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When asking several current NHL players who’s the best in the game today, many fans may be surprised to learn the majority of them named Pavel Datsyuk over the likes of Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin. Datsyuk can really do it all. He scores, he's as good of a one-on-one player as there is today, and can pick your pocket like an NBA point guard. He's also a class act who doesn't get nearly as much attention as he deserves.
Pretty hard to pass over Crosby, every player in the league should watch how he scores his goals. Nothing overly flashy just attacks the net and plays a hard game.
Veteran forward and PK specialist Ryan Johnson has signed a 25 game AHL contract with Rockford, the Chicago Blackhawks minor league affiliate.
Johnson, who played much of last season with two broken feet, is healthy and has been skating the last several months on his own in his native Thunder Bay, Ontario.
Johnson will arrive in Rockford as soon as his work visa is finalized which could happen as early as Friday. If all goes well he will end up with the Blackhawks once he gets himself in game shape. The former Vancouver Canuck played under Both Chicago Head Coach Joel Quenneville as well as assistant Mike Kitchen during their days in St. Louis.
Former NHL 50 goal scorer Jonathan Cheechoo has signed a second 25 game contract with Worcester, the AHL affiliate of the San Jose Sharks. I’m told Cheechoo has rejected numerous two-way deals as he has his sights set on a one-way NHL deal. He’s willing to sign for the minimum which would be pro-rated for the duration of this season. Once this 25 game contract expires he will have to sign a two-way deal to continue playing in the AHL.
The fact that Boston tried to move Marco Sturm tells us they’d prefer to hang on to Michael Ryder. Sturm failed his physical which prevented a trade with the Los Angeles Kings from going through.
How is it logical that Washington D-man John Carlson is considered a rookie but Blues D-man Alex Pietrangelo is not? I know the rules are the rules, but C’mon this makes little sense. Carlson came into this season having played more NHL games than Pietrangelo.
Former NHL D-man Jamie Rivers has signed a professional contract to play this season in Croatia. Rivers has played with several NHL teams including st. Louis, Phoenix, Boston, and Montreal.
Any AHL teams looking to add a sturdy, reliable D-man should consider signing free agent Alex Brooks.
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More to come,
Andy Strickland
[email protected] 
St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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