NHL Morning Papers: Let the games begin

It seems like only yesterday that that Ducks defeated the Sens in game five of the Stanley Cup Finals to become the 2006/07 champions. Somehow, the off-season is already complete and this afternoon (at 11:00 CST) the L.A. Kings take on the Anaheim Ducks overseas in London. With much excitement around the league it looks like 2007/08 will be a fascinating season.

On to the morning papers:

• With regards to the Steve Downie suspension, the NHL got it exactly right this time writes Erik Duhatschek of the Globe & Mail.
• Here is a list, from the aforementioned Duhatschek, of the top 200 players to draft for you poolies out there.
• If Nikolai Zherdev is not in the Blue Jackets’ top-six forward lines, it appears he will request a trade out of Columbus. Meanwhile, the Jackets were defeated by the Hurricanes 2-1 in exhibition action on Friday night. The game didn’t lack physicality writes Lorenzo Perez of the News Observer.
• With the preseason coming to a close, Stars’ coach Dave Tippett has some concerns about the Stars game but he is not going to put some of his injured players in the lineup to make the team more consistent heading into the season.
• Kyle Quincey has a broken hand and will be out of the lineup at least two weeks writes George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press. Perhaps the Wings already miss Quincy’s defensive presence as they were defeated 6-4 by the Leafs last night.
• The Oilers have yet to name a captain and coach Craig MacTavish says he would prefer to avoid having alternating captains throughout the season; Derek Van Diest of the Edmonton Sun has the story.
• The Oilers only have one preseason game remaining but don’t expect their veterans in the lineup for tonight’s contest says Craig MacTavish.
• The Panthers completed their exhibition schedule last night with a 1-0 loss to the Thrashers.
• The fact that both Kings/Ducks games in London have sold out is a pleasant surprise for all involved.
• Michael Russo of the Star Tribune examines the possibility of the Wild signing youngster James Sheppard to an NHL contract prior to the start of the season.
• Patrice Brisebois has hardly even practiced but that hasn’t stopped coach Guy Carbonneau from pairing up his former teammate with Roman Hamrlik to form the team’s number two defense pairing.
• Greg Zanon has proven himself to the Predators’ brass and will be a vital part of the team’s top six defense. In other Predators’ news, Dan Ellis has won the team’s backup goaltending job to start the season.
• As Bridget Wentworth of the Newark Star-Ledger tells us, Brent Sutter is not afraid to shake things up at Devils’ camp; the new coach has split up the checking combination of John Madden and Jay Pandolfo. “I don’t like the like the idea of having a checking line that’s just your checking line,” Sutter told the New York Post on Friday.
• With Jaromir Jagr and Sean Avery sitting out last night’s exhibition game versus the Islanders, the Rangers will probably not be able to experiment with their new line combinations before the regular season begins next week.
• It wouldn’t be MSG without drama and yesterday was no exception as MSG filed suit against the NHL on Friday afternoon.
• Brendan Shanahan and Scott Gomez are starting to develop some good chemistry writes Steve Zipay of New York Newsday.
• Bruce Garrioch explains where both sides are at in the Dany Heatley contract negotiations in this morning’s Ottawa Sun.
• Flyers‘ GM Paul Holmgren thinks the Steve Downie 20-game suspension was a little bit long, but respects the decision of Colin Campbell. (Writer’s note: I think Holmgren and Nick Kypreos are the only people who believe this suspension is excessive.)
• Coyotes’ forward Steven Reinprecht says there is more enthusiasm and energy around the team this season with so many youngsters on the roster.
• Colby Armstrong will try not to beat himself up so much if he struggles to score goals early on in the season writes Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Meanwhile, the Pens were defeated by the Sabres 6-5 in exhibition action on Friday night.
• Steve Bernier is fitter than he was last season at training camp writes David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News.
• Brad Boyes had two goals and an assist in the Blues’ 4-2 victory over the Wild in exhibition action on Friday night.
• Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune details what the Lightning management and coaching staff bases their roster decisions on.
• Paul Maurice says the Leafs need better performances from their goaltenders writes Mark Zwolinksi of the Toronto Star.
• Bill Lankhoff of the Toronto Sun has the story of Chad Kilger’s long road to success.
• Curtis Sanford was sensational in his team’s 3-2 victory over the Flames on Friday night.
• Tarik El-Bashir documents the nervous times of Capitals’ youngster David Steckel in his quest to make the NHL roster.
• The Ducks have an opening day salary cap hit of $45.8 million writes Dan Wood of the Orange Country Register.
• Kari Lehtonen is looking sharp heading into the season writes Craig Custance of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
• Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune tells us that coach Denis Savard doesn’t think all of his players have turned the switch on yet.
• Zdeno Chara doesn’t want to answer questions about his shoulder writes Stephen Harris of the Boston Herald.
• Flames’ players approve of the length of Steve Downie’s suspension writes Randy Sportak of the Calgary Sun.

For Illegal Curve, I’m Richard Pollock.