*

Canucks defenceman Alex Edler had an IIHF hearing in Zurich this weekend to determine the full extent of his suspension for kneeing Eric Staal. According to the director of the Swedish National Team, the IIHF disciplinary committee will submit their decision in writing in a couple of weeks.

*

Sometimes nuggets of hockey news linger unreported and it drives me insane. The latest example: it was reported this week that three clubs remain interested in signing Mikhail Grabovski this offseason, but all we know about the identity of those three teams is that they’re not the Winnipeg Jets.

*

So which clubs are in the Grabovski sweeps? Edmonton? Anaheim? Washington? New Jersey? 

Grabovski would make the Oilers a pretty scary club, in my view, especially if you played him on a line with Taylor Hall. Hall and Grabovski are similar in that they play a pretty fearless, fast brand of hockey and it would be massively enjoyable to watch them skate together.

*

Speaking of Anaheim, I go back and forth on whether or not the Ducks are going to be good or not this upcoming season. Generally I suspect that Anaheim will be “not that good,” mostly because their back-end is pretty feeble and their forward depth is suspect. Definitely one of the more difficult clubs to peg going into next season, in my view.

*

Former Leafs, Habs and Penguins winger Colby Armstrong has signed with the Vaxjo Lakers of the SHL. Armstrong’s NHL career was slowed by concussions, but I’m still a bit miffed that he couldn’t find an NHL job. Armstrong played well in a fourth line role for the Montreal Canadiens last season, and he still has NHL size. Glancing around the league, I think he would have been a modest fourth line upgrade for a handful of teams.

*

Lots of hockey fans are scoffing at Blake Wheeler’s contract this weekend, and it is a massive pact, and Blake Wheeler is likely past his offensive prime. But he’s really good and a 5.6 million dollar price point certainly isn’t far off his actual value.

Wheeler has size, is in the top-30 in NHL scoring over the past two seasons, and posts stellar underlying numbers. Taken together the conclusion that Wheeler is a legitimate top-line winger becomes rather obvious. 

*

Here’s something odd: of the fourteen NHL players whom Blake Wheeler has spent more than 500 even-strength minutes playing with over the past six years, thirteen have posted a better even-strength shot attempt differential skating with Wheeler than without. The exception? Andrew Ference.

*

Tim Thomas is going to at least get a professional tryout, right? I mean, we’re talking about a guy who put together three elite seasons and two well above average seasons of goaltending over the past six years. So long as Thomas didn’t overdose on Chick-Fil-A over the past 18 months, I’d think he’s a pretty good bet to at least provide a team with average goaltending.

*

Blackhawks forward Andrew Shaw ‘twerked’ at the team’s annual summer convention last week. I hope for Shaw’s sake that he’s also playing Miley’s new “Can’t Stop” track on a loop. That song is heat.

*

When you coach a team that has won two of the four most recent Stanley Cups, you probably deserve a reward. Coach Q got his from the Blackhawks this past week in the form of a three year extension. 

Quenneville is obviously one hell of a coach, and his moustache has become borderline iconic in Chicago…

*

One thing Q hasn’t figured out how to do, however, is properly utilize his clubs absurd amount of talent with the man-advantage. How a team that employs Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp, Duncan Keith, Nick Leddy and Brent Seabrook, ices a sub-average power-play year-after-year is completely baffling.

*

Listing those Chicago Blackhawks players reminded me that Dave Bolland lost his job during the postseason to Michal Handzus. The Leafs meanwhile are counting on Bolland to be an upgrade on Mikhail Grabovski… Good luck with that!

*

I truly and honestly suspect that the Maple Leafs will be a disaster this upcoming season.

For a couple of reasons, however, my level of certainty on this front isn’t all that high. After all, Phil Kessel is still in his prime and is one of the league’s most dominant offensive talents at the moment. Also, James Reimer is a pretty excellent goaltender, and could make Randy Carlyle look good again…

So there’s a couple of reasons why the Leafs could outperform expectations once again, but I still have to think that this Maple Leafs club is poised to take a major step back next year…

*

The timing of Dave Nonis’ contract extension was as baffling as some of Toronto’s offseason moves. In the grand scheme of things it doesn’t really matter (it doesn’t impact Toronto’s cap-space, and it’s not as if MLSE is short on cash). But it’s just another in a long line of weird decisions from the Maple Leafs organization this summer. That should trouble fans of the club, in my opinion.

*

After firing his agent in favour of JP Barry and Pat Brisson, Roberto Luongo appears set to return to the Canucks this fall for training camp. He’ll probably play pretty well and make some excellent jokes on Twitter, but make no mistake: he’d rather get a fresh start elsewhere.

I was trying to figure this out the other day, but is there any comparable situation in the history of North American professional sports to the one Luongo has faced over the past two years in Vancouver? I mean, Luongo was very publicly shopped for like eighteen months before the team decided to retain him. Has that ever happened before in any other sport?

All of which is to say that no one should be surprised that Luongo’s reticent to remain with the Canucks.

Thomas Drance is a news editor at theScore Inc.. You can follow him on Twitter: @ThomasDrance.