EURO CURVE

Euro Curve appears every Saturday on Illegalcurve.com, and chronicles the latest international hockey news.

- The rumour hurricane continues to swirl around the hockey world, as should be expected with the NHL's trade deadline a mere 10 days away, as European players are front-and-centre.

- Columbus Blue Jackets forward-and Czech Republic national- David Vyborny's time has likely expired in the beautiful state of Ohio as he is set to become a free agent at season's end. The 33-year-old Jihlava native has underperfomed this season for the lowly Jackets, as 3 goals and 15 assists in 50 games is hardly what head coach Ken Hitchcock expected when he pencilled him in on the team's top line. It is believed that he will attract significant attention from playoff contenders like the Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils and Ottawa Senators. A return to the Czech Extraliga next season is also in the cards.

- This week on The Sports Network, NHL insiders Bob McKenzie and Pierre Maguire indicated that Swedish superstar Peter Forsberg, and his agent Don Baizley, had narrowed down his possible signing options down to two teams, the Colorado Avalanche and the Philadelphia Flyers, with both announcers selecting a return to Philadelphia as the more plausible scenario. The 34-year-old Ornskoldsvik native hasn't played a single professional league game this year but has been practicing intensely in Sweden. Although he will be rusty when he returns to the NHL, Foppa is a special player and has produced at a point-a-game or better clip over his pro hockey career. It is believed that Forsberg and Baizley still want a two-year deal but have come down on their salary expectations.

A plethora of other european players have been mentioned ad nauseum in trade rumours, including: Mats Sundin, Toronto Maple Leafs, Olli Jokinen, Florida Panthers, Marian Hossa, Atlanta Thrashers, Ladislav Nagy, Los Angeles Kings, Michael Handzus, Los Angeles Kings, Robert Lang, Chicago Blackhawks, Joni Pitkanen, Edmonton Oilers, Viktor Kozlov, Washington Capitals, Pavol Demitra, Minnesota Wild, Jaroslav Spacek, Buffalo Sabres, Jozef Vasicek, New York Islanders and Patrik Elias of the New Jersey Devils. It promises to be a compelling deadline on Tuesday, February 26.

- Former NHL goalie and ex-Washington Capitals coach Glen Hanlon, who hails from Brandon, Manitoba, will coach Jokerit in the Finnish SM-liiga next season. Hanlon was part of Team Belarus' effort at the 2006 international world hockey championships.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Ezra Ginsburg.

NHL Morning Papers (Thursday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• According to Roy MacGregor of the Globe & Mail, Chris Simon thinks his suspension was unfair.
• The National Post has an interesting article on the Chris Simon incident from the perspective of other players in the NHL.
• USA Today provides readers with an insightful article on prospective prospects for the 2008 entry draft.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• Thrashers defenseman Steve McCarthy is trying to work his way out of being a minus +/- player writes Craig Custance.
• It wasn't an intense workout, but Patrice Bergeron appears to be making positive steps towards a comeback some time this season writes Fluto Shinwaza of the Boston Globe.
• The Sabres are only going to go as far as Ryan Miller can take them, and the top goaltender was terrific last night leading the team to a 2-1 victory over the Islanders.
• With John Grahame having won two straight contests, no one in Carolina knows who will start between the pipes tonight when the Canes face off against the Panthers.
• The Panthers are hoping to carry the success of their road trip onto home ice tonight when they host Carolina. Jozef Stumpel was relieved to finally put his slump behind him in Montreal on Tuesday writes George Richards of the Miami Herald.
• Habs coach Guy Carbonneau doesn't understand why his team doesn't stick to his fairly simple system and battle hard all the time.
• The Devils aren't accustomed to travelling out of the Eastern time zone and that was easily reflected in their game on Tuesday night against the Canucks.
• Rangers defenseman Marek Malik is obviously unhappy about being a healthy scratch but understands that it is part of the game and intends to work his way out of it. For all the names on Broadway, it is a little known pair of defenseman who are playing the most and the hardest minutes on the Rangers blueline writes John Dellapina of the New York Daily News.
• The Islanders outshot the Sabres 43-17 but came out on the losing end of a 2-1 score thanks in large part to the play of Sabres goalie Ryan Miller.
• Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun has a fun article about brushes with greatness after he saw Denzel Washington in Boston's Logan Airport. Meanwhile, Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen has a very interesting article about home-ice advantage, or lack thereof, of teams who have very few fans actually showing up to the games.
• Sam Donnellon gives readers an inside look at the Flyers' power structure and the rise of Peter Luukko in owner Ed Snider's crew.
• The Penguins' offensive statistics are top heavy and if they want to make a move up the standings they are going to need scoring contributions from the entire roster writes Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. There are no indications as to when Ryan Malone will return to the Pens lineup with an infected cut on his leg.
• The Lightning have called up prospect Karri Ramo to try and solve their long-standing goaltending woes.
• After an embarrassing loss on Tuesday, the Leafs have the opportunity to quiet their critics tonight as they take on Tamba Bay tonight. As Mike Zeisberger points out in this morning's Toronto Sun, it wasn't the choice of the players on the ice at the end of Tuesday's game but how those players executed that cost the team the game.
• Capitals rookie Nicklas Backstrom is finally starting to get settled into the NHL game and it is paying dividends for the Capitals organization.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• Having lost four straight games, the Blues are hoping to crack out of their slump against the powerhouse Red Wings tonight.
• The Canucks' top line realizes they will have to pump up their contributions with the injury to Brendan Morrison killing the teams secondary scoring.
• The Ducks continued their strong defensive play last night as they beat the Avalanche 2-1 in overtime thanks to Schneider's glove-side goal 2:29 into the extra frame. Since Neidermayer's return on Sunday, the Ducks have only allowed 2 goals in 3 games.
• After winning 6 in a row on the road, the Flames are looking to improve upon their 7-7-4 home record when they host the Stars tomorrow night. Despite their win streak, the Flames are still in fourth in the crowded Northeast Division. As well, Mike Keenan has rediscovered his passion for coaching with Calgary being his 8th coaching job in the NHL
• The Blackhawks did not let up after jumping ahead 3-0 in the first period as they beat the Predators 5-2. This was only their 2nd win in 8 games in December.
• Without the services of Ryan Smith and Jordan Leopold and despite only registering 12 shots on goal, the Avs still managed to walk away with a point from last night's overtime loss to the Ducks. The Ducks completely dominated in all aspects of the game but Peter Budaj was sensational stopping 36 of 38 shots.
• Blue Jacket's forward, Dave Vyborny, is anxious to return to the lineup on Friday after missing the last 8 games with a groin injury.
• Mike Ribiero, who is on pace for a career high 42 goals and 87 points, is looking to help the Stars beat the Canucks tonight in Vancouver.
• The Red Wings had goals from six different players last night against the Kings with Kronwall chipping in a career-high 4 assists as the NHL's best team beat the NHL's worst 6-2.
• Since arriving in Minnesota 2 year's ago, Brian Rolston has been a catalyst for the team's success. As Rolston is beginning to heat up expect the Wild to follow suit writes Minnesota Tribune's Kent Youngblood.
• The Pred's inability to score has found them losers of 5 in a row and sitting 14th place in the Western conference. After last night's lack lustre 5-2 loss to the Blackhawks, Pred's captain, Jason Arnott, led a players-only meeting to try to find a way to turn the season around.
• The Coyotes recent success can be attributed to the "VHS Line", featuring Vrbata, Hanzel and Sjostrom, writes Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic.
• The Sharks play host to the suddenly resurgent Coyotes tonight. The Sharks have won all 4 meetings with the Coyotes this season.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock. (Illegal Curve's Adam Gutkin contributed the Western Conference papers this morning.)

NHL Morning Papers

Here are the national morning papers:

• ESPN analyst Barry Melrose has apologized for comments he made about the area around the newly opened Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
• Alan Maki of the Globe & Mail has the details of superfan Steve Williamson's journey across North America to catch 30 hockey games in 30 days.
• Peter James of the National Post profiles soon-to-be Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Al MacInnis.
• The USA Today has a Q & A with Kings' forward Michael Cammalleri.
• Rick Westhead of the Toronto Star touches on the possibility of the NHL returning to Winnipeg.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• Chris Osgood is slated to get the start in net tonight for the Red Wings when they face off against the Predators. For our Michigan readers, February 16th has been proclaimed Hockey Day in Michigan.
• Wild defenseman Kurtis Foster finally scored his first goal of the season earlier this week but, overall, he has been frustrated by his lack of offensive output.
• Predators' coach Barry Trotz has yet to name a starting goaltender for tonight's contest versus the Red Wings, believing that both of his goaltenders will be better prepared when unaware if they are starting or backing up. It looks like Martin Gelinas will return to the lineup after missing a few games with a shoulder injury.
• The Blues still have three games left in David Perron's "trial" to decide if the rookie winger is going to stay up in the NHL all season or be sent back to juniors.
• For some reason, the Blackhawks are far more successful on the road than they are at home and they are hoping to change that starting tonight versus Columbus. Here is the stat line for both teams.
• Avalance off-season signing Scott Hannan has the worst plus/minus on the team with a -7 rating, however, Avs' coach Joel Quenville doesn't put too much stock in short term plus/minus ratings.
• Blue Jackets enforcer Jody Shelley has been a healthy scratch in ten of the team's first thirteen games, but he is not going to become a distraction for the team writes Michael Arace of the Columbus Dispatch. David Vyborny has struggled out of the gate this season, however, his lack of offensive production has been a lot easier to take with the team finally winning on a consistent basis. Here are the Blue Jackets' projected lines for tonight's contest.
• Flames' defenseman Dion Phaneuf missed practice yesterday because of an aggravated leg injury and his status for the team's game on Thursday is up in the air.
• The Stars record short-handed this season is incredible writes Mike Heika in the Dallas Morning News. Here is Heika's preview of the Stars' game tonight versus the Sharks.
• Craig MacTavish lit into his team yesterday in practice and questioned their heart and desire. The coach needs Jarret Stoll to bust out of his season-long slump and help contribute offensively and improve his defensive game.
• Coyotes' coach Wayne Gretzky says he excited about the NHL schedule change next season which will see a return to the format of every team playing each other at least once a season.
• Evgeni Nabokov has been a horse for Ron Wilson and the Sharks; the 32 year old netminder has started every game for San Jose this season writes Mark Emmons of the San Jose Mercury News.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• Wholesale line changes by coach Glen Hanlon helped the Capitals put forth an improved performance last night in comparison with their dud on Monday night, however, it was not enough as the Caps fell 2-1 in overtime to the Thrashers in Atlanta.
• The Leafs, once again, lost to the Senators last night by a score of 5-1 and excuses aside, the Senators are just flat out better than Toronto.
• Dan Boyle is going to be lost to the Lightning for quite a while, which is why Bolts' coach John Tortorella is not going to harp on the injury and is only looking forward to other people stepping up and carrying the load.
• After winning all eight games against the Flyers last season, the Penguins are ready to face a totally different Flyers squad tonight. Expect Dany Sabourin to be between the pipes tonight versus the Flyers.
• The Flyers have switched their lines up, flipping Mike Richards and Daniel Briere for tonight's game.
• Everything is rosy for the Senators right now with only one loss on the season. Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun wonders if it is too early to start comparing this season's version of the Senators to the 1976/77 Canadiens. Hugh Adami of the Ottawa Citizen looks at the Senators cap structure and analyzes their ability to keep defenseman Wade Redden.
• It took the Islanders two periods, but they finally broke the Lundqvist code and scored three times in the third to win the Battle of NY 3-2 on home ice.
• The Rangers wore down in the third period, with last night's game being their third in four nights, and they didn't have the necessary mental focus to put the game away. Unnoticed by many, has been the fact that the Rangers are winless on the road to start the season.
• The Devils have sent veteran defenseman Richard Matvichuk down to the minors. It is fair to say that Jamie Langenbrunner probably would have preferred to pick another day for his first practice, as the veteran winger had to pay the price for the team's lackluster effort versus Pittsburgh on Monday in practice yesterday.
• The Canadiens have gained confidence from their recent homestand and are hoping to take that confidence out on the road writes Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette.
• According to the Miami Herald, Panthers' defenseman Bryan Allen will miss tonight's game versus the Lightning.
• With Niclas Wallin lost to the Canes with an injury, defenseman Dennis Seidenberg is getting the opportunity to strut his stuff.
• Bucky Gleason of the Buffalo News says that team are starting to adjust to the Sabres skating/free-wheeling style and that means less scoring chances and more adjustments for the coaching staff.
• Bruins' winger Glen Murray says that Boston has to start out-working opposing penalty-killers if they want to score on the powerplay because the talent is there.
• The Thrashers pulled out a big 2-1 win in overtime last night after Ilya Kovalchuk, who has been carrying the team in recent games, left the game with back-spasms.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.