Hockey Hearsay

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

The Calgary Sun recalls that Mikael Backlund was just a kid suiting up for his first NHL game when Michael Cammalleri last played with him.

But Backlund has come a long way since the 2008-09 season, when the talented Swede first ventured into North American hockey.

“He was just starting. He was just a prospect — you know, just finding his way,” Cammalleri said Wednesday of the former first-round Calgary Flames selection. “He’s developed, for sure.

“Just looking at him, he’s stronger and bigger and filled out and developed.”

Cammalleri told the 22-year-old as much after rejoining the Flames following a trade with the Montreal Canadiens last week.

Playing between Cammalleri and Flames captain Jarome Iginla in Tuesday's game against the Sharks, Backlund looked quick, hungry, aggressive in San Jose. Most of all, he looked confident.

“Boy, the last three or four games, he’s really been playing well,” said Flames head coach Brent Sutter. “I think he’s really taking it to heart here about what we’ve been talking to him about and going through with him and how important he is to this team. We need him to be a top-six forward for us, and he needs to play well.

“I think he’s excited in the fact he’s having a chance to play with Jarome and Cammy, but I think he was playing well before he got that opportunity the other night.”

Cammalleri added this: “I thought his compete, work ethic last night was notable for sure. From what I see just talking to him and communicating with him, he wants to get better, he wants to keep improving … He wants to do all those things you need to do to be a player that you can rely on in this league. That’s a real positive.

“He’s asking questions and working on things. And not only asking — telling, too. Coming and saying, ‘Hey, this is what I’m going to do.’

“I think that’s really important. I think teammates need to push each other that way.

“His overall confidence or persona that way, it’s good to see him developing that way.”

Hockey fans are all too familiar with the fact that Flyers captain Chris Pronger will miss the rest of the the season with his concussion issues.

CSNPhilly.com has a compelling on-camera interview with Pronger's wife Lauren. She talks about his struggles, how the situation breaks her heart and how they're just hoping for a few good days in a row right now. It's worth watching.

The Winnipeg Sun describes how Antti Miettinen was looking for a hobby and came away with a new passion.

The Finnish forward was playing for the Dallas Stars, when the idea of learning how to play guitar first came to him.

“I had been talking about it quite a bit with a few of my buddies from back home to pick up some instruments and start playing,” Miettinen said. “I actually just went and bought a guitar. I told them guitar was taken, so they had to figure out what instruments they wanted to play.

“I’m self taught. I bought a couple of DVDs, books and stuff like that to learn the theory. I’m a little too lazy to learn all the theory part of it, so I fooled around with the guitar on my own.”

It turns out Miettinen was a quick learner.

“It came pretty naturally to get the basic chords and be able to play a few songs,” said Miettinen, who has two assists in 14 games since the Winnipeg Jets claimed him off waivers from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Miettinen and three friends from Finland ultimately formed a band, which was originally called Sementti but has since adopted the English translation: Cement.

Like most bands starting out, Cement focused on covers (many by Nirvana), but has started to produce their own material, with Miettinen playing an important role.

“It’s been a lot of fun, we’re doing our own songs now and I write most of the songs,” he said. “It was a good decision of mine. I stopped playing golf — well, I still play a little bit in the summer — but that four or five hours it used to take to golf, now we’d just go jam instead.”

At least one former teammate was willing to endorse Miettinen’s guitar talents.

“He writes his own stuff and he’s pretty incredible,” said San Jose Sharks defenceman Brent Burns, who played with Miettinen on the Minnesota Wild. “He’s really good.”

The Montreal Gazette relays that Alex Ovechkin cracked up reporters pregame last night when asked how long it took him to disinfect himself of former Habs goalie Jaroslav Halak, who robbed the Capitals blind in 2010’s seven-game Eastern Conference quarterfinal.

“Last night I was with my friend in my home and we play video game and Halak stopped (everything),” Ovechkin said, grinning. “Halak was the first star of the day. And my friend just told me: ‘Jesus Christ, this guy just destroy in playoffs.’ I don’t want to talk about it.”

Ron Wilson’s team will have a new look against the Minnesota Wild, The Toronto Sun notes, starting with a change to the top line that at one time boasted two of the league’s top five scorers.

Joffrey Lupul was taken off Phil Kessel’s left wing, replaced by Matthew Lombardi, with Lupul joining Nazem Kadri and Tim Connolly. That takes the lone hefty winger away, but gives the often victimized unit some needed back-checking ability. The ripples went all the way down to the defence with Dion Phaneuf paired with Luke Schenn, which puts Phaneuf on the unfamiliar left side.

Wilson, whose team has not dropped four straight in eight close calls going back to November of 2010, has seen the most recent stumble drop the Leafs from seventh to ninth. He summed up his reasoning in one word.

“Balance. We have to keep more pucks out of our net, stop silly mistakes that result in goals and at the same time spread the scoring around. Some lines have been scored against way too much. At least for one period (Thursday), we’ll see something (new).”

Kessel and Lupul ended a season-worst three-game slump with a first period goal on Tuesday against Ottawa. Then the trouble started with those two and Tyler Bozak on the ice for two even-strength goals by Ottawa, including an awful one with eight seconds to go in the first period.

“We had been scored on a lot before so he wanted to change that up,” Bozak said. “You never know what’s going to happen. You lose a few games, you know there’s probably going to be changes. You never know who it’s going to be.”

The Sun believes Lombardi, who added a goal on Tuesday, is showing the dash he had before a season-ending injury in Nashville. The changes on defence, which started Tuesday with Mike Komisarek a healthy scratch for Jake Gardiner, saw Schenn and Phaneuf teamed for the first time since the latter’s arrival in January of 2010. The left-shooting Phaneuf has played the left side only a few times before, most recently for Canada at the 2011 world championship.

Schenn, who was a candidate to sit on Tuesday, saw this as a promotion, to form a hard-hitting tandem with the minute-munching captain.

“It would be a great opportunity to play solid defensively and play against the other teams’ top lines,” Schenn said.

At the end of Wednesday’s practice at the MasterCard Centre, all seven defencemen and assistant coach Rob Zettler had a meeting. It wasn’t as long as the blueline summit that followed a terrible post-Christmas road trip (Toronto won four straight after huddling) but it cleared the air.

“It was more of a discussion about communication, what our calls are and about talking more,” Phaneuf said. “We switched up the pairings, but we have no issues in our room when they shake up the lines and combinations. It’s part of the game.”

The Detroit Free Press chronicles how Jiri Hudler's instincts with the puck are the main reason the Wings kept faith in him even after last season, when he struggled to regain his NHL game after a year in Russia's KHL. Hudler had just 10 goals and 37 points during the regular season and was a nonfactor in the second-round series against the Sharks.

Hudler has 13 goals and 29 points already this season.

"We just felt that he'd get it back if he got to work," head coach Mike Babcock said. "Huds is a good kid and likes the game and plays the game hard, and he's got a good talent level. Good for us."

Babcock has been using Hudler with Zetterberg and Valtteri Filppula, creating a line that has seen Hudler and Filppula thrive.

"Huds start playing with Fil and Z, he consistent, he get points," Pavel Datsyuk said. "And he score and sometimes he look like fake Z."

That comment was in reference to the reach-around backhand Hudler used in Tuesday's shoot-out, a move favored by Zetterberg and popularized by former NHL star Peter Forsberg. It further solidified that the Wings again can count on Hudler to produce in big moments.

"He's playing really well with confidence," Zetterberg said. "I think the one thing he's really improved on is the defensive end of his play. He's always been good offensively, but he's really good in his own end now. Coach can really trust him and have him out there in tough situations."

Zetterberg said Hudler is "kind of like Pavel -- you can't really tell him what to do. He figures it out by himself."

With his NHL footing re-established, Hudler can even look back on last season and laugh. When it was brought up Tuesday, Hudler smiled and replied, "What are you talking about? What are you talking about?

"Every game I'm trying to play the same. I'm putting some pressure on myself. I want to play good, I want to help this team and be a part of this team."

The Denver Post details how after the crowd of media flitted to other parts of the Avalanche dressing room Wednesday night, Peter Mueller sat with his head down and his hands clasped. After a few seconds, Mueller took his left hand and did the sign of the cross against his chest.

After 18 long, frustrating and at times scary months, Mueller scored a goal in an NHL game against the Florida Panthers at the Pepsi Center. Two of them, in fact. Plus an assist on the late, game-tying goal in Colorado's dramatic 4-3 overtime victory over the Panthers that put the Avs into eighth place in the Western Conference.

Mueller's last goal had been April 4, 2010, the night against the San Jose Sharks when a Rob Blake hit into the boards started a concussion whose symptoms would last much of the following 18 months. At the 6:50 mark of the second period, after countless nights wondering if he'd ever experience the feeling of putting a puck in the net again, it happened for Mueller against ex-Avs goalie Jose Theodore​.

"I thought everything had stopped. I looked around and couldn't believe it happened," Mueller said. "You definitely think about that over the span of 18 months, absolutely. I wouldn't change it for the world right now."

Mueller's night overshadowed everything else. At times this season, after a second long stint on the injured list with more concussion symptoms, it seemed like his future with the Avs might be hopeless. Now there is nothing but hope again.

"The biggest thing I see is his spirits and personality," Paul Stastny said. "When he is outgoing and talking, that's when you know he's feeling his best. He's been through such a rough go the last two years."

Mueller told The Post he has felt better for a few weeks now, but after all he's been through he's not about to take good health for granted. Not now, not ever.

"Every game is a process, getting better and better every game," Mueller said. "You have to give credit to the coaching staff with my conditioning. Everyone here has helped me get to where I am now. Everyone has been so supportive though this whole process. What a night to cap it off."

Even when the Avs were down 3-1 in the third period, coach Joe Sacco said he had a hunch they would pull out a win. "We had a talk after the second period and I think we felt good about our chances," Sacco said. "We didn't want to let this one slip away. You have to be happy for what Peter did tonight. It was a special night for him."

The Buffalo News points out that Steve Montador is with his sixth NHL team so he's done the meet-the-former-teammates thing before. Wednesday's game in the United Center was another of those affairs, the first time the Chicago defenseman has met up with the Buffalo Sabres since leaving as a free agent last spring.

And Montador had the same question everyone else does: What's up with the Sabres?

"I know they're having tough times but they have guys who can make plays and they have guys in the net who can steal a game, too," Montador said. "Part of their situation is definitely the injuries and no team would make excuses. Those guys would never really say it and I know [owner Terry Pegula] came out and said it and it's true. There's just so many competitors there that nobody's satisfied with the way things have gone."

Montador had a mostly solid two years with the Sabres, posting back-to-back five-goal seasons and totaling 49 points. He was also plus-16 last year, although his play tailed off at the end and he was a healthy scratch for Game Seven against Philadelphia.

"I've moved on," he said. "I enjoyed my time there, made good friends who I stay in contact with but the reality is I'm a Blackhawk now and I'm very happy to be here."

Montador got a four-year, $11-million deal from Chicago after the Sabres traded his rights to the Hawks just prior to the July 1 free agency period. Montador is a right-handed shot, something the Blackhawks needed and the Sabres miss. Montador entered Wednesday with five goals, 12 points, and a plus-2 rating.

"I've played on teams with talent but the depth and star power hasn't been this high," Montador said of the Hawks. "It's impressive, and we had good forwards in Buffalo. You see a lot of things even from guys who aren't the face of the franchise here and they make good plays. Our top players expect a lot of each [other] and everyone else does, too."

PhillyNews.com reports that Petr Svoboda, who spent parts of five seasons roaming the Flyers' blue line but became a player agent in 2002, was in town to speak with Flyers GM Paul Holmgren about his two clients: Jaromir Jagr and Jakub Voracek.

Holmgren told the Daily News last night that the discussion centered mostly on Jagr. Both players are skating on 1-year deals negotiated last summer.

Jagr, who turns 40 next month, said yesterday that nothing has changed in his mind and that he still would like to wait and see how his body holds up over the course of the full season before deciding his future plans.

"For sure, if I am healthy, I know that I definitely want to play next season," Jagr said. "For now, everything is still the same. I want to go through the playoffs with this team. But [Svoboda] isn't here for me."

The focus, invariably, then turns to Voracek, who is in quite a different situation as a pending restricted free agent. The 22-year old, who came to the Flyers from Columbus in the Jeff Carter trade, is on pace to match a career high with 50 points. His projections put him at 13 goals and 37 assists over 82 games. He is one of seven Flyers to skate in all 44 games this season.

"I think there is an adjustment period that goes on with any player who joins a new team," Holmgren said. "We've really been working on him to try and shoot more often. With some players, shooting is option 'A' or 'B.' For Jake, it might be option 'D' or even 'E,' for that matter.

"We think opponents are starting to key on his pass-first mentality and they're taking his options away. He's a talented player. The more he shoots, goals will start to pile up for him."

The article points out that Voracek earns $2.25 million this season but he will be due a raise. The only question is how big? He's durable, fast and talented. He's sixth on the team in power play time per game - a number that is rising because of his crafty ability to break into the offensive zone and slow the play down to set up the formation.

"He's strong on his skates," Jagr explained. "Not every guy can do that. If you dump it in, you only have a 50-50 chance of getting it back."

On the high side, fellow Czech Martin Erat - who has scored 50, 49 and 50 points in the last three seasons - is playing on a 7-year, $31.5 million deal in Nashville that pays $4.5 million per year. Voracek's numbers are right there. And he's 8 years younger than Erat.

An educated guess would peg Voracek's salary near $3.75 million next season. With a lot of time between now and June 30, Holmgren said there is no rush by either side on a new deal.

"Aside from the first few games of the season, I'd say that he's probably been one of our most consistent forwards," Holmgren said. "We're working with him on things and we still think there is a lot of room to grow. I think we're only beginning to scratch the surface."

James in NY: "Hi Chris, how about some Niemi Lovin'. While not quite top 3 tier, he and Rask (for a waived Corey Crawford) are leading my charge up the fantasy table in my league. Thanks."

Chris: 20-8-5, 2.27/ .920 splits with two shutouts. Pretty sweet numbers all-around James, no doubt. These are the sort of stats he should be posting because he's a quality netminder on a good team in San Jose.

It's pretty incredible that five goalies still have sub-2.00 GAAs too.

Email: chris.nichols@sportsnet.rogers.com

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