A23

Marcel Durelle

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Another week gone in the NHL and now the season is almost a month old. Many teams are starting to gather momentum, such as the 8-1 Pittsburgh Penguins and the surprising 6-1-1 Colorado Avalanche, and some are still trying to find their footing, like the 1-6 Minnesota Wild and the as-of-yet winless Toronto Maple Leafs. Here are a few stories from around the NHL.

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Fallen Stars

Much like the Vancouver Canucks (Demitra and Sedin) and the Edmonton Oilers (Horcoff and Souray), the Dallas Stars have been hit hard by injuries as of late. With Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen already on the injured reserve, they now may be without Brad Richards and super-pest Steve Ott for a while. It's true what they say, when it rains it pours, though I doubt that saying rings as true in Dallas. Other injured stars this week include Sergei Gonchar (undisclosed injury) and Milan Lucic (broken finger)

Teenagers in NHL

There have always been a handful of players who make their NHL debuts at the age of 18, immediately after being drafted. Notable teenage sensations include Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Steve Yzerman, Ray Bourque and of course Sidney Crosby. But this year has to be considered a bit of an anomaly, with as many as six players drafted this year looking to stay with their clubs: New York's John Tavares, Tampa's Victor Hedman, Evander Kane in Atlanta. Florida's Dmitry Kulikov, and Colorado's duo of Matt Duchene and Ryan O'Reilly. This year's Calder race is more open than it has been in a long while. It should prove very interesting to see who has the best rookie season.

Habs/Leafs losing skids

In a just world, the fans in Montreal and Toronto would be rewarded for their incredible support with unprecedented success, multiple Stanley Cups, and monthly parades in which the players thanked the fans by showering them with cash from their massive contracts. Instead, fans of both teams are having their patience tested with bad starts to the season, particularly in Toronto, where the Leafs are (as I write this) winless in seven games. The Habs have at least broken a five-game losing streak, which could be a turnaround point for them. The Leafs' woes however just keep piling up. Aside from not being able to register their first win, they have also suffered a league-worst 32 goals against, having lost both Vesa Toskala and Johan Gustavsson to injury. Also on the injury front, they may have lost defenceman Mike Van Ryn permanently, as he is having reconstructive knee surgery that may end his career. The bright side for the Leafs? We are getting closer to the debut of Phil Kessel. But there are still plenty of dark days ahead in Toronto.

Trade Rumours

Many are calling for Montreal GM Bob Gainey to pick a goaltender and run with him. Since Carey Price has been less than stellar so far, Jaroslav Halak makes a case to be the starter. But with a clear need for a physical scoring forward, look for one of the two, likely Halak, to be traded before the end of the season.

In order to make room for new contracts for Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, the Chicago Blackhawks are going to be forced to make some tough decisions. The most likely scenario involves dealing defenceman Brian Campbell. But with a ridiculous $7.145 million dollar a year contract, he will be incredibly difficult to move.

With lots of trouble In Toronto, the rumour mill continues to grind out stories about Tomas Kaberle being traded. This does make some sense, as he is the only player aside from Luke Schenn (whom Brian Burke has deemed off-limits) who is actually marketable in a trade. Look for some moves by Burke before too long (Ron Wilson maybe?) but trading away their top defenceman seems unlikely.

That's it for one more week folks. In the immortal words of Red Green, keep your stick on the ice!

Marcel Durelle writes a weekly hockey column for [here]