Paul Kariya

For a few years, Anaheim Ducks fans have always got to this time of the year with a question in mind: was this year the last for the "Finnish Flash"?

Hopes were high until the free agency signing period started, after a very good season from Selanne, where he played a crucial role in getting the Ducks to the playoffs and in their special teams.

When it comes to uniforms, hockey is different than the other three major sports. Unlike basketball and football, the front of the jersey has only a logo instead of a number taking up most of the space (well...most of the time). Unlike baseball, each hockey team has a white jersey and a colored jersey instead of a white jersey and a gray jersey.

Does Sidney Crosby's absence from the All Star Game have any deeper impact? The short answer is absolutely not.

The game is essentially meaningless, and even the most die hard Crosby fans couldn't care less that he isn't taking part in the inconsequential exercise in scoring.

The long answer is that it's a very tough question to answer. While Crosby missing the game itself doesn't really matter, why he's missing it is a serious problem.

Paul Kariya will not play in the upcoming NHL season. After consulting with concussion specialist Dr. Mark Lovell, Kariya has decided to sit out the 2010-2011 season due to post-concussion syndrome.

Prior to this announcement, Kariya was being pursued by friend and former teammate Teemu Selanne to join him in signing with the Anaheim Ducks. 

Update:

Added info on Kennedy

Ilya Kovalchuk

The NHL is expected to accept the Devils' latest offer or it's off to the KHL for Ilya.

According to the Ottawa Citizen, the contract lasts 15 years and is worth $100M, which comes out to $6.66M a year. A coincidence? I think not.

For those who don't know, Oilers goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin's court hearing yesterday didn't go over very well.

Khabibulin will now spend a minimum of 30 days in jail. Once he gets out, he will need some time to get into shape before he returns to the Oilers.

Now that Khabibulin is out of the picture in Edmonton (for a couple months anyways) you have to believe they will take a long hard look at Antti Niemi.

Update:

Is Paul Kariya a Duck again? Well Ryan has to re-sign first...

Ilya Kovalchuk

Dmitry Chesnokov of Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Ilya Kovalchuk and his agent(s) have given the NHL a deadline to approve one of the many contracts the Devils and Kovalchuk have agreed upon. If the NHL does not approve any of them by today or tomorrow, it is very possible Kovalchuk ends up in the KHL.

James Mirtle is saying that Belanger signed with the Capitals. If this is true, it is a great signing by the Washington Capitals. If this is the case, I don't see why they would have to make another trade before announcing this signing. They are well below the 50 contract limit, and surely Belanger does not eat up the $5.3 million in cap space they have?

I have received several emails from fans in the past few days suggesting that Lee Stempniak has been offered a three-year deal worth a total of $9.5 million to play with the Islanders. I can confirm those rumors are 100 percent false, and he has not been offered that.

That is exactly the kind of deal Stempniak wants, and if he did indeed receive an offer like that, he would jump all over it. On a side note, he would be a good fit for the Islanders if he were to work out some sort of deal.