Kicking Things Off

• Leaf scouts were spotted in Los Angeles over the past week, leading to speculation that the Kings might be open to offering up a prospect in exchange for either Alexei Ponikarovsky or Niklas Hagman in order to replace the spot once taken by Justin Williams. The decision to use Teddy Purcell up on the top line recently might be indicative of a showcasing.
  

• Time appears to be running out for Ken Hitchcock, head coach of the Blue Jackets, though it is not yet clear if Andy Murray is considered on the list of possible replacements. Scott Howson may choose someone a little more familiar to him, such as Craig MacTavish, instead.
  

• Two trains of thought on the ongoing goaltending controversy in Montreal... Gainey may wait until the draft to make a final decision on which young netminder to keep while maximizing his asset... or he may want to jump at the chance at acquiring Marty Biron out of Long Island as his new backup, forcing one of Price, or more likely Halak, out sooner rather than later.
  

• Rumor has it that Ilya Kovalchuk's agent has been given one final week to make up his mind, regarding the long term services of his client. What once seemed to be a slam dunk decision for a re-signing, things have appeared to get much more murky in recent weeks. You'd think that a guy that was instrumental in the acquisitions to both Antropov and Afinogenov wouldn't be prepared to jump ship before the season was over... but this deal should have been made by now.