We always talk about Dave Andreychuk, ... but the unsung leader in this room is Tim Taylor.

Shortly after the new CBA was announced, Sean Burke was the goaltender we identified as we began formulating contingency plans for how we would proceed if (Nikolai) Khabibulin left our team. We did a lot of homework on Sean, and we believe that not only will he come in and compete with John Grahame for the No. 1 spot, but if he doesn't win that contest he will be a 'team first' player.

We've had some personnel changes there, and as much as anything, we're hoping we can get a spark. We need to start winning some games if we're going to make the playoffs there.

We did an awful lot of homework. We actually started doing the homework going back to when the CBA was announced -- recognizing that depending on what Nik decided to do that we might not have him here.

If he and his agent are coming in looking for the maximum amount, which they are certainly entitled to do, it's just not going to happen.

We're very pleased to have Nolan Pratt back for another season. Nolan has been a valuable member of the team and contributed significantly to our outstanding season last year. We know he will come into camp ready to battle for a spot in our top six on defense.