NHL fans and in particular those in Chicago and Toronto should keep an eye on the Blackhawks and Maple Leafs as there could be some changes coming to their respective rosters albeit for vastly different reasons. 

The Blackhawks are believed poised to announce the re-signings of forwards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews along with defenseman Duncan Keith but owing to a rule in the NHL collective bargaining agreement (CBA) they might have to dump some salary first. 

Kane, Toews and Keith are eligible for restricted free agent status (RFA) in July so in order to prevent rival teams from trying to sign them away via offer sheets the Blackhawks have reportedly negotiated new long-term contracts for the three, which would take effect in 2010-11. 

The problem however is that the rumored combined salaries of those new deals would push the Blackhawks payroll for next season to over $60 million committed to 16 players. 

That violates what's known in the CBA as the "tagging rule", which in a nutshell means a team cannot commit more to next season's payroll than this season's current cap limit, which is $56.8 million. 

To make the re-signings of Kane, Toews and Keith official the Blackhawks will have to dump around $4 million in salary either via trade or demotions to get under $56.8 million. 

As for the Maple Leafs, reports out of Toronto claim GM Brian Burke has run out of patience with his struggling roster, which finds itself mired dead last in the league's overall standings following Thursday's 6-5 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. 

Burke admitted he's considering some trade options and wasn't ruling out the possibility of demoting some players on one-way NHL contracts to the minors. 

He didn't single anyone out but it's believed Jason Blake, Mikhail Grabovski, Nikolai Kulemin, Garnet Exelby and Luke Schenn could be among the potential candidates for demotion. 

Don't expect Burke to find many takers for most of those aforementioned via trade and while Schenn is struggling big time in his sophomore season the Leafs GM isn't going to shop him, preferring instead to send down to the minors in hopes it'll help the 19-year-old blueliner regain his confidence. 

Columbus Blue Jackets winger Nikita Filatov is returning home to Russia. 

It was reported Tuesday Filatov, 19, has signed a contract with CSKA Moscow of Russia's Kontinental Hockey League, with the blessing of the Blue Jackets. 

The deal allows the young winger, who struggled to adjust to head coach Ken Hitch**** demanding two-way style, to play the season in Russia, with the understanding he can return to the Jackets next season. 

Filatov's handling by Hitchcock has according to the Columbus Dispatch been an area of contention between the coach and GM Scott Howson, who selected Filatov sixth overall in the 2008 entry draft.

Expectations were high for Filatov to crack the Blue Jackets lineup this season and he was even touted as a potential rookie of the year candidate but his inability to play a responsible defensive game irked Hitchcock, who earlier this season compared the youngster to former Blue Jacket forward Nik Zherdev, another skilled offensive player who chafed playing Hitch**** two-way game. 

It's been suggested Filatov could return to the Jackets a more mature player next season but Chris Botta of AOL Fanhouse suggested the possibility he could become trade bait at some point this season or possibly in the off-season. 

That remains to be seen but if he once again struggles to adapt next season it's possible Howson might have to entertain offers. 

One of the top power forwards in NHL history has called it a career as Brendan Shanahan today officially announced his retirement. 

This announcement has been expected for several weeks in the wake of the New Jersey Devils reaching an agreement with Shanahan releasing him from his contract with the club during pre-season. 

Shanahan retires with an impressive resume of statistics which will one day see him enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame. 

As per the NHL press release:

Shanahan finishes his career in 11th place on the NHL’s all-time goal scoring list with 656 goals. He stands 11th in games played with 1,524, 22nd in penalty minutes with 2,489, 23rd in points with 1,354 and 49th in assists with 698. He is the only player in NHL history to amass more than 2,000 penalty minutes and 600 goals and leads all NHL players with 17 “Gordie Howe” hat tricks. One of the game’s all-time clutch performers, Shanahan ranks fifth all-time with 109 game-winning goals. He tallied 237 goals on the power play, also fifth in NHL history, including a League-leading and career-best 20 in 1996-97.

        The eight-time NHL All-Star recorded at least 40 goals in six of his 21 seasons and is one of only 11 players in NHL history to have 12 seasons of at least 30 goals. Shanahan’s 19 consecutive 20-goal seasons rank second to only Gordie Howe’s 21. He eclipsed the 50-goal mark on two occasions, tallying 51 in 71 games with St. Louis in 1992-93 and then reached a career high with 52 in 1993-94, when he also led the League with seven shorthanded tallies. Shanahan was voted to the NHL First All-Star Team twice (1994, 2000) and the NHL Second All-Star Team once (2002). Throughout his career, Shanahan was always one of the League’s top ambassadors. He was awarded the King Clancy Trophy in 2003 for his exemplary work in the community. Shanahan enjoyed his finest offensive season in 1993-94, when he established career-highs in goals (52), assists (50), points (102), penalty minutes (211) and shots (397).

        Appearing in the post-season in 19 of his 21 seasons, Shanahan ranks 35th on the NHL’s playoff scoring list with 134 points in 184 games. He ranks seventh with a plus 31 rating, tied for 19th with 12 game-winning goals and is tied for 27th with 60 goals. In 1997, Shanahan placed second on the Red Wings in playoff scoring with 9 goals and 8 assists for 17 points, while helping lead Detroit to their first Stanley Cup in 42 years. In 2002, he ranked second on the team and tied for third in the NHL with 19 points in 23 games, helping lead the Red Wings to their third Stanley Cup in six seasons. 

Shanahan was also, as Toronto Globe and Mail hockey columnist Eric Duhatschek points out, "an innovator off the ice, an articulate well-spoken voice of his generation". 

It was "The Shanahan Summit", convened during the lockout season of 2004-05, which resulted in several rules changes that have improved the league's on-ice product, reducing uncalled obstruction and bringing more speed back to the game. 

Don't be surprised if Shanahan plays some sort of role in rebuilding the shattered leadership of the troubled NHL Players Association. 

His playing days may be done but it's likely the hockey world hasn't seen or heard the last of Brendan Shanahan.

Weeks of seemingly endless speculation over the playing status and future plans of former NHL star Peter Forsberg came to an end today with the report he would play the remainder of the 2009-10 season with MoDo of the Swedish Elite League. 

The Forsberg NHL rumor mill cranked up when it was announced he would be playing for Sweden in the Karjala Cup tournament, resulting in several NHL teams, including the Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, NY Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers, either expressing interest in him or sending scouts to the tournament to follow his progress. 

Those who scouted Forsberg said he didn't play up to his own high standard as he's been plagued by pain  in his right foot for which he'd undergone surgery several years ago. While Forsberg said his foot didn't bother him much in his recent outing his overall level of play was not as good as he'd hoped, with his speed being the issue. 

It's a wise decision on Forsberg's part to play out the season with MoDo. It  not only allows him the opportunity to get into game shape but also could allow him to play for Sweden in the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. 

This decision does however mean he won't be returning to the NHL this season. League rules stipulate anyone who plays in one game in any European league would have to pass through waivers before he could return to the NHL. That'll make him an unattractive option since no team will risk signing him as a free agent only to risk losing him to another club via waivers. 

It remains to be seen if this is Forsberg's last attempt at an NHL comeback but his performance this season with MoDo should be the determining factor. 

"Kano" recently e-mailed me to say they liked my recent analysis of the Montreal Canadiens draft record this decade and asked if I would also look at those of the other Canadian teams. I think it's a good idea which I'll do over the next couple of weeks or so as news permits. 

The Toronto Maple Leafs may be leading all NHL teams in value (according to Forbes magazine) but their on-ice performance post-lockout has left much to be desired, as the last time they made the playoffs was 2004.

This season the Leafs are so far jockeying for position with the Carolina Hurricanes as the worst team in the NHL, and part of the reason can be traced to their poor draft record over the course of this decade. 

2000: Forward Brad Boyes and goalie Mikael Tellqvist were the most notable picks for the Leafs. Boyes has had three seasons post-lockout with 65 or more points but never played a game for the Leafs. Tellqvist, once touted as the Leafs goalie of the future, spent parts of four seasons with the Leafs and now plays for AK Bars Kazan in the KHL. 

2001: Defensemen Carlo Colaiacovo, Karel Pilar and Brendan Bell and forward Kyle Wellwood emerged from this draft as NHLers. Colaiacovo struggled with concussions issues until the Leafs finally gave up on him and dealt him to St. Louis, Pilar now toils overseas, Bell only spent parts of two seasons with the Leafs and now plays in the AHL and Wellwood is a third liner with the Canucks after three season with the Leafs. 

2002: Forwards Alex Steen and Matt Stajan and blueliner Ian White have gone on to NHL careers. Steen never really played up to expectations and was dealt with Colaiacovo last season to the Blues. Stajan has been a reasonably productive center but it's believed he could be in the doghouse of GM Brian Burke. White has become a regular on the Leafs defense corps in recent years. 

2003: John Mitchell was the only selection to make the NHL. Don Cherry of HNiC's "Coach's Corner" loves this guy but so far he's shown little to indicate he'll be more than a checking line center.

2004: Goalie Justin Pogge and winger Robbie Earl were the only ones to make the NHL, but their tenures with the Leafs didn't last long. Pogge saw only 7 NHL games and now toils for the Anaheim Ducks farm team, while Earl until this season played only 9 NHL games. He was a recent call-up for the Wild but it remains to be seen how long he'll play for them this season.

2005: Netminder Tuukka Rask and defenseman Anton Stralman emerged from this draft class and like so many others they're no longer with the Leafs. Rask has a promising future with the Boston Bruins as he's currently Tim Thomas' backup. Stralman was shipped to the Calgary Flames this year who then dealt him to the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he's been averaging over 20 minutes of ice time per game.

2006: Forward Jiri Tlusty went higher than Nikolai Kulemin but the latter has seen more playing time with the Leafs than the former over the past two seasons. Neither has yet to prove themselves as quality NHL players.

2007: None of the Leafs picks in this year has yet to make the team but that may be premature to write off any of them just yet. 

2008: Defenseman Luke Schenn had a promising debut as an 18-year-old last season with the Leafs and appeared the best young prospect to come out of their system in years. Unfortunately this season he's suffered a significant sophomore slump leading to speculation he might play out the rest of this season with their AHL farm club. It might be a case of too much, too soon for 19-year-old Schenn this season but he does have the potential to become the future of the Leafs defense corps.

2009: None has yet emerged but it's far too early at this stage to rate the Leafs draft class for this year. 

Put simply, the Leafs have done a poor job for most of this decade drafting and developing quality talent. Out of this list only one player - Boyes - became an above-average NHL player, and he did that elsewhere. 

Of those they've kept, only Stajan and White went on to become Leafs regulars, but while they're decent players they're certainly not stars. They're supporting cast players at best. 

Only Schenn thus far appears to have the potential to one day become a star, provided he can overcome this season's struggles. GM Brian Burke is keen on the kid so it doesn't appear he'll be shipped out in any quick fix deals like those his predecessors couldn't seem to resist. 

As uneven as the Montreal Canadiens draft record was this decade, the Leafs have done much worse. 

It's possible some of the Leafs picks from 2007, 2008 and 2009 might eventually emerge as quality NHL players and salvage this club's draft record from this decade. For the sake of Leafs fans let's hope so because the record for most of this decade was poor and that's potentially bad news for the Leafs future heading into the next decade.