NHL Morning Papers: Special Post-Draft Edition

Here are the morning papers from the Central Division:

• The Red Wings got one of the 20 players they coveted last night when Thomas McCollum fells to them at number 30. Read McCollum's bio here.
• A couple of old friends from Winnipeg were both drafted by the Predators last night, writes John Glennon. Before drafting twice in the first round, the Predators traded Chris Mason and re-signed Dan Ellis.
• It wasn't a big splash, but Scott Howson accomplished exactly what he wanted to at the draft last night. Howson hit a solid double last night, writes Aaron Portzline.
• The Blues just couldn't pass on taking the talented Alex Pietrangelo last night, writes Jeremy Rutherford. Earlier on draft day, the Blues add a nice to compliment to Manny Legace with their acquisition of Chris Mason from Nashville.
• The Blackhawks used their selection last night on controversial forward Kyle Beach.

Predators have some signings to take care of

From John Glennon of the Tennessean:

As of late last week, the Predators were not on the verge of new deals with Ellis, Suter or Weber. Poile said the only real deadline pressure involves Ellis, since he could become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Read the entire article here.

After the way Dan Ellis played down the stretch, you have to expect the two sides to come to terms on a contract. More interesting for me, will be how much the team offers Suter and Weber. Weber was injured early last season and struggled to match his offensive output from the year before. Considering many call Weber the "unknown" Dion Phaneuf, I wonder what he will command in salary and term. Additionally, Suter is a young solid defenseman, who will probably command a fairly high and lengthy salary. I wonder whether the two will want similar dollars...

NHL Morning Papers--Western Conference (Saturday Edition)

Here are the Northwest Division morning papers:

• After last night's embarrassing 4-0 loss at Minnesota, the Canucks find themselves in ninth place in the Western Conference. Even after taking a huge hit from Derek Boogard on Friday, Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa still expects to be in the line up on Sunday.


• Patrick Reusse of the Star Tribune thinks that the Wild is peaking at just the right time. The Wild are going to remove one stressor from Kurtis Foster's life, as GM Doug Risebrough has said that he will qualify the defenseman in the off-season. (Writer's note: Classy move by Risebrough.)


• Randy Sportak of the Calgary Sun calls out the Flames brass on their mismanagement of the Kristian Huselius situation. Moving closer to the playoffs, the Flames are hoping to make the Saddledome an extremely hard place to play.


• The Oilers lost a heartbreaker last night in Colorado, however, the team thinks it may actually help to get right back to business tonight in Calgary, writes Joanne Ireland. "We could have used the second one but it's over with," said Jarret Stoll after the contest. Dan Barnes of the Edmonton Journal wonders how good Ales Hemsky can become.


• Joe Sakic has not lost any of his magic, writes Rick Sadowski. "So-so, I think. I don't think we played as good as we wanted. Their skilled forwards had a little too much time, I think, and got to do a little too many moves. But we battled and we came back. We came back a couple times; we tied it up 3-3 and 4-4, so just overall it's a great win for us," said Peter Forsberg after last night's huge victory.

Here are the Pacific Division morning papers:

• The Ducks lost the game, the division and a ten game home winning streak last night versus the Sharks, writes Dan Wood.


• "It's obviously a good feeling, but I think it's the first step in the process that we have in our minds right now," said Jeremy Roenick after his Sharks clinched the Pacific Division title on Friday night.


• Kings coach Marc Crawford has more than just today's game versus Dallas to worry about, writes Eric Stephens and Lisa Dillman.


• The Stars understand the importance of today's afternoon tilt with the Kings, writes Mike Heika.

**There were no Phoenix Coyotes articles this morning**

Here are the Central Division morning papers:

• Mike Babcock made the sentimental decision of putting the Grind Line out to start yesterday's game versus St. Louis, writes Helene St. James. Chris Osgood proves that he is the ultimate team guy by telling reporters that Dominik Hasek is the number one in Motown.


• The Predators defeated the Blue Jackets 2-0 last night and now control their own destiny, writes John Glennon. And to think Dan Ellis' job was in jeopardy only days ago.


• Jared Boll more than proved his worth as a teammate last night, writes Tom Reed. In light of last night's adventures, Predators enforcer Darcy Hordichuk said the Blue Jackets need a tough guy.


• The Blues won their first game in overtime on Friday night when Brad Boyes popped his 40th marker of the season past Chris Osgood. Off the ice, the Blues have had an extremely successful season at the box office.


• After Denis Savard's comments earlier this week about the Blues, you can expect a heated rematch today, writes Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

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

Fantasy Watch: Goalie Starts

Feb 4th - 10th

Anaheim Ducks (4) – Giguere has been struggling lately and should give a start up to Hiller

Atlanta Thrashers (3) – Hedberg should get one start this week.

Boston Bruins (3) – Look for Thomas to start all three games this week.

Buffalo Sabres (4) – With four games on the schedule expect Thibault to steal a start.

Carolina Hurricanes (3) – Ward should receive all three starts this week.

Calgary Flames (4) – Kiprusoff has a busy week ahead of him but don't be surprised to see him in all four games.

Chicago Blackhawks (3) – Expect Lalime to steal a start this week.

Columbus Blue Jackets (4) – Norrena should make an appearance this week with four games on the schedule

Colorado Avalanche (3) – Theodore is day-to-day, making Budaj the undisputed starter.

Dallas Stars (3) – Turco should get all three starts this week.

Detroit Red Wings (4) – Expect Osgood and Hasek to split the starts this week.

Edmonton Oilers (3) – Roloson has been awful in the games he's played in, so look for a steady dose of Garon this week.

Florida Panthers (4) – Vokoun should get all four starts this week.

Los Angeles Kings (4) – With a busy schedule Aubin may make an appearance this week.

Minnesota Wild (4) – Backstrom has gotten hot and will continue to start on a regular basis until he falters.

Montreal Canadiens (3) – Huet should get all three starts this week.

Nashville Predators (4) – Look for Ellis to receive at least one start during this busy week.

New Jersey Devils (4) – Brodeur rarely gets a rest and should be ready to go for all four games this week.

New York Islanders (3) – Expect DiPietro to start all three games this week.

New York Rangers (4) – Valiquette recently gave Lundqvist a rest, so expect Lundqvist to start all four games this week.

Ottawa Senators (3) – Emery has struggled recently and will probably get one start this week.

Philadelphia Flyers (4) – Biron and Nittymaki have been splitting time.

Phoenix Coyotes (4) – Tellqvist may steal a start during this busy week.

Pittsburgh Penguins (4) – Sabourin and Conklin will continue to split starts while Fleury remains
sidelined.

San Jose Sharks (3) – Nabokov should get all three starts this week.

St. Louis Blues (3) – Look for Legace to start all the games this week.

Tampa Bay Lightining (3) – Ramo and Holmqvist will continue to split the starts.

Toronto Maple Leafs (3) – Expect to see Toskala in net for all three games this week.

Vancouver Canucks (4) – Luongo is back and should get all four starts this week.

Washington Capitals – Johnson may steal a start with four games this week.


For Illegal Curve, I'm Jonny Remis

Fantasy Watch: Goalie Starts

November 12th - 18th

Anaheim Ducks (3) – Bryzgalov has hit a slump, winning only one game since October 15th.

Atlanta Thrashers (2) – Expect Lehtonen to handle both starts for this short week.

Boston Bruins (2) – Fernandez has been sidelined with a knee sprain, so unless he comes back, expect Thomas to get both starts.

Buffalo Sabres (2) – Miller should be the recipient of both starts.

Carolina Hurricanes (4) – With a busy schedule and back-to-back games on Friday and Saturday, backup John Grahame should receive one start.

Calgary Flames (3) – The Flames may elect to give Kiprusoff a rest on back-to-back away games.

Chicago Blackhawks (3) – Khabibulin should appear in all three games this week.

Columbus Blue Jackets (3) – Look for Leclaire to get the nod for all three games this week.

Colorado Avalanche (2) – It appears the Avalanche are going with a 50/50 split between Theodore and Budaj.

Dallas Stars (2) – Turco should receive both starts this week.

Detroit Red Wings (3) – Hasek has not played since October 24th.

Edmonton Oilers (3) – Expect Garon to appear in one game due to Roloson's struggles.

Florida Panthers (4) – With a busy week, backup Anderson may see some time in net.

Los Angeles Kings (3) – LaBarbera and Sebastian-Aubin have been splitting time.

Minnesota Wild (4) – Backstrom has been superb in his first year as Minnesota's starter.

Montreal Canadiens (3) – The last time Montreal had back-to-back games, backup Carey Price
received a start.

Nashville Predators (3) – If Mason continues to play poorly, then expect to see more of backup Dan Ellis.

New Jersey Devils (4) – Weekes may see some action with a busy schedule.

New York Islanders (3) – DiPietro has gotten off to a fast start going 7-3-0.

New York Rangers (3) – Lundqvist is the only thing keeping New York out of last place.

Ottawa Senators (2) – Gerber has been the man in Ottawa thus far.

Philadelphia Flyers (3) – Expect Biron to appear in all three games this week.

Phoenix Coyotes (3) – Auld and Tellqvist have been splitting time.

Pittsburgh Penguins (3) – Fluery has gotten off to a rough start, but is bound to pick it up shortly.

San Jose Sharks (4) – Nabokov has started San Jose's first 15 games, but may get a rest this week with four games on the scheduale.

St. Louis Blues (3) – Legace has struggled recently, but is still the #1 guy in St. Louis.

Tampa Bay Lightining (2) – Expect Holmqvist to start both games.

Toronto Maple Leafs (3) – Even though Toskala has struggled, the Leafs continue to ride with
him.

Vancouver Canucks (3) – Luongo should receive all three starts this week.

Washington Capitals (2) – With a short week, Kolzig should appear in both games.


For Illegal Curve, I'm Jonny Remis