Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette: The Canadiens medical staff is saying that Max Pacioretty is expected back ‘contact skating’ in 3 to 5 weeks. He’s on complete rest until March, then rehab begins. On March 8th, he suffered a “non-displaced fracture of his C4 vertebra and a severe concussion”
Adam Jahns via twitter: Loui Eriksson (possible concussion) and Adam Burish (broken foot) won’t be in the lineup for the Stars tonight against the Blackhawks.
Rich Chere of the Star-Ledger: Andy Greene will be a free agent at seasons end, will he want to re-sign? “I don’t know. A lot of things will go into it,” he said. “I want to hear what their plans are, their views. Hopefully they’re the same as my views. That would make it a better match.”
Adrian Dater of the Denver Post: With Adam Foote likely to retire at the end of the season, Dater weighs in on the candidates for the next Avalanche captain. John-Michael Liles 45%. Paul Stastny 30%. Milan Hejduk 10%. Matt Duchene 10%. Erik Johnson 5%.
Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette: Roman Hamrlik will play in 1,300th game tonight, and he hopes to get a contract extension from the Canadiens.
George Richards of the Miami Herald: Panthers coach Peter DeBoer has 1 more year on his contract and wants to comeback, but there are people in the organization who think it’s time for a change. Others want to see what he can do with a real lineup.