NHL Morning Papers (Tuesday Edition)

Here are the morning papers for Tuesday the 7th of October:

• Elliot Pap of the Vancouver Sun with details on the Shane O’Brien and Michel Ouellet acquisition.  Ouellet is starting the season in Manitoba of the AHL, but will be closely watched by the Canucks brass.
• Brian Lawton wanted to upgrade his team’s speed and transition game and that is one of the mains reasons why he acquired Lukas Krajicek from Vancouver.  Here is a rundown of the stats and skills of each player in Monday’s trade.
• Doug Wilson doesn’t like to talk about himself but he loves to talk about his team and he is very excited about the Sharks this season.
• Wayne Scanlan of the Ottawa Citizen notes how much more difficult it already is to play against the Senators in 2008/09.  Gerber or Auld?  Here are the opinions of some Senators fans.
• Kings youngster Matt Moulson not only made the team out of training camp, but he is beginning the season on the wing beside Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown.
• According to Leafs coach Ron Wilson, wins and losses don’t matter if you are in full rebuilding mode.  The Leafs have waived Mark Bell and don’t think anyone will claim his $2.1 million salary.
• Looks like Alex Pietrangelo will start the season as part of the Blues’ top six.  The Blues are hoping to be able to maintain three scoring lines this season.
• Wings back-up netminder Ty Conklin has given the team exactly what it asked for, writes Ted Kulfan.  Meanwhile, former Red Wings defenseman Jiri Fischer is now settling into his position as director of player development for the Red Wings.
• Sure Sergei Fedorov played some defense during training camp, but he is still the Capitals’ second line center, writes Corey Masisak.  Meantime, Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau cut Chris Bourque and Karl Alzner on Monday and called them two of the toughest cuts he’s ever had to make.
• Wayne Gretzky has split up rookies Mikkel Boedker and Kyle Turris onto separate lines but both are still going to be playing a scoring role.
• Larry Brooks of the NY Post isn’t exactly a fan of Glen Sather’s salary cap management.
• The Flyers have taken on the personality of their calm and cool coach, writes Sam Carchidi.  In injury news, Flyers defenseman Ryan Parent may need shoulder surgery.
• Blake Wheeler remains on the bubble at Bruins camp because of his rookie bonuses.  You can see just how impressed Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli is with Wheeler by reading his comments on the young forward.
• The Ducks roster is set for the regular season, writes Dan Wood.
• The Penguins enjoyed their time in Sweden even if they didn’t win both games.  Not surprisingly, Gary Bettman loves Sidney Crosby.
• All Miikka Kiprusoff cares about is making it deep into the playoffs, writes Jean Lefebvre.  After some time in Banff, the Flames players admit they had a great time hanging out with each other.  Jamie Lundmark is headed to the minors but he played well enough during training camp to be amongst the first call-ups to the big club when needed.
• With more skill throughout the roster, the Blue Jackets should be much improved in the shootout this season.  Coach Ken Hitchcock hasn’t yet figured out his forward lines for game one of the season.
• The Hurricanes have lost forward Scott Walker for six weeks with a hand injury.
• Things are looking good for Kris Versteeg and Jack Skille in Chicago, writes Chris Kuc.
• Adrian Dater of the Denver Post wonders if Tony Granato is actually too nice.  In roster news, the Avs have sent Kyle Cumisky down to the minors after a strong training camp.  Here are the details on who else may be demoted to the AHL.
• Shawn Horcoff, coming off shoulder surgery last season, just needs to get his timing back before Saturday.  Fernando Pisani has no problem with playing center for the Oilers this season.
• The Stars have a difficult roster decision on their hands with James Neal, writes Mike Heika.
• Sure Benoit Pouliot made the Wild’s opening night line-up, but that doesn’t mean he is suddenly going to receive praise from coach Jacques Lemaire.  Pouliot made the team along with youngster Colton Gillies and Gillies is on Cloud 9.
• The Habs lost Jaroslav Halak and Ryan O’Byrne at practice on Monday but both players will be okay.  Meanwhile, Carey Price knows that even if he doesn’t wear a “C” that teams still rely on their goaltender to lead the way. (Note: Thanks to reader Bryan for the correction.)
• Garnett Exelby has some interesting travels during the off-season.  Looks like Zach Bogosian is going to start the season in the NHL.
• Anthony Stewart finished a solid training camp off with a terrific game last night.  The game was overshadowed last night by a serious injury to the Islanders’ Chris Lee, writes George Richards.

For Illegal Curve, I’m Richard Pollock.