NHL Morning Papers (Wednesday Edition): Mats Sundin retires, Senators Brian Lee unhappy at being demoted and Crosby hopeful he can play in opener

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?