Hockey Hearsay

Hockey Hearsay runs weekdays, 12 months a year; mixing NHL stories, quotes and fantasy takes.

The Chicago Tribune writes that having already accomplished about as much as is conceivable in four seasons in the league — two NHL All-Star Game appearances, a gold medal during an Olympics performance for Team Canada that got him named top forward of the tournament and a Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the 2010 Stanley Cup playoffs — Jonathan Toews is hungry for more.

"I want to keep pushing myself," Toews said. "I've always wanted to be a great offensive player and I definitely worked on some things this offseason to improve in that situation. You always want to be one of the best players on your team and across the league. I feel like I could be one of those guys this year. People talk about it, but it's about time to fulfill that potential."

At 23 and captain of the Hawks, Toews has earned respect as one of the NHL's top players in his own dressing room, opponents' around the league and with the national media. He is being touted as one of the favorites to capture the Hart Trophy as MVP of the NHL.

"Each and every year he's just progressed to different levels and the very elite level of the game," Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "The second part of the year last year he was as good as anybody in the game. Offensively, defensively, he can control so much of the game.

"If you look back to his last couple of starts over the last few years with scoring it takes him a while to get that first one, so it's nice to see him get it in Game 2 this year. The one thing about him, it's zero maintenance from (a coach's) perspective knowing that consistency he prides himself in. And he gets better as games and seasons go on. The upside for him is pretty amazing."

Veteran Patrick Sharp has gotten an up-close-and-personal look at Toews' skill level this season as his linemate and sees potential for even more success.

"It's seems like every year he's been consistent in the offensive categories," Sharp said. "I like to think he's got another level in his offensive side. You know (Patrick) Kane is going to put up a ton of points and Johnny is well-rounded in all different areas, but I think the both of them this year more than ever they're focused and ready to take that next step offensively."

Phil Kessel (2-3-5), David Legwand (2-3-5), Thomas Vanek (2-3-5), Kris Letang (1-4-5), Jeff Skinner (1-4-5), Anze Kopitar (3-1-4), Craig Smith (2-2-4), Luke Adam (2-2-4), Jason Pominville (1-3-4), Joffrey Lupul (1-3-4), Jason Spezza (1-3-4), Erik Karlsson (0-4-4).

The Washington Post observes that one noticeable trend in the first two games of the Capitals’ 2011-12 season is that it’s been the bottom six forwards who have carried the bulk of the offensive load contributing four of the team’s nine goals.

Particularly absent from Washington’s scoresheets, in, granted, a small sample size, is the presence of Alex Ovechkin.

He tallied an assist against Carolina in the opener after arriving late the day before from Moscow, having attended his uncle’s funeral. But against Tampa Bay he was a minus-2 in 21 minutes 47 seconds of ice time with only three shots on goal – four attempts missed, including several on the power play, and three more were blocked.

Coach Bruce Boudreau didn’t make any excuses for Ovechkin, who was the only player that did not take part in the morning skate Monday, when asked to assess the star left wing.

“I think he’s got a long way to go to get to where he wants to be — to be as good as he should be,” Boudreau said. “He’s our number one player, but he can be better. There’s no doubt about it.”

The Calgary Herald describes how Brent Sutter bristled ever so slightly at a question that is bound to repeat itself this season in dingy arena corridors all over the continent.

Why is Miikka Kiprusoff on the bench watching the action in favour of the skyscraping Henrik Karlsson?

“This is the thing now,” the Calgary Flames head coach said in the aftermath of a 5-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues. “Now we’re going to be going around to each city. Miikka Kiprusoff — we’re not going to be doing the right thing because he’s not going to play 75 games this year.

“Because that’s what you guys expect from him.”

With good reason, Kiprusoff has started 70-plus games for the last six years. He is known around the National Hockey League as a certified workhorse.

But this time around, the Flames are determined to lessen the unflappable Finn’s workload. Thus the surprise appearance of Karlsson in St. Louis.

“We want to get Karl going right off the bat here,” Sutter said. “Our goal going into this was Kipper was going to play the first game. Karl was going to play the second game. And that’s what we did.”

Kiprusoff is slated to start Thursday against Montreal. Saturday’s assignment is yet to be determined.

“We are going to cut back Kipper’s games some this year,” Sutter said. “And Karl needs to play.”

The Montreal Gazette says look for Yannick Weber to make his first start of the season on defence when the Canadiens play their home opener against the Calgary Flames on Thursday night.

The 23-year-old from Switzerland has started the first two games of the season as a right-winger on the fourth line, but he was pressed into service as a defenceman in each of those games because of injuries to other Chris Campoli and Jaroslav Spacek.

"I thought Yannick did a good job," head coach Jacques Martin said. "It's one advantage of being able to play two positions. I think he responded, and now with the number of injuries on the back end, we'll need him on defence."

And that's just fine with Weber, who is a defenceman by training and inclination.

"With the injuries, I got more ice time," Weber said. "I got some time on the penalty kill, and for sure the power play was big."

Weber came into training camp with the first oneway contract of his career, a two-season deal that pays him $800,000 this season and $900,000 next season. He was hoping to crack the top six on defence, but found himself behind fellow Swiss Raphael Diaz and Alexei Emelin.

He found himself competing for a forward spot after the Canadiens acquired Campoli.

But Weber believes he has been given a second chance and hopes to make an impression.

"It's twice in a row and it gives me a chance to prove that they're wrong," Weber said of the opportunities provided by the injuries.

Claude Noel isn't going to jump to any knee-jerk, panic-button type conclusions after one performance (5-1 loss to Montreal) by his Jets, according to The Winnipeg Free Press.

"One thing I know," began Noel on Monday -- a day off for the players and staff -- "I don't have to worry about getting these guys back up. If they care, they'll get back up. And they care. We talked after the game for a few minutes... they're disappointed, we're all disappointed and we would have liked a better outcome.

"It's one of 82 games. That's how you have to look at it and that's how you have to judge your team. Our job, the players and the coaches, is simple: it's to get to our 'A' game. We identify what our 'A' game is and we strive to get better every day. When we don't, when it's below the standard, it pisses people off... mostly me. We'll get there."

The opener out of the way, the Jets now embark on a difficult part of their schedule that -- in many ways -- could be exactly what this team needs. Winnipeg will play 11 of its next 14 on the road, including games Thursday in Chicago and Saturday in Phoenix. But getting away from the glare in Winnipeg might be the perfect tonic for a team still trying to understand itself and get comfortable with Noel's system.

"You're going to run into these schedule issues sometimes during the year," Noel said. "I think it's good for us. We're going to find out a lot about ourselves. We can play at home because we have fan support. When we're on the road, somebody else has that support.

"The biggest thing is you want to know your team and this team knows itself. We know we've got Chicago on Thursday and they're a tough opponent. How can they not be? They won the Stanley Cup a couple of years ago and we've got players who were on that team (Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien). We know what the task at hand is here."

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review initially reported that center Evgeni Malkin was unlikely to dress for the Penguins, who play Florida in their NHL home opener at 7:30 p.m. tonight. He was the first skater off the ice after a morning practice.

It was later confirmed by coach Dan Bylsma that Malkin will not dress this evening.

Malkin (undisclosed lower-body injury) did not play Sunday in the team's shootout loss at Edmonton.

He scored a goal and recorded an assist in two wins for the Penguins at Vancouver and Calgary last week.

Malkin was injured Saturday night in a win at Calgary.

The Penguins finished last season without Malkin and center Sidney Crosby, who is out with a concussion but was scheduled to meet his with his medical team today.

Malkin had surgery in February to repair torn ligaments in his right knee. The Penguins have said this injury is not related.

Also, defenseman Brooks Orpik will miss a fourth straight game because of a lingering abdominal injury that required offseason surgery.

The New York Post passes along that with their European adventure behind them, the Rangers now must decide who will skate next to Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik on the left wing of their top line.

After an up-and-down beginning to the Richards-Gaborik partnership in the Rangers' two one-point losses in Sweden, coach John Tortorella did not hesitate to say the two will continue to play together.

And, at least for Saturday's game against the Islanders, they will continue to skate with Brandon Dubinsky.

"I don't know how it's going to work out," Tortorella said. "I'm going to let it play out and see where we go with it."

Tortorella said the chaotic preseason schedule the Rangers endured overseas, including playing in several countries, made it difficult to come to any lasting decisions about combinations that will, or won't, work moving forward.

Things promise to be much more stable moving forward for the Blueshirts, who will spend the week practicing before Saturday's game at Nassau Coliseum kicks off a five-game road trip that includes a swing through western Canada.

"I'm going to hold off my evaluation of where I think people sit until we get really cranked up here with practice and we get out west and play some games," he said.

The Post notes that Richards, the Rangers' marquee free-agent signing during the offseason, would prefer working with a stable group of linemates. But after playing with the Lightning under Tortorella, who never hesitates to shake things up, he knows better than to count on that happening.

"Ideally you're winning and you keep your line together and everybody's flowing and happy, but over 82 games, that doesn't always happen," Richards said. "It just so happened that the first couple games we weren't clicking, and we had different looks.

"That'll happen a lot again this year. That's the type of coach he is."

In the brief stint with Dubinsky so far, Richards said he has been impressed by what he's seen.

"I like how he holds on to the puck," Richards said. "He gets in there, he has a really strong body, and he'll go to the net and create a lot of seams like that. That's the type of player he is, and I think that works well for what I'm trying to do, because that gives me a little more time and draws a few more people going to the net and causes a lot of commotion."

A few notes from last night's Live NHL Recap

Avalanches's top nine: Peter Mueller - Matt Duchene - Milan Hejduk/ David Jones - Paul Stastny - Chuck Kobasew/ Gabriel Landeskog - Ryan O'Reilly - Daniel Winnik Top PP times: Jones (1:58), Quincey (1:55), O'Reilly (1:55), Johnson (1:54), Landeskog (1:47)

Islanders' top nine: Matt Moulson - John Tavares - P.A. Parenteau/ Kyle Okposo - Frans Nielsen - Michael Grabner/ Brian Rolston - Josh Bailey - Blake Comeau Top PP times: Grabner (1:48), Parenteau (1:43), Okposo (1:43), Streit (1:37), Hamonic (1:35)

Lightning's top nine: Martin St. Louis - Steven Stamkos - Steve Downie/ Ryan Malone - Vincent Lecavalier - Teddy Purcell/ Brett Connolly - Dominic Moore - Ryan Shannon Top PP times: Stamkos (4:23), St. Louis (4:02), Lecavalier (3:59), MAB (3:18), Malone (2:32)

Notes: A Sheldon Souray (1A, +1, 5 SOG) point shot resulted in the GTG with 28 seconds to go in regulation and that also gives him points in all three starts so far. Marcus Johansson (1G, 1A, 2:14 PP, 4 SOG) was scratched for the opener, but responded with a strong start here. He was really going tonight. Dennis Wideman (1G, +1, 3:29 PP, 3 SOG) has a point in both of his starts. Travis Hamonic (1A, 4 SOG) had 7 PIM in his first game and it’s his blend of points and PIM that will attract a lot of attention again this season. Guillaume Latendresse (1A, +1, 2 PIM, 5:03 PP, 2 SOG) came into this season in good shape and he’ll be looking to build on the promise we saw when he was dealt to the Wild a few years ago. Minny announcers described him as a physical menace in this game.

The Buffalo News relays that reaction to the newly-remodeled Sabres dressing room was universally positive, with players smiling and staring wide-eyed at the pictures, logos, lights and nods to history that the Sabres' design team created over the summer and while the team was in Europe last week.

"It's amazing," goaltender Ryan Miller said. "It's above and beyond. You can get lost in this place, it's so big. Terry and Kim [Pegula] put a lot of thought into it, and we really appreciate it. We just want to repay them by winning big hockey games here."

The new digs don't contain a trace of the team's old locker area. A circular room has replaced the rectangle, allowing players to see each other and communicate easily. (By contrast, the new visiting dressing room is a long rectangle, and chats between players on opposite ends will be next to impossible). The benches and stalls are wood-grained rather than blue vinyl. Action photos of this year's team are above each stall, often directly above the player seated there.

The focal point of the room is the center, which is home to two illuminated Sabres logos. A color logo is on the floor, while a black and white one hangs from the ceiling.

"It's hard not to be impressed," coach Lindy Ruff said. "The room is spectacular, to say the least."

The Sabres' walk from the room to the ice was designed to give them a sense of purpose and pride. Six words -- belief, commitment, character, discipline, trust and, in larger type, excellence -- are written above the exit door. From there, the players enter a hallway that is an ode to team history.

The left wall has the names and photos of every member of the Sabres Hall of Fame, starting with 1980 inductees Frank Christie, Roger Crozier and Punch Imlach, and going down the line to this year's honorees, Jim Kelley and Alexander Mogilny.

The right wall features large plaques with the numbers and names of the six Sabres who have their uniforms retired -- Gilbert Perreault, Richard Martin, Rene Robert, Tim Horton, Danny Gare and Pat LaFontaine. In the middle of those are three pieces of Memorial Auditorium, covered by glass etched with the names of every Buffalo player who skated in the old building.

"I don't think there has been a detail spared," Ruff said. "Walking through there with the names on one side, the players that have been retired, the stones from the Aud that will have the names carved, there hasn't been many details skipped. It's awful impressive.

"I walked through it once, then I walked through it again. I've just been walking through it all morning. It's noticing all the little details that is really impressive."

The rest of his teammates are two games into the season, but the Orange County Register notes that the Ducks' Kurtis Foster is in the midst of his own training camp.

"That's what it feels like," Foster said after practice Monday. "A little early every day, a little late every day. That's part of getting back into shape."

Foster has been making up for lost ground after having a small piece of metal removed from his left thigh left over from 2008 reconstructive surgery to repair a broken femur.

The procedure knocked Foster out of participating in camp, and the defenseman is only starting to return to action, having played a few minutes last week in an exhibition game against Finnish club Jokerit in Helsinki.

Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said Foster is currently battling a mild groin muscle strain but added that he is "very close to being able to play in games."

The seven-year veteran hopes to be ready by this weekend when the Ducks play three games in four days but also suggested that a conditioning assignment at minor-league Syracuse might be an option. General Manager Bob Murray wouldn't comment.

"To jump right in there on Friday night (against San Jose) is something I want to do," Foster said. "But if I feel like I'm not at a point where I need to be, then maybe going down to Syracuse to play a couple of games, get used to the physical [part] of the game is something I need to do."

Meanwhile, Toni Lydman could also be ready for action this weekend if he gains clearance for contact after he's examined by team doctors. The defenseman is recovering from surgery in May to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.

The Boston Globe reports the Bruins announced before this morning's practice session at Ristuccia Arena that 29-year-old forward Rich Peverley, whose contract was set to expire at the end of this season, was signed to a three-year extension through the 2014-15 season.

The Denver Post points out that he didn't score a goal in the preseason and doesn't have one through the first two games of the regular season. But Gabriel Landeskog does have 10 shots on goal through the two games that count.

The Avalanche rookie certainly has not looked out of place. In Monday's 1-0 Avalanche victory over Boston, Landeskog added another five shots on net for the team lead. He leads Paul Stastny​ by one despite playing on the third line.

"I've felt pretty good so far," said Landeskog, the second pick in this year's NHL draft. "It was good to get in the win column today. My first road trip, it's been a lot of fun so far."

Stars coach Glen Gulutzan, to ESPN Dallas, following last night's 2-1 shootout win over Phoenix: “I'd say we've got a lot of work to do. I think our habits need to improve. We have to have the ability to play a game that when people watch they go, 'I know what these guys are all about.' Quite frankly, we aren't there yet,” Gulutzan said. “I thought we worked very hard on the PK, I thought we did a real good job. I thought Kari (Lehtonen) was real good. But the rest of our game needs some work. Our power play, which I am in charge of, was atrocious."

The Detroit Free Press notes the Red Wings haven't scored a power-play goal in nine chances this season. Coach Mike Babcock wants that to change, so he's making a change.

"I'm not getting (Jiri Hudler) on the ice enough in power-play situations," Babcock said after Monday's practice. "So I'm going to do what I did last year."

What he did last season was pair Hudler with Niklas Kronwall on the back end, with Hudler and Johan Franzen switching in and out of the middle during the power play.

"I played it before, but I think this is going to be a little different look," Hudler said. "I think I'm going to cruise more around the middle."

Babcock said that while Dan Cleary and Valtteri Filppula will continue to play near the net with the man advantage, "We'll have a different look on our second group than we have on our first group."

Babcock said the power play "wasn't any good at all" in Friday's home opener against Ottawa and was "better" in Saturday's win in Colorado.

But Jakub Kindl, the point man on the power play during the first two games, has impressed Babcock.

"He has confidence in himself so he earns confidence from the coach," Babcock said. "He feels good about himself and he's playing like it.

"I don't mind him there (on the power play) at all. But I'm going to go with four (defensemen) and have Kronner and Huds on the move a little more on the back to get a little more motion with what we're doing."

The Miami Herald recalls that Dale Tallon’s makeover of the Panthers has brought plenty of attention to the team since his July 1 spending spree.

Of the 20 dressed players in Saturday’s season opening win against the Islanders, 14 were not with the team when it opened the 2010 season in Edmonton.

Somewhat lost in the shuffle has been returning Panthers such as Stephen Weiss and David Booth. If they had been forgotten, they reintroduced themselves against the Islanders as Weiss scored Florida’s first goal of the season and Booth tied Weiss for the team lead with four shots on goalie Al Montoya.

“I sure hadn’t forgotten about them,’’ coach Kevin Dineen said. “I don’t think anyone in hockey forgot those two played for the Panthers. They are both very important to our future success here.’’

With all the change, Weiss — who started his 10th season with the franchise — and Booth both had new linemates. Weiss’ eyes lit up when asked about the play of his new partners because Tomas Fleischmann and Kris Versteeg have given the Florida center a talent level he is not used to playing with.

“I thought it was very fitting that Weiss scored that first goal of the season,’’ assistant coach Gord Murphy said. “He’s been through a lot here in Florida, seen a lot of guys come and go. You can tell he’s really excited about this.’’

Booth also seemed reinvigorated by his new playing partners, Tomas Kopecky and Scottie Upshall. Booth didn’t get to play with Upshall for too long as Upshall was ejected from the game after a fight in which his jersey flew up over his head.

Dan Wiese: "Hi Chris, This is my first email to you. First of all thanks for the rankings, they really helped in my draft!

Our 12 team league has the following skater categories: G, A, +/-, PIM, SOG, PPP, SHP. Nathan Horton is killing me, apparently he is afraid to shoot this year. Was wondering if I should hold on or drop him for one of the following:

Lupul, Seguin, J. Jokinen, Luke Adams, Simmonds, T. Kennedy, C. Neil, Cleary, Malone

Thanks in advance and thanks for the blog posts. Best regards,"

Chris: Glad the rankings helped Dan and thanks for writing in. As tempting as a hot starter in a good spot like Lupul might be, as an example, I think you'd later regret dropping Horton in a PIM league. His points will come and his +/- on the Bruins should be a good thing for you too. I'd stand pat for the time being, at least on the Horton front. Not sure if you have someone else that's on the fringe or not.

Steve in NYC: Hey Chris, Another year another team review if you don't mind.

10 team G/A/Pts/+/-/SHG/PIMS W/GAA/SV%

I had first pick

9 forwards - Ovechkin, E. Staal, Lucic, Alfredson, Crosby, Hudler, Selanne, Stewart, Hossa 5 D - Letang, Karlson, Wideman, E. Johnson, TImonen 2 G - Price, Quick 5 reserves Rask, Ryan Whitney, Justin Williams, Eberle, Ott

Had to draft Crosby with the starters, I can move him down on Tuesday if he is not recovered. Tough to draft at # 1 with such a long time between picks. Thanks for all that you do to help us poolies."

Chris: Thanks Steve. Having Ovechkin and Crosby, even with Crosby's status, is pretty sweet. Good team all around, actually. Goaltending is pretty solid, you have insurance with Rask and I like the D too. Letang should be a beast this season. Wideman will be a bargain. Hossa has become pretty underrated and tends to be available later than he should.

The immediate candidates for fringe duty seem to Hudler (good start though), Eberle and Ott.

Jen in California: "We had our draft last week and I tried to utilize your tips as best as I could. How do you think I did?

10 teams, H2H, daily unlimited moves, no trades. We start 2C, 2LW, 2RW, 4D, 1U, 2G with 6B tracking G, A, +/-, PIM, PPG, PPP, GWG, W, GAA, SV%, SHO.

C - Crosby, Giroux, Lecavalier, M. Koivu LW - Sedin, Neal, van Riemsdyk, Fleischmann RW - Hossa, Callahan, Okposo D - Letang, Boyle, Edler, Pitkanen, Gragnani G - Rinne, Hiller, Emery

Thanks."

Chris: Goaltending should be fine Jen. I like Letang and Boyle on D in particular, while Edler should have a pretty decent season. Pitkanen sees loads of PP time and Gragnani, I'm hoping, will be one of the better later round picks for poolies. It's possible either could be replaced on your team, depending on the options, but they each have potential to do well. Pitkanen should put up more points than he does, but whatever.

Hopefully Crosby pays off. Otherwise, it's really a matter of potentially finding better options than Okposo or Fleischmann up front. Both should generally have good spots in the line-up though, so it'll just depend how quickly you want to pull the chute.

Email: chris.nichols@sportsnet.rogers.com

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­Chris Nichols is Sportsnet.ca's fantasy hockey writer.