The Fantasy Guide and Draft List (BUY HERE) are updated up to yesterday. Next update will be tomorrow.

Jiri Tlusty and Tyler Bozak were cut today. Also cut – Nikolai Kulemin and Carl Gunnarsson. Tlusty should be ashamed of himself – the Jiri who played in February and March should have been the Jiri who came to camp.

Ales Hemsky is questionable for Saturday because of his groin injury.

Rob Blake has been named captain of the Sharks.

The Bruins have sent Vladimir Sobotka down. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – he is absolutely on the wrong team. He’d make 29 other rosters. This is proof positive that Krejci will play in the opener.

Judge Baum has decided that neither Balsillie nor the NHL will get the Coyotes, but the bottom line is the NHL will get to try again. I’m sure anyone could have guessed months ago that after months of this stuff we would be back where we started. But, at least we killed some time (and trees) reading (and writing) about it.

Niemi is the victor! Chicago has actually decided against a three-headed goalie monster and they have WAIVED Corey Crawford. A solid goaltender who deserves to be a backup somewhere. I hope a team picks him up.

Sergei Kostitsyn has refused his AHL demotion. He has been suspended. This could be trouble folks. KHL kind of trouble. NHL teams don’t take too kindly to babies. SK has asked to be traded.

Nathan Gerbe has been cut. Tim Kennedy had a monster camp and he will stick. Gerbe had an excellent final two games, and made it a tough call, but he goes down. Mike Weber was also cut.

The Isles have cut Calvin De Haan, Greg Moore and Trevor Smith.

The Flames have cut Jamie Lundmark (he just can’t get a break, unbelievable) and Colin Stuart.

The Caps have assigned Neuvirth to Hershey. They recalled Boyd Kane to replace Bourque, since Michal Nylander will not play for them opening night – and I think never again.

Andy Hilbert has indeed signed a two-way deal with the Wild and he has indeed been placed on waivers to get him to the AHL.

My NHL Eastern Conference predictions – along with the rest of the Puck Daddy staff.

Just returned from the offices of the Hockey News where I participated in their annual office pool. Last year I finished second, this year I hope to take the crown against 18 competitors. Anyway, about Bourque – I think we’re clear that Bourque is not a checker. It is also apparent that if he gets sent to the AHL by the Penguins, then the Caps will be able to reclaim him. So that leaves two options: press box or scoring line. He’ll be tried with Crosby, tried with Malkin and tried with Staal before press box. Huge opportunity and all it takes is chemistry. A star NHL career could be launched with just two or three great games. A fringe NHL career could be launched with two or three bad ones. If you are looking for a dark horse and have room on your bench to accommodate – stash Chris Bourque there now. You can release him again in two weeks – but if he looks good, you won’t be able to get him later.

The Penguins have claimed Chris Bourque off of waivers. VERY interesting…

Finally a way to tell the Sedin twins apart! Henrik was named alternate captain today, joining Willie Mitchell and Ryan Kesler.

The deadline for NHL teams to set their rosters is 3pm today. Most teams already have them set, but teams such as Toronto and Buffalo have not. And 23 roster players does not mean that teams are set – some like to go down to 22 or 21.

Columbus has cut Mathieu Roy and Alex Picard. Making the team: Nikita Filatov, Derek Dorsett, Michael Blunden, Kris Russell and Anton Stralman.

Fernando Pisani has a back injury that is quite serious – the team will probably put him on the long-term injury list, so a minimum of 10 games.

By my count, Pisani on long-term brings the Oilers down to 24. Still another cut to go. On the bubble: Brule, Jacques and Stone.

The Panthers have signed 2009 first rounder Dmitry Kulikov to an ECL. He will play at least the first nine games. If he outplays the likes of a Koistinen and Leopold, perhaps he can get into the top four and stick for the year. He is an offensive rearguard who could get to 30 points as an NHL rookie – he’s that good and bears watching.

The Sens have cut Brian Lee and Christoph Schubert. It was Lee’s spot to lose – and he lost it. He’s still only 22 though.

The Canucks have cut – and waived – Michael Funk, Lawrence Nycholat and Brad Lukowich. I mentioned the Hodgson cut yesterday (click “next” below to see all of yesterday’s action/reaction)

The Red Wings have cut Jakub Kindl, Cory Emmerton, Andy Delmore and they have released Brad May. This should have been noted yesterday, but I missed it.

Atlanta signed Mark Popovic to a two-way deal. He has apparently improved his game over in Russia last year.

You know – I have always liked Mats Sundin. There were a couple of years there where I felt that he was the best all around player in the NHL. That being said – I feel nothing for his retirement. It has been mentioned a lot, off and on, over the past 18 months and now that it’s official, it’s like slowly tearing off a bandage over the course of an hour – you probably don’t feel it. Just rip it off nice and early like Joe Sakic did. I guess, considering that in a way Sakic kind of dragged it on for over a year as well, it is the timing. Start of summer: good for retiring. End of summer: bad. With the NHL a day away, maybe I’m just to excited about other things going on in hockey to care. It’s a shame. Note to veteran NHLers: announce your retirement before August so that fans can give you the proper celebration you deserve.