Rangers don't appear to have any room for Shanahan

From Larry Brooks of the NY Post:

And what with people like Pat Rissmiller and Aaron Voros in at $1M per and Fred Sjostrom sitting with a qualifier of over $800,000 - management is trying to sign him to a two-year contract in the neighborhood of $650,000 per - the Rangers seem to have no room for Brendan Shanahan, regardless of what Glen Sather repeatedly has said about the winger remaining in the equation.

Read the short article here.

Shanahan obviously wants to play in NY, seeing as he hasn't negotiated with any other teams. But if the Rangers just don't have any room in their payroll, Shanny may have to look elsewhere for a contract. Vancouver is said to have interest and he would be a nice addition for that team.

Shanahan has only spoken with Rangers

From Canwest News Service:

A U.S. report that unrestricted free agent Brendan Shanahan was offered and rejected a one-year, $2 million US deal from the Vancouver Canucks is inaccurate, according to his agent."

I can tell you that I've never been approached or had any discussions with Vancouver regarding Brendan," said Rick Curran, who added that San Jose and Montreal are not in the mix either. "We've only been having discussions with one team and that's the New York Rangers.

Read the entire report here.

The Rangers sure haven't been in a rush to re-sign Shanahan, but all along he has stated his desire to return to Broadway and finish his career there. Whether he would consider a substantial offer from another team is the big question.

Are old free agents worth the price?

From Dave Staples of the Edmonton Journal:

In the summer of '07, there was a group of old hockey players with great reputations that could be signed as free agents, exciting names that excited fans across the NHL: Michael Nylander, Jason Blake, Paul Kariya, Keith Tkachuk, Brendan Shanahan, Bill Guerin, Chris Drury, Brian Rafalski, Sheldon Souray, Ryan Smyth, Roman Hamrlik, Ray Whitney, Todd Bertuzzi.

But, after one season, how many of these players provided good value for the teams that signed them?

Read the entire post from Cult of Hockey here.

Staples makes a sound argument for being extremely cautious when throwing big money at aging free agents.

Who should captain the Rangers?

From Steve Zipay of Newsday:

Counting backward: Jagr, Messier, Leetch, Kisio, Greschner, Beck, Tkachuk, Dave Maloney, Espo, Park, Hadfield and all the way to the first, Bill Cook in 1926-27.

Who's next?

My money's on Chris Drury.

It's all but certain Brendan Shanahan won't be back, and personally, a "C" for Brendan would have been purely ceremonial at this final stage in his career. Going forward, the Rangers should have a captain in command for more than a year.

Read the entire entry here.

I agree with Zipay. Drury is the logical choice to captain the Rangers for the foreseeable future. He has the experience and leadership skills necessary to shoulder such an important role on the team.

Will Shanahan sign with the Devils?

From Larry Brooks of the NY Post:

A free agent at noon today, Brendan Shanahan isn't going to glue a Bluetooth to his ear in anticipation of the call that probably won't come from the New York Rangers .

Rather, The Post has been told to expect the 39-year-old winger to go home again - home to New Jersey to complete the circle of his first-ballot worthy Hall of Fame career that commenced with the New Jersey Devils in 1987-88.

Read the entire article here.

Brendan Shanahan isn't the player he once was, but if the Devils sign him in a reduced role, he can still provide leadership and good hands on the power play.

NHL Morning Papers (Sunday Edition)

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• The Thrashers only mustered thirteen shots on net last night, but that was enough to defeat the Washington Capitals 2-0 and move back into first place in the Southeast Division. Injured Thrashers forward Ilya Kovalchuk had a successful off-ice workout yesterday and is hoping to return early next week.
• The Bruins weren't perfect last night, and that is why they lost 3-1 to the dominating NHL force that is the Detroit Red Wings. Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe has an interesting Sunday article focusing on the lost art of takeaways.
• It looks like the Sabres dodged a bullet, as goaltender Ryan Miller's injury is not considered serious and he should be in between the pipes on Tuesday night.
• The Hurricanes can't say they weren't warned about what would happen in the third period if they continued with their lackadaiscal play, and lo and behold, the team blew their 1-0 lead going into the final period and lost 4-1 to the Penguins. In other game notes, Erik Cole finally got his revenge on Brooks Orpik for his hit from behind two seasons ago, as the two dropped the gloves on Saturday night.
• Rangers coach Tom Renney has thought about resting Brendan Shanahan because of all the small injuries he has been playing with. Meanwhile, Chris Drury is enjoying playing on a line with Nigel Dawes and Petr Prucha. In other Rangers news, Larry Brooks of the NY Post advises the Rangers to take a pass on the Peter Forsberg sweepstakes.
• The Flyers had an impressive 3-0 victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Ducks last night at the Wachovia Center.
• The Penguins didn't panic when they were trailing 1-0 at the second intermission because they knew the goals would come; and they did, as the Penguins defeated the Hurricanes 4-1. The Pens are slowly but surely getting their injured players back, as Colby Armstrong returned to the line up last night.
• "I don't think we were hungry enough tonight," said Capitals defenseman Mike Green after his team's 2-0 loss to the Thrashers last night.
• The Panthers pulled out a big win last night with a 3-2 victory over their state-rivals from Tampa. Richard Zednik hadn't scored in seventeen games but he picked the right time to breakout of his slump by scoring the game-winnger last night.
• If it isn't the power play leading the Habs to victories, it is the penalty kill, as the Canadiens killed off five penalties yesterday and added a shorthanded goal in their 4-1 victory over the Islanders. The Islanders are starting to lose their playoffs chances with a 1-5-1 record in their last seven games, writes Herb Zurkowsky of the Montreal Gazette. Rick DiPietro is a tremendous netminder, but he can't do it all himself, writes the legendary Red Fisher.
• The Devils defeated the Kings 6-3 on Saturday night, but it was not without a little drama on the bench that saw Brent Sutter and Jamie Langenbrunner yelling at each other in full view to the fans at the Prudential Center and at home on television.
• "We had three or four Grade-A chances when the game was still relatively close. We had a lot of quality chances. We just didn't put them in," said Islanders coach Ted Nolan after losing 4-1 at Montreal.
• The Senators left Ray Emery out to dry last night in their 4-2 loss at Toronto, writes Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun. Brennan also tells readers that the Senators are interested in adding Swedish forward Fabian Brunnstrom to their roster for next season.
• Lightning GM Jay Feaster doesn't usually like to negotiate contract extensions during the season, but Feaster is willing to make an exception for defenseman Dan Boyle.
• With all their injuries, and the suspension to Nik Antropov, the Leafs had some new faces lead them to a 4-2 victory over the rival Senators. Rosie Dimanno of the Toronto Star believes Mats Sundin deserves better treatment.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• Jarome Iginla's goal-scoring struggles continued last night as he failed to score for the eighth straight game and the Flames were defeated 2-1 at home by the Stars. Scott Cruickshank of the Calgary Herald has the recap. The Flames and Dion Phaneuf are expected to resume contract talks on Monday.
• The Ducks losing streak reached six games last night as they were defeated 3-0 in Philadelphia.
• The Blue Jackets got their largest home crowd in one year but disappointed their fans immensely with a 4-1 loss to the Wild, marking the team's third straight loss since the All-Star break. "We are mentally fragile right now," said Jackets defenseman Ole-Kristian Tollefsen after last night's contest. Off the ice, the Jackets are expected to open talks with goaltender Pascal Leclaire about a contract extension.
• Marty Turco was tremendous once again last night in defeating the Flames 2-1 at the Saddledome, writes Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News. Forwards Steve Ott and Jeff Halpern have demonstrated great chemistry since being paired together on the team's checking line.
• The Red Wings' penalty killing shifted the momentum in last night's game and helped Detroit take down the Bruins 3-1 at the Banknorth Garden in Boston. In other Wings news, defenseman Derek Meech has loved being a regular with Niklas Kronwall on the sidelines.
• The Kings lost 6-3 to the Devils yesterday, but the bigger news surrounding the team was the loss of Rob Blake for at least two weeks to a broken ankle.
• The Wild dominated the Blue Jackets last night in Columbus, on the back of two goals by Marian Gaborik, writes Michael Russo of the Star Tribune. You don't hear his name much, but Nick Schultz is a well-known name in the Minnesota area.
• Alexander Radulov scored the overtime winner to extend his goal-scoring streak to six games in leading the Predators to a 3-2 victory over Phoenix. Last night's game marked the end of J.P. Dumont's sixteen game point streak.
• Jeremy Roenick tallied the shootout winner last night over the Blackhawks, and had extra incentive to do so because he didn't want his son to miss his flight home to Phoenix. "I didn't know what to expect all day today. It was like a first game again. I was so jacked up and excited. You just try to contain that and remember to play hockey," said newest Shark Jody Shelley about his San Jose debut.
• The Blues made too many mistakes at home yesterday in their 6-4 loss to the Avalanche.
• The Coyotes lost to the Predators 3-2 in overtime, but they were happy to at least earn one point in the standings after trailing in the game 2-0.
• Tony Gallagher of the Vancouver Province says the Canucks require more offensive talent in order to make a playoff run.
• "It's always disappointing to lose in a shootout like that, but we can hold our heads high and know we played a good game," said Blackhawks center Patrick Sharp after his team's 3-2 shootout loss at San Jose.
• The Avalanche continued to show that they can win without their top three offensive players last night with a 6-4 victory over the Blues. Terry Frei of the Denver Post thinks acquiring a rental player for the playoff run and attempting to secure his services after is still a reasonable option for a team to choose.
• After missing Friday's game versus Dallas, Oilers center Shawn Horcoff is hoping to be back in the team's line up for Monday night's game versus Calgary. "He's a poster boy for every bit of work you put in the game paying off," said Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish about Oilers winger Zack Stortini.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

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

NHL Morning Papers (Thursday Edition)

With the holiday season having come and gone, Illegal Curve is looking forward to providing you with as much hockey information as you can handle in the upcoming year. Before we return to our regular posting schedule, I would like to wish a Happy New Year to all our readers.

Here are the national morning papers:

• The NHL is ecstatic with the ratings that the outdoor-game garnered this weekend writes William Houston of the Globe & Mail.
• Rangers winger Brendan Shanahan is happy with the changes the NHL has made post-lockout writes Eric Duhatschek of the Globe & Mail.
• According to Mark Spector of the National Post, finding a balance between experience and skill has been a difficult task for Canada's World Juniors coach Craig Hartsburg.
• The USA's path to the World Juniors gold medal is unsurprisingly going through Canada writes Kevin Allen of the USA Today.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• The Thrashers gained some ground on the Hurricanes last night with an important 5-4 overtime victory in Carolina. (Writer's note: If you missed Ilya Kovalchuk's goal last night please see this link. It will be worth your while.)
• Barbara Matson of the Boston Globe has the details behind the Brandon Bochenski trade from Boston to Anaheim. Here are some notes about the Capitals/Bruins heading into tonight's game at the Banknorth Garden. Meanwhile, the return of David Krejci to the Bruins lineup is a testament to the youngster's work ethic.
• With the distraction of the outdoor game in the rear-view mirror, the Sabres will now shift their focus to the Ottawa Senators writes Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News. In positive news, things are looking up for Sabres forward Drew Stafford after he missed the team's past three games with a concussion problem.
• The Hurricanes felt like they missed out on too many opportunities before losing in overtime to the division-rival Thrashers. (Writer's note: The Hurricanes need to get their goaltending in order. I mean, this team seems to be letting in five goals every time they play.)
• In typical Devils fashion, they feasted on the Panthers' mistakes and came away with a 3-2 victory on home-ice. Florida's hopes of having Cory Murphy return to the lineup appear to be a ways away.
• Habs coach Guy Carbonneau was very impressed with the play of his youngsters on the team's most recent road trip writes Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette.
• Devils coach Brent Sutter had a talk with team captain Jamie Langenbrunner and it seemed to pay immediate dividends after he scored a goal to lead the Devils to a 3-2 home victory over the Panthers.
• Jay Greenberg of the NY Post was unimpressed with the Rangers' performance in the team's 4-3 loss at Calgary last night. "At the end of the day, with all due respect to our opponent, I think we beat ourselves," coach Tom Renney said.
• Over on Long Island, the Islanders players believe that the outdoor game was good for the sport of hockey.
• After missing fifteen games with a broken finger, the Senators can't wait to see Anton Volchenkov return to their lineup tonight versus the Sabres.
• According to Tim Panaccio of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Flyers winger Simon Gagne will not return to the team's lineup until next week.
• The Penguins have the second most shootout wins in the NHL this season writes Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Apparently the outdoor game outdrew Wayne Gretzky's last NHL game. (Writer's note: I still cant believe the game outdrew Gretzky's last NHL game. That is ridiculous. How does a mediocre mid-season game outdraw the last game of the greatest hockey player of all time? )
• Lightning coach John Tortorella is unsure of his team's mental toughness right now writes Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune.
• Rosie Dimanno of the Toronto Star says that it is time for the Leafs' youngsters to act like men.
• The injuries to Alexander Semin and Tom Poti do not look to be overly serious writes Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• As Dan Wood tells us, it wasn't pretty but the Ducks pulled out a 2-1 victory over the Blue Jackets on home-ice last night.
• After last night's 4-3 victory over the Broadway Blueshirts, the Flames are now only one point out of first spot in the Northwest Division standings.
• It looks like the Blackhawks will be without rookie phenom Jonathan Toews for approximately 2-4 weeks as the former UND Fighting Sioux forward injured his knee in Tuesday night's 9-2 loss at Los Angeles.
• The Avalanche lost for the fourth straight time last night at home to the up-and-coming Coyotes. (Writer's note: With Joe Sakic on the mend, the Avs need Paul Stastny to turn it up a notch and lead them through the next portion of the schedule.)
• The Ducks' experience came in handy on Wednesday night as they defeated the young Blue Jackets 2-1. Meanwhile, the Jackets are hoping a demotion to Syracuse will get Gilbert Brule turned around. Here are the Jackets' projected lines for tonight's contest versus the Kings.
• The Stars needed a better performance from their top players last night as they were defeated by the powerful Red Wings 4-1 at the Joe Louis Arena.
• With last night's victory, the Red Wings officially completed the most successful first-half of the season in franchise history. Even though Chris Osgood played well versus the Stars on Wednesday, Dominik Hasek is slated to get the start in net for the Wings on Saturday when they take on Dallas, once again. In other Wings news, winger Kirk Maltby is shooting for a return to the lineup within the next ten days.
• The Oilers pulled out an important 3-2 overtime victory over the Blues last night writes Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal. Off the ice, the Oilers' board of directors voted against selling the team to Edmonton billionaire Daryl Katz.
• Lost in Ladislav Nagy's five-point effort on Tuesday night, was the play of Kings forward Alexander Frolov writes Dan Arritt of the L.A. Times.
• You can't say Jacques Lemaire doesn't back up his players, after the veteran coach defended the struggling Martin Skoula to the Minnesota media on Wednesday.
• Predators defenseman Shea Weber had a setback in his rehab and will be out of the team's lineup for at least another week writes Jessica Hopp of the Tennessean.
• Former Colorado forward Steven Reinprecht had four points on Wednesday to lead the Coyotes to a 5-2 victory over the struggling Avalanche.
• The Sharks have no problem winning on the road (they are currently on a ten-game road win streak) and will try and use that road success to turnaround their suspect home record.
• The Blues outshot the Oilers 33-24 on Wednesday, but their powerplay did them in writes Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Note: For those of you looking for Vancouver Canucks stories, I encourage you to email the Vancouver Province and Vancouver Sun and tell them to post their articles at an earlier time. Both of these sites consistently don't have the day's articles up by around 8am/9am CST.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Nightly Recap: Crosby Extends Point Streak to 18

Boston 5 - Toronto 2 - Peter Schaefer had three points, including two third period goals and Tim Thomas stopped 34. After Stepping in for the injured Manny Fernandez, Thomas has put up amazing numbers this year with a record of 7-4-2, coming into the game he had a 1.65 GAA and .950 save percentage. Give it up for Timmy, puts it all out there every night.

New York Rangers 4 - Philadelphia 3 (SO) - Brendan Shanahan scored the shootout winner, snapping a shot over the shoulder of Marty Biron. Shanny may be 38 but he still has a lightning quick release, he is 2/3 on shootouts this year. Scott Gomez and Sean Avery had two points each for the Rangers. Gomez now has an 8 game point streak (11 points) after his horrendously slow start. Avery has posted 7 points in his past 5. He may be hated by everyone in the league, but unlike other goons he's got skillz.

Ottawa 3 - Buffalo 2 - It was Daniel Alfredsson's 800th career game, he scored his 14th and 15th goals of the season. Martin Gerber won his league leading 12th games, while making 35 saves.

Pittsburgh 3 - New York Islanders 2 - Evegni Malkin had two assists to extend his point streak to 12 games and Sidney Crosby assisted on George Laraque's game winner extending his point streak to 18. It was Laraque's first goal in 40 games.

Florida 2 - Washington 1 - I'm going to be honest, while flipping channels on Centre Ice, I really felt no reason to want to watch this game at all. Anyways, Ovechkin scored his 12th of the year.

Nashville 5 - Chicago 4 (OT) - Marty Erat scored the game winner 15 seconds into overtime, he had two points on the night following up his 4 point night from Monday. Alex Radulov had three points for the Preds and Radek Bonk, Vernon Fiddler, and David Legwand each had two. Super rookies Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane had one point each.

Minnesota 4 - Edmonton 2 - BEAST of the night Eric Belanger had a career high four assists. The Wild are now 8-0-1 in their past nine matchups versus the Oilers.

San Jose 6 - Phoenix 0 - Evegni Nabokov made 15 saves for the shutout, Joe Pavelski had two goals and Patrick Marleau had three assists. Rookie Devin Setoguchi scored for his 4th consecutive game.

Anaheim 6 - Los Angeles 3 - Anaheim scored three third period goals plus an empty netter to pull away from the Kings. Corey Perry and Chris Kunitz had three points each, Ryan Getzlaf and Rob Niedermayer each had two.

Tomorrow's Games (all times Eastern)
7:00pm ATL@CAR, NYI@NJ,
7:30pm MTL@BUF,
8:00pm WSH@TB
8:30pm COL@DAL, CLB@STL
10:00pm MIN@VAN

The HD Corner - The Hotstove Returns!

To quote Jesse Katsopolis’ band ‘Jesse and the Rippers’ covering Thin Lizzy: “The boys are back in town….The boys are back in towwwwwwwn!” That’s right, the HNIC Hotstove this week featured the old crew with host Ron MacLean and columnists Al Strachan, Eric Duhatschek, and Scott Morrison (they are together in Toronto for the Hockey Hall of Fame festivities this weekend). Props to Illegal Curve’s own Richard Pollock for recently obtaining two of these three well known columnists for extensive interviews. Personally, I’m glad to especially see Strachan back in the fold. Since he no longer writes for the Sun (and subsequently slam.ca) I’m in dire need of some Gary Bettman bashing. Apparently the old format of actually having a hotstove with multiple out of town guests was aborted due to logistical problems and the inability to squeeze in Pierre LeBrun’s oversized head into a quadrant of the screen. Luckily both of these previous issues won’t be problems tonight.

The following is a live blog of the Hotstove for our readers who missed the segment, and unlike me, likely have lives and go out on Saturday nights:

45 seconds in: Al proclaims that the next GM of the Leafs is going to be Glen Healey. Nothing like firing an inexperienced GM and replacing him with a former backup goaltender with no GM experience whatsoever. What kind of franchise would be so dumb to make that kind of move? Oh…hello Garth Snow.

4 minutes in: Al is really stealing the show and showcasing himself. I guess his bi-monthly column on foxsports.com isn’t getting enough hits as he hoped. His next rumour is regarding the Sens goaltending situation, and that the Sens are shopping Emery and don’t want to trade Gerber. According to Scott, the rumour of Emery to the Kings isn’t true.

6 minutes in: Al takes his first shot at Bettman. Yes! This time it’s pertaining to the fact that the NHL scheduled five games the night of the Hockey Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. Al is just ruthless (no wonder he now works in his underwear out of his parents’ basement).

6 minutes, 30 seconds in: The usual Canucks acquiring a washed-up defenceman rumour surfaces. Last year they acquired Keith Carney, this year it’s a rumour about Richard Matvichuk. Harold Snepsts, are you available?

7 minutes in: Eric has a juicy rumour of the ’09 All-Star Game in Montreal being played outdoors! This could be cool. As long as it’s held within walking distance of Schwartz’s, I’m in!

8 minutes in: Scott ends the show with a Forsberg update, basically saying how Forsberg is still in conversation with his doctor to determine if there is a way to fix his wonky ankle. Doesn’t seem too promising for Foppa. Too bad for all of the 30 teams that have expressed possible interest in him. Let the Jason Allison sweepstakes begin!

And that concludes another great edition of the “real” Hotstove. And with no commercial break this time (Moores. Well Made. Well Priced. Well Dressed.)

I’ll leave you with some other notable observations and info that I stumbled upon tonight:

I hope everyone caught Bob Cole referencing Shanahan’s failed shootout goal in the ’98 Nagano Olympics, during the Leafs-Rangers shootout. Let it go Bob. Next you’re going to tell me your take on Rob Zamuner being included on the team.

True or false: Ken Hitchcock selected Adam Foote to be the third shooter for the Blue Jackets in their shootout loss to the Preds. Just as an FYI, the following players were available to shoot: Rick Nash, David Vyborny, Nikolai Zherdev, Sergei Fedorov, Danny Gare, and Espen Knutsen. Have another burger there Hitch!

According to the Kings play-by-play guru Bob Miller, the Kings Tuesday broadcast against the Ducks will not feature any play-by-play or colour commentary. The broadcast will use a special low camera angle, and will be shot in HD, of course. No word yet where Bob Miller will be during the broadcast. Is there a Jewish holiday I’m not aware of? Brisket dinner at the Miller’s perhaps?

Morning Musings

Here are the National morning papers:

• Alan Maki of the Globe & Mail provides readers with Bruins' defenseman Andrew Ference's take in the aftermath of the Patrice Bergeron hit.
• Kevin Allen of the USA Today gives readers the Flyers' perspective of the Bergeron hit.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• The Oilers rode the strong play of their backup goalie Mathieu Garon to a 3-2 shootout victory over the defending champion Ducks last night in Anaheim. Prior to the game, Dustin Penner finally got his Stanley Cup ring from the Ducks. Also of note, Altanta's direct of player personnel, Marc Dobson, caught his third Oilers' game in the past few weeks which only makes Oilers' fans wonder if there is a trade in the works.
• After Vancouver's 3-2 home loss last night to Detroit, only two teams have recorded less points in the Western Conference than have the Canucks.
• The Ducks were so close to securing an elusive win last night before Andrew Cogliano scored a short-handed marker with less than two minutes to go in regulation to send the Oilers/Ducks game into overtime. The Ducks eventually lost in a shootout.
• The Blackhawks don't want to squander too many more opportunities for points this early in the season because they understand it will comeback to bite them in the end.
• The Avalanche defeated the Wild yesterday afternoon and, as a result, remain undefeated on home-ice this season; Adrian Dater of the Denver Post has the story.
• The Stars are hoping to prolong the Sharks' struggles tonight in Dallas.
• Chris Osgood improved his record to 5-0 as he led the Wings to a 3-2 victory over the struggling Canucks last night in Vancouver. Wings' defenseman Niklas Kronwall missed last night's game with a minor groin injury.
• The Wild couldn't generate enough offense with Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra on the sidelines with groin injuries and, as a result, were defeated by the Avs 3-1 on Sunday night. Although he has a history of groin problems, Gaborik doesn't expect to be out for long.
• Predators' goaltender Dan Ellis has been impressive his past few games, but coach Barry Trotz says, "he still has a ways to go."

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• The Habs have exceeded expectations so far this season writes Jack Todd in this morning's Montreal Gazette.
• In Ottawa, Andrej Meszaros has rebounded from a sub-par 2006/07 and played this season at a very high level that bares more resemblance to his fine rookie season and not his disappointing sophomore performance. The way they are currently playing, the Senators look unbeatable opines Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun.
• The Capitals may be without three integral parts to their lineup tonight as they take on the Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre.
• Damien Cox of the Toronto Star says that once Bryan McCabe and Darcy Tucker return from their respective injuries they must fit more effectively within the team concept.
• Jason Ward has found the perfect comfort level in Tampa Bay writes Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune.
• Youngster Tyler Kennedy impressed the Penguins' brass in his first game on Saturday versus the Habs but with Gary Roberts looking to return to the lineup, Kennedy may find himself watching from the press box. Meanwhile, Mark Recchi has been dropped from the team's first line to the fourth line.
• In surprising news (please detect the sarcastic tone), the Flyers do not believe that the Randy Jones hit warrants a suspension.
• Islanders' coach Ted Nolan brushed off Saturday's blowout loss to the Hurricanes as "just one of those games."
• Brendan Shanahan believes that by focusing on their lack of scoring instead of just getting wins, the Rangers are putting the cart before the horse.
• If the Devils continue to struggle, a shakeup could be in order writes Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Ledger.
• The Panthers were looking to gather momentum going into the weekend but having lost both of their games, they are now looking to regroup. "Bottom line, the mental preparation's got to be better," says Olli Jokinen.
• The Sabres are finally back to square one with a 5-5 record writes John Vogl of the Buffalo News.
• The Bruins received good news yesterday as Patrice Bergeron was released from hospital. Former Provide College Star Jeff Sorowik who has sustained serious concussions of his own, believes that Bergeron will miss at least a month of action.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

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