Scott Niedermayer has announced in his press conference that he will not be announcing his retirement today. Stay tuned for tonight's announcement when he informs us that he will not be having fried chicken for supper. 

With Taratyukhin in Russia and Brandon Prust recovering from hip surgery, the one spot that remains open in Calgary up front is up for grabs. Look for Dustin Boyd to grab it.

Patrick Kane has put on seven or eight pounds since he was drafted in an effort to beef up for camp. A good sign.

Angelo Esposito's groin injury will keep him out of rookie camp for the Penguins. He could still join them for the main camp, but don't count on him making the team this year anyway. 

Ray Emery is still recovering from wrist surgery and it is possible that he will miss all of training camp. This news has a huge impact on upcoming drafts, as I am a big believer in the fact that players that miss camp often struggle with injuries throughout the season…although this theory has not been tested a whole lot with goaltenders. All things being equal though, I would choose another netminder – just to be safe.

We will hear today at 1:30 if Scott Niedermayer will retire. We may also get a Teemu Selanne tidbit at that press conference. It is looking like Niedermayer may pull a Roger Clemens and take an extended break and play a partial year. He will miss training camp for sure.

Former Carolina prospect, but now UFA Vince Bellissimo has signed to play in Germany this season.

Jan Hrdina will go from the Swedish League to the Finnish League this season.

Former Canuck Tommi Santala has signed with Jokerit of the Finnish League.

I have to give a status update on this guy every year – Zarley Zalapski, who has possibly the best handle in sports, has signed to play another year in the Austrian League.

Atlanta GM Don Waddell maintains that he still has faith in Tobias Enstrom making the team despite the fact that they have recently added Karel Pilar, Ken Klee and Joel Kwiatkowski. Enstrom should be a solid PP quarterback, perhaps as early as this season.

Waddell has also not made any progress in contract negotiations with Marian Hossa.