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Angus here. Another night to ask me any fantasy hockey-related questions! Cut-off for questions is midnight EST. Check the thread out here!

The Avs have extended David Jones for two years. He is in the mix for the final top six spot, but I just don’t see it.

The Oilers have signed another big fighter for the blue line, along the same lines as Steve MacIntyre. Matt Nickerson, 24, is a former Dallas draft pick. He is 6-4, 230 and wracks up the PIMs. I doubt he’ll make the squad.

The Oil also signed former Pens farmhand Chris Minard.

The Panthers signed Jeff Taffe. A good decision for Taffe, as he should be able to stick in that lineup in a checking capacity.

Pittsburgh has signed a Dobber favorite, Chris Conner. I always felt he was an underrated winger who failed to get chances because of his size. In Pittsburgh he will be a depth player, unless Caputi and Tangradi blow it in camp and neither makes the team. If that happens, look for Conner to get a look on a scoring line – and I’m sure you all understand what that could mean.

The Canucks have signed minor-league agitator Tanner Glass.

The Leafs have signed Tim Brent, who is a superstar at the AHL level but lacks the strength to carry that to the NHL. He’s insurance if Grabovski or Stajan go down, nothing more.

The Isles have signed minor leaguers Mark Flood (D) and Greg Mauldin (W).

I never thought I’d see a large group of fans come together for an aging offensive player who averages fewer than 70 points a season. TWO online petitions for the Habs to re-sign Kovalev? I wonder if they realize he has just 264 points in 314 games in a Montreal uniforum. That’s a 69-point pace, assuming he plays 82 games (which he doesn’t, he averaged about 76 since hejoined the team, which makes his average 64 points per). Some Kovalev lovers would argue with me that it is the other things that he brings to the game. What would that be? Consistency? Defense? Quit kidding yourself – he’s there for offense and only when he feels like it. Those Habs fans who see the light and do not want their team to overpay for this guy need to start a counter online petition: “Don’t Sign Kovalev”

It’s slow for hockey news at this time of year now that free agency has died off, so sometimes you have take something barely worth mentioning and blow it up into something that brings in the readers by wording your story in a certain way and then putting any logic that refutes things – or the “voice of reason” – as a tiny little afterthought at the bottom of your story. Like some media outlets are doing with the Chicago Blackhawks thing. Zzzzzzz nothing will come of it. Bor-ring.

On a somewhat related note, my mailman doesn’t deliver mail most Fridays, and any time it rains (he has a lot of tenure).

The Thrashers made some minor signings – Drew McIntyre and Jason Krog were signed to shore up their system. Krog has great chemistry with Brett Sterling, so if the latter doesn’t make the team again he’ll really tear up the AHL.

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