Here are the morning papers for Tuesday the 23rd of September:
- Former Flame Mike Commodore does not feel the need to defend his big off-season contract, writes Eric Francis. Jarome Iginila and Todd Bertuzzi like how this year’s schedule calls for games just a few days into training camp. The youngsters trying to crack the Flames roster all look ripped without their shirts on and Craig Conroy said they should all be at the beach instead of the ice.
- Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune tells readers which roster spots are up for grabs on the Blackhawks this training camp.
- The Avalanche are hoping that goalie coach Jeff Hackett can work wonders with Andrew Raycroft as he did with former Av Jose Theodore. A healthy Jordan Leopold would be a huge boost to the Avs’ defense, writes Rick Sadowski of the Rocky Mountain News.
- Lubomir Visnovksy has impressed his Oiler teammates so far this camp, writes Joanne Ireland. Visnovsky will line-up alongside Ladislav Smid who is coming into his third season as part of the Oilers organization. Up front, Erik Cole is adjusting to life on the left wing after lining up at right wing the past few seasons.
- “It’s time to make a decision,” said Wild GM Doug Risebrough about the Marian Gaborik contract situation. While the Gaborik negotiations continue, the Wild players are just having a blast hanging out with each other in Grand Forks. Third string netminder Nolan Schaefer may not have a great chance to make the Wild roster but he knows there are more important things in life than hockey, writes John Shipley.
- The Senators’ training camp schedule is not exactly fair to lesser-known prospects because the team does not have as many games to evaluate talent. Meanwhile, the Senators lost 2-1 to the Rangers last night and coach Craig Hartsburg was only happy with the team’s play in the third period. In other news, it looks like former Ottawa GM John Muckler will brought into Phoenix as a consultant to Wayne Gretzky and Don Maloney.
- Last night’s game was free for Leafs fans to attend and with a 7-4 victory the organization was very pleased with the team’s performance. The organization may have been pleased with the team’s performance but thousands of fans didn’t show even with the tickets being free. Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun was impressed with both Dominic Moore and Ryan Hollweg last night.
- Elliot Pap of the Vancouver Sun thought Cory Schneider played a great game for the Canucks in the team’s pre-season debut at Edmonton. Meantime, Sami Salo is going to make a point of getting his slap shot off more this season.
- If the Ducks have not traded Mathieu Schneider by Thursday, then the veteran defenseman is prepared to report to camp.
- Thrashers prospect Zach Bogosian has a hip flexor strain but should be back on the ice today, writes Mike Knobler. New coach John Anderson wants sophomore Tobias Enstrom to go from a rookie all-star to an actual all-star this season.
- Sure he was nervous, but boy did Patrice Bergeron impress with a four-point effort in his first game back from a severe concussion last season. Even in last night’s pre-season game, Bergeron proved how versatile and valuable he is to the Bruins line up. In the background, Manny Fernandez also played his first game in a long time last night.
- John Vogl of the Buffalo News tells us that Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman will not be playing together, at least to start the pre-season.
- Hurricanes first round pick Zach Boychuk has been given the go-ahead from his wrist injury to start skating in non-contact drills.
- Blue Jackets defenseman Kris Russell has put on about 15 pounds since the end of last season and will be in a battle to crack the team’s top-six after all the off-season acquisitions by GM Scott Howson. Russell is not the only one battling for a roster spot, as Mike York would love to make the Jackets and finally get settled in one city.
- Brad Richards does not see why he can’t set the 90 point mark as a goal for himself heading into the season.
- Jimmy Howard did not come to Wings training camp to concede the number two netminding position to Ty Conklin. Tomas Kopecky is looking forward to getting back into the line up after missing the entire playoffs with a leg injury last season.
- Peter DeBoer will use the Panthers’ trip through Canada to determine who is ready for regular season action. Both Shawn Matthias and Michael Frolik will have a shot to prove to Panthers coaches and management that they deserve an NHL spot right now.
- Jason LaBarbera was carrying too much weight last season so he became more lean and mean over the off-season, writes Helene Elliot.
- The Predators coaching staff is cutting out the middle-man when it comes to technology.
- You aren’t going to hear Zack Parise complaining about his contract being less than other team’s leading scorers, writes Mark Everson of the NY Post.
- Doug Weight is not even thinking about retirement and is looking forward to a fresh start on Long Island, writes Greg Logan.
- Lauri Korpikoski has two goals in two pre-season games for the Rangers, writes Steve Zipay. Korpikoski is treating every game like the Stanley Cup Finals. Does Henrik Lundqvist have bad knees?
- Braydon Coburn is excited to get back into regular season action for the Flyers.
- Coyotes captain Shane Doan says losing Keith Ballard and Nick Boynton will be an adjustment in the locker room.
- Ryan Malone has no ill will towards the Penguins organization for not offering him a contract close to what Tampa did. Meantime, Matt Cooke tells Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that his game isn’t the same as the deparated Jarkko Ruutu. Steve Stamkos says all the right things when asked about comparisons to Sid the Kid.
- The Torrey Mitchell injury was a tough one for the Sharks, but on the positive side it does open up a chance for someone else to prove they can crack the Sharks roster.
- The Blues are uncertain as to the severity of Erik Johnson’s knee injury.
- The Lightning needs to improve its power play, writes Damian Cristodero. The Lightning defensemen are going to be sitting back more under coach Barry Melrose than they did under John Tortorella.
- In Washington, Tomas Fleischmann comes to Capitals camp with a contract in hand and more pressure on his shoulders this season. While, fellow forward Eric Fehr is hoping 2008/09 is his breakout season.
For Illegal Curve, I’m Richard Pollock.