Good morning one and all!
Pens preseason concludes with a 5-1 win in Detroit. I very much want to say that everyone escaped unscathed, but Brooks Orpik took a high stick late in the 2nd period and didn't play in the third period. Fingers crossed it's nothing serious. Pens have Thursday off, and will be in West Point, NY from Friday through Sunday.
in other news, TSH released their annual ranking of top 50 players in the NHL. Crosby and Malkin are 1-2, with Toews, Stamkos, Datsyuk, Chara, Ovechkin, Eeber, Kane and Giroux completing the top 10. No real surprises there.
Tomas Vokoun was released from the hospital and is continuing his recovery from a blood clot scare at home. Still no time-table for his return.
With a new season about to dawn, Sports Illustrated is taking notice and devoting a whopping 24 pages to the NHL in the next issue, which features Patrick Kane (together with a prediction that Hawks will repeat) on the national cover and Sidney Crosby on the regional issue, which I assume is the one that will be on sale in Philadelphia and will give me immense pleasure to purchase and carry around for a week. I can be petty like that.
RDS-CA reports Jose Theodore has no intention of retiring, despite the Florida Panthers openly flirting with Tim Thomas. Theodore has an offer from Avangard Omsk of the KHL, but he’s also apparently heard from the Penguins, who are waiting to get a timetable for Vokoun’s return before continuing negotiations with Theodore.
Elliotte Friedman reports Ryan Miller referred to himself in an interview over the weekend as a "tradeable asset" but was told by the Sabres it was critical for he and Thomas Vanek to set a positive example while still in Buffalo.
James Reimer is determined to remain #1 goalie in Toronto. Good luck with that. We all know that Randy Carlyle is old school so Jonathan Bernier will get huge brownie points for beating up Ryan Miller plus he's a very good goalie, so Reimer could become Mr. Expendable in Toronto.
I notice a real pattern here. All of my news are about goalies. Hmmm.
We've all noticed how hard a time some RFAs have had reaching agreements with their clubs. If only they weren't listening to their useless agents... Anyway, if Derek Stepan and Cody Franson were to sign with a European team, they’ll have to clear waivers before they could return to the New York Rangers or the Toronto Maple Leafs, respectively. All that and more in Elliotte Friedman's 30 thoughts. A must read.
Buffalo Sabres rookie forward Corey Tropp is out indefinitely after breaking his jaw during a fight that sparked a melee in a preseason game at Toronto last weekend. Holy crap. What else is coming out of that game?
Are the Penguins adding 1-3-1 forecheck to their game plan?
He didn't make the Top 50 list, but we love him and let's wish our very own Chris Kunitz a very happy 34th birthday!