Hockey Hearsay

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The Vancouver Sun describes how one minute you are in the American Hockey League, wondering when you are going to get your next chance to prove you belong in the NHL.

The next, you are not only up with the big club, but all signs are pointing to a spot in the top four on the Vancouver Canucks defence skating alongside all-star Alex Edler.

Welcome to Chris Tanev's world, which has turned very quickly over the last 48 hours.

Tanev says he's happy to be back with the Canucks and we'll have to take his word for it because the soft-spoken 22-year-old doesn't exactly wear his emotions on his sleeve.

He is something of an emotional flat-liner, which the Canucks think is one of his strengths. He plays the game with a lot of patience and without many ups and downs. Coach Alain Vigneault is hoping that Tanev, with just 29 regular-season NHL games on his resume, can help settle down a Canuck defence that is suddenly having real trouble moving the puck out of its own zone.

"I am looking for a little bit better stability with the puck," Vigneault said Thursday as he discussed Tanev's recall. "Our whole defensive group here has been making some plays that have cost us quality scoring chances against that we need to get under control.

"One of our strongest assets is our transition, our defence to offence, and it really helps our forwards and it really helps defensively because as soon as we get the puck we make the right play and it's out of our end and in the other team's end and we're wearing them down. Right now, a lot of times the play that we are making is not the right play, we spend more time in our zone, we give the other team momentum, we give the other team scoring chances and we need to do a better job of that."

The Sun points out that the Canucks have been been struggling to find a replacement for the injured Sami Salo, who normally plays the right side alongside Edler. The Canucks tried moving some of their left-handed defencemen into that spot and the results were not good.

"We felt that bringing Chris up, a right-handed defenceman, would help our puck-moving ability," Vigneault said. "A lot of times the left-handed defenceman on the right side, it's tough for him to see the opening, to see the cross-ice seams that are open there … Right now, we are having some trouble with our puck movement on the back end and for those who remember Chris, he was a real solid puck-mover with a lot of confidence and really good reads … so we thought we'd call him up."

The Boston Herald notes that Brad Marchand returned from a five-game suspension last night, a banishment he earned for his dangerous clipping penalty on Vancouver’s Sami Salo on Jan. 7.

But as Marchand was set to return last night against the Devils, the Bruins winger was left to wonder why a hit much like his on Salo went unpunished by the league.

On Tuesday night, Ottawa’s Nick Foligno gave a similar low-bridge hit on Toronto captain Dion Phaneuf. Foligno got two minutes for clipping while Phaneuf, who went to the dressing room after being shaken up on the hit, did come back to finish the game and fight Foligno.

Though Foligno has been in trouble with the league before — he was fined $2,500 for an illegal check to the head two years ago — there was no suspension.

“Yeah I saw it. It looked very similar to mine. It was the same position on the ice, he got him in the same area about the same time, the puck was roughly in the same area. The only difference is Phaneuf got up and he didn’t get injured. But I’d be very surprised if that league didn’t look at it very closely,” said Marchand.

Like Marchand’s hit, the Foligno check did not technically violate Rule 44, which states “clipping is an act of throwing the body, from any direction, across or below the knees of an opponent.” Both Marchand and Foligno hit higher than the knee, but both upended their opponents in a dangerous manner.

While Phaneuf wasn’t hurt like Salo — something emphasized by director of player safety Brendan Shanahan in his video explanation of Marchand’s suspension — Marchand was under the belief that his punishment marked a new era in how the league dealt with these types of hits.

“It seems a little biased,” said Marchand. “They threw the book at me and other guys do it and they don’t even look at it. They seemed to have set a precedent that hits like that they’re going to take care of and guys are going to be punished for them. It would be a little unfair if I get five games, and a guy does it a few games later and gets nothing.”

While coach Claude Julien didn’t taken any direct shots at the league, he was hoping there would be better clarification on the rule.

“Those are the areas we have to clarify, because players are coming up to coaches and asking. ‘Why is he suspended five games and why is he not?’ There seems to be a really fine line there that is hard to clarify. That’s something we’ll hopefully get better (clarification on),” said Julien.

Marchand got 19 shifts in his return to the lineup, picking up no points in 16:40 of ice time.

Josh Harding isn't oblivious to the fact his name is churning through the NHL rumor mill, according to The Minneapolis Star Tribune.

It has been almost 10 years since he was drafted, so he knows how it works. The Wild goalie is a potential free agent and it's five weeks to the Feb. 27 trade deadline.

So since the Wild has yet to talk contract with him, could Harding help the Wild land that much-coveted top-six forward?

"You tell me," Harding said with a laugh. "I should be asking you the questions because you probably know more than me. I don't know what they're thinking of doing. If I did know, I'd probably tell you."

Harding, 27, has had an impressive comeback year after tearing the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee during last season's exhibition opener. He is 8-6-3 with a 2.44 goals-against average and .925 save percentage.

With Matt Hackett, 21, considered the Wild's "Goalie of the Future" and the Wild deep in goal with Darcy Kuemper and Johan Gustafsson developing, Harding might be bait, especially since Niklas Backstrom might not be as coveted.

Backstrom is turning 34 and has another year left on his deal at $6 million. He also has a no-trade clause.

"Being a No. 1 in this league is obviously the ultimate goal, but there's not much I can control," Harding said. "Whatever happens on the business side, that's what happens. I don't want to get it in my mind at all. There's a lot more important stuff to be worrying about than that.

"I've got to play good, have fun. I've always been a Minnesota Wild, so I want to battle with these guys every night. It's definitely better than rehabbing all year."

CSNPhilly.com writes that Lauren Pronger’s interview on her husband’s post-concussion syndrome (linked in yesterday's Hockey Hearsay), is haunting. In short, Chris Pronger is going through the identical stages that have plagued Keith Primeau and Ian Laperriere even to this day.

Pronger has occasional good days and more bad days and the two of them pray that one of these weeks, they can get consecutive days where he feels normal.

General manager Paul Holmgren said he holds no hope that Pronger will play either this season or in the playoffs.

The question now is, how does this impact the Flyers moving forward at next month’s NHL trade deadline?

Do the Flyers approach it as if Pronger’s career might be over as opposed to just this season?

“I’ve talked to Chris enough to know things aren’t going good,” Holmgren said. “We’re not going to make any rash decisions. We’ll continue to look at the team for the present and the future and if something comes up that makes sense, we’ll see what we can do.”

Does it now seem like a career-ending injury for Pronger?

“I don’t know,” Holmgren replied.

“One of our doctors said to me that concussions are like finger prints. None of them are the same. We hope for the best for Chris. Over time here, maybe we need to look to prepare for the worst. I don’t think we’re at that point right now.”

Holmgren said Pronger has tried some new therapies and is wearing prescription glasses which seems to help him. He will see his doctors again on Feb. 1.

Zach Bogosian isn’t quite ready to go, but The Winnipeg Sun reports he should be by Saturday.

The Winnipeg Jets blue-liner missed his fifth consecutive game with an undisclosed lower-body injury on Thursday, but he and head coach Claude Noel were hopeful he’d be ready to face the Florida Panthers this weekend.

“I’m close. It should be soon, I’ve had good skate the past few days,” Bogosian said after participating in the morning skate. “The recovery is going well. It’s feeling pretty good, I just want to make sure it’s nothing something that’s going to set me back even more. Skating is a big part of my game, so anytime you kind of eliminate that, I'm not as effective out there. I’m making sure to take the time to get it healed.”

Bogosian, who has three goals and 10 points in 42 games this season, was limited to a season-low 12 minutes and 16 seconds on Jan. 10 as he left early in the second period of a game against the Boston Bruins.

“It’s lower-body,” said Bogosian, who wouldn’t elaborate on the nature of the injury. “At the end of the first period, I felt something. I tried to come back in the second and it just didn’t feel right.

“It’s definitely not much fun watching. I miss it a lot.”

The Washington Post details how Bruce Boudreau’s office inside Honda Center doesn’t feature much in the way of personal mementos. A few family photographs and pictures from his playing days sit atop file cabinets and look out toward a desk strewn with the Anaheim Ducks’ schedule, game plans and DVDs containing footage of upcoming opponents.

But while Boudreau hasn’t had much opportunity to move in, he’s wasted no time rediscovering his methods. When the Washington Capitals fired Boudreau two months ago, they weren’t the only ones who needed a fresh start.

Here in Southern California, Boudreau has found an opportunity to take what he learned from his first stint as an NHL coach and apply it. He was able to return to trusting his own instincts, which the 57-year-old acknowledged he questioned toward the end of his tenure with the Capitals.

“You’ve got to be true to yourself,” Boudreau said this month. “I found that I was getting away from that this year. People were saying, ‘Do this’ and ‘Do that.’ I wasn’t doing what I believed was the right thing.”

Boudreau had guided the Capitals to the Presidents’ Trophy and a pair of top seeds in the Eastern Conference and managed an in-season switch from a high-flying offense to a trap system since his arrival on Thanksgiving day, 2007. But those accomplishments ultimately were overshadowed by disappointment in the postseason, where the team failed to advance past the second round during his tenure.

In training camp it was apparent that Boudreau, who had developed a strong reputation as a plucky players’ coach, was trying to evolve into more of a disciplinarian to hold the Capitals’ stars accountable. But through 22 games and a 12-9-1 start to the 2011-12 season, it was clear that the players were no longer responding to his direction.

Capitals General Manager George McPhee fired Boudreau on Nov. 28 and hours later replaced him with former Capitals captain Dale Hunter, who is 13-9-1 in Washington heading into Friday’s game at Carolina.

From his office in Anaheim, Boudreau reiterated how grateful he was for the opportunity he received from the Capitals but expressed some regret that toward the end of his time in Washington, his decisions were based on the advice of others.

“A head coach needs to be doing what he believes is right,” Boudreau said. “I don’t know why I got away from it, because everything I had done was right — or it worked.”

Boudreau said he would leave the rink second-guessing his day-to-day decisions, from alignments to deciding the best roles for players. He declined to elaborate further on what caused him to question his convictions.

When Ducks General Manager Bob Murray hired him to replace Randy Carlyle, Boudreau went straight back to his instincts.

“The fact that [General Manager] Bob [Murray] thought enough of me to hire me right away — I want to win for him. I want to show him his faith in me was justified,” Boudreau said. “Of all the guys who have gotten fired this year, the only one who’s been hired out of all those good coaches is me. I want to justify that faith in me more than ever.”

The Orange County Register remarks that upon hearing his coach remark to reporters that he is a "silent star in the making," Luca Sbisa looked a bit surprised and broke into a wide grin.

"Oh yeah," the Ducks defenseman said. "I didn't hear that. I mean, it's good to hear stuff like that. I haven't heard that too much."

The Ducks are soaring with a 6-0-1 record in their past seven games. Sbisa, 21, has been a part of the best hockey the Ducks have played since they gathered together here in the middle of September.

Some of the inspired play has come from youngsters Sbisa, Nick Bonino and Matt Beleskey, who are all thriving under regular roles given to them by Coach Bruce Boudreau and eating up the positive approach the coach has taken with them as individuals and the team as a whole.

"It's definitely good to know that coach sees something special in you and he believes in you," Sbisa said. "He gives a player a lot of confidence. It makes it so much better to come to work and go on the ice and want to work on your weaknesses and all that stuff.

"I mean, you have a smile on your face all the time. That's what I feel like with the new coaching staff. They're so positive. It just makes it so much easier."

Sbisa has been promoted to the second defense pairing and has taken off on the offensive side with eight points over his past 12 games. Beleskey's two goals and six assists have all come under Boudreau while Bonino has all three goals and three assists since he was recalled from Syracuse on Dec. 17.

In Boudreau and assistants Bob Woods and Brad Lauer, Sbisa said the Ducks have a coaching staff that hates when mistakes are made, like any coaching staff does, but is also willing to let the players work through them.

"If you make a mistake, they put you back out there and they want you to work on that," Sbisa said. "And it shows in their play. Bonino is playing really good. Matt Beleskey has been good. It's like two different kinds of players from the beginning of the season until now."

The Chicago Tribune says Ray Emery remembers the first time he laced up skates and stepped onto the ice.

The Blackhawks goaltender was 5 or 6 and growing up in Hamilton, Ontario, when he took his first strides and began a journey that has taken him to the NHL.

On Thursday, Emery helped 70 children from the Chicago Housing Authority build some memories of their own as he teamed with 1WORLD Sports to host the second annual Blackhawks "Event to Inspire" at a West Side rink.

There were a lot of falls, a lot of laughs and a lot of learning.

"It's special to be a part of some kids skating for the first time," Emery said while surrounded on the ice by children ranging in age from 6 to 15. "Anytime you get a chance to experience something, especially younger kids where they're doing a healthy activity and they're learning teamwork, it's just a positive thing all around."

Part of the sessions concentrated on athlete life lessons, including proper nutrition, while others were on the ice getting instructions — mostly on staying on their feet — from Emery and other Hawks personnel.

"I really enjoy this type of thing where kids are getting a chance to maybe do something they don't normally do and spend some time in a positive way," said Emery, who was sans goalie pads and mask and borrowed teammate Viktor Stalberg's gloves and stick for the event. "It helps grow the game. Especially to kids who … might not know a lot about it."

The children were selected for the event as a reward for good grades, attendance in school or how well they're doing at home.

Emery, who will start in goal for the Hawks against the Panthers on Friday night at the United Center, said Thursday's event was as enjoyable for him as it was the children.

"It seems like the kids really had fun and I'm definitely having fun just exposing people to the game," Emery, 29, said. "It's fun being around kids. It's one part of the game I really like. Kids kind of don't care if you're playing well or not playing well. They're just happy to kind of be around — it's a refreshing part of the job."

Michigan Live recalls how Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock mixed and matched forward combinations and juggled his lines often the first six weeks of the season, but couldn’t find the right mix.

Then Todd Bertuzzi returned on Nov. 19, after missing six games due to swelling in his ear and dizziness, and everything fell into place.

Bertuzzi was placed on a line with Pavel Datsyuk, and both suddenly were rejuvenated. Along with Johan Franzen, they have formed a consistent, if not dominant, top line.

Bertuzzi had eight goals and 12 assists in his past 25 games, then scored Thursday night against Phoenix and also tallied the only goal in Detroit's shootout win.

He had just three points (goal, two assists) in his first 14 games.

"I think he’s been real strong on pucks and a real good net presence for those guys and good defensively and energized and playing well," Babcock said. "It’s given us a real good line there."

Bertuzzi said he and his linemates are on the same page as far as how to get the job done offensively.

"I think when you play with guys for a certain amount of time and you practice with them, you start finding out their habits and where they go," Bertuzzi said.

"Obviously, playing with Pav is a treat, makes it lot easier. He can suck in two or three guys and put you in those positions, and you end up getting a couple of breakaways out of it, too. He can make those passes, no-lookers."

The 6-foot-3, 229-pound Bertuzzi creates space for his linemates.

"He’s been playing great with the puck. He’s heavy on the puck. He’s hard to knock off the puck," Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom said. "He’s been working hard, and he always goes to the hard areas, in front of the net or in the corners, where he’s hanging onto the puck and making plays. So, he’s been playing terrific for us."

Said Franzen: "He’s really caught fire. He’s a great skater, a big body, wins a lot of pucks, can hold onto it, creates a lot of room for Pavel and me."

Email: chris.nichols@sportsnet.rogers.com

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