Justin Bourne with a must-read article today on Puck Daddy – steroids in hockey.

DobberHockey’s 2010-11 Pool Guide – updated through September 15th and available here.

Dobber – Breaking: The Penguins have announced that Jordan Staal underwent a procedure in his foot to cure an infection. Recovery is five to six weeks, meaning he will miss the first 10 or 12 contests of the season. So Malkin will remain at center to start, and I now think that Brett Sterling will get a three-week trial on the wing. The odds are always against the player, but it’s better than the zero percent odds that he would have had otherwise. The true meaning of the words boom or bust.

Montreal’s new captain is Brian Gionta. Great move.

My column in the five teams to "invest in" (load up on) for the future should be released early next week. The Blues will factor in. Any guesses as to which other four teams are on the list?

It is nice to see the Jeff Skinner hype continuing to grow. As a poolie I didn't mind sharing my thoughts on him, as I don't pick until the ninth spot in my keeper league. I wouldn't have been able to get Skinner anyway.

I didn't think Cam Fowler was going to crack Anaheim's roster out of training camp, but with Paul Mara now signed, he has no shot at doing so now.

Fowler is a great skater and he sees the ice really well, but like most young defensemen he needs to get bigger, stronger, and better in his own zone.

Coyotes prospect Colin Long is drawing rave reviews from those in attendance at Phoenix's prospects camp/tournament. I have seen him live a few times in junior, and he it sounds like he's displaying his best attributes, which are speed, great hands, and puck pursuit.

He gets forgotten a bit behind the trio of Turris, Boedker, and MacLean, but he isn't far behind in terms of NHL readiness or upside (although Turris is a cut above in the upside department).

More on the Phoenix rookies here. There is a lot of good stuff on Goncharov, Gormley, and Ekman-Larsson as well. Thanks to DobberHockey reader Ryan for the link. An Ekman-Larsson-Goncharov pairing will look mighty fine in a few years…

The Belanger signing has taken away a potential roster spot for one of these rookies (more on that below), though.

Some may wonder why Phoenix would sign Belanger when they have so many promising rookies close to making the jump. Good teams force their young players to earn roster spots (Detroit is notorious for this), they don't hand them anything.

A great read on the Belanger-Washington fiasco, as orchestrated by his agent.

If Turris comes into camp and outplays Belanger/Fiddler/Ebbett/Hanzal, he'll have a roster spot. If he doesn't, he'll be back in the AHL.

Jeremy Morin is eligible to play in the AHL this coming season. Why? Read here to find out – interesting loophole. Jack Campbell fits the bill as well, but he seems intent on going to the Spitfires for at least one year.

The Canucks have invited Peter Schaefer to camp. He's been training hard (who hasn't?), and is only a few years removed from being a very valuable third line defensive winger. The Canucks will give him a long look, especially if Cody Hodgson starts the season in the AHL.

Nice to see St. Louis coach Davis Payne put players in their ACTUAL positions. Andy McDonald is moving back to center, while David Backes is sliding back over to his natural position of right wing. For whatever reason, Andy Murray moved Backes to center and McDonald to the opposite positions last season.

McDonald: “I can play either position, but I think I’m a better player in the middle. I’m more of a playmaker. I’m able to distribute the puck a little bit better.”

Payne: “For Andy, it’s a chance to get into open-ice situations and carry the puck more and make plays and utilize his speed in that regard,” Payne said. “He has great lateral movement and the ability to penetrate up seams. So it’s not only using his speed, but getting in position to make plays after he gets the puck in transition.”

Sounds like the McDonald-Boyes duo will be reunited as well. More on the line juggling in St. Louis – click here.

Possible lines: Perron-McDonald-Boyes, Oshie-Berglund-Backes, Steen-McClement-Crombeen.

Fredrik Petersson is standing out so far during informal scrimmages in Atlanta. I have him penciled in on the third line, as I see the Thrashers taking the route many teams are lately by spreading out the offense among three lines.

Some possible Atlanta line combos, assuming Byfuglien plays defense at even strength:

Bergfors-Antropov, Little, Kane-Peverley-Petterson, Ladd-Cormier-Modin.

Paul Postma (another player I saw a lot of during his WHL career) ahs looked good as well. He's big, mobile, and very offensively-gifted. The Thrashers are pretty deep on the back end, so he'll probably be in the AHL for at least one full season.

Marc Staal's contract ($3.9 million per for five years) is very fair for both sides. The Rangers will lean on him heavily this season and beyond, as he's the only shutdown option on the back end. Wade Redden, get ready for Hartford!

A nice breakdown of the defensive situation in Columbus. Stralman bears watching, as he is far and away the best offensive option in the organization at this moment. Tyutin is more of a two-way defenseman, while Commodore, Klesla, and Hejda are defensive defensemen. Russell is a great skater but he isn't at the level offensively Columbus needs out of a PP quarterback.

Bobby Butler is aiming for a spot in Ottawa's top six. So is Nick Foligno. Unless Peter Regin comes into camp 50 pounds overweight, the spot is his. He was Ottawa's best player down the stretch and in the playoffs against Pittsburgh last season.

I had a lot of fun writing the Business of Fantasy Hockey series with Mike Colligan over these past few months. It was interesting/eye-opening/insightful to see how terms, techniques, and ideas used and formulated for business can be so easily applied to fantasy hockey leagues. I promise after reading the series you will be a better poolie, and you may even had a few "a ha!" moments along the way.

I am steaming towards 1000 followers on Twitter (@angus_j). Follow the entire DobberHockey crew, while you are at it. @DobberHockey, @AlexSerenRosso , @HockeyScribe (Van Horne)  @TheGoalieGuild (Goldman).

From the August 26^th ramblings:

"I don't often post rumors or speculation on this site or my twitter account, but I did the other day. I have a decent connection with the Canucks organization, so I posted some things he passed along to me, as I have done from time to time.

One was the trade of Kevin Bieksa. There are some in the Vancouver media speculating that Bieksa may stick around with Salo out (if he is on the Long-Term Injured Reserve, the team can use his $3.5 million to pay for a replacement).

However, once Salo returns, he counts against the cap once again. Bieksa is also the only right handed shot. I personally think this is an overrated attribute, even as a defenseman (breaking out on the forehand is obviously infinitely easier compared to the backhand).

Another was removing the "C" from Luongo and giving it to Henrik Sedin. I am confident that this will happen at some point before October. Luongo is the leader of the team, but he doesn't need all of the extra pressure from the media that comes with wearing the letter. He gets enough of it as a goalie."

I think the Salo injury quickly changed the opinion on any potential Bieksa trade (and I further speculate that Bieksa was headed to Washington looking at how the Belanger situation played out). Also, considering how much the fact that Bieksa shoots right is brought up, this is definitely a bigger issue to the Canucks than I assumed it would be.

My contact was bang on with the captaincy stuff, and it sounds like Sedin will be given the letter at some point during camp.