Goldie again – Preds signed Atte Engren to a two-year entry-level deal today. This is big news, as he’s a phenomenal Finnish goalie with great upside. Combined with recent signing of Anders Lindback, Preds continue to develop raw-skilled Euro prospects under Mitch Korn’s watchful eye.

Goldie here – the Ducks traded Mattias Modig to the Penguins for a 6th round pick in 2010.  Seemed like a harmless move at first, but the Pens promptly signed Modig to a two-year entry-level deal. Still too early to analyze the impact, but it does not bode well for the future of John Curry in the Penguins organization.

According to Gary Bettman, the salary cap could go up by as much as $2 million for next season.

Negotiations aren’t going very smoothly between the Leafs and Nikolai Kulemin. Kulemin is one of my favourite players in the league, but I I owned him (I do), I’d be getting a bit worried (and I am). He apparently is seeking $3 million per year after 16 goals and 36 points last season. The Leafs have enough bad contracts as is, they can’t afford to hand out another.

Jiri Tlusty has signed a one-year, one-way contract worth $500,000. The one-way part of it is important, as it gives him a bit of the inside track at cracking Carolina’s roster for 2010-11. His qualifying offer would have been for more, but it would have been a two-way deal.

Taylor Hall won’t be doing any tests at the NHL Combine this year. He has a back injury (I’d guess from the Hamonic hit during the Memorial Cup).

Michael Jordan’s statue has never looked so good.

You know what? It’s my site (this is Dobber BTW) and I can change my mind if I want! It’s been nagging at me all week and I can’t take it anymore. Michael Leighton is on a mission. The Flyers have proven that even a 3-0 lead is unsafe, and people talk about the depth of the Blackhawks…well the Flyers are scratching players like Daniel Carcillo and they have Giroux and JVR on the third line. Not to mention the ‘curse of Hossa’. So that’s it. I’m changing my pick in the expert panel to Flyers in 6 and Pronger. Done. Why now? Because my picks for Puck Daddy are due and the more I tried to justify Chicago…I kept thinking “Philly”.

The Red Wings have signed top defensive prospect Brendan Smith to an entry level contract. Smith led the NCAA in scoring among defensemen last season with 15 goals and 52 points. He was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award as well, and has made tremendous progress in three years at Wisconsin. Smith was drafted by Detroit out of Ontario’s Junior A ranks in the first round in 2007. Don't expect him to make Detroit's top six next season, but he probably needs only a year at most in the AHL.

He's earned comparisons to current Wing Brian Rafalski because of his skating, poise with the puck, and ability to run a power play. You can read plenty more on Smith in the 2010 Prospect Report, which is only days away!

Wisconson's defensive core this past season was incredibly deep. In addition to Smith, they had Ryan McDonagh (Montreal's first round pick in 2007), Cody Goloubef (Columbus's second round pick in 2008), Jake Gardiner (Anaheim's first round pick in 2008), and Justin Schultz (Anaheim's second round pick in 2008).

The two outdoor games next year are expected to be Washington vs. Pittsburgh (of course) at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh. The other will feature Calgary and Montreal at McMahon Stadium in Calgary. I know Montreal has the history and the following, but a Vancouver/Calgary game would have been a much better game from a rivalry perspective.

The Leafs inked German defenseman Korbinian Holzer to a contract yesterday. Holzer had 22 points and 96 penalty minutes in 55 DEL games this past season with the DEG Metro Stars. Also on his team were Brandon Reid (former Halifax Mooshead star) and Adam Courchaine, who used to be a linemate of Gilbert Brule's with the Vancouver Giants.

Holzer will definitely be spending some time with the Marlies. Holzer also played for Germany at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Perhaps he is this seasons Carl Gunnarsson? Gunnarsson impressed the heck out of me last season in 43 games with the big club.

With the Flyers in the Cup Final, it is now three straight years that one of the teams in the Winter Classic has qualified. Pittsburgh in 2008 and Detroit in 2009 are the other two.

Montreal has signed defenseman Kyle Klubertanz. I owned him many moons ago in one of my keepers. The Ducks drafted him in the 3^rd round of the 2004 draft after a 27-point, 124-penalty minute season with Green Bay of the USHL. He spent the 2009-10 season with Djurgardens of the SEL, scoring 12 goals and adding 19 assists in 55 games. He's a great skater and plays bigger than his size, but this is more of an AHL signing for Montreal (probably to replace Subban in Hamilton). There have been more than a few mobile and undersized college defensemen who have gone to Europe to improve their game (Rafalski being the most successful). Another mobile, undersized defenseman who has signed with an NHL club since the season wrapped up is Lee Sweatt with the Canucks.

If you have emailed me your team to audit and I haven't responded, I am not ignoring you on purpose! I'll do my best to get to all of the teams this summer. The interest has been overwhelming, so I am trying to set some sort of schedule up.

Colorado signed defensive prospect Joel Chouinard yesterday. He led the QMJHL in goals from a defenseman with 23. Chouinard was named to the QMJHL First All-Star Team and was also a finalist for the Emile Bouchard Trophy as the league's best defenseman. Colorado is incredibly deep in prospect defensemen.

It sounds like both Iginla and Sutter are going to stick around in Calgary.

Colby Armstrong won't be back in Atlanta. He's got some offensive upside, but he needs to play top six minutes to be relevant in most fantasy leagues. Keep an eye on where he signs.

I am 284^th in the DobberHockey Playoff Challenge. I consider that a success considering I am 6-8 with my postseason predictions so far. Ogborne24 is in the lead with 321.5 points, and 87flyer2 is only three points back. Ogborne22 is in fourth place, so someone either picked two fantastic teams, or we have a crazy coincidence on our hands. Thanks again to Easton and Cool Hockey for the prizes!

An interesting Henrik Sedin stat I stumbled across yesterday – his 83 even strength points are the most in a single season since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96.

The NHL has been on the ball with their television advertisements this postseason. The new one may be the best yet:

Here is Brendan Smith scoring a goal this past season in an outdoor game – the quality of the video isn't great but the shot sure is:

New Leaf teammates became acquainted at the WHC last week: