Brock Trotter has signed a one-year deal to go play in the KHL next season. He had a fantastic 2009-10 campaign in the AHL with Hamilton, but was a longshot to make the Habs.

Fantasy mailbag time! Ask me your questions all day today on the forums.

Even with Sami Salo's injury, I still expect the Canucks to trade Bieksa. He is simply too expensive as a redundant asset on the team, but would be a great fit for a team looking for a two-way defenseman with some snarl.

Salo's injury probably saves at least one of Shane O'Brien or Andrew Alberts from the chopping block.

I really like Pekka Rinne for 2010-11 and beyond. He finally is 100% cemented as the number one goalie in Nashville, and the Predators will lean on him a lot. Barry Trotz always has strong defensive clubs, and Rinne's numbers will improve significantly if the team can turn around the penalty kill (in the bottom third of the league last season).

Another reason I like Rinne – Nashville's defensive pipeline. Blum, Franson, Laakso, Josi, Ellis, Sulzer, Roussel, and so on. Suter and Weber both will be Predators for a long time as well.

I'm not sure where I'd place Rinne in my list of top ten keeper goalies (article coming in August), but he's definitely in the top 10.

Tampa has signed Marc Pouliot to a one-year, two-way contract. I wouldn't completely write him off as an NHL player at this point in time, but he'll have to work extra hard to earn a roster spot now that he no longer has a one-way deal.

According to Puck Daddy's Dmitri Chesnokov, Kings defensive prospect Viatcheslav Voynov will return to his KHL club if he fails to make Los Angeles out of training camp.

Voynov has some great parts to his game already (point shot, willingness to play physically), but he isn't NHL ready. The Kings have a few spots available on the back end, and one would have to assume Thomas Hickey is ready to make the full-time jump.

Saw some Brad Richards-to-New York rumours/speculation circulating the net yesterday. I doubt Dallas moves Richards, but they may have no choice if they need to cut payroll and are unable to find a suitor for Mike Ribeiro.

If Richards is dealt, you can kiss Loui Eriksson's fantasy value goodbye. He's a solid complementary winger but Richards was the driving factor behind his career season in 2009-10.

Back to Ribeiro, I am not sure why there is little interest in him. He's a legitimate top line center and he makes a reasonable $5 million. He'd be a great fit in Toronto (if for no other reason than to hear the Bell Centre every time the Leafs played in Montreal).

I picked myself up a few shirts from the DobberHockey store and will post some glamour shots once they arrive. Check the shirts out here.

The 2010-11 Pool Guide is six days away…

Bobby Ryan isn't interested in signing an offer sheet and wants to stay in Anaheim. If he receives a full-time gig with Getzlaf and Perry, 90 points wouldn't surprise me.

However, Anaheim's offensive depth is abysmal, and Randy Carlyle often bumps Ryan down to the second line to spread things out.

A Minnesota blog goes into great detail on the numerous bad contracts that the Wild possess. I disagree that Bouchard, Havlat, and Kobasew are good contracts. Havlat's is fair market value for a UFA, so it's tough to get a good contract there.

Kobasew at $2.3 is an overpayment. The thing with the cap era is that you can't even have a team full of fair contracts. It is essential to have either a few rookies on entry-level contracts or some significant discounts to really build a complete team. Minnesota has neither.

I am undecided as to who will emerge in Tampa Bay as the offensive leader from the back end, but someone is primed for a big season. Guy Boucher's system encourages/emphasises defensemen starting and joining the rush as much as possible.

Kubina is a good guy on the power play because of his shot but he isn't a dynamic skater and probably won't create much offensive five on five.

Hedman isn't there yet in terms of hockey awareness. Ohlund isn't mobile enough anymore. Ranger would be the smart bet if he was indeed returning, but don't sleep on Matt Lashoff. He skates well and will get a shot to prove himself at camp with a completely new coaching regime in September.

Thanks to Big Ev for this awesome Peter Regin video: