Empty Netter Assists - 9-30-09
Penguins
-The Penguins' hands all got a little heavier last night.
-Introducing the Penguins' opening night roster.
-"They have to gain that confidence and that only comes with time." - Goaltender John Curry on proving to Penguins management he can hang in the NHL.
-Forward Wade Brookbank is happy to be back in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
-Faceoff-Factor profiles forward Nick Johnson.
-The Stanley Cup and some other trophy will be on display tomorrow at the City-County Building.
Atlantic Division
-Assuming he plays this season, Michael Del Zotto will be comes the first 19-year-old defenseman to suit up for the Rangers since Brian Leetch in 1988.
-The Rangers will have a bunch of players on "The Late Show with David Letterman" tonight.
-The Islanders claimed forward Robbie Schremp off waivers from the Oilers. Schremp, the Oilers' first-round pick in 2004, spent part of the 2006-07 season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins when Edmonton did not have its own AHL affiliate.
-The Devils put forward Patrik Elias (right) and defenseman Mark Fraser on injured reserve and put defensemen Jay Leach, Rob Davison and forward Tim Sestito on waivers.
-The Flyers recalled Johan Backlund from Adirondack of the AHL and demoted forwards Jason Ward, Lukas Kaspar, David Laliberte and Patrick Maroon to Adirondack. Additionally, Flyers defenseman Randy Jones cleared waivers.
-The Devils got a goal and an assist each from Zach Parise and Travis Zajac in a 4-2 win against the Islanders.
Northeast Division
-Sabres defenseman Toni Lydman (hand) and forward Drew Stafford (concussion) are dinged up.
-Maple Leafs defenseman Mike Komisarek is dealing with a hamstring ailment.
-With the retirement of Colorado's Joe Sakic, Ottawa's Daniel Alfredsson (right) is now the longest tenured captain in the NHL. Time to throw a shirtless cigar and champagne party.
-The Senators demoted defenseman Christoph Schubert and Brian Lee to BInghamton of the AHL.
-The Canadiens demoted forwards Ben Maxwell, Tom Pyatt, defensemen Yannick Weber, Mathieu Carle and goaltender Curtis Sanford to Hamilton of the AHL.
Southeast Division
-The Panthers signed defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, their first-round pick in this summer's draft, to an entry-level deal after Kulikov was released out of a contract he had with a KHL team.
-Florida put former Penguins forward Jeff Taffe on waivers.
-Lightning forwards Adam Hall, a former Penguin, Ryan Craig and Brandon Bochenski all cleared waivers and were demoted to Norfolk of the AHL. Defenseman Matt Lashoff and Mike Lundin were put on waivers.
-The Thrashers signed forward Maxim Afinogenov ($800,000) and defenseman Mark Popovic ($600,000) to one year contracts and put defenseman Nathan Oystrick on waivers. Afinogenov (right) and Popovic were each in training camp on a tryout basis.
-The Capitals put forward Chris Bourque on waivers. He is the son of hall-of-fame defenseman Ray Bourque.
Central Division
-The Blue Jackets put forward Alexandre Picard and defenseman Mathieu Roy on waivers with the hopes of sending them to Syracuse of the AHL, returned forward Matt Calvert to his junior teamm signed defensemen David Liffiton and Dylan Reese, a former member of the Pittsburgh Forge, to two-way contracts and put forward Fredrik Modin on injured reserve due to a sprained right knee.
-The Predators demoted defensemen Alexander Sulzer, Nolan Yonkman, forwards Triston Grant, Peter Olvecky and Cal O'Reilly to Milwaukee of the AHL.
-Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom (right) was proclaimed the Ambassador of Honor from his home county of Dalarna in Sweden. We assumed whoever bestowed the honor on Lidstrom shook his hand in order to avoid the wrath of Kris Draper.
-Another NHL team falls in Europe. The Blackhawks lost to Switzerland's ZSC Lions, 2-1, and lose the VIctoria Cup. Cam Barker scored Chicago's only goal.
-Paul Kariya scored two goals for the Blues in a 6-0 defeat of Linkoping HC in Sweden.
Northwest Division
-The Canucks returned forward Cody Hodgson, a first-round pick in 2008, to his junior team and put defenseman Brad Lukowich, Michael Funk and Lawrence Nycholat on waivers.
-Vancouver demoted forward Michael Grabner and goaltender Corey Schneider to Manitoba of the AHL. Grabner (2007) and Schneider (2004) are each former first-round picks.
-Due to the Olympics, the Canucks will have a 14-game road trip this season.
-The Wild demoted forward Craig Weller to Houston of the AHL and put forwards Derek Boogaard and Benoit Pouliot on injured reserve.
-The Oilers demoted defenseman Theo Peckham to Springfield of the AHL and put forward Liam Reddox on waivers with the hopes of sending him to Springfield.
-Edmonton forward Fernando Pisani is dealing with a wonky back.
-Former Avalanche forward Peter Forsberg is dealing with another foot injury.
-Shootout goals from Mikko Koivu, Martin Havlat (right) and Antti Miettinen gave the Wild a 5-4 win against the Flyers.
Pacific Division
-"Those are my friends and guys who I grew up with in the minors, so it was tough. I'm not going to lie to you." - Ducks defenseman Ryan Whitney on watching his former team, the Penguins, win the Stanley Cup last season.
-The Coyotes signed former Canadiens and Penguins forward Robert Lang (right) to a one-year contract.
-This will actually be Lang's second run as a professional in Phoenix.
-"I think Nabby has something to prove to himself, to his teammates and to us." - Sharks coach Todd McLellan on his goaltender, Evgeni Nabokov.
-The Sharks signed goaltender Thomas Heemskerk to an entry-level contract.
Norris Division
-A preview of the Eastern and Western Conferences.
(Photo: Crosby-Peter Diana/Post-Gazette; Elias-Bill Kostroun/Associated Press; Alfredsson-Photobucket and your nightmares; Afinogenov-Gerry Broome/Associated Press; Lidstrom-Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images; Havlat-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Lang-Mike Stobe/Getty Images)