School of Block for today is a diatribe on Pascal Leclaire and the impact Rick Wamsley might have on his game. Don’t get your hopes up, but there’s a slim chance his issues are fixed. I also went back and answered the Luongo vs. Rinne gap analysis question. Both are capable of winning 40 games this season. 

Pierre Gauthier really was behind the eight ball this summer. Neither Halak nor Price would have signed an extension while the other one was still on the team, but now that Halak is gone (and signed to a mighty fine deal), Price has all of the negotiating power with the Canadiens. What are they going to do, start Alex Auld?

Atlanta has re-signed Andrew Ladd to a one-year, $2.35 million contract. He could slot in to the top six, but expect him to start the season on the third line. Little, Bergfors, Kane, and Byfuglien are ahead of him on the winger depth chart.

Three days and counting… 2010-11 DobberHockey Pool Guide.

Washington fans are mighty upset after seeing solid prospect (and noted agitator) Stefan Della Rovere shipped off to St. Louis for fighter DJ King. Della Rovere has some upside, but the fact that Washington gave him up for a fighter with hand injury issues says a lot about how they viewed his upside.

Della Rovere’s biggest issue right now is foot speed. He’s undersized and he needs to get quicker if he wants to hit the same way in the NHL that he has done in the OHL over the past few seasons.

Letting Frolov walk and then signing Ponikarovsky is like trading in a ’92 for Corolla for a ’92 Corolla with older tires and some rust issues. If this is all Lombardi has planned for the Kings this summer…

Bold prediction of the day: a team other than Chicago or Detroit wins the Central in 2010-11.

Potential Kings lines:

Kopitar between Smyth and Williams (sorry, Anze), Stoll between Ponikarovsky and Brown (a lot of size on that line), Handzus with Simmonds and Parse, and Richardson with Schenn and Clifford.

Two rookies on the fourth line probably won't happen, but Schenn and Clifford are both NHL ready.

Don't rush to pick up Nick Leddy after he signed with Chicago a few days ago – he struggled with the physical play and size of opposing forwards in college. He has a ways to go before making the NHL.

Ivan Vishnevskiy has a great shot at earning a spot in Chicago on the blueline, but don't count out Brian Connelly either. He's undersized, but very smart and solid offensively.

Columbus is one of the best possible fits for Anton Stralman – smart move for him to re-sign before arbitration (one year, $1.95 million). He is the best offensive defenseman on that roster (by far), and the Jackets have quite a few defensive defensemen (Hejda, Commodore, Klesla), so Stralman won't see much time on the PK.

He's got a great shot and he isn't afraid to take chances offensively. I wouldn't be surprised to see a big 45+ point breakout campaign for him, provided the Jackets don't bring in a defenseman who steals the prime power play minutes away.

The rumour du jour…. Chicago letting Antti Niemi walk and signing Jose Theodore as his replacement. I wonder how fast Theodore would get scooped up in keeper leagues if this indeed happens? If for some bizarre reason you have Theodore as a keeper, sit tight!

Something has to give – Chicago can't afford more than $1.5 million, and Niemi definitely deserves more than that. Turco is probably in the mix as well, but he already turned down that kind of money from the Flyers earlier this summer.

A direct quote from Turco's agent, Kurt Overhardt: "”We hope to have something resolved in 7 to 10 days,” Overhardt said. “He’s going to play with a contending team.””He wants to play for a big-time contender in a great hockey city. It could be done by the end of the week, or it could be two weeks. Nothing is certain.”

I can only count three teams who may want a goalie, and all three of them are contenders! San Jose, Chicago, and Philadelphia.

I am working on Part II of my Offseason Musings (Montreal to Washington). Should be out this weekend at some point. Just a brief rundown of a situation or two on each team that has some fantasy hockey relevance.

The Scott Niedermayer autographed photo will be awarded on August 1^st to the winner of the 2010 DobberHockey Free Agent Frenzy contest. A few of the players still are unsigned, but the entrant with the most correct up to August 1^st will win. I'll have an announcement early next week congratulating the winner.

Look for the Ducks to give Cam Fowler a long look at training camp. He'll probably even see some action at the beginning of the season. If they don't add another defenseman this summer, their top six right now consists of Visnovsky, Lydman, Wisniewski, Brookbank, Sbisa, and Mikkelson. One of the worst in the league, for sure. Fowler's defensive game is still raw but he has the offense and physical tools to play in the NHL in 2010-11.

My hunch is the Ducks find a way to trade for a defenseman and Fowler plays another year in the OHL with Windsor (who recently announced the signing of Jack Campbell). The Spitfires will be losing a few key players (as well as their head coach Bob Boughner), so it will be interesting to see if the dynasty can continue.

Blake Wheeler's arbitration award will probably be released today. My guess – one year, $2.1 million. Wheeler has a ton of talent and size, but he (much like new Bruin Nathan Horton) struggles to compete physically game-in and game-out. If he puts it together, he has 35-goal upside.

Wheeler is usually on my DND (do not draft) list, as he is a frustrating player. Dazzles you for a game or two but then goes silent for the next eight or nine.

Colorado has over $20 million in cap space and they only need to sign three more players. Rebuilding and sticking with the core is great (especially when two of the key cogs still need new deals – Stewart and Mueller), but spend some money! The Avs could benefit by adding a scoring forward, or a checking forward, or a defenseman.

They are a good team but not counting October, they were a borderline playoff club last season.

I wouldn't be surprised to see them take a step back, especially if Anderson isn't able to maintain his superhuman play. In the Northwest, Calgary will be better – almost their entire roster had a miserable 2009-10 offensively (much like St. Louis), and Kiprusoff is still one of the best in the game.