Robert Nilsson is off to the KHL. He has always struck me as a solid ‘tweener’ (a good player without a role). He has fabolous hands but was often overmatched physically at the NHL level.

Pool Guide 2010-11… Nine days and counting. Get excited.

Not a peep about Marek Svatos so far… injury prone but extremely skilled and a natural goal scorer.

A great read on one of my favourite potential PIM/points combo players – Derek Dorsett. However, keep this in mind:

"Dorsett brought in 10 of his 14 points this past season after being named to the leadership group, and his ice time jumped from an average of eight or nine minutes a night to almost thirteen minutes, and finishing the year at a +6 rating. Asked to set an example, Dorsett also worked to reduce his penalties, only taking three fighting majors after his return to the team, and reducing his average PIMs per game from 3.6 to 1.36. We often talk about younger players needing to mature in the NHL, but Dorsett is one of the few who clearly did so, and has the numbers to back it up."

Maturing like Brenden Morrow did after being named captain means less PIM, which would effectively kill any value Dorsett potentially may possess in fantasy leagues. Keep an eye on his role with Columbus in 2010-11.

With so much good young talent on the wing in Edmonton, here's a good center to keep tabs on – Chris Vande Velde. He will probably need a year at the AHL level to get his feet wet, but the former North Dakota Fighting Soux is big and good at both ends of the ice.

The Oilers have failed miserably in recent years at trying to develop a strong two-way big center. Marc Pouliot didn't make the grade, and Andrew Cogliano hasn't to this point in time either.

Buffalo has locked up superpest Patrick Kaleta to a two year contract. I imagine our Flyers and Senators readers will have an opinion to share on Kaleta. He had 10 goals in only 55 games last season, to go along with 89 PIM. Over 82 games, those totals become 15 goals and 130 PIM, which are pretty decent totals if you are in a deep league that includes PIM as a scoring category.

Not surprisingly, Atlanta has walked away from Clarke MacArthur. I have no idea who his arbitrator was (MacArthur was awarded $2.4 million), but 16 goals and a dreadful minus-16 rating sure doesn't buy what it used to! To be fair, I don't think Atlanta was going to re-sign him at any price – they simply qualified to keep him as a potentially tradeable asset.

MacArthur's value depends almost entirely on where he ends up going. He played almost 50% of his shifts with Rich Peverley and either Max Afinogenov or Bryan Little last season after being acquired from Buffalo. He scored only three times in his short stint (21 games) in Atlanta. Say, for example, he ends up in Pittsburgh or Los Angeles on a scoring line; he could hit 20 or 25 goals. He is a one-dimensional talent but many teams have a need for that one dimension.

Ottawa has re-signed Nick Foligno to a two-year contract.

Foligno is a solid second/third line winger. He isn't amazing at any one thing, but overall he is a pretty solid player. Both Peter Regin and Milan Michalek are ahead of him on the depth chart, but how long will Michalek stay healthy this time?

Ottawa now has roughly $2.8 million in cap space. They still need to sign Peter Regin, as well as a depth defenseman (they may or may not choose to bring Campoli back).

St. Louis re-signed David Perron for two years as well. Perron's cap hit is a paltry $2.15 million. The Blues obviously wanted to keep the contract short, and if Perron progresses like many expect he will, a nice raise will be waiting for him in the summer of 2012 (unless there is another lockout…)

Perron shoots right but he loves to play on his off wing. It is tough to figure out how the Blues will line their forwards up, as they have so many who can play both center and wing. I'd personally like to see Perron with McDonald and Backes, leaving Boyes with Berglund and Steen. Oshie would slide down to play with Sobotka and another forward. Lots of options, though.

The Falconer (a great Atlanta Thrashers blog) caught up with Rick Dudley a few days ago, and Dudley said that he wouldn't be surprised to see as many as three rookies crack the opening night roster. Any guesses? I think Cormier is a lock… how about Machacek?

Is Paul Postma ready? He had a stellar junior career and moves the puck very well. He reminds me a bit of Nashville's Cody Franson – great shot, great passer, big frame. A bit rough defensively at times, though.

It sounds like Caps prospect Dmitri Orlov wants to come over and play in North America as early as 2010-11. The defenseman was Washington's 2009 2^nd round draft pick. With Carlson and Alzner both likely graduating from the AHL, there will be a few open spots in Hershey.

How long into the season will Tomas Vokoun last in Florida? I think it's pretty obvious that Florida is tanking the 2010-11 season… Vokoun is one of the league's best goalies (he's in my top five). With Salak, Clemmensen, and last but certainly not least Markstrom behind him, perhaps Vokoun wants a shot at winning a cup.

What potentially contending team has a need for a goalie (and about $5 million in cap space)? Perhaps Florida waits until the trade deadline to move him? His contract would only be worth about $1.5 million at that point in time… Food for thought.