Alexander Sulzer re-signing with the Sabres, as well as their acquisition of Henrik Tallinder (for prospect Riley Boychuk), puts fantasy-worthy players in a tough spot. Jamie McBain, Mark Pysyk, Sulzer and Brayden McNabb are all in a position to be considered for one (or possibly two) key power-play spots. And McNabb, Pysyk and Chad Ruhwedel will be in a dogfight just for a roster spot. Only one of those three will make the team. My money is on Pysyk for the roster spot, but have no idea which horse to ride for the PP spot(s). McBain may get the PP opportunity early on, but if he doesn’t produce he’ll be on a short leash.

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Well, Jack Skille has fallen all the way back to two-way contract status. He had his Golden Boy status in Chicago and again in Florida, but failure to produce, as well as injuries, conspired to pull the mantle from him. A Golden Boy of his caliber got about three years. Fail that badly for three years and your GB card gets revoked.

He got that GB status because he was drafted seventh overall in 2005. Top 10 picks always get their Golden Boy status card.

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As I opined on Twitter Friday, I really like the Oilers’ signing of Richard Bachman. You guys know I’ve been a fan of his for about three years now, but he’s had hockey politics against him (lower draft pick, middling college career, zero contract leverage). But he’s a better goaltender than Jason LaBarbera, but I think he’ll need to not only prove it but prove it by a wide margin. LaBarbera makes $1 million, and while I don’t know the specifics of the Bachman contract, it’s probably not that much and it’s also likely a two-way deal. So again, politics work against him. I wouldn’t own him in a keeper league, but I’d be quick to add him as a No.4 goalie if he beats out LaBarbera in camp.

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I don’t know how Detroit is going to resolve this. I don’t understand. Here are the potential line combos:

Zetterberg – Datsyuk – Alfredsson

Franzen – Weiss – Abdelkader

Nyquist – Andersson – Bertuzzi

Cleary – Helm – Tootoo

Miller – Emmerton – Samuelsson

Eaves – (space) – Tatar

This assumes that the rumored Cleary three-year deal comes to fruition. Detroit fans – how is this going to play out? I mean, really… six lines of NHLers? Who does this? Obvious scenario – Samuelsson and Helm injuries (either present injuries or future ones) keep them out, Tatar plays another year in the minors and Eaves sits in the press box. That still leaves you with 14 forwards. So now what? Do the Red Wings send two of their best players in last year’s playoffs and stretch run – Nyquist and Andersson – to the minors? Why did they sign Eaves, and why sign Cleary if they’re in this predicament? Is a trade on the way? Two NHL forwards for a solid NHL defenseman? Why am I putting so many questions in one paragraph? What is the meaning of life? How can I stop this? No seriously, can you help me stop asking questions?

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So Sergei Kostitsyn has signed, with Nashville’s blessing, to play in the KHL. For three years. And so ends, permanently, our love affair with the Kostitsyn brothers. For years, fantasy owners basked in the glory that was owning a Kostitsyn or two. We reaped reward after reward, showered with prize money, and challenged by only the simplest of roster decisions involving Sergei and Andrei – never once regretting putting them in our lineup. Thank you, Kostitsyns, for everything. Thank you.

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As I noted in the Derek Roy write-up, he has 104 points in the 115 games prior to his quad surgery, but just 72 in 122 after it. Something is wrong with this guy and I don’t trust him to bounce back. That being said, I can’t believe all 30 GM’s feel the same way. I mean, you found a sucker who believes that Ryane Clowe is still the same player…couldn’t you find a sucker who believes that Roy is? How did he only get a one-year deal?

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St. Louis has $7 million in cap space to sign Alex Pietrangelo and Chris Stewart. Many are of the opinion that Chris Stewart has to go. But why does it have to be him? Who would you rather have, David Perron or Stewart? I think you need the size and toughness and so I would move Perron.

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If you haven’t already, make sure you head over to Dobber Prospects and catch up on Brendan Ross’ and Rich Dillon’s prospect ramblings as each of them provide insight into the 2013 NHL Draft, as well as other happenings in the world of hockey. Specifically, Rossy is currently grading how each NHL team drafted as well as touching on Development Camp invites and last week’s CHL Import Draft, you know…the one that brought Nail Yakupov, Mikhail Grigorenko and many others to North America. Read more here.

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From UFC on the weekend. Silva’s antics reminded me of Sean Avery – but antics are only funny if you can get away with it, and Silva most certainly did not here. Look at him pretty to wobble from a glancing blow, mocking Weidman… and then, although he dodged the next two Weidman swings he got caught big time with the third one. Anyway, first thing I thought of was Avery:

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If you didn’t hear the (censored) Grabovski rant, here it is: