Illegal Curve Hockey

Categories: Afternoon DelightAnaheim DucksBuffalo SabresCarolina HurricanesChicago BlackhawksColumbus Blue JacketsEdmonton OilersLos Angeles KingsPittsburgh PenguinsSan Jose SharksTampa Bay LightningVancouver Canucks

Late Afternoon Delight

Brendan Morrison may be suiting up for the Ducks for the first time tomorrow night. Morrison has been slow to return from a knee injury and I’m sure the Ducks are anxious to see how he looks.
The Sabres will be without Paul Gaustad for the next 3-4 weeks with a thumb injury. Gaustad plays on the team’s third line and his size, physical style and versatility will certainly be missed.
The Oilers added some muscle on Tuesday by claiming Steve MacIntyre off waivers from the Panthers. Considering the team went hard after Georges Laraque, it isn’t much of a surprise that they’ve added another tough guy leading into the season.
Jeff O’Neill’s comeback as a Hurricane is over. Taking into account the Justin Williams injury and the roster opening as a result, O’Neill must have really struggled during camp.
Nikolai Khabibulin was not claimed on waivers. No surprise, he makes far too much money.
Mike York has been placed on waivers by Columbus. They just have too many forwards that are better than York.
Is Ryane Clowe already off the top line? Coaches change their lines in the pre-season about every twenty four seconds…
Lightning forward Michel Ouellet cleared waivers today. Moderately surprising considering his low salary ($1.3 million) and the fact that he scored 17 goals in 64 games last season.
Roberto Luongo is the new captain in Vancouver. I like this move by the Canucks as this is clearly Luongo’s team.
Kevin Allen of USA Today says the Penguins are far more capable of dealing with important injuries than they were just a few seasons ago. I agree that the team has more depth than before, but I think people are understating the importance of this injury. Gonchar is a tremendous offensive player and will be missed sorely on a Pittsburgh team that is looking to return to the finals.
Looking for something funny? Puck Daddy provides readers with a behind the scenes video of some of the Kings on The Price is Right. Funny stuff.