- After not being invited to the Canadian Olympic orientation camp, Marc Savard was originally very upset, however, now he has turned that disappointment into motivation.
- Bruins center Patrice Bergeron feels like he is totally back to normal, after getting a season under his belt post concussion.
- Flames prospect John Negrin is expected to begin the season with the team’s AHL affiliate in Abbotsford.
- Here is a nice story of a break given to young netminder Daniel Spence, who has been helped along the way by former NHLer Kelly Hrudey.
- Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford is looking to trade Anton Babchuk and says he wants a defenseman prospect in return.
- The Dallas Stars are going to adopt a very interesting way of pricing tickets in 2009/10, explains Mike Heika.
- Red Wings defenseman Andreas Lilja (concussion) thinks he will be able to play this season, so that could mean Derek Meech may be on his way out of Motown.
- Darren Helm’s regular season contributions to the Red Wings organization are about to change this season, explains Dana Wakiji.
- Oilers prospect Alex Plante had a bounce back season in 2008/09 and the team expects the big defenseman to begin next season with its AHL affiliate.
- The Florida Panthers have invited Martin Skoula to training camp.
- The Habs don’t expect prospect Mac Bennett to surface in the NHL for a couple of seasons, writes Pat Hickey.
- The Predators love the upside of former first round pick Colin Wilson, writes John Glennon of the Tennessean.
- It appears that Jacques Lemaire is considering playing Patrik Elias at center this season, reports Mark Everson of NY Post.
- Long time Devils winger John McLean wasn’t hurt that he got passed over for the head coaching job in New Jersey.
- “When you talk about the hours and the phone calls spent on this, I think I’ve spent more time on this than I did with my family during the summer,” said Senators GM Bryan Murray about the Heatley controversy.
- Just how good is Senators goaltending prospect Robin Lehner?
- Wayne Scanlan says trade Heatley to the Rangers for Dubinsky and Staal, among others. (Writer’s note: Not going to happen.)
- Simon Gagne wants to return to the Flyers lineup as quickly as possible, which is why he is trying this new blood therapy treatment.
- Meanwhile, the Flyers would love if JVR turned into another Bobby Ryan.
- And then there were two, as Ice Edge Holding has backed out of Thursday’s auction, explains Carrie Watters of the Arizona Republic.
- In good news for Phoenix fans, Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star says that the NHL hasn’t lost the City of Glendale yet.
- While Penguins coach Dan Bylsma is proud of his team for its accomplishments last season, he wants to start this season anew, writes Dave Molinari.
- Off the ice, Penguins GM Ray Shero has prioritized getting Sergei Gonchar and Kris Letang signed to contract extensions.
- It is fair to say that the entire Blues team is ready to get an early head start on the 2009/10 season.
- Even though Mike Lundin isn’t under contract to the Lightning, he still expects to be at training camp.
- Vinny Prospal says his relationship with coach John Tortorella is a lot better than people think.
- Brian Burke has raised expectations in Toronto, as he sees lots of areas where the team can potentially grow quickly.
- The Leafs have a new state-of-the-art practice facility that is unlike the facilities many have seen before.
- Meantime, Leafs coach Ron Wilson has not decided who will be the team’s next captain and he’s in no rush either.
- Pavol Demitra is expected to miss the beginning of the season with a shoulder injury.
- Two Canucks prospects don’t regret leaving school to pursue their dream of a career with the Canucks franchise.
- Jose Theodore has already been deemed number one in Washington when training camp begins, so the team’s playoff-phenom from last season, Simeon Varlamov, will have to play his way onto the team.
**Remember that tonight is the IllegalCurve.com Radio Show from 7pm-9pm CST. You can listen live on IllegalCurve.com by clicking the radio icon in the top right corner of the homepage. Tonight’s guests include Tim Wharnsby of the Globe & Mail.**
