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.

Can Brent Sutter help Dion Phaneuf turn around his game? (Picture courtesy of bodoglife.com)

• 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.

Jaroslav Spacek could be a big addition to the Habs' back-end. (Picture courtesy of Yahoo!)

• 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.

Sidney Crosby is hopeful he will be able to play in the team's opener. (Picture courtesy of Yahoo!)

• 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?