Someone in the forum wondered if I was implying that Bergeron will somehow replace Burns in my ramblings below. I didn't imply that at all. I said that it could hurt Brent Burns, which is true. If Burns' power-play time is reduced by one single second per game as a result of this – than he is hurt by this. "Hurt" does not mean replaced. It means…instead of a 53-point breakout season, it will only be 52 points. But I did imply a couple of things: 1) Burns will never be a 60-point guy anyway as a defenseman. 2) Bergeron will be in the bad books by January – so 29-point first half, and eight point second half.

The Wild have acquired Marc-Andre Bergeron for a third-round pick. This was a great pickup, as Bergeron has shown that he can flourish if he is made "the man". In Minny, he will be the man. This could hurt Brent Burns, but I doubt you would see Burns reach 60 points regardless (unless he is moved back up to forward). I think Bergeron will storm out of the gates, but will wear out his welcome in the second half. Just my take on it. That being said… I don't believe NHL teams were storming the gates to get their hands on this guy – so why give up a third for him? Just sign him as a UFA in three weeks. You'd get him free that way!

Trevor Linden will announce his retirement tomorrow. His career, from a fantasy standpoint, was a weird one. He was money in the bank for 70 points… until he hit his prime. From that point on, he was virtually fantasy worthless! Not a lot players I can say that about. 

The Avs acquired Marty Sertich from the Stars. He's a skilled offensive player, but I doubt he'll crack the lineup. 

Michael Russo has indicated in his blog that the Wild are close to a deal to land a Western Conference defenseman. 

The Kings have fired Marc Crawford. Poor guy, what a ripoff. That's like the Leafs firing Ron Wilson in two years because they won't make the playoffs. The Kings are on the cusp. They have a great hockey team with a bright future. And Crawford coaches through all the crappy months only to be fired when the road starts to smooth out.

As I alluded to a few days ago here, the Sabres made official their affiliation with Portland. 

Matthias Norstrom has retired. His career high was 27 points two years ago, and a decade ago he topped out at 90 penalty minutes. 

The Fantasy Prospects Report Update is now uploaded. Included: update on Igor Makarov, update on Ryan Potulny, added Corey Crawford and Peter Harrold profiles (CHI and LA), as well as expanded 2008 Draft coverage. Go ahead and pick it up in your Downloads section (assuming you were smart enough to buy it, that is) 

For the last couple of days, apparently the Prospects Report and the Keeper League Fantasy Pack were removed from the Shop page so people were unable to buy. I apologize for this. I have put them back on and they can now be purchased for instant download. 

There is a 15-year-old kid named Ryan Nugent- Hopkins who was taken first overall in a bantam draft last month by Red Deer. Word is that he was fantastic in the annual prospects camp, skating circles around 15-17 year olds. Thanks to Andrew Walker at BIG105 and The Drive Sports for passing that on.

Lance Hornby is reporting in the Toronto Sun that the team is interested in Wade Redden. If true, that would be… in a word – dumb. The team's strength and weakness is the fact that they have too many offensive defensemen and not enough defensive ones. McCabe, Kaberle, White, Kubina, Colaiacovo and Stralman can all get 40 points… but only Kronwall can keep it away from the front of the net. They need to get rid of two of their offensive D and bring in two defensive ones. The notion of bringing in Redden is ridiculous. Hornby says the frontrunners for Redden are Florida, Chicago, Nashville and Philadelphia. My money is on Chicago.

Curtis Sanford will probably not be back with the Canucks. Expect Alex Auld to return there.

Paul Holmgren would like to sign Carter, Umberger and Jones before the draft June 20.

Joe Sakic will announce his plans for next year by the end of the this week (probably).

The Denver Post is reporting that Andrew Brunette and the Avs have not spoken, so expect him to be a UFA on July 1.

Jose Theodore, however, could sign with the Avs soon. 

Ron Wilson's agreement was for four years. I think with a couple of good drafts, trades and free agent signing, things should be back on track for this franchise. Why they don't try to sign Blake Wheeler, I don't know.

Dallas signed Toby Peterson to a two-year, one way contract. It was for near the minimum, so they can still send him down without being hurt too badly financially, but they loved what this guy did for them in the playoffs. They also signed Dan Jancevski to a two year, two-way deal. Neither are of fantasy significance.

Montreal signed Maxim Lapierre to a two-year contract that is said to be one way.

Niko Kapanen has signed with Ak Bars Kazan of the RSL
 

Colin McPhee still needs to email me at   \n [email protected] This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it to give me contact information, etc. He won the third prize of the Dobber Playoff Pool. If anybody knows him – get the word out! Thanks to all 2250 teams who participated in this year's pool.