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From the official NHL release:


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE / OCTOBER 1, 2013

NHL ANNOUNCES OPENING-DAY ROSTERS FOR 2013-14 SEASON


NEW YORK (October 1, 2013) -- Following are NHL club rosters, as of Noon, Eastern time today. Some players who recently have agreed to terms with their respective clubs but whose contracts had not yet been approved by the League are not included. The 2013-14 regular season begins tonight with three games.

Anaheim Ducks

Bryan Allen, Francois Beauchemin, Matt Beleskey, Nick Bonino, Andrew Cogliano, Viktor Fasth, Mark Fistric, Cam Fowler, Ryan Getzlaf, Jonas Hiller, Peter Holland, Saku Koivu, Hampus Lindholm, Ben Lovejoy, Patrick Maroon, Kyle Palmieri, Dustin Penner, Mathieu Perreault, Corey Perry, Teemu Selanne, Devante Smith-Pelly, Sami Vatanen, Daniel Winnik.

Injured: Emerson Etem, Andrew O'Brien, Luca Sbisa, Jakob Silfverberg, Sheldon Souray.

Boston Bruins

Matt Bartkowski, Patrice Bergeron, Johnny Boychuk, Gregory Campbell, Jordan Caron, Zdeno Chara, Loui Eriksson, Dougie Hamilton, Jarome Iginla, Chad Johnson, Chris Kelly, David Krejci, Torey Krug, Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand, Adam McQuaid, Kevan Miller, Daniel Paille, Tuukka Rask, Dennis Seidenberg, Reilly Smith, Shawn Thornton.

Injured: Bobby Robins, Marc Savard, Carl Soderberg.

Buffalo Sabres

Christian Ehrhoff, Tyler Ennis, Jhonas Enroth, Brian Flynn, Zemgus Girgensons, Mikhail Grigorenko, Cody Hodgson, Patrick Kaleta, Johan Larsson, Ville Leino, Jamie McBain, Cody McCormick, Ryan Miller, Tyler Myers, Steve Ott, Kevin Porter, Mark Pysyk, Rasmus Ristolainen, John Scott, Drew Stafford, Henrik Tallinder, Thomas Vanek, Mike Weber.

Injured: Joel Armia, Marcus Foligno, Tim Schaller, Corey Tropp, Nikita Zadorov.

Calgary Flames

Mikael Backlund, Sven Baertschi, Lance Bouma, T.J. Brodie, Chris Butler, Joe Colborne, T.J. Galiardi, Mark Giordano, Curtis Glencross, Jiri Hudler, Tim Jackman, David Jones, Joey MacDonald, Brian McGrattan, Sean Monahan, Shane O'Brien, Karri Ramo, Kris Russell, Derek Smith, Matt Stajan, Lee Stempniak, Ben Street, Dennis Wideman.

Injured: Christopher Breen, Mike Cammalleri.

Carolina Hurricanes

Brett Bellemore, Drayson Bowman, Matt Corrente, Patrick Dwyer, Justin Faulk, Nathan Gerbe, Tim Gleason, Ron Hainsey, Jay Harrison, Anton Khudobin, Mike Komisarek, Elias Lindholm, Riley Nash, Andrej Sekera, Alexander Semin, Jeff Skinner, Eric Staal, Jordan Staal, Brett Sutter, Jiri Tlusty, Cam Ward, Kevin Westgarth.

Injured: Joni Pitkanen, Tuomo Ruutu.

Chicago Blackhawks

Bryan Bickell, Brandon Bollig, Sheldon Brookbank, Corey Crawford, Michal Handzus, Jimmy Hayes, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Nikolai Khabibulin, Michael Kostka, Marcus Kruger, Nick Leddy, Joakim Nordstrom, Johnny Oduya, Michal Rozsival, Brandon Saad, Brent Seabrook, Patrick Sharp, Andrew Shaw, Ben Smith, Jonathan Toews.

Injured: None.

Colorado Avalanche

Tyson Barrie, Andre Benoit, Patrick Bordeleau, Marc-Andre Cliche, Steve Downie, Matt Duchene, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Nate Guenin, Jan Hejda, Nick Holden, Matt Hunwick, Erik Johnson, Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, Jamie McGinn, Cody McLeod, John Mitchell, Ryan O'Reilly, PA Parenteau, Cory Sarich, Paul Stastny, Alex Tanguay, Semyon Varlamov.

Injured: David Van Der Gulik, Ryan Wilson.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Artem Anisimov, Cam Atkinson, Sergei Bobrovsky, Jared Boll, Matt Calvert, Blake Comeau, Brandon Dubinsky, Tim Erixon, Nick Foligno, Marian Gaborik, Boone Jenner, Ryan Johansen, Jack Johnson, Mark Letestu, Derek MacKenzie, Curtis McElhinney, Ryan Murray, Nikita Nikitin, Dalton Prout, David Savard, Fedor Tyutin, R.J. Umberger, James Wisniewski.

Injured: Cody Bass, Oliver Gabriel, Nathan Horton.

Dallas Stars

Jamie Benn, Jordie Benn, Alex Chiasson, Erik Cole, Kevin Connauton, Trevor Daley, Brenden Dillon, Cody Eakin, Dan Ellis, Vernon Fiddler, Ryan Garbutt, Alex Goligoski, Sergei Gonchar, Shawn Horcoff, Kari Lehtonen, Lane MacDermid, Chris Mueller, Valeri Nichushkin, Stephane Robidas, Antoine Roussel, Tyler Seguin, Ray Whitney.

Injured: Scott Glennie, Rich Peverley, Aaron Rome.

Detroit Red Wings

Justin Abdelkader, Daniel Alfredsson, Joakim Andersson, Todd Bertuzzi, Daniel Cleary, Jared Coreau, Pavel Datsyuk, Danny DeKeyser, Cory Emmerton, Jonathan Ericsson, Johan Franzen, Jimmy Howard, Jakub Kindl, Niklas Kronwall, Brian Lashoff, Drew Miller, Xavier Ouellet, Kyle Quincey, Mikael Samuelsson, Brendan Smith, Tomas Tatar, Stephen Weiss, Henrik Zetterberg.

Injured: Willem Coetzee, Patrick Eaves, Landon Ferraro, Jonas Gustavsson, Darren Helm, Nick Jensen, Jordin Tootoo.

Edmonton Oilers

Will Acton, Mark Arcobello, Anton Belov, Mike Brown, Devan Dubnyk, Ben Eager, Jordan Eberle, Andrew Ference, Luke Gazdic, Boyd Gordon, Denis Grebeshkov, Taylor Hall, Ales Hemsky, Jesse Joensuu, Jason LaBarbera, David Perron, Jeff Petry, Justin Schultz, Nick Schultz, Ladislav Smid, Ryan Smyth, Nail Yakupov.

Injured: Sam Gagner, Curtis Hamilton, Steve MacIntyre, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Corey Potter.

Florida Panthers

Krys Barch, Aleksander Barkov, Brad Boyes, Brian Campbell, Joey Crabb, Tomas Fleischmann, Tom Gilbert, Matt Gilroy, Marcel Goc, Scott Gomez, Erik Gudbranson, Jonathan Huberdeau, Tomas Kopecky, Dmitry Kulikov, Jacob Markstrom, Shawn Matthias, Drew Shore, Tim Thomas, Scottie Upshall, Kris Versteeg, Mike Weaver, Jesse Winchester.

Injured: Sean Bergenheim, Nick Bjugstad, Scott Clemmensen, Ed Jovanovski, Steve Pinizzotto.

Los Angeles Kings

Dustin Brown, Dan Carcillo, Jeff Carter, Kyle Clifford, Drew Doughty, Keaton Ellerby, Colin Fraser, Matt Frattin, Matt Greene, Dwight King, Anze Kopitar, Trevor Lewis, Alec Martinez, Willie Mitchell, Jake Muzzin, Jordan Nolan, Jonathan Quick, Robyn Regehr, Mike Richards, Ben Scrivens, Jarret Stoll, Slava Voynov, Justin Williams.

Injured: None.

Minnesota Wild

Niklas Backstrom, Keith Ballard, Jonas Brodin, Kyle Brodziak, Matt Cooke, Charlie Coyle, Matt Dumba, Justin Fontaine, Mikael Granlund, Josh Harding, Dany Heatley, Mikko Koivu, Zenon Konopka, Torrey Mitchell, Nino Niederreiter, Zach Parise, Jason Pominville, Nate Prosser, Marco Scandella, Jared Spurgeon, Clayton Stoner, Ryan Suter.

Injured: Michael Rupp.

Montreal Canadiens

Francis Bouillon, Michael Bournival, Rene Bourque, Daniel Briere, Peter Budaj, David Desharnais, Raphael Diaz, Lars Eller, Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher, Brian Gionta, Josh Gorges, Andrei Markov, Travis Moen, Max Pacioretty, George Parros, Tomas Plekanec, Carey Price, Brandon Prust, P.K. Subban, Jarred Tinordi, Ryan White.

Injured: Davis Drewiske, Alexei Emelin, Douglas Murray, Steve Quailer, Christian Thomas.

Nashville Predators

Victor Bartley, Gabriel Bourque, Rich Clune, Matt Cullen, Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis, Mike Fisher, Filip Forsberg, Paul Gaustad, Matt Hendricks, Patric Hornqvist, Carter Hutton, Seth Jones, Roman Josi, Kevin Klein, David Legwand, Eric Nystrom, Pekka Rinne, Craig Smith, Nick Spaling, Shea Weber, Colin Wilson.

Injured: Viktor Stalberg.

New Jersey Devils

Steve Bernier, Martin Brodeur, Damien Brunner, Ryan Carter, Ryane Clowe, Mark Fayne, Stephen Gionta, Andy Greene, Peter Harrold, Adam Henrique, Jaromir Jagr, Jacob Josefson, Adam Larsson, Andrei Loktionov, Rostislav Olesz, Michael Ryder, Bryce Salvador, Cory Schneider, Alexander Urbom, Anton Volchenkov, Travis Zajac, Marek Zidlicky, Dainius Zubrus.

Injured: Patrik Elias, Mattias Tedenby.

New York Islanders

Josh Bailey, Pierre-Marc Bouchard, Eric Boulton, Matt Carkner, Casey Cizikas, Matt Donovan, Michael Grabner, Travis Hamonic, Thomas Hickey, Andrew MacDonald, Matt Martin, Colin McDonald, Matt Moulson, Evgeni Nabokov, Brock Nelson, Frans Nielsen, Kyle Okposo, Kevin Poulin, Peter Regin, Griffin Reinhart, Brian Strait, John Tavares, Lubomir Visnovsky.

Injured: Cal Clutterbuck.

New York Rangers

Arron Asham, Martin Biron, Brian Boyle, Derick Brassard, Michael Del Zotto, Derek Dorsett, Justin Falk, Jesper Fast, Dan Girardi, Henrik Lundqvist, Ryan McDonagh, J.T. Miller, Dominic Moore, John Moore, Rick Nash, Benoit Pouliot, Taylor Pyatt, Brad Richards, Marc Staal, Derek Stepan, Anton Stralman, Mats Zuccarello.

Injured: Ryan Callahan, Carl Hagelin.

Ottawa Senators

Craig Anderson, Cory Conacher, Erik Condra, Joe Corvo, Jared Cowen, Stephane Da Costa, Colin Greening, Eric Gryba, Erik Karlsson, Matt Kassian, Robin Lehner, Clarke MacArthur, Marc Methot, Milan Michalek, Chris Neil, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Chris Phillips, Bobby Ryan, Zack Smith, Jason Spezza, Kyle Turris, Patrick Wiercioch.

Injured: None.

Philadelphia Flyers

Braydon Coburn, Sean Couturier, Ray Emery, Claude Giroux, Nicklas Grossmann, Erik Gustafsson, Adam Hall, Scott Hartnell, Scott Laughton, Vincent Lecavalier, Steve Mason, Andrej Meszaros, Matt Read, Zac Rinaldo, Jay Rosehill, Brayden Schenn, Luke Schenn, Wayne Simmonds, Mark Streit, Maxime Talbot, Kimmo Timonen, Jakub Voracek.

Injured: Marc-Andre Bourdon, Chris Pronger.

Phoenix Coyotes

Paul Bissonnette, Mikkel Boedker, Chris Brown, Kyle Chipchura, Shane Doan, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Thomas Greiss, Martin Hanzal, Rob Klinkhammer, Lauri Korpikoski, Lucas Lessio, Zbynek Michalek, Derek Morris, David Moss, Mike Ribeiro, David Rundblad, David Schlemko, Mike Smith, Michael Stone, Chris Summers, Antoine Vermette, Radim Vrbata, Keith Yandle.

Injured: Rostislav Klesla.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Craig Adams, Robert Bortuzzo, Chris Conner, Sidney Crosby, Matt D'Agostini, Pascal Dupuis, Deryk Engelland, Marc-Andre Fleury, Tanner Glass, Dustin Jeffrey, Jussi Jokinen, Chris Kunitz, Olli Maatta, Evgeni Malkin, Paul Martin, James Neal, Matt Niskanen, Brooks Orpik, Harrison Ruopp, Rob Scuderi, Brandon Sutter, Joe Vitale, Jeff Zatkoff.

Injured: Kris Letang, Tomas Vokoun.

St. Louis Blues

David Backes, Patrik Berglund, Jay Bouwmeester, Ian Cole, Adam Cracknell, Brian Elliott, Jaroslav Halak, Barret Jackman, Maxim Lapierre, Jordan Leopold, T.J. Oshie, Magnus Paajarvi, Alex Pietrangelo, Roman Polak, Ryan Reaves, Derek Roy, Jaden Schwartz, Kevin Shattenkirk, Vladimir Sobotka, Alex Steen, Chris Stewart, Vladimir Tarasenko.

Injured: None.
Non-Roster: Brenden Morrow (pending immigration clearance)

San Jose Sharks

Dan Boyle, Justin Braun, Adam Burish, Brent Burns, Logan Couture, Jason Demers, Andrew Desjardins, Freddie Hamilton, Scott Hannan, Martin Havlat, Tomas Hertl, Matt Irwin, Tyler Kennedy, Patrick Marleau, Antti Niemi, Matthew Nieto, Joe Pavelski, James Sheppard, Alex Stalock, Brad Stuart, Joe Thornton, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Tommy Wingels.

Injured: Raffi Torres.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Keith Aulie, Mark Barberio, Ben Bishop, Eric Brewer, Matt Carle, Brett Connolly, B.J. Crombeen, Valtteri Filppula, Radko Gudas, Victor Hedman, Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn, Pierre-Cedric Labrie, Anders Lindback, Ryan Malone, Richard Panik, Teddy Purcell, Tom Pyatt, Sami Salo, Martin St.
Louis, Steven Stamkos, Andrej Sustr, Nate Thompson.

Injured: Brian Lee, Mattias Ohlund, Matt Taormina.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Carter Ashton, Jonathan Bernier, Troy Bodie, Dave Bolland, Tyler Bozak, David Clarkson, Cody Franson, Mark Fraser, Jake Gardiner, Carl Gunnarsson, Nazem Kadri, Phil Kessel, Nikolai Kulemin, Joffrey Lupul, Jay McClement, Colton Orr, Dion Phaneuf, Paul Ranger, Mason Raymond, James Reimer, Morgan Rielly, James Van Riemsdyk

Injured: Frazer McLaren, Kenny Ryan.

Vancouver Canucks

Andrew Alberts, Kevin Bieksa, David Booth, Alex Burrows, Zac Dalpe, Alexander Edler, Jason Garrison, Dan Hamhuis, Jannik Hansen, Chris Higgins, Zack Kassian, Ryan Kesler, Eddie Lack, Roberto Luongo, Brad Richardson, Mike Santorelli, Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Tom Sestito, Ryan Stanton, Chris Tanev, Yannick Weber, Dale Weise.

Injured: Jeremie Blain, Nicklas Jensen, Jordan Schroeder.

Washington Capitals

Karl Alzner, Nicklas Backstrom, Jay Beagle, Troy Brouwer, John Carlson, Connor Carrick, Jason Chimera, Martin Erat, John Erskine, Eric Fehr, Mikhail Grabovski, Mike Green, Jack Hillen, Braden Holtby, Marcus Johansson, Brooks Laich, Michael Latta, Michal Neuvirth, Steve Oleksy, Alex Ovechkin, Aaron Volpatti, Joel Ward, Tom Wilson.

Injured: None.

Winnipeg Jets

Zach Bogosian, Dustin Byfuglien, Tobias Enstrom, Michael Frolik, Matt Halischuk, Olli Jokinen, Evander Kane, Andrew Ladd, Bryan Little, Al Montoya, Adam Pardy, Ondrej Pavelec, Anthony Peluso, Paul Postma, Mark Scheifele, Devin Setoguchi, Jim Slater, Mark Stuart, Eric Tangradi, Chris Thorburn, Jacob Trouba, Blake Wheeler, James Wright.

Injured: Grant Clitsome.

MONTREAL -- Before the Maple Leafs were going to throw numbers out at his agents, GM Dave Nonis needed to first hear from Phil Kessel that he wanted to stay in Toronto for a long time.

Nonis wanted that commitment, face-to-face, before he was going to get serious in contract talks with Newport Sports. He got the answer he wanted from the Team USA Olympic winger in a meeting last week, which gave the Leafs' GM the trigger he needed to get the ball rolling with agent Wade Arnott.

"I said this before camp, we weren't about to throw any money at any player, Phil included, until we were sure, I was comfortable, that he wanted to stay in Toronto," Nonis said at a noon-hour news conference at the Bell Centre. "He brought up to me last week how important it was to stay. And that’s when we started negotiations."

"I want to finish my career here," Kessel said at the same news conference. "It would be a great city to win in, and we're going to do whatever we can to make that happen."

Don't underestimate Toronto’s ability to re-sign center Tyler Bozak on July 5 as a major factor in Kessel staying put. The two linemates are very close friends off the ice; heck, they live together. Had Bozak walked, and he did test free agency before circling back to the Leafs, it might have hampered Toronto’s ability to re-sign Kessel.

Having said that, talks didn’t get going with Kessel for real until last week after the Nonis-Kessel meeting.

With Kessel’s self-imposed deadline of opening night acting as the pressure point because the star player didn't want to discuss an extension during the season, both sides came together Tuesday morning on a $64 million, eight-year contract.

For one, the Leafs shared Kessel’s desire not to have this drag into the season. There was concern that it would affect his production on the ice as his contractual future hung over him.

So there was mutual interest in seeing this done.

Many will believe it's too much money for Kessel, but the numbers, at least, suggest otherwise:

• Only Kessel and Steven Stamkos were among the top 10 scorers in the NHL each of the past two seasons.

• Only Stamkos, Evgeni Malkin and Claude Giroux have more points than Kessel over the past two seasons.

• And only Stamkos, Alex Ovechkin and Corey Perry have more goals than Kessel over the past three years.

Kessel’s $8 million cap hit in the new deal is still less than Giroux's new deal ($8.275M), Perry's ($8.625M) and Ryan Getzlaf's ($8.25M), the three contracts brought up the most in negotiations by Kessel’s camp.

"He’s had several great years, that’s something some people overlook," Nonis said. "If you look at his goal totals and his point totals over the past few years, he’s up there with some pretty elite players."

But perhaps most importantly for the Leafs was Kessel’s playoff performance last season, when he proved he could step up in the clutch and was terrific against Boston in a seven-game first-round loss.

That erased any concern that the Leafs' front office might have had about building a team around Kessel.

"It certainly opened some eyes," Nonis said of that series.

So now the attention turns to Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf, whose contract will expire after the season. But unlike Kessel, the star blueliner doesn't care if talks go into the season. As he pointed out to ESPN.com on Tuesday morning, the last contract he signed was done during the season with the Calgary Flames, so it’s not new territory.

Phaneuf said he'll leave it with his Newport Sports agents Don Meehan and Craig Oster, knowing they'll figure something out with Nonis.

"They’ll get together and talk, they’ll handle it," a totally relaxed Phaneuf said.

If anything, Phaneuf was more excited for his teammate's big signing. Which perhaps, in some ways, affects how he viewed his future with the Leafs.

"I really like what we’re doing here, what direction the team is headed in," Phaneuf said. "Phil is a huge signing for us. It’s great news. He’s one of the top forwards in the game, such an important guy for us. He’s really elevated his game the last few years. This is great."

Kessel’s deal includes $22.5 million in signing-bonus money that’s spread over the first four years of the deal and the last two years of the contract. Of interest, his last two years of his deal carry only a $1 million salary, and the rest is bonus money, protected against a possible lockout because bonus money gets paid out regardless, whereas salaries do not in the event of another lockout.

Crease conundrum
One of the hot topics all season for Toronto will be goaltending, with newly acquired Jonathan Bernier trying to unseat incumbent James Reimer as starter.

The two have stalls next to each other in the visitors dressing room at the Bell Centre, but only one of them was smiling Tuesday morning.
Reimer was thrilled to be getting the opening night nod in net, while Bernier -- while saying all the right things -- did admit he was a bit disappointed, citing that family and friends would be on hand in his hometown. He’ll very likely start Wednesday night in Philadelphia as the Leafs play back-to-back, but it’s obvious that Bernier would have loved to start in his native province on Tuesday night.

Champions on Ice: The Blackhawks begin their Stanley Cup defense tonight as they look to become the first repeat Stanley Cup Champions since the Red Wings in 1996-97 and 1997-98. From Elias: Over the previous seven seasons, the defending champion has fared poorly in season openers, going 1-4-2 with the lone victory being the Penguins over the Rangers in 2009-10.

Maple Leafs at Canadiens, 7 ET
* Maple Leafs: 3-2-0 vs Canadiens last season, 2-0-0 at Montreal (1 goal allowed)
* Maple Leafs: won 5 of last 6 in Montreal
* 5th straight season teams opening against each other (Maple Leafs 3-0-1)
* Phil Kessel (TOR): ended last season on a 5-game point streak (4G, 5A)

Capitals at Blackhawks, 8 ET
* Teams last met in March 2012 (Blackhawks won at home)
* Blackhawks: 2-0-1 at home vs Capitals in the shootout era

Jets at Oilers, 10 ET
* Teams have met once since franchise relocated to Winnipeg (Oilers won in Winnipeg Feb. 2012)
* Oilers: 2-0-1 at home vs Jets in shootout era
* Last time Jets played in Edmonton was March 29, 1996

TOP THINGS TO KNOW
1. In addition to playing a full season after a lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign, the NHL has a new divisional alignment for 2013-14. There will now be two divisions in each conference instead of three and there are now 16 teams in the East and 14 in the West as the Detroit Red Wings & Columbus Blue Jackets move East while the Winnipeg Jets head West.

2. The 2013-14 season also features a new playoff format. The new format is primarily division-based, with the top three teams in each division automatically qualifying. The last two playoff spots in each conference will then be wild-card spots, going to the next two teams with the highest point totals regardless of division.

3. The NHL is increasing its outdoor presence in 2013-14. Six outdoor games are on the schedule this season --0 the traditional New Year’s Day Winter Classic (the Detroit Red Wings hosting the Toronto Maple Leafs at Michigan Stadium) as well as two outdoor games at Yankee Stadium involving the Metro New York teams, and one outdoor game each in Los Angeles, Chicago and Vancouver.

4. There will be no All-Star Game for the second straight season as the NHL instead goes on hiatus from February 9-25 as its players will take part in the men's hockey competition at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

5. Notable rule changes for 2013-14 include that a player cannot remove his helmet to take part in a fight (though the preseason saw players remove each other’s helmets in fights on a number of occasions) and new rules to restrict and reduce the size of goaltenders’ leg pads.

ESPN's NHL crew is ready to get rolling on another NHL season. Join us Tuesday, starting at 7 p.m. ET to open the 2013-14 season.

You have all committed the new realignment configuration to memory by now. Quick, are the New York Rangers, who are within spitting distance of the Atlantic Ocean, in the Atlantic Division? No. Good. Carry on. -- But you might have forgotten some of the more subtle rule changes that will go into effect this season.

For instance, you might have read that the NHL is cracking down on style violators, insisting that all players keep their jerseys uniformly untucked. This means you, Alexander Ovechkin and Alexander Semin, and never mind that thousands of youngsters have imitated the style because it looks cool in a retro-Gretzky way.

The move to uniformity came out of the last GMs’ meetings and was part of the discussion at the summer competition committee meeting. We sort of get it. You don’t want players freelance accessorizing their gear, adding buckskin fringe à la old Neil Young or sequins or laces with bells on them. As one GM told ESPN.com, some of the guys were starting to look like “hobos.” So a little decorum isn’t a bad thing.

But does it really matter if a player tucks in his jersey? Really? If it makes officials’ jobs easier because they can see the numbers more clearly, we get that, but the player’s name on the back should also help in terms of identifying players for a foul. And does the NHL want to add more work for its officials? We can’t get the head shot rules right, but let’s make sure players all look the same, and we’re going to give on-ice guys more work to do to make sure that happens. After the embarrassing show put on by the Toronto Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres in the preseason, it just seems a little small of the league to have identified this as an issue that must be addressed.

The sweater tuck is just one area of equipment use where the league has mandated conformity. They are also requiring that jersey sleeves be worn into the cuff of the player’s glove and pant legs aren’t ripped or altered in any fashion.

The other major equipment issue this year is the mandatory use of visors for all players who have played 25 or fewer NHL games. The only shocking part of this rule is that it took this long for the players’ association to get on board with mandating the maximum protection available to its membership. But better late than never, and this ensures that within a few years only the dinosaurs will be venturing onto the ice without a visor.

Goaltenders’ pads will be also be reduced this season. If you’ve got a degree in advanced physics from MIT you can actually follow the formula used to determine the vertical allowance in pad size for each individual goalie. Otherwise, just take our word for it, they’ll be shorter. Pads will be limited to 11 inches in width. While the goalies don’t like it, as long as this doesn’t impugn their safety, we’re good with it. Any edge shooters can get back after years of trying to find a hole in bloated goalie gear is a good edge to get back.

NHL nets will also have a different look this year, as some four inches have been shaved off the width of the goal. The actual area into which the shooters will shoot (and the goalies will naturally defend) remains constant, but the narrower width will allow for more space behind and to the side of the net. The theory is this will provide more room for offensive players to maneuver and thus create more scoring chances, although it also provides more room for defenders to make plays. Regardless, more space is better while maintaining the historical integrity of the goal size.

The players voted at the end of training camp to adopt the new hybrid icing that has been discussed for several years and was tested during the exhibition season. Basically, linesmen determine who will reach a puck that can be called for icing (i.e. will cross the end red line) based on whether the offensive player or the defending player reaches the defensive zone faceoff dot first. So, if the attacking player beats the defender to the dot, the play remains live, and conversely, if the defender reaches the dot first, the play is automatically blown dead. This is a good rule even if it puts more pressure on the linesmen to determine whose skates reach the dot first, but anything that keeps plays alive as often as possible while at the same time reducing the potential for cataclysmic injuries during collisions on icing calls is a good thing.

As an adjunct to hybrid icing, the league has taken the "attainable pass" language out of icing rules, meaning that if a player misses a pass that goes for icing, the linesmen won’t wave off the icing unless the offensive team touches the puck first (see above). In the past, if there was a clear attempt at a pass, the linesman could wave off icing even if no contact was made with the puck. We will actually miss this rule.

There are some changes to the fighting rules as well. The unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that went to a player who instigated a fight while wearing a visor has been taken out of the rule book. Also, any player that takes his helmet off before a fight will earn an extra two-minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, which has led to at least one instance where players took each other’s helmets off at the start of a fight (Krys Barch and Brett Gallant figured out this loophole).

The league should ban fighting outright, just so it doesn’t have to introduce nonsensical rules like this. The league seems prepared to allow its players to flirt with serious head injuries during the course of a fight when it’s entirely likely one or both combatants' helmets will fly off, and they will try and penalize players who take their helmets off to start a dust-up. This is a reminder that in many ways this is still a very curious game. Try explaining this one to the next group of aliens that drops into your backyard on a Saturday night.

APPROVED GOAL FRAME
Note – The bottom depth of the frame is moved from 44” to 40” and the side radius is reduced from 20” to 18”; resulting in 4” reduction per side. The total width of the bottom of the frame is changed from 96” to 88”. There is no change to the opening of the goal frame.

Rule 9 – UNIFORMS
As directed by the general managers, and to further the League’s initiatives in the area of player safety, there will be strict enforcement of how equipment is worn per Rule 9. See below for specifics.

9.7 Visors – Beginning with the 2013-2014 season, all players who have fewer than 25 games of NHL experience must wear a visor properly affixed to their helmet. Visors are to be affixed to the helmets in such a fashion as to ensure adequate eye protection.

Rule 11 – GOALKEEPER’S EQUIPMENT
Note – The new formula for vertical pad height (Limiting Distance Size) effective this season is Floor to Knee + 45% (reduced from 55%) of Knee to Pelvis + 4” (inch) skate allowance.

Rule 11.2 Leg Guards – The leg guards worn by goalkeepers shall not exceed eleven inches (11”) in extreme width when on the leg of the player. Each goalkeeper must wear pads that are anatomically proportional and size specific based on the individual physical characteristics of that goalkeeper. The League’s Hockey Operations Department will have the complete discretion to determine the maximum height of each goalkeeper’s pads based on measurements obtained by the League’s Hockey Operations Department, which will include the floor to center of knee and center of knee to pelvis measurements. Each goalkeeper will be given a Limiting Distance Size based on these measurements. The Limiting Distance Size will be the sum of the floor to knee and 45% of the knee to pelvis measurements plus a four inch (4”) allowance for the height of the skate. The Limiting Distance Size is a vertical measurement from the playing surface and will be measured with the Limiting Distance Gauge when inspected at the clearing house phase and during post game spot checks to ensure compliance. Any pads deemed too large for a goalkeeper will be considered illegal equipment for that goalkeeper, regardless of whether or not they would have fallen within previous equipment maximums. The minimum length of the boot of the pad is to be no less than seven inches (7”). The goal pad must have a defined boot channel with no inserts. The channel must be big enough so that the skate slots into it and is not resting on the pad. No attachments such as plastic puck foils are permitted. Pads can only be ten and one-half inches (101/2”) deep. The measurement will be taken from the front face of the pad to the last edge of the inner knee protection.

Rule 46 – FIGHTING
Note – The instigating an altercation with a face shield language from Rule 46.6 has been deleted. An additional unsportsmanlike conduct penalty will no longer be assessed.

46.6 Helmets – No player may remove his helmet prior to engaging in a fight. If he should do so, he shall be assessed a two minute minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Helmets that come off in the course of and resulting from the altercation will not result in a penalty to either player.

Rule 48 – ILLEGAL CHECK TO THE HEAD
Note – The NHL has amended the wording to NHL Rule 48.1. The on-ice officials’ standard of enforcement of this rule is unchanged.

48.1 Illegal Check to the Head – A hit resulting in contact with an opponent’s head where the head was the main point of contact and such contact to the head was avoidable is not permitted. In determining whether contact with an opponent’s head was avoidable, the circumstances of the hit including the following shall be considered:

(i) Whether the player attempted to hit squarely through the opponent’s body and the head was not “picked” as a result of poor timing, poor angle of approach, or unnecessary extension of the body upward or outward.

(ii) Whether the opponent put himself in a vulnerable position by assuming a posture that made head contact on an otherwise full body check unavoidable.

(iii) Whether the opponent materially changed the position of his body or head immediately prior to or simultaneously with the hit in a way that significantly contributed to the head contact.

Rule 81 – ICING
The attainable pass language from Rule 81.5 has been deleted. The officials are to wave off icing only if the player touches the puck.

Rule: For the purpose of interpretation of the rule, there are two judgments required for “icing the puck”. The Linesman must first determine that the puck will cross the goal line. Once the Linesman determines that the puck will cross the goal line, icing is completed upon the determination as to which player (attacking or defending) would first touch the puck. This decision by the Linesman will be made the instant the first player reaches the end zone face-off dots with the player’s skate being the determining factor. Should the puck be shot down the ice in such a manner that it travels around the boards and/or back towards the end zone face-off dots, the same procedure shall be in effect in that the Linesman shall determine within a similar distance as to who will have touched the puck first.

PARK CITY, Utah -- The United States men's hockey team has enjoyed a lot of success on North American ice.

The Americans won gold at the 1960 Olympics in Squaw Valley, Calif., and, as you might recall, upset the Soviets en route to the gold medal at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid. The team won silver in 2002 (Salt Lake City) and 2010 (Vancouver), losing to Canada each time.

Playing elsewhere has been the problem. The U.S. has never won gold outside its own country and has medaled outside of North America only once since 1956. Even with NHL players, the U.S. team was, shall we say it, underwhelming at the 1998 Olympics in Nagano and the 2006 Olympics in Torino, finishing sixth and eighth.

Which does not exactly bode well for the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.

St. Louis Blues right winger David Backes, who was on the 2010 team, said Monday that the U.S. recently talked about this pattern and how to change it. He said playing on Europe's larger rinks and playing somewhere outside their comfort zone are the major issues. (All teams played on an NHL-sized rink in the Vancouver Games.)

"Collectively, they're the biggest challenges," he said at the Olympic media summit. "I know that's a politician's answer to the question, but I think that they're the difference between success on North American soil and not a lot of success on European soil. Those two things combine for a little bit of adversity before you've even dropped the puck.

"On top of that, the other guys are swinging the other way. [In Salt Lake and Vancouver], they were going from living in their comfort zone to coming over to North America and not being comfortable with our culture, our society, our food, whatever," Backes added. "Now they're back on European soil and are as comfortable as can be. That tilts the table a little, but preparing for that and being aware that it's going to happen and taking it in stride will be a big factor in whether we have the success we hope to have or whether we don't."

"We have to come to grips with that," said Nashville Predators GM David Poile, who is also serving as the general manager of the 2014 U.S. men's team. "People were very comfortable in Salt Lake and Vancouver. They had their families there. Socially, they were comfortable because they could go out after a game or on an off-day and go out to a restaurant. Sochi will have a totally different dynamic. Sochi is not really close to anything -- the city is 35-40 minutes away. It's going to be a different experience for all the athletes."

Adapting to the ice and a less physical game is also important, Poile said.

"There has to be some adjustments," he said. "Whether it's angles for goalies or what a defensemen does in going back and getting a puck or what position a forward plays, there have to be some changes. Maybe it just seems obvious, but it needs to be pointed out to the players and put into the strategy of the game."

DENVER -- You've no doubt read my colleague Pierre LeBrun’s popular "rumblings" blog. Well, this is more a rambling than a rumbling. To whit:

Cheat deals: Like most people, we're fascinated to see how the Daniel Alfredsson experiment turns out in Detroit. But the one thing we still can’t get over is that the NHL decided not to act on Alfredsson’s blunt acknowledgment that his previous contract with the Ottawa Senators was, in fact, a blatant attempt to circumvent the salary cap under the previous collective bargaining agreement. Alfredsson told reporters before training camp that when the four-year deal was signed, neither side expected Alfredsson would play in the contract’s final year -- worth only $1 million in real money even though the cap hit was $4.875 million annually. It was exactly that kind of wink, wink, nudge, nudge deal that the league had been warning teams about for years -- Alfredsson made $7 million in each of the first two years of the pact -- and which ultimately cost the New Jersey Devils mightily in their first attempt at a contract for the erstwhile Ilya Kovalchuk. The so-called cheat deals were, in theory, eliminated by new parameters put on contracts in the new collective bargaining agreement, and the league’s position is that they are going to look forward instead of back. Good news for the Senators, but maybe in the spirit of CBA détente, the league should forgive the Devils the first round draft pick they must forfeit next spring for having done no worse than what Alfredsson admitted the Senators did in his case.

Captain Ference: I love the idea of Andrew Ference wearing the captain’s ‘C’ in Edmonton. Head coach Dallas Eakins has many options, but Ference has the right temperament for what promises to be a demanding job. Yes, Taylor Hall may yet be the Oilers’ captain of the future, but Ference comes from a culture of winning in Boston, and in Calgary before that when winning was something the Flames actually did. He’s won a Cup and been to two Stanley Cup finals. He’s smart, thinks through the game well and interacts well with the public and the media. When we spoke to Eakins during training camp, he talked about the variety of skill sets that Ference brings to an Oilers' table that has not seen a taste of the playoffs since 2006, and he was speaking as much about the off-ice skill set as the on-ice toughness and ability to move the puck.

Not so fast, rookie: I must admit I was surprised to see the Tampa Bay Lightning ship No. 3 overall draft pick Jonathan Drouin back to junior where the folks in Halifax will be happy to see the skilled winger. His junior teammate and No. 1 overall pick Nathan MacKinnon has long been penciled into the Colorado Avalanche's opening lineup. Likewise, No. 2 pick Aleksander Barkov will start in Florida, and Seth Jones, No. 4 in one of the greatest top-heavy draft classes in recent memory, will stick in Nashville. But GM Steve Yzerman and the Lightning staff obviously didn't feel Drouin was ready. As desperate as the Bolts are to return to the playoffs after missing since their surprise berth in the 2011 Eastern Conference finals, the team decided it was best for Drouin’s overall development to return to junior, where he will play significant minutes as well as be a part of Canada’s effort at the World Junior Championship. Given that Yzerman spent his entire career playing in Detroit, a franchise whose trademark for the past two decades has been one of patience and never (or rarely, anyway) rushing a player to the NHL, maybe the move isn't all that surprising. As he explained to reporters in Tampa, Yzerman wants his young players playing all the time, not relegated to fourth-line minutes in the NHL or sitting in the press box. In that same vein, the Lightning also sent former No. 6 overall draft pick Brett Connolly back to the Bolts’ American Hockey League affiliate in Syracuse.

The young and the discarded in South Beach: Is it just us or does this year’s version of the Florida Panthers bear a striking resemblance to the one that two years ago went from a rag-tag bunch of summer signings to an unexpected Southeast Division title? We didn't have the gumption to pick the Panthers to be that kind of team this season, but with new ownership taking control last week, GM Dale Tallon has locked up former Vezina Trophy winner and playoff MVP Tim Thomas to a one-year deal, while adding useful players Brad Boyes and Tom Gilbert -- both of whom were on tryouts -- to one-year deals. Boyes played top-line minutes with the New York Islanders last year, and Gilbert will add some depth to a blue line that is still very much in transition with Erik Gudbranson hoping to evolve into a franchise blueliner. Now, a lot can go wrong, but it’s interesting that two summers ago when Tallon brought in a bevy of newcomers, including Brian Campbell, Kris Versteeg, Ed Jovanovski, Tomas Fleischmann and Sean Bergenheim, few people gave head coach Kevin Dineen a chance to make it work then. With an emerging Gudbranson, defending rookie of the year Jonathan Huberdeau and Barkov, there is an intriguing blend of the young and the discarded.

Vokoun's health: We were pleased to read agent Allan Walsh’s comments to Pittsburgh writer Rob Rossi regarding the health and potential recovery of netminder Tomas Vokoun, who required surgery during training camp to deal with a blood clot issue. It’s not the first time Vokoun has dealt with the medical issue, but Walsh told Rossi that reports out of the Czech Republic that Vokoun’s career is over and he nearly died as a result of the illness were not true. Not a knock on reporters in other countries, but a reminder that sometimes stuff gets lost in translation. Walsh told Rossi that Vokoun is looking forward to resuming his NHL career, although an exact timetable remains unknown. Vokoun’s story is inspirational, as he’s overcome many hurdles to carve out a solid NHL career. He was nothing but a gentleman as he took over for Marc-Andre Fleury in the first round of the playoffs for the Penguins last spring and guided the Pens to the Eastern Conference finals. Here’s hoping he makes a speedy return to the game.

Kings of depth: One of the reasons to like (or fear, if you’re a Western Conference opponent) the Los Angeles Kings is the kind of depth GM Dean Lombardi has assembled in LA. The team sent Tyler Toffoli to the minors over the weekend after the youngster made a strong impression last season. He was especially impressive in the playoffs, collecting six points in 12 postseason games and earning time on the Kings’ power play. Toffoli will start the season in Manchester along with talented linemates Linden Vey and Tanner Pearson -- a group Lombardi has likened on a number of occasions to famed LA Dodgers Ron Cey, Bill Russell, Steve Garvey and Davey Lopes, who all blossomed together in the Dodgers’ farm system before becoming star major leaguers. In short, you may not see them in a Kings jersey in October, but it won’t be a surprise when, at some point this season, you see not just Toffoli, but perhaps all three making their case for a permanent stay in Hollywood.

Goalie buzz: And finally, of all the goaltending drama unfolding around the NHL -- Tim Thomas in Florida, the Jonathan Bernier/James Reimer duel in Toronto, Roberto Luongo’s return as the erstwhile starter for the Vancouver Canucks -- perhaps none has been as curious as the decision to find the heir apparent to Miikka Kiprusoff in Calgary. Now, expectations are low for the Flames (OK, that’s a bit of an understatement, especially with Mike Cammalleri’s availability for the start of the season now in jeopardy thanks to injury) but with journeyman Joey MacDonald, Swiss sensation Reto Berra and former Lightning prospect Karri Ramo jostling for the right to start on opening night, it has created at least a little buzz around the team. If we had to guess, we would go with Ramo, who got rave reviews for his play in the Kontinental Hockey League and is now trying to prove he’s NHL-ready. Our guess is he’s about to find out.

All teams need to get to their opening day 23-man roster by Monday afternoon.

Available:

Anaheim: Nolan Yonkman
Boston: Nick Johnson
Buffalo: Alexander Sulzer
Calgary: Blair Jones, Derek Smith, Ben Street
Carolina: Chris Terry
Chicago: Ryan Stanton
Colorado: Guillaume Desbiens
Detroit: Cory Emmerton
Edmonton: Philip Larsen, Ryan Hamilton
Florida: Joey Crabb, Colby Robak
Los Angeles: Jeff Schultz
New Jersey: Cam Janssen
NY Islanders: Joe Finley
NY Rangers: Stu Bickel, Brandon Mashinter, Darroll Powe
Pittsburgh: Andrew Ebbett, Chris Conner
San Jose: Bracken Kearns, John McCarthy, Matt Pelech
Tampa Bay: Dana Tyrell, Mike Angelidis, Matt Taormina
Toronto: Korbinian Holzer, T.J. Brennan, John-Michael Liles, Trevor Smith, Troy Bodie, Drew McIntyre
Washington: Joel Rechlicz
Winnipeg: Patrice Cormier, Adam Pardy

Claimed:

Edmonton: Luke Gazdic (from Dallas)

Cleared:

Anaheim: Brad Staubitz
Buffalo: Luke Adam
Columbus: Ryan Craig, Cody Goloubef, Mike McKenna, Jack Skille, Jeremy Smith
Dallas: Travis Morin, Cristopher Nilstrop, Colton Scevious
Ottawa: Dave Dziurzynski, Mike Hoffman
Philadelphia: Bruno Gervais
St. Louis: Chris Porter
Washington: Tyson Strachan

MONTREAL -- Brian Gionta thought he had a sure goal near the end of the second period Thursday night, the Montreal Canadiens captain on the doorstep for a tap-in, only to be robbed by Craig Anderson.

The Ottawa Senators netminder did a lot of that last season, especially in a first-round series win over the Habs.

In one of Bryan Murray’s most brilliant moves as general manager of the Senators, he acquired Anderson from Colorado in February 2011 in exchange for Brian Elliott. While Elliott has gone on to have some measure of success in St. Louis as a 1B to Jaroslav Halak, Anderson has been Vezina-like in Canada’s capital.

It was a franchise-altering move.

"We were real fortunate to get a goaltender of Anderson’s caliber in a trade, you don’t often get a goaltender like that," Murray told ESPN.com on Thursday night at the Bell Centre. "That gave us a chance to do what we had to do with Robin."

Ah yes, Robin Lehner, the 22-year-old netminder finally breaking camp with the NHL squad after three years of tutelage in the AHL.

"It’s my first season being up here from the start, it feels pretty good,” the Gothenburg, Sweden, native told ESPN.com on Thursday night. "You kind [of] get to start a life. The last four years, I’ve lived with my suitcase from hotel to hotel. Now you have a base and you can start something."

There are some around the NHL that think Lehner is already starter material. Some also believe he’s franchise-goalie material in the not-too-distant future.

"I do for sure," a rival NHL team executive said. "He has all of the characteristics, including a great run to an AHL championship [in 2011]. His compete [level] stands out. All he needs is more NHL experience."

All of which makes Ottawa’s netminding duo arguably the most potent in the NHL.

Anderson, for one, might have won the Vezina last season had it not been for an injury that made him miss too much time to garner enough votes from NHL GMs. When he was healthy, he put up a ridiculous .941 save percentage along with a 1.69 goals-against average.

Anderson aims to pick up where he left off.

"Every day you go out there you want to prove something,” Anderson told ESPN.com on Thursday night. "There’s a lot to be proven every season. You’re either growing or you’re dying in this game. For me, I want to give my team a chance to win every night and, if I do that, the statistics and the accolades will take care of themselves."

While most NHL teams have to live with the fact that on 20 to 25 nights a season, they’re giving a goal away by dressing the backup, one could argue the Senators will have a true starter in net for 82 games this season.

"The one thing we do know, they are both very capable, both can win games for us," Murray said. "That’s a real strength for an organization."

Going back to the franchise re-birth in 1992, the Senators have always lacked that true, surefire elite No. 1; it cost them in their playoff series losses to rival Toronto, and you could argue it is the reason that a Stanley Cup eluded the club in the late 1990s and 2000s despite all the incredible talent that skated in suburban Kanata.

It was awfully important to Murray when he took over the reins as GM to fix that.

"Hopefully this time, with the two guys, we’ll have a chance moving forward,” Murray said. "But yes, Ottawa has had that struggle over the years. Which is why we tried to address it with the trade for Anderson and drafting Robin."

Anderson starts as the No. 1 guy, but those around the organization are intrigued to see how Lehner pushes Anderson. My sense is head coach Paul MacLean will ride Anderson early and often and make Lehner force his hand as the season goes on.

Is Lehner ready for the opportunity?

"He’s had a great camp,” Murray said of Lehner, drafted 46th overall in 2009. "He looks like he’s taken another step.

"The one thing about Robin, when he first came in, he was in a hurry to get to the NHL. It would be a 'Why can’t I be up there?' type of thing. He understands now the process of becoming a good goaltender in the league. He’s had a great summer and it looks like he’s really filled out, he’s matured, and he’s ready to be a good goalie in this league."

Those who aren’t sold on Lehner wonder whether he has the temperament to be an NHL star goalie. Lehner says his time in the AHL helped his development immeasurably.

"I had a lot of things that I needed to work on from a technical point, from a psychological point, from an attitude point of view, everything," said Lehner, a 6-foot-4, 223-pound behemoth in net. "It’s a process you have to go through. It’s a tough league, it’s a lot of pressure, and if you’re not ready you can break down on a lot of levels. Ottawa has done a great job of that in helping me get better every year."

What will be new for Lehner is beginning the year as a backup. But he welcomes the chance to maximize his opportunities.

"You take the chances you get,” Lehner said. "It’s all about winning. I’m going to try to do that when I get the chance. I know Craig will do that, too."

Not every netminder loves being "pushed" in net by his tandem mate. Some goalies are peculiar lads, indeed. But Anderson, a likable veteran who has traveled a tough road to gain his well-earned respect around the league, says he’s fine with it.

"You need to be pushed," Anderson said. "When you find that comfort zone in your career, when you get in a situation where you’re [too] comfortable, you get bitten, you get bitten hard. I learned that once. I choose not to learn that again."

Anderson was referring to 2006 when he was waived three times from January to February, going from Chicago to Boston to St. Louis back to Chicago, trading hands like a bag of popcorn.

"I got comfortable and just accepted being the second guy, didn’t feel like pushing [Nikolai] Khabibulin at all," Anderson said. "I had to take a step backward to take a couple of leaps forward."

An obvious strength in Ottawa this season will also be fascinating to watch, as the kid pushes the vet. It’s a situation the Senators have dreamed of for a very long time.

Re-signing Cody Franson obviously makes the Toronto Maple Leafs a better team. But the moment the one-year, $2 million deal was agreed upon late Wednesday night, it also created a bit of salary-cap hell for the Blue and White.

According to capgeek.com, the Leafs sit at $64.816 million with 23 players, a bit above the $64.3 million cap. Mind you, it’s really tough to put a precise number on things until you see who gets demoted and who makes the team.

Either way, things are tight with Toronto's cap.

So what now? No question there will be trade talks, but it’s a tough time of year to move money with teams cutting down to opening-day rosters.

"Believe me, they’ll be getting lots of calls from teams now," a rival team executive told ESPN.com on Thursday, "but they won’t be getting any favors."

The Leafs have until Monday to get cap compliant before opening day.

Toronto could pull it off without necessarily having to trade anyone, but it would mean beginning the season with a thin roster, likely around 20 players. That’s because David Clarkson’s $5.25 million cap hit stays on the books for the duration of his 10-game, 24-day suspension.

The better route would be to pull off some cap-relieving trade with another team.

The guy the Leafs would love to move is veteran blueliner John-Michael Liles, but given that he has three years left at a $3.875 million cap hit, there may not be a market out there for him unless the Leafs eat part of his deal or move another asset with him to entice a trade.

It just so happens that the Calgary Flames are now run by former Leafs GM Brian Burke (now president of hockey operations in Calgary), who brought Liles to Toronto to begin with. And the Flames have oodles of cap space.

Thing is, why would a rebuilding Flames have any interest in a veteran player at this point? They likely wouldn't unless the Leafs were willing to throw in a young player in the mix, such as Joe Colborne. His name has been in the rumor mill of late, and he’s the kind of young center the Flames could use.

If the Leafs don’t see anything that makes sense trade-wise, they can pull off the math gymnastics by demoting a few players Sunday, like Korbinian Holzer and Mark Fraser.

In the previous collective bargaining agreement, the Leafs could have solved this with one stroke by sending Liles and his big salary down to the AHL and it wouldn’t count against the cap. But after what happened to Wade Redden in the previous CBA when the veteran blueliner was stuck in the AHL for a couple of years so the Rangers could hide his cap hit, the league and NHLPA changed the rule. Now, the only cap savings from sending a player like Liles down would be $925,000. But the Leafs may well do that anyway.

Either way, Sunday should prove to be an interesting day around the NHL, because the Leafs are hardly alone around the league in being up against the cap. A number of teams have some tough decisions to make, and it will involve putting players on waivers that they would much rather not lose with the hope they get to the AHL and aren’t claimed.

Other teams with cap room will no doubt sit back Sunday and see who’s available in that regard. So watching who gets claimed off Monday’s waiver report will be just as fascinating.

In the end, while the Franson signing gives Toronto cap fits for now, it’s a no-brainer decision. He was arguably their second-best defenseman last season, his 29 points tied for sixth among NHL defensemen.

Credit both sides for giving in to make the deal happen. The Leafs said they wanted no fewer than two years for term, and it was important for Franson to do a one-year deal so he can get a better deal next summer when the cap goes up. The Leafs gave in on term, but Franson took way less money than market value. He wanted around $3.5 million and settled for $2 million. The Leafs get a real bargain for one year.

Franson, who will be a restricted free agent next summer, just adds to Toronto’s offseason list of chores, as contracts for Dion Phaneuf (UFA), Phil Kessel (UFA), James Reimer (RFA), Dave Bolland (UFA) and emerging blueliner Jake Gardiner (RFA) are also expiring at the end of the season.

Right now, though, it’s all about figuring out the cap before Monday’s roster deadline.

Take out your calculators, folks.

Even though there was a collective cringe Monday night when Rangers general manager Glen Sather took to the team-owned airwaves and criticized unsigned restricted free agent Derek Stepan -- what many interpreted as a clear sign that negotiations would become increasingly nasty and drawn out -- the 23-year-old agreed to terms just a few days later on a modest two-year deal.

That deal, which a source confirmed to ESPNNewYork.com is worth a total of $6.15 million over two years, is a steal considering Stepan’s worth to the team.

Although unfortunate, Sather's comments Monday night (he instructed Stepan to be "wiser" about the decision and even dropped the word "fool" into the conversation), were a reflection of the team's leverage in the protracted situation.

For one, Stepan had no arbitration rights. Furthermore, it wasn't like the Rangers had oodles of cash to drop on the 23-year-old pivot, especially considering the somewhat surprising decision by the team NOT to buy out Brad Richards' contract this summer. The team also knew that the possibility of sitting out any portion of the season had to be an unappealing one to Stepan, even more so with his Olympic candidacy at stake.

So the Rangers held firm on sticking around the $3 million average annual value (Stepan's comes in just north of that at $3.075 million per year) and got their probable first-line center under contract with a very team-friendly deal -- one that is very likely to be considered under value market for the dynamic youngster.

Though Stepan missed valuable time in training camp with the Rangers, who are learning a new system under coach Alain Vigneault, he will be available for the team's season opener Oct. 3 against the Phoenix Coyotes. Not having him in the lineup could have been a disaster for the Rangers with captain Ryan Callahan and fellow top-six forward Carl Hagelin unlikely to play (both players are coming off shoulder surgery this summer and are expected to miss at least the first few weeks).

Because of those absences in the lineup, and the uncertainty about Richards' ability to bounce back after an atrocious 2013 season, Stepan's presence is of the utmost importance to the Rangers' success this season.

The former University of Wisconsin standout led the team in scoring with 18 goals and 44 points in 48 games last season, and the Rangers will count on him to be a consistent playmaker and contributor again this season.

Stepan probably will not see any preseason action -- he is expected to fly to New York on Thursday night to rejoin the team when they return from the West Coast -- so he may be a little behind, but as the Rangers can surely attest, a rusty Stepan is far better than no Stepan at all.

Dustin Penner turns 31 on Saturday, and the words were barely out of my mouth when he answered what would be the best gift possible.

"I’ll take a goal," the Ducks winger told ESPN.com over the phone Wednesday morning.

Penner remains pointless in four preseason games and so far hasn’t taken camp by storm, but then again, that’s the point of this time of year, right? To get one’s game rounded into shape. And to be fair, he’s arriving at a new team and a new system after playing the last two-plus seasons in L.A.

How would he rate his camp so far?

"It’s been OK," Penner said. "It’s tough coming to a new team and trying to get used to it and a new system. But I’ve been getting better. I’ve been getting more comfortable."

As the only member of both the 2007 and 2012 Cup champions from each side of the Freeway Faceoff rivalry, Penner is in a unique spot.

"It’s definitely an interesting feeling," he said. "Being able to win Cups in both places, first day going back into the Honda Center and walking through the halls that I used to walk as a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed rookie, and then last night going back to Staples Center, it’s tough not to have all those memories come flushing back."

After signing a one-year, $2 million deal to leave the Kings for the rival Ducks this past summer, Penner was handed a golden opportunity when camp started from head coach Bruce Boudreau, the chance to be reunited on the top line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, a trio that was key in Anaheim’s 2007 Cup triumph. But Penner needs to show that he belongs there.

"He’ll never have a greater opportunity to play with players of the caliber of Ryan and Corey. It’s all up to him,” Boudreau told ESPN.com Wednesday morning. "We want it to work. But in the end, he’s going to have to be the one that produces and shows that he deserves to be on that line."

To Penner’s credit, the coach said, he’s constantly in communication with Boudreau, trying to get a feel for what’s going on with his new team.

"We talk so much about systems and everything. He asks a million questions,” Boudreau said. "He wants to get better. But what we need [from] him is to pick up a step, just a little; it’s not like he’s in midseason form."

What’s clear here is that it’s not quite written in stone that Penner will begin the regular season on the top line. Boudreau obviously wants to see a bit more before making that call.

"We want to get quicker as a team and he’s got to find that step to be a real valuable player," Boudreau said. "If he can find that step off the get-go, he’ll be very good. We think it’ll come, but it’s not where it needs to be at this stage."

In Tuesday’s preseason loss to the Kings, Penner skated with Getzlaf and Teemu Selanne, because Perry is banged up. That has limited a bit the ability of the top line to gel together.

"Unfortunately, we’ve had so many injuries in camp that the line hasn’t been able to stay together,” Boudreau said. "I haven’t been able to see the fruits of what they do really well."

Given a chance, Penner feels there’s an opportunity there to re-create what worked so well during Anaheim’s 2007 Cup run.

"Yeah, I had good chemistry with them back when I was here. Hopefully we can recapture that magic from ’07," Penner said.

And he understands what’s at stake here. Teams weren’t tripping over each other to sign him this past summer. After putting up two goals in 33 regular-season games with the Kings last season and three in 18 playoff games, Penner’s stock dipped. This is a year to re-establish himself as a dependable power forward in this league. And Penner takes it one step further.

"I don’t think even if I have the year that I want to have, and that people that are on my side want me to have, I don’t think that would be enough,” Penner said. "I have to do it over a couple of years. I look at this as one step and hopefully I can make it."

Few players in this league have been more polarizing than Penner, whose 6-foot-4, 242-pound frame and soft hands scream top-six power forward. His terrific play during both the Ducks’ 2007 Cup run and the Kings’ 2011 title campaign -- as well as his 32-goal campaign with the Oilers in 2009-10 -- reminded you of just how good he can be. But then came the dip last season, which opens the door for his harshest critics to come down on him.

Sometimes it’s important to remember the guy wasn’t drafted, signed out of college as a free agent by Anaheim in May 2004. So maybe some people have just expected too much out of him all along.

Regardless, Penner has heard it all.

"I find it pretty comical,” he said. "People seem to forget where I came from. I’ve had a pretty eventful career to say the least, both positively and negatively. What people say about me in the hockey world isn’t going to change how I feel about myself in the real world."

Another chapter in the Dustin Penner book beckons, but what’s in store?

"What a great story this could be," Boudreau said, "for that line to find that chemistry again like 2007; it could be a real positive story, no question. It’s in Dustin’s hands."