Pride is good in small doses, but never something to depend on. With last nights’ varying adjustments in pride, attitude, and stripping away false senses of security, the bottom eight of both Conferences as well as that elusive shot at the Prize of the West, are anything but solid.

The firestorm from Calgary arrived in Charlotte, and an eager Canes band, newly re-united with Eric Cole proceeded to put them out like a dog soaking a lit cigarette in the street. Any boost the recent trade deadline produced, coupled with the win over Philadelphia was sufficiently damped.

I don’t think this was truly much more than a bad shift of the moon and just one of those nights that the best intentions go awry. Calgary was at least present during the game, but flat. They certainly owed their goaltender Curtis McElhinney more than they have delivered to him in his 13 NHL appearances.

On the flipside, it has been nice to see Sergei Samsonov in the similar form he was as an Edmonton Oiler, with the Moscow native netting 2 points, and the game winning goal.

While not an utterly critical game for the Flames, it was a necessary duece for the Hurricanes, who remain on the cusp of a Playoff hunt.

The Great One led his pack of canine-like creatures into the Herd to tangle in Buffalo. And now you know what it sounds like when a great crushing occurs.

Even with the best efforts of Ilya Bryzgalov and one of my favorite defencemen, Ken Klee, Maxim Afinegenov and the Slug pack pulled a win out of the hat. Even if watching Klee bank Afinegenov off of the boards like a five cent bouncy ball made me hold me breath for a moment.

With one point and one game separating the Sabres once again from the Stanley Cup Playoffs it was a do or die game delivered to throngs of blue and gold from familiar names like Jason Pominville and Tim Connolly. Having Patrick Lalime minding the net for Buffalo’s injured Miller Time hasn’t been a bad call on Lindy Ruff’s part, either.

A Sabres win tonight against Ottawa will bounce Pittsburgh out of the Top 8, and Buffalo into the golden block.

Nothing says retribution like playing against the team that traded you only two weeks before. But for Mathieu Schneider, it’s a full circle come to life as the current Habs defenceman plays on the roster of the very man who centered his 1993 Stanley Cup victory against the Los Angeles Kings, Guy Carbonneau. It would not only be the last time the Canadiens would hold the Cup, but the last time they would even see the Stanley Cup Finals since.

Unfortunately, with the way Les Habitats played in Philips Arena, minus the obvious work of Schneider and excellent goaltending of Cary Price, Playoff dreams could potentially slip away. The play was lackluster and uninspired at best.

Atlanta, however, actually brought a game to the arena to give the fans something other than the door prizes to take home. At the worst, it would have made a South Park caricature.

Carbo believes that the Habs brought some effort. I didn’t see it. Except for when young Zach Bogosian took a healthy beating with a smile on the assaulting Hab’s face. That was like warm cocoa on a cold winter night.

Skate ‘em, Carbo, for old time’s sake.

St. Louis met the Lightning at home in Tampa Bay’s St. Pete Times Forum, where they proceeded to sing a song of good ole hockey that gave the Bolts the blues. In typical fashion, Tampa responded to a 3 goal deficit in the third period with their own set of three to force overtime.

But there would be no tacos.

First, they were in Tampa. Second, in sudden death overtime, a forth goal was the night’s limit.

Since that made no sense to most hockey greenhorns, I’ll explain it. Before the infamous Hockey Lockout of 2004-2005, local Taco Bell restaurants in the St. Louis area offered thirty-five cent tacos the day following a Blues game when the Blues scored five goals or more. On the forth goal, the crowd would begin to chant, “We Want TACOS!”

And I’m going to miss Gary Roberts. It was an honor to have him grace the Bolts jersey.

In a must-win battle for the potential 8th seed in the West, the Dallas Stars and 10th ranked Anaheim Ducks met in a battle royale. The Stars, in an onslaught once again spearheaded by Ribiero and backended by Marty Turco, show us what the Dallas Stars do best on the ice, divide and conquer.

They continually kept Anaheim split on the forecheck, drove a triangle pattern to the net, and somehow it worked. I haven’t seen much of Anaheim this year, but it appears the Ducks are flying south, with the Stars rising into the eighth slot. With the matchup of Edmonton and Toronto, the future of that slot remains insecure.

The bottom ranks of the East and West are shifting day to day, so get ready for March’s Hairy Ride to the Finish.

And that, my friends, is hockey as we know it.

With the recent losing streak the Pittsburgh Penguins have been on, it is no surprise that everyone is looking to GM Ray Shero to make some moves to help the team get out of the midseason slump they are in.

I believe that prior to the trade deadline, Shero will be under a bit of pressure to make all the necessary changes to get the team back on track, similar to what he did by bringing Marian Hossa on board last season.

Although I believe that the team has a wealth of talent to work with, a few changes need to be made for them to become the Stanley Cup contending team they once were that led them to within two games of winning the Cup last season.

With all the new players the Penguins acquired during the offseason, they failed to pick up a replacement to fill the skates of Ryan Malone. I believe this is definitely one area where the Penguins are lacking and it has had a big impact on their success as a whole.

Malone was a huge presence in front of the net which was one of the keys to the team’s achievements last season. They initially were looking to Jordan Staal to move into this role, however, he still needs time to develop such skills.

Another important role they neglected to fill was that of a veteran leader which was eliminated with the departure of Gary Roberts and more recently Daryll Sydor. The majority of this team is made up of younger players who obviously still need the experience of a veteran to guide them through the normal highs and lows of a season.

The coaching staff may be another area that the organization will be forced to look at. The media and a lot of the fans have been quick to point the finger at head coach Michel Therrien and special teams coach Mike Yeo. However, I believe if they choose to go this route it will be Yeo who takes the brunt of the blame.

After all, it is the Penguins’ power play that currently seems to be one of the biggest problems for this team.

Regardless of what changes are made, it is abundantly clear that they are necessary for the Penguins to climb their way back up the Eastern Conference standings in order to even make it to the playoffs.

Hey all, my name is Tony Ferrante. Those of you who peruse the various Penguins blogs probably know me from MVN’s The Confluence of the Three Rivers. Thanks to Alin for asking me to guest blog several times throughout the year.

Lots of turnover results in lots of speculation in Penguins-land this season.

Penguins’ GM Ray Shero was one busy man this offseason, replacing several key members of the Eastern Conference champs, such as Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts, Ty Conklin and Jarkko Ruutu. Shero did an admirable job during free agency to fill the holes, not only in signing free agents Miro Satan, Ruslan Fedotenko, Matt Cooke and Eric Godard, but also in resigning veterans Brooks Orpik and Pascal Dupuis.

The key, as it has been for about three seasons now, is finding the right winger(s) to be on Sidney Crosby’s wing. They surely had it after the trade deadline last year when Shero traded for Hossa, but when Hossa bolted for Detroit, Shero had to go back to square one. For at least the first part of the season, as all Penguins fans know all too well how quick of a trigger finger head coach Michel Therrien has in terms of line changes, it’s going to be Fedotenko and Satan on Crosby’s wings. Satan is this year’s “Petr Sykora signing” for Shero. He’s been a natural sniper all his career. He’s not going to get a better opportunity to improve from a very disappointing season last year with the Islanders, especially in a contract year. Fedotenko will be the one who can dig the puck from the boards and get it to his linemates, as well as get a big body in front of the net. If that doesn’t work, all bets are off. Therrien has several options available to throw on the top line if need be, including Jordan Staal, Sykora, or even sparkplugs such as Max Talbot or Tyler Kennedy.

The Penguins’ second line is arguably the most potent in the NHL with Staal and Sykora on the wings for center Evgeni Malkin. Staal has been bumped up from the third line center, partly in an attempt to boost his goal scoring back up to the 29 goals he had in his rookie year two seasons ago. Sykora and Malkin had some great chemistry between them last year, which actually goes back to the lockout year playing in Russia. Unless Therrien breaks them up, this second line could result in a deadly 1-2 line punch.

The Penguins are surely looking for more secondary scoring from their third and fourth lines this season. Shero’s moves have allowed Therrien to bump Dupuis down to the third line (where he really belongs) along with Talbot and Cooke, making for a serious fast checking line. The fourth line will be a mix of rookie mucker Paul Bissonnette, Godard, Pittsburgh native Bill Thomas, and newly acquired Mike Zigomanis.

The defensive corps, which before the season was thought to have had a glutton of NHL-ready D-men, is now without their two best offensive defensemen. Quarterback Sergei Gonchar suffered a dislocated shoulder in the Pens’ first preseason game, after which he underwent surgery and will miss between four and six months. Ryan Whitney also underwent surgery for a malformed foot injury which he initially suffered in the 2007 playoff series versus Ottawa. He is scheduled to out until approximately December. That makes the performance of young offensive defensemen Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski that much more important. Letang played in Pittsburgh for the majority of the year last season, while Goligoski only played a few games. In addition, Shero resigned underrated defenseman Mark Eaton, as well as Orpik. Include steady defensive D-men Rob Scuderi and Daryl Sydor, who was thought to be on the trading block before the injuries to Gonchar and Whitney, and that allowed Shero to not have to go outside of the organization to fill the voids created by the loss of those two.

Marc-Andre Fleury, after suffering the high ankle sprain in December, came back in the springtime and put up numbers that ranked among the best in the NHL. He continued the superb play through the playoffs, while coming back down to Earth a little in the Finals against Detroit. If Fleury continues with that high caliber play, he will rise among the NHL’s elite goaltenders. It seems that Fleury’s been around for about 10 years, but the fact remains that he’s still only 23 years old. The Penguins are hoping that the loss of Ty Conklin, therefore making Dany Sabourin the backup goaltender, doesn’t come back to haunt them. Although Sabourin had 10 wins for the Penguins last season, the feeling is that most fans don’t believe that Sabouring can match the steller goaltending play that Conklin had to do when Fleury went down with his injury in December. Hopefully, Fleury will remain healthy throughout the year, and Sabourin will only have to play about 10-15 games.

It’s going to be a very interesting Atlantic Division. Philly and the Rangers look to be strong again this year, and the Devils can never be overlooked with Marty Brodeur. If the Penguins can keep their head above water while their top defensemen recover from their injuries, they’ll be right up there when they return and make another run towards the Stanley Cup.

Shapiro will be signings autographs and chatting up fans in Toronto October 3rd at the Indigospirit location at the Royal Bank Plaza 200 Bay Street from 12:30 – 2:00 PM and October 4th at the Chapters-Runnymede at 2225 Bloor Street West from 11:30 – 1:30PM.

In the meantime, here is the first part of our three-part interview, where Shapiro shares his take on the Penguins’ off-season moves and the club’s upcoming campaign.

Alin Mateescu: You are a Pittsburgh native; obviously you are a Penguins fan, right? How did you become one?

Howard Shapiro: I’ve been a Pens fan since I was around 6 years old. The company my Dad worked for had season tickets to the Pens games and no one ever wanted the tickets (unlike today) and so my Dad would be given the tickets and he’d take me to the games. My favorite moment was when the Pens would score a goal and the red light would go on and the crowd would rise as one.

AM: Must be pretty happy with the Penguins’ current roster, especially with the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Ryan Whitney, and Marc-Andre Fleury. But with a salary cap in place, how long do you think management will be able to keep them all together?

HS: Good question and one that comes up a lot around here, especially on sports talk radio. I think for the next five or so years that Ray Shero will be able to keep the core together. The team may lose a player or two from that core group but the five players you mention in the question, I think they’ll be here for the next five to seven years at least. Malkin actually took less to stay here so and obviously Sid could make more elsewhere but those guys have said that like what is going on here with the team, they like the city and they want to be here. So, from a fans perspective, that is great and you know that you’ll be seeing the same players year in and year out.

AM: How do you see the Penguins fairing this upcoming season: Stanley Cup finalists hangover, or Stanley Cup winners? What do you think is the key for them to become the latter?

HS: Well, as a fan I hope they’ll win it at all but it’s such a long grind and injuries can happen (Crosby going out last year w/a high ankle sprain is a good example). As the roster stands now, I’d have to say that I don’t think they’ll win the Cup, I think they’ll win the Eastern Conference again but not the Cup. Detroit not only got stronger, but the one need the Pens have is a sniper to play on Sid’s line and when they lost Hossa, they basically went back to square one as far as wingers to play with Sid. They picked up M. Satan but I don’t think he’ll be the answer and comes March 3rd next year at the deadline they’ll have to pull off another blockbuster deal to pick up a Top 6 goal scoring winger and I don’t think Ray Shero will be able to strike gold two years in a row. We’ll see…

AM: What is your perspective on the Penguins’ off-seasons moves? Can the additions of forwards Miroslav Satan, Ruslan Fedotenko, and Matt Cooke offset the loss of Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts?

HS: If I was to rate their off season I’d give it a 6. You had to know that some team would overspend to pick Ryan Malone and he would have had to take a huge hometown discount to stay here but they lost more then they picked up. I thought losing Jaarko Ruutu will hurt in the long run and to some extent Georges Laraque. Those guys all got replaced, I just don’t think the replacements will do as good a job as the guys they are replacing.

AM: Some reports indicate that Whitney could be out of the lineup until mid-January due to a left foot injury. Should the Penguins go shopping for a defenseman to fill the void until his return?

HS: No, I don’t think so. Hopefully, during camp someone will step up and you’ hate to make a big trade when you have to figure Whitney will be ready by the end of or beginning of the year.

AM: Aside for Whitney’s spot on the blueline, do the Penguins need to make any moves to bolster their roster at any specific position? I think they need to find a sniper like a Cheechoo to play alongside Sid.

HS: They’ll probably plug in Pascal Dupuis on one wing but they need a finisher, a 40 – 50 goal a year guy to go back to the Finals and they simply do not have that right now unless they move Malkin to Sid’s line and then that weakens the second line.

Check back for part two and three as Shapiro talks about the business side of the NHL as well as his latest effort, “Hockey Player For Life.”

The emergence of the young Penguins has been a godsend to Gary Bettman. He couldn’t have dreamed up a better scenario for a Stanley Cup Final. The NHL’s most dominant team of the decade versus Bettman’s most marketable player, Sidney Crosby. This couldn’t have come at a better time, as the National Hockey League is still trying to promote a more lucrative turnout in American cities and certainly create more of a hockey market in the United States.

Unfortunately for the little General, he didn’t get his storybook ending. His golden boy struggled mightily for the majority of the series. To Crosby’s credit he did manage to play ‘Johnny-on-the-Spot’ in game three of the Cup Finals, long enough to score two key goals. But other then that, he failed to generate more then a a bout of consistent whining to the referees. Some may say that he was a key contributor in game five, as he was credited with two assists, but anyone who watched that game, knows that he was so invisible that it made it possible for our first Evgeny Malkin siting of the series. Thankfully for Pittsburgh guys like Marian Hossa, Jordan Staal, Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts, Maxime Talbot and especially Marc-Andre Fleury put in yeomans service to help steal a super important game five. That game will go down as one of the more exciting Cup Finals games in recent memory.

It wasn’t necessarily a case of Pittsburgh playing terribly, as much as it was that Detroit was absolutely dominant throughout the series. They ruled the roost of the NHL from start to finish. I don’t think I remember such a dominant performance. Sure Pittsburgh stole two games in the series, but they were outmatched by a well coached team that was stacked with puck possession skilled players, and loads of chemistry.

For once the best team finally won it all! But take nothing away from the achievements of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Barring future player movement due to contract extensions, this team has just scratched the surface of what accomplishments it can achieve. That fact has led many to compare this team to the Oilers of the 80’s. Knowing how much of a competitor that Sidney Crosby is, one thing is for certain: next season he will be more hungry and dangerous than ever! Considering he is already the most talented player in the National Hockey League, this provides a scary proposition for the rest of the league.

While Penguins GM Ray Shero has reportedly offered Malone a contract, he is not willing to pay him much more than the $1.45 million Malone is making this season.

Rossi believes that the 28-year-old could get upwards of $3.5 million per season on a three-year deal in the off-season, pricing himself right out of Pittsburgh. The Penguins simply cannot afford to retain Malone at such a salary, even if the cap is supposed to increase by as much as $4 million.

The Penguins are already committed to a number of high-priced players on their roster, including forward Sidney Crosby ($8.7 million salary cap hit), defenseman Sergei Gonchar ($5 million), and defenseman Ryan Whitney ($4 million).

The club also has a number of key restricted free agent forwards they would like to re-sign long-term, namely forwards Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal, and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Malkin and Staal could command a combined salary cap hit of $11 million (beginning in 2009-10), while Fleury might cost an average of $3 million.

Secondary players such as defensemen Brooks Orpik and Mark Eaton, and forwards Pascal Dupuis, Jarkko Ruutu, Georges Laraque, and Gary Roberts will also need to be re-signed, or replaced.

The could be a total cap hit of $38.7 million for 13 players.

Of course, the Penguins may also want to bring back pending UFA forward Marian Hossa, which could cost them around $7 million per season. That’s $45.7 million for 14 players.

Adding Malone and his potential $3.5 million cap hit would bring the total figure to $49.2 million for 15 players. Shero isn’t expected to burden his club with those kind of salary cap troubles.

So, unless Malone decided to give the Penguins a hometown discount, it’s more than likely he’ll sign elsewhere in the summer.

First off, Molinari points out that Penguins GM Ray Shero is not against negotiating contract extensions during the season. In fact, speculation is that he has already held talks with the agents for forwards Ryan Malone and Georges Laraque.

Secondly, the Penguins don’t have the financial wherewithal to overpay for players. Thus, they may have some difficult choice to make if any of their free agents ask for more than the club thinks they’re worth.

With that in mind, here is a list of players set to become free agents July 1st and what may happen to them.

Ty Conklin: If his stock continues to rise at its pace of the past month, it should surpass Berkshire Hathaway by the time Conklin goes on the open market. That’s an enormous “if,” of course, for a 31-year-old who has played more than 18 NHL games just once during his pro career. But there’s nothing fluky about the success he has had since getting his first start Dec. 20 in Boston. His positioning is sound, his rebound-control strong. Whether an NHL team would view him as a No. 1 goalie remains to be seen, but he certainly has re-established his credentials as a solid No. 2. And, if he doesn’t stumble, the Penguins might have no choice but to try to re-sign him and accept that Dany Sabourin will be paid an NHL salary to play for their farm team in Wilkes-Barre, assuming he can get through waivers.

Mark Eaton: He’s an exceptional shot-blocker who has given the Penguins good defensive work when healthy. Trouble is, Eaton, who is recovering from season-ending knee surgery, will have played just 71 of a possible 164 regular-season games during his two seasons with the Penguins.

Adam Hall: He has been the defensively responsible, versatile forward the Penguins thought they were getting when he earned a contract at training camp. Hall will not have much leverage, though, because there is no shortage of blue-collar forwards.

Georges Laraque: Widely regarded as the NHL enforcer with the best all-around game, he had very limited impact after joining the Penguins at last year’s trade deadline, and that didn’t change during the early part of this season. In the past couple of months, however, he has become much more effective, fighting when he senses the need to send a message or alter the course of a game, and usually doing it with brutal efficiency. Re-signing him probably would be in the best interest of both sides.

Ryan Malone: Whether it’s a contract drive or not, Malone has played the best, and most consistent, hockey of his career this season. He isn’t an irreplaceable piece of the puzzle, but he’s an important one, and it would be foolish for the Penguins to gamble that they could get an upgrade by replacing him with someone else’s free agent.

Alain Nasreddine: The best argument for re-signing Nasreddine is the Penguins’ limited supply of NHL-caliber defensemen. He is no more than a depth guy at this level, but it’s important to have a few of those on the payroll to minimize the impact of injuries.

Brooks Orpik: He has fallen out of favor with the coaching staff at times — generally for reasons that aren’t apparent to many who aren’t members of the staff — but provides the only real physical presence on the blue line. With no one in the pipeline who can fill that role anytime soon, keeping him is logical.

Gary Roberts: After a poor start — the result, at least in part, of a respiratory ailment made worse by his asthma — Roberts finally was getting his game back in synch when his left leg was broken Dec. 29. He doesn’t seem ready to retire, but it’s a risk to assume a guy who turns 42 in May will be able to withstand the rigors of playing a physical game in the NHL indefinitely.

Jarkko Ruutu: Underutilized for much of his season-and-a-half here, Ruutu can be a good defensive forward as well as a quality agitator. If he is promised a larger role elsewhere, it seems like a long shot that he would stay, even though he has expressed a willingness to do so.

The Rangers, who despite adding forwards Scott Gomez and Chris Drury in the off-season, are apparently looking to improve their struggling offense.

While Ryder himself has had a poor offensive season, the belief is that he could regain his game with another team. Making $2.95 million this season won’t make him anymore desirable.

Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Pittsburgh Penguins forwards Jarkko Ruutu and Gary Roberts are denying rumors they have asked to be traded.

“When things are not going well, things come out that are not even true,” Ruutu said.

“I’ve never felt any problems, winning or losing. I’ve never even thought about that.”

Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe suggests that the San Jose Sharks will have to make some sort of trade to add a more balanced attack to their forward lines.

Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports that rumors continue to persist that struggling Sharks forward Patrick Marleau could be moved by the trade deadline. The Atlanta Thrashers are said to be very interested.

Lastly from Dupont, he reports that defenseman Ray Giroux, currently playing for Ak Bars Kazan of the Russian Super League, might garner some interest from NHL teams looking for a puck-moving blueliner in the off-season. In case he doesn’t get back into the NHL, Giroux has a standing offer from Ak Bars to continue playing for them next season.

Garrioch reports that the Columbus Blue Jackets will listen to offers for pending unrestricted free agent forwards Sergei Fedorov and Michael Peca and defenseman Adam Foote if they are no longer in the playoff race by the trade deadline.

Should New York Rangers GM Glen Sather decide to trade pending UFA forward Jaromir Jagr by the trade deadline, it’s highly unlikely he will move the Czech Star to a team in the Eastern Conference. The Western Conference Detroit Red Wings are a possible destination.

Before dealing forward Andy McDonald to the St. Louis Blues for Doug Weight, the Anaheim Ducks had a number of other trades in place according to Garrioch.

Defenseman Sean O’Donnell was almost headed to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Chicago Blackhawks almost landed defenseman Mathieu Schneider, and defenseman Shane Hnidy almost became a Dallas Star.

Ducks GM Brian Burke passed on all those deals so as to not dilute his depth on the blueline.

Peter Botte of the New York Daily News reports that the New York Islanders are expected to sign forward prospect Kyle Okposo to an entry-level contract “soon after the holiday roster freeze is lifted on Friday.”

The 19-year-old will earn a maximum of $850,000 per season.

Luke DeCock of The News & Observer suggests that the Carolina Hurricanes could use a physical defenseman like Penguins blueliner Brooks Orpik.

Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review speculates that defenseman Darryl Sydor could on his way out.

However, a hefty two-year contract worth $5 million, dealing the 36-year-old veteran blueliner will be difficult. Especially that Sydor has seen his ice time decrease and was even benched at times due to a poor start to the season.

Still, Sydor remains confident that he can rebound and show the Penguins he can still play.

“I am not going to try and say I had a good start, because I did not. But I know what I was brought here to do, and I still feel I can do it.”

While Sydor admits the situation has not been easy for him, he is not giving up on getting another shot to prove himself with the Penguins.

“It is tough,” Sydor said Wednesday, referring to a stretch in November when he and Recchi were consistently healthy scratches.

“But like I told (general manager) Ray (Shero): You can take it either way. You can sulk or make good of the situation. The three weeks I had, I was not happy, and they knew that. But I came in, worked hard, and if I get another opportunity, I get another opportunity.”

Meanwhile, according to Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun, the Ottawa Senators called the Penguins to inquire about the availability of forwards Gary Roberts and Colby Armstrong about a month ago. The Penguins apparently wanted forward Antoine Vermette in exchange.

At this point, there are no indications if the two teams are still involved in trade discussions.

If the Penguins believe Roberts could “hold up” for another season, it wouldn’t be out of question if they tried to re-sign him.

Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review suggests that forward Adam Hall has pretty much assured himself a roster spot on the Penguins’ roster after coming to the team’s training camp on a tryout basis.

Rossi also dispels Internet rumors that the Penguins were interested in trading forward Evgeni Malkin to the New York Rangers for forward Jaromir Jagr. Rossi notes that the trade would make little sense from the Penguins’ point of view.

Lastly from Rossi, he believes that the Penguins may have to acquire a scoring winger for center Sidney Crosby if a player on the current roster doesn’t step up.

The feeling around the Montreal Canadiens is that goaltender Yann Danis, who was just placed on waivers, will get picked up by another NHL team, according to Kevin Mio of The Montreal Gazette.

Another Canadiens player who was placed on waivers was defenseman Jamie Rivers. The veteran blueliner tells Mio that he hopes to catch on with another team.

“I would like to be claimed, because I want to play in the NHL and I think I proved I can still play in the NHL,” he said.