NHL Morning Papers (Thursday Edition): Melnyk claims he hasn’t made any decisions in Ottawa, Sundin average in debut and a few All-Star snubs

Here are the morning papers from Thursday the 8th of January:

• The Ducks have traded Brad May to Toronto for a late round draft choice.
• Thrashers coach John Anderson is not happy with the way his team has performed over the first half of the season.
• Bruins power forward Milan Lucic is listed as day-to-day.  The Bruins’ game isn’t what it was earlier in the season, but coach Claude Julien isn’t about to panic.
• It appears the Sabres will send impressive young defenseman Chris Butler back to the AHL but the demotion is certainly not an indictment of his play.
• Jarome Iginla is the only Flames player headed to the All-Star Game in Montreal.  After defeating the Sharks on Tuesday, the Flames have to make sure they maintain their intensity for the visiting Islanders tonight.  Flames media personnel give their take on tonight’s game.
• The Hurricanes finally have a healthy roster heading into the second half of the season.
• Even without Patrick Kane, the Blackhawks continue to fill the net, writes Chris Kuc.
• Joe Sakic had successful surgery on Wednesday and hopes to be back in the Avalanche lineup before season’s end.  With Paul Stastny on the shelf, Milan Hejduk is going to represent the Avalanche at the All-Star Game.  Andrew Raycroft gets the start in net tonight for Colorado.
• The Blue Jackets management is looking for a short-term fix but not at the expense of the future.  Rick Nash is injured (knee) and won’t play in this weekend’s games.  Blue Jackets rookie Steve Mason wasn’t surprised at being snubbed for the All-Star game.
• Marty Turco may play every game for the Stars for the rest of the season, writes Mike Heika.
• With only two players selected to the All-Star game, did the Red Wings get snubbed?
• Craig MacTavish thought last night’s game was more important to Edmtonton than Vancouver, yet his team didn’t come out with the necessary intensity.  The Oilers hosted Mats Sundin and the Canucks last night, but the veteran Swede was invisible in his debut, writes Terry Jones.  In bad news, Ales Hemsky still has concussion symptoms.  Meanwhile, Sheldon Souray is the only Oilers player headed to Montreal for the All-Star game.  Gilbert Brule was playing on the team’s top line last night, but coach MacTavish thinks his early start in the NHL was a detriment to his development.
• The Florida Panthers win games when they play great defense, writes George Richards.
• The Wild is sending only one player to the All-Star game and that player is Niklas Backstrom.  (Writer’s note: They need to get him signed.)
• The Habs looked a lot like last year’s version of the team last night, as the team’s power play was the catalyst for a 6-3 road victory over the Rangers.  Young defenseman Yannick Weber may make his NHL debut tonight against the Buds.
• Shea Weber became the first Nashville draft pick to ever be selected to the All-Star team on Wednesday.  Beginning with Saturday, the Predators plan to ease Steve Sullivan into the lineup.
• The Islanders line of Comeau-Comrie-Okposo has been carrying the offense as of late.
• The Rangers were poor in all aspects of the game last night, writes Larry Brooks.  Coach Tom Renney was not happy with the officiating in last night’s contest.  Next up for New York, a five-game road trip.
• Eugene Melnyk has denied that he has made any decisions to clean house in Ottawa.  The rumors of course, have Pat Quinn and Bob Nicholson taking over for Craig Harstburg and Bryan Murray.  Meanwhile, the NHL has suspended Jarkko Ruutu for two games for biting.
• The Flyers won’t be getting any injured players back in the lineup tonight, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t getting better.  Even with all their injuries, the Flyers made sure they battled every night on their recently completed six-game road trip.
• The Coyotes are hoping to keep their strong play going through the second half of the long NHL season.  Shane Doan will be representing the Coyotes at the All-Star game.
• The Penguins know they are coming upon desperate times.  Ryan Whitney isn’t exactly being eased into the lineup, writes Joe Starkey.
• Both Dan Boyle and Joe Thornton will be representing the Sharks at the All-Star game.  (Writer’s note: Marleau should have been named too.)  The Sharks had to pay the price for the bad loss they incurred on Tuesday versus Calgary.
• Keith Tkachuk is representing the Blues at the All-Star game.  (Writer’s note: Why not Brad Boyes?)
• Rick Tocchet has really gained the trust and respect of his players since taking over in Tampa.  Mike Smith is the real deal.
• Brad May will get the opportunity to play for the team he always dreamed about.  As a result of the trade, the Leafs have demoted Nikolai Kulemin.  Dominic Moore suffered an allergic reaction two nights ago, but he will be in the lineup tonight versus Montreal.
• The Ryan Kesler line stole Mats Sundin’s thunder on Wednesday.  Everybody on the Canucks is happy to have Sundin around.  Well, except for maybe Janick Hansen.
• Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post just loves watching the Capitals’ offensive attack.  Defenseman Karl Alzner may not be with the team for too much longer because of cap issues.