Dallas has signed Mike Ribeiro to a whopping five year, $25 million contract. Yep, he's the real deal and now he will be treated as such.  

J Status would like to thank all those who applied to join the HHKL. There were many great applicants among the 30 or so responding. If you are chosen, expect an email notification in the next 2 days.

Derek Roy left in the second period of yesterday's game with a shoulder injury. He did not return and he is considered day to day. What I have found with Roy over the last two years is that he has always returned far sooner than expected – often as soon as the very next game – so I don't rule him out of anything yet. 

My article on the Avs is up on The Hockey News now… 

Freddie Modin is seeking a second opinion for his back woes. He is still suffering from back spasms.

David Vyborny will return to the lineup Tuesday "for sure" (Vyborny's quote).

Gary Roberts is contemplating having surgery after breaking his left leg during a game against Buffalo on Dec. 29. Surgery likely would end Roberts' season and perhaps his career.

Mikko Koivu will not be in the lineup tonight. He practised in a regular practice jersey yesterday leading to speculation that he would play, but no his return will not happen tonight. Soon though. They play Thursday and Friday, it will be one of those games.

Simon Gagne could return for tomorrow's contest. He is officially "questionable". A decision will be made tomorrow morning, but I think it's a safe bet.

Ty Conklin has won his last seven starts and has two shutouts in his last four games. The Pens are winning games and to be honest I don't think it matters who is in net. Right now it's Conklin and this 'temporary pickup' will last for another three weeks or so… that's when Fleury comes back. 

As I speculated in my recent ramblings, Teemu Selanne will make a decision within the month of January. I figure that decision will be in two weeks and he will be back in three – playing for the Ducks. They can afford him if it is just for two months.

Mark Popovic was back in the lineup for Atlanta after missing 15 games with a sprained ankle.

The Bruins have put PJ Axelsson, arguably the team's best defensive forward on a line with Savard and Kessel (who has a team-worst minus-8). He had three points on Saturday and they will keep this line together. He is worth a short-term pickup in all formats.

Clarke MacArthur, recalled to replace Paille (concussion) in the lineup, scored for the Sabres yesterday.

New NHLPA leader Paul Kelly has stated that he is in favor of players going to the Olympics after 2010 and in favor of a World Cup every four years, two years after the Olympics. He is also against the fact that the players do not get a cut from any expansion fees that the NHL would earn, and he seems to be leaning heavily towards not reopening the CBA after the 08-09 season.

The Hawks are very happy with the play of diminutive forward Kris Versteeg, who has three points in three games since his recall.

Jason Williams suffered a setback in his return from a groin injury, so he'll be at least another week recovering from that. 

Joffrey Lupul will be out for the next few weeks with what has been diagnosed as a spinal cord bruise. He suffered it in the game against Toronto in a collision with his own teammate Derian Hatcher. There won't be anymore information on his situation for about two weeks. 

Martin Havlat was back in the lineup for the Hawks Sunday, but the team cannot seem to win with such a depleted lineup.

Well, that was quite the week I have to say. Those that bought the midseason guide, I apologize for the Washington snafu. I actually had several people go over it and edit everything – they found several mistakes. The problem was not them, however. After fixing all of their findings, I passed off the final part for formatting and instead of pasting the format, the Vancouver Canucks notes were pasted over the Washington notes. So I fixed that and re-sent it out. However, I later discovered that the Washington line combos were also pasted over. Keep in mind I was running on zero sleep Saturday. Very sorry for that. I did fix that part, but I did not want to send out the guide a third time for fear of filling your inbox. If you really want the WAS line combos, flip me an email I can send you the guide again, 100% fixed.

Number one email sent to me over the last 24 hours: "Hey Dobber, I didn't get my guide!" Number one reason they didn't get their guide: they bought the Keeper League Fantasy Pack for $14.95 – that package does not include the midseason guide.