Sheet Player News (Dec. 13)

It doesn't appear that the Nashville Predators will have Jonathan Blum sit around as a healthy scratch, rather they'll give the young Box 13 defenseman minutes in the AHL to get his confidence back. Blum wouldn't be able to get his confidence back while watching games from above the ice, so a stint, however long, is the preferred option, especially if he has fallen out of favour with the coaches.  In 27 NHL games, Blum has 2 goals and 3 assists, which isn't quite what the Predators were after.

In better news, it appears that Sharks back-up goalie Antero Niittymaki is ready to resume his NHL career after undergoing major hip surgery in the off-season.  Niittymaki is right on schedule for his 12 weeks from the surgery and now he'll go spend some time in the AHL, getting himself back into game shape, before coming back to the Sharks organization, where he'll back-up Antti Niemi and possibly give him a good run for his money in the starting spot.