from Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal,

- The Columbus Blue Jackets have made overtures to Sergei Bobrovsky’s camp about signing a long-term deal after next season, but I can’t imagine it’ll get done unless the dollars are in the Tuukka Rask range (six years, $7.5 million). Rask is 27, Bobrovsky 26. Right now, Goalie Bob has a salary-cap hit of $5.675 million. The Russian Olympic goalie, who has a broken finger and might return to the lineup on Friday against the Philadelphia Flyers, is the Jackets’ most indispensable player.

- Ray Whitney, 42, is still in Scottsdale, Ariz., waiting for the phone to ring to offer further employment, but this is probably it for The Wizard after 1,330 NHL games. Twenty per cent of the NHL season has been played and a call is probably not coming. Whitney can live with that. He was never going to play as long as Jaromir Jagr, his teammate in Dallas. Only 48 guys have played more games than Whitney.

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Matheson also has a nice story on Dominik Hasek.