- “The maximum number I can come up with, the guys that I’d say are locks – solid guys that I would say have a job – is only 14. And we’re going to take 23 guys. So my message to the players is, tryouts start Oct. 1,” said Brian Burke about the chances of certain players cracking the Team USA roster for the 2010 Olympics.
- When it comes to finalizing the Team USA roster, Burke doesn’t only want scorers.
- Tim Wharnsby of the Globe & Mail gives his projections on who will make Team USA.
- “He’s a very smart player. He’s good on the penalty kill. He blocks shots,” said Carolina GM Jim Rutherford about the team’s newest signing Stephane Yelle.
- George Johnson of the Calgary Herald considers Jarome Iginila the perfect candidate to captain Team Canada at the Olympics.
- Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune has Patrick Kane’s reaction to being indicted, plus some news on Dustin Byfuglien’s shot of making Team USA.
- “We’re set right now,” says Avalanche GM Greg Sherman in regards to his lack of interest in the remaining veteran free agents available on the market.
- R.J. Umberger wishes he was at the Team USA orientation camp, writes Tom Reed.
- Staying in the Central Division, Jamie Samuelsen writes in the Detroit Free Press that he hopes the Todd Bertuzzi signing doesn’t cost some of the younger Wings their ice-time.
- Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal tells readers about Mike Comrie’s difficulty in finding a landing spot this off-season.
- John Glennon of the Tennessean has the story of Predators associate coach Brent Peterson’s battle with Parkinson’s.
- Bob McManaman of the Arizona Republic gets back in the hockey groove by updating Coyotes fans on the whereabouts of former head coach Don Hay.
- Not surprisingly, the Penguins will be all over Versus next season.
- Meanwhile, Penguins coach Dan Bylsma was spotted watching Pittsburgh Steelers practice on Wednesday.
- Jet lag will be the name of the game for the Lightning this pre-season.
- Jim Balsillie is going all out now in his reaction to being rejected as an NHL owner by the Board of Governors.
- Meantime, Judge Baum wants enough reading material to carry him through his upcoming plane flight.
- Leafs defenseman Mike Komisarek is considered “a lock” for the 2010 USA Olympic team.
- Even though his team looks thin up front, Brian Burke isn’t panicking about the Leafs’ lack of offense.
- It appears that Ernie “Punch” McLean is missing somewhere in British Columbia, reports the Vancouver Sun.
