Hockey is back, starting tonight!... it's about time

The Rangers are now saying that Marc Staal (concussion) could miss a month... or, in other words, they basically they have no idea.  Like when the Penguins said that Crosby's concussion was mild and that he'd miss a week... precisely.  I'd be worried if I was a Staal owner as this is all as a result of a concussion that happened back in February (on a hit from brother Eric), so it's a long-term issue and he's stopped skating until the headaches go away.

With Staal out the Rangers have recalled Tim Erixon and he could play in the Rangers two games in Europe... I assumed he would be back up but didn't think it would be this quick.  Keep an eye on this kid, I think he'll play a lot for the Rangers this year.

Petr Sykora won a job at Devils camp and signed a one-year deal yesterday... New Jersey could use some help up front but I don't know if Sykora is the guy that can get it done.  He's only 34, I thought he was a lot older than that.  I don't know, I'm waffling, keep him on your radar but I wouldn't jump on him right now. 

Anton Stralman, another guy on a try-out with the Devils, was let go although I read somewhere that he was having visa issues that may be affecting his status... so there could be more to this story.

I get the sense that the Leafs are downplaying Tim Connolly's UBI... this guy is pretty fragile so no injury is a minor one with him.  They put him on the IR but he could play on Saturday... could.

Brendan Morrison (knee) will not be ready for the Flames opener and the team put him on the IR yesterday, they'll likely take it slow but expect him back in a week or two.

This is an interesting one (thanks to Dobber for the tip)... Brett MacLean has asked the Coyotes to waive and/or trade him so that he can go to a new team [AZcentral].  Good for the kid as he's ready for a bigger role and Dave Tippett is not the coach to give it to him.  Let's hope he gets moved.

Notable cuts from the past 24 hours:  Riley Nash (CAR), Stefan Elliott (COL), Viatcheslav Voynov (LA), Louis Leblanc (MTL) & Kirill Kabanov (NYI).  Kabanov head back to Jr. while the rest are off to the AHL.

That's all for now... but should have a few more things throughout the day.