with the aformentioned Crosby out of the line up, the Devils are not going to change the way they play versus the Penguins.
• Even with their yelling match on Saturday, there are no hard feelings between Brent Sutter and Jamie Langenbrunner, writes Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Ledger.
• With a couple of the team's players having been hit by the flu, Islanders coach Ted Nolan is considering who he wants to call up from Bridgeport of the AHL.
• Mark Zwolinski of the Toronto Star has been impressed with the Leafs' youngsters. "That's why I don't take putting on this jersey for granted. It is a privilege," said new Leafs forward Dominic Moore.
• It'll be Martin Gerber back between the pipes for the Senators tomorrow night when they face-off against the Habs. Senators coach John Paddock wants to see improved play from his defensemen, writes Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun.
• The Habs thought they had the Rangers beat with a 3-0 lead on home-ice, but before they knew it the game was tied, and they eventually lost 5-3, writes Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette. Hickey's colleague Herb Zurkowsky was impressed with the play of super-pest of Sean Avery yesterday.
• With all the injuries to the Panthers' roster, their affiliate in the AHL is having even more problems filling spots for their call-ups, writes Steven Gorten of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
• Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune thinks it is likely that the Bolts will trade Dan Boyle prior to this month's trade deadline.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• Instead of giving his players a much-needed day off, Ducks coach Randy Carlyle decided to call practice and have his team play a fun game of shinny to take their minds off their current six game losing streak, writes Dan Wood of the Orange County Register.
• Jarome Iginla's goal-less drought is now his longest since 1999, writes Jean Lefebvre of the Calgary Herald. Flames coach Mike Keenan said new goaltender Curtis Joseph will start his first game this week.
• If the Blue Jackets are going to get back to their winning ways, they need Rick Nash and Nikolai Zherdev to turn up their game a few notches, writes Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch.
• Mike Ribiero has decided his game needs to become more physical, writes Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News.
• The Wings know it is a difficult task, but they have not discounted the possibility that they could break the NHL wins record this season. Meanwhile, Wings defenseman Chris Chelios would relish the opportunity to play more minutes for the Red Wings.
• The Wild will get a good opportunity to measure their in-season progress on Tuesday when the NHL leading Red Wings come to town, writes Michael Russo of the Star Tribune.
• Jessica Hopp of the Tennessean tells readers that enforcers need to have some hockey skills too.
• Since being given an ultimatum by coach Andy Murray, Blues forward David Backes has responded at an almost point-per-game clip.
• The Avalanche are hoping to have Paul Stastny back in their lineup near the end of the week, writes Adrian Dater of the Denver Post.
• Alberta native Curtis Glencross is looking forward to his Edmonton Oilers debut tonight, writes Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal.
• Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky has been pleasantly surprised with the play of Joel Perreault, writes Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic. Off the ice, Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet will be re-instated to the NHL and will be behind the bench Thursday for the Coyotes.
• Apparently Lukas Krajicek's shoulder injury is more serious than first believed, only adding to the Canucks already depleted blue line corps. Meanwhile, Canucks GM Dave Nonis is on a scouting trip in Sweden looking to add more firepower to the team for this season and beyond.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

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

Morning Musings: A busy Sunday

There are so many articles this morning that I am going to forego my usual preamble and just provide you with the day's articles.

On to the morning papers:

• Paul Maurice is on the hot seat writes Steve Simmons in this morning's Toronto Sun.
• Ducks' off-season acquisition Mathieu Schneider injured his ankle in Saturday night's exhibition game versus Los Angeles writes Dan Wood of the Orange County Register.
• Jason King of the Ducks has two goals in two exhibition games which should considerably help his efforts to crack the Ducks' roster as one of the team's depth forwards. (Writer's note: Having played for Randy Carlyle with the Manitoba Moose may give King a leg up)
• It appears Marian Hossa is in no rush to sign a contract extension with the Thrashers. Realistically, can you really blame him? He is coming up on UFA status right in the middle of his prime.
• It wouldn't be a Sunday morning without Kevin Paul Dupont's terrific article in the Boston Globe. This morning, Dupont discusses, among other things, the Bruins' upgrade in net as compared to a season ago.
• Former Memorial Cup MVP Milan Lucic is trying to make a good impression at Bruins' training camp.
• Manny Fernandez wants the starting goaltending job all to himself writes Stephen Harris in this morning's Boston Herald. (Writer's note: This news is a real shocker!)
• Stephen Harris also has a quick rundown of the highlights of yesterday's intra-squad scrimmage in Boston.
• Tim Graham details the possibility of veteran winger Jochen Hecht moving to the middle to center the Sabres' third line in this morning's Buffalo News.
• Without the firepower of a season ago, the Sabres are going to have to shift more of their focus on to the defensive side of the game.
• As Seth Macfarlane writes in this morning's Calgary Sun, Mike Keenan pulls no punches and his former Panthers players appreciated that quality.
• Kristian Huselius and Mike Keenan are looking to start anew in Calgary and put their Florida days behind them.
• Matthew Lombardi wants to improve his consistency and bring it every night like Flames' captain Jarome Iginla.
• Owen Nolan can contribute in many different aspects of the game writes Jean Lefebvre of the Calgary Herald. (Writer's note: I think I have read five Owen Nolan feature articles in the past week.)
• In contrast to the team's strong forward depth, Carolina has only seven NHL defenseman under contract. (Writer's note: Not only do they lack depth on defense but talent isn't exactly pouring out of their top six.)
• After being forced into early retirement because of a genetic disease, Steve Konowalchuk is adjusting to life as the player development coordinator for the Avs.
• Jiri Novotny can't suit up at Blue Jackets' training camp because he can't get a visa.
• Coming into their contract years, Adam Foote and Sergei Fedorov are looking to have rebound seasons; Aaron Portzline has the story in this morning's Columbus Dispatch.
• Dave Tippett loves the competition for the final spots on the Stars' roster writes Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News.
• Mike Babcock is impressed with a couple of Red Wings youngsters writes Helene St. James. While general manager Ken Holland has been very impressed with Tomas Kopecky thus far in camp.
• Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal takes issue with the actions of the Buffalo Sabres after Teppo Numminen failed his physical.
• Dennis Grebeshkov is looking to crack the crowded Oilers' defense writes Joanne Ireland.
• Joni Pitkanen shrugs off his minus rating from a year ago and is looking forward to starting anew with the Oilers. (Writer's note: The Flyers are going to regret trading Pitkanen when he wins a Norris Trophy in Edmonton.)
• Michael Russo profiles Brent Burns in this morning's Star Tribune.
• With all the attention on Carey Price and Cristobal Huet, Jaroslav Halak has yet to allow a goal in two days of scrimmages; Pat Hickey has the story in this morning's Montreal Gazette.
• They may have lost a number of offensive weapons but the Predators still have one of the best young defenses in the league.
• Kevin Weekes is excited to be able to give Martin Brodeur a rest whenever he needs it writes Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Ledger. (Writer's note: Weekes' line after the season: 3 wins, 2 losses.)
• Darius Kasparaitis is in terrific shape heading into training camp this season for the Rangers. (Writer's note: Don't you just love stories about a player being in shape a year after they came to camp fat? Are we supposed to commend them?) (Extra writer's note: Best line I've read all morning, "He liked my haircut." -Kaspar in reference to Glen Sather.)
• Greg Logan of Newsday has the story of Rick DiPietro being the man for the Islanders coming into camp. (Writer's note: It still trips me out that I will be 37 when his contract expires.)
• Bruce Garrioch tells us John Paddock is already line-juggling early in camp.
• Erin Nicks explains the possible organizational repercussions, both positive and negative, of a breakout offensive season for the Sens' Mike Fisher.
• The Coyotes have some of the top prospects in all of hockey at training camp and he wants them to play as much as possible.
• Dany Sabourin is excited to be back in Pittsburgh and is looking forward to playing more than once a month.
• Marc Vlasic is looking for a new defensive partner with the departure of Scott Hannan to Colorado, but as Mark Emmons writes, Ron Wilson isn't the least bit worried about Vlasic.
• Local kid Mike McKenna is making quite the impression at the Blues' training camp writes Jeremy Rutherford.
• Andreas Karlsson is looking to rebound from a difficult 2006/07 campaign.
• Tarik El-Bashin documents the many allergies that Tom Poti has to deal with in this morning's Washington Post.
• Bryan Muir thinks he is fortunate to just be at an NHL training camp writes Paul Hunter of the Toronto Star. (Writer's note: How many more Bryan Muir stories do I have to read?)
• As Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun points out, the Leafs are sure to get a win tonight in the Blue/White matchup.
• Is Jason Blake the missing link? (Writer's note: Over/under 45 more stories on Jason Blake possibly playing with Mats Sundin)
• Ryan Shannon is not taking anything for granted at Canucks' training camp.
• Don't expect Todd Bertuzzi to return to Vancouver this Monday.