If I were drafting in a one-year, points only league, I’d take Letang over Goligoski. This is a bit of a change in opinion from earlier in the summer. I’ll explain why:

Letang is a shooter. Gonchar was a shooter. The Penguins love to spread out the penalty kill and use the point to generate chances.

Letang is right-handed. That almost guarantees him first unit time. Goligoski and Martin are both left-handed, so they may split time. Letang has no direct competition, but Goligoski does. Less risky.

Goligoski has more long-term upside, and also more short-term upside. However, Letang is a safer bet. In hockey pools, I tend to take risks with my trades, not my draft picks.

Projections for Letang: 11 goals, 38 assists, 49 points

Projection for Goligoski: 8 goals, 35 assists, 43 points

The 2010-11 DobberHockey Pool Guide is now out! Pick it up here.

Hope remains for Kirill Petrov joining the Islanders this season. Read on for more information.

Halakamania is about to run wild on St. Louis, brother.

Do any of you see a single Panther breaking the 70-point mark this season? Weiss is the only somewhat realistic candidate (Frolik isn’t ready yet).

Florida has depth but they lack any sort of top end talent up front. Tomas Vokoun is a great goalie but he can only do so much. I also really like what Tampa Bay and Atlanta have done this summer, making the division a bit tougher than it was in 2009-10.

Derek Meech has cleared waivers.

In terms of Calgary reclamation projects, I like Tanguay over Jokinen. My reasoning:

Tanguay has actually clicked with Iginla in the past, unlike Jokinen.

Sticking with Tanguay, Eric Duhatschek wrote a solid piece on him yesterday.

Tanguay is the only natural playmaker in Calgary’s top six, so he’ll get numerous opportunites in offensive situations. Iginla, Jokinen, Bourque, and Hagman are all shoot-first players.

Alex Burrows is recovering well, but will probably miss most (if not all) of October. Read more about his situation here.

Samuelsson will take his even strength minutes, but the PP minutes are up for grabs. Torres is a contender. Shirokov is a huge wildcard.

Brayden Schenn hurt his knee training, and is scheduled to undergo an MRI very soon. Hopefully nothing serious…

Sid knows baseball apparently… Crosby smashed a home run out of Pittsburgh’s PNC bark during batting practice yesterday (cue the Ovechkin would have hit it further responses).

The Blackhawks have signed Ryan Potulny to a one-year, two-way contract. Chicago is a great situation for Potulny – they have a few forward spots open, and he is very versatile.

Last year in Edmonton he played both center and wing, and he has quickness and the anticipation to play on the penalty kill. Another factor working in his favour with the Blackhawks is his league minimum salary.

This column breaks down the defensive situation in the Big Apple heading into 2010-11. Sounds like Pavel Valentenko has a shot at cracking the top six.

The article lost me after it called Steve Eminger a solid veteran presence. Calling Eminger solid is like calling Derek Boogaard a reliable offensive contributor.

Great work by Nashville GM David Poile to get Cody Franson signed for two more years at only $800,000 per.

Franson has a ton of offensive upside – he has a heavy, accurate shot, and makes one of the crispest breakout passes I have ever witnessed in person (I got to see a lot of him during his time with the Vancouver Giants).

The Red Wings have placed defenseman Derek Meech on waivers. I doubt he clears, as he makes the league minimum and can play both forward and defense.

His offensive upside is unknown right now as he hasn't really gotten any sort of opportunity in Detroit.

Fantastic interview with Mike Gillis yesterday on the TEAM 1040.

For those unable to listen to the interview, Gillis weighs in on the captaincy issue, and most importantly, Cody Hodgson.

It turns out Hodgson's real problem wasn't the bulging disc, but an undiagnosed muscle tear. The disc was healed and the doctors were confused and concerned as to why it was still causing the pain, but it turns out that a muscle tear was the culprit.

NHL 11 is now out – I haven’t had time to pick it up yet… any reviews/feedback?