Here are the national morning papers:
- William Houston of the Globe & Mail says it is time for the Maple Leafs to be removed as the main weekly team on Hockey Night in Canada.
- Eric Duhatschek of the Globe & Mail believes that Scotty Bowman is not only the obvious choice to run the Maple Leafs, but is the right choice too.
- Kevin Allen of USA Today has a great article on the continuing effect that Willie O'Ree has on the game of hockey.
Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:
- Many Thrashers players are looking forward to the team's trip to Detroit for both on and off-ice reasons.
- Bruins center Marc Savard has been named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team as a replacement for the injured Dany Heatley. With all the injuries the Bruins have sustained, players such as David Krejci have been forced into larger roles than anticipated.
- According to John Vogl of the Buffalo News, Sabres defenseman Brian Campbell won't negotiate a new contract until after the season is complete. Meanwhile, Sabres forward Maxim Afinogenov would not tell the media when he expects to return from his groin injury.
- It appears that the Hurricanes are finally getting healthier with players returning from both the flu and other assorted injuries that have set the team back over the past few weeks.
- David Booth is one of the cheapest players on the Panthers roster, but he is also one of their most effective players, writes Steve Gorten of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. While Booth is your prototypical young rookie, recently acquired Magnus Johansson is not your typical first season NHL player.
- With the Habs gearing to face-off against the Islanders tonight, Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette tells us that two Habs players get especially excited to play on Long Island.
- The Devils realize they need to be better against the two New York teams, writes Rich Chere of the Newark Star-Ledger.
- Last night's loss 4-1 loss to the Penguins marked the Rangers' sixth in their last seven games and only exacerbates rumors that some kind of change may be on the horizon in New York.
- Greg Logan of Newsday tells readers that Freddy Meyer has really stepped up his game in the absence of Brendan Witt from the Islanders' blueline.
- Jason Spezza is not feeling 100% healthy but that is not going to keep him from playing tonight against the Capitals.
- Scott Hartnell was born to be a Flyer, writes Ed Barkowitz of the Philadelphia Daily News. (Writer's note: If Hartnell plays every game like he did against Boston on Saturday, the Flyers fans will fall in love with him quickly.)
- Evgeni Malkin may not be an official "All-Star," but he sure played like one last night with a dominating hat trick performance in his team's 4-1 win over the Rangers. Meanwhile, Sidney Crosby's workout regiment is apparently going to be featured in Men's Fitness magazine.
- "I feel like I'm starting to get it back," said Tampa forward Brad Richards after his strong play in recent games.
- Paul Hunter of the Toronto Star tells us that John Ferguson Jr.'s days as Leafs GM are numbered. (Writer's note: You mean JFJ is in danger of losing his job?)
- Mike Green and Shaone Morrisonn have developed some great chemistry on the Capitals' blueline, writes Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post.
Here are the Western Conference morning papers:
- When the Stars face-off in Anaheim tonight, they will be seeing a different Ducks team than they did earlier this year, writes Dan Wood of the Orange County Register.
- Eric Francis of the Calgary Sun believes the Flames' signing of Curtis Joseph essentially marks the end for a number of the Flames' goaltending prospects. Steve Macfarlane of the Calgary Sun thinks the Joseph signing will provide Miikka Kiprusoff with some much-needed rest.
- "I'm hitting the phones here trying to do something," said Hawks GM Dale Tallon in reference to the team's interest in acquiring a veteran defenseman.
- It looks like Jose Theodore has recaptured Colorado's number goaltender spot, writes Adrian Dater of the Denver Post.
- The fans may be a little colder in Columbus, but the quality of the ice has improved, writes Jeffrey Sheban of the Columbus Dispatch. According to Tom Reed of the Dispatch, Fredrik Modin should return to the lineup some time this week. Here are the Blue Jackets' projected lines for tonight's contest versus Vancouver.
- Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News tells readers that Sergei Zubov is a game-time decision for tonight's contest at Anaheim.
- Dominik Hasek and Chris Osgood get along tremendously, writes Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.
- Marty Reasoner has turned into a valuable checking left-winger, writes Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal. Meanwhile, Oilers All-Star Shawn Horcoff admits he is very satisfied with the way he has played so far this season.
- The Kings have decided to call up two of their top prospects from the AHL with the team's injuries to Brian Willsie and Mike Cammalleri taking longer to heal than expected.
- Predators netminder Dan Ellis has a problem most women and men would kill for, writes John Glennon of the Tennessean. Don't expect the Predators to back down just because a couple of their tougher players are sidelined with injuries.
- Paola Boivin has an interesting feature on the quirkiness of Ilya Brygalov in this morning's Arizona Republic.
- The Sharks players are big fans of the movie Slapshot and they do their best to select their favorite scenes for the San Jose Mercury News.
- Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch explains the reasoning behind the Blues' demotion of goaltender Hannu Toivonen.
- Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province says the Canucks now have a $6 million per year checking winger.
For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.
