It has been a busy week in the NHL so far and it looks like there will be more. Here are some rumors that may turn to facts in the near future.

Several teams are interested in Tomas Kaberle, with the Sharks, Blue Jackets, Ducks, and Kings among them. A source told me yesterday to "watch out for the pacific division". That is all I can say right now.

Kevin Bieksa's name is also being tossed around, he has the same potential suitors.

Now that the Ducks have traded James Wisniewski they are in big time need of a defenseman. I am told they will explore all options via free agency and trade. Some names I have heard come up are Marc-Andre Bergeron, Andy Sutton, Kevin Bieksa and Tomas Kaberle.

Ducks GM Bob Murray had this to say when he spoke to Eric Stephens of the OCRegister "We're not done at all. ... There's other things coming in the next little while."....stay tuned.

I am hearing that Bill Guerin is generating interest from the Bruins, Penguins and Islanders.

I texted and emailed several sources yesterday asking about the rumor that if the Blackhawks let Niemi walk the Oilers would be interested and they all confirmed. One source even told me that the  "capitals would be interested as well".

This concludes today's edition of NHL Buzz, enjoy.

If you ever have any questions or comments on anything in the NHL feel free to email me at ToddCordellNHL@Gmail.com, thanks.

This article can also be found at Sportshaze.com and MTRMedia.com

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So Louis Leblanc has finally made a decision about his future, and he has chosen to put aside the red of the Harvard Crimson and sign with the Montreal Canadiens.

Click here to read the full press release.

Leblanc will now join the Junior de Montreal, who own his junior rights, and will likely get a real chance of playing for the Canadian Junior National team come winter.

While Leblanc could really not make a bad choice between Harvard and the junior ranks, the latter move is perhaps slightly better for him since he will be playing against better competition.

Moreover, playing for the Junior de Montreal means that Leblanc will be residing in the city of Montreal. This move will end up being a boon for the Canadiens, as the proximity to the Habs will mean that they will be able to better ensure he continues to develop as expected.

I think this is a great hockey decision for Leblanc, as playing in Harvard for another year would have been more of an academic decision, and one that will only help him get better quicker.

I expect Leblanc to start adding mass to his 6'1", 184-pound frame to play a key role on the 2011 Canadian World Junior team and to be ready for a possible jump to Hamilton next season.

So what do you think of this move? Should Leblanc have stayed a little longer at Harvard? Is the Junior de Montreal the best fit for him?

Follow Kamal on Facebook , Twitter , and HabsAddict.com.

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Today I will be ranking the best fantasy goalies 16-20.

16. Pekka Rinne (NASH)

Last year's stats: Wins: 32 / GAA: 2.53 / SV%: .911

Rinne spent most of last season battling with Dan Ellis for the No. 1 job. Though Rinne never officially lost it, on occasion Ellis would start a few games in a row.

The Predators did lose Hamhuis and Arnott, but they replaced them with Matthew Lombardi and Matt Halischuk. Those two should bolster the offense, which should lead to more wins for Rinne.

Rinne had 32 wins in 54 starts last season, now that he should get around 70 starts, he should hit 40 wins.

17. Antti Niemi (CHI)

Last years stats: Wins: 26 / GAA: 2.25 / SV%: .912

The reason I ranked Niemi so low is the fact that there is about an 80% chance he is not a Blackhawk next season.

Also, aside from the Flyers (who have no cap space), no strong team is looking for a starting goalie. Expect about 35 wins from Niemi next season but if he does stay in Chicago expect 40+.

18. Tomas Vokoun (FLA)

Last years stats: Wins: 23 / GAA: 2.55 / SV%: .925

Vokoun is a top 10 talent in my opinion, but he is stuck on a bad team. The Panthers will improve this season but still will rely heavy on Vokoun. Expect around 33 wins but a very low GAA and high SV%.

19. Semyon Varlamov (WASH)

Last year's stats: Wins: 15 / GAA: 2.55 / SV%: .909

The reason Varlamov is so low is the fact that if Niemi becomes available he could become a Capital. Also, the fact that Varlamov is rather inconsistent should lead to more starts for Michal Neuvirth.

20. Niklas Backstrom (MIN)

Last years stats: Wins: 26 / GAA: 2.72 / SV%: .903

In my opinion Backstrom is on a better team than Vokoun but has to give more starts away to his backup (Josh Harding).

With the addition of Matt Cullen and hopefully a healthy Brent Burns, Backstrom should be able to pick up 32-35 wins.

This concludes the final edition of my fantasy goalie rankings, enjoy.

This article and more can also be found at MTRMedia.com and Sportshaze.com

For the latest news and rumors follow me on twitter @ToddNHL

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If any player personified the 2009-10 New York Rangers, it was Sean Avery. When he brought his game, he and the Blueshirts won games and were entertaining while doing it.

This was all despite Avery being a shadow of the player Rangers fans fell in love with when the winger was acquired from Los Angeles in 2007.

Avery's game changed after being benched for Game Five of the opening round of the playoffs last season against the Washington Capitals. Avery took two penalties that nearly cost the Rangers the game.

Avery was benched for Game Five— a game the Rangers lost— but later said he deserved the benching. Tortorella said that Avery needs to learn where the line is, and not cross it.

It was evident last season, though, that Avery doesn't know where that line is. At times during the season, Avery was barely visible on the ice. He played tamed and downright soft.

He only showed flashes of the play that made him a household name, usually resulting in a breakout game, such as in early January against his former team, the Dallas Stars. Avery exploded for two goals and drew several penalties while being named the first star of the game.

It's debatable that Avery is the most important member of the team aside from goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. The team and the arena come alive when Avery is at his worst, and if the Rangers will have any success this season, Avery will have to be at the center of it.

Luckily for the fans and the organization, Avery promised that we'd see the Avery of yesteryear come back this season on MSG Network Thursday night during an interview with Al Trautwig and new teammate Alexander Frolov.

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As the weeks leading up to training camp go by, the Washington Capitals have many decisions to make in order to be ready for opening night.  The most pressing issue at hand seems to be the opening in the middle on the Capitals second line and power play unit.  

The Caps elected to try Brendan Morrison out in this spot last season, but had mixed results with the diminutive pivot and decided to go in another direction for the 2010-11 season.  Tomas Fleischmann, Eric Belanger, and Brooks Laich also all got their chances, but none were best suited for the position. 

One solution appeared to be 2009 first rounder Marcus Johansson, but his performance at the Capitals Development Camp in July suggested that he may need more time before he grows into the North American game.  

European-trained centermen usually need more time to adapt to the more physical NHL game, as can be seen in Washington's own Nicklas Backstrom.  Backstrom really came into his own after his first season, and had a rough first few months in the league while learning the more hard-nosed game played on this side of the pond.  

Assuming Johansson needs another year in the Swedish Elite League (and his offensive outputs seem to agree with this), the Capitals may be forced to look at a home grown talent from their AHL affiliate in Hershey, PA instead.  

Mathieu Perreault had a few stints with the big club in Washington last season, and was effective offensively at times.  The small, skilled forward brought an energetic presence, and produced reasonably well, scoring nine points in 21 games.  

Further down the pipeline, Evgeny Kuznetsov (2010 first round pick) has the skill and talent to eventually fill the role of second line center, but needs to develop physically before he takes his game to the NHL.  

If Johansson, Perreault, and Kuznetsov don't fit the billing, the Caps may be forced to look to fill the void through a trade or late free agent signing.  While the options are limited right now, as soon as teams with high priced unrestricted free agents fall out of the playoff race, the Caps could pounce on a more seasoned veteran to anchor the second line.  

The other burning question that remains is who will start between the pipes come opening night, as youngsters Semyon Varlamov and Michael Neuvirth remain largely untested over the course of a full season.  

One would assume that Varlamov will get the opportunity to start, but his shaky play at the end of the Quarterfinal series loss to Montreal, coupled with Neuvirth's AHL championship performance in Hershey makes the decision harder.  

With three straight early exits from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the pressure is on the young Capitals to produce at the same level in the postseason that they do during the regular season.  

A large part of their success will hinge on their scoring depth and the play of their starting goaltender, so the answers to these questions will help answer the larger question of what will become of the Capitals in 2010-11.  

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Rumors on Friday evening are that the Chicago Blackhawks have agreed to a contingency plan if/when they are forced to part ways with Antti Niemi. Marty Turco, who won 22 games in Dallas last year, has allegedly agreed in principle to a one-year, $1.5M contract.

The deal is wholly dependant on the decision of the arbitrator regarding Niemi, which is expected Saturday afternoon. The Blackhawks will supposedly look to trade Niemi if his award is over $2.5M, and will reject the award if they cannot settle on a deal.

In Turco the Blackhawks would be adding experience between the pipes. The soon-to-be 35-year-old has a career .911 save percentage in 509 games (485 starts).

In 2009-10, he was 22-20-11 with a 2.72 goals against average and .913 save percentage. He had four shut outs last year.

By comparison, Niemi was 26-7-4 with a 2.25 goals against average, but he had a nearly-identical .912 save percentage. He also had seven shut outs.

In his playoff career, Turco is 21-26 but has a .914 save percentage and a 2.17 goals against average. He has four career postseason shutouts. If these rumors are indeed true, the Blackhawks would have cap flexibility to perhaps add another veteran defense man to the roster in front of Turco, and would also have more cap flexibility after 2010-11.

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With the Arbitration ruling handed down, the Boston Bruins agreed to the decision, and Blake Wheeler is off the Free Agency market reporting a $2.2 million dollar 1-year contract.

The 6 foot 5, 208 pounder of Robbinsdale,MN had a somewhat disappointing season last year, but most of the Bruins' roster were also in the same boat.  

Still, he did not do that bad considering it was just his second year in the NHL with 18 tallies , and 20 helpers for 38 points.  It certainly doesn't hurt to have played all 82 games in the season as well.

Part of the criticism is that he is such a large player on the ice, and is not imposing his will by throwing the body around to create plays and mix it up more.

According to the Bruins official website, GM Peter Chiarelli was happy with the decision:

"It is never a pleasant experience for either side to go to arbitration," said Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli. However, as a manager, you know that the player will be under contract for the following year either way. We talked to Blake before, and after the hearing and we are satisfied to have a good, young player under contract for another year."

Wheeler spoke with NHL.com in a conference call,and said  he couldn't have been happier to be back in the Black and Gold.  He spoke about his shortcomings and how he plans to move forward:

"I'm really excited to be back in Boston for another season. It was a long process, but we’re both very excited. I’d like to thank the Jacobs family and also Peter Chiarelli and the entire Bruins organization."

"At the end of the day I think it was very fair on both ends and now it is just all about business and getting back to the right spot for the Bruins organization."

"I think, for me, it’s all about – especially on the forecheck – just being more physical and more of a presence," said Wheeler, who finished last season with 53 penalty minutes. "I've gotten so focused on the offensive production and the numbers side of things, especially last year [and] I think there are definitely more ways to be a contributing factor out on the ice.

"It’s just all about understanding your areas of strength and areas of weakness. I think if can assert myself more physically, especially, like I said, on the fore check and things of that nature, then it’s going to create a lot more opportunities for myself, and the guys I'm playing with."

"Sometimes it’s about less is more. When you kind of take a step back from things it’s a little bit easier to notice where you maybe need to improve on things," he also added.

For the second straight summer, Wheeler has hit the gym looking to improve his strength and conditioning.

"Well I think pretty much I’m doing the same thing as last summer. I came into camp probably in the best shape I’ve ever been in, physically, mentally, all of the above," said Wheeler. "My training is pretty much the same as it was last year."

"The thing I’m really focusing on is shooting pucks," he mentioned. "I’ve been working on my shot quite a bit this summer to do whatever it takes to extend my range a little bit and I set up a shooting tarp in my garage and when there is nothing to do I just go out there and pump some pucks at the tarp.

"I guess that’s the only real difference."

When asked about the shocking ending of the 2010 playoffs, Wheeler was just as frank as his team mates were.

"I don’t think you can maybe find too many guys that would say they were necessarily content or happy with the way last season went," he said. "The regular season itself was a frustration for our entire team.

"We ended on a positive note and went into the playoffs with a lot of confidence and playing well. We played great until those last four games.

"It really is too bad, because we were finding our rhythm and the way we ended things [was] the whole season with the ups and downs in it."

Wheeler also said, that the start in Europe might help the B's focus more on the regular season when they return from Prague.

"Yeah, I think certainly the Winter Classic, and even the Olympic break were, I don’t want to say distraction; they were great events obviously for the guys that were involved, and we were certainly very fortunate to have such a great event at Fenway park, but you know it’s going to be nice to have that out of the way.

To be able to go to Prague and get the season underway," he said. "The beginning of this season is going to be really fun and exciting for everyone especially probably Mr. [David] Krejci.

"I think every guy is excited to get over there and experience this as well and once that’s over we’ll be able to focus on the next 80 games of the season and getting into a good rhythm."

With the young gun now going into his third year as a pro and as a Bruin, maybe a bad year isn't such a bad thing for Wheeler and the Bruins.  Most importantly, he fully recognizes and verbally confirms his shortcomings as a hockey player, and that he knows what he has to do to improve.

A true athlete with true team mates will hash out their individual issues, and get motivated to play better in the next season.

After such a huge let-down at the end of their season at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers in Round Two, the Youngers and Veterans alike will be hungry to want more.

The Boston Bruins now have to find a way to get the cap under the ceiling of $59.4 million as they are currently at $2,187,771 over according to capgeek.com—over the cap space,and still have yet to sign second overall pick Tyler Seguin who will most likely command approximately a $3.5 million cap hit with the entry contract and possible bonuses.  

Plus the fact that Steve Begin and Miroslav Satan has yet to be determined.

NESN.com reported that in terms of the Black and Gold, they are not quite out of the picture yet: "I haven't moved on from them yet," said Chiarelli. "Obviously we're tight right now. There's still a lot left in the summer. We'll see where we go."

There have been some talk about Marco Sturm, who will be out until about November on the LTIR list.  Although this will free up about $3.5 million, it will only be temporary relief at best.

Other rumors are circulating and some do make sense, but nothing official so it will not be reported here.

With the end of July on us, time is ticking, but still plenty of time to make some noise.

Welcome to the Cap World.

This is Cory Ducey saying "Hit Hard, But Keep It Clean"

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