from Elliotte Friedman of CBC,

- Interesting development on the first day of Washington Capitals practice as Alexander Ovechkin lined up on right wing. Rookie head coach Adam Oates told reporters that the captain suggested the idea in a head-to-head meeting and believes the responsibilities of his defensive system will make it easier on Ovechkin to play there. I'm intrigued to see this. It's certainly time for a diversification of his game.

- Reaction to Philadelphia's interest in Luongo? Lots of jokes, but as one exec said: "No one should be surprised because they are in everything big." And it's been written here several times, but other organizations will tell you nobody's got "bigger ones" than the Flyers.

- If the Flyers were to buy out Ilya Bryzgalov after this season, it would cost approximately $23 million US over 14 years. Not saying it will happen, just a statement of fact.

- There were a couple of teams who thought the Vancouver Canucks would have to waive Luongo before the season if they couldn't make a trade. But with a $70.2-million cap this season and $64.3 million the next, they have more room to breathe than some potential trade partners expected.

more thoughts plus a look at the Perry/Getzlaf situation in Anaheim,,,