from Damien Cox of Sportsnet,

—The peculiar situation in which former first round pick Nikita Zadorov finds himself with the Buffalo Sabres could be resolved this week. Or maybe not. Zadorov has played one game this season, Friday against L.A., and the Sabres would like to send him back to the London Knights of the OHL.

The 6-foot-6 blueliner, however, would prefer to join Sergei Fedorov’s CSKA Moscow squad where he can play against men and make a good salary, probably around $400,000 per season. Zadorov actually has to sign a transfer agreement to go back to London even though he has a contract with the Knights, so he theoretically controls his fate. His agent, Rollie Hedges, is trying to find a way to make all parties happy, no easy task.

—The Senators (4-2-1) are off to a surprisingly fast start, but have to be the team likeliest to crash based on their numbers. They’ve allowed the second most shots against in the league with 36 per game, their possession numbers (Score adjusted Fenwick) are horrible and they can’t score. Erik Karlsson leads the team with five points to make him tied for 117th in league scoring. Those numbers suggest this start isn’t sustainable, except many said the same about Colorado last season, right?

—Centre Anze Kopitar left L.A.’s game Sunday against Columbus after a collision with Tim Erixon and it’s unclear if he will be with the club on their five-game road trip. That’s a problem on its own, but one made more difficult because the Kings are tight to the cap and the salary of defenceman Slava Yoynov still counts even though he is ineligible while his domestic abuse situation is sorted out. His wife, by the way, says she prefers charges not be pressed against Voynov.

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