Hockey Hearsay

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

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review notes that Sidney Crosby is the face of the National Hockey League, but once again, his head has become the issue.

Crosby, the Penguins' star center who missed 11 months because of a concussion, is out indefinitely because of recurring symptoms, the team announced on Monday.

Headaches resurfaced since he took an elbow to the head from the Boston Bruins David Krejci on Dec. 5, Crosby said at his locker room stall at Consol Energy Center.

"The next day, after the game, I didn't feel right," he said. However, a subsequent medical test showed no serious injury, he added.

The question of when he will return to the ice leaves fans, Crosby and the medical community speculating. He has played in eight games this season.

"Three or four months ago, I was concerned he might never come back to play because of how long it was taking him to recuperate," said Dr. Jack Wilberger, chairman of the department of neurosurgery for West Penn Allegheny Health System. "My concerns are further heightened now."

Several NHL stars including Eric Lindros, Keith Primeau, Pat LaFontaine and Mark Savard had their careers end prematurely because of repeated concussions.

"Personally," said Wilberger, "I wouldn't be surprised if he reconsiders what he's doing (with his life.)" Wilberger is not on Crosby's medical team.

The Tribune-Review points out that Crosby downplayed the latest developments, saying his condition is more comparable to a minor setback he experienced in August than the full-blown symptoms he experienced after a hit during the Winter Classic game at Heinz Field on Jan. 1.

Crosby's medical team was not available for comment.

Dr. Michael Stuart, a professor of orthopedics at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and the chief medical officer of USA Hockey, said this might not be a major setback.

"It is concerning that he is having symptoms again, but there is a very real possibility that Crosby and those around him are simply being extremely cautious, which is the proper course to take," Stuart said. "This does not mean his career is in jeopardy."

But the mere fact an athlete suffers a concussion makes him three to four times more likely to suffer another, Wilberger said.

Crosby excited the hockey world when he returned two weeks ago against the New York Islanders with a four-point night. But now he's getting credit for being a trendsetter off the ice.

"Athletes rarely come forward and admit something isn't right," said Dr. Julian Bailes, chairman of the department of neurosurgery and co-director of the NorthShore Neurological Institute outside of Chicago. "He should be applauded."

LA Kings Insider reports that the Kings have sought permission from the Calgary Flames to speak with Darryl Sutter as Terry Murray’s replacement, a source said this morning.

Sutter left his role as Calgary’s general manager last December but remains under contract with the Flames. There’s no indication as to when Sutter might take over. John Stevens will coach tonight’s game at Boston, with Jamie Kompon as his assistant coach. Kings general manager hired Sutter as his coach in San Jose in 1997.

The Vancouver Province believes the NHL’s quietest superstars are at it again. Their team is winning — on a 9-1 run — and they are producing as consistently as they ever have in what looks to be the third straight season in which they collect goals and assists at a 100-point clip.

They were in the top five in scoring Monday — Daniel ­Sedin third with 34 points and Henrik Sedin fifth with 33. They’ve each gone pointless in back-to-back games just once this season.

And all this for two players who admittedly struggled in the first five weeks of the year because they weren’t “playing the right way,” as Henrik summed it up.

“We were trying to play the same way as we are now but it was really tough to be in games mentally, 100 per cent, after what we went through in the playoffs,” Daniel said.

“I think the last 15 games, we have been in it, totally, and it’s really paid off the last 10.”

What Daniel was touching on was the evolution of the Sedins. They can be frayed mentally, and fighting it on the ice like they were in October, but they can still find a way on to the scoresheet night in and night out.

The coaching staff knows they are lucky to have the twins.

“We are really fortunate to have them and we probably under-appreciate them, considering everything they do,” Vigneault said. “But at the end of the day, they are two great guys to coach and have on our team.

“Toughness can be measured in different ways. Obviously, there’s the physical aspect but there’s also when it’s time on the ice to make a play or to make the power play work or to play in those pressure moments — do you want to be out there? — whether you want to call that mental toughness or mental strength or whatever.

“And the twins are all about that. They want to be the go-to guys. They want to win and they’ve done that.

“When I got here six years ago, they were second-line players at the time and quickly we noticed they deserved to be running the offensive ship and we gave them the ship.

“They’ve been two of the best players in the NHL ever since.”

The New York Post posits that a review of his contract might lead one to call him “Richie Rich,” except Brad Richards is every bit a lunch pail pro with as much of a blue-collar approach to his work as anyone in the Rangers’ room, if not the NHL.

He’s a star, an upper-echelon player whose presence and sense of professionalism have elevated the Blueshirts on and off the ice; a star, after dropping the capital “S” upon leaving Dallas for New York this summer as a free agent.

“It’s nobody’s fault that I left [the Stars], it was my decision and I take full accountability for it,” said Richards, who will face his former team tonight at the Garden. “The three [full] years I was there, we didn’t make the playoffs, and the organization wasn’t spending the money that six, seven or eight other teams were in the tough Western Conference.

“There are a lot of good people there and I have a lot of good friends there, but I’m not looking back. That’s the business we’re in.”

Richards chose New York on July 2 after the Rangers offered a front-loaded nine-year, $60 million contract under which the center will have received $20 million by next July 1. There were two larger offers, but no other franchise could offer John Tortorella as the coach, and as the season evolves it becomes more apparent by the day how beneficial that relationship is to the team.

The Post continues that the significance of their mutual trust cannot be minimized in analyzing Tortorella’s decision to move Richards off Marian Gaborik’s line — what was perceived as the first line; the glamour line — just eight games into the season.

It was the coaching decision that established the foundation for the season, coming when the team was 3-3-2, establishing as it did a balanced attack featuring Gaborik with Derek Stepan and Artem Anisimov on one line, and Richards with Ryan Callahan and either Ruslan Fedotenko or Brandon Dubinsky on another.

And it was a decision Tortorella almost certainly would not have been able to effect so seamlessly with a high-priced free agent with whom he did not have a history. And it was a move that a different kind of personality might have resisted rather than embraced, as Richards did.

These are examples of leadership that do not go unnoticed within a team. These are examples of leadership that help explain why the Rangers are 17-6-4.

Richards could have come to the Rangers last year at the trade deadline. But, according to an individual with knowledge of the situation, he declined to waive his no-move clause when he learned of the bounty (three Grade A assets) the Stars were demanding in return, not wanting the Blueshirts to be diluted upon his arrival.

And so Broadway would wait for Richards, who has recorded 25 points (11-14) with the promise of better things ahead.

“I have to admit that even though I wanted to come here, it was a hell of a transition, especially since I’m not the kind of person who is the best at adapting to change,” Richards told The Post. “Mentally, it took its toll on me, and I wasn’t as sharp as I wanted to be or needed to be, but thankfully I got great support from my teammates and we were winning.

“I’m starting to feel it come now. I feel comfortable being here and living here. The best is ahead of me."

The Ottawa Sun points out that if Nikita Filatov really does have a desire to get back to the NHL next season, it will either be as a Senator or to a team that is generally managed by a Bryan Murray trading partner.

Upon announcing that he is allowing the 21-year-old Russian’s return to the KHL’s CSKA Moscow, Murray said he would make a qualifying offer to Filatov when he becomes a restricted free agent in July.

“We won’t retain his rights if we don’t,” said Murray. “I’m saying today we will retain his rights."

Filatov, the sixth selection overall (or nine picks before the Senators took Erik Karlsson) in the 2008 draft, had no goals and one assist in nine games with Ottawa. He was going to be sent back to Binghamton and his $65,000 AHL salary, but preferred to develop while collecting many more rubles in his homeland.

“He wants a chance to come back to the National Hockey League at some point (and go to Russia) rather than play in the minors,” said Murray. “I totally understand that’s a financial thing for him and his family. That’s why I’m letting it happen.

“If he wants to be a player in the NHL and he spends some time in physical development, strength and conditioning, then he can be a player.”

Coach Paul MacLean offered this: “(Filatov) was in the lineup lots and got to play with our best players. The dimension he brought to our team, the skill and creating offence, didn’t happen often enough. He didn’t have an attitude. I thought he worked really diligently without the puck. We didn’t have any problem with that. No, it was the fact that his dimension with the puck in the American League was noticeable, and that’s what he brought. We just didn’t get that here.”

Jason Spezza had no problems with Filatov as a teammate.

“He worked hard when he was here, things just didn’t get going for him, in his game,” said Spezza. “But it wasn’t a bad attitude or work ethic thing. I think he worked hard and wanted to do well. But it’s a tough league to be an offensive guy in. It’s an every day thing and it’s hard to be consistent.”

"I think he should be OK," Jaromir Jagr told PhillyNews.com when asked if he had any advice for rookie Sean Couturier, who may be playing the role of first line centre between Jagr and Scott Hartnell with Claude Giroux out. "I am a different player than I was 10 years ago. I would have been tough to play with 10 years ago. Now, I'm so nice."

The Boston Herald says that watching the slow-motion replay of the hit that Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara took Saturday in Columbus — the cringe-inducing manner in which his left knee buckled when he collided with the Blue Jackets’ Antoine Vermette — it was easy to assume he had a serious injury to one or more ligaments.

A cynic might have greeted the initial prognosis that Chara would miss only a week with great skepticism.

Well, it turns out he might not be out that long, with what is apparently quite a minor knee sprain. The injury is being handled on a largely precautionary basis.

Coach Claude Julien didn’t even rule out Chara for tonight’s game at the Garden against the Los Angeles Kings, terming him “pretty questionable.”

And Chara, making a surprise media appearance in the B’s dressing room — walking with no discernible limp — said he was feeling quite well.

“Good, good, better than I expected,” said Chara, who wasn’t about to accept the assertion that he will miss three games in the coming five days. “No, the plan is to take it one day at a time. You can’t really put a time frame on it. It’s obviously (a matter of) how it feels, and it feels better than I expected. So we go from there.”

The Buffalo News notes that Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville, the wingers on the Sabres' top line, have been teammates for eight years. They know each other well. As for center Paul Szczechura ...

"I've known him for the four games he's been here," Vanek said Monday.

Of all the new names popping in and out of the Buffalo lineup lately, Szczechura's sticks out -- and not just because it's uncommon. Unlike Corey Tropp, T.J. Brennan, Brayden McNabb and other newcomers, Szczechura didn't get drafted by the organization. Technically, he's never participated in a Buffalo training camp.

Yet there he was Monday in the middle of the Sabres' top scorers, reprising the role he starred in for the first time Saturday. He's expected to be there again tonight when the Sabres host the Ottawa Senators.

"They're top players in this league, so I'm just going to try and contribute every way I can," Szczechura said in First Niagara Center. "I just want to play my game. Obviously, I was there because I was playing my game, and I didn't want to change that.

"I just want to focus on the things that I was doing well to get to that position. I didn't want to change a thing. I just wanted to keep it simple, make plays, play with confidence and just sort of go from there."

Coach Lindy Ruff offered this: "We really need somebody that can make some plays in there, has some offensive talent and can be a little creative. There wasn't a lot of other options, really. I liked the way that [Ville] Leino and Luke [Adam] and [Zack] Kassian have been playing, so it was really the only spot for him."

The Denver Post points out that Erik Johnson stayed after practice for about 40 minutes Monday, spending the last few playing a game of "flip a puck into a small bucket" with Avalanche teammates Ryan O'Reilly, Brad Malone and Stefan Elliott. When the final puck found its way into the white bucket, Johnson threw his arms in the air and balanced on one leg.

Now, if that could just happen in a real game.

"I know I'm counted on to produce offense, to produce on the power play. I've never really been in kind of an offensive rut like this in my career," said the Avs defenseman, the team's key acquisition in a blockbuster trade with St. Louis last season. "I've just got to do a little bit better job of maybe jumping into the play a little more. I know some goals will come, but it's getting a little bit into the season now and I know I have to produce."

Johnson has yet to score a goal this season, through 25 games. While he has nine assists, the Avs could use some goals from him, or anyone else for that matter. With lots of ice time — his average of 21:58 per game is second-highest on the team — and plenty of power-play time, Johnson's lack of scoring has hurt the team.

But the Avs remain steadfast in their belief Johnson will come around. And, if the goals don't come, coach Joe Sacco will still be happy as long as Johnson is keeping goals out of the Avs' net. While his plus-minus number is not great — minus-14 entering tonight's game with San Jose — that statistic is probably a bit deceiving. Johnson has been on the ice for several empty-net goals that count against his stat line, and he has played most often against the other team's top lines.

Johnson has size (6-foot-4, 232 pounds) and skill, enough so that he was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 NHL draft with St. Louis. It has sometimes seemed, however, that he is caught between which style best suits his talents. Should he be a big, banging, stay-at-home D-man, or should he be up in the play all the time trying to score goals?

"I want to be good in my own end first and foremost," Johnson said. "But I could shoot the puck more than I have (55 shots overall). I expect more out of myself. It's no excuse. I've got to find a way. The only way I'm going to get better is to keep working at it, and keep working hard in practice."

The Columbus Dispatch recalls that this was supposed to be the season that the goal-starved Blue Jackets took some pressure off their franchise goaltender, Steve Mason.

The team went on an offseason spending spree and acquired high-priced punch in the form of center Jeff Carter and defenseman James Wisniewski.

But the pour-it-on Blue Jackets have yet to materialize. Mason, often the victim of wave after wave of odd-man rushes and meager goal support, has paid the price.

His mediocre numbers of the past two seasons dipped during a horrendous autumn start. That led to a 12-game stretch on the bench when backup Curtis Sanford took over as the starter.

But Sanford’s red-hot run has cooled, so Mason finally is expected to get back out on the ice tonight against the Vancouver Canucks.

Mason’s return will be a big moment, both for him and the organization. Can the Blue Jackets give him the support he needs? Can the organization put its faith in him again?

“Hopefully I’ll get back in there and things will go well,” Mason said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Coach Scott Arniel said he expects the Jackets to play as well in front of Mason as they have in front of Sanford during their modest run of improvement.

“I think early in the year we were giving up a lot of scoring chances and a lot of goals,” Arniel said. “We left Steve a lot of times to fend for himself. This last stretch, we’ve been better as a group.

“We’ve really worked at trying to cut down on chances against and goals against. I don’t know why we wouldn’t do the same things (with Mason). Strong play in front of any goaltender gives you a chance to win hockey games.”

The 12-game respite has been the longest of Mason’s NHL career, but he has taken it in stride.

“I think the longest I’ve went without starting was four games in a row,” said Mason, who has not played since Nov. 15. “But it gave me a lot of time to work.”

The Miami Herald writes that at 19 years old, Erik Gudbranson is learning a lot about life, including his craft as a defenseman in the NHL.

Gudbranson played just his 24th professional hockey game Sunday. It came against the famed Rangers at the “world’s most famous arena.’’ It is at Madison Square Garden where the Panthers’ prized prospect-turned-regular might have learned more about what it takes to make it in the NHL than he did in any of his previous games or weeks of training camp.

The NHL is a league of give and take. In one moment, Gudbranson is celebrating after scoring his first NHL goal. Not long after, he’s limping off the ice after taking a couple of rough hits. Mind you, Gudbranson laid out some doozies of his own. Yet the picture of him slowly skating off the ice pretty much summed up Florida’s 6-1 loss to an unforgiving Rangers team that night.

“Some of the goals were bounces, some were mistakes,’’ Gudbranson said after a game in which he left with less than 10 minutes remaining. He said he sustained a charley horse and should be back in the lineup Tuesday against the Devils. “I take full responsibility for the third goal. It was just one of those games, and they’re tough to be in. You need to bounce back in the next one.’’

Gudbranson played in Florida’s first 11 games before being “given a break,’’ by coach Kevin Dineen. Gudbranson watched six of the next 10 games from the press box as Ellerby replaced him in the lineup. Gudbranson got back on the ice on Nov. 23 and hasn’t sat since. He played in his 10th consecutive game Sunday.

“He’s played extremely well the past two weeks,’’ Dineen said. “I went through a long experiment, and I know it’s no fun for Keaton right now. ... I felt Gudbranson’s body of work was deserving of staying in the lineup. He’s building confidence.’’

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