Are the Canucks any better?

From Iain McIntyre of the Vancouver Sun:

Demitra and Steve Bernier, last week's key acquisition, replace Brendan Morrison and Markus Naslund on the Canucks' roster. That makes Vancouver different -- bigger, younger, slightly more physical -- but not necessarily any more offensive. Or does a potential second-line of Demitra-Kyle Wellwood-Mason Raymond really get your heart pumping?

Read more from One-Timers here.

McIntyre's point is well taken. The Canucks need to make another move or two before heading into the season. Obviously their number one need is scoring up-front.

Wellwood picked up by Canucks

From TSN:

The Vancouver Canucks added some depth down the middle for next season, claiming soon-to-be restricted free agent centre Kyle Wellwood off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Canucks can retain his rights by giving him a qualifying offer and he would not become a free agent.

Read the entire article here.

This is a good move by a team that is short on scoring. Wellwood didn't cost them anything in terms of players/draft picks and he has some upside. I assume the Canucks will qualify the diminutive forward and retain his rights. He could be a nice addition to their second power play unit.

Waiving goodbye

From TSN:

The Tampa Bay Lightning have place goaltender Marc Denis on waivers for the purpose of buying him out. Should he clear waivers on Wednesday, he will be bought out at that time.

Here is the entire report.

Also from TSN:

The Toronto Maple Leafs took another step toward rebuilding on Tuesday, placing
forward Kyle Wellwood and goaltender Andrew Raycroft on waivers.

Here is the report.

As I said yesterday, putting Wellwood on waivers doesn't make a ton of sense to me. Raycroft's time in Toronto had run out, as the team has Vesa Toskala entrenched as their number one netminder and Justin Pogge on the cusp of making the NHL.

As for Denis, he didn't perform even close to expectations throughout his tenure in Tampa and his placement on waivers is not surprising at all.

Wellwood won't be offered contract by Leafs

From Dave Shoalts of the Globe & Mail:

Cliff Fletcher has a long list of potential player moves to address in the next
seven days, but the only thing certain right now is that Kyle Wellwood's days
with the Toronto Maple Leafs are finished and Bryan McCabe's may not be.

Read the entire article here.

Wellwood certainly had a disappointing season last year. He was injured much of the season and was said to not be in very good shape heading into the season. That said, he is still a talent, something the Leafs lack, and could be a valuable asset on some team's second power play unit. I'm not quite sure why the Leafs would let him go for nothing.

News You Can Use Late in the Day

1. Not really news per se, but some UND players once again got themselves acquainted with the Grand Forks PD.
2. Kevin Porter of the Michigan Wolverines won the Hobey Baker award.
3. More Memorial Cup history, courtesy of Taking Note.
4. A preview of the ECHL playoffs.
5. Need another reason to hate the Wild? Watch this. (With apologies to the Piper's and Rosso's)
6. Read all about the Capitals' Matt Bradley.
7. Darren Dreger outlines possible management changes with the non-playoff teams.
8. Want to know what Silent Bob thinks of the Rangers-Devils series? Read this.
9. A look at the off-season game plan of the LA Kings.
10. Mike Toth live blogs the playoffs from his home.
11. The NHL has managed to increase both television numbers and attendance this year.
12. More news on the Toronto Maple Leaf's ticket scandal.
13. Random thoughts on the playoffs from Bob McKenzie.
14. Canada cruises to victory over Germany at the World Under-18's.
15. The US Women's Team defeats Canada to claim the World Championship.
16. Sean Avery: Innovator or cheat?
17. Kyle Wellwood answers fan's questions.
18. The Best of Seven blog rates the series' by excitement factor.
19. Spector predicts a big payday for RFA's this summer.
20. Meet the new Sean Avery Rule.
21. Are the Senators really soft?
22. Jeff Marek reports that Patrick Thoreson is recovering nicely. Check out the excellent quote by Bobby Orr at the end of the article.
23. If you like fights, be sure to check this out.
24. Australia wins World Hockey Gold in Divsion II, Group B by shutting out those stinkin' Commies.
25. Traveling with Gary Bettman.

News You Can Use Late in the Day

1. Damien Cox with his list of 5 teams that have surprised him this year.
2. Celine Dion Phaneuf has signed a 6 year extension with the Calgary Flames, guaranteeing that they will boast the ugliest man in hockey until 2013.
3. Dany Heatley is expected to return to the Senators lineup on Thursday.
4. Peter Forsberg and his one good ankle reject offers from the Stars, Wings and Flames. Look for him to hop on over to the Senators.
5. Nathan Gerbe is a contender for the Hobey Baker, according to INCH.
6. Bob McKenzie dispels any myths that Marian Hossa is heading for Montreal.
7. Fabian Brunstrom and a couple of Linus' headline the top Swedish free agents. Good grief.
8. Adam Schwartz breaks down 5 successful trades that brought in role players.
9. The NHL Insider takes a look at Roberto Luongo and Tomas Vokoun.
10. A recap of all things NHL for the week that was.
11. A look around the CHL from Sportsnet.
12. Taking Note gives us a summary of the WHL Board of Governors meetings, which included a suggestion of a salary cap for off-ice employees.
13. BlackAthlete.net says that hockey doesn't need a "Tiger Woods" type player.
14. Proving that the end may be nigh, Mike Brophy makes sense.
15. Lincoln Stars forward Ryan Kretzer is making the most of his opportunity.
16. Sean Avery and Marek Malik exchange blows (thats what she said) at Rangers practice. Maybe Malik stole some of Avery's fashion mags.
17. Fanhouse hearts George Parros' mustache.
18. Check out this series of posts by Kerry Goulet, detailing his trip through Russia.
19. Allan Muir of SI thinks that the late season additions to the Ducks could do more harm than good.
20. John Buccigross asks NFL fans to give the NHL a shot.
21. The new European hockey league is one step closer to fruition.
22. Interesting article about the possibility of hockey returning to Baltimore.
23. Kyle Wellwood's career is in freefall.
24. Despite trading their captain and starting goalie, the London Knights just keep winning.
25. An exhibit of Maurice Richard items will be making its way to Newfoundland and Labrador.

NHL Morning Papers (Wednesday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky is glad to be getting Rick Tocchet back in the coaching fold starting tomorrow night, writes Eric Duhatschek of the Globe & Mail.
• Daryl Katz was finally able to close the deal to purchase the Edmonton Oilers, writes Alan Maki of the Globe & Mail.
• Fabian Brunnstrom is generating interest from all around the NHL, writes Kevin Allen of USA Today.
• Damien Cox of the Toronto Star profiles the humble Nicklas Lidstrom.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• Even the return of Ilya Kovalchuk couldn't change the Thrashers fortunes against the Flyers, as Atlanta was defeated 3-2 at home by Philadelphia. Off the ice, Thrashers coach/GM Don Waddell maintains that his number one goal is to sign Marian Hossa.
• "Looking back at the game, it was more of one team hungrier than the other and one team playing with more desperation than the other," said Bruins coach Claude Julien about his team's 4-2 home loss to the Sabres last night. Bruins defenseman Dennis Wideman had an off game last night, but he wasn't about to avoid taking responsibility for his poor play. On the concussion front, the Bruins have looked into a new concussion therapy, and are still holding out hope for a Patrice Bergeron return this season.
• The Sabres completed their seven game road trip with a 4-2 win at Boston, and successfully finished the road trip with a 4-2-1 record. Even though he doesn't play many minutes, that does not mean that Adam Mair's contributions to the Sabres are overlooked by the coaching staff, writes Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News.
• The Hurricanes didn't play a bad road game, they just gave up one 3-on-1 chance and it ended up in the back of their net, leading to a 1-0 loss to the Predators. To make matters worse, the team lost forward Chad Larose to a broken leg.
• "We just weren't ready to go," said Rangers forward Chris Drury after his team's 4-2 home loss to the Kings. The mood in the Rangers locker room after the game was one of sheer disappointment, writes John Dellapina of the NY Daily News.
• Flyers coach John Stevens was aware of Antero Nittymaki's success versus Atlanta and Kari Lehtonen so he did not hesitate to call the Finnish netminder's number for the Flyers 3-2 victory last night in Atlanta. The Flyers are still searching for a winger to play alongside Daniel Briere and Simon Gagne. Forget the new Flyers, Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Daily News has an interesting piece on former Flyers netminder Ron Hextall.
• Nathan Smith is currently up with the Penguins filling-in for the team's injured players; so he is fully aware that he is on an everyday tryout. In other Penguins news, defenseman Kris Letang is making a concerted effort to shoot more.
• The Capitals dominated the second and third periods, to come from behind and defeat the Blue Jackets 4-3 at Nationwide Arena last night.
• The Panthers absolutely demolished the Maple Leafs last night in Toronto by a score of 8-0. While the dominant victory was good news for the Cats, the team did receive bad news when it heard that Jozef Stumpel will be lost to the team for 4-6 weeks.
• Unlike their game against the Rangers on Sunday, the Habs were able to hold on to their lead last night as they defeated the Senators 4-3 to move within one point of the division lead.
• The Devils hope they play well enough tonight so that they don't have to have coach Brent Sutter yell at them between periods, writes Rich Chere of the Newark Star Ledger.
• Not only did the Islanders lose 3-0 to the Ducks last night, but they also may have lost winger Miroslav Satan after he aggravated a right knee injury, writes Greg Logan of Newsday.
• The Senators lost 4-3 to the Habs last night and the team's recent play has Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun wondering if the team needs to trade for a number one netminder. Garrioch lists a number of players the team may be willing to dangle in trade offers. Meanwhile, Christopher Higgins of the Canadiens has admitted that his team has set a goal of passing the Senators for first place in the Northeast Division.
• The Lightning picked up their first victory in St. Louis in sixteen years last night, with a 5-4 win. Lightning winger Andre Roy was a healthy scratch for last night's game for disciplinary reasons.
• "Everyone should be ashamed," said Leafs captain Mats Sundin after last night's embarrassing 8-0 loss at home to Florida. Meanwhile, Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star discusses the free-fall of Kyle Wellwood from top-line projections to the press box.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• While Teemu Selanne didn't score in his Ducks return, he did provide the team with a much needed boost as they defeated the Islanders 3-0 on Long Island. With a victory under their belts, the team now heads to the White House, writes Jeff Miller of the Orange County Register.
• Most people may be counting out the Blackhawks for a playoff run, but Hawks GM Dale Tallon still has faith his team can put it together for a run to the post-season, writes Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune.
• The Avalanche are expected to have Jose Theodore back between the pipes tonight versus San Jose, and center Paul Stastny back on Saturday versus Vancouver. Adrian Dater of the Denver Post has a great article on what a good guy Joe Sakic is.
• Jonathan Huntington of the Edmonton Sun is looking forward to getting to know new Oilers owner Daryl Katz at his press conference today. On the ice, it looks like the Oilers are considering shutting down Sheldon Souray for the season.
• The Coyotes wasted a terrific effort from rookie Peter Mueller last night by blowing a 3-0 lead in the third period and losing to Calgary 4-3 in a shootout. In more bad news for the Coyotes, the team will be without rookie Martin Hanzal for 2-4 weeks.
• Needing to put together a string of wins, the Blues instead lost to the Lightning, the worst road team in the NHL, at home last night 5-4. On the injury front, Blues forward Martin Rucinsky is close to returning to the lineup.
• The Flames, on the back of Jarome Iglinla's Gordie Howe hat-trick, came from down 3-0 to defeat the Coyotes 4-3 in a shootout last night."Up 3-0, there's no way we should lose that game," said Coyotes captain Shane Doan after the contest.
• The Stars defeated the defenseless Canucks last night 3-2 in a shootout, and extended their win streak to four straight games, writes Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News. While the team won last night, the Stars will not win the Peter Forsberg sweepstakes as he rejected the team's offer yesterday.
• The Wings got the game-winner last night from an unlikely source as defenseman Brett Lebda scored in overtime on a cross-ice pass from Henrik Zetterberg to help the Wings defeated the Wild in St. Paul. The Wings did not win last night's game without a bit of luck, writes Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.
• "I thought we played our best game of the year," said Wild coach Jacques Lemaire after his team's heartbreaking 3-2 overtime loss to the Wings on home-ice. The Wild may have found a perfect fit for the third member of the Gaborik-Demitra line, writes Michael Russo of the Star Tribune.
• Ryan Clowe is itching to get back on the ice and help the Sharks solidify their spot in the Western Conference standings, but he's not about to rush his rehab and suffer a setback.
• The Predators are finding different ways to win, and last night was a prime example, with a 1-0 defensive victory over the visiting Hurricanes.
• Last night's shootout loss to the Stars carried with it lots of positives, writes Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province. The Vancouver Canucks may have lost last night, but they still appear to be in the running to sign Peter Forsberg.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

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

Morning Musings

Here are the national mornings papers:

• With the whole Rick Tocchet issue coming to a close yesterday, Eric Duhatschek says that Gary Bettman has avoided a nightmare.
• Stephen Brunt of the Globe & Mail believes Rick Tocchet did the NHL a favor by pleading out and not taking his case to court.
• Kevin Allen of USA Today believes that Don Waddell may be the best choice to coach the Thrashers.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• The Thrashers had a furious third period rally but their play in the first two periods put them in too deep of a hole and they were defeated by Ottawa 6-4. While all the talk surrounding the Thrashers concerns Marian Hossa's contract coming up on free agency, no one is talking about captain Bobby Holik also hitting free agency this summer.
• Claude Julien wants the Bruins to play to win, not to play not to lose and that strategy paid off last night in the Bruins 4-3 overtime victory over Buffalo. With Patrice Bergeron out of the lineup, the Bruins are attempting to replace their best all-around player by committee.
• Ryan Miller was outplayed by Tim Thomas and the Sabres were defeated by the Bruins in Boston 4-3.
• The NHL will be reviewing a couple of diving calls that went against the Hurricanes in their game Wednesday at Florida writes Lorenzo Perez.
• Olli Jokinen isn't sure why he plays better at home than on the road but the Panthers need him to make sure he brings his game up a notch away from home as they have the majority of their games on the road in November. In other Panthers' news, Richard Zednik is looking more like his former self writes Mike Phillips of the Miami Herald.
• The Habs had a dominating effort last night over the Flyers defeating them 5-2 writes Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette. After seeing the Flyers resort to violent play late in last night's contest, Hickey wonders if the team's recent violent acts are maybe a product of the way they always play.
• The Devils have been very happy with the play of rookie David Clarkson writes Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Ledger. Mark Everson of the NY Post wonders if Brent Sutter's attempts to motivate his star forward Patrik Elias may turn out to be quite risky.
• The Capitals were snakebitten in New York last night, but all the credit has to go to Henrik Lundqvist who was brilliant in shutting out the Caps 2-0.
• The Rangers have played shutdown defensive hockey pretty much all season now points out John Dellapina in this morning's NY Daily News. Larry Brooks of the NY Post thinks everyone is foolish if they try and decide who the leader of the Rangers is and leave Lundqvist out of the equation.
• The Senators completely dominated the Thrashers for the first two periods and hung on to win 6-4 on the back of Daniel Alfredsson's four point night. Bruch Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun believes whomever loses out on the Peter Forsberg sweepstakes will make an attempt to obtain Marian Hossa from the Thrashers.
• Ed Moran of the Philadelphia Inquirer has the details of a recent meeting between Flyers' GM Paul Holmgren and Peter Forsberg.
• The Penguins blew a 2-0 lead on the road last night in Colorado, falling to the Avalanche 3-2. Former Penguins' defenseman Paul Coffey has been voted into the team's Hall of Fame.
• Ruslan Fedotenko made his former squad regret letting him leave via free agency as he had one of the four tallies in the Islanders' 4-0 victory over the Lightning.
• With Bryan McCabe on the shelf, the Leafs' have made Nik Antropov one of their alternate captains. Both Kyle Wellwood and Mark Bell will accompany the Leafs on their upcoming road trip. Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun is reporting that the Leafs looks like they will finally be getting the go-ahead to build their new practice rink.

The Western Conference morning papers are soon to follow...

• Last night's 3-0 loss to the Predators marks the first time the Canucks have been three games under .500 since the 2001/02 season writes Brad Zeimer of the Vancouver Sun. Not only did the Canucks lose the game but they lost both Sami Salo and Kevin Bieksa to injuries.
• Derek Boogard only served the motivate the Blues last night as they defeated the Wild 3-2 in St. Paul. Brad Boyes is continuing his terrific play for the Blues and is showing no signs of letting up. It looks like rookie defenseman Erik Johnson will be ready to return to the St. Louis lineup this weekend.
• It has not taken Sharks' rookie Devon Setoguchi long to make an impact for the Sharks up front.
• Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic has the details behind Rick Tocchet's eligibilty to return from league suspension.
• Predators' netminder Dan Ellis shutout the Canucks 3-0 last night and looks to be making a hard charge after Chris Mason's job.
• Jacques Lemaire said the top line of Koivu-Gaborik-Demitra was the team's best by a country mile in their 3-2 loss to the Blues; however, the rest of the team can play a lot better. According to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune, expect rookie James Sheppard to see his ice-time increase.
• Kyle Calder will be out of the Kings lineup indefinitely with a fractured thumb.
• The Oilers' brass is talking about Fernando Pisani's return in weeks and months as opposed to if he'll come back at all writes Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun. In other Oilers' news, Robert Nilsson is going to try his best to stay up with the big-club this go-around. Defenseman Matt Greene will be out of the lineup for three months but says the injury could have been a lot worse.
• The Wings swept through their Western Canadian road trip with a 3-0 record, marking the first time they have done that since the Atlanta Flames moved to Calgary. Wings' forward Johan Franzen is okay after taking a shot to the head from teammate Brett Lebda.
• In Dallas, Dave Tippett is challenging Dallas' stars to be better writes J.J. Taylor of the Dallas Morning News.
• The Blue Jackets were defeated by the Ducks in arguably the most physical hockey game played in the 2007/08 season.
• The Chicago Tribune's Chris Kuc gets the inside look at the mundane non-hockey life of rooke Patrick Kane.
• The return of Mathieu Schneider not only solidified the Ducks defense, but also gave them the shootout victory as Schneider was the lone player from either side to convert his shootout attempt.
• Jarome Iginla thinks the Flames "over-respected" the Wings last night in his team's 4-1 loss. "We tried to beat the Detroit Red Wings by playing like the Red Wings," said Flames' defenseman Robyn Regehr.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Morning Musings: Exhibition Overload

After watching TSN and Sportsnet on Thursday night, I began to wonder whether the NHL was already in the middle of the regular season. Not only are there pre-game reports (held live at the arena no less) previewing meaningless exhibition contests, but in the evening, the highlights are looped so that the highlights from these games are shown twice in a one hour show. Does anybody else consider this to be overkill? How can TSN justify showing exhibition highlights of a Sens/Capitals game when there are four tremendous division/wild card races taking place in Major League Baseball? The increased television exposure of every training camp/pre-season moment is unnecessary.

Additionally, why are you showing us who the exhibition scoring leaders are? Exhibition scoring leaders rarely tear it up when the games actually matter. If TSN and Sportsnet cut the exhibition highlights, or at least, showed them after meaningful games in other sports have been highlighted, I would be one happy fan.

On to the morning papers:

• Mike Brehm profiles Martin Brodeur in this morning's USA Today.
• Vesa Toskala was not sharp in his debut writes Dave Shoalts of the Globe & Mail.
• Kyle Wellwood was scratched from last night's contest because of a minor groin injury, however, coach Paul Maurice is not overly concerned.
• Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star wonders why Wayne Gretzky won't talk about the Rick Tocchet issue with the press. (Writer's note: Why does Gretzky have to answer questions on this topic?)
• Jannik Hansen will be out of the Canucks' lineup 4-6 weeks with a broken thumb.
• Luc Bourdon is being outplayed by a number of other Canuck defenders who are vying for a spot on the Vancouver blueline writes Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province.
• Taking his family's needs into account, Glen Metropolit is hoping a decision on his future is made sooner rather than later at Bruins' camp.
• While Manny Fernandez had a fairly positive debut, the Bruins were defeated by the Devils 3-0 on Thursday night.
• Dennis Wideman possesses plenty of skill but the key to his development may be his decision-making ability; Stephen Harris has the story in this morning's Boston Herald.
• John Vogl of the Buffalo News reports that Teppo Numminen had successful heart surgery and is now resting comfortably.
• In less serious news out of Buffalo, coach Lindy Ruff is experimenting with splitting up his top defensive pairing of Tallinder and Lydman and putting each with a more offensive defenseman.
• As Michael Russo of the Star Tribune explains, Wild prospect James Sheppard made some positive plays in his NHL exhibition debut but also made a big mistake which left Jacques Lemaire fuming.
• Marian Gaborik is wondering who is going to be centering the top line in Minnesota this season.
• Losing a significant amount of scoring this off-season, the pressure is on the big guns in Nashville to carry the scoring load writes John Glennon of the Tennessean. The team's defensemen are also going to try and do their part to make up for the lost offense.
• Wings' coach Mike Babcock says the seating arrangement in the team's locker room is not by accident.
• Colby Armstrong made a point of thanking the fans of Pittburgh for their support. While defenseman Kris Letang was 'sent down' to the secondary group at training camp.
• Mike Richards will be used as the checking line center in Philadelphia this season.
• Sami Kapanen had an adventerous return to Philadelphia because of visa problems.
• The Capitals were defeated by the Senators 5-4 on Thursday night in Ottawa.
• When Andy Murray arrived in St. Louis last season, Eric Brewer took his game up a couple notches. As Jeremy Rutherford writes, Murray wants to see Brewer take his game up another notch by becoming a little more offensive minded.
• There may be a numbers crunch on the blue line in Anaheim but Joe Dipenta can be sure he has one important supporter in Randy Carlyle.
• Jean Lefebvre of the Calgary Herald details the battle for the final forward roster spot on the Flames and the competition is heated.
• Randy Sportak of the Calgary Sun has the story of David Moss and his off-season training program in Russia this summer.
• Lorenzo Perez takes a closer look at Glen Wesley, the elder statesman on the Canes' blueline, in this morning's News Observer.
• Jonathan Toews is lucky he only has a small crack in his index finger and not a broken hand writes Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune.
• A couple of pleasant surprises at Avs' camp are making the roster decisions that much more difficult for coach Joel Quenville.
• Joel Bouchard had an epiphany while he was laying sick in a hospital bed with a serious infection; now he is back healthy, and is attempting to crack the Blue Jackets' defense. (Writer's note: It is hard not to like Bouchard after reading this article. Lets hope he makes the Columbus defense.)
• The Stars have one of the top backup goalies in the entire NHL and as Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News points out, a good backup may mean the difference between just making the playoffs and finishing on the outside.
• Sheldon Souray's bomb from the point definitely impressed coach Craig MacTavish on Thursday night. (Writer's note: Oilers' fans are probably more concerned with his pinch at the blueline with 10 seconds remaining that led to the winning goal. But guys, it is only pre-season!)
• Rostislav Olesz will be looking for his own shot more this season writes Steve Gorten of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
• Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette has a neat story on the rising Canadian dollar and its effect on various members of the Habs' organization.
• Doctors are still unsure about whether Colin White incurred damage to his eye and the tough defenseman is understandably worried.
• The makeup of the Habs' lineup is beginning to become clear writes Pat Hickey. (Writer's note: More importantly, the practice referred to in the article was played at the Martin Lapointe Arena. Martin Lapointe has an arena??????? I hope it was given to him before he signed with Boston...)
• As Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports, the Senators sent down 13 players to their AHL affiliate on Thursday.
• Brian McGrattan is concerned about the new RBK jerseys writes Chris Stevenson of the Ottawa Sun.
• As Greg Logan explains in this morning's New York Newsday, both the Islanders and Andy Sutton are happy to have each other.
• Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen reports that Mike Fisher is almost ready for game action.
• Injuries are starting to pile up at Lightning camp.
• The battle for the backup goalie position in San Jose will not be decided solely on play in a couple of pre-season games writes David Pollak in this morning's San Jose Mercury News.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock

Fantasy Watch: ZzzZzZz Sleepers

Every year a few players fly under the radar and end up being just as beneficial to your fantasy teams as some top round selections. Here at Illegal Curve, we bring you five 'sleeper' picks who have the potential to breakout for this upcoming season.

Five sleepers:

F Drew Stafford, Buffalo Sabers

A frequent call up last year, Stafford became a force in Buffalo's offense, scoring 14 goals and 27 points in 41 games. Had he been an everyday starter last year, the young forward would have surely made more noise, seeing as how he registered 16 points in the Sabres' last 17 games. Finishing the season strong, Buffalo rewarded Stafford with a spot on their playoff roster giving the young forward some much needed playoff experience. With top players, Daniel Briere and Chris Drury no longer on the team, Stafford will be given an increased role, and has the chance to breakout playing within Buffalo's high powered offense.

F Scottie Upshall, Philadelphia Flyers

Beginning last season on Nashville, Upshall only appeared in 14 games before being shipped off to Philadelphia in the trade that brought Peter Forsberg to the Preds. Buried on Nashville's depth chart, Upshall had trouble cracking the lineup and only ended up playing a total of 77 games for the club that drafted him sixth overall back in 2002. In Philadelphia, Upshall came to a team that was dead last in the league and was looking for any positive way to finish off the season. Instantly gelling with Philly's young talent, Upshall provided a scoring boost, recording 9 points in his last 12 games with his new club. Signing a two year deal in the offseason should give Upshall more confidence as he begins his fresh start in Philadelphia.

F Tim Connolly, Buffalo Sabers

After announcing that he would be out indefinitely to begin last season, some owner in your fantasy league probably thought they were really smart by using a late round pick to grab the forward, hoping that he would pay dividends come mid-season. Unfortunately for them, Connolly only played two regular season games last year, as it took him an entire season to recover from post-concussion syndrome. Healthy enough for the playoffs, Connolly recorded four points in eight games while averaging over 15 minutes per contest. Entering this year at full strength, Connolly should see plenty of ice-time as he looks to regain his 2005-06 form, where the former sixth overall pick scored 55 points in 63 games played.

F Alexander Radulov, Nashville Predators

Radulov was Nashville's first round pick back in 2004 and after tearing it up in the QMJHL, the dynamic Russian forward finally cracked the Pred's starting lineup last year. A pure goal scorer, Radulov collected 18 goals and 34 points in 64 games played with the club. What also should be noted is that Radulov was plus 19 last year, third best on Nashville. With Steve Sullivan out indefinitely due to back problems, and the organization's many losses to free agency, look for the Preds to lean on Radulov a lot more to begin the year; this should result in a significant increase in points for the young star.

F Kyle Wellwood, Toronto Maple Leafs

Wellwood started last year on fire, scoring 11 points in the first month of the season. Slowly emerging as a legitimate center, Wellwood went down with a slew of injuries over the next few months and only appeared in 48 games last season. Nonetheless, the young forward managed to rack up 42 points giving him a new career high. If Wellwood is able to stay healthy for the entire year, a 65-70 point season is not out of reach.



For Illegal Curve, I'm Jonny Remis