from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

Again on Monday, eyebrows were raised with this tweet, with the head of Russian hockey, the legendary Vladislav Tretiak, apparently suggesting the IIHF will allow for partial rosters to be announced by Jan. 1 and the rest to be added closer to the Sochi Games.

I reached out to my colleague Slava Malamud, a Russian sports writer based in Washington, D.C., who said top Russian and KHL hockey officials have been quoted over the past little while in Russia saying they were hoping for a compromise with the IIHF to relax the roster deadline and allow for more flexibility.

However, deputy commissioner Bill Daly told ESPN.com Monday in no uncertain terms that there has been "no change" as far as having to name the full, 25-man roster by Jan. 1, and that the IIHF has told the NHL that Russia will comply.

Clearly, what we have is the IIHF and its president, Rene Fasel, caught in a tight squeeze between the NHL and Russia/KHL -- not a comfortable position to be in. Should be interesting to monitor.

read on for some Kris Versteeg talk...