Around The NHL: Heading Into Draft Day 2

-I believe Round 2 of the draft starts at 10:00 AM PST Saturday

-Comments from the first 3 picks of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft (TSN)

-A record 11 American players were selected in round 1 (NHL.com)

-The Flyers have dealt Dan Hamhuis' negotiating rights to the Penguins for a 3rd round pick in the 2011 Entry Draft. Remember that teams cannot talk to Hamhuis or his agent before July 1 unless they hold rights to him. Any violation of that is called tampering. So now the Penguins are taking a shot at Dan The Man, probably because they are running out of time to strike a deal with Sergei Gonchar, who wants a longer termed contract than what the Penguins are willing to offer. Pittsburgh may be an intriguing choice for Hamhuis with the likes of Crosby and Malkin on their roster, but I'm going to stay put with my own speculation that Hamhuis will end up in the West. You can tell from this madness that the depth of UFA defencemen this year is not very high.

More after the jump...

- replacing Dustin Byfuglien is easier said than done, Stan. (Chicago Sun-Times) Got another slab of beef waiting in the wings? Didn't think so.

-Former Moose coach Scott Arniel will bring in a more offence-minded attack for the Blue Jackets it seems (Blue Jackets Extra).

-Jose Theodore will hit the UFA market, but are there any takers? Theo made $4.5 million last season. He'll need to take a pay cut.

-Flames' GM Darryl Sutter: "We're one player away from being a top team again." (Calgary Herald). You are referring to an appropriate linemate for Jarome Iginla, right Darryl?

-Are the Flyers now trying to acquire the rights to Evgeni Nabokov?

-Not much interest in Jason Spezza out there (Ottawa Citizen). Gee, must be that lowered production and $7 million price tag.

-Is there something wrong with Evgeni Nabokov's style? His GM may think so (SJ Mercury News).

-New Thrashers coach Craig Ramsey will implement a more up-tempo style to the team's attack. Defencemen joining in the rush...hell, this is the new theme of the NHL. Trap be damned.

-Miinesota Wild owner Craig Leipold puts heat on players to perform better over GM adding new players (Star Tribune)