Cyberpresse is reporting that Pouliot may be qualified before Monday, the Habs are still evaluating.

I had forgotten – every year around draft time it’s Matt Bugg’s birthday. This year – it’s today. Happy B-Day Mr. Bugg!

Everyone’s jumping in with ramblings today – gotta love the coverage. It’s Dobber again, back a day early from my family’s little excursion. My daughter Avery was… is “Satan” a mean term? Naw, she’s a sweetheart, but we won’t be putting up with another night of that, so we’re home. Anyway, I’m floored by news out of Montreal – they chose to qualify Sergei Kostitsyn, but not Benoit Pouliot. Pouliot was absolutely fantastic down the stretch… but absolutely horrific in the playoffs. That was his undoing. To retain SK would cost them a mere $650K give or take, while Pouliot would require $950K give or take (didn’t break out my calculator, just spitballin here) – certainly a factor. Pouliot will be an unrestricted free agent on July 1 unless Montreal comes to him with a $650K offer and he takes it (and I’ve seen that happen before)…

…and one word to describe the Sharks retaining Marleau – shocked. I didn’t think they could do it, but the nice increase in salary cap made it possible. He took a small hometown discount, but not a major one – may as much as a million per season.

Wojtek Wookie Wolski has signed a new two-year deal with Phoenix for a reported $7.6 million. I think Wolski was more consistent in PHX than COL, but I’ll leave the analysis to the big boys. Most of you know I think he’s brutal defensively, but if anyone can solve that issue, it’s Tippett.

Have no fear, Angus will have analysis on the Sharks and Bruins re-signees this afternoon. More rumors swirling, now about Thomas having permission to talk with other teams and Jon Quick has been mentioned a few times on Twitter. I can’t stand goalie rumors, so that’s that.

Regarding Theodore not being re-signed by the Caps. No matter what you read about Washington’s faith in a Neuvy/Varly tandem, expect them to sign a veteran backup that can provides some stability. Neuvy is a streaky AHL stud and Varly is an inconsistent young star, so the two of them together would be very talented, but very volatile.

A ton of rumors swirling around today with various reports on Kaberle and whatnot. That’s not my thing, but talking with draft prospects certainly is. So I suggest taking a few minutes to listen to my interview with Jack Campbell from way back in January. It’s very revealing and will teach you a lot about his mental toughness.

Goldie here, steering the ship for the next few hours. Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski are staying in San Jose, as they have both signed four-year deals. Marleau’s deal is reportedly worth $27.6 million and Pavelski’s is reportedly worth $16 million.

Johnny Boychuk has re-signed with Boston for two years at a reported $1.8 million per year. I’m just a goalie nut, but that sounds like a pretty good price tag to me!

Dobber here. I know some of you long-time readers may roll your eyes with what I’m about to say – but the minor deal was Atlanta sending Mike Vernace and Brett Sterling to San Jose for future considerations. Sterling will be an unrestricted free agent, but if he re-signs with the Sharks this is the perfect situation for him. Still only 26 – which is an age where many players 5-7 in height appear on the fantasy radar – he joins a team who could/should lose Patrick Marleau. He would get one shot – training camp – to prove he can score in a new NHL environment. Not worth a pick up, but worth keeping an eye on. He’s not a penalty killer – he’s a former AHL rookie of the year.

The Top 10 Russian Prospects for the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, profiled by DobberHockey’s Alessandro Seren Rosso. Very thorough analysis, definitely worth checking out.

Buy the Fantasy Prospects Report – HERE

The Byfuglien trade is now official. Atlanta completed a minor trade with San Jose to get under the 50 contract limit.

I will be in Seattle for the next two days. I will have full internet access but won't be sitting around the computer. If there is a big trade or two, I probably won't be the one to break it. I'll do my best get to get my thoughts up on the site as quickly as possible, though.

Current Bruins assistant coach Craig Ramsay is set to be named as the new head coach in Atlanta. Bruins fans, what is your take on Ramsay? New coaches can have a significant fantasy impact, as I made note of with my Guy Boucher article last week.

I thought all of the award choices were spot on last night. Keith for Norris, Miller for Vezina, Tippett for Jack Adams (the worst kept secret in hockey), Datsyuk for Selke, and Sedin for Hart.

Per Pierre LeBrun: The Leafs have NO interest in Marc Savard, and Brian Burke has yet to talk to the Bruins regarding Tomas Kaberle.

Alex Ovechkin became the first player in league history to be voted as an NHL First-Team All-Star in each of his first five seasons in the NHL. Joining him on the First Team is Henrik Sedin, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Mike Green, and Ryan Miller.

The Second Team consists of Daniel Sedin, Sidney Crosby, Marty St. Louis, Drew Doughty, Nicklas Lidstrom, and Ilya Bryzgalov.

My thoughts on the Byfuglien trade – HUGE win for Chicago. Atlanta improves overall but Chicago did amazingly well considering their current cap circumstances. My rambling thoughts:

Atlanta now has six players who should be on their 2010-11 roster who have been acquired from trading away Ilya Kovalchuk. Ben Eager, Brent Sopel, Johnny Oduya, Niclas Bergfors, Patrice Cormier, and Dustin Byfuglien. Akim Aliu is more of a project and is probably at least another two years away from NHL action.

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The Thrashers have some big bodies up front now with Byfuglien, Antropov, and the likes of Kane and Cormier developing as well.

Marty Reasoner is a fantastic fourth line center. Great move by Stan Bowman to get him, as he replaces John Madden at a lower cost, and he probably brings a bit more to the table as well. Chicago is sitting very pretty down the middle with Toews, Sharp, Bolland, and Reasoner.

Jeremy Morin, Atlanta's 2009 2^nd round draft pick, is the real gem in this deal for Chicago. He has elite hands and will be a goal scorer at the NHL level. Morin had 47 goals in only 58 games with Kitchener of the OHL this past season. He is probably a year away from the NHL.

Back to Byfuglien – outside of two fantastic rounds against Vancouver and San Jose, he hasn't proven himself to be much more than an inconsistent depth scorer at the NHL level. Rick Dudley and the Thrashers are taking a major gamble (top end prospect and two great picks) that his strong postseason was much more than just a flash in the pan.

This trade opens up more ice time for Kyle Beach in 2010-11 in Chicago as well. I'd give him the edge over Andrew Ladd and Troy Brouwer for ice time as a net presence on the power play.

Who has two thumbs and loves the Byfuglien trade? This guy.

Chris Bourque, the recent Calder Cup MVP, has signed with HK Atlant of the KHL. This is a tough pill to swallow for all of those who have patiently held on to Bourque for all of these years waiting for him to break out at the NHL level.

Look for Mike Ribeiro to get traded this weekend. I had him going to Toronto in my recent article on the Leafs. There are a few teams that could use an offensive center like him. His $5 million cap hit is reasonable for what he brings to the table.

According to Darren Dreger, the Bruins may shop Marc Savard at the draft. I saw a few Savard-for-Kaberle rumors yesterday, but I think the Leafs would prefer someone a bit younger. How does Savard for Robyn Regehr sound? Regehr doesn't replace Dennis Wideman's puck moving ability, but he is a rock solid defenseman (he has regressed a slight bit over the past few years), and Savard would complement Iginla extremely well on the top line. Only problem is Savard's NTC. He played in Calgary before, and some bridges may have been burned there.

We will be hosting a chat here at DobberHockey all Friday long for the Entry Draft. Myself, Dobber, Goldman, Miller, Rosso, Van Horne, and more! I will be in transit both before and after the draft, so my time will (probably) be limited to the first round only.

Apparently the Ducks were close to acquiring Dustin Byfuglien last week, but Chicago backed out because they didn't want to receive salary back. Not sure if that means ANY salary, or just a low amount.

Per Bob McKenzie: Official salary cap numbers for next season. $59.4M cap, $43.4M floor. Some teams will struggle to hit that floor. Carolina has an internal budget of about $44 million because ownership wants to sell a share of the team. The Islanders, Avalanche, and Blues are all well below the $43.4 million mark at the moment as well.

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From now until June 24th, Angus will be running a 2010 NHL Entry Draft contest. Send him an email ([email protected]) of your first round mock. The entry that closest mirrors the first round on June 25th will win an autographed Shane Doan 8×10 photograph. The rules are simple – one through 30, send your picks. If you guess the correct player, earn one point. If you guess the correct player and the correct position, you will be awarded three points. For example, of your top five is Hall-Seguin-Fowler-Tarasenko-Gunbranson, and the NHL's top five picks are Hall-Seguin-Fowler-Gunbranson-Tarasenko, you will be given 11 points (three for Hall, Seguin, and Fowler in the correct position, and one for each of Tarasenko and Gunbranson for having them in the first round

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The 2010 Bill Masterton Award Winner Shane Doan autographed photo up for grabs with the 2010 Entry Draft contest:

Doan