Tortorella unhappy about Rangers rumors

From John Dellapina of the NY Daily News:

Here’s a beauty that was making the rounds today - albeit one that several phone calls have assured me has no validity: Just-dismissed Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella takes over as Rangers head coach with Tom Renney moving back upstairs into a player personnel position as an assistant GM.

This is one of those rumors that makes plenty of sense depending upon your view of the two coaches in question. If you’re among those who believe Renney is a build-the-foundation guy (such as Roger Neilson) and Tortorella a finish-the-job guy (such as Mike Keenan), you might love this notion.

Similarly, Tortorella’s affection for New York and the Rangers’ franchise is unabashed. As is Renney’s selfless willingness to do whatever is best for the organization.

Only problem is the Rangers have no plans to replace Renney and haven’t reached out to Tortorella (though the well could do so soon to bring him back under the Rangers’ umbrella in some capacity).

As fiercely principled as he is competitive, Tortorella was livid yesterday to learn that this rumor was making the rounds. A big fan of Renney’s work, the two communicate often. In fact, Tortorella congratulated Renney upon making the playoffs and consoled him upon the Rangers’ elimination. And Renney reached out to Tortorella to commiserate when the latter was rumored to be fired and then was.

“This is just wrong,” Torts told me yesterday. “Everybody should just stop it! First of all, I’m a big fan of Tom’s. How can people start rumors like that?”

Read the entire entry from the Blueshirts Blog.

I have no doubt that John Tortorella would be a great fit with the Rangers in NY, however, it would be very difficult for Glen Sather to replace Tom Renney right now. Renney is largely responsible for the Rangers post-lockout turnaround and has moved the team to the second round in the past two playoff years. The fact is, both teams that the Rangers have lost to in the playoffs (Buffalo and Pittsburgh) were better than them. Not only were the two teams higher in the standings, but they were more talented as well. If the Rangers pull off a move like this, the pressure will be tremendous on Broadway.

NHL Morning Papers (Thursday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• The Globe & Mail provides readers with a NHL salary database for all 30 teams.
• Eric Duhatschek of the Globe & Mail evaluates the jekyl and hyde San Jose Sharks in this morning's paper.
• Wayne Scanlan of the National Post thinks Ray Emery really should have been a rock star.
• The hard-working Shawn Horcoff stills feels like his Oilers have a chance to make the playoffs, writes Mike Brehm of USA Today.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• In the midst of their 4-1 victory over the Penguins last night, the Thrashers lost Ilya Kovalchuk to a knee injury and the extent of the damage is currently unknown. (Update: Kovalchuk will miss two games over the weekend but the injury is not considered serious.) "The next eight to 10 games will help us decide if we look at moving him for assets or look at keeping him because winning the division is within our grasp and something that is very important to us," said Thrashers coach and GM Don Waddell in regards to the Marian Hossa contract situation.
• Fluto Shinwaza of the Boston Globe details the struggles that Bruins winger Peter Schaefer hasn't been able to overcome. In injury news, the Bruins will be without Glen Murray and P.J. Axelsson for tonight's game. (Update: Axelsson is now a game-time decision) With all the injuries to the team's regulars, Boston's roster is loaded with young players who are demonstrating their ability to play older than their age.
• Ryan Miller had seven family member in the stands last night in Florida and didn't disappoint them by leading the Sabres to a 1-0 shutout victory over the Panthers.
• Brett Hedican wants his colleagues on defense to keep the game simple and make sure they move the puck quickly out of their own end, writes Rachel Carter of the News Observer.
• The Rangers head into Philadelphia tonight and if they don't plan on going hard to the net, they will be the only team on the ice that isn't, writes Larry Brooks of the NY Post. John Dellapina of the NY Daily News evaluates the trading possibilites that Glen Sather may have are we near the trade deadline.
• The Flyers don't want to put the cart before the horse, but they believe they have a shot at catching the conference-leading Senators for first place. Ray Parrillo of the Philadelphia Inquirer profiles the much-improving Braydon Coburn in this morning's paper.
• The Penguins suffered their first blowout loss since Sidney Crosby went down to injury last night as they lost 4-1 at Atlanta. "It was weird. You're used to having the whole play in front of you. Your vision, your sight lines are so different," said Penguins forward/defenseman Brooks Orpik about his move to the wing.
• The Capitals have revenge on their minds for tonight's game versus Montreal, after they feel like the Habs were trying to run up the score against them in Tuesday's contest between the two squads.
• "It was a tough game. We did a lot of things right, but couldn't put the puck in the net," coach Jacques Martin said after his team's 1-0 home loss to the Sabres. The Panthers were without captain Olli Jokinen for the final two periods of last night's game, but poolies need not worry, it was only the stomach flu.
• Habs defenseman Josh Gorges has been a very pleasant surprise on the team's blue line since Patrice Brisebois went down to injury, writes Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette.
• Many of the Islanders players are questionable for tonight's game versus L.A. with a case of the flu, writes Eric Boland of Newsday.
• Scott Morrison of Sun Media believes Martin Gerber is the reason that the Senators can't trade Ray Emery. According to coach John Paddock, Daniel Alfredsson is "iffy" for tonight's contest with a hip injury.
• Damien Cox of the Toronto Star advises the Leafs to get Mats Sundin's name on a contract extension, and focus on trading the team's other assets. Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun wonders who in their right mind wouldn't want to add Mats Sundin before the trade deadline? In non-Sundin news, Paul Hunter of the Toronto Star thinks Jim Rutherford would be a perfect fit for the Leafs' GM position.
• "He's right. It's our responsibility to outplay the other team's best players and we haven't done that. There is no one else to blame but ourselves," said Devils forward Zach Parise after being criticized by his coach Brent Sutter.
• The Lightning know what they are going up against tonight when they face-off against their old nemisis Roberto Luongo.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• After heading into the first intermission scoreless, the Ducks had a complete lapse at the beginning of the second period and found themselves down 3-0 in under four minutes on their way to a 5-1 road loss at Minnesota.
• The well-rested Flames handed San Jose just their fifth road loss of the season on Wednesday with a 5-4 victory. The Flames were led by former Sharks winger Owen Nolan who tallied his first hat-trick in nine seasons.
• With Jody Shelley gone to San Jose, Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch wonders who is going to fill the veteran's leadership void. Here are tonight's probable lines for the Blue Jackets.
• Stars netminder Marty Turco feels like he's at his best if his sole focus is on stopping the puck, writes Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News.
• The Red Wings were outplayed at Joe Louis Arena last night, but good teams know how to pull out victories when they don't play their best and that is what Detroit did with a 3-2 victory over the Coyotes. Even though the Wings won, they did lose defenseman Niklas Kronwall to a shoulder injury that will sideline him for at least a week.
• Even though he entered the game with tremendous numbers at the Xcel Center, the Wild were not intimidated by J.S. Giguere, and in fact, chased the former Conn Smythe award winner from the game in their 5-1 victory over Anaheim. "We all got soft living in California," said Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf about his intolerance for the Minnesota cold.
• Blues coach Andy Murray thinks his team's power play is on the right track.
• The Blackhawks were all geared up for a good post-All-Star Game showing but they were less than impressive in Colorado last night, losing 6-3 to the Avs, writes Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune. (Writer's Note: The team thinks it should have Jonathan Toews back in the lineup for February 13th versus Columbus)
• Even with all their offensive stars out of the line up, the Avalanche were able to score six goals against the Blackhawks on Wednesday, writes Adrian Dater of the Denver Post.
• Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal says the Oilers are no longer hard to play against. To make matters worse, Sheldon Souray has, once again, injured his shoulder and will be out of the line up for some time.
• "It was a tough loss for us because we played so well, " said Coyotes coach Wayne Gretzky after his team blew a one goal third period lead to lose 3-2 at Detroit. Gretzky wants to make sure his team doesn't go on a losing skid, and therefore, fall out of the playoff race they have worked so hard to be involved in.
• The score indicated it was a closer game than it actually was as the Sharks lost 5-4 at Calgary on Wednesday night, writes David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News.
• The Predators could get a big boost tonight with the return of David Legwand to the lineup, writes John Glennon of the Tennessean.
• "Yes, without a doubt, [Tuesday] night was one of my most frustrating moments since I've been here," said Canucks coach Alain Vigneault about Tuesday night's loss to Dallas. As if they don't have enough injuries, it appears that Sami Salo may miss Thursday's game versus the Lightning with a sore groin.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

NHL Morning Papers (Tuesday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• William Houston of the Globe & Mail wonders if it is time to stop playing the NHL All-Star Game in its current form.
• Mark Spector of the National Post says the hardest part of rebuilding a hockey team are the first few steps.
• Even with yesterday's signing of Teemu Selanne, Kevin Allen of USA Today tells readers that Brian Burke is still looking to make another big move to improve his forward corps.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• Mark Bradley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution tries to figure out whether the Atlanta Thrashers are any worse than the Atlanta Hawks.
• With every team so close in the Eastern Conference playoff race, the Bruins cannot afford to get off to a slow start post All-Star break. Apparently neither P.J. Axelsson nor Glen Murray are close to returning to action for the Bruins.
• Maxim Afinogenov is close to returning to the Sabres lineup, writes Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News.
• The Hurricanes have given the second most goals in the entire NHL and if they want to make the playoffs, they will have to shore up their defensive game, writes Rachel Carter of the News Observer.
• Jozef Stumpel will return to the Panthers lineup for Wednesday's game against Buffalo. With a number of injuries on the roster, the Panthers made a few call-ups yesterday from Rochester of the AHL.
• Chris Higgins of the Canadiens says the team's ultimate goal this season is to win the Stanley Cup.
• Depending on their place in the Eastern Conference standings, the Devils may opt to give Martin Brodeur more time off over the remainder of the season with so many back-to-back games on the schedule.
• Larry Brooks of the NY Post tells readers that the Rangers' asking price for defenseman Marek Malik is quite high. Meanwhile, Rangers coach Tom Renney is hoping that his team can play the same way they did to close out last season.
• "I think teams always play well against the elite because there's some fear if you don't, you're going to get blown out," said Islanders captain Bill Guerin about his team's game tonight versus the powerful Senators.
• To say John Paddock is sick and tired of Ray Emery's antics would be an understatement. Emery was back practicing on Tuesday morning, but there has been no word on his future with the club, writes Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen.
• Flyers forward Joffrey Lupul is hoping to return to the team's lineup in two weeks.
• Colby Armstrong will miss the Penguins' next two road games with the flu. Here are some news and notes about the Penguins.
• Dan Boyle has returned to the Lightning's lineup and wants to be a leading hand in turning his team's fortunes around.
• The Leafs could learn a thing or two about the Blues' rebuilding plans writes Damien Cox of the Toronto Star. In other Leafs news, Cliff Fletcher had a discussion yesterday with Mats Sundin but "nothing tangible" was discussed.
• The Capitals are only one point out of first place in the Southeast Division and have their sights on winning the division.

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

• As Jeff Miller of the Orange Country Register tells us, Teemu Selanne's return to the Ducks has brought much joy to Anaheim fans, players and management.
• Mike Keenan is not going to change the approach he has with the Flames for the entire season just because the playoff push is about to get underway, writes Scott Cruickshank of the Calgary Herald.
• After his tirade last Thursday, Blackhawks coach Denis Savard was happy to see his team rebound with a good, up-tempo practice on Monday.
• Adrian Dater of the Denver Post provides a number of hypothetical situations in which the Avalanche would not make the playoffs
• Rick Nash gets to reunite with the two defensemen he made look foolish two weeks ago, when the Coyotes visit Columbus tonight. Tonight's game is a match up between two possible Jack Adams candidates as Wayne Gretzky and Ken Hitchcock face-off against one another. Here are the Blue Jackets' lines for tonight's game.
• The Stars are poised to make a run over the remaining portion of the season because the tough part of their schedule is behind them, writes Richard Durrett of the Dallas Morning News.
• Darren McCarty is trying to work his way back to the NHL and his next stop is Grand Rapids of the AHL.
• Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal, tells Oilers fans that the team probably needs to win 22 of its remaining 30 games to crack the NHL playoffs.
• The struggling Kings are set to embark on an eight-game road trip, which may see some of their players traded along the way.
• The Wild had a spirited practice yesterday and, more importantly, are getting closer to full health just prior to the stretch run.
• "Our missing piece is a top-six forward,'' Predators GM David Poile said on Monday.
• The last thing the Coyotes want for the stretch-run is a rental player, writes Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic.
• With cold temperatures in Northern Alberta, the Sharks only have hockey to worry about as they start the second-half of their season.
• Blues coach Andy Murray wants his defensemen to move the puck more efficiently, writes Jeremy Rutherford of St. Louis Disptach.
• Curtis Sanford of the Canucks will be starting tonight with Roberto Luongo in Florida with his pregnant wife.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

NHL Morning Papers (Wednesday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• Dave Shoalts of the Globe & Mail says that most of what John Ferguson Jr. did during his stint in Toronto was unsuccessful.
• Cliff Fletcher does not have very much time before the trade deadline arrives, writes Eric Duhatschek of the Globe & Mail.
• The NHL and Versus have agreed to extend their television contract for another three years.
• Mark Spector of the National Post tells readers that Cliff Fletcher has a big mess to clean up.
• Mike Brehm of USA Today providers readers with some news and notes from around the NHL.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• Ilya Kovalchuk was ejected late in the first period as the Thrashers went on to lose their fourth straight game last night with a 4-0 loss to the Rangers. Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has the details behind the confusing Thrashers and Hawks ownership situation.
• The Bruins were defeated 8-2 by the Canadiens last night, making that six losses to the Habs this season. Even with the drubbing handed to them by the Habs, the Bruins did get some good news on Tuesday with the announcement that Tim Thomas had been named to the All-Star team. Also, injured center Patrice Bergeron has returned from a club-ordered vacation to Aruba.
• Sabres coach Lindy Ruff accepts responsibility for his club's recent struggles, writes John Vogl of the Buffalo News.
• The Hurricanes gave up a shocking three short-handed goals yesterday in their 6-3 home loss to the Islanders, writes Luke Decock of the News Observer.
• With last night's 5-3 victory over the Senators, the Panthers moved within four points of the Southeast Division lead.
• The Canadiens were about as impressive as you can get last night in their dominant 8-2 victory over the division-rival Bruins.
• The Devils tied a franchise record with five power play goals last night in their 7-3 victory at Philadelphia yesterday. Meanwhile, both Martin Brodeur and Brent Sutter have pulled out of All-Star weekend.
• The Rangers finally looked like the team that everyone expected in the off-season, with a 4-0 dominating performance over the Thrashers last night. "We were a relentless team tonight," said coach Tom Renney after last night's game.
• The Islanders were 3 for 8 last night scoring on Carolina's power play, as they defeated the Hurricanes 6-3 at the RBC Center last night.
• The Senators were defeated 5-3 at Florida last night, and have only 15 wins registered in their last 32 games played. The return of Daniel Alfredsson to the Senators line up didn't help the team keep the puck out of their own net, which seems to be their biggest problem as of late.
• "We had a total letdown," Flyers coach John Stevens said after his team's embarrassing 7-3 home loss to the Devils. Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Daily News wonders if the Flyers fear the Devils.
• The Lightning recorded a 4-3 victory over visiting Edmonton yesterday to make it three straight wins, which has vaulted the Bolts back into playoff consideration. Bolts coach John Tortorella has been very impressed with the play of his team's fourth line.
• David Templeton of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette looks at the positive side of things when it comes to Sidney Crosby's ankle.
• Damien Cox of the Toronto Star wonders if Cliff Fletcher can save the Maple Leafs. Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun lists possible GM candidates for the Leafs. It shouldn't take John Ferguson Jr. too long to find work, writes Mike Zeisberger of the Sun.
• Bruce Boudreau will be making his first coaching experience in his home-town Toronto tonight as the Capitals visit the Leafs.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• Both Corey Perry and Scott Niedermayer have been named to the All-Star team, writes Dan Wood of the Orange County Register. (Writer's note: How can anyone take the game seriously when Niedermayer is named to the team? While he is one of the top three defensemen in the game today, he has hardly played this season! C'mon NHL, give someone else the opportunity.)
• The Flames are now in first place in the Northwest Division, for the time being, after defeating division-rival Minnesota last night in a closely contested 2-1 game.
• The Blackhawks had their four-game winning streak snapped last night as they lost 3-2 in San Jose, writes Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune. (Injury news: Jonathan Toews is expected to be out for three more weeks.)
• "The desperation wasn't there for us tonight. Right from the get-go, you could tell," said Avalanche winger Ian Lapperierre after last night's 4-0 loss at home to Nashville. Meanwhile, Woody Paige of the Denver Post thinks that Colorado should host an outdoor game. For those who love rumors, both the New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs have had scouts following the Avalanche.
• "To win a game like this, down and coming back with such a big effort by so many guys, it's a turning point for our organization," said an excited Ken Hitchcock after his Blue Jackets came back from a third period deficit to defeat the Stars 4-2. Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch provides readers with the details of the minor swap between Colorado and Columbus. (Writer's note: Ken Hitchcock and Scott Howson have this club moving in the right direction. They may not generate much attention from the casual fan, but the Jackets should not be overlooked.)
• The Stars feel like they let two point slip away last night versus the Blue Jackets, writes Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News.
• Chris Osgood started his first game since being pulled from a game last week by coach Mike Babcock and was tremendous shutting out the Kings by a score of 3-0. Red Wings star Henrik Zetterberg has decided to take a week off to rest his ailing back.
• "Every single game is vital for us moving forward," said Oilers forward Marty Reasoner after his team's 4-3 loss at Tampa Bay last night. Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun wonders how the Oilers can expect to make the playoffs by losing games to the 29th and 30th ranked teams in the NHL.
• The best in the West defeated the worst in the West last night, as the Kings were beaten 3-0 by the powerful Red Wings.
• The Wild suffered a letdown last night after their inspiring victory over Vancouver on Monday and were defeated 2-1 by the Flames at the Saddledome. The Wild top forwards asked Jacques Lemaire for more ice-time and their wish has been granted, writes Michael Russo of the Star Tribune.
• The Predators separated themselves from the Avalanche at the beginning of the third period last night and cruised to a 4-0 victory. In the process, J.P. Dumont extended his point streak to thirteen games.
• Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic provides readers with the details behind the Ilya Brygalov contract extension.
• The Sharks ended their four-game winless streak last night with a 3-2 home victory over the Blackhawks.
• "We haven't paid as much attention to detail," said Blues coach Andy Murray in reference to his team's current five-game losing streak.
• In Vancouver, coach Alain Vigneault has challenged Roberto Luongo to play better. The Canucks have lost Kris Beech on waivers to the Capitals.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Morning Musings: NHL Schedule

After commending the NHL for not competing with the NFLover ratings on Sundays, I have to say that I don't understand what the league is doing with the rest of its opening week schedule. Last night, for example, the league only scheduled one game. One game! It was a Tuesday night, with the only prospective competition being MLB playoffs (Although baseball's first round ended Monday, the NHL television schedule is completed mid-summer). While I realize that MLB playoffs garner much attention, Tuesday is a day without NFL or college football. Additionally, the NBA has not even started its regular season action. For some reason, the NHL decides that one game on a Tuesday and twelve games on a Wednesday makes more sense than six games each night? If MLB playoffs were the reason for the light Tuesday night schedule, then how does one explain twelve games the next night, where MLB, in theory, could have been playing the latter games of a 1st round playoff matchup. If the league expects to succeed in the United States then it just cannot have one game on Versus on a Tuesday, between non-draws like Carolina and Toronto. It's as simple as that.

On to the morning papers:

• After losing to Washington over the weekend, the Hurricanes looked like an entirely different team Tuesday night handing the Leafs an embarrassing 7-1 defeat. Cam Ward exacted his revenge on the Leafs after they embarrassed him last season with 4 goals on 19 shots in late March.
• Damien Cox of the Toronto Star says the Leafs have already hit rock bottom and it's not even Halloween yet. Mats Sundin called the Leafs' effort "unacceptable." Coach Paul Maurice said all the Leafs were poor across the board.
• Jason Blake is going to fight his cancer head-on with determination he has demonstrated his entire life. Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun has a must-read article on the inspiration that Jason Blake will provide to many in his fight against cancer.
• Paul Ranger has become a horse on the Lightning blue line with the loss of Dan Boyle writes Erik Erlendsson in this morning's Tampa Tribune.
• A real sellout is expected for the Blues' home opener tonight; instead of last season's ticket giveaway, this year the tickets have actually been purchased. Paul Kariya faces off versus his former Predator teammates for the first time since signing with the Blues this off-season.
• As David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News explains, it appears that Sharks' coach Ron Wilson has reverted back to his old lines for tonight's game against the Blackhawks.
• Brooks Orpik has the tough task of shutting down Saku Koivu tonight as the Penguins take on the Habs. Even with lingering foot pain, Sidney Crosby is not going to pass up the chance to face the Canadiens who were his favorite team growing up.
• Keith Ballard is doing a great job of demonstrating why he is one of Wayne Gretzky's favorites in Phoenix. Coach Gretzky thinks newest Coyote Freddy Meyer fits into the team well because he adds speed and energy.
• After all their team building, the Flyers get a chance to get back on the ice tonight when they face off against the Canucks at GM Place.
• As Alan Panzeri tells us in this morning's Ottawa Citizen, Martin Gerber's new mask has arrived, freshly painted, however the Swiss netminder doesn't think he is going to put it to immediate use because of the team's success when he wears his plain black helmet. Gerber seems to have finally adjusted to the added pressure that goes along with playing in Canada writes Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun. Meanwhile, John Paddock has no immediate plans to break up the Heatley-Spezza-Alfredsson line (a.k.a. the Pizza line).
• There is no guarantee that newest Isle Bryan Berard will be in the lineup versus the Rangers tonight writes Greg Logan of Newsday.
• John Dellapina of the NY Daily News provides readers with Rangers' coach Tom Renney's explanation about why he will most likely go with Jason Strudwick in the lineup tonight over Paul Mara. Larry Brooks of the NY Post is critical of Renney saying that he believes the coach is using Jason Strudwick as a crutch.
• Mark Everson of the NY Post admires Devils' coach Brent Sutter's movement away from matching lines but says that utilizing John Madden in a checking role right now may give the Devils their best chance to win because of the struggles of their other offensive forwards. The Devils spent much of their Tuesday practice focusing on defensive positioning writes Colin Stephenson of the Newark Star-Ledger.
• The Predators realize that facing the Blues no longer means an easy two points. Here are notes about both teams heading into tonight's game.
• Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette previews Carey Price's much awaited season debut in Pittsburgh tonight. Price admits he'll be a little nervous, but the cool netminder says "it's just another game."
• Pierre-Marc Bouchard is striving to be more consistent this season writes Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune.
• After scoring two easy tap ins on Saturday night, it comes as no surprise that Dustin Brown loves playing with Anze Kopitar.
• Richard Zednik is back from injury and should add some much needed speed to the Panthers top line.
• The Oilers aren't exactly excited to see Derek Boogard for the first time in 2007/08. The Oilers hope to improve on their recent record against the Wild writes Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun.
• The Red Wings are disappointed they will be playing in front of their third below capacity home-crowd tonight when they host the Flames. In other Wings' news, goaltender Dominik Hasek has a sore knee and may have to miss tonight's game.
• The Stars expect Mike Ribiero to make his season debut tonight against the Kings writes Mike Hieka of the Dallas Morning News.
• When Ken Hitchock arrived in Columbus he was not happy with the team's fitness scores and he takes pride in the team's improved fitness since his arrival. The Jackets expect to have Mike Peca in their lineup for the first time this season when they face-off against the Coyotes tonight.
• Milan Hedjuk has made a point of making Jaroslav Hlinka's transition to North America a lot easier.
• Jonathan Toews will make his NHL debut tonight in Chicago writes Chris Kuc of Chicago Tribune.
• The Flames are hoping to make up for their lackluster performance at the Joe Louis Arena in the 2006/07 playoffs tonight when they visit Detroit. Craig Conroy of the Flames calls tonight's game versus Detroit "huge."
• According to coach Bob Hartley, Thrashers' star forward Marian Hossa is "very doubtful" for tonight's game against the Sens after injuring his groin in practice on Monday. Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution opines that the Thrashers' slow start can be attributed to a lack of effort.
• The Ducks will finally raise the Stanley Cup banner tonight writes Dan Wood of the Orange County Register.
• According to Bruins' coach Claude Julien, forward Marc Savard "is probably out" for tonight's game against the Ducks.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.