Quick hits for a snowy Sunday...

3 sources, one an EXTREMELY reliable Buffalo source, have told me that the Sabres have serious interest in Ray Whitney out of Carolina.

From an email from a source..."The Sabres are preparing to be buyers in a huge way. Whitney and Frolov are two names I know when you write this our fans are going to say that they have heard this before, and I can understand their skepticism, but the Sabres are in a perfect spot right now and the Division is there to be had."

The Penguins may soon get their own version of Paul Coffey. Jack Johnson is pure offense and a very close personal friend of Sidney Crosby's. The Kings are in the midst of what can be best described as a tweaking period where I am told several changes could occur. There is little doubt that Jack Johnson would put up like 100 points in Pittsburgh (and maybe still be only a +1) but the Penguins are so solid right now, and while Crosby is a quiet guy in appearances, he does talk to and the Penguins do discuss with him moves they are considering.

This is common with many teams and there captains these days. Crosby would love to have Johnson on the blueline.

Tough opening night for the Flyers last night. Steve Yzerman and Kevin Lowe sat directly behind us in the press box last night and probably weren't too enamored with what they saw from Carter and Richards. Jeff Carter needs to really step this up. It was hard for Laviolette to put any new schemes into the team's game last night.

One change I think you will see soon is a much improved transition game. The Flyers under Stevens and even Hitchcock didn't work the transition game as much as some other teams. If I can draw one comparison between the Hurricanes that I covered in their Stanley Cup run and the Penguins from last year it would be that not only did they constantly work on breakout plays and the transition game in practices, they even spent much of the morning skate the day of games in greatly choreographed transition drills.

I would also expect to see a return of the Giroux, Briere, van Riemsdyk line that was so brilliant in the transition game pre-season. Briere and Giroux are a perfect one-two punch and accentuate each other's game.

more to come..

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