- Will DePaoli via twitter: Penguins center Sidney Crosby confirms that he suffered a setback last week, and that he suffered a concussion at the Winter Classic. Crosby also believes that the Victor Hedman hit gave him his 2nd concussion in 5 days.
- Tony Marinaro via twitter: Back in March, the Canadiens offered Andrei Markov a 1 year deal for $5.75 million. Markov is looking for a 3 year deal, Canadiens offering 1.
- Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette: Canadiens assistant coach Kirk Muller will become the head coach of the Dallas Stars, but it’s on hold as the team awaits new owners. GM Pierre Gautier will make UFA Andrei Markov and RFA Josh Gorges priorities. Hal Gill is also a UFA and will likely be back along side PK Subban. Scott Gomez carries a $7.37 million cap hit next year and they have the option of biting the bullet and sending him to the AHL. RFA Max Pacioretty is healthy and is in line for a multi-year contract. Andrei Kostitsyn and Benoit Pouliot are RFA’s and likely won’t be priorities. Due to salary cap constraints they likely won’t be a major player in the free agent market.
- Katie Carrera of the Washington Post: Capitals Mike Knuble and Dennis Wideman remain optimistic that they’ll be able to return to the lineup at some point during this series.
“I think that’s very realistic,” said Knuble, who started to take hard shots in practice. “When that’s going to be I don’t know. There are a lot of factors. And so it kind of depends on how everything is going. If they keep winning, you don’t want to upset the boat. But at the same time I’m anxious to get back in. I’ll get back in as soon as I can. It’s tough to watch, but at the same time it’s fun to watch.”
“The range of motion is getting better, the skating is getting better, just gotta get in shape. Get a little more power in the leg and hopefully make a comeback shortly,” Wideman said. “We did a little skate there at the end. I mean, I’m still not 100 percent but it’s definitely a whole lot closer than it was a couple days ago.”
- Katie Carrera via twitter: Wideman and Knuble did skate today but not on with the regulars. Tom Poti not on the ice for 2nd straight day
- Ian Mendes via twitter: Jeff Carter wasn’t on the ice for the Flyers morning practice.