Hockey Hearsay

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

The Philadelphia Daily News reports Eric Lindros will be back in Philadelphia on Dec. 31.

Now that nearly a decade has passed since his disastrous departure, The "Big E" said he will be able to put aside his differences with the Flyers' organization to return for the team's alumni game against the New York Rangers alumni on Dec. 31 at Citizens Bank Park, serving as an appetizer for an already delicious Winter Classic main course on Jan. 2.

Rumblings about Lindros' return had appeared for weeks, but Lindros officially confirmed the rumors himself on Wednesday morning on Sportsnet 590 The Fan radio in Toronto.

In a recent interview with a hockey web site, Lindros said he had been contacted a few weeks earlier by Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren about participating in the game.

Now, all the Flyers need to reunite the famed "Legion of Doom" line is Mikael Renberg to return from Sweden, as John LeClair will likely participate as he still maintains a residence in the Philadelphia area.

Given his legendary disagreements with the Flyers, it appeared that Lindros was the biggest question mark heading into the game.

In the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season, when Lindros captured the Hart Trophy as league MVP, the Legion of Doom combined for an astonishing 176 points in just 48 games.

There has been no word on whether the Rangers can convince Wayne Gretzky to participate in the game.

A golden oldie, wonders The Calgary Sun?

That’s what they’re hoping.

Hockey Canada has unveiled its special edition third jersey for the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship, a red uniform that features a throwback logo. The logo resembles the one worn by Canada’s national junior team from 1982-1994, a span that included seven gold-medal celebrations.

“There’s a bit of heritage involved,” said Jeff Shantz, a former Calgary Flames forward and member of Canada’s entry at the world juniors in 1993. “I don’t think the logo looks out of place. I think they did a great job of designing it when they did 30 years ago. But anytime you can put the Canada jersey on, I don’t think there will be any players out there complaining about what it looks like.”

“Anytime you’ve got red and white, I think it looks great,” agreed Martin Gelinas, another former Flames player and alumnus of the national junior team in 1989. “And I think the logo looks great.

“It’ll be a special tournament coming, and I think they did a very good job with the jersey.”

Calgary and Edmonton will split hosting duties of the 2012 IIHF World Junior Championship, with Team Canada competing in the roundrobin slate at Rexall Place and the Saddledome hosting the other preliminary pool plus the medal round.

To mark the 30th anniversary of Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence, Team Canada will wear the special third jersey in at least one of their games. As part of the celebrations, there will also be a reunion of past world junior participants.

“We’re looking back over 30 years, and this is the jersey that started it. We won a lot of gold medals with it,” said Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson.

“We’re bringing back the whole alumni — everyone that has played at the world juniors — and this is the jersey that they played in, so I think it will be special for those players coming back. And it’ll be special for the players that play this year to put on this jersey.”

The Edmonton Journal recalls that when he was coaching with the Winnipeg Jets in the 1980s, Rick Bowness got a bellyful of Wayne Gretzky and Mark Messier and the other rollicking kids when the Edmonton Oilers were laughing and singing and scoring, totally oblivious to the pressure of being in the National Hockey League.

Now, Bowness sees the same thing in Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle and Co.

Next game, bring it on, baby.

“We’d see Gretzky and those kids night after night and we’d be going, ‘Wow’ … I don’t want to play against these guys in four or five years. I get the same feeling with these kids when I watch them. They have such a great future here,” said the Vancouver Canucks’ associate coach Tuesday morning.

After the Lottery Line had five points and 11 shots in the Oilers’ 3-2 win over the Canucks, maybe the future is now.

The Oilers got the two points and also proved a point, finally beating a Northwest Division team after ­going 0-4 prior to Tuesday’s victory.

“This is a good week for us. We had these guys and we have Washington (Capitals) coming up. Those are high-octane teams, but you have to take your game to them. They’re not wearing capes as far as I know. That’s in the comic books, so go get them,” said Oilers coach Tom Renney.

It’s early, only eight games in, but the Oilers have lessons to learn against the Canucks and other powerhouses.

“This was a measuring stick game for us,” said Khabibulin. “It’s one of the best teams in the NHL and it’s where we want to be at some point.”

The Canadiens received some good news about Max Pacioretty’s injured right wrist Tuesday, according to The Montreal Gazette.

Or did they?

While head coach Jacques Martin said the team would provide an update on Pacioretty’s condition on Wednesday, word leaked out that Pacioretty suffered ligament damage but will not require surgery.

This was generally regarded as good news, but the reality is that damaged ligaments can often pose more problems than a broken bone. Healing times for a broken bone are predictable, but there are more variables to ligament damage.

The one certainty is that Pacioretty will not be in the lineup Wednesday night when the Philadelphia Flyers visit the Bell Centre. And he won’t have a reunion with Zdeno Chara and the Boston Bruins who will face the Canadiens Thursday in Beantown and Saturday in Montreal.

But, as Martin noted Tuesday, the schedule provides a break for the Canadiens after the Bruins’ games. The Canadiens don’t play again until the following Friday when they travel to Ottawa and that will provide additional recovery time not only for Pacioretty but for Scott Gomez, who is out with an upper-body injury. Gomez skated with strength coach Pierre Allard prior to the Canadiens practice in Brossard Tuesday and Martin said he could be back next weekend.

Martin never needs an excuse to juggle lines, but changes were in order after the injury to Pacioretty.

Moen will line up with Tomas Plekanec and Brian Gionta, while Michael Cammalleri moves to a line with David Desharnais and Erik Cole. Mathieu Darche joins Lars Eller and Andrei Kostitsyn. In one significant change on special teams, Cole was getting lots of action on the power play and Darche wasn’t.

Defenceman Alexei Emelin practiced with newcomers Petteri Nokelainen and Mike Blunden on the fourth line, but the Canadiens recalled Aaron Palushaj late Tuesday and he’ll take Emelin’s spot.

The Toronto Sun reveals that as Joe Colborne has been piling up the points with the Toronto Marlies, the 6-foot-5 centre has added a new wrinkle.

Awareness.

“This year when he makes a mistake in the defensive zone or has a hiccup, I can see when he comes back to the bench, he already knows it,” Marlies coach Dallas Eakins said on Tuesday. “Last year he would come back to the bench and he would not even know he had made a mistake. He is taking ownership.”

It’s all part of the development of the 21-year-old Colborne, who is tied for second in American Hockey League scoring with linemate Joey Crabb. Both have 12 points in six games.

Colborne realizes that continuing his growth in the AHL is required before he takes up permanent residence on the Leafs roster.

“I got the first taste of it last year (when he had an assist in his lone Leafs appearance) and it lights a fire in your gut to get back there,” Colborne said after the Marlies practised at the Ricoh Coliseum. “I’ve been working on limiting turnovers and being more responsible. I want to be a top-line centre, and when you are doing that, you’re up against the top lines all the time. You can’t have those shifts where you are chasing the puck around.”

The Sun notes Colborne has set out the past few summers to become an improved skater. Back home in Calgary, Colborne and several other players, including Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Braydon Coburn and Hunter Shinkaruk, a top prospect for the 2013 NHL entry draft, have hired power-skating instructors from across Canada. The extra sessions have been bearing fruit for Colborne.

“I’m feeling faster out there, quicker,” Colborne said. “After each week, you feel like you are lot smoother on your skates, much more compact.

“The speed of the game is starting to slow down for me. I’m looking forward to getting another chance, and that is why I am working hard down here, so hopefully sooner than later I am up there playing.”

The call for Colborne to join the Leafs likely will not happen unless there is an injury to another centre. But the initial impression is Colborne will be prepared when that call comes.

“He wants it,” Eakins said. “This kid is focused and he is doing everything he can to turn into an NHL player. You have to let it grow and he understands that. He is a lot closer than he was last year.”

The Winnipeg Sun describes how the Jets' No. 1 line -- No. 1 at season's start, at least -- of Andrew Ladd, Bryan Little and Blake Wheeler has produced just two goals and five points between them. Total. In eight games.

Asked Tuesday if he had any idea why the Ladd-Little-Wheeler combo has been so snake-bitten -- Ladd and Wheeler are second and third in shots taken to Dustin Byfuglien -- head coach Claude Noel was both blunt and sympathetic to their plight.

"No. I'm sure they're perplexed as well," he said. "They care about their game and they're trying. My job is to try and help them. I'm sure they're perplexed but we'll eventually figure it out and it will eventually come around. It doesn't last forever. These things work themselves out."

Sooner, he hopes, not later.

What Noel has learned through the first couple of weeks of the season is Nik Antropov and Alex Burmistrov definitely have developed a chemistry and that Evander Kane looks very comfortable on the wing with that slick duo. And the GST line of Tanner Glass - Jim Slater - Chris Thorburn has done everything asked of it and more this season -- effectively checking, bashing and crashing and chipping in with four goals of their own.

But it also means that unless Ladd-Little-Wheeler can get things rolling -- remember, this was Atlanta's most potent trio at the end of last season -- Noel's mad scientist routine with the lines will be front and centre through the upcoming seven-game road trip.

"That will continue, just because we're trying to get people unclogged," Noel said. "It will continue a bit more now. We'll sort through that stuff."

The other factor to consider is this: the Jets are who we thought they were -- a team that finished 20th in offence and 29th in goals against last year. Their top offensive addition, winger Eric Fehr, is still on the shelf for roughly another month with a sore shoulder and, while there could be help on the farm, it is still green and relatively untested.

"You can only do what your team is, you can't do anything more than that," Noel said. "I can't invent or manufacture offence when we are what we are. I know what we are and I don't have a problem with that.

"There's always ways to win games, that's clear. You have to find a way to win games and there's always a way. I don't care who you play, you just find a way. Whether it's David and Goliath, there's always a way to do it and you just have to find a way to do it. You have to teach your players and everybody the way.

"This is the way, follow this way and then execute the plan. Sometimes it doesn't go, like the plan (Monday) night was good, it's just sometimes you're going to get results like this. That's just the way it goes."

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette points out that people have known for a while that John Tavares is a pretty fair hockey player.

Hey, there is a reason he was the first prospect selected in the 2009 entry draft.

And it is no surprise his game has improved every year that he has been in the league.

Blend that much talent with such an outstanding work ethic, and a steady upgrade is nearly inevitable.

No, what is noteworthy -- and perhaps a bit scary for opponents -- about Tavares is that, despite how good he is now, there is no reason to think he is anywhere near his peak.

Which is saying something when a guy has 10 points in his first six games as Tavares did before facing the Penguins Tuesday night at Nassau Coliseum.

That put him on a 137-point pace, and Islanders coach Jack Capuano said there is no reason to doubt Tavares can maintain, or exceed, that level of production over the entire season.

"I think so," Capuano said. "Not only this year, but through his career. That's the kind of person he is. He's always been gifted offensively, but his overall game -- the intangibles, his defensive play -- is really starting to come."

Even Tavares seemed to embrace the idea of remaining so offensively prolific.

"It's not something I try to worry about," he said. "Obviously, I'm expected to score and produce offense. I know that's probably my best asset and the biggest thing I contribute, but I have to make sure I'm doing other things right -- being sound positionally, playing our systems, being strong [all over] the ice."

Although the Islanders have capable goaltenders and some promising young players on their depth chart, Tavares is the franchise's cornerstone. And he appears to be growing into that role.

"He's been our best player," Capuano said. "Your best player has to be your best player to win hockey games, and Johnny's been that guy for us."

Fire & Ice says the great Zach Parise center experiment garnered positive reviews though his line with Ilya Kovalchuk and Nick Palmieri wasn’t able to score any goals Tuesday night in a 3-0 win over Los Angeles. Kovalchuk had a team-high four shots on goal, however, and Parise had three.

“It wasn’t bad, I thought,” Parise said. “We had some really good opportunities. We were running around a couple times in our D zone, but I thought we moved the puck around pretty good as a line and as a team, I thought that was one of our better games. We played a great game tonight.”

Coach Pete DeBoer agreed.

“I thought they were good,” DeBoer said of the Kovalchuk-Parise-Palmieri line. “I thought Zach looked very good in the middle for his first game there since college. I thought he did a great job. He had good speed. They created a lot of chances and they gave us some real good momentum.”

Parise sounded as if he surprised himself with how he played in the middle. It was the first time he played center since a few games in the 2007-08 season.

“It felt really good,” he said. “It felt a lot better than I thought (it would). I feel like I had the puck a lot. I made decent plays with it. I think it’s going to get better if they decide to keep me there. It will only get better.”

Parise even excelled on faceoffs, going 9-5. He credited assistant coach Adam Oates, one of the league’s best faceoff men in his playing days, with giving him some tips at Monday’s practice.

“I felt really good on draws,” Parise said. “Oatsie was teaching me a couple of things and it really worked. I felt really comfortable taking draws just from the couple of things he taught me yesterday. It made a big difference.”

Brett Connolly is staying in the NHL, according to The St. Petersburg Times. The Lightning's rookie right wing was told by GM Steve Yzerman after Tuesday's victory over Sabres.

"We feel Brett's shown that he belongs in the NHL and makes our team better," Yzerman wrote in a text message. "So, we've decided to keep him."

The decision came after Connolly's ninth NHL game, the most he could have played without the clock starting on his three-year, $2.7 million contract. The other option was sending him back to Prince George of the junior Western league.

Connolly, 19, has not only been playing on a line with C Vinny Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis, he has picked their brains as well.

"Both guys have Stanley Cups and a lot of experience, so, for me, it's nice to have a couple of guys like that I can talk to," Connolly said before Tuesday's game. "I'm just trying to take as much knowledge as I can."

"We talk a lot," St. Louis said. "You want to make sure you don't give him too much; maybe every day work on a different thing. There are a lot of details to pay attention to, and he's done a great job with retaining a lot of information. At the same time it's not a one-way dialogue."

What is discussed?

"Bigger picture," Connolly said, "from playing in the defensive zone to being professional to being ready to work out, being ready to practice, being ready to play every game."

Coach Guy Boucher noticed.

"That's also what we're looking at, how he's reacting, not just on the ice but off ice," he said. "He's been real good with the assistant coaches, too, going to them to ask questions."

At the end of the day, I'm just trying to help the team win as much as we can," Connolly said.

The Boston Globe writes that Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli never expected his team to pick up where it left off.

The run to the 2011 Stanley Cup was grueling, and the offseason short. The summer was spent, understandably, celebrating the city’s first NHL title in 39 years.

Once the players got back to the rink, the front office expected them to need some time to get back to form.

The Bruins head into tomorrow night’s game at TD Garden against the Canadiens - the first of four straight Northeast Division contests - with a 3-5 record and are tied for 11th in the Eastern Conference. They’ve scored as many goals as they’ve allowed - 19 - but have been held to two or fewer goals in five of eight games.

But Chiarelli isn’t displeased with what he has seen.

“This is a first-time thing for a lot of guys, myself included,’’ Chiarelli said yesterday, with the rest of the team enjoying a day off. “I haven’t minded our level of compete; I think it can be better.

“To me, the common denominator in all this is two things. We’ve had more offensive chances and better quality chances in this first part than we did last year, and we’re not scoring. So that, to me, is a foundation of getting things back, too. When you’re scoring early, you set the tone.

“The second thing is just getting the proper mind frame again. I don’t know how to do that. I think it may be more of a natural process and we’re working on it. This is new to us and I don’t want to overreact. Unfortunately we have to do it game by game for now.’’

Championship hangover is far from unique. Chiarelli said it’s one of those afflictions they’ll have to battle through.

“I’ve talked to GMs, coaches, and players who have been through this,’’ he said. “These guys have different stories but they all say there is something that happens that you can’t avoid.

“ ‘Malaise’ is too strong a word, but it’s just a bit of a cloud right now. One team said it was 20 games before it was back to normal. There’s no easy answer. We’ve just got to deal with it.’’

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune notes that hockey players deal with groin injuries frequently, and they usually are not ailments that would cause the alarm bells to blare.

But after the year Guillaume Latendresse had, don't be surprised if the Wild is overly cautious now that he is complaining again of a wonky groin.

The left winger is expected to miss his second consecutive game Thursday against Anaheim. Latendresse was limited to 11 games last season after undergoing surgery last November to repair two sports hernias, two torn groin muscles and a torn labrum in his hip.

"I haven't been given word that there's real reason to be concerned right now, but certainly that's in the back of your mind," coach Mike Yeo said Tuesday. "Let's make sure we take the necessary amount of time and look at the big picture here and make sure that we don't do any further damage."

Left winger Dany Heatley returned to practice Tuesday after missing Monday's practice because of a sore groin, while defenseman Greg Zanon missed practice because of a groin injury and is expected to miss his second game Thursday.

Ralph, from Ottawa: "Hey Chris,

Non-Keeper, Head to head League. Following Stats: Points (P), (+/-), (PIM), (PPP), (SHP), (GWG), (SOG), Faceoffs Won, Hits,

I have Pronger (DTD) and activated Whitney (EDM) from the IR recently only to have him get injured during last night (I think it’s a knee sprain) . I know he’s still getting his game back, but should I be patient with him or grab one of the following Free Agents:

Need more +/_, PPP, Hits, Points and some PMS doesn’t hurt Choices are: Quincy, Bieska, White, Niskanen, Hedman, Zidlicky, Meszaros, Weber (Montreal), C.Potter, Kulikov, Gleason and Oliver Ekman-Larsson

Not sure if I should be patient with Whitney or drop him and see if there is someone better then him as its head to head and opponents change each week

What do you think? Thanks !!"

Chris: It looks like Whitney's injury isn't too bad and he'll maybe miss a week or two. So let's say he's playing in that time frame and then by the end of November, barring further injuries, he'll be totally up to speed and recovered from everything. That hurts you in the short term in H2H with only one IR spot and Pronger hopefully getting an IR designation for you.

But... and sometimes this is the point overlooked by H2H owners... if your team is strong enough to still make the playoffs regardless, then I'd rather you thought about this with a long-term strategy in mind for March and April. Whitney will be a prolific point-producer, so dropping him now for some short-term relief, especially when the options are not overly-appealing, could be something you'll regret later on.

If you think production now is a must, I'd go for White personally. He should be PP1 most of the season and being paired with Lidstrom in all situations certainly doesn't suck.

Lonely End of the Rink: "Doc, now that a couple of weeks have passed, some players have been dropped by some impatient owners, so just checking to see if you would pick any up if you were me.

I am in 4th so far in a 10 team roto keeper league (Keep 4). Categories are G, A, PPP, SHP, SOG, + -, PIM, Hits, W, GAA, SV%. Start 2 C, LW, RW, G and 4 D per week. Can only have 1 player per position on bench (C/LW = C, RW/LW = RW, etc...). I was in first right out of the gate because of Bryzgalov, but dropped just as quickly because of Bryzgalov.

My team: C - Malkin, Getzlaf, Dubinsky C/LW, LW - Semin, Burrows LW/RW, Benn LW/C, RW - St. Louis, Jagr, Lupul, D - Green, Letang, Bieksa, Giordano, Wideman, G - Bryzgalov, Broduer, S. Mason

Available Players: Franzen C/RW, Ribiero, Statsny, Couture, Duchene, Prospal Lw/RW, RNH, Versteeg, I. White, Shattenkirk, Hamonic, Kaberle, Montoya, Theodore, Anderson, Neuvirth, Dubnyk, Nabokov, S. Mason, Bobrovsky.

I was thinking of grabbing Franzen for Dubinsky because Jagr hasn't been his pre-season self (oops spoke too soon), but love Dubinsky's PIM and SHP potential. I just can't seem to get him in my line-up. Was also thinking of making a bid for a goalie. Possibly Luongo if the price is right. He usually gets better as the season goes on. I dropped Mason and picked up Bobrovsky for this week, with PHI having 4 winnable games. If I can get my goaltending on track, I should be able to contend. Thanks again."

Chris: Steve Mason. Oy. I'm just not sure what to make of him. It's tough to get an honest read so far because of the Wisniewski suspension just ending and Carter's injury, but still... aside from last night I haven't been overly impressed with him again. I think I'd leave him on the waiver wire for now and drop Bob to get Anderson, who seems to be coming around with the Sens playing better in front of him.

If you can get Luongo on the cheap while he's doing his early season flop, great. Do it. You can sell another asset for more later on. But really, I'm not the least bit worried about your goaltending. Bryz/ Brodeur alone are awesome and if Anderson plays anywhere near last year's Ottawa form, that'll be tremendous for you.

For the forwards, I see your point about not being able to get Dubinsky into your line-up. Franzen is tempting, but it seems like a moot point either way. At least Dubinsky offers dual position eligibility, which will help in case of injuries/ light schedules. The bottom line is that your FA forward pool is actually pretty decent though. Duchene is still going to turn it on. Ribeiro is solid. Stastny. Couture. All guys who will produce well. You may as well just keep Dubinsky because he seems best-suited to your long-term flexibility.

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