- Igor Eronko: Alexei Ponikarovsky is united with Ilya Kovalchuk with SKA, after he signed a two-year deal with them. Ponikarovsky: ‘We spent summer together with Kovalchuk, he praised
#SKA, told me about the organization, and that helped to make decision’
- Slava Malamud: Ilya Bryzgalov to 59.ru: “Finances aren’t as important to me as spiritual comfort… So, I am 50/50 (between NHL and KHL)”
- Larry Brooks of the NY Post: The Rangers have been reluctant to start contract talks with their 2014 free agents: Henrik Lundqvist, Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi. There have been no talks at all. Brooks’ thoughts on this:
“But there is nothing to be gained by stalling or procrastinating. There is nothing good that can come of allowing these players to go into this season without extensions or by negotiating during a season that’s going to be challenging enough even if all goes well.”
- Igor Eronko: (from a couple days ago. S/T DobberHockey and Pro Hockey Talk) Evgeni Malkin told SovSport that he had a pact with Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk to bolt to the KHL if the NHL lockout lasted “another couple of weeks.”
- Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette: Canadiens Lars Ellerhas passed all the neurological tests and has been training hard for the past couple months.
“I feel great, completely healed,” Eller said. “I did some more testing in Brossard (in mid- to late May) to make sure everything was back to normal, to make sure there were no symptoms related to the concussion. There haven’t been any.”
- Cory Pronman: Blackhawks prospect Teuvo Teravainen said he needs at least one more season in Finland before coming over.