Meszaros joins Tampa Bay

 

The Senators traded the rights of restricted free agent defenseman Andrej Meszaros to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for defensemen Filip Kuba, Alex Picard and a 2009 first-round draft pick originally obtained from the Sharks earlier this offseason in a deal that sent Dan Boyle to San Jose.

EN Says: While it's nice to see the Lightning finally address its needs on defense, Tampa Bay gave up a bit too much. Additionally, the Bolts gave up two players at a position they were short at to begin with.

Meszaros is a solid, well-rounded player who has the potential to be a No. 2 defenseman. But he's not worth what the Senators got for him.

The Senators made the best out of a bad situation and in the process filled a few holes on their blue line after having lost Wade Redden, Mike Commodore and now Meszaros in the offseason. That said, their blueline is a lot worse off than it was at the end of the season.

First-round draft picks, regardless of where they fall, are always good to stockpile.

(Photo: Tom Hanson/The Canadiens Press)

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-Apparently Penguins general manager Ray Shero held things up for Tampa Bay in the Meszaros deal.

Atlantic Division

-The Flyers have approached former captain Eric Lindros about a puppy-drowning ceremony in honor of the Spectrum.

Northeast Division

-La Press is reporting the Canadiens will retire the jersey of former goaltender Patrick Roy.

Southeast Division

-Excluding any national appearances, the Hurricanes will only have 65 games shown locally on television. And this was your Stanley Cup champion two years ago. Could you imagine... oh say... the Hartford Whalers.... (just off the top of our heads)... only having 65 games on television?

-Another day, another Capitals blogger not feeling too much love for us. 

Central Division

-Former Penguins goaltender Ty Conklin skated with some of his new Red Wings teammates.

Adams Division

-With Stars forward Stu Barnes retiring, there are only seven former Winnipeg Jets still in the NHL.

-Alaska governor Sarah Palin, John McCain's running mate, is a hockey mom.

-The Dayton Bombers of the ECHL got some good publicity out of Palin's announcement yesterday.

Lucky 13

Without question, the Penguins' most successful decade on the ice was the 1990s. It saw two Stanley Cup wins, a Presidents' Trophy win, a streak of playoff appearances that began in 1991 and extended until 2001, Peter Ahola, and numerous personal accomplishments from the likes of Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr and others. If 90210, gangsta rap, NAFTA and the Penguins were your thing, the 1990s were a happy time for you.

When Stars forward Stu Barnes announced his retirement yesterday, a little bit of that era died because Barnes was one of the few still-active players in the NHL who wore the Penguins' jersey in the 1990s.

With Barnes hanging up his skates and Jaromir Jagr and Martin Straka taking their games to Europe, the number of former 1990's Penguins still in the league has dropped to 13. And that includes folks such as Glen Murray and Jean-Sebastien Aubin who are currently unrestricted free agents.

A look at those 13 still left from the Penguins' greatest decade:

 

Player, Position	Current team	Status
Jean-Sebastien Aubin, G	Free Agent	Spent time with the Kings and Ducks last season.
Andrew Ference, D	Bruins	Played in only 59 games last season due to injuries.
Alex Kovalev, RW	Canadiens	Led Montreal in scoring last season with 35 goals and 84 points
Patrick Lalime, G	Sabres	After splitting time in Chicago with Nikolai Khabibulin in 2007-08, Lalime joined Buffalo in the offseason as a free agent.
Robert Lang, C	Blackhawks	Has reached the 20-goal mark four of the last five seasons.
Glen Murray, RW	Free Agent	The Bruins bought out his bloated contract this offseason.
Markus Naslund, LW	Rangers	Naslund joined the Rangers this offseason after spending 12 seasons in Vancouver. He is the Canucks' career leader in points (756) and goals (346).
Petr Nedved, C	Rangers	After playing in the Czech Republic last season, Nedved will go to camp with the Rangers on a tryout basis.
Richard Park, RW	Islanders	The second Korean-born player in NHL history, Park is one of the Islanders' best penalty killers.
Mark Recchi, RW	Lightning	After spending time with the Penguins and Thrashers last season, Recchi signed with the Lightning in the offseason. He is the only member of either of the Penguins' Cup-winning teams still in the NHL.
Michal Rozsival, D	Rangers	Since he joined the Rangers in 2005, Rozsival's 108 points are fourth-most with the Blueshirts.
Bryan Smolinski, C	Free Agent	After spending last season in Montreal, Smolinski remains a free agent this offseason.
Sergei Zubov, D	Stars	Zubov is still one of the league's most talented defenseman. He played in only 46 games due to injury last season.

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins signed forward Bryan Ewing and defensemen Elgin Reid and Brock Sheahan.

Northeast Division

-The Hockey News is reporting restricted free agent Senators defenseman Andrej Meszaros has signed an offer sheet with an unidentified team.

-Bruins forward Milan Lucic is a fan of Calgary's Jarome Iginla.

-Former Flyers defenseman Eric Weinrich will join the Sabres' AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates, as an assistant coach.

Southeast Division

-Only 65 of the Panthers' games next season will be shown on local television next season. Florida might seriously be the most dysfunctional team in the NHL.

-The Panthers haven't won a single playoff game since they traded Stu Barnes to the Penguins in 1996.

-Capitals owner Ted Leonsis did not care for our criticism of his team's fans.

Central Division

-Former Penguins forward Tim Brent signed a one-year deal with the Blackhawks.

-Red Wings and former Penguins forward Marian Hossa is expected to skate on a line with Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Holmstrom next season.

-Defenseman Chris Chelios and forward Darren McCarty will officially return to Detroit next season.

-The Blue Jackets will bring in former Hurricanes forward Shane Willis on a tryout basis.

Northwest Division

-Canucks goaltender Curtis Sanford picked 10 finalists in a contest to design his mask.

-The Oilers would've committed salary cap suicide if they signed former Penguins goon Georges Laraque.

-Need help paying those student loans in this wintry economic climate? Good with kids? Have skating ability? The Minnesota Wild might have a job for you.

Pacific Division

-The Kings signed 2008 first-round pick Colten Teubert to an entry-level deal.

-Former Penguins defenseman Gord Dineen says Ducks forward Bobby Ryan is ready for the NHL. Ryan was the second overall pick in the 2005 draft after Sidney Crosby.

-Sharks forward Jeremy Roenick is the fourth greatest video game athlete of all time.

Norris Division

-Could the KHL be a bigger threat to the AHL than the NHL?

See ya Stu

 

Former Penguins forward Stu Barnes ended his 16-year NHL career today as he announced his retirement. He will become an assistant coach with the Dallas Stars, a team he has played for since the 2002-03 season. Barnes had dealt with concussion problems last season.

Barnes was a solid, responsible two-way player who had a fairly productive, but short career with the Penguins. After being acquired along with defenseman Jason Woolley from the Panthers in exchange for former first-round bust Chris Wells, he punched in 17 goals and 22 assists in 1996-97 during Mario Lemieux's first "final" season. His most productive season in the NHL came with the Penguins in 1997-98 (the first season of the Kevin Constantine regime) as he hit career highs in goals (30) and points (65). Only Jaromir Jagr (102) and Ron Francis (87) had more points with the Penguins that season.

After hitting the 20-goal mark in 64 games the next season, the Penguins dealt him to the Sabres in exchange for antagonist Matthew Barnaby.

While with the Sabres, Barnes scored a pretty dramatic overtime goal in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final against the Penguins.

Barnes' 136 career points with the Penguins are the 55th most in franchise history.

(Photo: BBC Sports)

Stay off the Island

To say the least, the Penguins have had simply awful luck against the Islanders in the postseason.

At least once in the past three decades, the Penguins' season has come to a heartbreaking end at the hands of the Islanders.

We're all familiar with the most recent defeat. David &$@#! Volek and the 1992-93 Islanders pulled off perhaps the NHL's biggest upset when they beat the President Trophy-winning Penguins in a seven-game series in 1993.

And lots of us are familiar with the 1974-75 Islanders who came back from a 3-0 series deficit to beat the Penguins. Anytime a team takes a 3-0 lead in a playoff series, the announcers seemingly have an obligation to say, "Well you know, the last time a team came back from a 3-0 deficit..."

But not a lot of Penguins fans are all that familiar with the 1982 Islanders.

Having won the Stanley Cup the previous two springs, the Islanders were in the midst of their dynasty. They had supplanted the Canadiens as the best team in the league. A preliminary series against the lowly Penguins was surely a mere bump in the road right?

After the first two games of the series, it sure seemed so. The Islanders out-scored the Penguins 15-3 in the first two contests of a five-games series. A win in Game Three seemed like a mere formality.

The Penguins managed to pull out a 2-1 overtime win in Game 3 (thanks to Rick Kehoe's overtime goal) and evened things up in Game 4 with a 5-2 win.

With 5:27 remaining in Game 5, the Penguins owned a 3-1 lead over the powerful Islanders. Then everything pretty much caved in. A goal by Mike McEwen made it 3-2. Then with 2:21 left, Tonelli kept the Islanders' hope for a three-peat alive by tying the game.

At 6:19 in overtime, Tonelli broke all sorts of hearts in Pittsburgh:

The Islanders would go on to win their third consecutive Stanley Cup title and the Penguins wouldn't reach the postseason again until 1989.

So with only one playoff left this decade, we assume the Penguins will meet the Islanders in the spring of 2009 in order to keep this "one-playoff-defeat-a-decade" thing going. And we also assume the series will go the distance. Game 7 will come to an end on a goal by Sean Bergenheim. Mark it down.

(If you're wondering why we're writing about an old Islanders postseason win in August, this video just happened to be posted recently on YouTube. We spotted it and went with it.)

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-2K Sports, the creator of NHL 2K9, isn't wasting too much time worrying about Sidney Crosby's playoff beard.

-Janne Pesonen bleeds black and gold.

Atlantic Division

-Mark Messier's son, Lyon, was invited to the Rangers' rookie camp.

Central Division

-The Blue Jackets will honor their late owner, John H. McConnell, with a commemorative patch next season.

-Blues forward Brad Boyes had 43 goals last season, but no one noticed.

Northwest Division

-New Flames forward Todd Bertuzzi complained about the lack of ice time he got with the Ducks last season. Apparently the Ducks have this crazy idea that overrated, lazy, broken down, pieces of trash aren't supposed to get 20 minutes or more a game.

-Avalanche captain Joe Sakic still wants to play.

-In a shocking bit of news, Avalanche forward Peter Forsberg is still having issues with his feet.

Pacific Division

-The Sharks signed defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic to a four-year contract extenstion.

-San Jose will bring former forward Jeff Friesen in on a tryout basis.

-The Ducks signed former Blue Jackets forward Joakim Lindstrom to a one-year deal.

Adams Division

-Apparently, not everyone in Canada is crazy about watching hockey fights on television.

-James Mirtle examines the best NHL players by jersey numbers.

-Pittsburgh Sports and Mini Ponies scored an interview with the Post-Gazette's Bob Smizik.

Sakic returns

Avalanche captain Joe Sakic announced today he will return for his 20th NHL season. He signed a one-year deal worth $6 million with the only NHL franchise he's dressed for. After playing in only 44 games last season, Sakic had been pondering retirement.

EN Says: This is great news. Joe Sakic is a pure joy to watch for a hockey fan. Even at 39, he's still a threat to hit the 100-point mark in the "new" NHL. (He reached that total in 2006-07). He's still capable of averaging a point per game. Assuming he stays healthy, he has an outside shot at surpassing Mario Lemieux for seventh place among the NHL's all-time scoring leaders.


If you aren't joyous over this news, your not a hockey fan. (Or you're a Canucks fan.)

(Photo: The Quebec Nordiques Unofficial Home Page)

 

Capitals eager for your business

As reported by Sean's Ramblings, by way of Greg Wyshynski, the Capitals are now charging $15 extra for their two "home" games against the Penguins at the Verizon Center next season.

To clarify things, according to Sean's Ramblings, should you buy individual tickets to this game directly from the team, it will cost you $15 more because it's considered a "premium" game. If you have season tickets with the Capitals, you get to keep your $15 which will allow you to get two burritos at that Chipotle inside the "phone booth."

Having been to three of the last four Penguins' "home" games in Washington the past two seasons, we understand why the Capitals are doing this. The amount of Penguins fans in the arena for all of those games was staggering. And we have to assume it had to somewhat embarrassing for Capitals fans and officials.

The straw that probably broke the camel's back was the March 9 contest between the two teams that lots of folks remember best for Nicklas Backstrom's "goal:"

If there was a time for the Capitals to show they were playing in a real hockey town, this was it. A high profile rival was in town. The game was nationally televised on NBC. The Capitals were making a desperate push to reach the postseason. And they had the best player in the sport scoring goals at a pace the league hasn't seen in over 10 years. This was their moment to shine.

And Penguins fans, from Pittsburgh and Washington D.C., took it away from them.

They didn't exactly take control of the Verizon Center, but we'd estimate at least 40 percent of those in attendance that day would back Sidney Crosby in the seemingly endless Crosby-Ovechkin (or is it Ovechkin-Crosby?) debate.

The Capitals claim they're doing this to keep those ugly purple seats filled with red jerseys. Seeing how involved the team's owner Ted Leonsis is with operating his team, we can believe that motivation somewhat. But let's get real.

Leonis didn't become rich by thinking solely with his heart. He's a businessman. The Capitals have increased ticket sales for the upcoming season, but these two games against the Penguins will be one of the few occasions a Capitals game will be the event in a busy city. He's going to strike when the iron's hot.

So yeah, getting those tickets might be a little tougher than they have been the past three seasons. But considering how many tickets were available on StubHub and other ticket broker sites for the March 9 game, Capitals season ticket holders will probably be more than willing to help you again in 2008-09.

Considering how loyal some of their "fans" are, you can't blame the Capitals for going down this path. Other teams like the Sabres have already taken this route. And before you point a finger at the Capitals in scorn, ask Red Wings fans about how tough it was getting tickets for Stanley Cup final games at Mellon Arena.

(Photo: Gary Cameron/Reuters)

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-Penguins prospect Robert Bortuzzo will be out at least a month due to a shoulder injury.

-The Penguins will hold a prospect camp beginning Sept. 9 in Kitchener, Ontario.

-Jonathan Bombulie of the Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice takes a look at the camp's roster.

-The Wheeling Nailers acquired defenseman Elgin Reid from the Elmira Jackals in exchange for forward Steve McJannet.

-Penguins prospect Casey Pierro-Zabotel (that name will be fun to live blog if he ever makes the team) is one of four players vying for three "over-aged" rosters spots with his junior team, the Vancouver Giants.

-Eddy Spaghetti is wondering if wearing a Jaromir Jagr jersey is officially considered a throwback.

Atlantic Division

-Flyers forward Simon Gagne is ready to play and drown puppies after suffering from concussion problems last season.

Northeast Division

-The Canadiens unveiled they logo they will use to commemorate their 100^th season.

-The Sabres dropped the prices of their exhibition games.

-Senators defenseman Luke Richardson still wants to play.

 Southeast Division

-Former Thrashers defenseman Mark Popovic will play in Russia next season.

-Who's the best Panther of all time? Personally, we're appalled by Bill Lindsay's absence on the list.

Northwest Division

-Do the Canucks need a new entrance song?

Pacific Division

-Former Penguins defenseman Ross Lupaschuk will get a tryout with the Anaheim Ducks. Lupaschuk was one of three pieces of trash "prospects" the Penguins acquired from the Capitals in exchange for Jaromir Jagr in 2001. Since the lockout that wiped out the NHL's 2004-05 season, Lupaschuk has played for several teams in Europe.

Patrick Division

-James Mirtle examines goal-scoring.

-The Ferraro twins, Chris and Peter (both former Penguins) are expected to rejoin the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL.

There's still nothing to write about

If you've come here today seeking a statistical breakdown of Rob Scuderi's plus/minus totals in even-numbered days against Southeast Division foes, we're sorry to disappoint you. We're still trying to squeeze every bit of toothpaste out of Summer's tube of Crest (if that makes sense).

So we're just going to keep milking Hulu.com and present you with Game 6 of the 1991 Stanley Cup final:


 

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-New Penguins enforcer Eric Godard is getting ready for the season by climbing steps. (Kudos to The Sidney Crosby Show for the find.) In our humble opinion, there's no way he'd beat Ivan Drago with that simple regimen.

-The Wheeling Nailers re-signed defenseman Todd Spencer and signed defenseman Doug Krantz. They also signed goon Cedrick Bernier.

-Will the Penguins take a dive next season?

-The Pensblog says Mario Lemieux used his fans.

-Experience the Evolution offers six reasons Lemieux is better than Wayne Gretzky.

Atlantic Division

-Former Devils defenseman Vitaly Vishnevski will play in Russia next season. Headline writers in Trenton rejoice.

-The Rangers will retire the jerseys of former forwards Adam Graves, Andy Bathgate (a former Penguin) and defenseman Harry Howell.

-The Flyers will give former Islanders defenseman Bryan Berard a tryout. Puppy-drowning lessons will be included should he make the roster.

Northeast Division

-Maple Leafs forward Mark Bell is picking up trash along a California highway this summer.

-When asked about joining the KHL in Russia, Montreal forward Sergei Kostitsyn said, "Leave the best league in the world? No, thank you."

Southeast Division

-Vincent Lecavalier will be the Lightning's next captain.

-Former Coyotes forward Tyson Nash will get a tryout with the Lightning.

Central Division

-The Blackhawks signed 2007 second-round draft pick Akim Aliu to a entry-level deal for three years. He is a native of Nigeria.

-Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios likes his Pearl Jam. He also prefers Fixodent.

-Detroit forward Darren McCarty is looking for a one-way deal.

-The Blue Jackets entered an affiliation agreement with the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL.

-The Nashville Tennessean is trying to keep the bankruptcy proceedings of Predators investor William "Boots" Del Biaggio public.

Northwest Division

-If you're an Avalanche fan, you're not voting for Barack Obama.

-Former Oilers forward Geoff Sanderson is still looking for work. Also in that story, former Penguins forward Guillame Lefebvre will get a tryout with the Oilers.

Pacific Division

-Panthers defensmen Nick Boynton criticized his former team, the Coyotes, for allowing assistant coach Rick Tocchet leave. Tocchet, a former Penguin, joined the Lightning as an assistant coach in the offseason.

-The Kings have yet to sign restricted free agent forwards Patrick O'Sullivan and Jarrett Stoll.

-Sharks forward Jeremy Roenick is an actor.

Smythe Division

-Tickets for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver go on sale in October.

Five alive

We're pretty much out of things to write about at this point of August. We can only come up with so many lists of off Hockey-Reference.com. So we're going to dig in our chest of bookmarked goodies and come up with a lazy late summer post.

Courtesy of Hulu.com (a site you can easily waste a few hours on), it's the complete broadcast of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final.

Go to the 59:10, 1:36:03, and 3:01:08 marks if you want to skip to the good parts. Well, they're good if you're a Penguins fan.

If you want to watch the full screen version, click here. The quality of the video is amazing.

And with that, we'll be on vacation for a few days. So if the Penguins lure Mats Sundin, Teemu Selanne and Roman Oksiuta out of retirement or whatever the heck they're doing with themselves this weekend, you won't read about it here. We'll see you Tuesday.

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-The Confluence of the Three Rivers says Mario Lemieux's "ruse" was just business.

-Penguins goaltender Dany Sabourin is rated as one of the worst players in NHL 2K9.

-Former Penguins forward Larry DePalma (He played in seven games with the Penguins in 1993-94.) was sentenced to one year in prison over extortion charges.

-Forward Joey Haddad of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Cape Breton Screaming Eagles was invited to the Penguins' training camp.

-The Wheeling Nailers signed a new agreement with a local radio station.

Northeast Division

-New Canadiens and former Penguins enforcer Georges Laraque had a tough decision to make this offseason.

Central Division

-The Red Wings re-signed forward Aaron Downey to a one-year deal.

-Detroit might have more talent on paper going into next season than it did last season.

-Blue Jackets prospect Stefan Legein retired from professional hockey.

 Northwest Division

-Oilers forward Ethan Moreau was involved in a hit and run accident.

-The Minnesota Wild, one of the league's most boring teams, is raising ticket prices for some games.

Pacific Division

-Former Penguins defenseman Gord Dineen was named the head coach of the Ducks' AHL affiliate, the Iowa Chops.

Adams Division

-In case you were wondering when the Predators open camp (Sept. 19), Craig Custance of the Sporting News has the dates most teams report.

-James Mirtle examines the captain situations of a few teams.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton hoping to avoid confusion, creativity

 

You are looking at a photo of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins player Paul Bissonette showing off his team's new third jersey yesterday.

Basically it looks like all they did was take an old NHL Penguins jersey from the Dave Schultz era and slap "PENGUINS" across the front just in case you forget what team your watching. Kind of like what the Stars did with their home Reebok Edge-Super-Duper-Mega-Ultra-Awesome-Humungo-Women-Will-Want-You Uniform System jerseys.

While we do like the way it looks, the lack of effort in coming up with this is kind of disappointing.

That said, at least Wilkes-Barre/Scranton fans won't get confused and think they're watching the Quebec Nordiques.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

(Photo: Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins)

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins hired former NHLer Todd Reirden as an assistant coach.

-The Penguins signed junior prospect Corey Cowick. He was last with the Ottawa 67's.

-Greg Wyshynski says the summer has been less than stellar for the Penguins.

Atlantic Division

-If the Islanders beat the Penguins on Nov. 26, all 39 of their fans will get free tickets to a game against the Capitals Dec. 16.

Central Division

-The NHL said "no thanks" to the KHL's compensation offer for signing Predators forward Alexander Radulov.

Northwest Division

-The Colorado Avalanche renewed its affiliation with the Johnstown Chiefs of the ECHL.

Pacific Division

-Former Kings forward Ladislav Nagy, who always seems to be linked to the Penguins in rumors, signed to play in the KHL next season.

Whitney's worth

How much will the Penguins miss Ryan Whitney as he recuperates from his foot injury? You be the judge. Take a look at the top point totals by defensemen the past two seasons:

Player, Team(s)	Games Played	Goals	Assists	Points
1. Sergei Gonchar, Penguins	160	25	107	132
2. Nicklas Lidstrom, Red Wings	156	23	109	132
3. Tomas Kaberle, Maple Leafs	156	19	92	111
4. Dion Phaneuf, Flames	161	34	76	110
6. Brian Rafalski, Devils/Red Wings	155	21	89	110
6. Brian Campbell, Sabres/Sharks	165	14	96	110
7. Andre Markov, Canadiens	159	22	85	107
8. Chris Pronger, Ducks	138	25	77	102
9. Lubomir Visnovsky, Kings	151	26	73	99
9. Ryan Whitney, Penguins	157	26	73	99
11. Kimmo Timonen, Predators/Flyers	160	21	78	99

Not bad company when you consider the likes of Zdeno Chara, Ed Jovanovski and Jay Bouwmeester aren't on the list.

Whitney's defense is inconsistent to be kind. His presence in front of his net can be downright atrocious on far too many occasions (possibly due to his foot ailment). Those aspects of his game won't be missed.

But his offense won't be replaced easily. Especially when you consider the totals he's racked up being the team's No. 2 defenseman primarily the past two seasons.

(Photo: Phillip MacCallum/Getty Images)

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins will announce their new assistant coach and third jersey today.

-The Penguins re-signed Wheeling Nailers goaltender Curtis Darling and signed goaltender Adam Berkhoel.

-A look at the Penguins' organizational depth chart.

Atlantic Division

-The agent for former Maple Leafs forward Mats Sundin denied a report his client is interested in the Rangers.

Northeast Division

-The Sabres will unveil a third jersey Oct. 20.

Southeast Division

-By the sounds of things, Hurricanes forward Chad LaRose would be the Pirates' second best pitcher at least.

Central Division

-The Blues are interested in bringing back former forward Brendan Shanahan.

-Predators forward Alexander Radulov wants the NHL to quit "robbing" Russia.

Northwest Division

-The Wild is doing what it can to hang on to Marian Gaborik.

-Oilers forward Jarret Stoll is living the good life.

Pacific Division

-The Coyotes re-signed forward Joel Perrault to a two-year deal.

Adams Division

-A team-by-team look at each franchise's national television appearances next season.