The Fantasy Guide can be picked up online in pdf form for the small price of $9.99. And unlike newsstand magazines – besides being way better – this one will be updated up to October. And that includes the projections.

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The shop is back online now, let me know if you run into any issues.

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Not ready to hang them up, Chris Mason has signed to play next season in Italy. Why not get paid to visit new countries? That’s what I would do. Mason is 37 and coming off a 1-7-1 season behind a defensive team – so obviously he wasn’t getting phone calls from NHL GM’s.

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Andreas Nodl at one time was a favorite prospect of mine back when he was with the Flyers, but he could never get it going. He was outmuscled at every turn and is a picture perfect example of why promising numbers and skills at other levels do not mean success in the NHL. Nodl has signed to play in Switzerland. A lot of players have carved out a good life in Italy and Switzerland.

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Corey Tropphas re-signed for one year. He would have made the Sabres last year, but he tore his ACL and MCL in October and missed pretty much the entire season. Tropp is a skilled player, but earmarked for the third line. And given the depth chart in Buffalo

and talent on the way, he’ll probably stay there.

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The Canucks have signed both of their first-round picks from this year – Bo Horvat and Hunter Shinkaruk. I have Horvat making the team this year. It’s clear that they have a lot of faith in him, though if he shows any sign of not being ready they’ll pull the plug in a hurry. His situation (and to an extent his skill set) reminds me of Ryan Kesler, who played half a season in the NHL in the months after he was drafted.

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The Red Wings have signed Joakim Andersson to a two-year deal. Now they need to turn their attention to Gustav Nyquist. Andersson is a steady, but modest point producer and his bread and butter is his defense. But he’s one of those potentially elite two-way guys who will be supreme on the third line and capable on the second line (three years from now). So from a fantasy standpoint – pass, unless you’re league is deep.

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The new owners of Phoenix have acknowledged that their payroll will be going up. The problem is, there is nobody left. Obviously they are not going to sign a defenseman or a goaltender. And with Ribeiro, Vermette, Hanzal and Chipchura you have a reasonable group of centers – certainly nothing that Mikhail Grabovski is going to fix. If they sign Grabovski, than what – Vermette is the third-line center, Hanzal’s a fourth-line center and Chipchura is in the press box? It wouldn’t work, it doesn’t fit. So that leaves wingers.

And so you’re either talking Damien Brunner, or maybe bringing back Peter Mueller, or Mason Raymond. Do they waste money on Brenden Morrow? Not that I think Morrow is terrible. Far from it. But his name carries a lot of weight and ups the price by about $2 million per season more than a guy named Joe Smith with the same skill set, intangibles and upside.

I look at it like this – if they’re smart they sign one of Brunner, Mueller or Raymond and leave it at that. Keep it simple. If they’re spending money for the sake of spending money, then that’s direct from the School of Terry Pegulla. Then you’d see them sign Brunner, Morrow and Prospal. This next month will set the tone for the franchise’s short-term future. Coyotes’ fans should best hope for restraint.

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The next Gretzky feature on TSN – the dollars and cents.

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You can read about the latest cuts for Team USA WJC here.

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Here’s a little profile on Nick Bonino – the writer believes, and rightfully so, that he has a shot at being Anaheim’s second-line center job.

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Gordie Howe on What’s My Line?:

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Think a defenseman could never score when his team is down by two men? Think again: