According to Philly beatwriter Frank Seravalli, the Flyers have traded Simon Gagne to Tampa Bay.

The Kings were brilliant to stand firm. No need to put Doughty and JJ at risk. Now their current core can remain in place and grow together. Meanwhile, they could bring in lesser lights at a small cap hit, such as Lee Stempniak, Alexei Ponikarovsky or even bringing back O’Sullivan (assuming no bridges were burnt – hey, if Jokinen can go back to Calgary…)

You have got to be kidding me…. Kovalchuk back to New Jersey?!?!?

Angus here – Kovalchuk’s agent Jay Grossman tweets that a decision is being made today.

Goldie – My first-annual Hooters Tournament is done and I’m happy to be back in Goalie Land (I miss the girls though). No School of Block prepared for today for obvious reasons, so I’m answering any and all goalie Q’s for Dobber Nation. I started off with a look at Marty Turco’s current situation…or lack thereof. Leave your questions in the forums and I’ll provide enriching answers all day long!

Earlier in the summer I wrote a piece on how the Blues will really step up in the scoring department and why. But I’ve also maintained that the Oilers will pad at least another 50 goals this year as well. The first line of Horcoff, with Hemsky and Penner will actually be outscored by my projected Gagner, Hall, Eberle line. Last year they had one player with over 41 points. This year with the added scoring injection, everybody’s total gets inflated and all members of that top six get at least 54, with three of them topping 70. Repercussions are felt throughout the roster and I see three defensemen topping 45 points… and Sheldon Souray is not one of them.

So what to do when there’s no news? For starters, I’ll ramble about the Oilers. Check. Then I’ll report on the marriages (?) – David Clarkson was married this weekend. Adjust your rosters accordingly (hey, I’m trying here!).

Michael Russo reported on the weekend that Pierre-Marc Bouchard says he’s “90 percent” and hopes to be ready for training camp. Gleen from that what you will.

The Ilya Kovalchuk saga is drawing to a close. The money appears to be settled and according to Helene Elliott there are just a couple of key issues. One is the date when a no-trade clause would kick in. The other is the 2012-13 season. That’s the year where there could be a work stoppage, so it sounds like Kovy and his agent are trying to weasel a way that they can still get their money.

How bad would that be? If some players still got their money and there was a work stoppage? How motivated would they be to end it?

My thoughts on a lockout – under Paul Kelly, I put the odds at 1%. Under Donald Fehr, I put it at 60%. I don’t think it would be for a full season, but I do think Gary Bettman is a tough negotiator. However, he won’t have the fans and media on his side this time. Fehr would want a luxury tax, I’m sure, because it’s worked so well in baseball. You know, with the Yankees at like $250 million payroll, the Red Sox at like $200 million, and everyone else between $40 million and $100 million! (Just guessing at the numbers, I didn’t waste time researching them – I’ll save my research for the fantasy guide). Start prepping your keeper league for rules around how to handle a lockout – the draft, for example.

You have to believe that is Kovalchuk was a free agent back when Daniel Briere was a free agent, he’d not only get the money he wants, but Briere (and Gomez, et al) would have been bumped down the line.

The Bruins will be able to stick Marco Sturm on the long-term injured reserve thanks to his knee surgery that will keep him out until mid to late November. This gives them breathing room under the cap and reduces any pressure to move Savard or Thomas.