Stamkos, Crosby on realignment

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Jets Governor Mark Chipman, via The Winnipeg Free Press: "We're very excited about this. There are three things about this that I really like. Central time zone will be important for us from a travel standpoint and from a broadcast perspective. Our fans will be able to watch our games at a regular time," said Chipman, now a veteran of two whole NHL board of governors meetings. "If we had gone into the Northwest there would have been a fair number of games coming from the West Coast and starting later. Two, we get two Original Six teams. I don't even know how to quantify that. Those are high-watermark organizations that you aspire to play and be like. So that's great. The other outcome is our fans will get to see every team, every year. We like that."

He added: "It's a good day. I judge it to be a positive development for our franchise," said Chipman. "We didn't have a real strong view coming in. Other teams had a bigger stake in the outcome. We would have been very happy playing in the Northwest against Edmonton, Vancouver and Calgary. It was very thoughtfully presented and the thoughts from the teams that weighted in also took a thoughtful approach. It wasn't the least bit acrimonious. People made their case but I got the feeling that what was agreed to was in the best interest of everyone. You can't satisfy everyone and everyone knew that coming in."

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Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis, via his own blog called Ted's Take:

Rivals.

6 times each we shall play.

Like the old days– The “Patrick” division days. Now it is called a Conference instead.

Tough competition.

Short and easier travel schedules.

Lots of fan interest.

Tough to make the playoffs. Tough road once you do qualify for the playoffs.

Change is good.

This will be good and positive for the game.

Many of you asked for it - you got it.

The two great tragedies in life - “Not getting what you want and getting what you want”.

Thank you.

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Penguins center Sidney Crosby, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: "It's pretty much what we're used to except we're adding a couple of teams. I think everyone's probably pretty happy with that. Washington is a pretty good rival.

"It's not really a big change. I don't see anyone really being disappointed about this."

And: "I think playoffs don't really need any extra incentive, but I think if anything [starting within each conference] might add a little more excitement for the fans. They're more familiar with the teams and the matchups."

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Lightning winger Ryan Malone, via the St. Petersburg Times: "All the Canadian teams, that's a far trip, I don't know. I didn't see that coming. I was going to say something funny about Gary Bettman but I'm going to keep it to myself."

Teammate Steven Stamkos, a native of Unionville, Ontario, outside Toronto, said: "I get another trip in to see family and friends. But that's something we'll deal with next year. We have enough to think about this season."

Coach Guy Boucher: "I can't say … that this makes me feel great. But we'll see. Sometimes things that don't look so good end up being the best."

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Sabres defenceman Robyn Regehr, via The Buffalo News: "Everyone wants a level playing field. Television, that's a big thing. Teams want to provide their fan with a game that's at a decent hour. Teams like Detroit, Columbus, Nashville, when they're going out to the West Coast to play, their games are on so late."

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Canes GM Jim Rutherford, via The Raleigh News & Observer: "This is a good conference for us. We are with teams we have historically done well with our fans in terms of attendance.

"From the Hurricanes' point of view, it makes a lot of sense. Obviously we're in a conference with very good teams. This business goes in cycles and we're having a very down year, but if we stick with it we can build our team back up and compete against the top teams."

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Jackets President Mike Priest, via The Columbus Dispatch: “This is a fantastic night for the Blue Jackets. This is what’s right for the league, but it’s also something that will make a big, big difference for our franchise, both on the ice and off the ice. This is huge.”

Jackets GM Scott Howson: “Our fans really want it, and I think it’s important for every city to see every team. This takes away one western Canada trip and one California trip from us each season. Once we settled that, we didn’t have a strong preference where we ended up, but we’re really pleased with the way it ended up.”

The Blue Jackets say they get additional revenue of almost $75,000 per game — tickets, merchandise, etc. — when an Eastern Conference club plays in Nationwide. Now, all 15 of them will come.

“It gives us a chance to grow our revenues,” Howson said. “We’re going to see an uptick in our per-game revenue because we’ll be seeing more teams from the East, and we’re not losing Detroit.”

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Stars owner Tom Gaglardi, via ESPN Dallas: "I'm not sure we're not the biggest winner in the whole league. I feel pretty wonderful. It's something I've chased ever since I started to chase ownership of the Stars. It's a great day for Dallas."

Also: "For our players it's going to be less travel. We're not going to get stuck on the West Coast where we can't get home from games as often. We're going to play in a conference where everyone is in our own time zone, except for Detroit and Columbus which are an hour ahead of us. That's much more palatable than the alternative. We'd rather play an hour early than two hours late."

And: "I think the fans win because you are going to have every team in every building every year. I think that is worth a lot."

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Wings GM Ken Holland, via The Detroit Free Press: "We like this new format. We get every team in the league in our building at least once. The first two rounds of the playoffs are within the conference. We don't have to travel nearly as much."

Also: "It's a much better set-up for us. It really cuts down our travel. We're going to play many more road games in prime time, our fans won't have to stay up till 10, 10:30 to watch us on the west coast. We're very happy with this."

Captain Nicklas Lidstrom on playing more games in the Eastern time zone: "I think that makes it easier. You can be home by 12:30, so that's a big difference compared to going to the West Coast. We travel a lot to different time zones to play, and that takes a toll on the body."

Goaltender Jimmy Howard: "For us to be able to play more in our own time zone I think would be great, because just to be able to get home earlier, not spend as many days on the road, we'd get to see our families more."

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Luc Robitaille, Kings' president of business operations, via the Los Angeles Times: "We like the fact that every team on the East Coast will come to L.A.. We think it's a great thing for our fans and a great thing for us."

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Wild winger Dany Heatley, via The Minneapolis Star-Tribune: "I think it's going to be a good division. Obviously travel is a lot better for us. There are some real good teams in this division and it's going to be very competitive. We lose some big rivalries out west, but there will be new ones coming."

Wild centre Matt Cullen: “It’s hard to say whether or not it helps us. I’m sure every team in the league is evaluating that right now. It’s a big change for everyone. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.”

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Sharks GM Doug Wilson, via the San Jose Mercury News: He called the new system “right for our fans and the game.”

“Sometimes the easiest thing is not always the right thing,” Wilson said of the alternative option that would have simply put Winnipeg in the West and moved Detroit or Columbus to the East. “Sometimes if everybody accepts a little bit of the burden, the right thing is done.”

So that you can see them side-by-side, here's a look at how the NHL divisions/ conferences currently break down compared with how they'll look next season under the newly-approved plan.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Atlantic: Pittsburgh, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York Islanders

Northeast: Boston, Toronto, Buffalo, Ottawa, Montreal

Southeast: Florida, Washington, Winnipeg, Tampa Bay, Carolina

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Central: Chicago, Detroit, St. Louis, Nashville, Columbus

Northwest: Minnesota, Vancouver, Edmonton, Colorado, Calgary

Pacific: Dallas, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Jose, Anaheim

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CONFERENCE A: Los Angeles, Anaheim, San Jose, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Colorado and Phoenix

CONFERENCE B: Detroit, Chicago, St. Louis, Minnesota, Nashville, Columbus, Winnipeg and Dallas

CONFERENCE C: Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Boston, Buffalo, Florida and Tampa Bay

CONFERENCE D: Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, New Jersey, Washington and Carolina

The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that former Wild enforcer Derek Boogaard had a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head trauma when he died in May at age 28.

The disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a close relative of Alzheimer's disease and has been diagnosed in the brains of more than 20 former football players. It can be diagnosed only posthumously.

The researchers at the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy who examined Boogaard's brain said the case was particularly sobering because Boogaard was a young, high-profile athlete, dead in midcareer, with a surprisingly advanced degree of brain damage.

"To see this amount? That's a 'wow' moment," said Ann McKee, a neuropathologist and a co-director of the center.

The degenerative disease has been found in the brains of all four former NHL players examined by the Boston University researchers. The others were Bob Probert, who died at age 45; Reggie Fleming, 73; and Rick Martin, 59.

CTE is believed to be caused by repeated blows to the head. Scientists say it shows itself in symptoms like memory loss, impulsiveness, mood swings, even addiction.

Scientists told Boogaard's family they were shocked to see so much damage in someone so young. It appeared to be spreading through his brain and, had he lived, his condition likely would have worsened into middle-age dementia.

The article continues that NHL is not convinced that there is a link between hockey and CTE.

"There isn't a lot of data, and the experts who we talked to, who consult with us, think that it's way premature to be drawing any conclusions at this point," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman told the Times. "Because we're not sure that any, based on the data we have available, is valid."

The researchers at Boston University say that CTE is a nascent field of study, but that there is little debate that the disease is caused by repeated blows to the head. They said that the NHL was not taking the research seriously.

"We don't know why one person gets it more severely than another person, why one person has a course that is more quick than another person," said Dr. Robert A. Stern, a neuropsychologist and a co-director for the Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy. "But what we are pretty sure of is, once the disease starts, it continues to progress."

Linking CTE to Boogaard's rapid descent in his final years is complicated by his drug addiction.

"He had problems with abuse the last couple years of his life, and that coincided with some of the cognitive and behavioral and mood changes," Stern said. "What's the chicken? What's the egg?"

Officials from both the Wild and the Rangers declined comment to the Times.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that Penguins center Sidney Crosby did not skate with his teammates today at practice at Consol Energy Center after colliding with teammate Chris Kunitz in the third period of a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins last night.

Crosby's knee absorbed the brunt of the impact, and he was in visible pain while skating back the bench, but he never missed a shift.

At practice today, Crosby emerged from the locker room to speak briefly to a crowd of about 8,000 students who were attending practice.

The Edmonton Journal points out that the frustration still creeps into Ryan Whitney’s voice whenever the Edmonton Oilers defenceman delivers a progress report.

He’s played just 10 games in the last 12 months — long enough that he knows now he has to adjust his expectations.

Last December, when he left the Oilers lineup to have surgery on his right ankle, Whitney had amassed 27 points in 35 games. He was ­effortlessly playing a team high 25 minutes a night and was plus 13 on a team that finished in 28th place at a collective minus-39.

Picking up where he left off hasn’t been so easy.

Whitney didn’t even return to the blue-line until the Oilers season was five games old then just as he was getting his game legs under him, he sprained his right knee and missed another 13 contests.

“I think I’m going in the right direction but it’s tough,” he said. “Obviously the numbers aren’t there, which isn’t what I had hoped, but I am trying not to worry about it. I just want to play solid, get back into game shape.

“The points last year were probably a little unrealistic. Usually, I’m a point-every-other-game guy. Hopefully I can get back to that pace. But really, I’m not even worried about that. I just want to be better defensively. I want to start feeling better.”

The Journal notes that ten games into his comeback, Whitney has one assist, he’s minus four and he’s averaging 18 minutes of ice time a game.

His expectations are considerably higher than those of head coach Tom Renney, who assured his defenceman that his game will come around.

“There’s a lot of things to catch up with here,” said Renney.

“Those first couple of games aren’t going to be easy for him and he needs to understand that and just keep the game simple, just measure his success by simplifying his game as opposed to this masterpiece that he likes to paint.

“I think there is some frustration there with respect to how he gauges his own performance. As a coach and coaching staff, we’re thrilled with someone when they’re a plus player at the end of the night, if they’ve created opportunity, created good chances, defended well. All of that will translate into the type of numbers that Ryan would like anyway. It’s just going to take some time.”

The Montreal Gazette indicates that Max Pacioretty is hoping to pick up where he left off before he was suspended three games for a hit on Pittsburgh defencemen Kris Letang.

“I was starting to get it going after being in a bit of a slump,” said Pacioretty, who will be back in the lineup Tuesday night when the Columbus Blue Jackets visit the Bell Centre.

Pacioretty, who’s still testy about the three-game ban imposed by NHL vice-president Brendan Shanahan, said that it was tough watching his teammates during their three-game sortie to California, but he was happy to see them earn a point for a shootout loss in San Jose and then win in Los Angeles.

“It’s good to come back to some momentum,” started the Canadiens' leading goal-scorer. “The guys have played pretty good in the last couple of games. Hopefully, I can step in and help them.

“The guys were joking around that I was on vacation in California, but I think I was working a lot harder than they were,” Pacioretty added. “The coaches had me up pretty early working out. My legs feel great right now, I feel refreshed and ready to go.”

Pacioretty’s return will have a domino effect on the forward alignment. He’ll be on a line with Tomas Plekanec, who took Monday off to be with his wife who delivered a baby boy Sunday, and Brian Gionta.

Travis Moen, who was on that line at the end of the California trip, goes back to the third line with Lars Eller and Andrei Kostitsyn.

Head coach Jacques Martin said Louis Leblanc, who made his NHL debut in California, will possibly play against Columbus. In fact, the Kirkland native played enough that he will make his local debut on the fourth line with Mathieu Darche and Petteri Nokelainen.

PhillyNews.com writes that when the Flyers' group of carefully selected alumni walk out of the Phillies clubhouse and onto the ice at Citizens Bank Park on New Year's Eve to take on the New York Rangers' alumni, they will do so with a goaltender who only a few hardcore fans remember.

Mark "Trees" Laforest, who played 38 unremarkable games in Philadelphia from 1987-89 with an 87 percent save percentage, will man the crease for the Flyers. In fact, it's a rather fitting fate for a franchise that has featured a lot of unremarkable names in net over its 44-year history.

Ron Hextall is jealous of "Trees," who was his backup for those two seasons.

Hextall, now 47, was the Flyers' first choice in goal. Sadly, he will be unable to play after undergoing back surgery last summer.

But that doesn't mean he didn't think twice about accepting the invitation.

"I'm really disappointed to not be able to take part in the game," Hextall said in an interview last week while the Flyers were on the West Coast. "When I saw the rosters come out for the game, I told myself that I've got to play. But that would be thinking with my heart and not my head. I had surgery and the doctor told me to be careful for about a year.

"It was tempting. I know I could stand in there, but I wouldn't be able to do much. It's not my nature to only play halfway."

Ron Hextall just wanted one more shot at the Rangers, outdoors on New Year's Eve.

"It would have been great," Hextall said. "The friends that I've made in Philly are friends for life. I will try and wrangle my schedule to get there for the celebration. I just wish I could be on the ice."

Hextall is the assistant general manager of the Los Angeles Kings, where he is a key decision-maker on Dean Lombardi's staff. He remains in close contact with Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren and senior vice president Bob Clarke, saying they speak "consistently."

When he's in Los Angeles, Hextall helps Lombardi with all of the day-to-day operations of the team. He also spends about 5 to 7 days per month in Manchester, N.H., where he is the general manager of the AHL's Monarchs.

Chris K: "Hey Chris!

I have a questions for you. I want to pick Lupul up, but I don't know who to drop. I have Malkin, D. Sedin, Marleau, Kessel, Backes, Giroux, Hartnell, Hossa and Selanne on my team. Stats for F/D are G, A, PPP, GWG, PIMs, Hits and Blocked Shots. I don't want to drop either Hartnell or Backes because they help with my hits and PIMs. So I was thinking either Selanne or Hossa. What would you do?

Thanks for the help and I really appreciate you doing this!"

Chris: I get where you're coming from with what Hartnell and Backes bring to the table for you. With that in mind, and given that you're in a fairly shallow league since the sizzling-hot Joffrey Lupul is a free agent, I'd actually be more inclined just to stand pat and not make a move to add him.

Both Hossa and Selanne are significantly lower risk plays from today through April and your team is loaded with talent otherwise. Lupul is a great play these days in the vast majority of situations, but in yours I'd actually leave him be. I'm much more confident that Hossa and Selanne will produce the rest of the way than I am of Lupul's chances in that area.

Email: chris.nichols@sportsnet.rogers.com

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