RDS is reporting that Anaheim goaltending coach Francois Allaire has been hired by the Maple Leafs. Given his reputation, this should dramatically help Toskala's game, and perhaps get Gustavsson to sign.

Dallas has fired coach Dave Tippett. A good coach, who had to lead a team decimated by injuries into the playoffs. The rumor is that Marc Crawford will take over, which will have marginal improvement on the offense.

TSN is reporting that Petr Sykora has been seen today on crutches. Look for Miro Satan to return to the lineup.

Ah, Pittsburgh now has gear up proclaiming them as Cup champs. We can watch the game again…

Interesting – NHL's shop page has shirts available proclaiming the Red Wings as Stanley Cup Champions for 2009. I couldn't find an equivalent Pittsburgh shirt, so it must be foreordained. So make plans with the wife or girlfriend for Friday night, because apparently the NHL has decided upon their winner. No need to watch the game. The shirt can be found here , and thanks to letnry in the forum for the discovery.

The Tennessean is reporting that the Preds had hoped to hear from Radulov by now, but he has until the end of June. Jason Arnott says that if Radulov comes back, it would increase the odds of Steve Sullivan coming back. So he would like to see a decision sooner rather than later.

My take? Radulov is too cowardly to decide. He continues to pass the buck off to his agent. If Rads would grow a pair, he'll step up and firmly state where he will play next season – he can play where he wants, his agent, the NHL, and the KHL won't have any say if Radulov makes a firm decision.

I talked about the Emery-Flyers thing in the June 8 edition of the Ramblings, FYI. This deal is, of course, confirmed.

The Prospect Rankings are up and by very popular demand I have separated the forwards and defensemen into lists of 185 and 30. Enjoy!

Petr Sykora got into the lineup in place of Miro Satan, but played just 6:31. He didn't impress offensively, but had a great hit and blocked a shot.

Crosby only played 17:54. Is he playing hurt? Why else are they resting him? To prepare him for that long stretch of games that lie ahead?

Atlanta has signed a formerly promising prospect in Andrew Kozek. A goal-scoring winger, his WCHA numbers did not impress over the past three seasons and he quickly faded down my Prospects List. However, the team isn't flush with offensive options and he did score two goals in five AHL games to end last season. He'll need a full year in the minors to show what he can do, but I would expect 30-20-50 for Chicago (AHL) next year.

Nashville re-signed tough guy Triston Grant to a two-way deal.

The Washington Post is reporting that the Caps are talking with the agent for Sergei Fedorov and Brent Johnson. If they manage to re-sign Johnson (for his dressing room presence) then Theodore could be on the outs because there is no way Varlamov starts the year in the AHL.

Joe Colborne will return to school in the fall, but he will be in Boston's development camp in July.

For the first time in three rounds, I had full confidence in MA Fleury. Not just after a couple of saves (he actually only needed three in the first period), but from the get-go. There is just something about how he carries himself that exudes confidence. So when Detroit entered the zone, I knew Pittsburgh would come out of there with the puck. Also – I didn't see Fleury put the paddle down once. If he does that again, we're in for a great Game 7.

With the home teams holding a 6-0 record, you'd have to be silly to not pick Detroit. The key has been the match-ups. In Detroit, with the final line change, they are able to effectively stop Crosby (he is pointless there). In Pittsburgh, the Pens were able to get Crosby away from Zetterberg. Coach Dan Bylsma needs to solve that problem and he doesn't have room for error now.