The Isles have finally and officially signed Bryan Berard to a contract. He is most definitely worth a pick up in your roto league asap. Not so much in keepers, because of his injury risk. I sat on that bum for nearly three years… and NOW he looks good? 

The Hossa news is a huge opportunity for Brett Sterling, who moves up to third on the offensive depth chart amongst wingers and will suddenly see first power play time. 

Thanks to 'Pete' for the heads up on this – the Atlanta Journal Constitution is reporting that Marian Hossa hit a rut in the ice with his skate yesterday and injured his groin. It is quote "very bad" according to Bob Hartley and he will not be in the lineup tomorrow.

Just announced – Carey Price will get his first NHL start on Wednesday. 

Manny Legace was back in practice after tweaking his knee on Saturday. He expects to get the start still on Wednesday. 

A roto-look ahead has been updated ("Looking Ahead" link on the main menu).

Anaheim will likely have both J-S Giguere and Sami Pahlsson back in the lineup for their home opener on Wednesday. Both a very close, but a decision won't be made until after the pregame skate.

Maxim Kondratiev has not played well enough to earn a permanent spot on the Ducks roster yet. His first game of the season was filled with mistakes that has not endeared himself to coach Carlyle.

Todd White is struggling to find his niche in Atlanta. He played with Kovalchuk in Game 1 and Hossa in Game 2, but was not as effective on either line as the team would like. The juggling will continue…

With his assist on Marco Sturm's third-period goal Saturday, David Krejci recorded his first career NHL point. Krejci also led the Bruins in blocked shots, preventing three pucks from getting through

Marc Savard (groin strain) didn't practice yesterday, and his availability for tomorrow night's game has yet to be determined.

Andrew Ladd, who twisted his ankle in the third period Saturday — did not practice Monday and is questionable for Tuesday.

Cory Stillman (torso) — practiced and is likely to play with Eric Staal and Erik Cole on Tuesday.

Jonathan Toews has "no doubt" that he will be in the lineup for Wednesday's game.

Martin Havlat's shoulder situation is concerning. The doctors cannot identify exactly what the injury is to the shoulder, but all he did in the first game was get hit awkwardly and his arm popped out of its socket. Surgery would put him on the shelf for four to six months, but doctors feel that it won't be necessary. All this being said, he has already had surgery twice on that shoulder. We all make our 'Band-Aid Boy' jokes about the guy…but this goes beyond my usual 'Band-Aid' warning to you. I honestly feel that this injury could force retirement. Sure, he'll rehab and will likely return in a few weeks, but how many times is he going to deal with this? When he returns, how many games will he play before he ties his skatelace the wrong way and pops his shoulder out again? I jokingly, but strongly, advised that you not have Havlat on your team, but now I insist on it – I realize that his potential is great, but it's time to get what you can for the guy, even if it's only a good prospect and a couple of good picks. 

Jose Theodore is expected to start Friday in St. Louis or Saturday against Columbus at the Pepsi Center.

If you haven't selected a site to run your fantasy hockey pool yet, take a look at this:

In Columbus, Fredrik Modin skated as first-line center between Rick Nash and David Vyborny. The second line was Sergei Fedorov centering Jiri Novotny and Nikolai Zherdev. Michael Peca, making his latest return from injury, practiced between Dan Fritsche and Gilbert Brule on the third line.

Mike Ribeiro, who missed most of the preseason with a high ankle sprain, skated a full practice Monday and could be ready to play Wednesday against Los Angeles. He was put on a line with Brenden Morrow and Niklas Hagman.

Pittsburgh prospect Tyler Kennedy currently leads the AHL in scoring with five points in three games.

With Johan Franzen on the shelf, Zetterberg has been reunited with Datsyuk. Zetterberg has seven points in three games now, including two assists last night playing with Datsyuk. Filpulla has been running the second line with Hudler and Samuelsson.

Patrick O'Sullivan took a puck to the mouth on Saturday and spent four or five hours in the dentist's chair cleaning it up. He lost three teeth and suffered a broken bone below the nose. He had left the game but returned for the second period – atta boy!

James Sheppard has his work visa now and will likely make his NHL debut on Wednesday vs. the Oilers. He practiced on a line with Foy and Parrish.

Rearguard Kurtis Foster (groin) was back in practice and should return for Wednesday's contest.

Nick Schultz' wife had a baby yesterday. Schultz is expected to play on Wednesday though.

Rookie David Perron started the season on the St. Louis Blues' roster, but the 19-year-old from Sherbrooke might be heading back to the QMJHL's Lewiston Maineiacs in the near future. When asked to comment on Perron's chance of staying with the club, Blues president John Davidson said: "We'll see how it goes, how many minutes we get him in." Perron has been a healthy scratch for two games.

Nashville coach Barry Trotz has wanted a bruiser, a setup man and a finisher on each line, which is why Radulov is playing with Gelinas and Bonk. He is sticking with his lines and allowing them to get to know each other and form some chemistry.

With Avery on the shelf, Marcel Hossa is expected to get back into the lineup. He has been practicing with Jagr and Drury again. This is great news for Hossa owners.

R.J. Umberger practiced yesterday and said he expected to play tomorrow against Vancouver. He will wear a protective wrap on his left pinky finger, which was fractured in the preseason and required surgery.

Phoenix goalie David Aebischer will get his first start of the season on Wednesday vs. the Blues. 

Sidney Crosby skipped practice the last two days because of his bruised foot. He is expected to play tomorrow night.

With Alexander Semin missing last night's contest, Tomas Fleischmann actually saw a little bit of PP time. He only played nine minutes in the game though. 

The Coyotes claimed Freddie Meyer off waivers. He has some offensive talent, but will be buried on the Phoenix blueline and is not a fantasy asset. 

E-mail campaign. Let's get the shift charts back on NHL.com. Visit this page and then click "contact us" at the bottom. Tell them that you need the shift charts back and why. Already, dozens of readers have done this, but we need all the help we can get. LINK

Bought the Pool Guide? Here is a one-page supplemental sheet to give you the update (updated to October 7, 2007).

Every week, Ken Henderson draws up amusing hockey cartoons and has given DobberHockey permission to post. To introduce you to his work, I will be posting his cartoons daily for the next several days, before giving you his weekly stuff every Saturday.

Visit Ken Henderson's site Offside Sports for more of his work.