The Montreal Canadiens have sent a couple of their prized prospects back down to the junior ranks for another full season with the boys. 2009 1st rounder Louis Leblanc and 2010 1st rounder Jared Tinordi, were both sent back to their respective junior teams on Monday, as the team has decided that their development would be better off down there. Scratch them from your lists, if they were there.The Canadiens also sent 16 players down to Hamilton of the AHL, but no one of real consequence and it brought their active camp roster down to 36 players.
Well, I had Leblanc on the Selection Sheet in the Canadiens youth player box, Box 25, and he'll now be inactive for the whole year. He is now a land mine pick that will get you zero points through the 2011 season, so stay away.
The Predators have seemingly seen enough out of one of their prized prospects, forward Blake Geoffrion, and have demoted him to the AHL on Monday. Geoffrion signed a deal with much fanfare in June, but it looks as though he needs some seasoning before he makes the jump to the big club.
The Phoenix Coyotes assigned 16 players to the minors on Monday, some having to go on waivers and clear first, bringing the team's roster total down to 28 players, plus Kurt Sauer, who is currently on the injured reserve with a head injury. Currently on the list, there are 18 forwards, eight defense (not including Sauer) and the goaltending tandem.
Since Wellwood is without a contract as a tryout and Sauer on the injured reserve, the Coyotes have 27 players on contract and three buyouts on the books here for an annual cap projection of $55.3 million, which is nice & safe between the cap floor and ceiling. Cuts will easily bring down the cap number, but that really shouldn't be a concern for the cap savvy Coyotes.
The St. Louis Blues have now cut down their roster to 30 players with a few cuts to come shortly after or possibly during the week, with only three preseason games left to play.
The Minnesota Wild have continued the house cleaning trend, as they prepare for their trip overseas for the NHL Premiere games in Helsinki. They have a combination of 14 players assigned and waived in order to be assigned to Houston of the AHL to clear up their roster and it looks like the Wild will be going forward with this group.
The assignment of Wade Redden has been finalized and he has now been shed from the cap hit for the time being. The Rangers also placed a number of players on waivers for demotion, demoted those who didn't need to be waived and released some from their professional tryouts to bring their roster number down to 27. Still included on the roster is rookie standout Derek Stepan and tryout Ruslan Fedotenko, both likely fighting for the same spot in the line-up.
The Thrashers are down to an active roster of 30 players after sending a few more players down to the minors on Monday and placing Patrice Cormier on the injured reserve with his broken foot. This leaves 18 forwards, 10 defense and their goaltending tandem for the rest of camp.
With news that the Dallas Stars have placed five of their training camp members on waivers on Sunday, this now leaves the team with 28 players on their roster, leaving only minimal cuts left to polish off their opening night roster. 
The Ducks have taken their current training camp roster down to 30 players on Sunday night, assigning four to the minors, one to the juniors and releasing Stephane Veilleux from his tryout. With injuries, the roster really only stands at 28 players, but both Jason Jaffray and Toni Lydman are still with the team to nurse their ailments.
In an early start on Sunday, the Red Wings played host to the Rangers and ended up beating their Original Six counterparts 5-3 in the end. Jimmy Howard got the nod for the entire match for Detroit and made 18 saves for the victory. Howard should be taking the number one role again this year and should have a refreshed line-up in front of him. Leading the way on the scoresheet for the Red Wings was Brian Rafalski, who scored a goal and added 3 assists. Rafalski may be looked upon to be the main offensive trigger man for the Red Wings this year, as Lidstrom rounds out his game to ensure that he remains a plus player. Dan Cleary, Henrik Zetterberg and Tomas Holmstrom all chimed in with a a goal and an assist in the victory as well. 
The Oilers had the scoring display of the preseason so far on Sunday night with an 8-2 romp over the Canucks and a good number of guys got into the action in this one. Jordan Eberle and Shawn Horcoff led the way with 2 goals and an assist each, while Linus Omark had a goal and 2 assists. Dustin Penner had a pair of goals and Jim Vandermeer, Taylor Hall and Gilbert Brule all tallied a pair of assists in the win. It was a scoring bonanza, to say the least. Nikolai Khabibulin made his first start of the preseason, making 26 saves in the victory. There seems to be very little not to like about his Oilers team at the moment, especially if they can skate and score like this on a regular basis.
According to the cuts today and some cuts that were made in secret, the Maple Leafs now have a roster of 30 players and they can now start working some systems with the players that remain in camp and go from there. My source for the 
The Hurricanes are only a few cuts away from having their opening night roster set and there are a good number of kids remaining on their roster. 
The Colorado Avalanche are now under 30 players on their training camp roster and there really hasn't been many surprises in the players that they have cut so far. The Summer roster remains intact and some of the hopefuls that I have on the Selection Sheet remain. The Avalanche will still need to make a few cuts from here, but its getting close.
The worst case scenario has hit the Islanders with their injury to Mark Streit, as they have now scheduled the Swiss defender for major shoulder surgery, which should keep him out of the line-up for upwards of six months. That will all but end his regular season and without Streit in the line-up, the likelihood of challenging for the playoffs has now taken a major hit.
The Penguins had a fairly strong statistical effort against the Blue Jackets on Saturday night, beating Columbus 3-1 in the process. Marc-Andre Fleury got the whole 60 minutes in the net for the Penguins, making 32 saves and earning the win in the process. Not a lot of combined offense in this one though, only Arron Asham came away with a multiple-point game on the scoresheet, picking up a goal and an assist. Asham may have found a good new home to pick up some extra points in.
The Devils were no slouches in the loss tonight, having a few names rise to the top. Zach Parise came back again for another big night, picking up 3 assists, while linemate Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and an assist as well. Andy Greene joined the Devils party with a goal and an assist as well, giving New Jersey a little more credibility from the back end.
The Sabres hosted the Leafs on Saturday night and were not the best of hosts for this one, beating their guests 3-1. The only player of note from this contest is Derek Roy, who had a pair of assists in this contest. I don't think Roy needs too much help getting a good pick in the draft, but everything helps, right? Roy should be a pretty safe bet again this year, especially in the high-to-mid level picks.
The Panthers and Bruins clashed at the TD Gardens on Saturday night and regulation and overtime couldn't solve anything, so it was a shootout to decide the result. Scott Clemmensen, who played all 65 minutes for the Panthers tonight, stopped Tyler Seguin for the win and earned a mention on the post today. Clemmensen made 23 stops in the 4 periods and also made two saves in the shootout for the victory. On the scoresheet, Marty Reasoner, more of a defensive forward, picked up a pair of assists in the win as well.
The Senators laid waste upon Carey Price and the Canadiens on Saturday night and it really looked good on the team from Ottawa. Jason Spezza jumped into the forefront with 2 goals and an assist, which the Sens will need more often, if they want to make a bigger name for themselves in the playoffs this year. Nick Foligno had a pair of goals, Bobby Butler had a goal and an assist and Chris Campoli had a pair of assists in the game as well. The Sens might be in good shape scoring-wise, by the looks of things.
The Blackhawks took control of their game against the Red Wings late in the 1st period and did not give up control afterwards, leading themselves to a 4-2 victory. Marty Turco made 23 saves in the win, playing the entire game for Chicago. Marian Hossa, Duncan Keith and Jack Skille all had a goal and an assist in the game, while Fernando Pisani had a pair of assists. If the Blackhawks offense is going to score like this, Turco may turn out to be a pretty good option for your draft goalie, possibly even in a high pick.
A 3-2 shootout win for the Flyers over the Wild didn't do too much for the scoring numbers, but it may have made the goaltending decision a tad more difficult, with Sergei Bobrovsky earning the victory, playing all 65 minutes for Philadelphia last night. The Russian rookie had to make 26 stops in the first 65 minutes and all 3 saves in the extra time exhibition. I think he's still technically behind the 8-ball for a roster spot this season, but at least he's making his case to be the first call up for injury or poor production.
The Capitals brought a good number of their big guns out to Nashville, but the Predators only held their offense to two goals. The Capitals defense was just a shade better though, helping beat Nashville 2-1 in the end. Mike Green was the most notable player in this one, scoring a goal and an assist, leading whatever offense the Capitals could generate on the night. I'm beginning to wonder if Green is going to be a 1st round pick in the draft on Tuesday... if its going to be as deep as I think it will be, Green might just go near the end of the round.
It was a good ol' fashioned shootout at the Saddledome, that coincidentally ended up in a shootout, which the Flames took in the end, 5-4. Ales Kotalik had a goal and 2 assists to lead the way for the Flames and he also scored the shootout winner in the exhibition frame. Marc Giordano chimed in with 3 assists, while rookie defenseman T.J. Brodie potted a pair of 1st period goals as well. The chances of Brodie jumping onto this stacked blueline are fairly slim, but he does make a point for first call-up notice when the season starts.
The Canucks finally flexed their division winning muscle on Saturday night, beating Anaheim 4-1 at home. Roberto Luongo made 28 stops and played the entire game for the Canucks, looked fairly sharp throughout. Offensively, it was none other than the Sedin twins working their magic on the ice. Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin each scored a goal and an assist in the win, looking steady throughout the game.
The Sharks only had one goal in the game in Phoenix, but their home team squad had a little better outing, beating the Coyotes 3-1. Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley each scored a goal and an assist in the win, while defenseman Justin Braun had a pair of assists in this game. There does look like there is still an opening for the 7th defenseman on the team, where Braun is likely aiming to finish after this camp, but even as a number seven, he won't be a great candidate for many points this year.