Hodgson will actually be lining up at right wing with Kesler and Raymond, according to a recent tweet from Dan Murphy.

Patrick O’Sullivan has all but sewn up a top six spot in Carolina. Riley Nash has been sent down.

The Leafs have cut 17 players today, including Marcel Mueller, Jerry D’Amigo, and Brayden Irwin. All three will head to the Marlies.

Breaking news – according to Katie Strang, Mark Streit will be out for SIX months. This is a crippling loss to an already skill-deprived club.

Mark Streit will be out for at least a month according to Chris Botta.

Edmonton’s top line against Vancouver tonight will feature Shawn Horcoff centering Hall and Eberle.

It sounds like Nash with Brassard and Voracek looked pretty good yesterday. Vermette is a safer bet to center Nash for this season, but Brassard’s long-term skill makes him the best fit once he develops a bit more.

I could see Voracek sticking on Nash’s line though, as he is a superb playmaker and defensive forward. He is one of my favourite young players in the league.

Roberto Luongo looked really, really good last night. Anaheim wasn’t playing Getzlaf or Perry, but they had a decent lineup in and they generated about six or seven high quality scoring chances.

Brendan Morrison essentially earned himself a contract with his performance last night. He skated on a line with Peter Schaefer and Jordan Schroeder.

Schroeder had (by far) his best game of the preseason. He scored a nice goal and could have had another one or two. He won a few puck battles and showed great speed, anticipation, and hands. He isn't far away.

Carolina has cut a few players, most notably Oskar Osala.

Chicago has assigned Ivan Vishnevskiy to the AHL.

Sergei Samsonov left last night's game on a stretcher after falling awkwardly into the boards. If he is out for any length of time, another roster spot opens up for one of the young forwards in Carolina.

Cody Hodgson will (finally) make his preseason debut for the Canucks in Edmonton tonight. He is 100% healthy, and he has passed each test and increase in contact with flying colors. He'll center a line with Bill Sweatt and Sergei Shirokov.

Josh Harding has suffered a torn ACL and MCL. The ACL is the serious one here – I have torn my MCL before and recovery was only two months (and I don't have access to the same care that professional athletes do). However, a torn ACL is anywhere from four to six months (and maybe more considering how important knee stability and strength are to goaltenders).

This boosts the fantasy value of Anton Khudobin, but I think the Wild are going to dip into the goalie market and grab a veteran to play behind Nik Backstrom.

Justin Goldman on the Harding/Minnesota issue:

This is the big question in the goalie world right now.

My thoughts are that Khudobin is capable of being the backup to Backstrom this year. And with the signing of Josh Tordjman, the Houston Aeros are fine with he and Matt Hackett backing him up.

That being said, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Wild went out and snagged a guy like Ersberg or Greiss. Greiss is the better choice and there’s a correlation with german goalies since the Wild also signed Dennis Endras over the summer.

Ersberg would probably be easier to acquire since Bernier is ready for the NHL … and boy wouldn’t that be a kick in the pants for the Kings. Who knows, maybe the Kings called the Wild first asking if they would take Ersberg off their hands. Who knows.

Either way, drafting Khudobin is probably a good idea. I think he did a great job last year and although I have no insight either way regarding which direction the Wild will go, the most sensible choice would be to give Khudobin the chance he’s earned.

Plus I think Hackett is clearly ready for the AHL.

Mark Streit has suffered a shoulder injury. If he is out for any period of time, the Islanders are hooped. He is one of the best power play defensemen in the league. If you own Tavares, Okposo, or any other Islander, keep an eye on this situation.

I have a hunch something special will happen this season in New Jersey if Parise-Zajac-Kovalchuk sticks as the top unit. The amount of speed and talent on that line would give almost any defensive pairing fits.

A second unit featuring Elias-Arnott-Clarkson/Langenbrunner would be more than capable of supplying some secondary offense as well. Moving Kovalchuk to the right side (provided it works) is a good move first and foremost because it allows Elias to play left wing, where he is at his best.

Mike Mottau isn't a great defenseman, but I am surprised he hasn't signed on anywhere. So is the crew at ProHockeyTalk. Perhaps he is waiting until the Devils clear some cap space?

With Wade Redden now officially on waivers, the Rangers can get ready to put their top six defensemen together. One guarantee – it will be a very young group. After Michal Roszival, there isn't a single player over the age of 26 (I am not counting Steve Eminger, who will quickly play himself off the roster if he somehow does make it).

With offensive defensemen like Del Zotto, Gilroy, and McDonagh around, Staal and Girardi are going to see a steady dose of time on the penalty kill. Staal could hit 40 points with power play time, but that won't happen any time soon in the Big Apple.

43 players were waived yesterday. Check the bottom of the ramblings for a full list.

Michael Leighton's back injury is something he first suffered while training this summer. If I were a Leighton owner, I'd be slightly concerned here. I wonder what will come first – a cup win for the Leafs, or a legitimate starting goalie in Philadelphia?

One veteran worth taking a late-round flier on – Alex Kovalev. Contract year, and not much competition on the right side in Ottawa. (Ryan Shannon, are you kidding me?)

Versteeg skated with Kessel and Bozak yesterday. The second line for the Leafs featured MacArthur, Kulemin, and Grabovski. Toronto's top six is among the worst in the league, but there is some value to be had in deeper leagues. Versteeg is a solid all-around offensive talent (he can score and make plays), and his numbers would obviously increase if he stuck on that top unit.

Giroux to Zherdev – will we be hearing that a lot this season? The two seem to have already established some chemistry during the preseason. Assuming Hartnell sticks with Briere and Leino, I could see Carter and Richards together as well. Carter likes playing center more than wing, but Giroux's style of game is more suited to playing up the middle.

Players waived on Saturday:

Krog, Jason (ATL); MacIntyre, Drew (ATL); Mannino, Peter (ATL); Sifers, Jaime (ATL); Ross, Jared (ATL); Siklenka, Mike (ATL); McIver, Nathan (BOS); Reich, Jeremy (BOS); Smith, Wyatt (BOS); Blanchard, Nicolas (CAR); Borer, Casey (CAR); Fitzgerald, Zack (CAR); Chucko, Kris (CGY); Huet, Cristobal (CHI); Brophey, Evan (CHI); Taffe, Jeff (CHI); Mauldin, Greg (COL); Walter, Ben (COL); Van Der Gulik, David (COL); Liffiton, David (COL); Macias, Ray (COL); Grahame, John (COL); Bacashihua, Jason (COL); Gagnon, Aaron (DAL); Morin, Travis (DAL); Wathier, Francis (DAL); Fortunus, Maxime (DAL); Lukowich, Brad (DAL); Wilson, Clay (FLA); Fraser, Jamie (MIN); Dupont, Brodie (NYR); Redden, Wade (NYR); Mink, Graham (STL); Reaves, Ryan (STL); Spina, Dave (STL); Evans, Brennan (STL); Arsene, Dean (STL); Cracknell, Adam (STL); Drazenovic, Nicholas (STL); Oystrick, Nathan (STL); Baumgartner, Nolan (VAN); Zimmerman, Sean (VAN); Nylander, Michael (WSH)