My latest piece on Keith Ballard – let me know what you think.

I chatted with Thomas from the Canucks Army on Wednesday evening. Our conversation can be found here (warning: lots of Canuck talk – Lack, Hodgson, Kesler, Ballard, potential trade targets, and more).

Some bounce back players for next year (10 to be exact). My thoughts:

Backstrom – definitely. Dip was surprising, but young players often see wild fluctuations with regards to production.

Streit – yes. He's one of the true elite offensive defensemen.

Brodeur – disagree. Devils had a weak defensive group last season, and unless Adam Larsson plays like a stud from day one, they didn't upgrade at all.

Gaborik – Richards is a slight upgrade from Erik Christensen…

Gonchar – can't get any worse. (Can he?)

Keith – depends on the role he plays. Leddy is a good puck mover but Keith still will likely see heavy PK duties.

Antropov – never fast to begin with, was skating in mud last year coming back from a hip injury. He'll be better.

Gragnani owners – time to (not) rejoice. He re-signed, but on a two-way deal. Unless he has a stellar camp, he's the #7 and will bounce back and forth from the AHL to the NHL.

Montreal Gazette writer Pat Hickey is a fan of DobberHockey's Frozen Tools Line Combos.

Shout out to Cap Geek – I use this site so much with every single piece of writing I do. Not sure where I would be without it.

Montreal fans – Weber or Yemelin next season? Or both? Or neither? I think a lot depends on what happens with Jaroslav Spacek. Both are physical, undersized defensemen. Yemelin has dominated at times in the KHL, Weber isn't as good but has proven he can play in North America.

Great piece by Fred Poulin on some Swedish prospects to watch.

The Devils have four young Swedes who should play prominent roles this season – Larsson, Tedenby (second line wing), Josefson (second line center), and Urbom (big strong defenseman, not much fantasy value though).

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Derek Roy's summer pad – not too shabby. Interesting sleeping arrangements: