Just a reminder that tonight is the IllegalCurve.com Radio Show. Tonight’s show is a special three-hour Season Preview with guests Adam Proteau of The Hockey News, Eric Duhatschek of the Globe & Mail and Kevin Allen of USA Today.
- Mats Sundin has decided to retire from the National Hockey League.
- With Chris Pronger in Philadelphia now, Ryan Whitney will see his role increased in Anaheim.
- The Thrashers signed Maxim Afinogenov to a reasonable one-year deal on Monday.
- The Bruins are back in Boston and with that reappeareance on the sports landscape comes added pressure, writes Kevin Paul Dupont.
- If the Bruins are to succeed, they know that defense first will be the reason for their success.
- Chuck Kobasew is one of the quietest Bruins in the locker room, but he gets the job done at both ends of the ice.
- Derek Morris is looking forward to playing for a winning team for the first time in a while.
- If Flames defenseman Dion Phaneuf is to return to old form, Brent Sutter is the guy to lead him, writes George Johnson.
- Here is a Q & A with Brent Sutter.
- How is the combination of Jarome Iginla and Olli Jokinen going to mesh this season?
- Jay Bouwmeester was born to the play in the NHL.
- Joni Pitkanen is going to start the season on the injury list but his status is improving.
- Cam Ward signed a six-year contract extension this morning, according to Chip Alexander.
- The Blackhawks lost their last pre-season game over in Europe.
- Here is a closer look at the Avalanche, according to Adrian Dater.
- The Blue Jackets have waived Alex Picard and Mathieu Roy, writes Aaron Portzline.
- A couple Blue Jackets had to deal with terrible flus over the past little while.
- The Stars are happy to have the team’s new affiliate nearby the City of Dallas.
- With so many games and practices, the Red Wings do not have much time to actually enjoy Sweden.
- Fernando Pisani has a bad back and it may keep him out of the lineup for some time.
- Will the Oilers look to deal Robert Nilsson?
- With Sean O’Donnell suspended for the first few games of the season, Alec Martinez will be lining up alongside Matt Greene for the Kings to open the season.
- The fight between Versus and DirecTV is still on.
- Cal Clutterbuck is now enemy number one for the Philadelphia Flyers, writes Michael Russo.
- Dave Stubbs profiles Jaroslav Spacek in this morning’s Montreal Gazette.
- Speaking of Spacek, he has now been moved to play alongside Andrei Markov.
- Max Pacioretty and Ryan O’Byrne have made the Canadiens opening night roster.
- In Nashville, Alex Sulzer and Cal O’Reilly have been demoted to the AHL.
- The Devils are close to finalizing their roster, writes Mark Everson.
- Is this the season Niclas Bergfors finally realizes all of his potential in New Jersey?
- The Rangers are really excited to have Chris Higgins in the fold.
- Did you know Daniel Alfredsson is the NHL’s longest serving captain?
- “He has just got to simplify his game, get some garbage goals, those types of things,” said Cory Clouston about Jonathan Cheechoo.
- Ilya Zubov has asked to be traded by the Senators.
- Meanwhile, Brian Lee and Cristoph Schubert have been demoted to the AHL.
- “He’s shocked and surprised that he’s not among Ottawa’s top-six defencemen. There’s not really much more I can say,” said Brian Lee’s agent Wade Arnott.
- Ray Emery feels refreshed after his season away from the NHL and is motivated to prove people wrong.
- The Coyotes have signed Robert Lang to a one-year deal.
- Dave Tippett is a good influence on a young team facing a lot of distractions.
- In Pittsburgh, the Penguins have set their roster at 21.
- In injury news, it looks like Sidney Crosby will most likely play in the team’s opener.
- Those Penguins championship rings are getting rave reviews, writes Josh Yohe.
- Watching Sharks games will be difficult for San Jose fans because of the DirecTV/Versus issue.
- What was the Sharks’ biggest problem last season?
- Meanwhile, the Blues are ready to get their regular season European games underway.
- The Lightning sure went on a long exhibition road trip, writes Damian Cristodero.
- The Bolts have waived Matt Lashoff and Mike Lundin.
- Ron Wilson feels like his team is far ahead of the group he had last season, writes Dave Shoalts.
- “I’ve already made my mind up on who’s in the starting lineup for opening night,” said Leafs coach Ron Wilson.
- Tyler Bozak will be starting the season in the AHL.
- Mike Komisarek cannot wait to finally get started.
- If the Canucks are to succeed this season, they will have to be able to play well on the road.
- Will Sergei Shirokov be the real deal for the Canucks this season?
- In other news, Cody Hodgson has been sent back to the OHL.
- Is Alexander Ovechkin the next Gretzky?